Note 27 — Chapter IX
Reading edition
Though Cyrus was at first merely king of Anshan in Elam, with Susa as his capital, he was undoubtedly of Aryan descent. The rise of the southern or Persian group of the Iranians coincided with the westward expansion of the Median empire, and the fusion of the two branches may well have been fostered by disaffection in the north, due to the favour shown by the Median kings to their Scythian subjects. This would in great measure account for the ease with which Cyrus possessed himself of the Median empire; cf. Hogarth, "The Ancient East," pp. 150 ff.