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Mannai
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Marble bust of Alexander the Great, in the British Museum, London, England. Hellenistic Greek, 2nd-1st century BC. Said to be from Alexandria, Egypt. Height: 37 cm.
Ancient Greece
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Also spelled:
Manna, or Mana
Related Places:
Iran
ancient Iran
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Mannai

ancient kingdom, Iran
Also known as: Mana, Manna
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Mannai, ancient country in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia. During the period of its existence in the early 1st millennium bc, Mannai was surrounded by three major powers: Assyria, Urartu, and Media. The Mannaeans are first recorded in the annals of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (reigned 858–824 bc) and are last mentioned in Urartu by Rusa II (reigned 685–645 bc) and in Assyria by Esarhaddon (reigned 680–669 bc). With the intrusion of the Scythians and the rise of the Medes in the 7th century, the Manneans lost their identity and were subsumed under the term Medes. Place-names and personal names in Mannai are thought to be in a dialect related to the Hurrian language of the Hittite empire.

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