Scythians | Wikipedia audio article
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2018-12-14

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Scythians


00:04:43 1 Names and terminology
00:07:09 2 Origins
00:07:18 2.1 Literary evidence
00:08:33 2.2 Archaeology
00:10:24 3 History
00:10:33 3.1 Classical Antiquity (600 BC to AD 300)
00:14:13 3.2 Sakas of the Eastern Steppe
00:18:49 3.3 Khotan and kingdoms of the Tarim Basin
00:20:51 3.4 Indo-Scythians
00:21:48 3.5 Late Antiquity
00:23:44 4 Archaeology
00:25:45 4.1 Kurgans
00:27:15 4.2 Pazyryk culture
00:28:24 4.3 Bilsk excavations
00:29:15 4.4 Tillia Tepe treasure
00:30:27 5 Culture and society
00:30:37 5.1 Tribal divisions
00:33:51 5.2 Warfare
00:35:37 5.3 Clothing
00:40:02 5.4 Art
00:43:06 5.5 Religion
00:43:52 6 Language
00:45:31 7 Physical appearance
00:47:55 8 Historiography
00:48:04 8.1 Herodotus
00:51:35 8.2 Strabo
00:53:28 8.3 Indian sources
00:53:47 9 Genetics
01:00:04 10 Legacy
01:00:13 10.1 Early Modern usage
01:03:28 10.2 Descent claims
01:06:15 11 Related ancient peoples
01:07:02 12 See also



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SUMMARY
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The Scythians (; from Greek Σκύθης, Σκύθοι), also known as Scyth, Saka, Sakae, Sai, Iskuzai, or Askuzai, were Eurasian nomads, probably mostly using Eastern Iranian languages, who were mentioned by the literate peoples to their south as inhabiting large areas of the western and central Eurasian Steppe from about the 9th century BC up until the 4th century AD.  The "classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians, agreed to be mainly Iranian in origin, were located in the northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region. Other Scythian groups documented by Assyrian, Achaemenid and Chinese sources show that they also existed in Central Asia, where they were referred to as the Iskuzai/Askuzai, Saka (Old Persian: Sakā; New Persian/Pashto: ساکا‎; Sanskrit: शक Śaka; Greek: Σάκαι; Latin: Sacae), and Sai (Chinese: 塞; Old Chinese: *sˤək), respectively.The relationships between the peoples living in these widely separated regions remains unclear, and the term is used in both a broad and narrow sense. The term "Scythian" is used by modern scholars in an archaeological context for finds perceived to display attributes of the wider "Scytho-Siberian" culture, usually without implying an ethnic or linguistic connotation. The term Scythic may also be used in a similar way, "to describe a special phase that followed the widespread diffusion of mounted nomadism, characterized by the presence of special weapons, horse gear, and animal art  in the form of metal plaques".  Their westernmost territories during the Iron Age were known to classical Greek sources as Scythia, and in the more narrow sense "Scythian" is restricted to these areas, where the Scythian languages were spoken.  Different definitions of "Scythian" have been used, leading to a good deal of confusion.The Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. They kept herds of horses, cattle and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons and fought with bows and arrows on horseback. They developed a rich culture characterised by opulent tombs, fine metalwork and a brilliant art style.
In the 8th century BC, they possibly raided Zhou China. Soon after, they expanded westwards and dislodged the Cimmerians from power on the Pontic Steppe. At their peak, Scythians came to dominate the entire steppe zone, stretching from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to central China (Ordos culture) and the south Siberia (Tagar culture) in the east, creating what has been called the first Central Asian nomadic empire, although there was little that could be called an organised state.Based in what is modern-day Ukraine, Southern European Russia and Crimea, the western Scythians were ruled by a wealthy class known as the Royal Scyths. The Scythians established and controlled the Silk Road, a vast trade network connecting Greece, Persia, India and China, perhaps contributing to the contemporary flourishing of those civilisations. Settled metalworkers made portable decorative objects for the Scyt ...