CIMMERIANS
Homer,
writing in the ninth century BC, noted the existence of the Cimmerians
(or Kimmerioi in Greek texts). Many other Classical writers in subsequent
years also mentioned them, including Herodotus in the fifth century
BC, but the subject of the Cimmerians is a complicated one. In terms
of their origins they are generally associated with the Koban culture
of the northern Caucuses, and then the subsequent Chernogorovka
and Novocherkassk cultures of Ukraine and southern Russia. They
burst onto the historical stage in the ninth and eight centuries
BC, surprising the established civilisations of the Near East with
their ability to defeat powerful city states. They conquered and
looted until they were defeated themselves. After that they appear
to have broken up into various groups, at least one of which may
have settled in Tabal (Classical Cappadocia) in Anatolia, and others
in Thrace. But that's just half the story.
Although
the Cimmerians cannot specifically be located in any single location
before their appearance in Anatolia, it is generally agreed that
they originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe (the steppe lands to
the north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea). This region had long
been a breeding ground for pastoral horse-borne warrior groups,
ever since the Yamnaya Horizon of the mid-fourth millennium BC saw
the sudden expansion and migration of the Indo-European tribes.
Herodotus provided a very clear perspective of the peoples whom
he said lived to the north of the Black Sea, and he also placed
the Cimmerians on the Pontic steppe. More specifically, though,
it was suggested by Isaac Asimov in his massive historical work
that 'Cimmerium', the homeland of the Cimmerians, gave rise to the
Turkic toponym, Qirim. Through the spread of Turkic tribes into
the Pontic-Caspian steppe after the sixth century AD arrival of
the Göktürk empire, this became the basis of the name
'Crimea'. Whether this was the core of the Cimmerian homeland is
doubtful, but it probably fell within their sphere of influence.
The
Cimmerians have been linked to Celts and Thracians, based at least
partially on ancient Greek sources. Indications are that the Cimmerians
became associated with the Thracians around a large swathe of the
western coast of the Black Sea, and eventually merged with them
(following their final defeat and break-up). Carl Ferdinand Friedrich
Lehmann-Haupt stated that the language of the Cimmerians could have
been a 'missing link' between Thracian and Iranian. Both of these
were of Indo-European ancestry, so there was likely some basic similarities
between the languages. The Cimmerians have also been associated
with the Biblical Gomer or Gomerians. A quick check of Sanskrit
reveals that the basic word for a cow is 'go'. This is the same
in proto-Germanic. An educated guess would be that the tribal name
Gomer is derived from a word for cattle, just as Boii is derived
from a Celtic word for cows. Most Indo-European groups were great
pastoralists.
The
complications arise when considering the so-called 'Thraco-Cimmerian
Hypothesis', a rather controversial subject to say the least. This
concerns an Eastern Celtic 38 group, part of the Cimmerian-Scythian
people, who blasted their way into the historical record in the
eighth and seventh centuries BC, and eventually settled to a large
extent amongst the Thracian tribes (just as the Cimmerians are supposed
to have done). Some modern writers believe that a Thraco-Cimmerian
migration westwards out of Thrace (or several, more probably) triggered
cultural changes that contributed to the transformation of the Celts,
from the Hallstatt C culture into the La Tène. In fact, although
a specific Thraco-Cimmerian migration along the Danube is now less
supported, it is undeniable that a Thraco-Cimmerian cultural influence
did make its way westwards. These were Indo-European groups who
at the very least shared the same cultural values, and martial equipment
- and probably language too - as the Thracians and Cimmerians, and
even Scythians.
Tying
archaeological evidence to the Thraco-Cimmerian hypothesis can sometimes
be dismissed by scholars (although not all of them). When studying
the hypothesis, Anne Kristiansen has focussed on a shift in production
centres from Hungary to Italy and the Alpine region. The weight
of evidence shows that there was a warrior culture of the horse/wagon
complex in the eighth century BC (such horse and wagon peoples were
typical of Pontic-Caspian steppe cultures, and they persisted in
the region for a surprisingly long time). From a Central European
perspective, this particular culture followed the Danube to the
Hallstatt regions of the east - Austria, and perhaps Bavaria, these
being the eastern limits of the core Celtic homeland. In successive
waves from the ninth to the sixth centuries BC they pushed further
west before veering off to the north. Ultimately, one branch followed
the course of the River Elbe and a second backtracked west from
the headwaters of the Rhine, heading north-east to the Elbe and
then north into Jutland (where it theoretically formed, or merged
with the ancestors of, the Cimbri). The entire Hallstatt complex
was altered with new male prestige weapons and specialised horse
tack and wagons that were new to the region, and these were associated
with new ruling elites, especially in eastern Central Europe. Kristiansen
considers the influences to be not only Cimmerian but also Scythian
(another nomadic horse-based group from the Pontic-Caspian steppe,
some of whom ventured into the Transoxiana region of Central Asia
to become better known as the Sakas).
David
Rankin also supported this theme. He wrote of the evidence that
Celtic peoples owed their origins to a specifically eastern warrior
culture which imposed itself upon an Eastern European culture of
the Urnfield or Lusatian type, and which introduced the lordly habit
of tumulus burial. Specific Thraco-Cimmerian archaeological finds
with the earliest known iron goods (along with bronze items), such
as horse bridles have been documented in the Balkans, along the
Danube corridor to Lake Zurich in Switzerland, and north to Denmark,
dated between the tenth and eighth centuries BC. It is now recognised
that some of the Thracian tribes may have been Celtic (or perhaps
more probably proto-Celtic, sharing close similarities with groups
in Austria and Bavaria). These incomers most likely brought typical
Balkan haplogroups into the western Celtic areas, probably decreasing
in numbers as a function of distance from their home base. The Bronze
Age shift to the Iron Age was not altogether smooth and had regional
features that delayed its introduction. Iron was in use in Greece
by 1000 BC (after the Doric invasions there), but not until 750
BC did Central Europe see its introduction (with the Iron Age Hallstatt
C Celts), and not until 500 BC did its use emerge in the Nordic
zone (amongst the early Germanic groups). Changes were gradual rather
than reflecting any sort of 'revolution'.
Among
the Celts, their original name (which is proposed here as being
Galat - see feature link, right) appears to survive best along the
fringes of their expansion. A group would become isolated sufficiently
on the borders so that they had no competitors who were using the
same name, and therefore had no reason to change that name (see,
for instance, Galatians, Caledonians, and Galicia). If the Cimmerian
name followed this pattern then the Cimbri of Jutland may indeed
be a Cimmerian/Celtic mix which retained their old name. Given the
close Indo-European relationship between all of these groups that
name could still have the original meaning of 'compatriots' or 'companions'
that is normally ascribed to the Cimbri. This still would not invalidate
the view of many modern scholars of them being a Germanic tribe
with Celtic influences.
Furthermore,
whilst the name of one of the most powerful Cimmerian leaders, the
very Celtic-seeming Tugdamme, may be a borrowing between different,
separated groups, it is far more likely to be a direct adoption
from one group into another by conquest or consolidation. The idea
that the emergence of the La Tène P-Celts was the result
of Hallstatt Q-Celts being influenced or taken over by nomadic Cimmerians/Scythians
or their associates is a very fascinating one. That something made
a change in material culture and language amongst the Celts is not
disputed, but what was it? The frustrating thing is that not enough
is known about Cimmerian language to know whether they were using
the same 'kw' sound as the Hallstatt Celts or whether they used
the substituted 'p' sound of the La Tène Celts. If the latter
then they may well have introduced this speech shift to the Celts,
along with many other innovations.
(Information
by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional information
from A Genetic Signal of Central European Celtic Ancestry, David
K Faux, from Asimov's Chronology of the World, Isaac Asimov, from
Who were the Cimmerians, and where did they come from? Anne Katrine
Gade Kristensen (Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Hist-fil.
Medd 57), from Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin (1996),
from The Civilisation of the East, Fritz Hommel (Translated by J
H Loewe, Elibron Classic Series, 2005), from Europe Before History,
Kristian Kristiansen, from The History of Esarhaddon (Son of Sennacherib)
King of Assyria, BC 681-688, Ernest A Budge, and from External Links:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, and The Balts, Marija Gimbutas (1963,
previously available online thanks to Gabriella at Vaidilute, but
still available as a PDF - click or tap on link to download or access
it), and Ancient Sinope: First Part, David M Robinson (The American
Journal of Philology, Vol 27 No 2, The Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1906, and available from JSTOR).)
c.1200
- 900 BC
:
The
proto-Baltic sphere has become divided into several zones of influence
during the Bronze Age. The western zone, covering eastern Poland,
the former region of Prussia, and western parts of Lithuania and
Latvia, is under the influence of the Central European metallurgical
centre. In the eastern or continental zone, amid the forests which
extend from eastern Lithuania and Latvia to the upper Volga basin,
the people retain an archaic character, with these eastern Balts
being in active contact with the Uralic-speaking Finno-Ugrians,
Cimmerians, proto-Scythians, and early Slavs.
Decaying
from late in the thirteenth century BC, the Hittite empire, and
probably Tarhuntassa, are looted and destroyed by various surrounding
peoples, including the Kaskans and Sea Peoples. Following the subsequent
dark age, the Armenians occupy eastern Anatolia by the eighth century
BC, although the region is often overrun by barbarian peoples from
the Pontic-Caspian steppe such as the proto-Cimmerians.
It
is during this period, nominally 1183-1173 BC, that Odysseus of
Ithaca rounds off his part in the successful defeat of Troy by conducting
a ten year voyage of discovery and adventure. Written down by Homer
in the ninth century BC, the text mentions a people called the Kimmerior.
They live beyond Oceanus (taken in this instance to mean the Black
Sea), in a land of fog and darkness at the edge of the world and
the entrance to Hades.
![](Cultures_YamnayaWagon01_full.jpg)
This
primitive Yamnaya Horizon wagon was unearthed at Lchashen, on the
western shore of Lake Sevan in modern Armenia in the South Caucuses,
but the style would have been very similar in the North Caucuses
and on the Pontic-Caspian steppe
c.900
BC
:
From around this date, rich, well-organised 'kingdoms' or 'chiefdoms'
develop in the Caucuses. They interact with civilisations to their
south, in Anatolia and Mesopotamia, usually by raiding into their
territory. Typical horse bits and cheek-pieces of an early Thraco-Cimmerian
type are found by archaeologists in the same region of the Caucuses.
The early Cimmerians here are generally associated with the Chernogorovka
and Novocherkassk cultures of Ukraine and southern Russia.
It
is later in this century that the Cimmerians are pushed out of their
homeland in the North Caucuses by the Scythians. The most probable
reason is over-population and increasing border tensions between
the two, but it is common for pastoral tribal groups to migrate
when conditions become too cramped. Possibly the Scythians have
jumped the gun and invaded Cimmerian territory before this can take
place. Either way, the Cimmerians are forced to move on, some seemingly
following the Black Sea coastline southwards until they meet the
kingdom of Kolkis. Others would seem to head west from their Pontic
homeland, circling the Black Sea until they make contact with Thracian
tribes.
The
Scythians acquire much of the Caucasian and Cimmerian cultural legacy
and mix them with their own Ponto-Caucasian cultural elements. These
oriental influences appreciably change the material culture of Central
Europe. The Baltic and Germanic cultures in Northern Europe remain
untouched by the Scythian incursions, but the new cultural elements
reached them through continuous commercial relations with Central
Europe, notably in relation to the Lusatian culture.
730s
- 720s BC
:
The
kingdom of Kolkis is overrun by Cimmerians and Scythians, and it
disintegrates. Whatever had taken place between Scythians and Cimmerians
in the previous century to push the latter out of their homeland,
the two seem to be acting in unison now.
It
seems to be around this time that the window for the 'Thraco-Cimmerian
Hypothesis' first opens. The Cimmerians and Scythians have suddenly
positioned themselves as a more powerful collection of tribes which
are not afraid of thundering around the Black Sea coast (on either
side of the sea itself) and waging war against established kingdoms.
It is known that Cimmerians later settle amongst the Thracian tribes,
so to be that welcome they must share some common points of interest,
such as language or culture.
The
common points would seem to be old Urnfield traditions in metalwork
mixed with new Cimmerian influences from the Caucuses. Could they
already be mixing with Thracians in this period, with some groups
beginning to explore further along the River Danube to enter regions
that are controlled by the Celts of the Hallstatt C culture and
also to influence the Illyrians on the western side of the Balkans?
The weight of evidence shows that there is indeed a warrior culture
of the horse/wagon complex in the eighth century BC and also a shift
in production centres from Hungary to Italy and the Alpine region.
This would match well with a Thraco-Cimmerian migration along the
Danube (whether in person or by osmosis through neighbouring migratory
groups).
In
successive waves from the ninth to the sixth centuries BC these
migrating warrior groups push west towards the headwaters of the
Danube before veering off to the north. Ultimately, one branch follows
the course of the River Elbe and a second backtracks west from the
headwaters of the Rhine, heading north-east to the Elbe and then
north into Jutland (where it theoretically forms, or merges with
the ancestors of, the Cimbri).
![](Celtic_Danube_Jewellery01_full.jpg)
Could
the 'Thraco-Cimmerian'-driven or influenced migration along the
Danube have brought with it the cultural changes that, around two
hundred years later, resulted in the burial of the 'Celtic princess'
at the Heuneburg, a centre of Celtic culture in south-western Germany
714
- 713 BC
:
Much to the shock of Sargon of Assyria, while his main army is occupied
in the east, Ambaris of Tabal allies himself with Midas of Phrygia
and Rusa of Urartu (possibly immediately before the latter's suicide),
as well as the local Tabalean rulers in an attempt to invade Que.
Sargon reacts quickly, invading Tabal and capturing Ambaris, his
family and the nobles of his country, all of whom are taken to Assyria.
Tabal is annexed as an Assyrian province. Sargon is noted for using
Cimmerians within his army on this campaign, possibly for their
knowledge of the Urartuan hills as much as their ability as mounted
warriors. Cimmerians have been raiding into Mesopotamia for decades.
712
BC
:
Two
years after he sacks the cult centre of Musasir, Sargon II of Assyria
sacks the neo-Hittite capital of Kummuhu. At the same time Cimmerians
and Scythians invade Anatolia and the city declines. It is possible
that Urartu also suffers from the same tribal incursions, and that
the people responsible eventually destroy the kingdom as they pass
through the region to control the central Zagros Mountains.
695
- 690 BC
:
Phrygia
loses the territory of Pergamum to Lydia about 695 BC, seemingly
upon the defeat and suicide of King Midas III. Five years later,
nomadic Cimmerian warriors overrun Phrygia and sack the capital,
Gordion. However, this Cimmerian sacking is also stated to be the
cause of Midas committing suicide, so the situation seems to be
mildly confused. Either way, Lydia becomes the dominant power in
western Anatolia whilst Phrygia is eclipsed.
During
this century the Cimmerians and Scythians seem to be wandering over
vast distances as warring groups and mercenaries. During the early
seventh century they also attack Lydia and Greek coastal cities
on the Aegean, and Herodotus states that they are later expelled
from there. Place names in Scythia show that Cimmerians are also
present in this region at some point. Further involvement, this
time when they are allied to the Thracian tribes of the Edoni and
Threres, supports a close social and cultural relationship with
at least some Thracians, which is confirmed by archaeological discoveries.
The Cimmerian presence in Anatolia is archaeologically much more
tenuous, probably revealing the briefness of their presence here.
Sinope, however, on the Black Sea's southern coast, is suggested
as a temporary headquarters for them.
fl
679 BC :
Te-ushpa-a
/ Te-us-pa-a / Teuspa : Cimmerian king. Killed in 679 BC?
679
BC
:
Esarhaddon
of Assyria conducts a campaign against the Cimmerians (or Gimirrai
as the Assyrians term them). He defeats them and their leader, Te-ushpa-a,
in the region of Hubusna (probably Hupisna-Cybistra), but the area
is not pacified. In the same year Esarhaddon's troops also fight
a war in Hilakku (Khilakku), and a few years later they punish the
Anatolian prince of Kundu (Cyinda) and Sissu (Sisium, modern Sis),
who has allied himself with Phoenician rebels against Assyrian rule.
The regions to the north of the Cilician plain repeatedly cause
trouble for Assyria.
![](Cimmerians_Warriors01_full.jpg)
This
image shows Cimmerians battling early Greeks - prior to the advent
of accepted 'Classical' Greece - with the mounted Cimmerians warriors
apparently being accompanied by their dogs (republican Romans did
much the same thing)
Te-ushpa-a
is described as a 'barbarous (?) soldier whose country [is] remote
[namely] in the territory of the country of Khu-pu-us-na (Khupushna),
together with the whole of his army, I ran through with the sword...'
How much of this is propaganda for a home audience and how much
fact is entirely unclear.
The
typical explanation given for Te-ushpa-a is incorrect. It does not
mean 'swelling with strength'. Instead the name is actually a title.
It begins with a pronoun 'te', probably meaning 'your'. The second
element is 'ushpa', meaning 'high, elevated'. It is cognate with
the English 'up', and the Welsh 'uchel', also meaning 'high, elevated',
from the proto-Celtic *ouxselo-, meaning 'high'. A rough translation
would be 'Your High [person]'. The 'te' pronoun is the same one
proposed as being placed in front of the deity (possible form) Waranis
or Warunaz (Uranus, Varuna) as it becomes 'tu-waranos' in Celtic,
the god Taranus/Taranis, otherwise known as Thor (see the introduction
for the kingdom of Upsal for this explanation). The final vowel
in his name is probably nominative (suffixes being something that
linguists tend to ignore).
fl
c.660 - 640 BC :
Tugdamme
/ Dugdammi : Cimmerian king of the 'Ummân-Manda'.
Median king?
c.660
BC
:
Tugdamme
(or Dugdammi, depending upon the translation of the ancient source
material) was also rendered in Greek as Lygdamis. He becomes a Cimmerian
king possibly by 660 BC, but is possibly not the only one as the
Cimmerians are a tribal group or several groups. The first attacks
carried out by him as king of the Ummân-Manda (nomads) seem
to be against Greek coastal cities in Anatolia, although the reason
for such attacks or for him leading his people around the Black
Sea coast to reach the Greek cities is unknown. Population pressure
is usually the cause of such semi-migratory expeditions, and this
would not be the first time that population pressure in the Pontic-Caspian
steppe has caused such a migration.
Fritz
Hommel has stated that Tugdamme must be an ancestor of the later
Cimmerian ruler, Sandakhshatra. He identifies this ruler as Cyaxares
of the Medians, implying that Tugdamme is Phraortes, which seems
far less likely than the Sandakhshatra connection. Instead, the
name Tugdamme strikes Edward Dawson as being Celtic, with an automatically
reconfiguration to the Celtic 'Togodumnos' being an easy leap. Given
the possibility that it may be Thraco-Cimmerians who influence the
Celtic progression from Hallstatt to La Tène culture during
the proposed migration west from the Black Sea, Tugdamme could be
a name type that is adopted by the Celts from the Cimmerian warrior
elite and is afterwards rendered as Togodumnos (or variants). The
alternative is that a reverse migration occurs from Central Europe,
perhaps of a small Celtic warrior group coming down the Danube to
take command of a Cimmerian group and impose a Celtic leader over
them.
653
BC
:
Tugdamme
begins to threaten the borders of the powerful Assyrian empire during
the reign of Ashurbanipal. Assyrian inscriptions record him as being
'King of the Saka and Qutium'. This is very telling, because it
suggests that he rules not only over his own Cimmerian people (which
is so obvious that it need not be mentioned), but also the Scythians
(identifying them as 'Saka', a form of the name that very soon becomes
prominent amongst Scythian groups to the east of the Caspian Sea,
in Transoxiana).
![](Cimmerians_Warriors02_full.jpg)
The
year 652 BC marked the apogee of Cimmerian power, with their conquest
of the kingdom of Lydia, but their supremacy would last only another
eleven or so years before defeat and total eclipse
The
'Qutium' in point would seem to be 'Gutium', homeland in the Zagros
Mountains between modern Iran and Iraq of the nomadic Gutians (often
thought to be the precursors of the Kurds). Clearly Tugdamme has
already conquered territory very close to the heartland of the Assyrian
empire, making it more possible that the Scythian masters of the
Medes at this time are in fact the Cimmerians.
Assyrian
inscriptions also refer to Tugdamme as 'Sar Kissati' which translates
as 'King of Kish' or 'King of the World'. Kish is an ancient and
highly important city state in southern Mesopotamia, which suggests
that Tugdamme now rules a vast area of land to the east and south
of the Assyrians.
652
BC
:
One
serious invasion of Anatolia by Cimmerians has already been repulsed,
with the states or regions of Hilakku, Lydia, and Tabal requesting
help from Assyria. Now the Cimmerians return (leader unknown, but
Greek tradition states that it is Tugdamme). King Gyges of Lydia
is killed during a second attack. His capital of Sardis is captured,
all except the citadel which manages to hold out. The fact that
it does suggests either that either the Cimmerians do not hang around
for long after their victory or that (as before) they are moved
along by an Assyrian force (with Ardys II of Lydia helping them
on their way at the point of a sword). Excavations at the site of
Sardis later discover a destruction layer that appears to be associated
with this event.
641
- 640 BC
:
After
more than a decade of controlling a vast domain, Tugdamme is now
defeated. Unfortunately the details of how this happens have failed
to survive, so the manner of his defeat and death are unknown. Strabo
suggests that Madyas, the Scythian overlord of the Medes, kills
him and defeats his forces. Ashurbanipal states that Marduk (also
Madyas?) defeats Tugdamme, which seems to support the idea that
it is not the Assyrians who kill him but his allies the Scythians.
This
would appear to be the point at which the Cimmerians largely break
up as a cohesive force. Elements settle in Tabal (Classical Cappadocia)
and Thrace, destroy Sinope, and may well also contribute greatly
to a thrust of hose-borne warrior groups migrating westwards along
the Danube to influence the Celts (even if this is only in terms
of cultural and military influences upon Indo-European elements
which are already migrating in that direction). Scythian culture
takes over in the Caucuses and Pontic steppe, so it is clear that
whatever Cimmerians remain there are no longer at all dominant or
powerful.
c.600
BC
:
The
Lydians conquer the southern Anatolian region of Pamphylia and expand
the kingdom in all directions, coming into direct contact with Greek
settlers in western Anatolia. During this period the kingdom is
bordered in the north-east by Scythians and Cimmerians, tribes which
are aggressive and unruly, although most of their antagonism is
directed towards Assyria. If Fritz Hommel is to believed, that may
also be heavily involved with the Medians.
![](Medes_Chariot01_full.jpg)
The
Cimmerians and Medians appear to have shared a history for the span
of about a generation, and with a shared Indo-European heritage
they may not have been too divided in cultural terms
fl
c.600 BC :
Sandakhshatra
: Son of Tugdamme? Cimmerian king. Median king?
c.600
BC :
Fritz
Hommel identifies Sandakhshatra with the ruler of Media, Cyaxares,
and his son, Ishtivegu, with Astyages. Both of these names are given
by Herodotus and can be tied to the Median kings, Huwaxshatra and
Ishtumegu, who ruled during or after a period of domination by Scythians.
Hommel also connects the earlier Cimmerian king, Tugdamme, as an
ancestor of Sandakhshatra.
The
name Sandakhshatra certainly does seem to be Indo-Iranian in form
(and far less Celtic than Tugdamme). Ed Dawson suggests that while
it may be Indo-Iranian, it may instead have been 'Iranianised' when
written down. Sandaksatru (or Sandakshatra) has an alternative form
of Sandakurru, son of the deity Sanda according to Manfred Mayrhofer,
although it would be interesting to see the reasoning behind that
assertion.
Dawson
prefers a spelling of Sandaxatru or Sandaxatra for the original
name, but the '-u' or '-a' ending is probably nominative, so even
better may be Sandaxatr or Sandaxater. This result leads to speculation
that the second element is an altered 'father', so translated perhaps
as 'Father Sanda'.
Ishtivegu
: Son. Median king?
fl
c.580s? BC :
A
breakdown of Ishtivegu's name is problematical. The Greek mangling
of his name, Astiages, indicates two things: firstly that the 'v'
in Ishtivegu is pronounced as a 'w'. Greeks couldn't spell a 'w'
in their alphabet and they still struggle with it verbally; secondly
the final 'u' of Ishtivegu is probably a nominative suffix. So the
name should be Ishtiweg. As for the language used, It does not appear
to be Celtic. Pokorny indicates that there is a short phrase as
a single word meaning 'I am' or 'he is' - alb. asht (*jesti, aor.
ishte), 'he is'. Very simply, 'alb.' literally means Albanian, while
'aor.' is short for 'aorist', both simple verbs in ancient Greek.
The only 'weg' that can be found is Germanic for 'fast, in motion',
and by extension a path on which to go fast, a 'way'. Greek and
German certainly do not fit together here, so for the moment the
source of Ishtivegu's name remains unknown.
fl
c.450 BC :
Antenor
II : Legendary Cimmerian leader.
Antenor
II is a legendary leader of the Cimmerians on the Black Sea coast.
He is also claimed by later legends as the ancestor of the Sicambri
Franks. Fourteen generations of descendants later these Cimmerians
are to be found in the forests of Germany to which they have migrated.
There they fend off the military attentions of Julius Caesar in
the first century BC.
![](Satala_Ruins01_full.jpg)
The
coast around the Black Sea was claimed as the original homeland
of the Franks by later, medieval authors, further obscuring an already
legendary origin in Scandinavia
According
to later Frankish legend, in honour of the mother of Priamus (great-grandson
of Antenor) the Cimmerians change the name of their tribe to Sicambri
(or, more probably, something closely resembling Cambri, which would
suggest that there is no name change at all - Cambri/Cimbri is close
enough to Cimmeri for this to be the very source of the later false
link to the Germanic Sicambri). Whilst the link to the Sicambri
can be discarded, this does seems to point to a specific tribe of
Cimmerians rather than all Cimmerians. The migration story itself
is likely to be an invention to explain to a medieval audience the
similarity between the Cambri and Cimmeri names.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/
AnatoliaCimmerians.htm