num_pages: 416
description: A rich discovery-filled history that tells how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient worldIn the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient worldin the West the Near East India and China. Mobile horse herders who lived with their cats in wheeled felt tents the Scythians made stunning contributions to world civilizationfrom capital cities and strikingly elegant dress to political organization and the world-changing ideas of Buddha Zoroaster and LaotzuScythians all. In The Scythian Empire  Christopher I. Beckwith presents a major new history of a fascinating but often forgotten empire that changed the course of history.At its height the Scythian Empire stretched west from Mongolia and ancient northeast China to northwest Iran and the Danube River and in Central Asia reached as far south as the Arabian Sea. The Scythians also ruled Media and Chao crucial frontier states of ancient Iran and China. By ruling over and marrying the local peoples the Scythians created new cultures that were creole Scythian in their speech dress weaponry and feudal socio-political structure. As they spread their language ideas and culture across the ancient world the Scythians laid the foundations for the very first Persian Indian and Chinese empires.Filled with fresh discoveries The Scythian Empire presents a remarkable new vision of a little-known but incredibly important empire and its peoples.
language: English
title: The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
publisher: Princeton University Press