A number of Russian historians, researchers of the 18-20 centuries and modern times believed and still believe that the so-called. Scythians and related peoples (Cimmerians, Sarmatians, Roxalans, etc.) are directly related to Russia, the Russian people, the super-ethnos of the Rus. For example, Boris Rybakov believed that the "Scythian plowmen", according to Herodotus, they lived in the Dnieper region, belonged to the Pre-Slavs. Yuri Petukhov attributed the Scythians to the super-ethnos of the Rus. Therefore, it makes sense to dwell in more detail on this ancient period in the history of our Motherland, to consider the Scythian world and the Scythians more attentively. It is not for nothing that Byzantine sources called the Russes of the first princes of the Rurikovich family "Tavro-Scythians", "Great Scythia".
Cimmerians and Preceding Cultures
The earliest written sources available to science are called the Cimmerians as the most ancient people on the territory of Russia. In the Bible, Homer (ie, "Cimmerian") is the eldest son of Japheth-Iapetus, who is considered the ancestor of all Indo-European (Aryan) peoples. And, the eldest son of the Cimmerian was the Scythian, respectively. Later already Russian sources report that the sons of Skif were Rus and Sloven (Slaven). We see complete continuity - from ancient times to the present day. In addition, it should be noted that the spread of the name "Cimmerian" can be seen in significant areas: the ancient Greek Homer-Cimmerian, the Cimbri of Jutland and Britain, etc.
The Cimmerians lived in the southern Russian steppes at the beginning of the Iron Age - 1 thousand BC. NS. But it is clear that their civilization took shape much earlier. Archaeological evidence suggests that in the late Bronze Age, 1600-1100. BC e., the steppe and forest-steppe zone of Eastern Europe was occupied by the Srubnaya culture. The Srubniki were an agricultural and cattle-breeding people of Indo-European origin. They were the forerunners of the Cimmerian kingdom. Srubnaya archaeological culture, in turn, reveals complete continuity with more ancient cultures: Catacomb (3-2 thousand BC), Yamnaya (4-3 thousand BC). These cultures also occupied the territories of southern Russia. The Yamnaya culture is considered "proto-Aryan": it was from its territory and at that time that migration impulses emanated, which led to the addition in the vast territories of Eurasia in the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC. NS. many related cultures and peoples of the Indo-European language family.
All these cultures differed in one rite of burial in the mounds (which speaks of the commonality of religious beliefs), it differs only in details - first, an ordinary pit was made under the mound, then a structure in the form of a catacomb, and even later a wooden frame was installed. Throughout the Bronze Age, there was a continuity in ceramics, dwelling, economy (combining arable farming with sedentary cattle breeding), in the anthropological type.
The Cimmerians are direct descendants of these ancient cultures. They are the descendants of those who chose to stay in their ancestral home, while other Indo-Europeans settled in Europe and Asia. The memory of the northern ancestral home for a long time was preserved among the inhabitants of India, Persia and other regions. The inhabitants of Scandinavia and Ireland also remembered about the "steppe". The Scandinavian sagas report that the ancestors of the Normans came from the "Great Svitod" ("Malaya Svitod" - Sweden), the Black Sea steppes. By the way, it was not for nothing that the ideologues of the Third Reich, who defended the primacy of the ancient Germans and Scandinavians, believed that Crimea and the Black Sea steppes should become part of the “Great Reich”. The migration of the ancestors of the Normans to the north took place around the end of the 3rd millennium BC. NS. According to the Edds, Odin had possessions in Asia, east of the Tanais (Don) River. The kinship of European peoples was felt even in ancient and even early medieval times. And, Greek and Roman authors used the term "Celtic-Scythians", which emphasized the kinship of the eastern (Scythian) and western (Celts) "northern barbarians".
It is clear that the Cimmerians and Scythians (their self-designation, according to Greek sources, chipped) are the direct heirs of earlier cultures. But the history written in the 18-20 centuries, and it was written under the geopolitical realities of that time, presented the history of the Eurasian steppes as a senseless replacement of some peoples by others. According to this theory, one people who came from nowhere displaces and exterminates the other. And so it is repeated over and over again. The ancient "Aryans" disappear and leave, they are replaced by the "new people" - the Cimmerians, then the turn of the Scythians and Sarmatians comes, etc. The data of archeology, mythology, historical literary monuments, archeology indicate that the Scythians were the closest neighbors and relatives of the Cimmerians, being the descendants of the same Srubnaya archaeological culture. The movement of the Scythians to the west did not come from the "depths of Asia", but from the Volga. There is no evidence that the Scythians completely exterminated or drove out the Cimmerians. The majority of the population of Scythia of the Iron Age were the same people as before - the "Cimmerians".
At the same time, there is evidence that the Cimmerian kingdom (the dynasty of their kings) fell under the onslaught of the Scythians. By about 800 BC. NS. the death of settlements of the Kobyakovskaya (late ruptured) culture in the lower Don belongs. Ancient written sources tell about it. Apparently, at this time there was a change in the ruling elite. The Cimmerian kingdom (dynasty) was replaced by the Scythian one, but the bulk of the population did not go anywhere, making up the majority of the population. Only a part of the people followed the princes - the Cimmerians appear in Asia Minor and on the Balkan Peninsula.
What is known about the Cimmerians and Scythians?
The name of the people "Cimmerians", apparently, comes from the word "steppe" (Hittite "gimra" - "steppe"). That is, they are "steppe people". Interestingly, this tradition - to call the union of tribes by the name of the area - was preserved later. Compare: "glade" - the union of Slavic tribes living in the forest-steppe zone ("field"), "Drevlyans" - living in the forests, etc. Greeks called the South Russian steppe "Scythians", they called themselves "chipped" - on behalf of Tsar Kolo (Koloksay, the word "ksay" means "king, prince"). The word "kolo" in the Slavic language means "circle" (solar circle). It is associated with a solar cult.
According to ancient historians, the Scythians dominated all of Asia three times. The first period lasted one and a half thousand years and ended around 2054 BC. NS. Thus, the Scythians dominated Asia in the 36-21 centuries. BC e., in the early Bronze Age. This period coincides with the existence of the Yamnaya culture and the beginning of the Catacomb culture. As already noted, these cultures show continuity, but it is clear that the period of transition from one culture to another reflects some serious socio-political, possibly religious shifts, internal restructuring. Naturally, at this moment Great Scythia weakened and lost some of its influence on the surrounding regions. Ancient sources reflected the general geopolitical situation, although they did not convey the details to us.
During the 21-13th centuries. BC NS. the "kingdom of the Amazons" is mentioned, which was closely associated with Scythia. According to Pompey Trog, this kingdom was founded by the Scythian youths of the royal family Plin and Skolopit. Greek mythical stories about the "Amazons" clearly exaggerate the real customs of Scythian women.
In the 16th century BC. NS.the emergence in the Black Sea region of a culture of multi-roll ceramics, which is uncharacteristic for the Scythians, is recorded. At the same time, ancient sources report about the defeat that the Scythians suffered from the Thracians. In addition, at this time the Catacomb culture ceases, besides, all the western regions of this culture are occupied by the community of the “multi-roll culture”. And beyond the Don to the Urals, the Srubnaya culture developed, which continued the local tradition. The multi-roll and Srubnaya cultures were separated by a line of fortresses on the Lower Don. Around the 14th century. BC NS. the Scythians restored their dominance on the territory of modern Ukraine. Srubnaya culture triumphed.
In the 13th century, the second period of the Scythian domination in Asia was established. The Danai-Tanaites (Donets), led by Achilles, participate in the assault and capture of Troy. The invasion of the "peoples of the sea" descends on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea - the Scythians, after the seizure of the Bosphorus, penetrate the Aegeis, use sea routes in military operations. Ancient sources report about the wars of the Scythians with Egypt. Moreover, the Egyptians even tried to invade Scythia, but were completely defeated. Paul Orosius dates this war to 1234 BC. NS. The invasion of the "northern barbarians" led to the collapse of the Hittite kingdom in Asia Minor, reached Palestine and dealt a strong blow to Egypt. Egyptian sources call the "peoples of the sea" gits (geths), and this was one of the most common names among the Scythians. At the time of Herodotus, the "Getae" lived on the Danube, the "Fissagets" on the Volga, and the "Massagets" in Central Asia. The images of the "giths" are very similar to the images of the Cossacks of the medieval era - shaved, with long mustaches and forelocks, tapered hats, pants, boots. Russian sources also report about the war of the Scythians with Egypt: the Nikanor Chronicle mentions a campaign against Egypt by the ancestors of the Russians - the Scythian and Zardan brothers. "Zardan" is quite comparable with the name of one of the "Sea Peoples" who attacked Egypt - "Shardans". Some time after the attack on Egypt, the Shardans captured the island of Sardinia (they gave it their name).
Around 1100-1000. BC NS. The log culture is disintegrating. There is a difference between the "Scythians" (the eastern part of the former community) and the "Cimmerians" (the western part). But these were not two different peoples. Russian historian GV Vernadsky wrote quite correctly that “… from time to time new ruling clans seized control of the country, and despite the fact that some groups emigrated, the majority of the local population remained, only taking an admixture of the blood of aliens” (G. V. Vernadsky. Ancient Russia). The border between the Cimmerian kingdom (it stretched from the Carpathians and the lower Danube in the west to the Azov region) and Scythia was the Don. Around 800 BC NS. the line was broken. Moreover, the "invasion" of the Scythians should be understood not as an unexpected attack of a new, alien people, but as an intrasystem change (the Scythians and Cimmerians belonged to the same ancient civilization, culture). Around 800 BC. NS. in the southern Russian steppes, political power changed, one dynasty was replaced by another. This is indirectly confirmed by Herodotus. He reports that the advance of the Scythians caused a split among the Cimmerians. The ruling elite decided to resist to the end, and the common people supported the "invaders". A civil war broke out. The Cimmerian ruling elite was defeated, and the Scythians occupied the territories of the Azov and Black Sea regions virtually without a fight. Based on these data, Vernadsky even suggested that the Cimmerian elite was alien in relation to the common people. NI Vasilieva (author of the study "Great Scythia") speaks of the crisis of the social system: there was a "decay" of the ruling classes, the disintegration of society into groups, the loss of defense capability. During the fall of the Cimmerian kingdom, there was no complete population change. Only the ruling strata were overthrown. The arriving Scythians formed a new elite.
In the 7th century. BC NS. the third stage of the domination of the Scythians over Asia began. The Scythians invade Media, Syria, Palestine, create their own state formation in Asia Minor. The fact that the Scythians had a powerful army capable of successfully beating the armies of developed states speaks of the developed economy of Scythia. It made it possible to arm large armies and form fleets.
Great Scythia
At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. NS. practically the entire steppe zone of Eurasia was under the control of the Scythian civilization. It was an ethnopolitical community united by kinship and unity of spiritual and material culture. Archaeological sites of Great Scythia have been found from the Danube to the Chinese Wall. Moreover, one should not identify the territory of Scythia only with the steppe zone. Most of the authors of the ancient era argued that in the north, the Scythians were subject to forest areas and lands up to the lifeless arctic deserts. The huge influence of the Scythians can be traced in other regions of Asia: in Central Europe, Asia Minor, Persia, India, China. It is interesting that the territories of Great Scythia occupy the same land as the Russian people (super-ethnos of the Rus). True, part of the territories is currently lost due to the unrest of the late 20th - early 21st centuries.
Within the Great Scythia, there were several regions, territorial and political associations. These are the Scythians, with whom the Greeks came into direct contact, they occupied the territory from the mouth of the Danube to the Volga.
Their eastern neighbors from about the 6th century BC. NS. there were Sarmatians-Savromats. Initially, they occupied the territory of the southern Urals. The Sarmatians, apparently, were the descendants of a part of the Andronov culture. This culture developed on the basis of Yamnaya and covers the period of time from the 17th-9th centuries BC. NS. Around 600 BC. NS. Sarmatians came to the Volga and Don, and in the 2nd century BC. NS. occupied the entire northern Black Sea region, in fact repeating the "experience" of the Scythians. According to Herodotus, the Sarmatians were descendants of the Scythians and "Amazons", they spoke the "spoiled" Scythian language. That is, the Scythians and Sarmatians were one people, they had small territorial differences and different ruling dynasties.
The lands to the east of the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea region and Central Asia were occupied by the Massagets (in India and Persia they were called Saks). Persian sources say that only one people lived in this entire region - the Saki.
In southern Siberia, Semirechye lived Issedons, akin to the Scythians (they are often identified with the Usuns known from Chinese sources) and Arimasps (or "Areimans" - the warlike people of the Aryans). Indo-Europeans-Caucasians settled not only Southern Siberia, but also Central Asia, a significant part of Tibet and Northern China. It should be noted that Indo-Europeans-Aryans, Great Scythia had a huge impact on Chinese civilization - for more details, see the article Chinese Civilization and Great Scythia. Many kingdoms of Ancient China and their dynasties were formed by the Indo-European Aryans. Including the Qin dynasty, which at the beginning of the 3rd century. BC NS. the basis of the united Chinese empire.
None of the ancient authors who wrote about the ancient Scythians indicated serious linguistic differences between the inhabitants of Scythia. This suggests that vast territories were inhabited by one people. All the names of the Scythian "peoples" are territorial designations. Like Slavic "lands", tribal unions of the early Middle Ages.
The heyday of this civilization is 800-400 BC. NS. (the third stage of the domination of the Scythians in Asia). At this time, in the south, Great Scythia included Persia, Northern India and the northwestern regions of China in its sphere of influence. Many countries were ruled by dynasties and ruling elites that were of "Aryan" origin. The Roman historian Pompey Trog reports that the Scythians were the ancestors of the Parthian and Bactrian kingdoms. “The Scythians achieved dominion over Asia three times; they themselves constantly remained either untouched or not defeated by alien dominion."
In Great Scythia, there was a developed metallurgy, they produced high-quality weapons. The art of war, based on the actions of cavalry, sudden strikes and retreats, excellent mastery of the skill of a horseman and an archer, forced to respect the strength of the Scythians. The only danger for the Great Scythia was kindred peoples, dynasties, which adopted their advanced military culture. The warlike Persians (Parsis, the people of the Indo-European-Aryan community) twice tried to attack Great Scythia - in 530 BC. NS. in the battle against the Massagets (Scythians of Central Asia), Cyrus II the Great was completely defeated and died, in 512 BC. NS. Darius I the Great undertook an invasion of the Black Sea possessions of the Scythians. But the Scythians used the scorched earth tactics, and the military expedition ended in complete collapse, the emaciated Persian army was defeated. Darius himself miraculously survived.
Failed, and the attempts of the Macedonians to expand their sphere of influence at the expense of Scythia. Alexander Filippych could not firmly establish himself in Central Asia, his commanders could not break through the Danube.
It was the most militarily powerful civilization on the planet, which for centuries controlled vast territories of Eurasia. Only the geopolitical realities of recent centuries prevent historians from admitting that all developed civilizations existed on the periphery of Great Scythia. Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the civilizations of Western Asia, Ancient India, Ancient China - were not the passionary core of the Ancient World, it was Scythia. Great Scythia dominated from the Yellow River basin, Tibet and North India to Central Europe and Palestine. Moreover, the "northern barbarians" not only dominated the military-political plane. The level of development of their economies was no lower than that of the cultures of the South. The "barbarians" of the North were the first to tame the horse, invented the chariot, causing a revolution in the means of transportation. It is believed that the first steps in the field of plant cultivation were made in the area of the Central Russian Upland. The earliest agricultural crops known in the centers of Western Asia and Northern China - spelled, barley, millet - come from Central Europe. According to N. I. Vasilieva, "in terms of the level of development of the 'technosphere', the inhabitants of Eastern Europe and the steppe zone of Asia not only did not lag behind the peoples of warm countries, but were significantly ahead of them."
In addition, almost the entire cultural heritage of the ancient world was created on the basis of the mythology (spiritual culture) of the "barbarians" of the North. The Vedas and Avesta (like other literary monuments of that era), which became the basis of Indian and Iranian cultures, came along with the Aryans from the north. Greek mythology is based on the epic “barbarians” who came from the North (Hyperborea). Almost all the gods of Olympus, including Zeus, Apollo, Lethe, Artemis, Ares, Poseidon, etc., are not of Greek origin, their images were brought ready-made from the north. In the south, they were only embellished. There is an assumption that the first writing system, to which all the systems of progressive syllabic and alphabetical writing, which were used by the cultures of the Mediterranean and South Asia, were also created in Northern Eurasia. For example, GS Grinevich, the author of the work "Proto-Slavic Writing", adheres to this opinion.
Great Scythia gave the world an advanced example of a political and social structure - the state-communal system (“communism” of that time, from the word “commune” - “community”). He was more progressive than the slave countries of the South.
Cities of the Scythians and their neighbors that existed before the new era (according to I. E. Koltsov) 1 - Scythians of the Dnieper; 2 - neurons; 3 - agathirs; 4 - androphages; 5 - melanchlens; 6 - gelons; 7 - boudins; 8 - Sarmatians; 9 - brands; 10 - tissagets; 11 - irks; 12 - breakaway Scythians; 13 - argippaeus; 14 - Issedons; 15 - arimasp; 16 - Hyperboreans; 17 - ancestors of the Kalmyks; 18 - Massagets; 19 - royal Scythians; 20 - Yenisei Scythians; 21 - Scythians of Indigir; 22 - Trans-Volga Scythians; 23 - Volga-Don Scythians
