The ancient sources report almost nothing about Astyages’ reign, and a final judgment on his character is not possible, since Herodotus’ negative account (Astyages is represented as a cruel and despotic ruler) and Ctesias’ favorable one, are both biased (cf. also the words of Aeschylus, Persae 766f. about the last king before Cyrus, who is not mentioned by name). After thirty-two years of relative stability, Astyages lost the support of his nobles during the war to his grandson Cyrus, as attested to at length in the Cyropaedia of Xenophon, resulting in the formation of the Persian empire.