Scythians

Scythians
Skuδa (earlier)^[1]^[2]
Skula (later)^[1]
Scythians Skuδa (earlier); Skula (later)
c. 9th-8th century BC–c. 3rd century BC
	The maximum extent of the Scythian kingdom in West Asia
	The maximum extent of the Scythian kingdom in the Pontic steppe
Location	Central Asia (9th-7th centuries BC); West Asia (7th–6th centuries BC); Pontic Steppe (6th–3rd centuries BC)
Capital	Kamianka (c. 6th century BC - c. 200 BC)
Common languages	Scythian; 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); Maeotian (in Pontic Steppe)
Religion	Scythian religion 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); Ancient Greek religion (in Pontic Steppe)
Demonym(s)	Scythians
Government	Monarchy
King
• unknown-679 BC	Išpakaia
• 679-c. 665 BC	Bartatua
• c. 658/9-625 BC	Madyes
• c. 610 BC	Spargapeithes
• c. 600 BC	Lykos
• c. 575 BC	Gnouros
• c. 550 BC	Saulios
• c. 530-c. 510 BC	Idanthyrsus
• c. 490-c. 460 BC	Ariapeithes
• c. 460-c. 450 BC	Scyles
• c. 450-c. 430 BC	Octamasadas
• c. 360s-339 BC	Ateas
• c. 310 BC	Agaros
Dependency of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (from c. 672 to c. 625 BC)
Historical era	Iron Age: Scytho-Siberian world (earlier) Scythian culture (later)
• Scythian migration from Central Asia to Caucasian Steppe	c. 9th-8th century BC
• Scythian alliance with the Neo-Assyrian Empire	c. 672 BC
• Scythian conquest of Media	c. 652 BC
• Scythian defeat of Cimmerians	c. 630s BC
• Median revolt against Scythians	c. 625 BC
• Scythian raid in Levant till Egypt	c. 620 BC
• Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire	c. 614-612 BC
• Expulsion of Scythians from West Asia by Medes	c. 600 BC
• Persian invasion	513 BC
• War with Macedonia	340-339 BC
• Celtic, Getic, and Germanic invasion of Scythia	c. 4th century BC
• Sarmatian invasion of Scythia	c. 3rd century BC
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Cimmerians
	Agathyrsi
	Urartu
	Mannai
Median Empire
Lydian Empire
Scythian kingdom in Crimea
Scythian kingdom on the lower Danube
Sindica
Sarmatians
Kingdom of Pontus
Today part of	Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Iran

This article contains cuneiform script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of cuneiform script.

Khotan

Massagetae

Kangju

Sauromatians

Dahae

Map of the Scythian ( ) and Saka realms ( ) and their main polities throughout their history.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The affiliation of the southeastern-most Subeshi culture and Ordos culture remains uncertain.

The Scythians (/ˈsɪθiən/ or /ˈsɪðiən/) or Scyths (/ˈsɪθ/, but note Scytho- (/ˈsaɪθʊ/) in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians,^[7]^[8] 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 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 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.

^ ^a ^b Tokhtasyev 2005a, p. 68-84.
^ Tokhtasyev 2005b, p. 296.
^ Davis-Kimball, Jeannine; Bashilov, Vladimir A.; Yablonsky, Leonid T. [in Russian], eds. (1995). Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age (PDF). Berkeley: Zinat Press. p. IX, Map 1. ISBN 978-1-885979-00-1.
^ O'Brien, Patrick K.; et al., eds. (2007) [2002]. Concise Atlas of World History (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-521921-0.
^ Fauve, Jeroen (2021). The European Handbook of Central Asian Studies. Ibidem Press. p. 403. ISBN 978-3-8382-1518-1.
^ Haywood, John (1997). Atlas of World History. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. Map 22. ISBN 978-0-7607-0687-9.
^ Jacobson 1995, p. 32.
^ Cunliffe 2019, p. 42.

[FOOTNOTETokhtasyev2005a68-84-1] Tokhtasyev 2005a, p. 68-84.

[FOOTNOTETokhtasyev2005b296-2] Tokhtasyev 2005b, p. 296.

[3] Davis-Kimball, Jeannine; Bashilov, Vladimir A.; Yablonsky, Leonid T. [in Russian], eds. (1995). Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age (PDF). Berkeley: Zinat Press. p. IX, Map 1. ISBN 978-1-885979-00-1.

[4] O'Brien, Patrick K.; et al., eds. (2007) [2002]. Concise Atlas of World History (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-19-521921-0.

[5] Fauve, Jeroen (2021). The European Handbook of Central Asian Studies. Ibidem Press. p. 403. ISBN 978-3-8382-1518-1.

[6] Haywood, John (1997). Atlas of World History. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. Map 22. ISBN 978-0-7607-0687-9.

[FOOTNOTEJacobson199532-7] Jacobson 1995, p. 32.

[FOOTNOTECunliffe2019[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidIR6yDwAAQBAJpgPA42_42]-8] Cunliffe 2019, p. 42.

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