Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

the rise of the pontic steppe scythians
archaeological record and is taken to mark the beginning of the Late Scythian period,
which was to last until the end of the third century bc. It was a time of social change
resulting in the destruction of a number of Scythian settlements on the lower Dnieper.
How many Sauromatae were involved in the incursions and over what period
of time the movements took place is difficult to say but at the very least it is likely
that the Royal Scythians were ousted from the Dnieper region and replaced by a new
Saurmatian elite. A clear sign of the new order was the appearance of a novel style of
burial. Kurgans were still being built, but it was now usual for the deceased to be laid
in a catacomb dug from the side of the main shaft (below, pp. 299–300).
The remaining Scythian elite moved west. They probably retained control of
the coastal strip west of the River Bug and established a new centre of power in the
Dobruja south of the lower Danube. One of the last Scythian kings we hear about in
this much reduced domain was the elderly Atheas, who was soundly beaten by Philip
of Macedonia in 339 bc.
The nomadic incursion into Scythian territory disrupted the trading networks of
the earlier period. Olbia was now cut off from the rich middle Dnieper region and
began a slow decline while trade with the Bosporan cities continued to flourish. It
was through these ports that fine Greek tableware and wine together with luxury
goods from Thrace moved and it was here that the Greek craftsmen worked to produce
sumptuous gold work to suit the demands of the new rulers.
In many ways the influx of Sauromatae did little to change the culture of the Pontic
steppe. The number of incomers is likely to have been small and was probably confined
to an elite with their immediate entourages, allowing the infrastructure of life to
continue much as it had been before. It is for this reason that archaeologists choose to
refer to the period of Sauromatian overlordship as Late Scythian.
Who were the Sauromatians?
‘When one crosses the Don’, writes Herodotus, ‘one is no longer in Scythia: the first
region on crossing is that of the Sauromatae’ (Hist. iv. 21). They stretch, he says, from
the upper reaches of Lake Maeotis (i.e. the Sea of Azov) northwards for a distance of
15 days’ journey across a countryside completely bare of trees. This is the swathe of
steppe which extends around the north-west side of the deserted wastes fringing the
Caspian Sea and is crossed by the lower reaches of the Volga. Herodotus repeats a
myth he had heard about the origin of the Sauromatae—that they were the descendants
of fierce Amazon women from Cappadocia and a group of Scythian soldiers—
to explain why they speak a version of the Scythian language and why women played
a significant role in Sauromatian society.
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