SCYTHIANS
![](Scythian_comb.jpg)
Scythian
comb from Solokha, early 4th century BC
![](Map-of-the-Pontic-Steppe.jpg)
Pontic
Steppe
![](steppe.jpg)
Pontic
Steppe
![](eurasiansteppe.gif)
Eurasian
Steppe
The
Scythians, also known as Scyth, Saka, Sakae, Iskuzai, or Askuzai,
were a nomadic people who dominated the Pontic steppe from about
the 7th century BC up until the 3rd century BC. They were part of
the wider Scythian cultures, stretching across the Eurasian Steppe,
which included many peoples that are distinguished from the Scythians.
A broad concept referring to all early Eurasian nomads as "Scythians"
has sometimes been used. Within this concept, the actual Scythians
are variously referred to as Pontic Scythians. Use of the term "Scythians"
for all early Eurasian nomads has, however, led to much confusion
in literature, and the validity of such terminology is controversial.
Other names for that concept are therefore preferable.
The
Scythians are generally believed to have been of Iranian origin.
They spoke a language of the Scythian branch of the Iranian languages,
and practiced a variant of ancient Iranian religion. Among the earliest
peoples to master mounted warfare, the Scythians replaced the Cimmerians
as the dominant power on the Pontic Steppe in the 8th century BC.
During this time they and related peoples came to dominate the entire
Eurasian Steppe from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to Ordos
Plateau in the east, creating what has been called the first Central
Asian nomadic empire. Based in what is modern-day Ukraine and southern
Russia, the Scythians called themselves Scoloti and were led by
a nomadic warrior aristocracy known as the Royal Scythians.
In
the 7th century BC, the Scythians crossed the Caucasus and frequently
raided the Middle East along with the Cimmerians, playing an important
role in the political developments of the region. Around 650–630
BC, Scythians briefly dominated the Medes of the western Iranian
Plateau, stretching their power to the borders of Egypt.
After
losing control over Media, the Scythians continued intervening in
Middle Eastern affairs, playing a leading role in the destruction
of the Assyrian Empire in the Sack of Nineveh in 612 BC. The Scythians
subsequently engaged in frequent conflicts with the Achaemenid Empire.
The Scythians suffered a major defeat against Macedonia in the 4th
century BC and were subsequently gradually conquered by the Sarmatians,
a related Iranian people living to their east. In the late 2nd century
BC, their capital at Scythian Neapolis in the Crimea was captured
by Mithridates VI and their territories incorporated into the Bosporan
Kingdom. By this time they had been largely Hellenized.
By
the 3rd century AD, the Sarmatians and last remnants of the Scythians
were dominated by the Alans, and were being overwhelmed by the Goths.
By the early Middle Ages, the Scythians and the Sarmatians had been
largely assimilated and absorbed by early Slavs. The Scythians were
instrumental in the ethnogenesis of the Ossetians, who are believed
to be descended from the Alans.
The
Scythians played an important part in the Silk Road, a vast trade
network connecting Greece, Persia, India and China, perhaps contributing
to the contemporary flourishing of those civilisations. Settled
metalworkers made portable decorative objects for the Scythians,
forming a history of Scythian metalworking. These objects survive
mainly in metal, forming a distinctive Scythian art.
The
name of the Scythians survived in the region of Scythia. Early authors
continued to use the term "Scythian", applying it to many
groups unrelated to the original Scythians, such as Huns, Goths,
Türks, Avars, Khazars, and other unnamed nomads. The scientific
study of the Scythians is called Scythology.
Names
:
Etymology :
Linguist Oswald Szemerényi studied synonyms of various origins
for Scythian and differentiated the following terms: Skuthes, Skudra,
Sug(u)da and Saka.
• Skuthes, Skudra, Sug(u)da descended from
the Indo-European root (s)kewd-, meaning "propel, shoot"
(cognate with English shoot). *skud- is the zero-grade form of the
same root. Szemerényi restores the Scythians' self-name as
*skuda (roughly "archer"). This yields the Ancient Greek
Skuthes (plural Skuthai) and the Assyrian Aškuz. The Old Armenian:
skiwt is based on itacistic Greek. A late Scythian sound change
from /d/ to /l/ established the Greek word Skolotoi, from the Scythian
*skula which, according to Herodotus, was the self-designation of
the Royal Scythians. Other sound changes have produced Sogdia.
• The term Saka reflected in Old Persian:
Saka, Latin: Sacae, Sanskrit: Shak, Saka comes from an Iranian verbal
root sak-, "go, roam" and thus means "nomad".
Although closely related, the Saka people are nomadic Iranians,
that are to be distinguished from the Scythians and inhabited the
northern and eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin.
Exonyms :
The name Scythian is derived from the name used for them by the
ancient Greeks. Iskuzai or Askuzai was the name given them by the
Assyrians. The ancient Persians used the term Saka for all nomads
of the Eurasian Steppe, including the Scythians.
Ethnonyms
:
Herodotus said the ruling class of the Scythians, whom he referred
to as the Royal Scythians, called themselves Skolotoi.
Modern
terminology :
In scholarship, the term Scythians generally refers to the nomadic
Iranian people who dominated the Pontic steppe from the 7th century
BC to the 3rd century BC.
The
Scythians share several cultural similarities with other populations
living to their east, in particular similar weapons, horse gear
and Scythian art, which has been referred to as the Scythian triad.
Cultures sharing these characteristics have often been referred
to as Scythian cultures, and its peoples called Scythians. Peoples
associated with Scythian cultures include not only the Scythians
themselves, who were a distinct ethnic group, but also Cimmerians,
Massagetae, Saka, Sarmatians and various obscure peoples of the
forest steppe, such as early Slavs, Balts and Finno-Ugric peoples.
Within this broad definition of the term Scythian, the actual Scythians
have often been distinguished from other groups through the terms
Classical Scythians, Western Scythians, European Scythians or Pontic
Scythians.
Scythologist
Askold Ivantchik notes with dismay that the term "Scythian"
has been used within both a broad and a narrow context, leading
to a good deal of confusion. He reserves the term "Scythian"
for the Iranian people dominating the Pontic steppe from the 7th
century BC to the 3rd century BC. Nicola Di Cosmo writes that the
broad concept of "Scythian" is "too broad to be viable",
and that the term "early nomadic" is preferable.
History
:
Origins :
Literary evidence :
![](512px-Herodotos_Met_91.8.jpg)
The
5th-century BC Greek historian Herodotus is the most important literary
source on the origins of the Scythians
The Scythians first appeared in the historical record in the 8th
century BC. Herodotus reported three contradictory versions as to
the origins of the Scythians, but placed greatest faith in this
version :
There
is also another different story, now to be related, in which I am
more inclined to put faith than in any other. It is that the wandering
Scythians once dwelt in Asia, and there warred with the Massagetae,
but with ill success; they therefore quitted their homes, crossed
the Araxes, and entered the land of Cimmeria.
Herodotus
presented four different versions of Scythian origins :
1.
Firstly (4.7), the Scythians' legend about themselves, which portrays
the first Scythian king, Targitaus, as the child of the sky-god
and of a daughter of the Dnieper. Targitaus allegedly lived a thousand
years before the failed Persian invasion of Scythia, or around 1500
BC. He had three sons, before whom fell from the sky a set of four
golden implements—a plough, a yoke, a cup and a battle-axe.
Only the youngest son succeeded in touching the golden implements
without them bursting with fire, and this son's descendants, called
by Herodotus the "Royal Scythians", continued to guard
them.
2. Secondly (4.8), a legend told by the Pontic Greeks featuring
Scythes, the first king of the Scythians, as a child of Hercules
and Echidna.
3. Thirdly (4.11), in the version which Herodotus said he believed
most, the Scythians came from a more southern part of Central Asia,
until a war with the Massagetae (a powerful tribe of steppe nomads
who lived just northeast of Persia) forced them westward.
4. Finally (4.13), a legend which Herodotus attributed to the Greek
bard Aristeas, who claimed to have got himself into such a Bachanalian
fury that he ran all the way northeast across Scythia and further.
According to this, the Scythians originally lived south of the Rhipaean
mountains, until they got into a conflict with a tribe called the
Issedones, pressed in their turn by the "one-eyed Arimaspians";
and so the Scythians decided to migrate westwards.
Accounts by Herodotus of Scythian origins has been discounted recently;
although his accounts of Scythian raiding activities contemporary
to his writings have been deemed more reliable.
Archaeological
evidence :
Modern interpretation of historical, archaeological and anthropological
evidence has proposed two broad hypotheses on Scythian origins.
The
first hypothesis, formerly more espoused by Soviet and then Russian
researchers, roughly followed Herodotus' (third) account, holding
that the Scythians were an Eastern Iranian-speaking group who arrived
from Inner Asia, i.e. from the area of Turkestan and western Siberia.
The
second hypothesis, according to Roman Ghirshman and others, proposes
that the Scythian cultural complex emerged from local groups of
the Srubna culture at the Black Sea coast, although this is also
associated with the Cimmerians. According to Pavel Dolukhanov this
proposal is supported by anthropological evidence which has found
that Scythian skulls are similar to preceding findings from the
Srubna culture, and distinct from those of the Central Asian Saka.
Yet, according to J. P. Mallory, the archaeological evidence is
poor, and the Andronovo culture and "at least the eastern outliers
of the Timber-grave culture" may be identified as Indo-Iranian.
Genetic
evidence :
![](Yamna-en.svg.jpg)
Yamna
Culture
In 2017, a genetic study of the Scythians suggested that the Scythians
were ultimately descended from the Yamna culture, and emerged on
the Pontic steppe independently of peoples belonging to Scythian
cultures further east. Based on the analysis of mithocondrial lineages,
another later 2017 study suggested that the Scythians were directly
descended from the Srubnaya culture. A later analysis of paternal
lineages, published in 2018, found significant genetic differences
between the Srubnaya and the Scythians, suggesting that the Srubnaya
and the Scythians instead traced a common origin in the Yamnaya
culture, with the Scythians and related peoples such as the Sarmatians
perhaps tracing their origin to the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppes
and the southern Urals. Another 2019 study also concluded that migrations
must have played a part in the emergence of the Scythians as the
dominant power of the Pontic steppe.
Early
history :
![](Gold_scythian_belt_title_from_Mingachevir,_Azerbaijan.JPG)
Gold
Scythian belt title, Mingachevir (ancient Scythian kingdom), Azerbaijan,
7th century BC
Herodotus provides the first detailed description of the Scythians.
He classifies the Cimmerians as a distinct autochthonous tribe,
expelled by the Scythians from the northern Black Sea coast (Hist.
4.11–12). Herodotus also states (4.6) that the Scythians consisted
of the Auchatae, Catiaroi, Traspians, and Paralatae or "Royal
Scythians".
In
the early 7th century BC, the Scythians and Cimmerians are recorded
in Assyrian texts as having conquered Urartu. In the 670s, the Scythians
under their king Bartatua raided the territories of the Assyrian
Empire. The Assyrian king Esarhaddon managed to make peace with
the Scythians by marrying off his daughter to Bartatua and by paying
a large amount of tribute. Bartatua was succeeded by his son Madius
ca. 645 BC, after which they launched a great raid on Palestine
and Egypt. Madius subsequently subjugated the Median Empire. During
this time, Herodotus notes that the Scythians raided and exacted
tribute from "the whole of Asia". In the 620s, Cyaxares,
leader of the Medes, treacherously killed a large number of Scythian
chieftains at a feast. The Scythians were subsequently driven back
to the steppe. In 612 BC, the Medes and Scythians participated in
the destruction of the Assyrian Empire at the Battle of Nineveh.
During this period of incursions into the Middle East, the Scythians
became heavily influenced by the local civilizations.
In
the 6th century BC, the Greeks had begun establishing settlements
along the coasts and rivers of the Pontic steppe, coming in contact
with the Scythians. Relations between the Greeks and the Scythians
appear to have been peaceful, with the Scythians being substantially
influenced by the Greeks, although the city of the Panticapaeum
might have been destroyed by the Scythians in the mid-century BC.
During this time, the Scythian philosopher Anacharsis traveled to
Athens, where he made a great impression on the local people with
his "barbarian wisdom".
War
with Persia :
![](556px-Xerxes_detail_three_types_of_Sakas_cleaned_up.jpg)
Reliefs
depicting the soldiers of the Achaemenid army, Xerxes I tomb, circa
480 BCE. The Achaemenids referred to all nomads to their north as
Saka, and divided them into three categories: The Saka tayai paradraya
("beyond the sea", presumably the Scythians), the Saka
tigraxauda ("with pointed caps"), and the Saka haumavarga
("Hauma drinkers", furthest East).
By the late 6th century BC, the Archaemenid king Darius the Great
had built Persia into becoming the most powerful empire in the world,
stretching from Egypt to India. Planning an invasion of Greece,
Darius first sought to secure his northern flank against Scythian
introads. Thus, Darius declared war on the Scythians. At first,
Darius sent his Cappadocian satrap Ariamnes with a vast fleet (estimated
at 600 ships by Herodotus) into Scythian territory, where several
Scythian nobles were captured. He then built a bridge across the
Bosporus and easily defeated the Thracians, crossing the Danube
into Scythian territory with a large army (700,000 men if one is
to believe Herodotus) in 512 BC. At this time Scythians were separated
into three major kingdoms, with the leader of the largest tribe,
King Idanthyrsus, being the supreme ruler, and his subordinate kings
being Scopasis and Taxacis.
Unable
to receive support from neighboring nomadic peoples against the
Persians, the Scythians evacuated their civilians and livestock
to the north and adopted a scorched earth strategy (the act of an
army destroying everything in an area such as food, buildings, or
equipment that could be useful to an enemy), while simultaneously
harassing the extensive Persian supply lines.
Suffering
heavy losses, the Persians reached as far as the Sea of Azov, until
Darius was compelled to enter into negotiations with Idanthyrsus,
which, however, broke down. Darius and his army eventually reatreated
across the Danube back into Persia, and the Scythians thereafter
earned a reputation of invincibility among neighboring peoples.
Golden
Age :
In the aftermath of the their defeat of the Persian invasion, Scythian
power grew considerably, and they launched campaigns against their
Thracian neighbors in the west. In 496 BC, the Scythians launched
an great expedition into Thrace, reaching as far as Chersonesos.
During this time they negotiated an alliance with the Achaemenid
Empire against the Spartan king Cleomenes I. A prominent king of
the Scythians in the 5th century was Scyles.
The
Scythian offensive against the Thracians was checked by the Odrysian
kingdom. The border between the Scythians and the Odrysian kingdom
was thereafter set at the Danube, and relations between the two
dynasties were good, with dynastic marriages frequently occurring.
The Scythians also expanded towards the north-west, where they destroyed
numerous fortified settlements and probably subjucated numerous
settled populations. A similar fate was suffered by the Greek cities
of the northwestern Black Sea coast and parts of the Crimea, over
which the Scythians established political control. Greek settlements
along the Don River also came under the control of the Scythians.
A
division of responsibility developed, with the Scythians holding
the political and military power, the urban population carrying
out trade, and the local sedentary population carrying out manual
labor. Their territories grew grain, and shipped wheat, flocks,
and cheese to Greece. The Scythians apparently obtained much of
their wealth from their control over the slave trade from the north
to Greece through the Greek Black Sea colonial ports of Olbia, Chersonesos,
Cimmerian Bosporus, and Gorgippia.
When
Herodotus wrote his Histories in the 5th century BC, Greeks distinguished
Scythia Minor, in present-day Romania and Bulgaria, from a Greater
Scythia that extended eastwards for a 20-day ride from the Danube
River, across the steppes of today's East Ukraine to the lower Don
basin.
Scythian
offensives against the Greek colonies of the northeastern Black
Sea coast were largely unsuccessful, as the Greeks united under
the leadership of the city of Panticapaeum and put up a vigorous
defence. These Greek cities developed into the Bosporan Kingdom.
Meanwhile, several Greek colonies formerly under Scythian control
began to reassert their independence. It is possible that the Scythians
were suffering from internal troubles during this time. By the mid-4th
century BC, the Sarmatians, a related Iranian people living to the
east of the Scythians, began expanding into Scythian territory.
![](Skiluros.jpg)
Scythian king Skilurus, relief from Scythian Neapolis, Crimea,
2nd century BC
The 4th century BC was a flowering of Scythian culture. The Scythian
king Ateas managed to unite under his power the Scythian tribes
living between the Maeotian marshes and the Danube, while simultaneously
enroaching upon the Thracians. He conquered territories along the
Danube as far the Sava river and established a trade route from
the Black Sea to the Adriatic, which enabled a flourishing of trade
in the Scythian kingdom. The westward expansion of Ateas brought
him into conflict with Philip II of Macedon (reigned 359 to 336
BC), with whom he had previously been allied, who took military
action against the Scythians in 339 BC. Ateas died in battle, and
his empire disintegrated. Philip's son, Alexander the Great, continued
the conflict with the Scythians. In 331 BC, his general Zopyrion
invaded Scythian territory with a force of 30,000 men, but was routed
and killed by the Scythians near Olbia.
Decline
:
In the aftermath of conflict between Macedon and the Scythians,
the Celts seem to have displaced the Scythians from the Balkans;
while in south Russia, a kindred tribe, the Sarmatians, gradually
overwhelmed them. In 310–309 BC, as noted by Diodorus Siculus,
the Scythians, in alliance with the Bosporan Kingdom, defeated the
Siraces in a great battle at the river Thatis.
By
the early 3rd century BC, the Scythian culture of the Pontic steppe
suddenly disappears. The reasons for this are controversial, but
the expansion of the Sarmatians certainly played a role. The Scythians
in turn shifted their focus towards the Greek cities of the Crimea.
![](Roman_Empire_125_(cropped).png)
The territory of the Scythae Basilaei ("Royal Scyths")
along the north shore of the Black Sea around 125 AD
By around 200 BC, the Scythians had largely withdrawn into the Crimea.
By the time of Strabo's account (the first decades AD), the Crimean
Scythians had created a new kingdom extending from the lower Dnieper
to the Crimea, centered at Scythian Neapolis near modern Simferopol.
They had become more settled and were intermingling with the local
populations, in particular the Tauri, and were also subjected to
Hellenization. They maintained close relations with the Bosporan
Kingdom, with whose dynasty they were linked by marriage. A separate
Scythian territory, known as Scythia Minor, existed in modern-day
Dobruja, but was of little significance.
In
the 2nd century BC, the Scythian kings Skilurus and Palakus sought
to exent their control over the Greek cities of north of the Black
Sea. The Greek cities of Chersonesus and Olbia in turn requested
the aid Mithridates the Great, king of Pontus, whose general Diophantus
defeated their armies in battle, took their capital and annexed
their territory to the Bosporan Kingdom. After this time, the Scythians
practically disappeared from history. Scythia Minor was also defeated
by Mithridates.
In
the years after the death of Mithridates, the Scythians had transitioned
to a settled way of life and were assimilating into neighboring
populations. They made a resurgence in the 1st century AD and laid
siege to Chersonesos, who were obliged to seek help from the Roman
Empire. The Scythians were in turn defeated by Roman commander Tiberius
Plautius Silvanus Aelianus. By the 2nd century AD, archaeological
evidence show that the Scythians had been largely assimilated by
the Sarmatians and Alans. The capital city of the Scythians, Scythian
Neapolis, was destroyed by migrating Goths in the mid-3rd century
AD. In subsequent centuries, remaining Scythians and Sarmatians
were largely assimilated by early Slavs. The Scythians and Sarmatians
played an instrumental role in the ethnogenesis of the Ossetians,
who are considered direct descendants of the Alans.
Archaeology
:
![](Avar%E1rok.JPG)
Scythian
defence line 339 BC reconstruction in Polgár, Hungary
Archaeological remains of the Scythians include kurgan tombs (ranging
from simple exemplars to elaborate "Royal kurgans" containing
the "Scythian triad" of weapons, horse-harness, and Scythian-style
wild-animal art), gold, silk, and animal sacrifices, in places also
with suspected human sacrifices. Mummification techniques and permafrost
have aided in the relative preservation of some remains. Scythian
archaeology also examines the remains of cities and fortifications.
Scythian
archaeology can be divided into three stages :
•
Early Scythian – from the mid-8th or the
late 7th century BC to about 500 BC
• Classical Scythian or Mid-Scythian
– from about 500 BC to about 300 BC
• Late Scythian –
from about 200 BC to the mid-3rd century CE, in the Crimea and the
Lower Dnieper, by which time the population was settled.
Early Scythian :
In the south of Eastern Europe, Early Scythian culture replaced
sites of the so-called Novocherkassk type. The date of this transition
is disputed among archaeologists. Dates ranging from the mid-8th
century to the late 7th century BC have been proposed. A transition
in the late 8th century has gained the most scholarly support. The
origins of the Early Scythian culture is controversial. Many of
its elements are of Central Asian origin, but the culture appears
to have reached its ultimate form on the Pontic steppe, partially
through the influence of North Caucasian elements and to a smaller
extent the influence of Near Eastern elements.
The
period in the 8th and 7th centuries BC when the Cimmerians and Scythians
raided the Near East are ascribed to the later stages of the Early
Scythian culture. Examples of Early Scythian burials in the Near
East include those of Norsuntepe and Imirler. Objects of Early Scythian
type have been found in Urartian fortresses such as Teishebaini,
Bastam and Ayanis-kale. Near Eastern influences are probably explained
through objects made by Near Eastern craftsmen on behalf of Scythian
chieftains.
![](Throne_arm.jpg)
An arm from the throne of a Scythian king, 7th century BC.
Found at the Kerkemess kurgan, Krasnodar Krai in 1905. On exhibit
at the Hermitage Museum
Early Scythian culture is known primarily from its funerary sites,
because the Scythians at this time were nomads without permanent
settlements. The most important sites are located in the northwestern
parts of Scythian territories in the forest steppes of the Dnieper,
and the southeastern parts of Scythian territories in the North
Caucasus. At this time it was common for the Scythians to be buried
in the edges of their territories. Early Scythian sites are characterized
by similar artifacts with minor local variations.
Kurgans
from the Early Scythian culture have been discovered in the North
Caucasus. Some if these are characterized by great wealth, and probably
belonged royals of aristocrats. They contain not only the deceased,
but also horses and even chariots. The burial rituals carried out
in these kurgans correspond closely with those described by Herodotus.
The greatest kurgans from the Early Scythian culture in the North
Caucasus are found at Kelermesskaya, Novozavedennoe II (Ulsky Kurgans)
and Kostromskaya. One kurgan at Ulsky was found measured at 15 metres
in height and contained more than 400 horses. Kurgans from the 7th
century BC, when the Scythians were raiding the Near East, typically
contain objects of Near Eastern origin. Kurgans from the late 7th
century, however, contain few Middle Eastern objects, but, rather,
objects of Greek origin, pointing to increased contacts between
the Scythians and Greek colonists.
![](dnieperriver.jpg)
Dnieper
River
Important
Early Scythian sites have also been found in the forest steppes
of the Dnieper. The most important of these finds is the Melgunov
Kurgan. This kurgan contains several objects of Near Eastern origin
so similar to those found at the kurgan in Kelermesskaya that they
were probably made in the same workshop. Most of the Early Scythian
sites in this area are situated along the banks of the Dnieper and
its tributaries. The funerary rites of these sites are similar but
not identical to those of the kurgans in the North Caucasus.
Important
Early Scythian sites have also been discovered in the areas separating
the North Caucasus and the forest steppes. These include the Krivorozhskii
kurgan on the eastern banks of the Donets, and the Temir-gora kurgan
in the Crimea. Both date to the 7th century BC and contain Greek
imports. The Krivorozhskii also display Near Eastern influences.
![](640px-Placa_en_forma_de_c%E9rvol_tombat,_trobada_al_t%FAmul_de_Kostromskoy_a_Kuban,_segle_VII_aC.jpg)
The famous gold stag of Kostromskaya, Russia
Apart from funerary sites, numerous settlements from the Early Scythian
period have been discovered. Most of these settlements are located
in the forest steppe zone and are non-fortified. The most important
of these sites in the Dnieper area are Trakhtemirovo, Motroninskoe
and Pastyrskoe. East of these, at the banks of the Vorskla River,
a tributary of the Dnieper, lies the Bilsk settlement. Occupying
an area of 4,400 hectares with an outer rampart at over 30 km, Bilsk
is the largest settlement in the forest steppe zone. It has been
tentatively identified by a team of archaeologists led by Boris
Shramko as the site of Gelonus, the purported capital of Scythia.
Another
important large settlement can be found at Myriv. Dating from the
7th and 6th centuries BC, Myriv contains a significant amount of
imported Greek objects, testifying to lively contacts with Borysthenes,
the first Greek colony established on the Pontic steppe (ca. 625
BC). Within the ramparts in these settlements there were areas without
buildings, which were probably occupied by nomadic Scythians seasonally
visiting the sites.
The
Early Scythian culture came to an end in the latter part of the
6th century BC.
Classical
Scythian :
![](Scythian_capital_and_royal_kurgans.png)
Distribution
of Scythian kurgans and other sites along the Dnieper Rapids during
the Classical Scythian period
By the end of the 6th century BC, a new period begins in the material
culture of the Scythians. Certain scholars consider this a new stage
in the Scythian culture, while others consider it an entirely new
archaeological culture. It is possible that this new culture arose
through the settlement of a new wave of nomads from the east, who
intermingled with the local Scythians. The Classical Scythian period
saw major changes in Scythian material culture, both with regards
to weapons and art style. This was largely through Greek influence.
Other elements had probably been brought from the east.
Like
in Early Scythian culture, the Classical Scythian culture is primarily
represented through funerary sites. The area of distribution of
these sites has, however, changed. Most of them, including the richest,
are located on the Pontic steppe, in particular the area around
the Dnieper Rapids.
At
the end of the 6th century BC, new funerary rites appeared, characterized
by more complex kurgans. This new style was rapidly adopted throughout
Scythian territory. Like before, elite burials usually contained
horses. A buried king was usually accompanied with multiple people
from his entourage. Burials containing both males and females are
quite common both in elite burials and in the burials of the common
people.
The
most important Scythian kurgans of the Classical Scythian culture
in the 6th and 5th centuries BC are Ostraya Tomakovskaya Mogila,
Zavadskaya Mogila 1, Novogrigor'evka 5, Baby and Raskopana Mogila
in the Dnieper Rapids, and the Zolotoi and Kulakovskii kurgans in
the Crimea.
The
greatest, so-called "royal" kurgans of the Classical Scythian
culture are dated to the 4th century BC. These include Solokha,
Bol'shaya Cymbalka, Chertomlyk, Oguz, Alexandropol and Kozel. The
second greatest, so-called "aristocratic" kurgans, include
Berdyanskii, Tolstaya Mogila, Chmyreva Mogila, Five Brothers 8,
Melitopolsky, Zheltokamenka and Krasnokutskii.
![](640px-West_side_of_a_barrow_-_panoramio.jpg)
West side of the Kozel Kurgans
Excavation
at kurgan Sengileevskoe-2 found gold bowls with coatings indicating
a strong opium beverage was used while cannabis was burning nearby.
The gold bowls depicted scenes showing clothing and weapons.
By
the time of Classical Scythian culture, the North Caucasus appears
to no longer be under Scythian control. Rich kurgans in the North
Caucasus have been found at the Seven Brothers Hillfort, Elizavetovka
and Ulyap, but although they contain elements of Scythian culture,
these probably belonged to an unrelated local population. Rich kurgans
of the forest steppe zone from the 5th and 4th centuries BC have
been discovered at places such as Ryzhanovka, but these are not
as grand as the kurgans of the steppe further south.
Funerary
sites with Scythian characteristics have also been discovered in
several Greek cities. These include several unusually rich burials
such as Kul-Oba (near Panticapaeum in the Crimea) and the necropolis
of Nymphaion. The sites probably represent Scythian aristocrats
who had close ties, if not family ties, with the elite of Nymphaion
and aristocrats, perhaps even royals, of the Bosporan Kingdom.
In
total, more than 3,000 Scythian funerary sites from the 4th century
BC have been discovered on the Pontic steppe. This number far exceeds
the number of all funerary sites from previous centuries.
Apart
from funerary sites, remains of Scythian cities from this period
have been discovered. These include both continuations from the
Early Scythian period and newly founded settlements. The most important
of these is the settlement of Kamenskoe on the Dniepr, which existed
from the 5th century to the beginning of the 3rd century BC. It
was a fortified settlement occupying an area of 12 square km. The
chief occupation of its inhabitants appears to have been metalworking,
and the city was probably an important supplier of metalwork for
the nomadic Scythians. Part of the population was probably composed
of agriculturalists. It is likely that Kamenskoe also served as
a political center in Scythia. A significant part of Kamenskoe was
not built up, perhaps to set it aside for the Scythian king and
his entourage during their seasonal visits to the city. János
Harmatta suggests that Kamenskoe served as a residence for the Scythian
king Ateas.
By
the 4th century, it appears that some of the Scythians were adopting
an agricultural way of life similar to the peoples of the forest
steppes. As a result, a number of fortified and non-fortified settlements
spring up in the areas of the lower Dnieper. Part of the settled
inhabitants of Olbia were also of Scythian origin.
Classical
Scythian culture lasts until the late 4th century or early 3rd century
BC.
Late
Scythian :
![](Simferopol,_Scythian_Neapolis,_2016.06.17_(04)_(29608182661).jpg)
Remains
of Scythian Neapolis near modern-day Simferopol, Crimea. It served
as a political center of the Scythians in the Late Scythian period
The last period in the Scythian archaeological culture is the Late
Scythian culture, which existed in the Crimea and the Lower Dnieper
from the 3rd century BC. This area was at the time mostly settled
by Scythians.
Archaeologically
the Late Scythian culture has little in common with its predecessors.
It represents a fusion of Scythian traditions with those of the
Greek colonists and the Tauri, who inhabited the mountains of the
Crimea. The population of the Late Scythian culture was mainly settled,
and were engaged in stockbreeding and agriculture. They were also
important traders, serving as intermediaries between the classical
world and the barbarian world.
Recent
excavations at Ak-Kaya/Vishennoe implies that this site was the
political center of the Scythians in the 3rd century BC and the
early part of the 2nd century BC. It was a well-protected fortress
constructed in accordance with Greek principles.
The
most important site of the Late Crimean culture is Scythian Neaoplis,
which was located in Crimea and served as the capital of the Late
Scythian kingdom from the early 2nd century BC to the beginning
of the 3rd century AD. Scythian Neapolis was largely constructed
in accordance with Greek principles. Its royal palace was destroyed
by Diophantus, a general of the Pontic king Mithridates VI, at the
end of the 2nd century BC, and was not rebuilt. The city nevertheless
continued to exist as a major urban center. It underwent significant
change from the 1st century to the 2nd century AD, eventually being
left with virtually no buildings except from its fortifications.
New funerary rites and material features also appear. It is probable
that these changes represent the assimilation of the Scythians by
the Sarmatians. A certain continuity is, however, observable. From
the end of the 2nd century to the middle of the 3rd century AD,
Scythian Neapolis transforms into a non-fortified settlement containing
only a few buildings.
Apart
from Scythian Neapolis and Ak-Kaya/Vishennoe, more than 100 fortified
and non-fortified settlements from the Late Scythian culture have
been discovered. They are often accompanied by a necropolis. Late
Scythian sites are mostly found in areas around the foothills of
the Crimean mountains and along the western coast of the Crimea.
Some of these settlements had earlier been Greek settlements, such
as Kalos Limen and Kerkinitis. Many of these coastal settlements
served as trading ports.
The
largest Scythian settlements after Neapolis and Ak-Kaya-Vishennoe
were Bulganak, Ust-Alma and Kermen-Kyr. Like Neapolis and Ak-Kaya,
these are characterized by a combination of Greek architectural
principles and local ones.
A
unique group of Late Scythian settlements were city-states located
on the banks of the Lower Dnieper. The material culture of these
settlements was even more Hellenized than those on the Crimea, and
they were probably closely connected to Olbia, if not dependent
it.
Burials
of the Late Scythian culture can be divided into two kurgans and
necropolises, with necropolises becoming more and more common as
time progresses. The largest such necropolis has been found at Ust-Alma.
Because
of close similarities between the material culture of the Late Scythians
and that of neighbouring Greek cities, many scholars have suggested
that Late Scythian cites, particularly those of the Lower Dnieper,
were populated at last partly by Greeks. Influences of Sarmatian
elements and the La Tène culture have been pointed out.
The
Late Scythian culture ends in the 3rd century AD.
Culture
and society :
![](image.jpg)
Kurgan
stelae of a Scythian at Khortytsia, Ukraine
Since the Scythians did not have a written language, their non-material
culture can only be pieced together through writings by non-Scythian
authors, parallels found among other Iranian peoples, and archaeological
evidence.
Tribal
divisions :
Scythians lived in confederated tribes, a political form of voluntary
association which regulated pastures and organised a common defence
against encroaching neighbours for the pastoral tribes of mostly
equestrian herdsmen. While the productivity of domesticated animal-breeding
greatly exceeded that of the settled agricultural societies, the
pastoral economy also needed supplemental agricultural produce,
and stable nomadic confederations developed either symbiotic or
forced alliances with sedentary peoples—in exchange for animal
produce and military protection.
Herodotus
relates that three main tribes of the Scythians descended from three
sons of Targitaus: Lipoxais, Arpoxais, and Colaxais. They called
themselves Scoloti, after one of their kings. Herodotus writes that
the Auchatae tribe descended from Lipoxais, the Catiari and Traspians
from Arpoxais, and the Paralatae (Royal Scythians) from Colaxais,
who was the youngest brother. According to Herodotus the Royal Scythians
were the largest and most powerful Scythian tribe, and looked "upon
all the other tribes in the light of slaves."
Although
scholars have traditionally treated the three tribes as geographically
distinct, Georges Dumézil interpreted the divine gifts as
the symbols of social occupations, illustrating his trifunctional
vision of early Indo-European societies: the plough and yoke symbolised
the farmers, the axe—the warriors, the bowl—the priests.
The first scholar to compare the three strata of Scythian society
to the Indian castes was Arthur Christensen. According to Dumézil,
"the fruitless attempts of Arpoxais and Lipoxais, in contrast
to the success of Colaxais, may explain why the highest strata was
not that of farmers or magicians, but, rather, that of warriors."
Warfare
:
![](635px-Scythians_shooting_with_bows_Kertch_antique_Panticapeum_Ukrainia_4th_century_BCE.jpg)
Scythian
archers shooting with the Scythian bow, Kerch (ancient Panticapeum),
Crimea, 4th century BC. The Scythians were skilled archers, and
their style of archery influenced that of the Persians and subsequently
other nations, including the Greeks.
The Scythians were a warlike people. When engaged at war, almost
the entire adult population, including a large number of women,
participated in battle. The Athenian historian Thucydides noted
that no people in either Europe or Asia could resist the Scythians
without outside aid.
Scythians
were particularly known for their equestrian skills, and their early
use of composite bows shot from horseback. With great mobility,
the Scythians could absorb the attacks of more cumbersome footsoldiers
and cavalry, just retreating into the steppes. Such tactics wore
down their enemies, making them easier to defeat. The Scythians
were notoriously aggressive warriors. Ruled by small numbers of
closely allied elites, Scythians had a reputation for their archers,
and many gained employment as mercenaries. Scythian elites had kurgan
tombs: high barrows heaped over chamber-tombs of larch wood, a deciduous
conifer that may have had special significance as a tree of life-renewal,
for it stands bare in winter.
The
Ziwiye hoard, a treasure of gold and silver metalwork and ivory
found near the town of Sakiz south of Lake Urmia and dated to between
680 and 625 BC, includes objects with Scythian "animal style"
features. One silver dish from this find bears some inscriptions,
as yet undeciphered and so possibly representing a form of Scythian
writing.
Scythians
also had a reputation for the use of barbed and poisoned arrows
of several types, for a nomadic life centred on horses—"fed
from horse-blood" according to Herodotus—and for skill
in guerrilla warfare.
Some
Scythian-Sarmatian cultures may have given rise to Greek stories
of Amazons. Graves of armed females have been found in southern
Ukraine and Russia. David Anthony notes, "About 20% of Scythian-Sarmatian
'warrior graves' on the lower Don and lower Volga contained females
dressed for battle as if they were men, a style that may have inspired
the Greek tales about the Amazons."
Metallurgy
:
Though a predominantly nomadic people for much of their history,
the Scythians were skilled metalworkers. Knowledge of bronze working
was present when the Scythian people formed, by the 8th century
BC Scythian mercenaries fighting in the Near East had begun to spread
knowledge of iron working to their homeland. Archeological sites
attributed to the Scythians have been found to contain the remnants
of workshops, slag piles, and discarded tools, all of which imply
some Scythian settlements were the site of organized industry.
Clothing
:
![](Scythian_Warriors.jpg)
Scythian
warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the Kul-Oba
kurgan burial near Kerch, Crimea. The warrior on the right strings
his bow, bracing it behind his knee; note the typical pointed hood,
long jacket with fur or fleece trimming at the edges, decorated
trousers, and short boots tied at the ankle. Scythians apparently
wore their hair long and loose, and all adult men apparently bearded.
The gorytos appears clearly on the left hip of the bare-headed spearman.
The shield of the central figure may be made of plain leather over
a wooden or wicker base. (Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg)
According to Herodotus, Scythian costume consisted of padded and
quilted leather trousers tucked into boots, and open tunics. They
rode without stirrups or saddles, using only saddle-cloths. Herodotus
reports that Scythians used cannabis, both to weave their clothing
and to cleanse themselves in its smoke (Hist. 4.73–75); archaeology
has confirmed the use of cannabis in funerary rituals. Men seemed
to have worn a variety of soft headgear—either conical like
the one described by Herodotus, or rounder, more like a Phrygian
cap.
Costume
has been regarded as one of the main identifying criteria for Scythians.
Women wore a variety of different headdresses, some conical in shape
others more like flattened cylinders, also adorned with metal (golden)
plaques.
Scythian
women wore long, loose robes, ornamented with metal plaques (gold).
Women wore shawls, often richly decorated with metal (golden) plaques.
Based
on numerous archeological findings in Ukraine, southern Russia,
and Kazakhstan, men and warrior women wore long sleeve tunics that
were always belted, often with richly ornamented belts.
Men
and women wore long trousers, often adorned with metal plaques and
often embroidered or adorned with felt appliqués; trousers
could have been wider or tight fitting depending on the area. Materials
used depended on the wealth, climate and necessity.
Men
and women warriors wore variations of long and shorter boots, wool-leather-felt
gaiter-boots and moccasin-like shoes. They were either of a laced
or simple slip on type. Women wore also soft shoes with metal (gold)
plaques.
Men
and women wore belts. Warrior belts were made of leather, often
with gold or other metal adornments and had many attached leather
thongs for fastening of the owner's gorytos, sword, whet stone,
whip etc. Belts were fastened with metal or horn belt-hooks, leather
thongs and metal (often golden) or horn belt-plates.
Religion
:
Scythian religion was a type of Pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion
and differed from the post-Zoroastrian Iranian thoughts. The Scythian
belief was a more archaic (very old or old-fashioned) stage than
the Zoroastrian and Hindu systems. The use of cannabis to induce
trance and divination by soothsayers was a characteristic of the
Scythian belief system.
Our
most important literary source on Scythian religion is Herodotus.
According to him the leading deity in the Scythian pantheon was
Tabiti, whom he compared to the Greek god Hestia. Tabiti was eventually
replaced by Atar, the fire-pantheon of Iranian tribes, and Agni,
the fire deity of Indo-Aryans. Other deities mentioned by Herodotus
include Papaios, Api, Goitosyros/Oitosyros, Argimpasa and Thagimasadas,
whom he identified with Zeus, Gaia, Apollo, Aphrodite and Poseidon,
respectively. The Scythians are also said by Herodotus to have worshipped
equivalents of Heracles and Ares, but he does not mention their
Scythian names. An additional Scythian deity, the goddess Dithagoia,
is mentioned in the a dedication by Senamotis, daughter of King
Skiluros, at Panticapaeum. Most of the names of Scythian deities
can be traced back to Iranian roots.
Herodotus
states that Thagimasadas was worshipped by the Royal Scythians only,
while the remaining deities were worshipped by all. He also states
that "Ares", the god of war, was the only god to whom
the Scythians dedicated statues, altars or temples. Tumuli were
erected to him in every Scythian district, and both animal sacrifices
and human sacrifices were performed in honor of him. At least one
shrine to "Ares" has been discovered by archaeologists.
The
Scythians had professional priests, but it is not known if they
constituted a hereditary class. Among the priests there was a separate
group, the Enarei, who worshipped the goddess Argimpasa and assumed
feminine identities.
Scythian
mythology gave much importance to myth of the "First Man",
who was considered the ancestor of them and their kings. Similar
myths are common among other Iranian peoples. Considerable importance
was given to the division of Scythian society into three hereditary
classes, which consisted of warriors, priests and producers. Kings
were considered part of the warrior class. Royal power was considered
holy and of solar and heavenly origin. The Iranian principle of
royal charisma, known as khvarenah in the Avesta, played a prominent
role in Scythian society. It is probable that the Scythians had
a number of epic legends, which were possibly the source for Herodotus'
writings on them. Traces of these epics can be found in the epics
of the Ossetians of the present day.
In
Scythian cosmology the world was divided into three parts, with
the warriors, considered part of the upper world, the priests of
the middle level, and the producers of the lower one.
Art
:
![](image1.jpg)
Gold
pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal kurgan in Tolstaya Mogila,
Pokrov, Ukraine, dated to the second half of the 4th century BC,
of Greek workmanship. The central lower tier shows three horses,
each being torn apart by two griffins. Scythian art was especially
focused on animal figures.
The art of the Scythians and related peoples of the Scythian cultures
is known as Scythian art. It is particularly characterized by its
use of the animal style.
Scythian
animal style appears in an already established form Eastern Europe
in the 8th century BC along with the Early Scythian archaeological
culture itself. It bears little resemblance to the art of pre-Scythian
cultures of the area. Some scholars suggest the art style developed
under Near Eastern influence during the military campaigns of the
7th century BC, but the more common theory is that it developed
on the eastern part of the Eurasian Steppe under Chinese influence.
Others have sought to reconcile the two theories, suggesting that
the animal style of the west and eastern parts of the steppe developed
independently of each other, under Near Eastern and Chinese influences,
respectively. Regardless, the animal style art of the Scythians
differs considerable from that of peoples living further east.
Scythian
animal style works are typically divided into birds, ungulates and
beasts of prey. This probably reflects the tripatriate division
of the Scythian cosmos, with birds belonging to the upper level,
ungulates to the middle level and beasts of prey in the lower level.
Images
of mythological creatures such a griffins are not uncommon in Scythian
animal style, but these are probably the result of Near Eastern
influences. By the late 6th century, as Scythian activity in the
Near East was reduced, depictions of mythological creatures largely
disappears from Scythian art. It, however, reappears again in the
4th century BC as a result of Greek influence.
Anthropomorphic
depictions in Early Scythian art is known only from kurgan stelae.
These depict warriors with almond-shaped eyes and mustaches, often
including weapons and other military equipment.
Since
the 5th century BC, Scythian art changed considerably. This was
probably a result of Greek and Persian influence, and possibly also
internal developments caused by an arrival of a new nomadic people
from the east. The changes are notable in the more realistic depictions
of animals, who are now often depicted fighting each other rather
than being depicted individually. Kurgan stelae of the time also
display traces of Greek influences, with warriors being depicted
with rounder eyes and full beards.
The
4th century BC show additional Greek influence. While animal style
was still in use, it appears that much Scythian art by this point
was being made by Greek craftsmen on behalf of Scythians. Such objects
are frequently found in royal Scythian burials of the period. Depictions
of human beings become more prevalent. Many objects of Scythian
art made by Greeks are probably illustrations of Scythian legends.
Several objects are believed to have been of religious significance.
By
the late 3rd century BC, original Scythian art disappears through
ongoing Hellenization. The creation of anthropomorphic gravestones
continued, however.
Works
of Scythian art are held at many museums and has been featured at
many exhibitions. The largest collections of Scythian art are found
at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg and the Museum of Historical
Treasures of the Ukraine in Kyiv, while smaller collections are
found at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen in Berlin, the Ashmolean
Museum of Oxford, and the Louvre of Paris.
Language
:
![](Scythia-Parthia_100_BC.png)
The approximate extent of Eastern Iranian languages in the
1st century BC
The Scythians spoke a language belonging to the Scythian languages,
most probably a branch of the Eastern Iranian languages. Whether
all the peoples included in the "Scytho-Siberian" archaeological
culture spoke languages from this family is uncertain.
The
Scythian languages may have formed a dialect continuum: "Scytho-Sarmatian"
in the west and "Scytho-Khotanese" or Saka in the east.
The Scythian languages were mostly marginalised and assimilated
as a consequence of the late antiquity and early Middle Ages Slavic
and Turkic expansion. The western (Sarmatian) group of ancient Scythian
survived as the medieval language of the Alans and eventually gave
rise to the modern Ossetian language.
Anthropology
:
Physical and genetic analyses of ancient remains have concluded
that Scythians possessed predominantly features of Europoids. Some
mixed Mongoloid phenotypes were also present but more frequently
in eastern Scythians, suggesting that Scythians as a whole were
also descended partly from East Eurasian populations.
Physical
appearance :
![](620px-Skythian_archer_plate_BM_E135_by_Epiktetos.jpg)
An
Attic vase-painting of a Scythian archer (a police force in Athens)
by Epiktetos, 520–500 BC
In artworks, the Scythians are portrayed exhibiting Caucasoid traits.
In Histories, the 5th-century Greek historian Herodotus describes
the Budini of Scythia as red-haired and grey-eyed. In the 5th century
BC, Greek physician Hippocrates argued that the Scythians were light
skinned. In the 3rd century BC, the Greek poet Callimachus described
the Arismapes (Arimaspi) of Scythia as fair-haired. The 2nd-century
BC Han Chinese envoy Zhang Qian described the Sai (Saka), an eastern
people closely related to the Scythians, as having yellow (probably
meaning hazel or green) and blue eyes. In Natural History, the 1st-century
AD Roman author Pliny the Elder characterises the Seres, sometimes
identified as Saka or Tocharians, as red-haired, blue-eyed and unusually
tall. In the late 2nd century AD, the Christian theologian Clement
of Alexandria says that the Scythians and the Celts and long auburn
hair.
The
2nd-century Greek philosopher Polemon includes the Scythians among
the northern peoples characterised by red hair and blue-grey eyes.
In the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD, the Greek physician Galen
writes that Scythians, Sarmatians, Illyrians, Germanic peoples and
other northern peoples have reddish hair. The fourth-century Roman
historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote that the Alans, a people closely
related to the Scythians, were tall, blond and light-eyed. The fourth-century
bishop Gregory of Nyssa wrote that the Scythians were fair skinned
and blond haired. The 5th-century physician Adamantius, who often
follows Polemon, describes the Scythians are fair-haired. It is
possible that the later physical descriptions by Adamantius and
Gregory of Scythians refer to East Germanic tribes, as the latter
were frequently referred to as "Scythians" in Roman sources
at that time.
Genetics
:
In 2017, a genetic study of various Scythian cultures, including
the Scythians, was published in Nature Communications. The study
suggested that the Scythians arose independently of culturally similar
groups further east. Though all groups studies shared a common origin
in the Yamnaya culture, the presence of east Eurasian mitochondrial
lineages was largely absent among Scythians, but present among other
groups further east. Modern populations most closely related to
the Scythians were found to be populations living in proximity to
the sites studied, suggesting genetic continuity.
Another
2017 genetic study, published in Scientific Reports, found that
the Scythians shared common mithocondrial lineages with the earlier
Srubnaya culture. It also noted that the Scythians differed from
materially similar groups further east by the absence of east Eurasian
mitochondrial lineages. The authors of the study suggested that
the Srubnaya culture was the source of the Scythian cultures of
at least the Pontic steppe.
![](650px-Srubnaya_culture.jpg)
Srubnaya
Culture
In
2018, a genetic study of the earlier Srubnaya culture, and later
peoples of the Scythian cultures, including the Scythians, was published
in Science Advances. Members of the Srubnaya culture were found
to be exclusively carriers of haplogroup R1a1a1 (R1a-M417), which
showed a major expansion during the Bronze Age. Six male Scythian
samples from kurgans at Starosillya and Glinoe were successfully
analyzed. These were found to be carriers of haplogroup R1b1a1a2
(R1b-M269). The Scythians were found to be closely related to the
Afanasievo culture and the Andronovo culture. The authors of the
study suggested that the Scythians were not directly descended from
the Srubnaya culture, but that the Scythians and the Srubnaya shared
a common origin through the earlier Yamnaya culture. Significant
genetic differences were found between the Scythians and materially
similar groups further east, which underpinned the notion that although
materially similar, the Scythians and groups further east should
be seen as separate peoples belonging to a common cultural horizon,
which perhaps had its source on the eastern Pontic-Caspian steppe
and the southern Urals.
In
2019, a genetic study of remains from the Aldy-Bel culture of southern
Siberia, which is materially similar to that of the Scythians, was
published in Human Genetics. The majority of Aldy-Bel samples were
found to be carriers of haplogroup R1a, including two carriers of
haplogroup R1a1a1b2 (R1a-Z93). East Asian admixture was also detected.
The results indicated that the Scythians and the Aldy-Bel people
were of completely different paternal origins, with almost no paternal
gene flow between them.
In
2019, a genetic study of various peoples belonging to the Scythian
cultures, including the Scythians, was published in Current Biology.
The Scythians remains were mostly found to be carriers of haplogroup
R1a and various subclades of it. The authors of the study suggested
that migrations must have played a role in the emergence of the
Scythians as the dominant power on the Pontic steppe.
Legacy
:
Late Antiquity :
In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the name "Scythians"
was used in Greco-Roman literature for various groups of nomadic
"barbarians" living on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. This
includes Huns, Goths, Ostrogoths, Türks, Pannonian Avars and
Khazars. None of these peoples had any relation whatsoever with
the actual Scythians.
Byzantine
sources also refer to the Rus' raiders who attacked Constantinople
circa 860 in contemporary accounts as "Tauroscythians",
because of their geographical origin, and despite their lack of
any ethnic relation to Scythians. Patriarch Photius may have first
applied the term to them during the siege of Constantinople.
Early
Modern usage :
![](497px-Scythians_at_the_Tomb_of_Ovid_c._1640.jpg)
Scythians
at the Tomb of Ovid (c. 1640), by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld
Owing to their reputation as established by Greek historians, the
Scythians long served as the epitome of savagery and barbarism.
The
New Testament includes a single reference to Scythians in Colossians
3:11: in a letter ascribed to Paul, "Scythian" is used
as an example of people whom some label pejoratively, but who are,
in Christ, acceptable to God :
Here
there is no Greek or Jew. There is no difference between those who
are circumcised and those who are not. There is no rude outsider,
or even a Scythian. There is no slave or free person. But Christ
is everything. And he is in everything.
Shakespeare,
for instance, alluded to the legend that Scythians ate their children
in his play King Lear :
The
barbarous Scythian
Or he that makes his generation messes
To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom
Be as well neighbour'd, pitied, and relieved
As thou my sometime daughter
Characteristically,
early modern English discourse on Ireland, such as that of William
Camden and Edmund Spenser, frequently resorted to comparisons with
Scythians in order to confirm that the indigenous population of
Ireland descended from these ancient "bogeymen", and showed
themselves as barbaric as their alleged ancestors.
![](image2.jpg)
Romantic nationalism: Battle between the Scythians and the
Slavs (Viktor Vasnetsov, 1881)
Descent claims :
![](640px-Eug%E8ne_Delacroix_-_Ovide_chez_les_Scythes_(1862).jpg)
Eugène
Delacroix's painting of the Roman poet, Ovid, in exile among the
Scythians
Some legends of the Poles, the Picts, the Gaels, the Hungarians,
among others, also include mention of Scythian origins. Some writers
claim that Scythians figured in the formation of the empire of the
Medes and likewise of Caucasian Albania.
The
Scythians also feature in some national origin-legends of the Celts.
In the second paragraph of the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, the
élite of Scotland claim Scythia as a former homeland of the
Scots. According to the 11th-century Lebor Gabála Érenn
(The Book of the Taking of Ireland), the 14th-century Auraicept
na n-Éces and other Irish folklore, the Irish originated
in Scythia and were descendants of Fénius Farsaid, a Scythian
prince who created the Ogham alphabet.
The
Carolingian kings of the Franks traced Merovingian ancestry to the
Germanic tribe of the Sicambri. Gregory of Tours documents in his
History of the Franks that when Clovis was baptised, he was referred
to as a Sicamber with the words "Mitis depone colla, Sicamber,
adora quod incendisti, incendi quod adorasti." The Chronicle
of Fredegar in turn reveals that the Franks believed the Sicambri
to be a tribe of Scythian or Cimmerian descent, who had changed
their name to Franks in honour of their chieftain Franco in 11 BC.
In
the 17th and 18th centuries, foreigners regarded the Russians as
descendants of Scythians. It became conventional to refer to Russians
as Scythians in 18th-century poetry, and Alexander Blok drew on
this tradition sarcastically in his last major poem, The Scythians
(1920). In the 19th century, romantic revisionists in the West transformed
the "barbarian" Scyths of literature into the wild and
free, hardy and democratic ancestors of all blond Indo-Europeans.
Based
on such accounts of Scythian founders of certain Germanic as well
as Celtic tribes, British historiography in the British Empire period
such as Sharon Turner in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, made them
the ancestors of the Anglo-Saxons.
The
idea was taken up in the British Israelism of John Wilson, who adopted
and promoted the idea that the "European Race, in particular
the Anglo-Saxons, were descended from certain Scythian tribes, and
these Scythian tribes (as many had previously stated from the Middle
Ages onward) were in turn descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of
Israel." Tudor Parfitt, author of The Lost Tribes of Israel
and Professor of Modern Jewish Studies, points out that the proof
cited by adherents of British Israelism is "of a feeble composition
even by the low standards of the genre."
Related
ancient peoples :
Herodotus and other classical historians listed quite a number of
tribes who lived near the Scythians, and presumably shared the same
general milieu and nomadic steppe culture, often called "Scythian
culture", even though scholars may have difficulties in determining
their exact relationship to the "linguistic Scythians".
A partial list of these tribes includes the Agathyrsi, Geloni, Budini,
and Neuri.
•
Abii
• Agathyrsi
• Amardi
• Amyrgians
• Androphagi
• Budini
• Dahae
• Parni (ancestors of the Parthians)
• Gelonians
• Hamaxobii
• Huns
• Indo-Scythians
• Apracharajas
• Kambojs
• Massagetae
• Apasiacae
• Melanchlaeni
• Orthocorybantians
• Saka
• Sindi
• Spali
• Tapur
• Tauri
• Thyssagetae
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Scythians