Sarmatians: WHO IS THIS? (6 photos). Sarmatians - steppe warriors Where is the Sarmatian located

Early history

However, speaking about the origin of the Scythians themselves, Herodotus reported that the “nomadic Scythians” who lived in Asia were displaced by the Massagetae and, “crossing the Araks River, went to the Cimmerian land,” while uncertainly classifying the Massagetae themselves among the same Scythians. Herodotus also reported that the language of the “Sauromatians” was Scythian, “but they have been speaking it for a long time with errors.” During the invasion of Darius I into Scythia, the Sarmatians supported the Scythians and formed part of the army of the Scythian kings.

There is another version about the origin of the name “Sarmatians”, which I. Marquart related to the name of one of the sons of Traetaona, the Avestan story about Sairim, Tur and Arya. Ferdowsi writes in “Shahname” that Salmu (Sayrim) got the “West”, Tur - Chin and Turan, and Ireju (Arya) - Iran.

Conquest of Scythia

In the V-IV centuries BC. e. the Sarmatians were peaceful neighbors of Scythia. Scythian merchants, heading to the eastern countries, freely passed through the Sarmatian lands. In the war with the Persians, the Sarmatians were reliable allies of the Scythians. During the time of Atey, allied relations were maintained, Sarmatian detachments served in the army and at the court of the Scythian king. Separate groups of Sarmatians settled on the territory of European Scythia.

In the 3rd century BC. e. friendly relations gave way to hostility and a military offensive of the Sarmatians on Scythia. The aggressive militancy of the young Sarmatian unions coincided with the weakening of the Scythian kingdom. At the end of the 4th century BC. e. The Scythians were defeated by the ruler of Thrace, Lysimachus. The Thracians and Celtic Galatian tribes pressed the Scythians from the west. The consequence of unsuccessful wars was the decline of the economy and the falling away from Scythia of some previously conquered lands and tribes.

In Lucian’s famous story “Toxaris or Friendship,” the Scythians Dandamis and Amizok test their loyalty to friendship in the difficult events of the Sarmatian invasion. " “Suddenly the Sarmatians, numbering ten thousand horsemen, attacked our land,” says the Scythian Toksaris, “and they say there were three times as many on foot.” And since their attack was unforeseen, they put everyone to flight, kill many brave men, and take others away alive. ...Immediately the Sarmatians began to round up the loot, gather captives in crowds, plunder tents, and took possession of a large number of carts with everyone in them» .

Constant raids and the gradual seizure of Scythian territory by the Sarmatians culminated in the massive resettlement of Sarmatian tribes to the Northern Black Sea region.

Pomponius Mela in his description used information from the Roman naval expedition that reached Jutland in 5 AD. e. Of all the Germanic tribes, only the Hermiones lived east of the Elbe, but Pomponius did not know about their eastern neighbors, apparently assuming that they were Sarmatians, since this was on the borders of the Roman Empire with present-day Hungary, and applied this ethnonym to all non-Germanic tribes north of the Danube and east of the Elbe. .

Great Migration

At the beginning of our era, the era of the Great Migration of Peoples began, the initiators of which, according to many researchers, were the Huns.

Between 370 and 380 the Huns defeated the Ostrogoths, and before that, according to Jordan, crossing Maeotis, subjugate the Alans, weakening them with frequent skirmishes.

The linguistic descendants of the Sarmatians are the Ossetians, whose ancestors - the Alans - were a collection of part of the Sarmatian tribes.

Sarmatia Ptolemy

After the conquest of European Scythia, the Sarmatians gained fame as one of the most powerful peoples of the ancient world. All of Eastern Europe, together with the Caucasus, received the name Sarmatia. Having established their dominance in the European steppes, the Sarmatians began to establish peaceful cooperation with agricultural peoples and provided patronage to international trade and the Greek cities of the Black Sea region. The political unions of the Sarmatian tribes forced their near and distant neighbors from China to the Roman Empire to reckon with themselves.

Since the 2nd century BC. e. Sarmatians appear more and more often in the works of Greek, Roman and Eastern authors. We learn from Strabo the names of their tribes - Iazyges, Roxolani, Aorsi, Siracians, Alans; Tacitus reports the devastating Roxolani raid on the Danube province of the Roman Empire Moesia in 68 AD. e., where are they " cut down two cohorts"; exiled to the city of Tomy in 8 AD. e. the poet Ovid describes with melancholy and fear the Sarmatians near the city in his “Sorrowful Elegies” - “ an enemy, strong with a horse and a far-flying arrow, ravages... the neighboring land"; Josephus and Arrian left reports about the wars of the Alans in the 1st and 2nd centuries in Armenia and Cappadocia - “ stern and eternally warlike Alans».

"European Sarmatia"

Western Sarmatian tribes - Roxalans and Iazyges - occupied the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region. Around 125 BC e. they created a powerful, although not very strong, federation, the emergence of which is explained by the need to resist the pressure of the eastern Sarmatian tribes. Apparently, this was an early state typical of nomads, led by a tribe of royal Sarmatians. However, the Western Sarmatians failed to repeat the state experience of the Scythians - from the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they acted as two independent unions. In the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper the Roksolans roamed, and to the west of them - between the Dnieper and the Danube - the Iazyges lived.

In the first half of the 1st century AD, the Iazyges advanced to the Middle Danube Lowland, where they occupied the area between the Danube and Tisza rivers (part of the current territory of Hungary and Serbia). Following the Iazyges, the Roxolani approached the border of the Roman Empire, most of whom settled in the lower reaches of the Danube (in the territory of modern Romania). The Western Sarmatians were restless neighbors of Rome, they acted either as its allies or as opponents and did not miss an opportunity to intervene in the internecine struggle within the empire. As befits an era of military democracy, the Sarmatians viewed Rome as a source of rich booty. The methods of acquiring it were different: predatory raids, receiving tribute, military mercenaries.

Starting from the second half of the 1st century, the Sarmatians, responding to the call of the king of Dacia Decebalus, took part in the Dacian wars. In 87, the Roman army under the command of Cornelius Fuscus invades Dacia. The Romans are defeated at the Battle of Tapai. The Dacians obtained annual subsidies from Rome in exchange for participation in the defense of the Roman borders. The Iazyges also received part of these subsidies. Roxolani and Iazyges were loyal allies of the Dacians and took part in all Dacian military campaigns against the Romans, including the first Dacian campaign of Trajan and the second Dacian campaign of Trajan, until the summer of 106, when Roman troops, led by Emperor Trajan, finally captured Dacia and its capital Sarmizegetusa . Having suffered huge losses, the Iazyges were never able to restore their former power. Now leadership passed to the Roxolani - tribes who lived to the east, and therefore did not fall under Roman occupation. After the fall of Dacia, the Romans continued to pay tribute to the Roxolani for some time, but soon abandoned this. Having stopped receiving tribute, the Roxolani and Iazyges invaded the Danube provinces of Rome in 117. After two years of raids, the Roman Empire, wishing for peace on its eastern borders, was forced to resume payment to the Roxolani. The Romans concluded a peace treaty with King Rasparagan, who had two titles - “king of the Roxolans” and “king of the Sarmatians.” Perhaps this suggests that the Iazyges and Roxolani formally retained a single supreme power. Most often they acted in a close alliance, although the Iazyges occupied the plains of the Middle Danube, and the Roxolani were located on the Lower Danube and in the North-Western Black Sea region. Having conquered the Dacians, who lived between the Iazyges and the Roxolani, the Romans tried to destroy their connections and even prohibit communication between them. The Sarmatians responded to this with war.

The struggle of the Sarmatians with Rome was especially stubborn in the 160s and 170s. The terms of the peace treaty that the Iazyges concluded with Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 179 are known. Both the Romans and the Sarmatians were tired of the war, in whose camp two parties fought - supporters and opponents of the agreement with Rome. Finally, the peace party won, and King Banadasp, the leader of the war supporters, was taken into custody. Negotiations with Marcus Aurelius were headed by King Zantik. According to the agreement, the Iazyges received the right to pass to the Roxolani through Roman lands, but in return they pledged not to sail on ships on the Danube and not to settle near the border. Subsequently, the Romans abolished these restrictions and established days on which the Sarmatians could cross to the Roman bank of the Danube for trade. The Iazyges returned 100 thousand prisoners to Rome.

An eight-thousand-strong detachment of Iazygian cavalry was accepted into the Roman army, while some of the horsemen were sent to serve in Britain. According to some scientists, for example Georges Dumezil, it was these Sarmatians who were the source of the Celtic myths about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Clashes between the Sarmatians and Rome occurred later. Peace gave way to war, followed again by cooperation. Sarmatian troops entered the service of the Roman army and the kings of the Germanic tribes. Groups of Western Sarmatians settled in the Roman provinces - in the territory of present-day Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Great Britain.

"Asian Sarmatia"

The eastern Sarmatian unions of the Aors and Siraks inhabited the space between the Azov and Caspian seas, in the south their lands extended to the Caucasus Mountains. The Siraks occupied the Azov steppes and the North Caucasus plain north of the Kuban. The foothill and lowland regions of the Central Ciscaucasia also belonged to the Siracs, but at the turn of the new era they were supplanted by the Aorsi. The Aorsi roamed the steppes from the Don to the Caspian Sea, in the Lower Volga region and Eastern Ciscaucasia. Beyond the Volga, their nomads reached the Southern Urals and the steppes of Central Asia.

According to the ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo, the Aorsi and Siracians " partly nomads, partly living in tents and farming».

The highest level of social development was distinguished by the Siracs, who subjugated the Meotian farmers in the North-West Caucasus and created their own state. One of the residences of the Sirak kings was the city of Uspa, located near the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Aorsi, who lived in the steppes of the Caspian and Ciscaucasia regions, were called “upper Aorsi”. They dominated the western and northern coasts of the Caspian Sea and controlled trade routes through the Caucasus and Central Asia. The power and wealth of the Aorsi was already explained in ancient times by their participation in international trade. In China, the country of the Aors was called “Yantsai” - through it there was a route connecting China and Central Asia with Eastern Europe and maritime trade along the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Little is known about the relationship between the Siracs and the Aorsi. In the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they were allies and jointly provided military assistance to the Bosporan king Pharnaces. In the middle of the 1st century AD, during the struggle for the throne between the Bosporan king Mithridates VIII and his brother Cotis, the Aorsi and Siracians acted as enemies. The Siracians supported Mithridates, the Aorsi, together with the Romans, were on the side of Cotys. The combined troops of the Romans, Aorsi and Bosporan opposition captured the Syracuse city of Uspa. These events were described by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. He says that after the fall of Uspa, the king of the Siraks Zorsin " decided to choose the good of his people" and laid down his weapon. Having lost allies, Mithridates soon stopped resisting. Not wanting to fall into the hands of the Romans, he surrendered to the king of the Aorsi, Eunon. Tacitus writes: “ He entered the king’s chambers and, falling to the knees of Eunon, said: Mithridates, who has voluntarily appeared before you, who has been persecuted by the Romans for so many years».

According to the testimony of ancient historians, the Sarmatians “ a warlike tribe, free, rebellious and so cruel and ferocious that even women participated in the war on an equal basis with men"(Roman geographer of the 1st century AD Pomponius Mela).

Dwellings

The Sarmatians, according to ancient authors, were nomads. Tents and wagons served as their homes. " Sarmatians do not live in cities and do not even have permanent residence. They live forever in camp, transporting property and wealth to wherever they are attracted by the best pastures or forced by retreating or pursuing enemies."(Pomponius Mela).

During migrations, the Sarmatians transported their children, old people, women and property in wagons. According to the Greek geographer of the late 1st century BC. e. - beginning of the 1st century AD e. Strabo: " The tents of nomads (nomads) are made of felt and attached to the carts on which they live; cattle graze around the tents, from which they feed on meat, cheese and milk».

Status of women

Noble women often performed honorary priestly functions. It is significant that in addition to jewelry, weapons were often placed in the grave of a deceased woman, even a girl. A family cemetery, as a rule, was formed around the earlier burial of a noble woman - a leader or priestess, whom relatives revered as a foremother.

Ancient authors who lived in that era reported about Sarmatian women warriors. Thus, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that their women “ they ride on horseback to hunt with and without their husbands, go to war and wear the same clothes as men... Not a single girl gets married until she kills an enemy" Pseudo-Hippocrates also reported that Sarmatian women rode horses, shot bows and threw darts. He also cites this amazing detail: girls’ right breasts were often removed so that all the strength and vital juices would pass into the right shoulder and arm and make the woman as strong as the man. Sarmatian female warriors probably served as the basis for ancient Greek legends about the mysterious Amazons.

Culture and religion

Apparently, the Sarmatian form of government was a military democracy, but there is no direct evidence of the structure of supreme power in the Sarmatian tribes at the beginning of the era. When characterizing the supreme power, the term “skeptuh” is most often used, the meaning of which is not entirely clear, since it was applied to tribal leaders, kings, military leaders, and court dignitaries (in particular, at the Achaemenid court).

Early Sarmatian (“Prokhorovskaya”) in a series of Sarmatian cultures dates back to the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e. It received its name in connection with the mounds located near the village. Prokhorovka (Sharlyk district in the Orenburg region), excavated by peasants in 1911. These mounds were further explored by S.I. Rudenko in 1916. M.I. Rostovtsev, who published material from excavations near the village. Prokhorovka, for the first time identified monuments of this type with the historical Sarmatians, dating them to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. The classical concept of “Prokhorovskaya culture” was introduced by B. N. Grakov for similar monuments in the Volga and Urals regions. Currently, the latest monuments attributed to the “Prokhorov culture” date back to the turn of the era.

The Middle Sarmatian (“Suslovka”) culture was identified by P. D. Rau in 1927. In his periodization, such monuments constituted stage A (“Stuffe A”) and belonged to the early Sarmatian period. He dated these monuments (most of which came from the Suslovsky burial mound, located in the Sovetsky district, Saratov region) to the end of the 2nd - the end of the 1st century. BC e. In the periodization of B. N. Grakov, similar complexes were called the Sarmatian or “Suslov” culture. And further, in the works of K.F. Smirnov, the modern name “Middle Sarmatian culture” was established for them.

Burials

Cemetery mounds are mounds in which several burials are located according to a certain rule: either in a ring or in a row. The buried lie in rectangular pits, stretched out on their backs, with their heads to the south. Material finds usually include swords and daggers with sickle-shaped pommels, bronze and iron arrowheads, warlocks and belt buckles, molded ceramics, bronze mirrors, bone piercings, spindle whorls, and bone spoons.

Anthropology

Anthropologically, the Sarmatians belonged to brachycranial Caucasians (wide and round heads), with the exception of the Alan tribe, who belonged to dolichocranal Caucasians (narrow and long skull). The late Sarmatians were characterized by an admixture of Mongoloidity.

Warfare

The Sarmatians were considered excellent warriors; it is widely believed that it was they who created the heavy cavalry, their weapons were swords and spears. Appearing first in the Lower Volga region, the Sarmatian sword, 70 to 110 cm long, soon spread throughout all the steppes. He turned out to be indispensable in horse combat.

The Sarmatians were serious opponents for their neighbors. " ...among the Sarmatians, more than one voice of the leader matters: they all incite each other not to allow arrows to be thrown in battle, but to warn the enemy with a bold attack and engage in hand-to-hand combat"(Cornelius Tacitus). However, the Sarmatians rarely appeared before their enemies on foot. They were always on horses. " It is remarkable that all the valor of the Sarmatians lies, as it were, outside themselves. They are extremely cowardly in foot combat; but when they appear in mounted detachments, it is unlikely that any system can resist them».

The Sarmatians were very clever warriors. Sarmatian warriors were armed with long pikes and wore armor made of cut and ironed pieces of horn, sewn like feathers onto linen clothes. They covered vast spaces when they pursued the enemy or when they retreated themselves, sitting on fast and obedient horses, and each one led with him another horse or two. They changed from horse to horse in order to give them rest.

Military affairs of the Sarmatians in the works of ancient authors

Sarmatian military art was at a high level of development for its time. Sarmatian strategy and tactics, the latest weapons were adopted by the Scythians, Bosporans, and even the Romans. In the process of eastern expansion, first Greek and then Roman colonists encountered nomadic tribes. Greek authors paid more attention to the customs and history of the barbarians. They were less interested in military affairs, since their relations with the local population were most likely peaceful.

The art of war of the Sarmatians was mostly illuminated by Roman historians. There are many traditional and legendary moments in the descriptions of Sarmatia. For example, most authors of the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. traditionally calls the Sarmatians Scythians or Sauromatians. Until the 1st century. BC e. There is no direct information about the military affairs of the Sarmatians, but since the time of the first active appearance of nomads in the historical arena falls in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e., then we should consider documents that indirectly tell about various areas of military affairs of the Sarmatians.

Brief messages

Military epithets and brief references to the Sarmatians as ferocious warriors appear from the 1st century. n. e. in the works of poets and philosophers. Roman poet Ovid, sent in 8 AD. e. in exile to the Black Sea coast in the city of Tomy, he was one of the first to mention the Sarmatians as fierce warriors and compared them to Mars (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7).

Some customs of the “Scythians and similar tribes” were described by Lucius Anyaeus Cornutus, a philosopher of the Stoic school who lived during the time of Nero. The author paid attention to the indomitable justice and military exercises of nomadic tribes. The writer also mentioned the veneration of the god of war Ares.

Dionysius Periegetes also mentioned the kinship of nomads with the god of war. His works date back to the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. The Latin author describes the nomads living near Maeotis, and among them “the tribes of the Sauromatians, the glorious family of the warlike Ares” (Description of the Inhabited Land, 652-710).

The poet Guy Valerius Flaccus Setin Balbus left information concerning the “fierce Sarmatian youth” and their “animal roar” (VI, 231-233).

Rufius Festus Avienus, wrote about the “fierce Sarmatian” who lived around Taurus (Description of the Earthly Circle, 852-891). Claudius Claudian mentioned the Sarmatian cavalry units (Pangerik on the third consulate, VV, 145-150).

One of the last authors to write about nomadic cavalry was Claudius Aelianus. He once again repeats Aristotle’s “story of the Scythian mare” (On Animals, IV, 7).

Ancient authors, when describing the Sarmatian cavalry, paid great attention to such qualities as endurance and nobility. According to writers, Sarmatian horses could travel up to 150 miles per day, which equates to 220 km. Some authors mention replacement horses. All this allowed the nomads to cover considerable distances.
Ovid reports that “enemies fly in a predatory flock” (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 10), Josephus describes the “swift raids” of the Sarmatians on Moesia and Media (On the Jewish War, VII, 4, 3; 7, 4).

Descriptions of Sarmatian weapons

Ancient authors paid great attention to the arrows of nomads. Aristotle wrote about a recipe for Scythian poison for arrows prepared from echidna and human blood (On miraculous events, 141). Almost verbatim, this story repeats the story of Aristotle; in his story, instead of the echidna component, the Scythians use snakes (Tales of Curiosities, 845a, 141).

Pausanias talks about Sarmatian bone arrowheads (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Pliny the Elder also writes that the Scythians moisten their arrows with poison (Natural History, 2, XI, 279). Claudius Aelianus also writes about this (On Animals, IX, 15).

A description of traditional melee weapons - the sword and spear - is also presented in the works of ancient authors. Ovid writes about the Sarmatians armed with knives (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7). Josephus mentions the Sarmatian sword (On the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4), Valerius Flaccus describes “the manager of a huge Sarmatian pike” (Argonautica, VI, 20), Pausanias writes about bone spears (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Claudius Claudian also writes about the Sarmatian spears (On the Consulate of Stilicho, I, 122).

Quite often, ancient authors mention in their works the use of the lasso by the Sarmatians. It was used either to capture prisoners or to throw a rider from a horse. Josephus writes about an attempt to capture the Armenian king of Trinidad with a lasso (On ​​the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4). Pausanias notes that “the Sarmatians throw lassoes over their enemies and then, turning their horses back, overturn those caught in the lassoes” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5).
The latest mention of the use of lassos by nomads is found in the Bishop of Macedon Ambrose, who lived in the 5th century AD. e. The bishop writes that “the Alans are skilled in the custom of throwing a noose around the enemy’s neck” (On the destruction of Jerusalem, V).

The first mention of the defensive weapons of nomads belongs to Theophrastus of Eres. In the treatise “On the Waters” he writes: “Tarand is found in Scythia or Sarmatia, its muzzle looks like a deer... Its bone is covered with skin, from where the wool grows. The skin is as thick as a finger and very strong, which is why it is dried and made into shells” (On the Waters, 172).

Pausanias left an interesting description of the armor: “They make armor in the following way: each of them holds many horses…. They use horses not only for war, but also sacrifice them to the native gods and eat them as food. They collect their hooves, clean them, cut them and make them into something like snake scales. Anyone who has never seen a snake has probably seen green pine cones, so with the grooves visible on pine cones one can, perhaps, unmistakably compare what is made from hooves. They drill these plates, sew them together with horse and bull sinews and use them as armor, which is neither inferior in beauty nor strength to the Hellenic ones, they can even withstand blows and wounds inflicted in hand-to-hand combat” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5).

Claudius Aelian, similarly to Theophrastus, described the animal Tarand, but in his story the nomads covered shields with skin, rather than making shells from it (On Animals, II, 16).

Full-scale descriptions of military affairs and military customs of the Sarmatians

Strabo describes the defeat of the 50 thousandth army of the “warlike” Roxolani, and also notes that the nomads “wear helmets and armor made of raw cowhide and shields woven from twigs, and their offensive weapons are spears, bows and swords” (VIII, 3, 17). The geographer gives the number of troops of the Siracs and Aorses, writes about the dominance of the latter over most of the Caspian coast (V, 8).

Publius Cornelius Tacitus tells of the unsuccessful Sarmatian raid on Moesia in 69 AD. e. (History, I, 79). Mentioning that few could resist the mounted Sarmatian hordes, Tacitus described the defeat of a nine-thousand-strong army of nomads by the auxiliary forces of the third legion. In his description of the weapons of the Sarmatians, Tacitus mentions pikes and long swords, which the Sarmatians hold with both hands, as well as the heavy armor of leaders and nobles, consisting of plates fitted to each other or of the hardest leather. At the same time, he clarifies that nomads do not use shields at all.

The works of the Roman historian and outstanding statesman Flavius ​​Arrian, who ruled Cappadocia in 131-137, are of great importance. In 135, Arrian “repels” an Alan raid. It should be noted that the battle of the Roman legions with the Sarmatians did not take place - the army of Cappadocia advanced to the eastern border, and the nomads decided not to risk it and retreated. As a result of the “clash with the Alans,” Arrian developed an interest in his opponents and he dedicated the “Disposition against the Alans” to the events of 135. Describing the scenario of the failed battle, Arrian characterizes the Sarmatian weapons and tactics (Disposition against the Alans, 17, 28, 30, 31). Arrian's Sarmatians use shields and pikes, are dressed in armor, and use various tactics during battle - a false retreat, encirclement.

Another work of Arrian also tells about the military affairs of the Sarmatians (Tactics, 47, 16.6, 35.3). In Tactics, the historian mentions horsemen armed with javelins and charging in the Alan style, wedge-shaped formations of nomadic cavalry, as well as military badges in the form of dragons. Banners “not only cause pleasure or horror by their appearance, but are also useful for distinguishing attacks and so that different troops do not attack one another.”

Ammianus Marcellinus described some of the military customs of the Sarmatians. From birth, nomads learn to ride horses, constantly train, and worship the sword. Among them, the one who dies in battle is considered lucky. Marcellinus also describes the custom of scalping enemies and decorating Sarmatian horses with these scalps.

Notes

1. Shchukin M.B. At the turn of the era. St. Petersburg: Farn, 1994, p. 145.
2. Archeology: Textbook. Edited by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.L. Ioannina. M.: Publishing house Mosk. Univ., 2006, pp. 327, 344.
3. Galkina E.S. Secrets of the Russian Kaganate. M.: “Veche”, 2002, p. 327.
4. Sulimirsky T. Sarmatians. Ancient people of southern Russia. M.: ZAO Tsentrpoligraf, 2008, p. 126.
5. Scythians and Sarmatians: problems of ethnicity. Conversation with antiquarian A. Ivanchik
6. Dovatur A. I., Kallistov D. P., Shishova I. A. The peoples of our country in the “History” of Herodotus. - M., 1982. - P. 109.
7. Herodotus. "History", 4. 21.
8. N. Lysenko. Iazyges on the Danube Limes of Rome in the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. - P. 3-4.

The Sarmatians are nomadic pastoral tribes who created a strong state in Eastern Europe in the third century BC, which lasted until the fourth century AD.

Story

The Sarmatians were first mentioned in the famous work of Herodotus “History”. Historians report that the Sarmatians came from Media; Herodotus says that they were descendants of the Amazons.
At first, the Sarmatian tribes were neighbors of the Scythian state. There was peace between the two peoples, sometimes they united in a common struggle against the Persians. Sarmatian wars even served in the service of the Scythian kings.
In the third century the situation changes radically. The Sarmatians begin an attack on Scythia. It was during this period that the Scythian kingdom experienced its decline, so the Sarmatians chose the right moment to attack. Massive raids on the Scythian lands gave way to the colonization of these lands by Sarmatian tribes.
After the founding of their state, the Sarmatians became one of the most powerful peoples in Europe of that period. They established dominance in the European steppes, and then began to establish relations with neighboring states.
Already at the beginning of our era, the Great Migration of Peoples began, associated with the movement of the Huns. Their tribes forced many Sarmatians to leave their lands and attack the Roman Empire. The Huns are gradually ousting the Sarmatians from their lands.

Dwellings of the Sarmatians

As many historians report, the Sarmatians led a nomadic lifestyle. Consequently, their dwellings were tents. They never lived in
cities and did not stop anywhere for a long time. Their tents were lightweight and could be easily assembled and disassembled.

Cloth

The Sarmatians wore long, loose trousers made of thin fabric; they may remind many of them of trousers. They wore leather jackets over their torsos. They wore boots on their feet; they were also made of leather. Many historians believe that Sarmatian women wore the same clothes as men. This is explained by the fact that the Sarmatians were a warlike people, and women participated in battles along with men.

The role of women in society

In addition, Sarmatian women occupied a high position in society. At first, Sarmatian society was matriarchal, but then it was supplanted by patriarchy. However, the role of women remained, as before, high and honorable.

Culture

All Sarmatian tribes worshiped animals; the image of a ram occupied a central place in their beliefs. The image of a ram is often found on weapons and on household items, mainly dishes. In addition to animal worship, they believed in the cult of ancestors. There is evidence that Sarmatian warriors worshiped the sword.
The most famous monuments left by the Sarmatians are mounds, some of them reach a height of 8 meters. Weapons most often found in such mounds are swords, bows and arrows, and daggers. In addition to weapons, ceramics, bronze items (mainly jewelry) and bone items are found.

Warfare

As many sources say, the Sarmatians were considered excellent warriors. They fought mainly on horseback. The basis of the army was heavy cavalry; many believe that it was the Sarmatians who created such a branch of troops as heavy cavalry.
The Sarmatian warriors were armed with so-called Sarmatian swords, which they used in mounted combat quite effectively due to their length. Basically, they had a length of 70 to 110 cm. In addition to the sword, they also used a spear in battle, which helped them deliver powerful, swift blows to the ranks of their opponents, literally blowing them out of the way with a blow from the spear. In addition to edged weapons, warriors also fought with bows, from which they could fire while in the saddle on a horse.
They used leather armor as armor.
The Sarmatian battle tactics were quite advanced for their time, and even the Roman Empire used similar maneuvers and tactics. In addition to tactics, they also used Sarmatian weapons, mainly a sword.
Historians emphasize the endurance of the Sarmatian cavalry, some saying that they could cover a distance of 150 miles in just one day.
To summarize, it should be said that the Sarmatians managed to create one of the strongest states, the heyday of which fell at the end of the third century BC. and until the beginning of the third century AD. Then decline sets in, and it finally collapsed due to the intensive migration of the Huns.
The Sarmatians were excellent mounted warriors and all neighboring states reckoned with him.

More than half of the fourth book of Herodotus’s “History” (IV century BC) is devoted to a description of Scythia (modern Ukraine) and its inhabitants - the nomadic tribe of the Scythians. This Greek author, who probably met the Scythians during his journey to Olbia, then the largest Greek colony on the Black Sea, also pays attention to neighboring peoples, including the Sauromatians - the Greek pronunciation of the Latin name "Sarmatians".

During the period when the Sarmatians first appeared on the historical scene, they inhabited the lands adjacent to the eastern borders of Scythia. Herodotus (IV, 21), who makes the first mention of this people, notes that “beyond the Tanais (Don) River, Scythia ends and the lands of the Sarmatians begin, stretching north for fifteen days’ journey, on which no trees or wild trees grow. , nor impaled." Another Greek author, Hippocrates (460–377 BC), also places the Sarmatians in the lands adjacent to the Sea of ​​Azov; according to Strabo (XI, 22), very little is known about what lies beyond the Tanais River, “since this area is cold and deserted.”

Recent archaeological research has shown that the territories that the Sarmatians occupied in the early period of their history included the Southern Urals and the steppe regions east of the Ural River. But archaeological finds from areas further east - from the steppe regions of Kazakhstan to the Altai Mountains and Central Asia - have a certain similarity with objects of Sauromatian culture discovered in the Southern Urals or in the lower reaches of the Volga. This suggests that all these areas were inhabited by peoples closely related to the Sarmatians. In most cases, they were the direct ancestors of the Sarmatian tribes, who later moved to the Northern Black Sea region, from where ancient historians learned about these tribes and what they were called.

During the ancient period, living conditions in the steppe regions of Asia were constantly changing, and tribal movements occurred from the very distant past. The invention or development of horse riding and the appearance of horse archers - probably in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e., was a turning point in the development of these peoples. Nomadic shepherds on swift horses became a real disaster for their neighbors and for the peoples who lived far beyond the steppe belt.

The steppe tribes constantly clashed with each other. The reason for major wars could be famine or some external factors that forced entire tribes to seize new pastures, displacing their neighbors and causing further displacement of peoples. Thus, various Sarmatian tribes, pushed by their eastern neighbors, successively moved to the steppes of the Black Sea region and further to the west, yielding to the pressure of the next wave of settlers. Both historical and archaeological data allow us to trace the movements of most of these groups and tribes throughout Europe. The fate of all the tribes that moved to the west was more or less the same: sooner or later they dissolved among the peoples inhabiting the countries they conquered.

Sarmatian tribes

Rice. 1. Cultures of the 6th–5th centuries BC. e., attributed to the early Sarmatians (Sauromatians of Herodotus), the neighboring peoples of Europe and the proto-Sarmatians (the so-called “early nomads”) of the Kazakh steppes: I– cultures of the lower Volga; II– cultures of Samara-Ural; IIIa– Chelyabinsk group of cultures, IIIb– Andronovo culture of the Bronze Age (Irki); IV– cultures of Northern Kazakhstan (other Scythian peoples); Va– Central Kazakhstan group of Andronovo culture (Issedones), V6– finds of “early nomads” of the Scythian period; VI– Andronovo culture on the Upper Ob, Mayemiri culture of the Scythian period and Bolsherechenskaya culture (Argippei?); VII– area of ​​distribution of East Kazakhstan finds of the Andronovo culture and traces of “early nomads” (Arimaspians?); VIII– Pazyryk group of Scythian culture; IX– Tatar culture (Tochars?); X– Gorodets culture (budins); XI– Ananyinskaya culture (Tissagets); 1 – Olvia; 2 – Kerch-Pantikapaeus; 3 – Elizavetovskoye settlement; 4 – burial mound Solenoe Zaimishche; 5 – burial mound Blumenfeld; 6 – Old Pecheur; 7 – burial mounds of Pyatimara and Ak-Bulak; 8 – Bish-Oba; 9 – burial mound Uygarak; 10 – Mausoleums of the Dandybai burial grounds; 11 – Berezovka burial mound; 12 – Chiliktinsky mound

The Sarmatians belong to the northern branch of the Iranian-speaking group of Indo-European peoples, which is also called the Scythian branch and which also included the Sakas, who lived in the Soviet part of Central Asia. They were the closest relatives of the ancient Medes, Parthians and Persians. Their language is related to the ancient language of the Avesta (at least the language of the Sauromatians described by Herodotus) and was considered a dialect of the Scythian language, more archaic than the language itself.

The Sarmatians were never a single people and consisted of several tribes that differed from each other to one degree or another and whose names we find in ancient historians. It would be a mistake to assume that the Sarmatian tribes were no different from each other, and to represent the characteristic features of any one branch (such as artificial deformation of the skull) as a common feature of all Sarmatian peoples. We can assume that each of the main groups of Sarmatian tribes spoke its own dialect, although nothing is known about this for sure, since written sources are completely absent. But the language of the Ossetians living in the Caucasus originated from the ancient Sarmatian-Alan dialect, and it can be considered the modern Sarmatian language.

The first Sarmatian peoples, known by this name, are mentioned in ancient sources under the name “Sarmatai”. This name was subsequently extended to the entire group of related tribes and nationalities, the most powerful of which were probably the Alans, whose name subsequently replaced the more ancient term “Sarmatians” in designating the eastern group of nationalities. Some authors consider the Alans to be a people different from the Sarmatians, although related to them in origin.

Of the Sarmatian peoples who left their name in history, we can name the Iazyges, Roxolans, Siracs, Aorsi and Antes. From those times when the Sarmatian Alans lived in their ancestral regions, no names of tribes have reached us, with the exception of two or three mentioned by Herodotus (IV, 13–27) in the description of the journey of Aristaeus from Proconnesus.

The heterogeneous nature of the Sarmatians is confirmed by ancient pictographic materials and anthropological studies of skeletal remains, mainly skulls. In the steppe regions of Kazakhstan, the remains of the so-called “Andronovo” racial type are most often found - brachycephalic Caucasians, which clearly indicates that the majority of Sarmatian peoples descended from the Andronovo people of the Bronze Age. Skulls of a similar type were also found on the lower Volga, where, at least in the early periods of Sarmatian history, the “timber” racial type, inherited by the Western Sarmatians (Sauromatians of Herodotus) from their Bronze Age ancestors, was more common.

In the second half of the 5th century BC. e. In the steppe regions of the Southern Urals, a new racial element appeared - the Pamir-Fergana type, inherent in Central Asia, similar to the “Armenoid” type of Western anthropologists. For the period from the 3rd century BC. e. until the 3rd century AD e. it, as burial grounds testify, spread from the lower Volga to the south, from Volgograd to Manych. Later, towards the end of the pre-Christian era, the brachycephalic type, characteristic of the forest zones of Western Siberia, and Mongoloid features spread to the lower reaches of the Volga. These changes and the appearance of eastern racial traits in the west, where they had not previously been noted, reflect the process of movement of the Sarmatian tribes.

Lifestyle and economics

Rice. 2. Terracotta figurine from Kerch (Panticapaeum), depicting a Sarmatian on horseback hunting hares

The Sarmatians were inhabitants of the steppes; most of them led a nomadic lifestyle, and their economy was based on livestock breeding. Strabo claims that the country where they lived was poor and cold: “Only the local population, accustomed to living on meat and milk in a nomadic manner, can withstand such harsh conditions, but for people from other tribes this is unbearable.” In some places, in the vicinity of rivers, the Sarmatians were also engaged in cultivating the land, but to a much lesser extent. They also hunted wild animals and birds.

Rice. 3. Scythian-Sarmatian clay model of a nomadic cart, found in Kerch (Panticapaeum)

In their lifestyle and economy, the Sarmatians were very similar to the Scythians. According to both Herodotus and Hippocrates, they had no houses and lived in carts. Strabo paints the same picture (IV, 3, 4, 17, 18) four centuries later. According to his description, the Roxolani and other Sarmatian nomadic tribes “spent their lives in felt-lined carts harnessed to oxen, and kept large herds that gave them meat and milk on which they ate.” He further notes that they “feed mainly on meat, but also horse meat and horse milk, fresh or sour. They follow the grazing herds, from time to time driving them to new pastures.” He also mentions the seasonal migrations of the Sarmatians: in winter they live near the Sea of ​​Azov, and in summer on the steppe plains. Seasonal migrations appear to have been common in the region between the Volga and the Urals, as well as in Kazakhstan, especially in the mountains, where livestock were moved to high mountain pastures in the summer. Description of the late Sarmatian tribe of Alans, made by Ammianus Marcellinus in the 4th century AD. e., almost completely coincides with the descriptions of Herodotus, who lived 800 years earlier. Of interest are his remarks that the Alans place their carts in a circle and pay special attention to the breeding of horses. These horses, like the Scythian ones, are small, but unusually fast and willful, and therefore they have to be bred.

No Sarmatian settlements were found in the steppes, with the exception of traces of temporary sites. Only on the periphery of the Sarmatian territory in the forest-steppe zone, in the Samara region and in the Southern Urals, were the remains of settlements with Sarmatian finds found. The people who lived in these settlements were engaged in agriculture and were descended from the Sarmatians, who mixed with the local population. The Sarmatians themselves, as born nomads, had an aversion to agriculture, which is well described by Strabo (VII, 4, 6). A similar situation has developed in the west of the North Caucasus and between the Don and the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov. Strabo (XI, 2, 2, 1) writes about the Aorsi and Siracians, two large Sarmatian tribes of that time, and says that among them there were both nomads and farmers. The same applies to the later Alans. This fact is confirmed by the results of archaeological research.

The nature and methods of warfare

According to the descriptions of ancient authors, in their customs and clothing the Sarmatians were almost no different from the Scythians: they also wore long trousers, boots made of soft leather and pointed or rounded felt hats (although some did without a headdress at all, like the Scythians). Nevertheless, there are certain differences between the Iranian-speaking nomads - the Scythians, Sarmatians and Sakas of Central Asia. They are clearly visible if you compare the images of the Scythians on tablets, gold and silver vases and coinage from richly decorated mausoleums with images of the Sarmatians (on the tombs of Panticapaeum) and the Sakas (on Persian bas-reliefs). Archaeological research has revealed differences in material culture, funeral rites and types of burials even among the main Sarmatian tribes, whose way of life and the customs and rituals known to us were completely identical. As will be shown later, differences existed even among groups within the tribe.

Strabo (VII, 4, 6) reports that among the Roxolani “young men are taught to ride horses from a very early age, and walking is considered worthy of contempt. Thanks to this training, they grow into skilled warriors.” This can equally well be attributed to other Sarmatian tribes, as confirmed by excavations of children’s graves found in various areas: weapons were found in all of them, from which we can conclude that children were taught to use them from an early age. In this regard, the customs of the various Sarmatian tribes were the same and did not change for centuries. According to Ammianus Marcellinus (IV century AD), “almost all Alans are tall and beautiful in appearance; with the ferocity of their views they inspire fear... They find pleasure in war and danger.”

Rice. 4. a – “Scythian” type bow, which became widespread among the steppe tribes; b– “Hun” type bow with bone linings

The Sarmatians fought both on horseback and on foot. Their weapons consisted of a short recurve bow, which was their main weapon at an early stage; a quiver full of arrows; an iron sword-akinak, which was longer than the Scythian one, sometimes reaching 130 cm in length; less often - a light spear or a pike with an iron tip and, very rarely, a battle ax. If we again turn to Strabo’s description of the Roxolani, we will read that “they used helmets and armor made of rawhide oxhide, wore wicker shields, and used spears, bows and swords as weapons.” They also used lasso and slings.

Rice. 5. Wall painting in a catacomb burial in Kerch (Panticapaeum), depicting a battle scene

Sarmatian methods of warfare differed little from the military tactics of the Scythians and other steppe peoples. In the initial period of their history, they attacked the enemy in large groups of horsemen who were fluent in the art of archery at full gallop. In the 2nd century BC. e. the weapons of the Sarmatian tribes completely changed. This especially applies to the Roxolani, who by that time had taken a leading position among the Sarmatian tribes of the Northern Black Sea region. The main weapons were heavy long spears with iron tips and long swords with wooden handles. According to Strabo, the swords were “of enormous size, so that they had to be held with both hands.” Bows and arrows had faded into the background by that time. The warriors wore armor made of iron plates sewn to thick leather, and the same armor protected the horses. Helmets were made mainly from skins. At first, only leaders had such armor.

The very first armor made of bronze plates appeared in the Northern Black Sea region in the 6th century BC. e., exclusively in ancient Scythia and in the northwestern part of the Caucasus. In the 5th century, such shells were already found in Sarmatian burials in the lower reaches of the Volga. In Scythia, they were often complemented by a wide combat belt made of bronze or iron plates or long narrow strips sewn onto leather or linen. Similar armor was also found in rich Sarmatian graves of the early period, from the 4th to the 2nd centuries BC. e.

Rice. 6. Sarmatians (Roxolans?) in scale armor on the bas-relief of the Arch of Galerius in Thessaloniki

Armed cavalry was known to the Assyrians, later it was adopted by the Persians and Scythians, and after them the Sarmatians of the lower Volga. Its spread to Central Asia was of much greater importance: by the end of the 4th century BC. e. The Massagetae and Khorezmians formed special units of heavy cavalry and developed tactics for their use in battle. The cavalry fought in close formation, and no one could resist it. The adoption of these new tactics completely changed the way warfare was waged in the east: lightly armed archers were partly replaced by armored cavalry. The Chinese adopted this new tactic, as did the Sarmatians, especially the Roxolani, with the exception, however, of the Iazyges. During the Sarmatian period, special units of heavy cavalry were formed, consisting mainly of tribal nobility. Sarmatian warriors dressed in chain mail, retreating under the onslaught of the Romans, are depicted on Trajan's Column. Sarmatians in service in the Roman army, dressed in scale armor, are depicted in the bas-relief of the Arch of Galerius in Thessaloniki. Thanks to the Sarmatians, such tactics became widespread in Eastern and Central Europe, and even the Romans were forced to equip some units in a similar way.

“The Roxolans are considered good warriors, but all barbarian races and lightly armed peoples are unable to resist an organized and well-armed phalanx.” This is Strabo. According to Tacitus, individually the Sarmatians did not show much courage, and their foot soldiers fought poorly, but their armed cavalry units were very difficult to resist. However, he emphasizes that on ice and wet ground, their long spears and swords were practically useless, since the horses slipped and fell under the weight of the armor. Strabo notes that their armor, although impenetrable, was so cumbersome that “those who fell in battle could no longer rise.”

In the 2nd century AD e. The Sarmatians had to abandon armored cavalry and change their war tactics, as a new formidable weapon appeared - a “Hunnic type” bow, consisting of several pieces of wood and reinforced with bone plates. Iron-tipped arrows fired from such a bow could pierce armor. These bows were brought with them by new Sarmatian (Alan) tribes from the east, and the inhabitants of the Eastern European steppes could not resist them.

Speaking about the Roxolani, Tacitus writes that “their real passion is not war, but robbery. This is a gang of robbers who will not rest until they have ruined the whole country.” Ancient sources contain many references to Sarmatian raids. However, it seems that the penchant for robbery was characteristic only of those groups of Sarmatians that were forced out of their native steppes by their eastern neighbors. Strabo notes that the inhabitants of the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region were warriors rather than robbers.

Perhaps of greatest interest is Strabo's commentary (VII, 7, 3, 7) regarding the influence of Greek and Roman civilizations on the nomadic Sarmatians (whom he calls Scythians). “In our opinion,” he wrote, “the Scythians are the most just and well-behaved of all people living on earth. They are also more self-controlled in their needs and less dependent on each other than we are. And yet our way of life has corrupted almost all nations, revealing to them luxury and sensual pleasures, as well as base tricks that serve to satisfy these vices and lead to countless manifestations of greed.

Social system, beliefs

Ancient authors write very little about the social structure of the Sarmatians. He, without a doubt, was very similar to the Scythian. Ammianus Marcellinus noted that the Alans had no slaves and “they were all of noble birth.” The same can probably be said about the Sarmatian tribes, since none of the ancient authors mentioned the presence of slaves among them. Ammianus also says that the Alans choose as leaders “those who have glorified themselves in battle.” Among the Western Sarmatians in the last centuries BC. e. and the first centuries AD e. there were kings or leaders, and the names of some of them have reached us.

The study of their funeral rites sheds more light on the social structure of the Sarmatians. We found that at an early stage of their history small mounds with poor burials were grouped around one or two large mounds, apparently over the graves of chiefs, perhaps hereditary. Nevertheless, the grave goods consisted of the same items, only their quantity differed. The same can be said about the tombs of this period excavated in the steppes of Kazakhstan. But by the end of the 5th century BC. e. There is already a striking contrast between the burials, both in terms of the quantity of contents and their quality. In many burials there were no funerary objects at all, while from others, of a different design, large amounts of gold and imported goods were recovered. Special burial grounds for the tribal aristocracy also appear.

These changes were undoubtedly the result of tribal movements resulting in wars and conquests. These changes strengthened the position of successful military leaders and at the same time worsened the position of the leaders of defeated and enslaved tribes who did not retreat under the pressure of the conquerors. Studies of cranial material also indicate the heterogeneous composition of the Sarmatian tribes, especially in the late period. Considerable differences in burial practices and the design of graves dating from the same period and located in the same part of the cemetery, even if the burial goods are the same, lead us to the same conclusion.

Of particular interest is the position of women in most Sarmatian tribes, but mainly among the Sauromatians described by Herodotus (VII, 110–117). According to him, they originated from an alliance between the Amazons and Scythians. This explained the fact that their wives “followed the lifestyle of the ancient Amazons: they hunted on horseback and fought in war next to their husbands, dressed just like them.” He also claims that the girl was not allowed to get married until she killed an enemy. Almost the same description is given by Hippocrates, who also mentions that the right breast was burned with it in infancy, so as not to impede the movement of the right hand when throwing a spear or archery. Later, Strabo gives a similar description of the Amazons, who, as in his time, were believed to live in the central part of the northern foothills of the Caucasus in the vicinity of some Sarmatian tribes. The relatively large number of burials of armed women, especially in the Sauromatian burial grounds, is usually considered as confirmation that ancient remnants of matriarchy were preserved in the social structure of the Sauromatians.

Hippocrates argued that Sarmatian women were not only warriors, but also priestesses. Among the grave goods of women's burials in the burial grounds of the Southern Urals, rounded stone tables with sides along the edges were often found. Similar objects were also found in Sarmatian burials in Central Kazakhstan. Such altars, often decorated in the Scythian animal style, are considered attributes of female priestesses. Some of the graves where stone altars were found were of a special design and were distinguished by the wealth of grave goods, although similar objects were also found in poorer burials. There were also bronze rings, necklaces made of semi-precious stones, pieces of white, red, green, yellow paint and charcoal.

Rice. 7. Portable stone altars from Sarmatian burials, mainly in the Urals-Samara

Very little is known about the religious beliefs of the Sarmatians. Apparently they worshiped the sun as well as fire, and believed in its cleansing power. These beliefs and rituals were inherited by them from their ancestors who lived in the Bronze Age or even in the Neolithic. This can be judged by the remains of fires built next to or above the burials, as well as by traces of fire in the grave pit and, as a consequence, partial cremation; by pieces of coal thrown into the grave or scattered around it. The "altars" of the priestesses probably indicate a fire cult. These rituals may also have been associated with the worship of the sun or sun god. Later, in the first centuries of our era, Zoroastrianism became widespread among the Sarmatians, mainly Alans.

Rice. 8. An example of a deformed skull from Nieder-Olm, Germany ( on right) compared to a normal skull

It is worth mentioning a few more features of the Sarmatians. For example, Ammianus Marcellinus says that the Alans “have a remarkable ability to predict the future. They collect straight willow rods and at a certain time lay them out, pronouncing secret spells over them, and thus find out what awaits them in the future.” A similar custom among the Scythians of the Black Sea steppes was described by Herodotus (IV, 67) several centuries earlier.

Another stable custom, first noted among the Scythians of the Northern Black Sea region, but probably widespread among the Sarmatians, is the worship of the iron sword, the “scimitar.” According to Herodotus (IV, 62), the sword was considered by the Scythians to be an image of the god of war Mars, “to whom they annually sacrificed cattle and horses,” and sometimes also prisoners captured in war. Worship of the sword was observed already in the 4th century AD. e. Ammianus Marcelinus, who wrote that “the Alans worship a naked sword stuck in the ground as their god of war.”

A custom that is often erroneously attributed to all Sarmatian tribes without exception is artificial deformation of the skull: the child’s head was tied with a tight bandage so that as he grew, it acquired an elongated shape. Such skulls were first discovered in the burial grounds of the Catacomb culture in the lower reaches of the Volga and Manych, dating back to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. But cranial deformation became widespread only among the inhabitants of the Volga steppes and eastern Alans during the late Sarmatian period (from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD). Up to 70 percent of male skulls found in their cemeteries were deformed. This custom was widely practiced in Central Asia at the beginning of our era, especially among the Huns, and from them it was apparently adopted by the eastern Alans when they still lived in the Kazakh steppes.

Rice. 9. Examples of Sauromatian-Sarmatian decorative art: talismans carved from bone, horns and boar tusks, with images of predatory or mythological animals

The Sarmatians believed in an afterlife, which they saw as a continuation of the earthly one. This is reflected in their funeral customs and grave goods. The deceased had to be given everything they needed to travel to the afterlife; men had to be accompanied by their wives, and in a later period among some tribes the chiefs had to be served by slaves who were sacrificed at their graves. There is no uniformity in funeral rites: the position of the skeleton in the grave pit, orientation to the cardinal points, and arrangement of burial goods depended on the beliefs and customs accepted among various Saramatian tribes in different periods. Partial and complete cremation was also common among some tribes during certain periods.

The existence of other beliefs and rituals, mainly of an animistic nature, is indicated by the presence of broken or damaged bronze mirrors, as well as amulets and talismans in the graves. Of interest are the ornamented boar tusks attached to swords or horse harnesses.

In the West, steles with primitive images of deceased ancestors were sometimes worshiped. They were usually installed at burial sites between mounds or flat graves, less often on the mound itself. Anthropomorphic steles are not typical for the Sarmatians; they appeared among tribes that migrated from the Northern Black Sea region, after they absorbed the remnants of the peoples who lived here before them.

Who are the Sarmatians?

Who are the Sarmatians?

The history of Russia in recent centuries is derived mainly from its Northwestern lands and all Russians are called Slavs. Although, to be objective, the North-West or White Rus' is only one of the fragments of the single Three Kingdoms or the world of the Trinity. The most important component of Rus', its female chromosome, was Sarmatia.

Sarmatia - from the name Sarah. Sarmatia must be understood as a complex spatial and temporal complex of a distinctive civilization, the central core of which occupied the territory from the Dniester to the Urals, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea, including the Caucasus and Asia Minor in the south. However, in Rus' there were three chromosomes. White Rus' is the primordial substance (Hyperborea), from which the female essence of Sarmatia emerged. She gave birth to Red Rus' or Ukraine (masculine entity). The core of Sarmatia is the Volga region (the space from the Don River to the Urals). This is precisely the primordial world. It is here and only here that new civilizations arise and, as if from a mother’s womb, new peoples emerge. In Rus' today, like thousands of years ago, there are three kingdoms - Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Each part of Rus' plays its role.

In Sarmatia, continuity of the same population has been maintained for 50 thousand years. It does not migrate anywhere - only its self-names, cultural and religious forms of consciousness change. This is a woman's world. Leaving it, settlers in the peripheral world created colonies and civilizations, which always, both in language and in the organization of their way of life, initially preserved the traditions of Sarmatia. Over time, their civilizations in the peripheral world degraded, the language was simplified and distorted. This is how all the diversity of ethnic groups and human races arose. Always a new wave of migrants to the outside world had advantages over those who arrived there earlier. This is explained by the fact that the transformation of consciousness in humanity, the discovery of its new possibilities, does not occur constantly, but in leaps and bounds. And not everywhere, but mainly in the lands of Sarmatia. This space on the planet plays the role of a place of salvation and meeting with God. It is here that humanity periodically gathers to acquire new opportunities.

Planet Earth is like the human brain. The Northern Black Sea region is carrying out a rescue mission. This can be seen at all stages of evolution.

The population of Sarmatia traditionally includes groups of people from everywhere. This process is especially intensified before the start of transformation - the emergence of fundamentally new possibilities for the consciousness of humanity. For example, it is known that in ancient times people perceived time and space differently than their contemporaries. They had three seasons and three cardinal directions. And suddenly one day their consciousness became multidimensional. This moment is the moment of transformation. First, new people who know how to think differently appear en masse in Sarmatia. From here they spread across the planet, conquering, enslaving, and sometimes transforming people of the previous wave. This is how the evolution of the consciousness of civilization works. Perhaps this is the meaning of planet Earth in space.

There were always many aliens from peripheral worlds in Sarmatia, but they did not determine the ethnic and cultural face of the original world. In the fifteenth century after the birth of Christ, Sarmatia acquired the form of Russian civilization. Sarmatia still exists in this Russian form.

Sarmatia initially arose as the culture of the ancient Aryans, as its religious core, descended from seven Aryan tribes that left Hyperborea to the Volga River. The linguistic root “ar” was strongly emphasized in names and Aryan names all over the world, but especially in the Volga region, where its center was. In Hebrew, "ar" is a mountain or peak. And in the Russian word “mountain-gara” you can see the root gora-gar-ar (in the Turkic root “ir-er” - man, person). Another characteristic name of Sarmatia was “Land of the bright gods (aces)”, or simply Asia, Asia. Gradually this word became the name of an entire continent.

The influence of the Sarmatian civilization in different eras was much wider than the area of ​​its central core and reached, in fact, the extreme limits of the Earth. Since ancient times, Sarmatia has been like a cauldron, boiling with peoples and splashing them out in all directions... The reasons for this were in the special organization of Aryan society.
Sarmatian civilization went through many stages.

Sarmatian sword

Today's knowledge allows us to distinguish seven stages:

1. Time before the Flood and the emergence of the Eurasian Ocean - ancient Hyperborea (Aryans)

2. The time during the flood, when the entire civilization of Rus' was concentrated in three enclaves that remained unflooded by the Eurasian Ocean: Valdai, the Urals and the Central Russian Upland

3. The most ancient period (Cimmerians, Gargars, Sinds, Meotians and Scythians and Sauromatians)

4. Ancient Sarmatia (Sarmatians and people of the sea in the Bosporus, from which the new settlement of Egypt and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea begins, the Goths and the birth of great Sweden)

5. Late Sarmatia (Sarmato-Alans, Huns, spread of Christianity throughout the world)

6. New Sarmatia or Great Bulgaria

7. Modern Sarmatia (Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Bashkirs, Jews and other peoples)

Bowl with the image of feasting Scythians. Second half of the 4th century BC. Silver, gilding, stamping, engraving

At one time, the Sarmatian civilization included Poland (where not so long ago there was a special Sarmatian style of art - Sarmatism) and Hungary. The first inhabitants of Sarmatia known to us were the Cimmerians... They are believed to come from the Sinds and are the last bearers of the features of the Aryan world itself.

The Sarmatians were the first to master horse riding instead of the previously practiced chariot riding. No matter how terrible the chariot is in battle, it is limited in its movement over rough terrain. Sarmatian horsemen created a completely new military reality.

Among the Sarmatians, women always took part in war. They played a prominent role in all other areas of life. The Sarmatians in ancient times were a people ruled by women. In any case, at the commune level it was women who headed clan communities. According to the testimony of the ancients, only unmarried girls went to war. The Amazons, as the Hellenes called them, terrified their enemies with raids by mounted squads of archers.

The particular militancy of Sarmatian women is attested in later times. For example, in Asia Minor, similar customs were common among the Carians, Lycians and Lydians. Europe is famous for its Amazons. Celtic women were tall, strong and fearsome in battle. Many Celtic coins feature an image of a naked female warrior riding a horse and brandishing a sword or spear. Actually, there is nothing strange in this, since all the peoples of the world are Sarmatians who left the world of AR for the world of RA, who over time forgot their origin. That is, they became Vans or Ivans. So, a German, an American, and a Japanese can be safely called “Ivan who does not remember his kinship.” True, a Russian often does not remember this relationship with a Tatar and a Jew either.

The Cimmerians, who owned the Black Sea steppes, were replaced by a new male formation of the same Sarmatian population (Meotians) - the Scythians. These are the same Sarmatians, but they preferred freedom and male freemen to traditional religious communities, which preserved the way of life and religion modeled after the times of the Aryan world. The Cimmerians carried out their campaigns of conquest in Asia, and at this time in their homeland, in the Black Sea region and the Don region, the change of cultural traditions was already completed, the traditions of matriarchy were completely forgotten.

One stream of Cimmerians moved south, to Transcaucasia, along the Black Sea coast. These Cimmerians dealt a terrible blow to the cities of Urartu, formed by previous waves of settlers from the Aryan world. Then the Cimmerians entered into an alliance with the Urartians and, together with them, tried to fight against the Scythians. The Scythians defeated them and subjected Urartu to another devastation.

The Cimmerians made their second campaign across all of Asia Minor. Having crossed the straits, they reached the Balkans, reached Gaul and moved to Britain. Their name was preserved at the end of the migration in the name of one of the Celtic tribes of Wales: the Cymry. Actually, the county of Wales comes from the name of one of the main gods in the lunar cults of the Sarmatians of Rus' - the god Veles. Thus ended the long route of one wave of migration of the ancient Aryans, which began on the upper Volga near the city of Kimry (modern Tver region) and ended in Great Britain, where settlers from Russia formed the county of Wales. The city of Kimry is located on the Kimrka River. It is known that the names of rivers are preserved for a very long time. Probably, on the banks of this river, which previously flowed from the purest glacial Lake Orsha, was the ancestral patrimony of the Cimmerian princes. Residents of the county of Wales in Great Britain can safely establish sister-city relations with the Kimryaks from Russia - they are closest relatives who have diverged in history.

The second stream of Cimmerians moved to the west. The roots of this people were preserved in the territory of what is now Denmark: in the north of Jutland lived the people of the Cimbri, who belonged to the community of northern Illyrians. The invasions of these Cimbri (in alliance with the Teutons) shook the foundations of the Roman Empire...

In the most ancient layers of Russian mythology, the image of the Black Sea Serpent, or Gorynych (gor-hor-gar), remained from the Cimmerians. The myths of ancient Hellas depict the battles of the Olympian gods with giants. Giants in all mythologies, including the Scandinavian sagas, are Sarmatians.

Falar of horse harness
Date of burial: last quarter of the 1st century. N.E.Gold, bronze, agate, turquoise, glass, garnet

Dagger in a decorative scabbard Date of burial, last quarter of the 1st century. N.E.Gold, turquoise, carnelian, iron

The history of Sarmatia traces the struggle between two cultural traditions:

The first is characterized by equality of rights between women and men, which in its extreme form takes the form of the cult of the Amazons. Lakshmi-Bai, at the head of a mounted detachment of women, fights the British in India (Sepoy Rebellion). The legendary warrior girl Maria (the legend “Goat Horn”) protects the Danube Bulgarians from the Turkish yoke.
For the second type of Sarmatian culture, a woman is turned into a servant.

Sarmatia has always been the custodian of the most ancient Aryan cults and traditions. Probably, the struggle between the feminine and masculine principles is a manifestation of life itself. In Aryan philosophy, it is believed that as long as there is equality between the feminine and masculine principles and their competition, life itself exists.

The Amazons were equal in rank not to ordinary warriors, but to leaders, basileus. In general, the role of women in Sarmatian society has traditionally been high. Back in the 7th-9th centuries, the kingdom of the Savir Huns existed in Northern Dagestan. “The History of the Agvans” reports on the widespread custom of polyandry among the Savir Huns, when one woman could have several husbands at once, thus receiving the status of brothers.

The following is reported about Sarmatian signs: “In terms of their meaning, they were first generic, then family, and then personal. The semantic connotation that they acquired in each specific case of use also depended on where and for what purpose they were used. They could be used for cult-magical purposes or as signs of ownership, marking property, products, etc. With their help, they passed on some information within the clan, where they knew their meaning.
A unique monument of Sarmatian “writing” - a limestone slab from Kerch is covered with Sarmatian “hieroglyphs”. This is a truly encyclopedic collection of Sarmatian signs, there are about 500 of them. Why did the Sarmatians, warlike steppe inhabitants, waste time compiling such a “collection”?”

In the Volga region there is the city of Samara. The rivers in the Sarmatian culture zone - the left bank tributaries of the Dnieper and Volga - are named after Samara. The city of Samara on the left tributary of the Don in the Rostov region. In Iraq - the city of Samara. In Central Asia - Samarkand. Samar is an island in the center of the Philippine archipelago; Samarinda is a port city in Indonesia. Since ancient times, the Aryan title sardar was widely known - “sar-ar” means commander.

The other part of the Sarmatians, who did not want to live in the Aryan matriarchal communes, were called falcons - after their totem falcon, or Scythians. This is a man's world. The falcon is associated with the cult of the Sun-Kolo (among the ancient Egyptians from the Nile Valley in Africa, for example, the solar deity Horus-Horus was depicted as a falcon). The word falcon itself means “accompanying the Sun-Kolo.” Therefore, in the Scythian art of the “animal style,” a frequent subject is a falcon tormenting a snake. The meaning of this plot is the change from the era of matriarchy to patriarchy, when the Cimmerian (snake) era in the Russian steppe was replaced by the Sokolot (falcon) era. That is, this is how the fact of replacing the Cimmerian culture of Eve with the Scythian Ahura is noted in a figurative form (compare: George slaying the Serpent).

In the Scythian liberal world, the stratification of society naturally began immediately. There is a known mound, during the filling of which, according to archaeologists, over three thousand people took part in the funeral feast. In the burial chamber there were weapons, gold jewelry (this is how a golden ax was found in the Gelermes mound), and dead horses were buried nearby. The number of horses found by archaeologists in one burial is over five hundred. The Scythians are a new form of organization of social relations of the same population that were previously the Cimmerians or Sarmatians.
Historian
Gennady Klimov

The Sarmatians (let me remind you - IV-I BC), as a gathering of warlike peoples, in addition to bows and swords, also had belt buckles. Rectangular, with an image of a camel and a rider, enclosed in a frame. There are also buckles with geometric patterns. The high occurrence of these buckles with weapons, especially swords, indicates that they were part of the Sarmatian military equipment. As a rule, buckles of the indicated types were found in burials where there were two or more swords.

Wikipedia:

It is believed that the Sarmatians took part in the ethnogenesis of several Eastern European peoples.
Thus, the self-names of the Slavic peoples of Serbs and Lusatians are considered to originate from the Sarmatian tribe Serboi, originally recorded in the Caucasus and Black Sea region in the works of Tacitus and Pliny.
Also, there are versions about the Sarmatian origin of the Polish gentry (see Sarmatism in Poland).
Some researchers believe that part of the Sarmatians (mainly Don Alans) was assimilated by the Eastern Slavs and became part of the Cossacks, and, through them, into the Russian and Ukrainian nations.
The direct descendants of the Alans are the modern Ossetians and Yases. The Ossetian language (a descendant of the Alan language) is the only surviving form of the Sarmatian language.
The Hungarian Yas language was lost in the 19th century, but the surviving written monuments of the Yas language indicate that it practically coincided with Ossetian.

Some of the material is taken from the blog:

The Sarmatians were not a single people, but rather several groups of nomadic peoples who had a common origin. The Sarmatians roamed the Eurasian steppes - a huge corridor stretching from China to Hungary, gradually moving west. They spoke Iranian dialects, close to the dialects of the Scythians and related to the Persian language.

The Sarmatians appeared on the historical scene in the 7th century. BC. in the steppe region located east of the Don and south of the Urals. For centuries, the Sarmatians lived in relative peace with their western relatives and neighbors, the Scythians. In the 3rd century. BC. or a little earlier, the Sarmatians crossed the Don and attacked the Scythians who inhabited the northern coast of the Black Sea (Pontus Euxine). Soon " most of this country has turned into desert"(Diodorus, 2.43). The surviving Scythians went to Crimea and Bessarabia, leaving their pastures to the newcomers. The Sarmatians dominated their new lands for the next five centuries.

The most famous Sarmatian tribes are the Sauromatians, Aorsi, Siracians, Iazigs and Roxolani. The Alans who appeared later were relatives of the Sarmatians, but they are usually considered as an independent group of tribes. The fact that the Alans were not one people, but were a confederation of different tribes, is evidenced by Ammianus Macellius (31.2.13 17) and some medieval Arab sources.

Northern Black Sea region in the 2nd century. BC. - III century AD

Most Sarmatian tribes were engaged in cattle breeding. This occupation provided them with food and clothing. They spent the winter on the southern edge of the steppes, not far from the Black and Caspian Seas, in the area of ​​the mouths of the Don, Dnieper and Volga. In the spring, the Sarmatians migrated to the north. Carts served as transport and housing for the Sarmatians. Ammianus Marcellinus writes (3S.2.18): “ Husbands sleep in them with their wives, children are born and raised in them«.

The early Sarmatians became the source of the famous myth of the Amazons. According to Herodotus (4.116), Sauromatian women hunt, shoot with bows and throw darts, riding on horses. They don’t go to war with men and even dress the same. The myth of the Amazons is confirmed archaeologically. In early Sarmatian women's burials, bronze arrowheads are found, and sometimes even swords, daggers and spearheads. Skeletons of girls aged 13-14 years show crooked legs - evidence that they learned to ride a horse before walking. The status of women among the Sarmatians was unexpectedly high. Some ancient authors (Pseudosillax, 70) even believed that Sarmatian society was ruled by women.

In the 1st century from the birth of Christ, the Sarmatians and Alans left a particularly noticeable mark on history, having carried out several successful raids on their sedentary neighbors. Invading Asia Minor, the nomads devastated the lands inhabited by the Parthians, Indians and Armenians. At the same time, other Sarmatian tribes plundered the Danube provinces of the Roman Empire: Pannonia and Moesia. Then the Sarmatians moved further along the lower reaches of the Danube and gained a foothold on the Hungarian Plain. Some enlisted in the Roman army, but for several centuries the Sarmagi remained unpredictable neighbors, starting wars at the slightest provocation. Tensions on the border were so high that the Roman authorities began to allow Sarmatians to settle on the territory of the Empire. As a result of the wars with the Sarmatians, the Roman army underwent a radical degeneration. The legionary infantry, which had previously been the main fighting force of the army, began to fade into the background, but the previously minor cavalry became unusually stronger. The Roman cavalry now took the spear-armed Sarmatian cavalry as a model.

Throughout their history, the Sarmatians maintained close ties with the Greek colonies on the northern coast of the Black Sea, as well as with the Cimmerian Bosporan kingdom, which lies in the east of the Crimea and the west of the Taman Peninsula up to the mouth of the Don. In the middle of the 1st century. from AD In the Bosporan kingdom, the Sarmatian dynasty came to power, as a result of which the army of the kingdom was largely “Sarmatized.” Externally, the heavy Bosporan cavalry practically ceased to differ from the heavy cavalry of the Sarmatians. Bosnorian fine art has preserved for us the best images of Sarmatian weapons.

The appearance of the Goths disrupted the previous ties between the Sarmatians and the Bosporan kingdom. Goths - Germanic people - around 200 AD. began moving south from Scandinavia through Poland and the Dnieper region. By 250, the Goths captured Olbia and continued their movement east, occupying the Crimea. As a result, the Goths completely ousted the Sarmatians and Alans from this region.

Somewhere a century later, no less dramatic was the appearance of the Huns in the Black Sea region. Successive waves of Goths and Huns caused great disturbance to the western frontier of the Roman Empire. The Alans had no choice but to join the Huns. Waves of invasion reached Gaul, Spain and even North Africa. Small groups of Sarmatians and Alans served in the Roman army. By the middle of the 5th century, the Sarmatians no longer represented a noticeable force, and by the 6th century. it is possible to trace only traces of their presence in western Europe. Apparently, the Sarmatians did not disappear, but organically merged into the motley tapestry of peoples that represented medieval Europe.

COMMENTS

   SAUROMATES(lat. Sauromatae) - nomadic Iranian tribes who lived in the 7th-4th centuries. BC. in the steppes of the Volga and Urals regions. The first Sarmatian people noted in written history.

In the 5th century BC Herodotus (4.21) wrote that the Sauromatians live east of the Don on a treeless plain that extends 15 days' journey north of Lake Msoti (Sea of ​​Azov). Herodotus' Sauromatians apparently correspond to a culture discovered between the Don and Volga by archaeologists and dating back to the 7th-4th centuries. BC. In the east, this culture reaches the territory of modern Kazakhstan, stretching from the northern coast of the Caspian Sea to the southern Urals.

In origin, culture and language, the Sauromatians are related to the Scythians. Ancient Greek writers (Herodotus and others) emphasized the special role that women played among the Sauromatians. Most of the facts known to us relating to the Sauromatians are semi-mythical in nature. Herodotus (4.110-116) claims that the Sauromatians were the children of the Scythians and Amazons who lived north of the Caucasus. Their language is a corruption of Scythian, since the Amazon mothers never knew it perfectly.

The history of the Sauromatians reflected in written sources begins with the following event. In 507 BC. (dating uncertain) the Sauromatians became allies of the Scythians, who were attacked by the Persian king Darim I. A detachment of the Sauromatians advanced far to the west, reaching the Danube, trying to interfere with the actions of the Persian army.

Archaeologists have found burials of rich women with weapons and horse equipment. Some Sauromatian women were priestesses - stone altars were found in their graves next to them. In con. V-IV centuries BC. The Sauromatian tribes pushed back the Scythians and crossed the Don. In the IV-III centuries. BC. they developed strong tribal alliances. The descendants of the Sauromatians are the Sarmatians (III century BC - IV century AD).

Nowadays, the Sauromatian period refers to the earliest period in the history of the Sarmatians (VII-IV centuries BC). The Sauromatians formed the core of the Sarmatian group of tribes, which gradually moved westward.

   AORSY(Greek "Aorsoi") - one of the most powerful confederations of Sarmatian tribes, apparently migrated here from the east.

Strabo (11.5.8) distinguishes two groups of Aorsi: some lived closer to the Black Sea and could assemble an army of 200,000 cavalry warriors, others were even more powerful and lived closer to the Caspian Sea. Modern scientists believe that the lands of the Aors extended all the way to the Aral Sea.

Some scientists believe that the Aors and the Yen-Tsai (An-Tsai) people mentioned in Chinese chronicles are one and the same. The chronicle of the early Han dynasty ("Han-shu"), compiled around 90 AD, states that " they have 100,000 phenated archers"They live 2000 li (1200 km) northwest of Khan-chu (Sogdiana) - a state that lay in the fertile interfluve of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya (Transoxania) southeast of the Aral. Later, Chinese texts describe clothing and customs the people of Yen-Tsai, who were close to those in Kahan-Chu.

During the Bosporan War in 49 AD. The Aorsi supported the pro-Roman faction, while the Siracians chose the opposite side.

Meanwhile, the Aorsi were conquered and absorbed by a new confederation of Sarmatian tribes - the Alans, who, like their predecessors, arrived in the Black Sea region from Central Asia. Some of the Aors retreated to the west, to the north of Crimea, where they remained independent for some time. Ptolemy mentions the "alanors", probably a mixed union. In Chinese chronicles, the people of "Alan-Liao" replaced the Yen-Tsai people.

   SHIRAKI(Greek "Sirakoi", lat. "Siraces" or "Siraci") - part of the Sarmatian horde, a nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes, migrated at the end of the 5th century. BC. from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea region. By the end of the 4th century. BC. they occupied lands from the Caucasus to the Don, gradually becoming the sole masters of the region known today as Kuban. The Siracians became the first of the Sarmatians to establish contacts with the Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast. In 310-309 BC. The king of the Siracs, Aripharnes, intervened in the war for the throne of the Bosporan kingdom, but soon his army was defeated in the battle of Fates, as one of the tributaries of the Kuban was called in those days.

The Siracians were a relatively small people, but Strabo (11.5.8) states that King Abeac could muster up to 20,000 horsemen during the reign of the Bosporan ruler Pharnaces (63-47 BC). The Sirak aristocracy led a semi-nomadic life, but the lower social strata were sedentary. The Siracians were Hellenized to a greater extent than other Sarmatians; they also maintained close contacts with the Bosporan kingdom.

During the Bosporan War in 49 AD. The Aorsi supported the pro-Roman faction, while the Siracians chose the opposite side. During the war, the Romans besieged the fortified Syraci city of Uspa. The city's fortifications, consisting of wicker fences coated with clay, turned out to be too weak to withstand the assault (Tacitus, Annals, 12.16-17). " The night did not stop the besiegers. The siege was completed within 24 hours". Uspa was quickly taken by storm, the entire population of the city was killed. The Siracians had to swear allegiance to Rome. The war of 49 seriously weakened the Siracians, they almost disappeared from history until another Bosporan conflict, in 193, after which their traces were completely lost.

   YAZIGI- part of the Sarmatian horde, a nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes roaming the Northern Black Sea region and the Azov region.

The meaning of the word "Iazyges" (Greek and Latin "Iazyges") remains unclear. However, the word "Iazyges" in classical texts is invariably used as part of the phrase "Iazyges Sarmaiae", which indicates that they represented some part of the Sarmatian horde.

The Yazigs and Roxolans were among the first to cross the Don. The Yazigs chose the area immediately north of Crimea as their new place of residence.

In 16 BC. The Iazyges came into first armed contact with Rome. The proconsul of Macedonia drove back the nomads who had invaded the territory of Rome across the Danube. Over the next three centuries, the Sarmatians constantly harassed Rome's eastern borders. The poet Ovid witnessed several such raids that occurred in 8-17 AD. from AD, when he was in exile in the Black Sea colony of Tomi (modern Constanta). Ovid describes Sarmatian horsemen and their carts crossing the frozen Danube.

The Yazigs moved northwest along the lower reaches of the Danube. By the middle of the 1st century. AD they reached the Hungarian plain between the Danube and Tisza rivers. In 50, they assisted Vannius, the king of the Sueves, dependent on Rome, in his war with his neighbors. The Iazygians provided Vannius with cavalry, but when the Suebi king took refuge in the fortress, the Iazygians " could not withstand the siege and scattered throughout the area", after which Vannius was quickly defeated (Tacitus, Annals 12.29-31).

Throughout this period, the Iazyges generally maintained friendly relations with Rome and even sometimes acted as direct allies, participating in the military operations of the Empire. The creation of the province of Dacia by Trajan in 106 drove a wedge between the Roxolani and Iazyges, leading to enmity with both peoples. Peace was restored only during the reign of Andrian, when the Sarmatians were allowed to move around Dacia, and the Roxolan king Rasparagnus received Roman citizenship.

Major disturbances arose again during the war with the Marcomanni (167-180), when the Iazigs, together with some Germanic tribes, invaded Dacia and Pannonia. The Iazigs suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Romans on the ice of the frozen Danube in the winter of 173-174.

Two years later, peace was concluded. Marcus Aurelius received the title “Sarmatian” (Sarmalieus), and the king of the Iazigs, Zantik, handed over a detachment of 8,000 horse soldiers as hostages to Rome. Most of this detachment was later transferred to Britain. For some time, a plan was hatched to transform the lands of the Iazyges into a new province, which was supposed to be called Sarmatia.

Peace reigned for half a century, but the appearance of the Goths on the Ukrainian steppes caused a chain reaction of conflicts. Having spent in 236-238. During the campaign against the Iazyges, Emperor Maximin I (nicknamed the Thracian, his mother was a Sarmatian) received the title “The Greatest Sarmatian” (Sarmalicus Maximus). In 248-250 The Iazigs invaded Dacia, and in 254 Pannonia, but in 282 they were defeated in Pannonia by the army of Emperor Kara (282-283). Battles with the Iazyges continued throughout the reign of Diocletian (284-305).

During the III-IV centuries. Rome allowed some Sarmatian tribes to move to the territory of the Empire, where they were assigned the role of human shields designed to protect the Empire from Gothic raids. In addition, the Sarmatians were more willing to serve in the army than the degenerate indigenous population of the Empire. The Notitia Dignitatum lists 18 centers of Sarmatian settlements in Gaul and Italy. To this day, traces of these settlements are preserved in toponymy. So, near Reims there are the cities of Serme and Sermier, which were formerly Sarmatian settlements. Many representatives of the Sarmatian nobility managed to obtain Roman citizenship, and some were able to achieve power, for example, Victor, master of the horse of Emperor Jovian (c. 363).

   ROXOLANS(Latin Roxolani; Iran - “light Alans”) - a Sarmatian-Alan nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes roaming the Northern Black Sea region and the Azov region.

Among the many attempts to explain the meaning of the word “roksolana” (Greek “Rlioxolanoi”), the most plausible seems to be linking the first part of the word with the Iranian adjective raokhshna - “white”, “light”. Thus, Roxolans are “White Alans”.

The ancestors of the Roksolans are the Sarmatians of the Volga and Urals regions. In the II-I centuries. BC. The Roxolani conquered the steppes between the Don and Dnieper from the Scythians. As the ancient geographer Strabo reports, " Roxolani follow their herds, always choosing areas with good pastures, in winter - in the swamps near Meotida(Azov Sea) , and in summer - on the plains".

The Roksolans and Iazigs were among the first to cross the Don. If the Yazygs chose the area immediately north of Crimea as their new place of residence, the Roxolani moved further north, settling in the territory of what is now southern Ukraine. In 107 BC. The Roxolans, led by Tasius, intervened in the conflict in the Crimea, where they clashed with the army of the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator. Strabo reports (7.3.17) that a mixed Roxolanian-Scythian army of 50,000 men could not withstand a detachment of 6,000 men led by the general Diophantus. After this defeat, many Sarmatians went over to the side of Mithridates and participated in the war with the Bosporan kingdom and Rome (Ashshan, "Mithridates", 15, 19.69; Justin 38.3, 38.7).

In the 1st century AD warlike Roxolans occupied the steppes west of the Dnieper. During the Great Migration of Peoples in the IV-V centuries. Some of these tribes migrated along with the Huns.