The Medes (Mada) established the first major Iranian state on the Iranian Plateau and helped prepare the way for the rise of the Achaemenid Empire. Before them, kingdoms such as Elam and Mannaea existed in the region, but they were not Iranian in origin. The origin of the name "Medes" is uncertain. Some scholars connect it to an Indo-European root meaning "middle" or "central land," but this theory remains unproven. The earliest references to the Medes appear in Assyrian inscriptions from the 9th century BC, where their land is called "Madai." The name was recorded during the campaigns of Shalmaneser III in the Zagros region. Most historians consider the Medes an Iranian people who migrated to the Iranian Plateau during the early first millennium BC. Their language belonged to the Old Iranian family and was closely related to Persian. From about 700 BC to 550 BC, the Medes ruled much of the Iranian Plateau. Their capital was Ecbatana (modern Hamadan), and their lands included parts of modern Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Lorestan. The main Median kings were Deioces, Phraortes, Cyaxares, and Astyages. In 550 BC, Cyrus the Great defeated Astyages and ended the Median Kingdom. However, he adopted many Median administrative traditions and incorporated them into the Achaemenid Empire, which is why the Medes are often seen as the foundation of the Achaemenid state.