Herodotus reports that after Phraortes the Mede subjugated the Persians, he attacked Nineveh and perished with the greater part of his army. Although Asshurbanipal had advanced in years by the time of this battle, and the nations formerly dominated by him had long since rebelled, he still maintained the ability to wage war in the defense of Nineveh. Herodotus also relates that the Medes had dominated all of Asia beyond the Halys river for one hundred and twenty-eight years, including the time of the Scythian domination. From this it is clearly evident that the mighty empire of Assyria went into decline as Asshurbanipal advanced in years, while that of the Medes was on the rise. These same circumstances led Cyaxares, the son of Phraortes, to avenge the death of his father on the Assyrians; thus, he mustered his forces, defeated the Assyrian army, and besieged the city of Nineveh.

However, Cyaxares had to break off the siege to come to the defense of his own country. A great horde of nomads, known to the Greeks as Scythians, had descended from north of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian, and the Syhun river in a massive assault against the countries that lie to the south. Thus, Cyaxares found himself entangled in an aggressive war within his own borders for years to come. It was not only the Medes who had to deal with the great Scythian invasion, even King Psammetichus of Egypt had to forestall their advance into Egypt. This he did by sending ambassadors with gifts to appease the Scythians, who had advanced as far south as Ascalon.

The Lydians were also affected by the Scythian invasion. When the Scythian hordes drove the Cimmerians into Asia, the Cimmerians took a large part of the city of Sardis. Alyattes succeeded in driving the Cimmerians from Asia sometime before he engaged Cyaxares in the war that developed as a consequence of his harboring a tribe of wandering Scythians. These Scythians were wanted by Cyaxares for killing a young boy, whom had been entrusted to them as a student for the purpose of learning skills in hunting. In retaliation for an alleged wrong done to them by Cyaxares, the Scythians cut the boy in pieces, dressed the flesh, and served it to Cyaxares as if it were an animal killed in the hunt. Cyaxares and his guests feasted on the flesh without knowing what had been done to them. It was over this matter that the Scythians had fled to Alyattes for protection, and that Cyaxares had demanded their return. And when Alyattes the Lydian refused to comply, Cyaxares the Mede engaged him in a war that lasted six years. This was the war of which Herodotus wrote, when he reported that a prince, whom he called "Labynetus of Babylon," served as a representative of Media, in the peace agreement that resulted from the occurrence of an eclipse of the sun in the sixth year of the battle.

According to the Babylonian chronicle, BM 21901 (96-4-9, 6), which describes the fall of Nineveh, King Nabopolassar made an agreement with Cyaxares near the city of Nineveh in the month of Ab (July/August) in Nabopolassar's twelfth regnal year. In that same year (635 BCE), which would have been the sixth year of the battle between Lydia and Media, there was an eclipse of the sun over the entire region. The eclipse was almost total and certainly would have caused noticeable darkness during the sixth year of the war in mid February. Thus, the eclipse occurred in the last few months of the eleventh regnal year of Nabopolassar, and about two years before Nineveh fell, which was in the fourteenth year of Nabopolassar (633 BCE), to the combined armies of the Medes and the Babylonians. It was either to Nabopolassar or to his son, Crown Prince Nebuchadnezzar, that Herodotus referred to as "Labynetus of Babylon." From this it can be concluded that the Lydians and Medians had declared a truce as a result of the eclipse, and that the Babylonians helped the Medes to forge an agreement that would benefit the leaders of all three nations.

The Babylonian chronicle, BM 25127 (98-2-16, 181), which describes the early years of Nabopolassar, records that the Assyrians and Babylonians had been engaged in warfare since the first year of Nabopolassar. The chronicle cited earlier (describing the fall of Nineveh) confirms that the conflict had lasted until his tenth year, and also that the Assyrians had called upon Egypt for aid. Nevertheless, the combined effort of the Assyrians and Egyptians was not sufficient to overcome the Babylonians. The Medes and the Babylonians had good reason to seek a peace agreement with the Lydians so that they might concentrate their efforts against Assyria and Egypt. Thus, there is no reason to conclude that the Lydian-Median war occurred after the fall of Nineveh. Were it not for the Scythian invasion the Medes would have taken Nineveh at least twenty years earlier. Although Herodotus claims that that the Sythians ruled for twenty-eight years, George Rawlinson states that these are excessive in view of what Cyaxares accomplished during his reign apart from his conflict with the Scythians in his own country. (Ancient Monarchies, Vol. II, pg. 392) This would allow for the six years of the Lydian-Median war, which began with the incident over the Scythians, to have occurred during that twenty-eight year period.

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