Scythian languages

Skythian languages is the name of a group of languages that were spoken by the Skythian people. Skythia was the name the Ancient Romans gave to a region north of the Black Sea. Most people who spoke Sythian languages were nomads herding cattle and raising livestock. This way of life is known as nomadic pastoralism today. The Skythian languaes were spoken from about the 9th or 8th century BC, to about the first or second century AD. Very broadly speaking, the Sykthian language have been divided:
 Scytho-Sarmatian, or the Alanic languages, more to the west. They were spoken in the area of modern-day Kazakhstan, southern Russia and Ukraine. The Ossetian language may have developed from these. It is the only modern laguage in this branch
Scytho-Khotanese, or the Saka languages more to the east. In the 1st century AD, they were spoken in the Kingdom of Khotan. This kingdom was near Xinjiang in western China. In included Khotanese and Tumshuqese. The modern Wakhi language may have developed from this. Today, Wakhi is spoken in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan, and the parts of Tajikistan, Pakistan and China next to it.
Pontic Skythian
There are only few sources, most of them are from names and place names. From the sources that remain, it is believed that the Skythian langues were a group of Indo-European languages, beloging to the Eastern Iranian languages.

 Notes 

Category:Indo-European languages