Scythians are a people who lived in the 1st millennium BC in the steppes of Eurasia. It did not have a written language, so scientists have to recreate its political and social history on the basis of rather scarce information that has been preserved in other cultures, and on the basis of archaeological research. The history of the Middle Ages and antiquity reliably keeps the secrets of the Scythians.
Most often, Scythians are mentioned in the works of Latin and Greek authors. Often they called so many people who lived at that time on the vast territories of the Eurasian steppes. However, a more thorough study of this name gives reason to believe that only the inhabitants of the Sea of Azov and the Northern Black Sea coast called this name.
Victory over Persia
The most significant event in the early history of Scythia was the invasion of Persian conquerors on its territory. They wanted to conquer an independent people and make it their tributary.
The invasion of countless hordes of Darius, the Persian king, threatened Scythia with catastrophe. Having crossed the Danube River, Darius with his army for two months went along the steppes, pursuing the Scythians. But they retreated, not accepting the battle. The Persian king was never able to summon the opponents to a decisive battle. The Scythians motivated their refusal by the fact that they do not have cities that would be worth protecting, and there are no cultivated lands. They are just nomads leading a familiar way of life. But at the same time, they constantly bothered the Persians with small raids.
As a result, the army of Darius, having crossed all of Scythia and some of the neighboring lands, was forced to flee.
Origin
There is a version that the ancient Scythians came to the Black Sea lands from Asia. They ousted the Cimmerians from them. Diodorus of Sicily writes that once the Scythians were few and weak. They lived on the shores of Araks. Then the Scythians gained strength and conquered the Ciscaucasia and lands on the northern Black Sea coast. It has not yet been precisely determined which river Diodorus calls the Araks. The fact is that in those days many rivers were called that. Therefore, scientists still do not have a single opinion where the ancient Scythian tribes originally lived.
The language of the mysterious people
The Scythians, whose history is covered in many secrets, left almost no data about their language. Scientists have only a few geographical names and personal names that have remained in the texts of other peoples. But even these data were enough to argue that the language of the ancient Scythians belonged to the Iranian group.
Social order
The Greeks perceived Scythia as a strange land with flying "white flies" (snow). They were sure that there always reigns cold, that the land is wild, inhabited by nomadic tribes. The characteristic of the Scythians is found in the works of Horace and Ovid.
The dominant position in society was the royal Scythians. They lived in the steppes between the rivers Don and Dnieper. Their tribe was the most numerous. The remaining groups depended on them. Scythian nomads lived on the right bank of the Dnieper and in the steppes of the Crimea, and farmers lived between the Dnieper and Ingul.
Since its appearance on the historical stage, Scythia has acted as a complex public entity. An important role in those days was played by the tribal structure, but over time, as the history of the Middle Ages shows, its foundations were modified in connection with the emergence of private property. As a result, the emergence of social inequality. A rich aristocratic elite arose, and the power of the king and his squad intensified.
In the future, the basis of the Scythian society became a family that owned cattle and household property.
At the head of the tribe were tribal elders and kings. The power of the latter was inherited. There was an opinion about the divine origin of the kind of rulers who simultaneously performed judicial functions. Any disobedience was punishable by death.
Life and customs
Scythians are nomadic people. The military organization of the tribe as a whole left an imprint on all aspects of the life of the ancient people. Not only every man was armed, but often women too. Every nomad from childhood had a faithful friend - a horse.
Most of all, the Scythians valued courage and courage in battle, military valor, devotion to their people. The share of military booty depended on the number of enemies killed in the battle.
The history of kinship was conducted along the male line. The descendants of the Scythians (elder sons) received part of the parental property during the life of their father. The youngest son got the rest of the farm. Women were subordinate. They did household work. The people captured in the battles became slaves, which the Scythians sold to the Greeks. A few of the captives remained in the tribe. They looked after cattle, helped with housekeeping.
The Scythians observed a complex funeral rite. Herodotus describes him in great detail. When the noble Scythian died, his body was embalmed so that it could be preserved for 40 days - this is the period that was set aside for the farewell of the deceased. Rich clothes were put on him, laid in a chariot, and carried along many relatives.
The most magnificent, of course, were the funeral of the kings. His body was carried along all the tribes that were under his command. As a sign of grief over the ruler, ordinary Scythians cut off their hair and even inflicted serious injuries on themselves (they pierced their hands or feet with a sword).
Vera
Scythians, whose history has not yet been fully studied, in religious representations have reached a high degree of deification of natural phenomena and its forces.
The main one among the Scythians was the goddess who guarded the home, Tabithi. She embodied the clan and family unity. Prayer addressed to her was considered the greatest oath.
Papaya Scythians considered their ancestor. According to legend, the daughter of the river Borisfen and Papai are the parents of the first Scythian - Targitaya.
Gol-Ali, which means Earth, personified water and earth as the basis of generative principles.
Papay, Tabiti, Ali - the triad that led the pantheon of Scythian deities.
Ares is the god of war. Since the Scythians are a militant people, this god played a special role in their life. This is also confirmed by the fact that it was the Scythians who built the sanctuaries. In his honor, festivities were held every year at which the bravest warriors received a cup of wine as a reward.
The Scythians, like many Indo-Iranian peoples, had priests whom they greatly respected. However, if the predictions of the clergy did not come true, they were tortured to death.
Scythian art
The burial of leaders and representatives of the nobility in the mounds made it possible to learn a lot about the culture and art of this people.
After defeating Persia, Scythia begins almost two centuries of prosperity. Most of the mounds studied date back to this time. Their sizes are very different. Small mounds were built over the graves of ordinary warriors, while huge earthen hills were erected over the graves of military commanders and kings. Sometimes they used stone structures.
The most famous royal mound Chertomlyk had a height of 19 m (before the start of excavation) and a circumference at the base of the hill - 330 m. The height of the Alexandropol hill exceeded 21 m.
Together with the deceased, they buried many things dear to him during his life, luxury goods, decorated, as a rule, in the "animal" style. This name was due to the fact that Scythians were very fond of drawing animals. Pictures with people are quite rare. Ornaments most often had images of animals familiar to Scythians such as leopards, deer, elk, and birds of prey. Their figures were minted on gold and silver. Bronze and iron were used by simple Scythians. Pictures with images of animals can be seen not only in coinage. They were cast from gold, cut out of wood, painted on the walls. At the same time, certain rather strict rules were invariably observed. So, animals have always been depicted in motion and always on the side. Their heads should be directed towards the person.
The "animal" style of the Scythians is distinguished by its liveliness, the character of the created images. Before sunset, Scythia images became coarser and linearly flat.
Despite the fact that the ancient mounds were plundered for a long time, they still store large treasures of the Scythians. This is due to the fact that the excavations were mainly conducted haphazardly, due to which a large number of artifacts were not noticed.
Scythian mounds
In burials investigated by archaeologists, weapons were discovered (in male burials). Since each Scythian was an equestrian shooter, the presence of bronze arrowheads in the graves, as well as the remnants of the bow itself, is completely understandable. A common weapon among the Scythians is akinaki swords and spears. Ornaments and mirrors were usually found in female graves.
The mounds of the nobility were distinguished by a wide variety of objects located there. Akinaki scabbards and cases for arrows (gorits) were often decorated with gold plates, decorated with mythological images. The clothes of the buried noble Scythians and bedspreads were embroidered with gold plaques. Often in such burials there are various vessels - open bowls with two handles, rhytons, spherical goblets. They were made of gold or wood with gold plates.
Scythian sword
The famous Scythian akinak is a short stitching and cutting weapon. It is intended for close combat. The length of the akinak with the handle is approximately 45 cm, the length of the blade is 25-30 cm.
The blade had the shape of a strongly elongated triangle. He could have one and two blades. In the latter case, they were located parallel to each other and sharply narrowed in the last third. The cross section of the Scythian sword could have a lenticular or rhombic. Studies of blades found in the Tliysky burial ground showed that already in those days, cementation was used not only of blanks, but also of finished weapons to improve its working qualities.
The sword, along with the hilt, was forged from a strip blank. Then, with the help of a blacksmith's welding , a crosshair and a top made separately were attached to it.
Scythian warriors wore swords and daggers in a sheath made of wood. However, the tree is not well preserved. Therefore, it is now difficult to judge the shape of their scabbard. The endings of swords, the so-called sandwiches, which were made of bone or metal, are much better preserved.
Royal weapon
Ceremonial Scythian swords were discovered in the “Royal Mounds”. They are attributed to the second half of the 4th century BC. Their hilt is lined with gold leaf with an oval or rounded pommel. The crosshairs of the swords are triangular. In the upper part of the blade there are cutouts that are characteristic of late ceremonial swords. Recently, the akinak found in the mound near the village of Filipovka (Orenburg Region), which dates back to the 4th century BC, was on display at the Hermitage. The blade of the sword in the center of the openwork. On it alternate slits and stamped images of birds of prey, covered with gold. It remains a mystery to specialists how such jewelry work could be performed in such a long time.
Weapon worship
Scythians are a people in whose life the sword was used not only as a weapon. Very often it was used in rituals fastening an oath or an agreement. Since ancient times, the sword was given the role of a symbol of royal power, as well as the guardian of the strength and valor of a warrior.
Legendary treasures
In the ancient world, Scythian tribes were the greatest lovers of gold. It symbolized among this people power, immortality, the sun and light. Gold accompanied them everywhere and always - from the cradle of the baby to the grave hill. Many historians, including Herodotus, mistakenly believed that the Scythians did not know anything about the existence of other metals. However, archaeological excavations have proven that they used bronze, copper, and silver. However, the main metal of the Scythians was gold.
Many historical sources claim that the art of the Scythians was borrowed from Greece. There is a version that the craftsmen of this nation could make jewelry similar to Greek.
The legendary treasures of the Scythians were partially looted. According to Herodotus, the militant people not only collected tribute on their territories, but also robbed the peoples living on them.
Most of the finds found in the graves of the Scythians are of great interest to scientists around the world. By the wealth of burials, their mounds can only be compared with Mycenaean tombs in Greece. Scythian treasures are kept in a special pantry of the St. Petersburg Hermitage, as well as in other museums of our country.
Ancient jewelers made their works in a special style, which is difficult to confuse with any other. We are talking about the famous "animal style", which we talked about earlier. Most often they depicted various animal figures. Quite often, such drawings were used to decorate dishes, weapons, and religious objects.
Women's clothing of noble Scythians was richly embroidered with gold plates and plaques. The outfit was complemented by necklaces, hryvnias, rings and earrings made of gold. A large number of such female jewelry were found in Scythian barrows.
Today, the interest in the heritage of the Scythians and their treasures, among other things, does not cease. Unfortunately, in recent years they have appeared not only in the best exhibition halls in the world. Quite often, Scythian treasures become the prey of “black diggers”. Their gold has become a lucrative affair for dishonest artifact hunters.