Smith's Bible Dictionary
Ragesan important city in northeastern Media, where that country bordered its ruins, still known by the name of Rhey , lie about five miles southeast of Teheran.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
RAGES; RAGAUra'-jez, ra'-go
1. Location:
("Rages," Tobit 1:14; 4:1, 20; 5:05; 6:9, 12; 9:02; "Ragau," Judith 1:5, 15; Rhagai, Rhaga, Rhage, Rhagau; in Darius' Behistun Inscriptions, II, 71, 72, Raga, a province; in Avesta, Vend. I, 15, Ragha, city and province; perhaps, "the excellent"): In Eastern Media, one forced march from Caspian Gates, 11 days' journey from Ecbatana, 5 1/2 miles South of present Tehran; the capital of the province of the same name, though by Ptolemy called Rhagiana.
2. History:
(1) Ancient.
A very ancient city, the traditional birthplace of Zoroaster (Zarathustra; Pahlavi Vendidad, Zad sparad XVI, 12, and Dabistan i Mazahib). In Yasna XIX, 18, of the Avesta, it is thus mentioned: "The Zoroastrian, four-chief-possessing Ragha, hers are the royal chiefs, both the house-chief, the village-chief, and the town-chief: Zoroaster is the fourth." In Vend. I, 15: "As the tenth, the best of both districts and cities, I, who am Ahura Mazda, did create Ragha, which possesses the three classes," i.e. fire-priests, charioteers, husbandmen. Later it was the religious center of magism. A large colony of captive Israelites settled there. Destroyed in Alexander's time, it was rebuilt by Seleucus Nicator (circa 300 B.C.), who named it Europos. Later, Arsaces restored it and named it Arsacia.
(2) Medieval.
In the early Middle Ages Ragha, then called Rai, was a great literary and often political center with a large population. It was the birthplace of Harun'al Rashid (763 A.D.). It was seized and plundered (1029 A.D.) by Sultan Machmud, but became Tughril's capital. In the Vis o Roman (circa 1048 A.D.) it is an important place, 10 days journey across the Kavir desert from Merv. It was a small provincial town in about 1220 A.D. It was sacked by Mongols in 1220 A.D. and entirely destroyed under Ghazan Khan circa 1295. A Zoroastrian community lived there in 1278 A.D., one of whom composed the Zardtusht-Namah. (3) Present Condition.
Near the ruins there now stands the village of Shah Abdu'l 'Acim, connected with Tehran by the only railway in Persia (opened in 1888).
LITERATURE
Ptolemy, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Strabo; Ibnu'l Athir, Jami'u t Tawarikh, Tarikh i Jahan-gusha Yaqut; Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch; E.G. Browne, Literary Hist of Persia; modern travelers.
W. St. Clair Tisdall
Strong's Hebrew
7264. ragaz -- to be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited ...... 1), deeply moved (1), disturbed (2), enraged (1), excited (1), moved (1), provoke
(1), quake (1), quaked (2), quakes (2), quarrel (1),
rages (1), raging (4
... /hebrew/7264.htm - 6k 6231. ashaq -- to oppress, wrong, extort
... 1), defrauded (2), extorted (1), got (1), laden (1), oppress (11), oppressed (9),
oppresses (3), oppressor (2), oppressors (2), practiced (2), rages (1), rob (1 ...
/hebrew/6231.htm - 6k
2196. zaaph -- to be vexed, be enraged
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to be vexed, be enraged NASB Word Usage
dejected (1), enraged (2), looking...haggard (1), rages (1). ...
/hebrew/2196.htm - 6k
