Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

scythians in central asia
Achaemenid army. Attractive to the nomads would have been cereals and craft products
such as textiles and pottery made in the Persian world. In return for these consumer
durables they could trade surplus livestock and, of course, good riding horses.
At a higher level more exotic goods could change hands. The Sakā Tigrakhauda
ambassadors depicted in the reliefs of the Apadāna in the Persian capital Persepolis
were shown bringing gifts to the Persian king including a horse, riding cloaks and leggings,
and gold torques. In return they could expect to receive high quality luxuries
such as jewellery, horse gear, weapons, silver vessels, and fine textiles. Exotic goods
of this kind would have been used by the Sakā elite, in gift exchanges, to establish and
to reaffirm the social hierarchies within their own society. Indeed it could be argued
that without access to a constant supply of luxury goods to fuel cycles of reciprocity
the structure of war bands and retinues that characterized the nomadic system could
not have been maintained. At many levels, then, nomads needed access to the commodities
produced by sedentary states and therefore had a vested interest in ensuring
regular supplies through stable markets.
Achaemenid luxury goods were distributed widely among the Asiatic Scythians and
beyond. The Achaemenid vessels and jewellery, now in the Siberian collection of Peter the
Great, were probably robbed from Sakā burials in the Kazakh steppe. Persian-inspired
silver, silver gilt, and gold vessels, as well as jewellery and armour are found in burials in
the southern Ural region dating to the fourth and third century bc and similar material
7.2 The sculptured relief on the Apadāna in the Persian capital of Persepolis, Iran, shows ambassadors
from all parts of the world bringing gifts for the Persian king. The Sakā, distinguished by their pointed
hats, bring gifts of gold neck rings, saddlecloths, and horses.
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