Ragau (Hastings' Dictionary)

See following article. RAGES fP(i70' [X in Tog'-^'Pa-yai] t^s MtjJ/os).— Now Rai near Teheran. The city, whose ruins occupy a space about 4500 yards long by 3500 broad, gave its name to Media Ragiana, and commanded the approach to the Caspian Gates. The size and thickness of its walls, and the number of towers with which they are flanked, must have made it one of the strongest fortresses of the Persian em- pire. According to the 'Vendidad it was colonized by the advancing Aryans after they had left H5Tcania and before they reached Khorassan, and it was there that they were mingled with two other races and so first came into contact with heretics. An old tradition asserted that Zoroaster was born there (see de Harlez, Introduction a I'Hude de I'Avcsta, Paris, 1882). In the Behistun In.scription Darius calls it Ragft in Media, and states that the Median pretender Frawartish or Phraortes fled to it after his defeat ; he was, however, captured, and after being tortured was sent to Ecbatana to be impaled. At a later date Alexander passed through it in pursuit of Darius Codomannus, eleven days after leaving Ecbatana. It was rebuilt or enlarged by Seleucus I., who gave it the name of Europus (Strabo, XI. xiii. 6), which was supplanted by that of Arsacia after the Parthian conquest. In the age of Isidorus (§ 7) it was still ' the greatest city in Media.' In Strabo and Arrian the name appears as EagcB ; Ptolemy (vi. 5) makes it liagcna. Rages is often mentioned in the Bk. of Tol)it. Tobit left there ten talents of silver (1''' 4'), ami Tobias, accompanied by the angel Raphael, started for Rages in quest of this deposit, which was finally recovered by the angel (5^ 0"- ''■' 9-). Accord- ing to .Itli 1°" Ragau ('Payai', evidently another form of H'lgi-s) was the scene of the decisive battle in which Nebuchadnezzar ' king of the As,syrians ' defeated and slew Arphaxad the Median prince. It is possible that in the story of Arphaxad we have a distorted reminiscence of the overthrow and capture of Frawartish. A. H. SAYCii.