National_Nord
05-26-2009, 01:11 PM
Scythians, groups of nomads that originated in Iran and inhabited the Eurasian steppes in the 1st millennium BC. They were collectively referred to by the Ancient Greeks as the “Scythians”, a name that probably derives from an Iranian word skuta (archers).
The Greeks distinguished between European Scythians, who controlled the lands north of the Black Sea, between the rivers Danube and Don, and the Asiatic Scythians, who lived in the regions of the southern Ural Mountains, between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, and east of the Jaxartes River (now Syr Darya River). Likewise, in Persia, where they referred to the Scythians as “Saka”, they distinguished between European Saka and the eastern “Saka tigraxauda” (the Saka-with-the-pointed-caps), and the “Saka haumavarga” (the hauma-drinking Saka). But as inhabitants of the steppes, the Scythians also controlled the regions further east as far as the borders of China. As nomadic pastoralists and wagon dwellers, the Scythians did not build urban centres or establish royal residences until Scythian peoples were united under King Ateas in the second half of the 4th century BC.
Most of the Scythians led a nomadic lifestyle, moving on horseback, while women and children, as well as their material possessions, were transported in carts and wagons. Only a few Scythian groups settled at the Black Sea coast, living alongside Greek colonists. Ancient authors marvelled at the archery and horse-riding skills of the Scythians, but they were also accomplished craftsmen and goldsmiths. Despite its distinctive form, using stylized animal motifs on objects made of gold as well as other metals, and applied on jewellery, vessels, and weapons, as well as on woodwork and textiles, Scythian art reflects influences from both Ancient Greece and the Achaemenid Empire.
Scythian kings and other wealthy Scythians were buried in kurgans (burial mounds) where the mummified body was equipped with great splendour for the afterlife. Horse sacrifices, as well as the sacrifices of women and servants, attested to the high status of the dead. The Scythian pantheon was headed by the goddess of the hearth, Tabiti, followed by Papaeus, the god of the heavens, Api, the Earth goddess, and Thagimasadas, the god of water and of horses.
Documents from Assyria dated to the reign of King Esarhaddon (reigned 681-669 BC) report that Scythian nomads led by two chieftains, Ishpakai and Partatua, reached the borders of Assyria, and that Partatua concluded an alliance with Esarhaddon, possibly enforced by marrying a royal daughter. Other Scythians invaded Asia Minor after having forced the Cimmerians out of Europe. Partatua’s son and successor, Madyes, led the Scythians against the king of Media, Cyaxares (reigned 625-585 BC), and then advanced to Syria and Palestine, reaching the borders of Egypt, where the king, Psamtik I, prevented a Scythian invasion by bestowing gifts on Madyes. The Scythians withdrew after Cyaxares recovered Media from Scythian control.
Bordering on an extensive part of the northern frontier of the Achaemenid Empire, the Scythians must have entered political alliances with the Persian kings. Thus, the rebellion of the Saka tigraxauda against Darius I in 519 BC attests to the fact that this Scythian tribe previously must have come under Persian control, possibly at the time of Cyrus the Great. Darius I himself led an unsuccessful campaign against the European Scythians in c. 513-512 BC. Nevertheless, the European Scythians, as well as the Saka tigraxauda and the Saka haumavarga, are listed among the peoples of the empire in a later inscription of Darius I. They took part in the invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480-479 BC, supported Darius III against Alexander the Great, and rebelled against Macedonian rule in c. 326 BC. Scythian power revived after a temporary setback in the 3rd century BC with the rise of the Sarmatians, but was finally quashed by invasions of the Goths in the 3rd century AD.
http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564678/scythians.html
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6177/scythianarcheologymap1r.gif (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scythianarcheologymap1r.gif)
The Greeks distinguished between European Scythians, who controlled the lands north of the Black Sea, between the rivers Danube and Don, and the Asiatic Scythians, who lived in the regions of the southern Ural Mountains, between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, and east of the Jaxartes River (now Syr Darya River). Likewise, in Persia, where they referred to the Scythians as “Saka”, they distinguished between European Saka and the eastern “Saka tigraxauda” (the Saka-with-the-pointed-caps), and the “Saka haumavarga” (the hauma-drinking Saka). But as inhabitants of the steppes, the Scythians also controlled the regions further east as far as the borders of China. As nomadic pastoralists and wagon dwellers, the Scythians did not build urban centres or establish royal residences until Scythian peoples were united under King Ateas in the second half of the 4th century BC.
Most of the Scythians led a nomadic lifestyle, moving on horseback, while women and children, as well as their material possessions, were transported in carts and wagons. Only a few Scythian groups settled at the Black Sea coast, living alongside Greek colonists. Ancient authors marvelled at the archery and horse-riding skills of the Scythians, but they were also accomplished craftsmen and goldsmiths. Despite its distinctive form, using stylized animal motifs on objects made of gold as well as other metals, and applied on jewellery, vessels, and weapons, as well as on woodwork and textiles, Scythian art reflects influences from both Ancient Greece and the Achaemenid Empire.
Scythian kings and other wealthy Scythians were buried in kurgans (burial mounds) where the mummified body was equipped with great splendour for the afterlife. Horse sacrifices, as well as the sacrifices of women and servants, attested to the high status of the dead. The Scythian pantheon was headed by the goddess of the hearth, Tabiti, followed by Papaeus, the god of the heavens, Api, the Earth goddess, and Thagimasadas, the god of water and of horses.
Documents from Assyria dated to the reign of King Esarhaddon (reigned 681-669 BC) report that Scythian nomads led by two chieftains, Ishpakai and Partatua, reached the borders of Assyria, and that Partatua concluded an alliance with Esarhaddon, possibly enforced by marrying a royal daughter. Other Scythians invaded Asia Minor after having forced the Cimmerians out of Europe. Partatua’s son and successor, Madyes, led the Scythians against the king of Media, Cyaxares (reigned 625-585 BC), and then advanced to Syria and Palestine, reaching the borders of Egypt, where the king, Psamtik I, prevented a Scythian invasion by bestowing gifts on Madyes. The Scythians withdrew after Cyaxares recovered Media from Scythian control.
Bordering on an extensive part of the northern frontier of the Achaemenid Empire, the Scythians must have entered political alliances with the Persian kings. Thus, the rebellion of the Saka tigraxauda against Darius I in 519 BC attests to the fact that this Scythian tribe previously must have come under Persian control, possibly at the time of Cyrus the Great. Darius I himself led an unsuccessful campaign against the European Scythians in c. 513-512 BC. Nevertheless, the European Scythians, as well as the Saka tigraxauda and the Saka haumavarga, are listed among the peoples of the empire in a later inscription of Darius I. They took part in the invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480-479 BC, supported Darius III against Alexander the Great, and rebelled against Macedonian rule in c. 326 BC. Scythian power revived after a temporary setback in the 3rd century BC with the rise of the Sarmatians, but was finally quashed by invasions of the Goths in the 3rd century AD.
http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564678/scythians.html
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6177/scythianarcheologymap1r.gif (http://img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scythianarcheologymap1r.gif)