Scythia ( UK : / ˈ s ɪ ð i ə / , US : / ˈ s ɪ θ i ə / ;) or Scythica ( UK : / ˈ s ɪ ð i k ə / , US : / ˈ s ɪ θ i k ə / ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic–Caspian steppe . It was inhabited by Scythians , an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people.
28-644: The names Scythia and Scythica are themselves Latinisations of the Ancient Greek names Skuthia ( Σκυθια ) and Skuthikē ( Σκυθικη ), which were themselves derived from the ancient Greek names for the Scythians, Skuthēs ( Σκυθης ) and Skuthoi ( Σκυθοι ), derived from the Scythian endonym Skuδa . The territory of the Scythian kingdom of the Pontic steppe extended from
56-561: Is derived from the Scythian endonym Skuδa , meaning lit. ' archers ' which was derived from the Proto-Indo-European root skewd- , itself meaning lit. ' shooter, archer ' . This name was semantically similar to the endonym of the Sauromatians, *Saᵘrumata , meaning "armed with throwing darts and arrows." From this earlier term Skuδa was derived: The Urartian name for
84-528: Is preferred by Scythologists such as Askold Ivantchik . Within this broad use, the Scythians proper who lived in the Pontic Steppes are sometimes referred to as Pontic Scythians . Modern-day anthropologists instead prefer using the term "Scytho-Siberians" to denote this larger cultural grouping of nomadic peoples living in the Eurasian steppe and forest steppe extending from Central Europe to
112-558: The Don river in the east to the Danube river in the west, and covered the territory of the treeless steppe immediately north of the Black Sea 's coastline, which was inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, as well as the fertile black-earth forest-steppe area to the north of the treeless steppe, which was inhabited by an agricultural population, and the northern border of this Scythian kingdom were
140-653: The Pontic Scythians , were an ancient Eastern Iranic equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC from Central Asia to the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia , where they remained established from the 7th century BC until the 3rd century BC. Skilled in mounted warfare , the Scythians replaced the Agathyrsi and the Cimmerians as
168-461: The Pontic steppe from the 7th century BC to the 3rd century BC, and the name "Scythia" is used to describe this region of the Pontic steppe inhabited by the Scythians. Scythia Scythia ( UK : / ˈ s ɪ ð i ə / , US : / ˈ s ɪ θ i ə / ; ) or Scythica ( UK : / ˈ s ɪ ð i k ə / , US : / ˈ s ɪ θ i k ə / ) was a geographic region defined in
196-2334: The Pontic steppe from the 7th century BC to the 3rd century BC, and the name "Scythia" is used to describe this region of the Pontic steppe inhabited by the Scythians. Scythians West Asia (7th–6th centuries BC) Akkadian (in West Asia) Median (in West Asia) Phrygian (in West Asia) Urartian (in West Asia) Thracian (in Pontic Steppe) Ancient Greek (in Pontic Steppe) Proto-Slavic language (in Pontic Steppe) Ancient Mesopotamian religion (in West Asia) Urartian religion (in West Asia) Phrygian religion (in West Asia) Ancient Iranic religion (in West Asia) Thracian religion (in Pontic Steppe) Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Scythians ( / ˈ s ɪ θ i ə n / or / ˈ s ɪ ð i ə n / ) or Scyths ( / ˈ s ɪ θ / , but note Scytho- ( / ˈ s aɪ θ ʊ / ) in composition) and sometimes also referred to as
224-540: The 3rd century AD, last remnants of the Scythians were overwhelmed by the Goths , and by the early Middle Ages , the Scythians were assimilated and absorbed by the various successive populations who had moved into the Pontic Steppe. After the Scythians' disappearance, authors of the ancient, mediaeval, and early modern periods used their name to refer to various populations of the steppes unrelated to them. The name
252-627: The Agathyrsi westwards, away from the steppes and from their original home around Lake Maeotis , and into the Carpathian region. Beginning in the late 4th century BC, another related nomadic Iranian people, the Sarmatians, moved from the east into the Pontic steppe, where they replaced the Scythians as the dominant power of the Pontic steppe by the Sarmatians, due to which " Sarmatia Europea " (European Sarmatia) replaced " Scythia " as
280-578: The Hellenistic period, authors such as Hecataeus of Miletus however sometimes extended the designation "Scythians" indiscriminately to all steppe nomads and forest steppe populations living in Europe and Asia, and used it to also designate the Saka of Central Asia. Early modern scholars tended to follow the lead of the Hellenistic authors in extending the name "Scythians" into a general catch-all term for
308-412: The Scythian endonym Skuδa . The territory of the Scythian kingdom of the Pontic steppe extended from the Don river in the east to the Danube river in the west, and covered the territory of the treeless steppe immediately north of the Black Sea 's coastline, which was inhabited by nomadic pastoralists, as well as the fertile black-earth forest-steppe area to the north of the treeless steppe, which
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#1732765780324336-670: The Scythians might have been Išqigulu ( 𒆳𒅖𒆥𒄖𒇻 ). Due to a sound change from /δ/ ( / ð / ) to / l / commonly attested in East Iranic language family to which Scythian belonged, the name Skuδa evolved into Skula , which was recorded in ancient Greek as Skōlotoi ( Σκωλοτοι ), in which the Greek plural-forming suffix -τοι was added to the name. The name of the 5th century BC king Scyles ( Ancient Greek : Σκυλης , romanized : Skulēs ) represented this later form, Skula . The name "Scythians"
364-500: The Scythians. The Scythian migration pushed the Agathyrsi westwards, away from the steppes and from their original home around Lake Maeotis , and into the Carpathian region. Beginning in the late 4th century BC, another related nomadic Iranian people, the Sarmatians, moved from the east into the Pontic steppe, where they replaced the Scythians as the dominant power of the Pontic steppe by the Sarmatians, due to which " Sarmatia Europea " (European Sarmatia) replaced " Scythia " as
392-535: The ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic–Caspian steppe . It was inhabited by Scythians , an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people. The names Scythia and Scythica are themselves Latinisations of the Ancient Greek names Skuthia ( Σκυθια ) and Skuthikē ( Σκυθικη ), which were themselves derived from the ancient Greek names for the Scythians, Skuthēs ( Σκυθης ) and Skuthoi ( Σκυθοι ), derived from
420-478: The dedicuous woodlands, while several rivers, including Don and Dnipro , flowed southwards across this region and emptied themselves into the Black Sea. Between the 9th and 5th centuries BC, the climate in the steppes was cool and dry, which was a catalyst for the emergence of equestrian nomadic pastoralism in the northern Pontic region. The climate became warmer and wetter during the 5th century BC, which allowed
448-648: The dominant power on the western Eurasian Steppe in the 8th century BC. In the 7th century BC, the Scythians crossed the Caucasus Mountains and frequently raided West Asia along with the Cimmerians. After being expelled from West Asia by the Medes , the Scythians retreated back into the Pontic Steppe in the 6th century BC, and were later conquered by the Sarmatians in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC. By
476-657: The limits of the Chinese Zhou Empire, and of which the Pontic Scythians proper were only one section. These various peoples shared the use of the "Scythian triad," that is of distinctive weapons, horse harnesses and the "Animal Style" art. The term "Scytho-Siberian" has itself in turn also been criticised since it is sometimes used broadly to include all Iron Age equestrian nomads, including those who were not part of any Scythian or Saka. The scholars Nicola Di Cosmo and Andrzej Rozwadowski instead prefer
504-581: The name for the region. During the Hellenistic period , the use of "Scythia" by Greek and Latin speakers was extended to also cover the southern Russian steppe in general, as well as the entire treeless steppe bounded by the Danubian plains in the west and the Chinese marches in the east. In contemporary modern scholarship, "Scythian" generally refers to the nomadic Iranian people who dominated
532-405: The name for the region. During the Hellenistic period , the use of "Scythia" by Greek and Latin speakers was extended to also cover the southern Russian steppe in general, as well as the entire treeless steppe bounded by the Danubian plains in the west and the Chinese marches in the east. In contemporary modern scholarship, "Scythian" generally refers to the nomadic Iranian people who dominated
560-601: The northern Pontic region. The climate became warmer and wetter during the 5th century BC, which allowed the steppe nomads to move into the steppes proper. In these favourable climatic conditions grass grew abundantly on the treeless steppe and permitted the nomadic Scythians to rear large herds of cattle and horses. The country which the Greeks named Hylaea ( Ancient Greek : Υλαια , romanized : Hulaia , lit. 'the Woodland';), consisting of
588-412: The region of the lower Dnipro river along the territory of what is modern-day Kherson and the valleys further north along the river, was covered with forests. Conditions in the southern lands near the shores of the Black Sea were propitious for agriculture. Before the arrival of the Scythians, this region of the Pontic Steppe was dominated by the Agathyrsi , who were nomadic Iranian people related to
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#1732765780324616-423: The steppe nomads to move into the steppes proper. In these favourable climatic conditions grass grew abundantly on the treeless steppe and permitted the nomadic Scythians to rear large herds of cattle and horses. The country which the Greeks named Hylaea ( Ancient Greek : Υλαια , romanized : Hulaia , lit. 'the Woodland'), consisting of the region of the lower Dnipro river along
644-513: The term "Scythian" has however been criticised for lumping together various heterogeneous populations belonging to different cultures, and therefore leading to several errors in the coverage of the various warrior-nomadic cultures of the Iron Age-period Eurasian Steppe. Therefore, the narrow use of the term "Scythian" as denoting specifically the people who dominated the Pontic Steppe between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC
672-411: The territory of what is modern-day Kherson and the valleys further north along the river, was covered with forests. Conditions in the southern lands near the shores of the Black Sea were propitious for agriculture. Before the arrival of the Scythians, this region of the Pontic Steppe was dominated by the Agathyrsi , who were nomadic Iranian people related to the Scythians. The Scythian migration pushed
700-490: The use of the term "Early Nomadic" for the broad designation of the Iron Age horse-riding nomads. While the ancient Persians used the name Saka to designate all the steppe nomads and specifically referred to the Pontic Scythians as Sakā tayaiy paradraya ( 𐎿𐎣𐎠 𐏐 𐎫𐎹𐎡𐎹 𐏐 𐎱𐎼𐎭𐎼𐎹 ; lit. ' the Saka who dwell beyond the (Black) Sea ' ), the name "Saka" is used in modern scholarship to designate
728-404: The various equestrian warrior-nomadic cultures of the Iron Age-period Eurasian Steppe following the discovery in the 1930s in the eastern parts of the Eurasian steppe of items forming the "Scythian triad," consisting of distinctive weapons, horse harnesses, and objects decorated in the "Animal Style" art, which had until then been considered to be markers of the Scythians proper. This broad use of
756-418: Was inhabited by an agricultural population, and the northern border of this Scythian kingdom were the dedicuous woodlands, while several rivers, including Don and Dnipro , flowed southwards across this region and emptied themselves into the Black Sea. Between the 9th and 5th centuries BC, the climate in the steppes was cool and dry, which was a catalyst for the emergence of equestrian nomadic pastoralism in
784-554: Was initially used by ancient authors to designate specifically the Iranic people who lived in the Pontic Steppe between the Danube and the Don rivers. In modern archaeology, the term "Scythians" is used in its original narrow sense as a name strictly for the Iranic people who lived in the Pontic and Crimean Steppes, between the Danube and Don rivers, from the 7th to 3rd centuries BC. By
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