Scythia

Approximate extension of Escitia and scite (orange) languages in the 1st century.

In Classical Antiquity, Scythia (Classical Greek: Σκυθική; Modern Greek: Σκυθία) was the Eurasian region inhabited by the Scythian peoples since the VIII a. C. up to the II century d. c.

Its extent varied over time, but generally included the plains of the Pontic steppe from the Danube to the northern shores of the Black Sea, as indicated on the map.

The regions known as Scythia in classical authors include:

• Ponic steppe: Kazakhstan, South Russia and Ukraine (inhabited by spices from at least the centuryVIII a. C.).
• The region north of the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan. The subsequent Sarmatia, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland to the Baltic Sea (known as the Sarmatic Ocean).
• The area of southern Ukraine and Lower Danube, also called the Lesser Escitia.

The region of Sistan (derived from Sacastan), inhabited by the Sachas or Indo-Scythians, is not usually considered part of Scythia.

Scythia was a loose nomadic empire that originated as early as the 8th century BCE. Scythian culture was centered on horsemanship and a free way of life. No writing system dating from that period has ever been attested, so most of the written information available today about the region and its inhabitants at that time comes from protohistoric writings of ancient civilizations that had connections to the region, primarily those of ancient India, Greece, Rome, and Persia. The most detailed western description is from Herodotus. He may not have traveled to Scythia and there is scholarly debate over the accuracy of knowledge of him, but modern archaeological finds have confirmed some of the ancient claims about him and he remains one of the most useful writers on ancient history. scythia. He says that the Scythians' own name for themselves was 'Scoloti'.

Geography

The region known to classical authors as Scythia included:

• The Pontico-caspio steppe: South Russia, Russian Volga, South Ural Regions and West Kazakhstan (inhabited by spices from at least the centuryVIIIa. C.
• Kazakh steppe: northern Kazakhstan and the adjacent parts of Russia
• Sarmatia, corresponding to eastern Poland Ukraine the south-west of Russia and the north-east of the Balkans [15] [required complete quote] that goes from the Vistula in the west to the mouth of the Danube and east to the Volga
• Sakā Tigraxaudā ("The Sakas of the Puntiaguous Caps"), corresponding to parts of Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan Southeast Kazakhstan and the Tarim Basin.
• Sistan or Sakastan, south of Afghanistan, the Iranian provinces of Sistany Baluchistan, and Baluchistan, Pakistan, extending from the Sistan basin to the Indo River. After successive invasions of the Indo-Greek kingdoms, the Indo-Scites also expanded eastward, capturing territory in what is today the region of Punjab.
• Parama Kamboja, North Afghanistan and parts of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
• Alania, corresponding to the North Caucasus
• Less escitia, corresponding to the lower part of the Danube River west of the Black Sea with a part in Romania and a part in Bulgaria

First Scythian Kingdom

In the VII century B.C. C., the Scythians penetrated from the territories north of the Black Sea through the Caucasus. The early Scythian kingdoms were dominated by inter-ethnic forms of dependency based on the subjugation of agricultural populations in eastern Transcaucasia, looting and taxation (occasionally, as far as the Syrian region), regular tribute (Media), tribute disguised as gifts (25th Dynasty of Egypt), and possibly also payments for military support (Neo-Assyrian Empire).

It is possible that the same dynasty ruled Scythia for most of its history. The name of Koloksai, a legendary founder of a royal dynasty, is mentioned by Alcman in the VII century BCE. C.. Protothyes and Madyes Scythian kings in the Near Eastern period of their history, and their successors in the northern Pontic steppes belonged to the same dynasty. Herodotus lists five generations of a royal clan that probably reigned from the late VII to the VI a. C.: Spargapeithes, Lycus [uk], Gnurus [ru], Idanthyrsus, Saulius, and Prince Anacharsis. Herodotus later mentioned three contemporary Scythian rulers: Ariapeithes, Scyles, and Octamasadas.

After being defeated and driven from the Near East, in the first half of the VI century B.C. C. the Scythians had to reconquer land north of the Black Sea. In the second half of that century, the Scythians managed to dominate the agricultural tribes of the forest-steppe and subjected them to tribute. As a result, their state was rebuilt with the rise of the Second Scythian Kingdom which reached its zenith in the IV century BCE. c.

Scythian Second Kingdom

The social development of Scythia at the end of the century V a. C. and in the IV century B.C. C. was related to its privileged status of trade with the Greeks, their efforts to control this trade and the consequences partly derived from these two. Aggressive foreign policy intensified exploitation of dependent populations and progressed stratification among nomadic rulers. Trade with the Greeks also stimulated the processes of sedentarization.

The proximity of the Greek city-states on the Black Sea coast (Pontic Olbia Cimmerian Bosporus Chersonesos Sindica Tanais) was a powerful incentive for slavery in Scythian society, but only in one direction: the sale of slaves to the Greeks, instead of using them in their economy. Consequently, the trade became a stimulus for the capture of slaves as spoils of war in numerous wars.

Scythia from the late 5th to 3rd century BC. c

The Scythian state reached its greatest extent in the IV century BCE. C. during the reign of Atheas. Isocrates believed that the Scythians, and also the Thracians and the Persians, were "the most capable of exercising power, and they are the most powerful peoples". In the IV century B.C. C., under King Atheas, the tripartite structure of the state was eliminated and the ruling power became more centralized. Later sources no longer mention three basileis. Strabo tells that Atheas ruled over most of the barbarians of the North Pontus.

Written sources say that before the IV century B.C. C. the Scythian state expanded mainly to the west. In this regard, Atheas continued the policy of his predecessors in the V century a. During the western expansion, Ateas fought against the Triballi. An area of Thrace was subjugated and burdened with severe duties. During the 90-year lifetime of Atheas (c. 429 BC-339 BC), the Scythians established themselves firmly in Thrace and became a major factor in Balkan politics. At the same time, both 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 coastline.

Materials from the site near Kamianka-Dniprovska, supposedly the capital of Atheas state, show that metallurgists were free members of society, even if they had imposed obligations. Metalworking was the most advanced and unique craft specialty among the Scythians. From the story of Poliaenus and Frontin, it follows that in the IV century B.C. C. Scythia had a dependent population layer, consisting of impoverished Scythian nomads and local, socially disadvantaged, dependent and exploited indigenous agricultural tribes, who did not participate in wars, but engaged in servile agriculture and animal husbandry.

The year 339 B.C. C. turned out to be a climactic year for the Second Scythian Kingdom and the beginning of its decline. The war with Philip II of Macedon ended with the victory of Philip (the father of Alexander the Great). The Scythian king Atheas fell in battle well into his nineties. Many royal kurgans (Chertomlyk, Kul-Oba, Aleksandropol, Krasnokut) date from after the time of Atheas and earlier traditions were continued; and settlement life in Western Scythia show that the state survived until 250 BC. When in 331 a. C. Zopyrion, Alexander's viceroy in Thrace, 'not wishing to sit idle', invaded Scythia and besieged Pontic Olbia. He suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Scythians and lost his life.

The fall of the Second Scythian Kingdom occurred in the second half of the III century BCE. C. under attack by the Celts and Thracians from the west and the Sarmatians from the east. With the increase in their forces, the Sarmatians devastated significant parts of Scythia and, "annihilating the defeated, turned a greater part of the country into a desert".

The dependent tribes of the forest-steppe, subject to exaction charges, liberated themselves at the first opportunity. The Dnieper and the insect of the southern population ruled by the Scythians did not become Scythians. They continued to live their original life, which was alien to Scythian customs. From the III century B.C. C. for many centuries, the histories of the steppe and forest-steppe zones of the North Pontic area diverged. The material cultures of the populations rapidly lost their common traits. And in the steppe, as a reflection of the end of nomadic hegemony in Scythian society, royal kurgans were no longer built. Archaeologically, late Scythia appears primarily as a conglomeration of fortified and unfortified settlements with adjoining agricultural areas.

The development of Scythian society presented the following trends:

• The settlement process was intensified, as demonstrated by the emergence of numerous Kurgan burials in the eastern part of the north-scene posttic steppe. Some of them date back to the end of the centuryVa. C., but most belong to IV or centuryIIIa. C., which reflects the establishment of permanent pastoral routes and a trend towards seminomadic pastoralism. The Lower Dnieper area contained mostly unfortified settlements, while in Crimea and Western Scythia the agricultural population grew. The settlements of the Dniéper developed in what were previously nomadic winter villages and in uninhabited lands.
• Social inequality increased with the rise of nobility and greater stratification among the nomadic free-sites. Most real kurgans date back to the centuryIVa. C.
• The subjugation of the eastern-bodied population increased, as recorded in the archaeological register. In the centuryIVa. C. in the Dnieper forest steppe area, East burials appear. In addition to the nomadic advance in the north in search of new pastures, they show an increase in pressure on the farmers of the forest-eastern strip. The kurgans of Boryspil belong almost entirely to soldiers and sometimes even to women warriors. The apogee of the Scythia steppe coincides with the decline of the forest steppe. From the second half of the centuryVa. C., the importation of anti-domestic items to the average Dniéper decreased due to the pauperization of dependent farmers. In the forest steppe, the kurgans of the centuryIVa. C. are poorer than in previous times. At the same time, the cultural influence of nomads grew. Senkov's kurgans in the area of Kiev, left by the local agricultural population, are low and contain empty male and poor female burials, in a surprising contrast to Boryspil's nearby kurgans of the same time left by the scite conquerors.
• The life of the city rooted in Escitia.
• Trade with the Greek cities of the north of the Black Sea grew and the helenization of the spice aristocracy increased. After the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian war from 431 to 404 B.C., the attic agriculture was ruined. [by whom?] Demosstenes wrote that Athens imported about 400 000 mediums (63 000 tons) of grain annually from the Bosphorus. The nomadic aristocracy does not only play an intermediary role, but also actively participated in the cereal trade (produced by both dependent and slave farmers), skins and other goods.