Great Scythia and the Near East in the 1st millennium BC NS.
The first Assyrian inscriptions (these were intelligence reports to the king of Assyria) about the campaigns of the "Gimirri" people in the South Caucasus date back to the second half of the 8th century. BC NS. "Gimirri", as the ancient state in the Northern Mesopotamia called the Cimmerians who inhabited the Northern Black Sea region in the Iron Age. Archaeological research shows that the material culture of the Cimmerians is similar to the tribes of the Scythian community.
After the change of the military-political elite in Great Scythia, one part of the Cimmerians moved to the Balkans, the other to the Caucasus and further to Asia Minor. They are noted in the wars with Urartu, Assyria, Phrygia and Lydia. The main part of the Cimmerians remained in their homeland, and began to be called "Scythians". During this period, there is an increase in the military and political power of Great Scythia, respectively, the expansion to the south is intensifying. Derbent, which was founded on the site of a draenearian settlement of the Bronze Age, becomes a strong point for campaigns to the south.
In Asia Minor at that time, there were two opposing military-political blocs. It was the Assyrian Empire, which sought to subjugate all the surrounding states and peoples by military means, and its opponents, the most powerful of them were Urartu, Media and Babylon. The Cimmerians and Scythians became a new factor that changed the situation in the region.
In 720 BC. NS. Cimmerian-Scythian troops began a war with Urartu and by 711 inflicted defeat on this Transcaucasian state. Urartu became a state dependent on the Scythians. Then the Scythians settled in the east of Asia Minor and soon the allied Scythian-Urartian forces defeated Phrygia. Developing the offensive, the Scythians attacked Assyria: in 705 BC. NS. in the battle with the Scythian army, the Assyrian king Sargon II died. At the same time, part of the Scythians advanced into Media, and this caused an uprising of the local population against the Assyrians. On a part of the ancient Media, the Scythians established themselves and created their own state, which lasted until 590 BC. NS. Another Scythian-Cimmerian state formation ("the country of Gimir") was created in the east of Asia Minor, on the site of the former Hittite empire. In Anatolia, the Scythians reached the coast of the Aegean Sea, defeating Phrygia.
In 679 BC. NS. a new campaign of the Scythians against Assyria ended in failure - King Ishpakai died (perhaps this is the same person with the Cimmerian king Teushpa, who died in the 670s in a battle with the Assyrians), his son Partatai concluded in 673 BC. NS. peace with the Assyrians and married the daughter of the Assyrian king. A military alliance was concluded between the Scythians and Assyria, but it turned out to be fragile and temporary. After a short break, the fight continued. In 665 BC. NS. Lydian king Gig asked the Assyrians for support against the "Cimmerians", Assyria came to the aid of Lydia. But the Assyrian intervention could not change the situation at the front in Asia Minor: in 655 BC. NS. Scythian king Madiy inflicted a new defeat on the Lydians and took their capital Sardis, and in 653 BC. NS. established control over Media (northwestern Iran).
The fact of such large-scale hostilities, going from the western coast of Asia Minor to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, speaks of the excellent organization of the army of "barbarians". And the level of organization of the army (and from ancient times to the present day) speaks of the level of development of civilization. Great Scythia was a world-class power capable of conducting active hostilities in several strategic directions at once. Around 633 BC NS. the final stage of the battle for Western Asia began, the Scythians and Media, dependent on them, entered into an alliance with Babylon against Assyria. Scythian troops like a hurricane passed through the entire Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and reached the borders of Egypt. Pharaoh Psammetichus I with great difficulty managed to persuade the Scythians not to invade his lands and buy off their invasion. However, at this time, the Medes split the alliance. In response to their betrayal, the Scythians stopped the onslaught on Assyria and defended the Assyrian capital Nineveh from the defeat of the Medes in 623-622. Soon, Media made a new alliance with the Scythians (615 BC), and the combined Scythian-Median-Babylonian army took in 612 BC. NS. Nineveh. The last Assyrian territory, Harran in the west of Upper Mesopotamia, was conquered by Babylonia in 609 BC. NS. Around the same time, the Scythians finished off Urartu, destroying the last capital of this state - Teishebaini. Soon after the fall of Urartu, the main Scythian forces left Southwest Asia - around 580 BC. NS. According to legend, the Medes betrayed again - they invited the Scythian leaders to a feast and killed them.
Thus, in fact, a century-long war ended with the fall of the Assyrian military empire. The Scythians became the main factor that dramatically changed the geopolitical situation in the region. They won their victories thanks to a higher level of organization and military technology. In this they surpassed the achievements of the civilizations of the Middle East. They introduced a new type of army into life: horse-drawn riflemen. In addition, the Scythians widely spread a new type of arrows - with faceted bronze tips with a sleeve and saddles were introduced into use. Superiority in military affairs and organization gave rise to political domination. No wonder Herodotus and other authors report that all of Asia was under the complete domination of the Scythians at the turn of the 7th - 6th centuries. BC NS. The "islands" of the Scythian civilization remained in the Middle East as early as the 5th-4th centuries. BC NS.
One of the earliest mentions of the name of the Rus, the Russian people, is associated with the events of this long war for domination in the Middle East. In the prophecy of Ezekiel, who threatens misbehaving tribesmen, that God will punish them and send the formidable people of "Gog and Magog, Prince Rosh." Obviously, this prophecy appeared under the impression of the invasion of Scythian soldiers into Palestine. Under the name "Rosh" we see the Scythians, the direct ancestors of the Rus, the Russian people. Later, Greek (Byzantine) authors began to use this name, replacing the word "rosh" with the more familiar to them "grew". For more than a millennium, the people of Rosh (Ros) will act as an exponent of the divine will, punishing the peoples mired in sins.
Scytho-Persian Wars and Alexander the Great
On the whole, the century-long war in the Middle East was fruitful. The Scythians gave impetus to the development of a new Indo-European (Aryan) civilization - the Median-Persian (Iranian). The Medes and Persians were relatives of the Scythians, but they were already quite different. In particular, the Iranians created their own religion - Zoroastrianism. The Scythian invasion led to the revolt of the Medes, who were under the rule of Assyria, and the restoration of independence. During the war with Assyria, Media finds itself at the pinnacle of power, subjugating the regions of Persia, the Assyrian Empire, Urartu, a number of small states, and part of Anatolia.
Around 550 BC NS. in the course of a palace coup, the Persian Cyrus II seized power in Media, and the Achaemenid state was created. This new state continued its expansion - the Persians quickly subjugated all of Asia Minor (Cilicia, the Lydian kingdom and other states), and then Babylon. After that, the new empire turned its gaze to the East - expansion into Central Asia began, which was then under the control of the Scythians (Sakas). Large forces of the Persians began a war with the Scythians-Saks. After a series of fierce battles, the Persian army was destroyed (according to ancient tradition, thousands of Scythian women took part in the war along with men), and Kira "gave blood" to Queen Tamiris.
In the future, the wars were continued. Under Darius, the Persians, after a series of wars, were able to subjugate the southern regions of Central Asia. But further northward advance was halted. The new subjects of the Achaemenid empire provided the most combat-ready contingents, which were noted in a number of famous battles. So, in the battle of Marathon - this is one of the largest land battles of the Greco-Persian wars, which took place on September 12, 490 BC. e., it was the Saki who broke through the center of the Greek army.
In 512 BC. NS. Darius tried to strike at the center of Great Scythia - a huge Persian army crossed the bridge from ships in the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, and then across the Danube. The Scythians used their favorite tactics of "scorched earth" (much later their experience was repeated by Tsar Peter in the Northern War and Barclay de Tolly and Mikhail Kutuzov in the war against Napoleon's "Great Army"), began to leave, destroying villages along the way, stealing cattle, and burning the steppe. At the same time, the Scythian horse detachments regularly carried out raids, destroying individual enemy detachments, constantly keeping the army of Darius in suspense. After a long offensive, realizing that he had been lured into a trap, Darius abandoned the sick and wounded soldiers, carts, and hastily retreated (fled). A lucky chance saved the thinning troops of Darius and they fled home. Great Scythia remained undefeated.
In the 5-4 centuries. BC NS. Scythia “goes into itself”, there is an internal reorganization, several external areas have been lost. In the natural geopolitical center of the northern civilization - in the region of the Don and Volga to the Urals, a new statehood (elite) is being formed. Soon Scythia will be replaced by Sarmatia. The Sarmatians-Alans will become a new burst of energy of the northern civilization, which will give rise to a series of world political events.
During this period, the Western Scythians, off the banks of the Danube, will have to withstand the onslaught of the commanders of the new power - Macedonia. In 339 BC. NS. the Scythians on the western, "Ukrainian" line will be defeated by the army of Philip the Great, in this battle the 90-year-old Tsar Atey fell. However, apparently, the victory came at a high price, and the Macedonians will stop the onslaught to the east. The next "reconnaissance in force" will take place under Alexander Filipych. The Macedonians will succeed in advancing to the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Zoripion will besiege Olbia, but unsuccessfully.
It should be noted that relations between Macedonia under Alexander and Scythia were rather complicated. On the one hand, the great king probed the northern state, conducted reconnaissance, on the other hand, there was a mutually beneficial cooperation, the Scythian elite detachment was part of Alexander's army. The Macedonian king, having made a "spear strike" through Persia and having strengthened in Central Asia, tried to probe the borders of Scythia. However, the resistance in Bactria and Sogdiana, the uprising of the satrap Bess, who relied on the support of the Scythians (and then Spitamen), showed Alexander that the march to the north would be too dangerous. As a result, he chose a southerly direction. The border with Great Scythia was stabilized. The Nikanor Chronicle reports that San, Velikosan, Avelgasan are the princes of “the bravest Slovenian people, the most glorious and noble Russian tribe,” and Alexander Filippych delimited the spheres of influence, pledged not to enter foreign territory. All lands from the Baltic to the Caspian seas were recognized as the territory of the Scythians.
Parthians
The last significant impulse of northern civilization in the Middle East was the Parthians, who created the Parthian Empire (3rd century BC - 2nd century AD). In the late 3rd - early 2nd centuries. BC NS. the situation in Scythia has changed a lot. The Sarmatian period of northern civilization began. The old "Scythian" elite retained power only in the Crimea, and the Sarmatians restored the influence of Scythia-Sarmatia to Iran and India in the South, the Balkans in the West.
One of the Scythian-Massaget tribes - the Parthians (Parny), led by Arshak (the founder of the Arshakid dynasty) around 250 BC. NS. established control to the south and southeast of the Caspian Sea on the territory of modern Turkmenistan. Later, the Parthians conquered a vast territory from Mesopotamia to the borders of India. In the west, Parthia collided with Rome and stopped its advance to the east. In 53 BC. NS. Marcus Licinius Crassus was defeated by the Parthians at Carrhos and was killed along with his son Publius. 40 thous. the Roman army ceased to exist - half died, about 10 thousand were captured, the rest were able to escape.
From the 3rd century BC NS. 3-4 centuries. n. NS. Great Sarmatia (Alania) kept most of Eurasia in its sphere of influence: Transcaucasia, Mesopotamia, Iran (through the Parthians), Central Asia and Afghanistan (Saka-Kushan principalities), Northern India (Indo-Scythian or Indo-Saka kingdoms). Sarmatia held back the onslaught of Rome to the east with the help of Parthia, and fighting in the territory of Bulgaria.
