Scythia was a region of Central Eurasia in classical antiquity, occupied by the
Eastern Iranian Scythians, encompassing parts of Eastern Europe east of the
Vistula River and Central Asia, with the eastern edges of the region vaguely
defined by the Greeks. The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia to all the
lands north-east of Europe and the northern coast of the Black Sea.
The Scythians – the Greeks' name for this initially nomadic people –
inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Its
location and extent varied over time but usually extended farther to the west
than is indicated on the map opposite. Scythia was a loose state that
originated as early as 8th century BC. Little is known of them and their
rulers. The most detailed western description is by Herodotus, though it
is uncertain he ever went to Scythia. He says the Scythians' own name for
themselves was "Scoloti". The Scythians became increasingly settled and wealthy
on their western frontier with Greco-Roman civilization.
Geography The region known to classical authors as
Scythia included: The Pontic-Caspian steppe: Ukraine,
southern Russia, and western Kazakhstan The Kazakh steppe: northern Kazakhstan
and the adjacent portions of Russia Sarmatia, corresponding to eastern
Poland, Ukraine, southwestern Russia, and the northeastern Balkans, ranging
from the Vistula River in the west to the mouth of the Danube, and eastward to
the Volga Saka tigrakhauda, corresponding to parts
of Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan, and the Tarim
Basin Sistan or Sakastan, corresponding to
southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and southwestern Pakistan, extending from
the Sistan Basin to the Indus River Parama Kamboja, corresponding to
northern Afghanistan and parts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Alania, corresponding to the northern Caucasus region
Scythia Minor, corresponding to the lower Danube river area west of the
Black Sea, with a part in Romania and a part in Bulgaria
First Scythian kingdom In the 7th century BC Scythians
penetrated from the territories north of the Black Sea across the Caucasus. The
early Scythian kingdoms were dominated by inter-ethnic forms of dependency
based on subjugation of agricultural populations in eastern South Caucasia,
plunder and taxes, regular tribute, tribute disguised as gifts, and possibly
also payments for military support. It is possible that the same dynasty
ruled in Scythia during most of its history. The name of Koloksai, a
legendary founder of a royal dynasty, is mentioned by Alcman in the 7th century
BC. Prototi and Madis, Scythian kings in the Near Eastern period of their
history, and their successors in the north Pontic steppes belonged to the
same dynasty. Herodotus lists five generations of a royal clan that
probably reigned at the end of the 7th to 6th centuries BC: prince Anacharsis,
Saulius, Idanthyrsus, Gnurus, Lycus, and Spargapithes.
After being defeated by the Chinese and driven from the Near East, in the first
half of the 6th century BCE, Scythians had to re-conquer lands north of the
Black Sea. In the second half of that century, Scythians succeeded in
dominating the agricultural tribes of the forest-steppe and placed them under
tribute. As a result their state was reconstructed with the appearance of the
Second Scythian Kingdom which reached its zenith in the 4th century BC.
Second Scythian kingdom Scythia's social development at the end
of the 5th century BC and in the 4th century BC was linked to its privileged
status of trade with Greeks, its efforts to control this trade, and the
consequences partly stemming from these two. Aggressive external policy
intensified exploitation of dependent populations and progressed the
stratification among the nomadic rulers. Trading with Greeks also stimulated
sedentarization processes. The proximity of the Greek city-states
on the Black Sea coast was a powerful incentive for slavery in the Scythian
society, but only in one direction: the sale of slaves to Greeks, instead of use
in their economy. Accordingly, the trade became a stimulus for capture of slaves
as war spoils in numerous wars. = Scythia at the end of the 5th to 3rd
centuries BC= The Scythian state reached its greatest
extent in the 4th century BC during the reign of Ateas. Isocrates believed that
Scythians, and also Thracians and Persians, are "the most able to power,
and are the peoples with the greatest might." In the 4th century BC, under
king Ateas, the tribune structure of the state was eliminated, and the ruling
power became more centralized. The later sources do not mention three basileuses
any more. Strabo tells that Ateas ruled over the majority of the North Pontic
barbarians. Written sources tell that expansion of
the Scythian state before the 4th century BC was mainly to the west. In
this respect Ateas continued the policy of his predecessors in the 5th century
BC. During western expansion, Ateas fought the Triballi. An area of Thrace
was subjugated and levied with severe duties. During the 90 year life of
Ateas, the Scythians settled firmly in Thrace and became an important factor in
political games in the Balkans. At the same time, both the nomadic and
agricultural Scythian populations increased along the Dniester river. A
war with the Bosporian Kingdom increased Scythian pressure on the Greek cities
along the North Pontic littoral. Materials from the site near
Kamianka-Dniprovska, purportedly the capital of the Ateas’ state, show that
metallurgists were free members of the society, even if burdened with imposed
obligations. Metallurgy was the most advanced and the only distinct craft
speciality among the Scythians. From the story of Polyaenus and Frontin, it
follows that in the 4th century BC Scythia had a layer of dependent
population, which consisted of impoverished Scythian nomads and local
indigenous agricultural tribes, socially deprived, dependent and exploited, who
did not participate in the wars, but were engaged in servile agriculture and
cattle husbandry. The year 339 BC was a culminating year
for the Second Scythian Kingdom, and the beginning of its decline. The war with
Philip II of Macedon ended in a victory by the father of Alexander the Great,
the Scythian king Ateas fell in battle well into his nineties. Many royal
kurgans are dated from after Ateas’s time and previous traditions were
continued, and life in the settlements of Western Scythia show that the state
survived until the 250s BC. When in 331 BC Zopyrion, Alexander's viceroy in
Thrace, "not wishing to sit idle", invaded Scythia and besieged Pontic
Olbia, he suffered a crushing defeat from the Scythians and lost his life.
The fall of the Second Scythian Kingdom came about in the second half of the 3rd
century BC under the onslaught of Celts and Thracians from the west and
Sarmatians from the east. With their increased forces, the Sarmatians
devastated significant parts of Scythia and, "annihilating the defeated,
transformed a larger part of the country into a desert".
The dependent forest-steppe tribes, subjected to exaction burdens, freed
themselves at the first opportunity. The Dnieper and Buh populace ruled by the
Scythians did not become Scythians. They continued to live their original life,
which was alien to Scythian ways. From the 3rd century BC for many centuries
the histories of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of North Pontic
diverged. The material culture of the populations quickly lost their common
features. And in the steppe, reflecting the end of nomad hegemony in Scythian
society, the royal kurgans were no longer built. Archeologically, late
Scythia appears first of all as a conglomerate of fortified and
non-fortified settlements with abutting agricultural zones.
The development of the Scythian society was marked by the following trends:
An intensified settlement process, evidenced by the appearance of numerous
kurgan burials in the steppe zone of North Pontic, some of them dated to the
end of the 5th century BC, but the majority belonging to the 4th or 3rd
centuries BC, reflecting the establishment of permanent pastoral
coaching routes and a tendency to semi-nomadic pasturing. The Lower
Dnieper area contained mostly unfortified settlements, while in Crimea
and Western Scythia the agricultural population grew. The Dnieper settlements
developed in what were previously nomadic winter villages, and in
uninhabited lands. Tendency for social inequality, ascent
of the nobility, and further stratification among free Scythian
nomads. The majority of royal kurgans are dated from the 4th century BC.
Increase in subjugation of the forest-steppe population,
archeologically traced. In the 4th century BC in the Dnieper forest-steppe
zone, steppe-type burials appear. In addition to the nomadic advance in the
north in search of the new pastures, they show an increase of pressure on the
farmers of the forest-steppe belt. The Boryspil kurgans belong almost entirely
to soldiers and sometimes even women warriors. The bloom of steppe Scythia
coincides with decline of forest-steppe. From the second half of the 5th century
BC, importing of antique goods to the Middle Dnieper decreased because of the
pauperization of the dependent farmers. In the forest-steppe, kurgans of the 4th
century BC are poorer than during previous times. At the same time, the
cultural influence of the steppe nomads grew. The Senkov kurgans in the Kiev
area, left by the local agricultural population, are low and contain poor
female and empty male burials, in a striking contrast with the nearby
Boryspil kurgans of the same era left by the Scythian conquerors.
Beginning of city life in Scythia. Growth of trade with Northern Black Sea
Greek cities, and increase in Hellenization of the Scythian
aristocracy. After the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian war, Attican
agriculture was ruined. Demosthenes wrote that about 400,000 medimns of
grain was exported annually from the Bosporus to Athens. The Scythian nomadic
aristocracy not only served a middleman role, but also actively participated in
the trade of grain, skins, and other goods.
Scythia's later history is mainly dominated by sedentary agrarian and city
elements. As a result of the defeats suffered by Scythians two separate
states were formed, two Lesser Scythias, one in Thrace, and the other in the
Crimea and the Lower Dnieper area. Later Scythian kingdoms
Having settled this Scythia Minor in Thrace, the former Scythian nomads
abandoned their nomadic way of life, retaining their power over the agrarian
population. This little polity should be distinguished from the Third Scythian
Kingdom in Crimea and Lower Dnieper area, whose inhabitants likewise
underwent a massive sedentarization. The interethnic dependence was replaced by
developing forms of dependence within the society.
The enmity of the Third Scythian Kingdom, centred on Scythian Neapolis,
towards the Greek settlements of the northern Black Sea steadily increased.
The Scythian king apparently regarded the Greek colonies as unnecessary
intermediaries in the wheat trade with mainland Greece. Besides, the settling
cattlemen were attracted by the Greek agricultural belt in Southern Crimea.
The later Scythia was both culturally and socio-economically far less advanced
than its Greek neighbors such as Olvia or Chersonesos.
The continuity of the royal line is less clear in the Lesser Scythias of Crimea
and Thrace than it had been previously. In the 2nd century BC, Olvia became a
Scythian dependency. That event was marked in the city by minting of coins
bearing the name of the Scythian king Skilurus. He was a son of a king and a
father of a king, but the relation of his dynasty with the former dynasty is
not known. Either Skilurus or his son and successor Palakus were buried in the
mausoleum of Scythian Neapol that was used from c. 100 BC to c. 100 AD.
However, the last burials are so poor that they do not seem to be royal,
indicating a change in the dynasty or royal burials in another place.
Later, at the end of the 2nd century BC, Olvia was freed from Scythian
domination, but became a subject to Mithridates I of Parthia. By the end of
the 1st century BC, Olbia, rebuilt after its sack by the Getae, became a
dependency of the Dacian barbarian kings, who minted their own coins in the
city. Later from the 2nd century AD Olbia belonged to the Roman Empire.
Scythia was the first state north of the Black Sea to collapse with the invasion
of the Goths in the 2nd century AD. Scythian kings
Scylas – Herodotus describes him as a Scythian whose mother was Greek, he was
expelled by his people Octamasadas – was put on the throne
after Scylas Ateas – defeated by the Macedonians; his
empire fell apart Skilurus – died during a war against
Mithridates VI of Pontus Palacus – the last Scythian ruler,
defeated by Mithridates Scythian tribes
Many different groupings of Scythian tribes include the following:
See also Maeotian marshes
Sarmatia Art and literature
References External links
An Introductory Bibliography on Scythia Pyotr O. Karyshkovskij-Ikar Coins of
Olbia: Essay of Monetary Circulation of the North-western Black Sea Region in
Antique Epoch. Киев, 1988. ISBN 5-12-000104-1.
Bagnall, R., J. Drinkwater, A. Esmonde-Cleary, W. Harris, R. Knapp, S.
Mitchell, S. Parker, C. Wells, J. Wilkes, R. Talbert, M. E. Downs, M.
Joann McDaniel, B. Z. Lund, T. Elliott, S. Gillies. "Places: 991379". Pleiades.
Retrieved March 8, 2012.