Barry Cunlife - The Scythians

bending the bow
By the middle of the fourth century prolonged contact with the Greek world had
led to changes in fighting methods. Greek armour was available for those who could
afford it and knowledge of the exploits of the Greek armies might have encouraged
at least some degree of emulation. There is, however, little to be learned from the
engagements with the Macedonian army in Thrace and in the approaches to Olbia.
The death of the Bosporan king, Paerisades in 310 bc created a rivalry between
his three sons, Eumelus, Satyrus, and Prytanis. The story is told by the Greek historian,
Diodorus Siculus (Hist. xx. 22). The eldest, Satyrus, succeeded his father but his
right to rule was contested by Eumelus. To support his claim Eumelus sought the
help of the Thataeans, who lived in the valley of the Kuban River, and the Siraces,
a Sarmatian tribe. Together they were able to supply him with a force of 22,000
cavalry and 20,000 infantry. Satyrus set out to confront his brother. Crossing the
Thates River he set up camp, surrounding it with the wagons which had brought
his supplies. In front, facing the enemy, he arranged his army, ‘taking his place in
the centre of the phalanx as was the Scythian custom’. His force was composed
of 2,000 Greek mercenaries and an equal number of Thracians. All the rest were
Scythians, 20,000 infantry and about 10,000 cavalry. Satyrus initiated the action
by leading a cavalry charge against the Siraces, occupying the centre of the enemy
line, and after a hard fought battle, routed them. Meanwhile Eumelus was gaining
against the Greeks and Thracians on the right flank, so Satyrus turned into the battle
‘and for the second time becoming the author of victory, he routed the entire
army of the enemy’.
In the battle of the Thatis River the army of Satyrus was overwhelmingly Scythian
and he acted as a Scythian commander should by leading the cavalry charge from
the centre. But the Scythian force was now predominantly infantry, by a factor of 2:1.
This could be because the troops were raised from sedentary Scythians living within
the Bosporan kingdom, but it might reflect the changing shape of the Scythian fighting
force under the impact of creeping Hellenization. The main action of the heavily
mounted and armed Scythian elite against a comparable force of Sarmatians (the
Siraces) broke the enemy’s centre but it was their ability to quickly reassemble and
join the fighting on the flank that won the battle. This was Scythian cavalry at its most
effective.
In the Service of Others
There was always the potential for wandering hordes of horsemen to be employed
as specialist troops by others engaged in conflicts. And so it may have been from
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