Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

bending the bow
Realizing at the outset that the Scythian force was unlikely to succeed in open battle
with the Persians, the Scythian leaders decided on a scorched earth policy, ‘driving
off their herds, blocking up all the wells and springs as they retreated, leaving the
whole countryside bare of forage’ (Hist. iv. 120). They endeavoured to stay one day’s
distance from the enemy, falling back as the other advanced: it proved to be an effective
strategy, drawing the Persians further and further from their escape route across
the Danube. One interesting detail, which Herodotus mentions in passing, is that
the Scythian army was followed by their baggage wagons in which their women and
children lived, and by their herds of cattle. While having the advantage of keeping the
comforts of home and an assured food supply close to hand, the practice had its dangers
since a sudden Persian advance could have driven the Scythian force back on its
own baggage train. In Celtic warfare, too, the baggage train sometimes followed the
army and when battle commenced the women had a grandstand view from on top
of the wagons. There is no evidence, however, that the Scythians followed the Celts in
regarding the battle as a spectator sport.
When, eventually, they decided to begin to confront the Persians, they adopted
guerrilla tactics, making lightning raids on the Persian camp when the troops were
eating. ‘In these attacks the Scythian riders always put to flight the cavalry of the
enemy [which], when routed, fell back on their infantry’ (Hist. iv. 128). This achieved,
the Scythian horsemen withdrew before the Persian infantry could reassemble.
Night raids were also effective.
Drawn further and further into the interior and now constantly harried, the Persian
army was becoming demoralized. It was at this stage, so Herodotus believed,
that the Scythians decided to confront Darius in open battle, ‘drawing out in battle
array horse and foot’. This is the first time that Scythian infantry are mentioned. If
the statement is correct the infantry are most likely to have been allies recruited from
among the tribes of the forest steppe. It was at this crucial moment, so the famous
story goes, that the Scythians were distracted by a hare. While the anecdote is feasible
a more prosaic interpretation is that the amassing of the Scythian force was a feint
designed to further demoralize the Persian army. If so, it was successful and Darius
decided to withdraw.
The Persian expedition has gained prominence because Herodotus chose to
describe it at length and in such loving detail. For the Persians it was little more
than an exploratory foray into a foreign land. For the Scythians it was an exercise
in restraint and an opportunity to learn about the workings of a well-schooled state
army. The episode, however, has the advantage of throwing at least a little light on
Scythian military organization and strategy at the end of the sixth century.
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