Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

bending the bow
cessfully won a major engagement against the Persian army whose leader, Cyrus,
was killed in action somewhere in Central Asia, but the nomad army was eventually
brought to heel by his successor Darius. Then came the long defensive action
fought by Scythians and their allies against the advance of Darius and his army in
513–512 who were setting out from the lower reaches of the Danube eastwards across
the Pontic steppe. Later, with the Persians no longer a threat, Scythian warlords
turned their aggressive attention to the Thracians and, in doing so, inevitably came
up against the Macedonians, who were advancing through Thrace at the time. This
culminated in 339 in a battle where the Scythian king Ateas was killed and Philip II
sustained a serious leg injury. Nine years later the Macedonians attempted to follow
up this advantage when Alexander sent his general, Zopyrion, with a force of 30,000
men, against the city of Olbia. The Scythians rallied to the side of Olbia and the Macedonians
were soundly defeated. The final recorded engagement came in 310–309,
when Scythians became involved in the contest between the heirs of Paerisades for
control of the Bosporan kingdom.
With so many conflicts recorded by contemporary historians, it is surprising that
so little can be deduced about Scythian warcraft and the way in which, over the span
of four centuries, it is likely to have evolved to suit the particular enemy confronted.
What is abundantly clear, however, is that throughout, the cavalry horde formed the
backbone of the army. The early incursions into the Near East were by men fresh
from the steppe—these were elite horsemen led by war leaders whose strength lay in
the speed and ferocity of the advance. As the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, tells
his fearful audience,‘they shall hold the bow and the spear: They are cruel and shall
not show mercy; their voices shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses,
everyone put in array’ (Jer. 6:23). The cavalry onslaught, with the riders firing volleys
of arrows at their opponents as they advanced, would have characterized the Scythian
attack. Once the forces were engaged the spear, sword, and battleaxe came into
their own.
The long account which Herodotus gives of the Persian advance through the
Pontic steppe in 513–512 gives a number of insights into Scythian organization. The
army was divided into three parts based on tribal allegiance, each led by a king, Idanthyrsus,
Scopasis, and Taxacis, with Idanthyrsus serving as supreme leader. As the
action proceeded the armies led by Scopasis and Taxacis worked as one, strengthened
by forces provided by neighbouring tribes. The essence of the arrangement
was its flexibility and the speed with which the troops could respond to the developing
situation.
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