AMARDI
The
Amardians, widely referred to as the Amardi (and sometimes Mardi),
were an ancient Iranian tribe living along the mountainous region
bordering the Caspian Sea to the north, to whom the Iron Age culture
at Marlik is attributed. They are said to be related to, or the
same tribe as, the Dahae and Sacae. That is to say, they were Scythian.
Herodotus mentions a tribe with a similar name as one of the ten
to fifteen Persian tribes in Persis. They lived in the valleys in
between the Susis and Persis, in what in now southwestern Iran.
The southern Mardi are described by Nearchus as one of the four
predatory mountain peoples of the southwest, along with the Susians,
Uxii, and Elymaeans. Of these four nomadic groups, they were the
only tribe linguistically Iranian.
Etymology
:
The term Mardi comes from the Old Iranian word for "man"
(Old Persian: martiya; from Proto-Indo-European *mrtós, "mortal").
Richard
N. Frye believe that the name of the city of Amol is rooted in the
word Amard, which occurs as Amui in Middle Persian. According to
historical literature, Amol was the capital of Tapuria (modern-day
Mazanderan), at least in the period starting from the Sasanian Empire
to the Ilkhanate of the Mongol Empire.
Historical
accounts :
Strabo mentions the name Mardi several times. He places their location
to the south of the Caspian Sea in what is now Gilan and Mazanderan,
in northern Iran. On his map, he mentions Amardos (and the Amardos
river), the name attributed to the region of Sefidrud at the time.
Herodotus mentions a tribe with a similar name as one of the ten
to fifteen Persian tribes in Persis. They lived in the valleys in
between the Susis and Persis, in what in now southwestern Iran.
The southern Mardi are described by Nearchus as one of the four
predatory mountain peoples of the southwest, along with the Susians,
Uxii, and Elymaeans. Of these four nomadic groups, they were the
only tribe linguistically Iranian.
Gallery
:
Map
of the Median Empire (600 BC), showing the relative locations of
the Amardian tribe
The
Amardian satrap shown within a map of the Achaemenid Empire at its
greatest extent (500 BC)
Iron
Age gold cup from Marlik, kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City
Golden
necklace of three Swastikas from Marlik, kept at the National Museum,
Tehran
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Amardi