Astyages ve Medlerin Sonu

Astyages, son Med Kralıdır. Bir gün, bir rüya görür. Rüyasında; kızı Mandane, öyle bir su bırakır ki (burada su bırakmaktan kasıt, işemektir), oluşan suyun içerisinde Astyages boğulur gider. Astyages, hemen bu rüyayı yorumculara anlatır. Yorumcuların (Bunlar Zerdüşt rahipleridir, Med bölgesinde yaşayan Mager Kabilesi mensubudurlar, Batı dillerindeki Magie, Magic (sihir, büyü) kavramı buradan…

Astyages, son of Cyaxares, now inherited the throne. A daughter was born to him, whom he called Mandane; and Astyages dreamed that she urinated so much that the urine filled his city, then went on to flood all of Asia. He consulted the magi, and was alarmed by the details which he heard from them. Later, when Mandane was already old enough for marriage, he did not give her as wife to any of the Medes who were worthy of him, because he was fearful of the dream, instead he gave her to a Persian named Cambyses I of Anšan, who had a reputation for being a "quiet and thoughtful prince" and whom Astyages believed to be no threat.

In the first year of Mandane's marriage to Cambyses, Astyages had another dream: he dreamed that a vine grew from the genitalia of this daughter, and spread over the whole of Asia. He again consulted the experts on what he had seen, then sent for his daughter to come to him from the land of the Persians. By now she was pregnant. When she arrived he kept her under guard, planning to kill the product of her womb: for the dream-experts among the magi interpreted his dream as indicating that his daughter's offspring would take his place upon the throne.

Astyages sent his general Harpagus to kill the child Cyrus. Harpagus, unwilling to spill royal blood, gave the infant to a shepherd, Mitridates, whose wife had just given birth to a stillborn child. Cyrus was raised as Mitridates' own son, and Harpagus presented the stillborn child to Astyages as the dead Cyrus. When Cyrus was found alive at age ten, Astyages spared the boy on the advice of his Magi, returning him to his parents in Anshan. Harpagus, however, did not escape punishment, as Astyages is said to have fed him his own son at a banquet.

Question:

Why did Cyrus keep Astyages in his court after taking over that area? After everything Astyages had done, I assumed he would be killed on the spot; what was it that made Cyrus keep him around?

Side note: This act of keeping Astyages in his court is similar to how Cyrus later keeps Croesus around, only Croesus shows aid to Cyrus later; maybe parts taken out of the book show Astyages being of service to Cyrus?

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