Scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar, what does it mean. There is no such saying: “Scratch a Russian and you will find a Tatar.” They say that the Crimean Tatars have completely different ancestors

Herodotus called the Sarmatians “lizard-headed”. Lomonosov believed that the Slavs descended from them, and the Polish gentry called themselves their direct descendants. Russian girls inherited kokoshniks from the Sarmatians.

The origin of the name Sarmatians is shrouded in deep mystery. It is believed that Herodotus first mentioned them in the 5th century BC, calling the tribes of nomads east of Tanais Sauromatians, which means lizard-headed in Greek. Two centuries later, the Sarmatians appeared on the same territory among ancient geographers. Whether a copyist's error led to a change in the name or whether two different tribes were meant is unknown. But due to the identity of the territory, it is customary to consider Herodotus’s Sauromatians as Sarmatians. In the 1st century BC, the Greek geographer Strabo mentions several tribes after the Sarmatians, the most famous of which were the Roxolani. Their name is translated from Iranian languages ​​as White Alans. Lomonosov later accepted them as the ancestors of the Rus.

The Sarmatians appeared on the historical arena in the 3rd century BC, when they attacked and ousted the Scythians from the Black Sea steppes. Until this time, we find only fragmentary mentions of the Sarmatians on the eastern border of Scythia, but archaeological evidence confirms their movement from the southern Urals. In the northern Black Sea region, the Sarmatians occupied a dominant position for four centuries - until the 2nd century AD, displacing other nomads. The Sarmatians were probably never one people and were a group of multi-ethnic, primarily Iranian-speaking tribes. Sarmatians, Alans, Roxolani, Aorsi - these are the names given by Roman writers to various nomads living north of the Black Sea, who from time to time disturbed the Balkan possessions of the Romans. Unfortunately, the Romans and Greeks, from whose works we draw almost all known information about the Sarmatians, did not describe them in detail. Archaeological evidence is more numerous, but it cannot answer all the questions.

In Sarmatian burials, and what is important, not only in them, archaeologists sometimes find skulls with an elongated back part. Some experts suggest that we may be talking about the custom of artificial deformation of the skull, when a newborn child's head is tied with a bandage. In the territories of the northern Black Sea region, Kuban and the North Caucasus, such a custom was observed from the 22nd to the 7th - 6th centuries BC. The “Sarmatian ritual” gradually disappeared from the territory of Russia along with the Sarmatians themselves, but remained imprinted in folk costume, in particular, in the kokoshnik. Afterwards there comes a break, and again elongated skulls begin to be found from the 3rd century BC. This time coincides with the activity of the Sarmatians in the region, but it is unclear whether these facts are related.

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Sarmatians were descended from the marriages of Scythians and Amazons. Since then, the Amazons, in descriptions of the peoples living north of the Black Sea, often coexist with the Sarmatians. This fact acquired special interest in the eyes of ancient writers, since Sarmatian women, according to him, had more rights - they participated in public life, sacred actions and even in battles. Probably, in reality, matriarchy among the Sarmatians at that time was manifested in the calculation of kinship through the female line, and later this custom was changed.

The Sarmatians are considered innovators in horse fighting techniques. This was provided to them by two types of weapons - a long, heavy spear and a long sword. Before the Sarmatians, the cavalry of the steppe nomads was mainly lightly armed - large masses of horse archers ensured superiority over all armies of sedentary states. The heavily armed cavalry, with short swords - akinaki and shields, was not numerous and in battles it was assigned the role of the last reserve. The Sarmatians were the first among the nomads to use long swords, up to 130 cm. Later, a heavy spear was added to the sword - contus sarmaticus. Its length was 3 meters or more and it had to be held with two hands. With such weapons there were no hands left for a shield, and the only protection of the Sarmatian horseman was a scaly shell. The penetrating power of a rider with such a spear was extremely great. At the first blow, the horseman could “string” several people on the spear, after which he threw it away and took up the sword. Most likely, the Sarmatians borrowed this type of cavalry from the Parthians, and later such horsemen became the elite of the Byzantine army - cataphracts. Sarmatian mounds and gold In the south of Russia - in the Kuban region, in the North Caucasus and in Ukraine, the Sarmatians left many traces. First of all, these are mounds up to 5 meters high. Burials were located under the mounds, often very rich. Golden neck hryvnias, brooches, bracelets, and bronze mirrors accompanied the dead. Weapons and decorations for horses could also be found in the mounds, but the horse bones themselves were the exception rather than the rule.

The decorations were richly ornamented, the craftsmen who made them mastered filigree and granulation techniques, and knew how to work with gold wire. Figures of animals - predators, dragons, ungulates - were usually depicted in dynamic, bending poses. It is not entirely clear where these artisans lived. It was difficult for a Roman or Greek craftsman to make such jewelry. Perhaps these masters lived in Meoto-Sarmatian settlements that had not yet been discovered by archaeologists. Sarmatian archaeological monuments disappear in the 3rd – 4th centuries AD, which scientists associate with the invasion of the northern Black Sea region by the Goths and the founding of the Gothic state by their legendary leader Germanaric. The Sarmatians, probably under the names of smaller tribes - the same Alans, are advancing under pressure from the east and north to the south, to the Balkans. From there the Alans moved to Spain, where they formed their own small kingdom, which was subjugated by the Visigoths several centuries later. Sarmatians and kokoshnik It is interesting that some scientists trace the roots of the Russian kokoshnik specifically to the Sarmatians. Among them, the custom of artificially deforming the skull was widespread, thanks to which a person’s head took on the shape of an elongated egg. The origin of the cult itself dates back to the Paleolithic and can be considered as a manifestation of the cult. Initially, during the times of matriarchy, only women underwent ritual deformation of the skull. The “Sarmatian ritual” gradually disappeared from the territory of Russia along with the Sarmatians themselves, but remained imprinted in folk costume, in particular, in the kokoshnik. Sarmatism In the 15th – 17th centuries, during the era when modern nations were taking shape, interest in the works of ancient Greek and Roman writers grew greatly. In their works, early modern political scientists began to look for the origins of their states and nations. And if for most Western European countries the common ancestor state was the Roman Empire, and for the Germans - the victorious ancient Germanic tribes, then the Poles began to look for their ancestors in the Sarmatians. In Poland, this led to the creation of the whole ideology of Sarmatism - a kind of genetic myth. The nobles considered themselves descendants of the Sarmatians, the thunder of the Western world and the cultural neighbors of the wild east, and were also confident that the coats of arms of the Polish nobility were copied from the Sarmatian tamgas (family signs). This gave rise to gentry liberties, republicanism, oriental love of luxury, the borrowing of Baroque culture and the dominance of Catholicism, which grew into the idea of ​​the messianism of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The ideology was connected with the Sarmatian tribe itself only by its ancient name, but it greatly contributed to its spread.

Sarmatians - steppe warriors

For eight hundred years, this legendary nomadic people dominated the vast Eurasian steppes. From 4th century BC to 4th century AD Historians find evidence of the enormous influence of the Sarmatians on Europe. Sarmatian warriors were part of the Roman army as a foreign legion. Sarmatian women - "Amazons" - fought no worse than men.

Sergei Lukyashko (Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences) says: “The Sarmatians actively participated in political life on the borders of the Roman Empire, their campaigns reached the Apennine Peninsula and Iberia. The Sarmatians even organized their own kingdom in the center of France.”

This nomadic people still remains a mystery. Archaeologists have discovered in mounds, including in the Southern Urals, many masterpieces of ancient art created by the Sarmatians thousands of years ago. Lots of gold items. The mystical beauty of Sarmatian products captures the imagination. People have always been fascinated by the qualities of this metal. For centuries, gold was considered a gift from the gods, sanctified by the sun. Gold is amazingly capable of taking on bizarre shapes during forging and casting, taking on embossed reliefs, and twisting into threads of bizarre patterns. The shine of gold jewelry fascinates and captivates with the complexity of the skillful design. Priceless treasures reveal the secret of the great nomadic people.

The Great Eurasian Steppe stretches for thousands of kilometers from the borders of China in the east to the Danube in the west, from the Siberian taiga in the north to the mountain ranges in the south. For many centuries, the Great Steppe was the only land route connecting Europe with the East. The steppe became the cradle of a whole chain of nomadic cultures born in the vastness of Asia.

Some replaced others. Younger aggressive peoples won from their neighbors the right to be first and dominate the endless steppes. The Sarmatians are a mysterious people less known to us than their predecessors - the Scythians. Now, thanks to archaeological excavations, the Sarmatian culture is beginning to take on real shape. Around the 4th century BC. The Sarmatians pushed the previously dominant Scythians into the Crimea and gained fame as one of the most powerful nomadic peoples of the ancient world. Several waves of invasions of nomads from Central Asia into southern Europe are known.

They went different ways. Through the steppes of the Southern Urals and Northern Kazakhstan - the 1st wave. Through the oases of Central Asia, the Southern Caspian region, Transcaucasia - 2nd. Once in Eastern Europe, the Sarmatians came to the attention of ancient authors. On ancient maps the usual name Scythia is replaced by Sarmatia.

The first mention of the Sauromatians, in whom many are inclined to see the ancestors of the Sarmatians, can be found in the Greek traveler and historian Herodotus. He reports: “Beyond the Tanais River (the ancient name of the Don River) are no longer Scythian lands, but the lands there belong to the Sauromatians.”

Scythian. Artist Evg.Kray

According to S. Lukyashko: “This culture was formed mainly in the Southern Urals and from there it comes to the territory of Eastern Europe.” Let's dismiss "Sarmatians" as a historical generalization. They were not a single people and were a group of related tribes: Aorsi, Alans, Siraks, Ezyks, Salans. These tribes were not always friendly with each other and adhered to independent policies. The Sarmatians, like the Scythians, were Iranian-speaking.

It is extremely difficult to recreate the history of a people who did not have cities or writing. The Sarmatians left evidence of their presence throughout the Great Steppe. These are mounds - earthen mounds above the burial site. Mounds are found everywhere, becoming an integral part of the modern steppe landscape. Just like thousands of years ago, they impress with their grandeur and dominate the surrounding space. Topographic survey allows us to conclude that the mounds are not located chaotically. They arose along the routes of nomadic tribes. This is confirmed by photographs from space. Russian satellites constantly monitor the entire territory of the steppe, helping to protect the mounds as national historical monuments.

The mounds are of great interest for reconstructing the spiritual life of nomads. According to the beliefs of the Sarmatians, things that the deceased would need in the afterlife were placed in the burial: weapons, horse harness, dishes and jewelry. Archaeologists are gradually recreating the past from found objects and human remains, fragments of ceramics and jewelry. The burials reveal a world of complex images and a unique culture that was not even hinted at in the ancient texts that have reached us. The treasures of the golden collection from the Sarmatian mounds tell about the power, beauty and strength of this amazing people. S. Lukyashko: “The archaeological discoveries of recent years in the field of Scythian-Sarmatian archeology have shown the whole world the extraordinary greatness of this ancient culture. Magnificent examples of artistic bronze, gold, and silver have shown that the world still did not know this part of its own culture. And world culture is discovering for myself this great page of ancient history and of course the interest in this page is enormous."

It is important to understand how the life of the Sarmatians was organized. The world of life and the world of death in the minds of the nomads were clearly separated. Many items were made specifically for burial and were not used in everyday life. Boris Raev (Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences): “The living culture in which we live and the dead culture that archaeologists encounter are absolutely different. Any thing passing from a living culture to a dead one changes its internal content, becomes different. It’s good for us all to understand their culture -we can’t also because the culture of the sedentary population is more informative for science than burials. Burials are a very specific complex, it is associated with beliefs... Let's say they put one thing in the grave and never put another. But this does not mean that the Sarmatians did not have this thing, they did have it. And we can find such a thing in settlements. But the nomads had no settlements. It turns out to be a vicious circle of problems. Some we will solve, some we will never solve."

One of the ancient sources reports that, like the Persians, the Sarmatians worship the sword. The Roman historian Amianus Marcelinus wrote about the veneration of the sword by the Alans: “They have no temples or sanctuaries to be seen, not even thatched huts can be seen anywhere, and they, according to barbaric custom, stick a naked sword into the ground and reverently worship it as Mars, the patron. countries through which they roam."

B. Raev: “A nomadic society, due to its specificity, cannot be closed, can never exist without the products of an agricultural society, in contrast to a sedentary society, which can exist without the products of a nomadic civilization for the simple reason that the settled population has its own livestock products " Sarmatians are in constant contact with sedentary peoples. The closest neighbors of the Sarmatians living in the Azov region are Greek colony settlements along the shores of the Black Sea and in the Don River delta. As well as the agricultural tribes of the Kuban region. The Sarmatians carried out a wide trade exchange, selling animal skins, slaves, weapons and livestock. In ancient Greek cities they bought agricultural products: jewelry, fabrics, clothing, ceramics, mirrors, olive oil, wine. In the mounds, archaeologists find glass, ceramics and gold items from Central Asia, Iran, the Middle East, and Egypt. There are connections with China and India. Relations between the Sarmatians and sedentary peoples were not always peaceful. Military superiority and the need for agricultural and craft products led to predatory attacks. The Sarmatians established tributary relations with some sedentary peoples.

Many artifacts are found in ancient settlements. For example, a settlement of the Meotian culture, which was in direct contact with the Sarmatian tribes. The Meotians are the ancient tribes of the Sindras, Dandarias, Seracs, Doskhs and others who lived on the southeastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov in the 1st millennium BC. The Sea of ​​Azov, by the way, was called the Meotian Sea. B. Raev - head of the excavations: "The settlement is one of the largest Meotian settlements in the Kuban, perhaps this is the city of Serac, mentioned by Ptolemy. This place is possibly the capital of the country of the Seracs." Much evidence of relations with the Sarmatians has been found. Ceramics carries a lot of information. For example, a mark on an extracted object allows us to establish the place of its manufacture as well as the time of manufacture of the mound. Many gold objects from Sarmatian burial mounds are not solid, but are made of thin foil applied to a wooden base. Over the centuries, the organic base decays and the decoration is destroyed under the weight of the soil. A restorer jeweler must recreate a work of ancient art from a handful of gold plates, restoring its appearance to its original integrity. This requires not only painstaking work but also the artist’s intuition.

The Sarmatians willingly used imported things, which did not exclude them from having their own crafts.

The successes of Sarmatian craftsmen in pottery, weapons, and jewelry are worthy of the highest praise. They skillfully used gold casting, embossing, and gold foil stamping. Sarmatian art is characterized by an animal style (zoomorphic). The image is full of dynamics. Figures of predators with flexible bodies, horses, eagles and vultures are presented with amazing expressiveness of detail. Often masters filled their works with images of mystical creatures. An important feature of the Sarmatian style is multi-color, which was achieved through the widespread use of precious and semi-precious stones, glass and colored enamel. The master's plan admires the boldness of its execution. Figures of deer frozen in a rapid jump. Here, artistic expressiveness, stylization of images, expressiveness makes you forget about the age of the bracelet.

Of great interest is the discovery of a ritual silver jug ​​with a handle in the form of a figurine of a predator engraved with plot scenes. The plots clearly depict scenes from the Avesta - an ancient Aryan teaching.

Horse breeding and cattle breeding were the basis of the Sarmatian economy. The transition from pasture to pasture determined the rhythm of nomadic life. Everything needed was transported in carts. The horse is the constant companion of the nomad. The very life of the Sarmatian and his community depended on the horse and its endurance. B. Raev: “The horse was everything. It was food, it was a means of transportation, in general it was life. These are people so fused with horses, like all other nomads. A person got on a horse at the age of 2 or more. didn’t get off. At 52, he was taken on a horse under a mound to be buried. But the horse was not a cult animal at all, like, for example, cows in India or cats in Egypt. That is, it was a means of life." Restorers are working with priceless gold elements of the harness. The Sarmatians left this sacred symbol of human life in the steppe next to the deceased. Sarmatians traditionally decorated their horses. The burial structures brought to us the appearance of Sarmatian horse equipment. Falars are round plates of gold or silver decorated with relief ornaments or drawings - elements of ceremonial horse harness. They were placed at the crosshairs of the harness belts. A large phalar was placed on the chest of the horse.

An amazingly complex sculptural phalar with voluminous relief. In the center is a patterned agate. It is surrounded by a golden relief consisting of figures of lions lying one after another. The composition includes inserts of almantine, turquoise and glass. Particular attention is drawn to the massive phalar - a hemispherical breastplate. Its top is decorated with a medallion consisting of an insert of a large almandine gemstone, which has been attributed magical properties at all times. Ornamental stripes are inlaid with turquoise and pink coral. The abundance of decorative elements on the harness confirms the assumption that the Sarmatians have a special relationship with the horse. We can only imagine how majestic and monumental the noble Sarmatian horseman looked when his horse was decorated with luxurious gold and silver.

A saddle cape is a horse cape decorated with gold plaques and stripes. The fabric base has been lost, but all the decorations have been preserved in their original form. All plaques are made using embossing technique. It took restorers 15 years to find the most reliable version of the location of the gold parts. Scientists suggest that this golden cape was used to cover a sacrificial animal, thus turning it into a divine heavenly horse - a mediator between two worlds or a companion of the deceased.

What was the appearance of the Sarmatian? What was the color and shape of his eyes? Hair color? The remains of nomads are the object of meticulous study by anthropologists. Studies of the skeleton, the proportions of the bones and skull allow us to assert the Caucasoid race of the Sarmatians. Ancient authors talk about the tall stature of the Sarmatians, about their slender and strong physique. The eye color was light, the hair was long and brown. Men wore beards. The Sarmatian costume was formed as the clothing of a horseman. Unlike the Greeks, they wore tight trousers tucked into soft leather boots.

The Sarmatians went down in history as a people of exceptional military courage. With the death of Great Scythia, they became the only powerful force on the territory of the steppes of Eastern Europe. In essence, they were a well-trained, well-armed, battle-hardened army. Their independence from other nations was guaranteed by military force. S. Lukyashko: “Sarmatian nomads take an active part in all military and political conflicts of that time. They take an active part in military events in Central Europe, the Middle East, serve for a certain fee either the Parthian kings or the Armenian kings, actively participating in struggle of Armenia and Parthia, they with great pleasure sell their military valor and prowess to the highest bidder."

By the 1st century AD The Sarmatians are already neighbors of the Roman Empire. On the Danube border they increasingly clash with Roman troops. Rome immediately appreciated their strength and military prowess. This led to the conclusion of a peace treaty, which brought the title of Sarmatian to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Since that time, the Sarmatians have taken part in the wars of the Roman Empire as a foreign legion. Under the terms of the treaty, the Sarmatian Iazyge tribes sent 8 thousand horsemen to Rome, of which more than 5 thousand were transferred to Britain to guard fortresses under the control of Roman military commanders. In the well-known legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, many researchers see features characteristic of the squad of the Sarmatian army. This may be due to the Sarmatian presence in the British Isles.

S. Lukyashko: “There is a deep conviction among British historians that this group of Sarmatians had a serious influence on the formation of Scottish culture. The Scots and the genealogical legends of large Scottish families trace their origins to a group of Sarmatians who found themselves in the British Isles. So seemingly distant and not interconnected peoples turn out to be connected by the ties of a very ancient history. In fact, in Scotland the root stem "don", meaning "water" in the Iranian language, is known and often used. Previously, the Scots were also warlike pastoral tribes and led at least as far back as the Middle Ages century, a way of life very close to the way of life that was characteristic of the Sarmatians."

A unique example of a Sarmatian weapon is a dagger with a gold hilt and a gold sheath lining, made in an animal style. The relief clearly illustrates the fatalism of psychology, the fighting spirit, inflexibility, and self-confidence of the Sarmatian warrior. The golden pattern reflects dramatic scenes of the struggle between an eagle, a symbol of courage, and a camel, a symbol of farmers. An eagle attacks a camel and torments it...

The life of a Sarmatian is a constant struggle, there is no peace and quiet in it. This is a confrontation that can end in victory or death.

The strength of the Sarmatians was also manifested in the fact that their nomadic way of life had an amazing feature. Women had equal rights with men of their kind. S. Lukyashko: “This extraordinary position of women in Sarmatian society made the history of the Sarmatians quite noticeable against the background of the nomadic history of antiquity.” Beautiful, graceful horsewomen who freely handled weapons radically changed ancient ideas about the place of women in society. S. Lukyashko: “After all, for the Greeks, for whom a woman could not even go to the market unaccompanied, to suddenly see a woman galloping on a horse, wielding a bow and arrow, throwing a spear and darts, was unacceptable for their culture. Since the Sarmatians are not very sometimes they resembled the Amazons about whom the ancient Greeks composed myths, then the Greeks came up with the version that the Sarmatians and Sauromatians are the closest relatives of the Amazons. They say they descended from the Amazons." Perhaps the warlike image of the Amazons is due to the fact that women themselves guarded the herds and farms when the men went on long military campaigns. In many Sarmatian burial mounds, the central burial is for women. There, along with horse harnesses and weapons, all sorts of women's things were found: necklaces, jars for some kind of cosmetics, possibly incense or perfume. The careful processing of miniature products is amazing. Scientists believe that some Sarmatian tribes were led by women.

S. Lukyashko: “But in the 4th century AD, as a result of the invasion from the east of a new powerful nomadic wave - the Hunnic, the Sarmatians could not resist it. And around 375 they suffered a crushing defeat from the Huns. Part of the Sarmatian population of the steppe was destroyed, part of the Sarmatian tribes entered the Hun union.
It has always been this way. The arrival of new nomads, a new nobility led to the disappearance of the former nobility, and the rank and file merged with the newcomers, losing their self-name, some elements of their culture, but still preserving their language. The Sarmatians were known for a long time in the vastness of Eastern Europe under the name Assy or Ossy. Later they settled in the central Ciscaucasia. From them came modern Ossetians. The genetic and cultural background has been preserved here on the territory of Ossetia. "

The ancient nomadic peoples disappeared into the darkness of centuries. At the same time, many of their skills and abilities were passed on to other peoples, becoming an integral part of their everyday life. Archeology observes general phenomena like a relay race, when the best crafts and achievements become the global experience of mankind.

B. Raev: “Our work lies in the fact that we are restoring the past, which would seem so far away, so unnecessary now for people who fly on some space stations and use the Internet. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. Modern people do not could now enjoy the benefits of civilization if there were not those people who made ceramics, ground grain, etc. Therefore, we simply must study this culture, we must know them and this enriches us extremely." Now the treasures of the Sarmatians are kept in the museum of Azov. This is the richest collection of world significance. This is a memory of a people who have been an active participant in European history for 8 centuries.

In archeology, the name of the Sarmatians is associated Sarmatian culture, represented mainly by burial mounds. Within its framework, several separate chronologically sequential cultures are distinguished: Early Sarmatian (Prokhorovskaya), Middle Sarmatian (Suslovskaya), Late Sarmatian.

The first in a series of Sarmatian cultures dates back to the 4th-1st centuries. BC e., its other name is “Prokhorovskaya culture”. It received this name in connection with the excavations by peasants of mounds near the village of Prokhorovka in the Orenburg region in 1911, and then further investigated by S.I. Rudenko in 1916. M.I. Rostovtsev, who published material from excavations near the village of Prokhorovka, was the first to identify monuments of this type with the historical Sarmatians, dating them to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. The classical concept of “Prokhorovskaya culture” in the chronological framework of the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e. was introduced by B. N. Grakov for similar monuments in the Volga and Urals regions. Currently, the latest monuments attributed to the early Sarmatian culture date back to the turn of the era.

The Middle Sarmatian culture was identified by P. D. Rau in 1927. In his periodization, such monuments constituted stage A (Stuffe A) and belonged to the early Sarmatian time. He dated these monuments, most of which came from the Suslovsky burial mound, to the end of the 2nd century. BC e. - end of the 1st century BC e. In the periodization of B. N. Grakov, similar complexes were called the Sarmatian or “Suslov” culture. And further, in the works of K.F. Smirnov, the modern name “Middle Sarmatian culture” was established for them.

Anthropology

Anthropologically, the Sarmatians belonged to brachycranial Caucasians (wide and round heads), with the exception of the Alan tribe, who belonged to dolichocranal Caucasians (narrow skull). The late Sarmatians were characterized by an admixture of Mongoloidity.

Story

Origin

Approximate map of Scythia in the first millennium BC. e.

The Sarmatians were one of the northern Iranian peoples, along with the European Scythians and the Asian Sakas. Ancient authors, in particular Herodotus, report that the Sarmatians descend from Amazons who married Scythian youths. But the steppe beauties were never able to fully master the language of their husbands. " Therefore, the Sarmatians speak the Scythian language, but since ancient times it has been distorted", concludes the historian.

Apparently, the Sarmatians separated from the bulk of the Scythians quite early: even in the sacred book of the Zoroastrians, the Avesta, the Sarmatians are mentioned under the name “Sairima” and are called nomads, “ who do not know the power of the supreme rulers" Indeed, the Sarmatians lagged behind the neighboring Scythians in social development; they did not yet have a state. In the 7th-5th centuries BC. e. The Sarmatians were experiencing a stage of decomposition of the tribal system. Property and social inequality deepened. The tribes were led by leaders, supported by squads from the military nobility.

Conquest of Scythia

In the V-IV centuries BC. e. the Sarmatians were peaceful neighbors of Scythia. Scythian merchants, heading to the eastern countries, freely passed through the Sarmatian lands. In the war with the Persians, the Sarmatians were reliable allies of the Scythians. During the time of Atey, allied relations were maintained, Sarmatian detachments served in the army and at the court of the Scythian king. Separate groups of Sarmatians settled on the territory of European Scythia.

In the 3rd century BC. e. friendly relations gave way to hostility and a military offensive of the Sarmatians on Scythia. The aggressive militancy of the young Sarmatian unions coincided with the weakening of the Scythian kingdom. At the end of the 4th century BC. e. The Scythians were defeated by the ruler of Thrace, Lysimachus. The Thracians and Celtic Galatian tribes pressed the Scythians from the west. The consequence of unsuccessful wars was the decline of the economy and the falling away from Scythia of some previously conquered lands and tribes.

In Lucian’s famous story “Toxaris or Friendship,” the Scythians Dandamis and Amizok test their loyalty to friendship in the difficult events of the Sarmatian invasion. " “Suddenly the Sarmatians, numbering ten thousand horsemen, attacked our land,” says the Scythian Toksaris, “and they say there were three times as many on foot.” And since their attack was unforeseen, they put everyone to flight, kill many brave men, and take others away alive. ... Immediately the Sarmatians began to round up the loot, gather captives in crowds, plunder tents, and took possession of a large number of carts with everyone in them».

Constant raids and the gradual seizure of Scythian territory by the Sarmatians culminated in the massive resettlement of Sarmatian tribes to European Scythia - to the Northern Black Sea region and the North Caucasus.

Further history

After the conquest of European Scythia, the Sarmatians gained fame as one of the most powerful peoples of the ancient world. All of Eastern Europe, together with the Caucasus, received the name Sarmatia. Having established their dominance in the European steppes, the Sarmatians began to establish peaceful cooperation with agricultural peoples and provided patronage to international trade and the Greek cities of the Black Sea region. The political unions of the Sarmatian tribes forced their near and distant neighbors from China to the Roman Empire to reckon with themselves.

Since the 2nd century BC. e. Sarmatians appear more and more often in the works of Greek, Roman and Eastern authors. We learn from Strabo the names of their tribes - Iazyges, Roxolani, Aorsi, Siracians, Alans; Tacitus reports the devastating Roxolani raid on the Danube province of the Roman Empire Moesia in 68 AD. e., where are they " cut down two cohorts"; exiled to the city of Tom in 8 AD. e. the poet Ovid describes with melancholy and fear the Sarmatians near the city in his “Sad Songs” - “ an enemy, strong with a horse and a far-flying arrow, ravages... the neighboring land"; Josephus Flavius ​​and Arrian left reports of the wars of the Alans in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. e. in Armenia and Cappadocia - “ stern and eternally warlike Alans».

Western Sarmatians

Western Sarmatian tribes - Roxalans and Iazyges, occupied the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region. Around 125 BC e. they created a powerful, although not very strong, federation, the emergence of which is explained by the need to resist the pressure of the eastern Sarmatian tribes. Apparently, this was an early state typical of nomads, led by a tribe of royal Sarmatians. However, the Western Sarmatians failed to repeat the state experience of the Scythians - from the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they acted as two independent unions. In the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper the Roksolans roamed, to the west of them - between the Dnieper and the Danube - the Iazyges lived.

In the first half of the 1st century AD, the Iazyges advanced to the Middle Danube Lowland, where they occupied the area between the Danube and Tisza rivers (part of the current territory of Hungary and Serbia). Following the Iazyges, the Roxolani approached the border of the Roman Empire, most of whom settled in the lower reaches of the Danube (in the territory of modern Romania). The Western Sarmatians were restless neighbors of Rome, they acted either as its allies or as opponents, and did not miss an opportunity to intervene in the internecine struggle within the empire. As befits an era of military democracy, the Sarmatians viewed Rome as a source of rich booty. The methods of acquiring it were different: predatory raids, receiving tribute, military mercenaries.

The Iazyges in the second half of the 1st century, and the Roxolani at the beginning of the 2nd century, obtained from Rome the payment of annual subsidies in exchange for participation in the defense of the Roman borders. Having stopped receiving this tribute, the Roxolani in 117 called on the Iazyges for help and invaded the Danube provinces of Rome. After a two-year war, the empire was forced to resume payment to the Roxolans. The Romans concluded a peace treaty with King Rasparagan, who had two titles - “king of the Roxolans” and “king of the Sarmatians.” Perhaps this suggests that the Iazyges and Roxolani formally retained a single supreme power. Most often they acted in a close alliance, although the Iazyges occupied the plains of the Middle Danube, and the Roxolani were located on the Lower Danube and in the North-Western Black Sea region. Having conquered the Thracians, who lived between the Iazyges and the Roxolani, the Romans tried to destroy their ties and even prohibit communication between them. The Sarmatians responded to this with war.

The struggle of the Sarmatians with Rome was especially stubborn in the 160s and 170s. The terms of the peace treaty that the Iazyges concluded with Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 179 are known. Both the Romans and the Sarmatians were tired of the war, in whose camp two parties fought - supporters and opponents of the agreement with Rome. Finally, the peace party won, and King Banadasp, the leader of the war supporters, was taken into custody. Negotiations with Marcus Aurelius were headed by King Zantik. According to the agreement, the Iazyges received the right to pass to the Roxolani through Roman lands, but in return they pledged not to sail on ships on the Danube and not to settle near the border. Subsequently, the Romans abolished these restrictions and established days on which the Sarmatians could cross to the Roman bank of the Danube for trade. The Iazyges returned 100 thousand prisoners to Rome.

Clashes between the Sarmatians and Rome occurred later. Peace gave way to war, followed again by cooperation. Sarmatian troops entered the service of the Roman army and the kings of the Germanic tribes. Groups of Western Sarmatians settled in the Roman provinces - in the territory of modern Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, France, Italy, Great Britain.

Eastern Sarmatians

The Eastern Sarmatians were known to Chinese geographers as Yantsai ( Yancai) and were located on the territory of Western Kazakhstan (in the 2nd century BC)

The eastern Sarmatian unions of the Aors and Siraks inhabited the space between the Azov and Caspian seas, in the south their lands extended to the Caucasus Mountains. The Siraks occupied the Azov steppes and the North Caucasus plain north of the Kuban. The foothill and lowland regions of the Central Ciscaucasia also belonged to the Siracs, but at the turn of the new era they were supplanted by the Aorsi. The Aorsi roamed the steppes from the Don to the Caspian Sea, in the Lower Volga region and Eastern Ciscaucasia. Beyond the Volga, their nomads reached the Southern Urals and the steppes of Central Asia.

According to the ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo, the Aorsi and Siracians " partly nomads, partly living in tents and farming».

The highest level of social development was distinguished by the Siracs, who subjugated the Meotian farmers in the North-West Caucasus and created their own state. One of the residences of the Sirak kings was the city of Uspa, located near the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Aorsi, who lived in the steppes of the Caspian and Ciscaucasia regions, were called “upper Aorsi”. They dominated the western and northern coasts of the Caspian Sea and controlled trade routes through the Caucasus and Central Asia. The power and wealth of the Aorsi was already explained in ancient times by their participation in international trade. In China, the country of the Aors was called “Yantsai” - through it there was a route connecting China and Central Asia with Eastern Europe and maritime trade along the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Little is known about the relationship between the Siracs and the Aorsi. In the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they were allies and jointly provided military assistance to the Bosporan king Pharnaces. In the middle of the 1st century AD, during the struggle for the throne between the Bosporan king Mithridates VIII and his brother Cotis, the Aorsi and Siracians appear as enemies. The Siracians supported Mithridates, the Aorsi, together with the Romans, were on the side of Cotys. The combined troops of the Romans, Aorsi and Bosporan opposition captured the Syracuse city of Uspa. These events were described by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. He says that after the fall of Uspa, the king of the Siraks Zorsin " decided to choose the good of his people" and laid down his weapon. Having lost allies, Mithridates soon stopped resisting. Not wanting to fall into the hands of the Romans, he surrendered to the king of the Aorsi, Eunon. Tacitus writes: “ He entered the king’s chambers and, falling to the knees of Eunon, said: Mithridates, who has voluntarily appeared before you, who has been persecuted by the Romans for so many years».

Two Sarmatias

It is known that Claudius Ptolemy, in his treatise regarding Sarmatia and the Caucasus, wrote about two Sarmatias:

European Sarmatia he named the territory of the Northern Black Sea region from the mouth of the Istra (Danube) to the mouth of the Tanais (Don); Asian Sarmatia- the territory from Tanais to Corax (modern Kodor), which, according to some scientists, fully corresponds to the historical Circassia of the 15th century. (according to Interiano).

Alans

The Alans are a union of nomadic Eastern Sarmatian Iranian-speaking tribes that came to the attention of ancient authors in the middle of the 1st century AD. e. The term "Alan" comes from the ancient Iranian word "Ariana", popular in the ethnonymy of the Scythian-Sarmatian population.

The Alans were especially distinguished by their belligerence among the eastern Sarmatian alliances, led by the Aorsi. The sources of that time are replete with references to the “indomitable”, “brave”, “eternally warlike” Alans. The ancient tradition mentions them in the lower reaches of the Danube, in the Northern Black Sea region, and in the steppes of the Ciscaucasia.

In the 2nd century AD e. "Alania" is mentioned as a territory inhabited by Alans. At the same time, the Terek River received the name “Alonta”. No later than the middle of the 3rd century, in Chinese chronicles, the former possessions of the Aors, localized in the Aral-Caspian steppes, were renamed “Alanya”. At the same time, the names of other Sarmatian tribes disappeared from the pages of sources. All these are milestones of the process, the essence of which was that the Alans, according to the 4th century author Ammianus Marcellinus, “ little by little, with constant victories, they exhausted the neighboring peoples and spread their name to them».

The Alans made campaigns through the Caucasus, using both the Daryal (“Alan Gate”) and the Derbent passes, ravaging Caucasian Albania, Atropatena and reaching Cappadocia, as was the case in 134. Having established contact with some North Caucasian mountain tribes, they became a true scourge of Transcaucasia. Echoes of these events have been preserved, in addition to ancient ones, in Georgian chronicles. The ruler of Cappadocia, Flavius ​​Arrian, considered it important to create the work “Alanian History”.

The Alans took an active part in the affairs of the Bosporus Kingdom. There was a group of Alan translators in Phanagoria. The military authority of the Alans was so significant that the Roman Empire created a special military manual - a manual for fighting them, and the Roman cavalry borrowed a number of tactical techniques of the Alan cavalry.

Shiraki

Descendants of the Sarmatians

The direct descendants of the Alans are the modern Ossetians and Yases. The Ossetian language (a descendant of the Alanian language) is the only surviving form of the Sarmatian language.

The Hungarian Yas language was lost in the 19th century, but the surviving written monuments of the Yas language indicate that it practically coincided with Ossetian.

Some researchers believe that part of the Sarmatians (mainly Don Alans) was assimilated by the Eastern Slavs (Antas) and became part of the Cossacks, and, through them, into the Russian and Ukrainian nations.

Thus, the self-names of the Slavic peoples of Serbs and Lusatians are considered to originate from the Sarmatian tribe Serboi, originally recorded in the Caucasus and Black Sea region in the works of Tacitus and Pliny. In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth there was an official version about the Sarmatian origin of the Polish gentry (Sarmatism).

Life

Cloth

The main clothing of the Sarmatians were long, loose trousers, leather jackets, boots made of soft leather and pointed felt hats (bashlyk).

According to the testimony of ancient historians, the Sarmatians “ a warlike tribe, free, rebellious and so cruel and ferocious that even women participated in the war on an equal basis with men"(Roman geographer of the 1st century AD Pomponius Mela).

Dwellings

The Sarmatians, according to ancient authors, were nomads. Tents and wagons served as their homes. " Sarmatians do not live in cities and do not even have permanent residence. They live forever in camp, transporting property and wealth to wherever the best pastures attract them or force them to retreat or pursuing enemies"(Pomponius Mela).

During migrations, the Sarmatians transported their children, old people, women and property in wagons. According to the Greek geographer of the late 1st century BC. e. - beginning of the 1st century AD e. Strabo: " The tents of nomads (nomads) are made of felt and attached to the carts on which they live; cattle graze around the tents, from which they feed on meat, cheese and milk».

Status of women

Noble women often performed honorary priestly functions. It is significant that in addition to jewelry, weapons were often placed in the grave of a deceased woman, even a girl. A family cemetery, as a rule, was formed around the earlier burial of a noble woman - a leader or priestess, whom relatives revered as a foremother.

Ancient authors who lived in that era reported about Sarmatian women warriors. Thus, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that their women “ they ride on horseback to hunt with and without their husbands, go to war and wear the same clothes as men... Not a single girl gets married until she kills an enemy" Pseudo-Hippocrates also reported that Sarmatian women rode horses, shot bows and threw darts. He also cites this amazing detail: girls’ right breasts were often removed so that all the strength and vital juices would pass into the right shoulder and arm and make the woman as strong as the man. Sarmatian female warriors probably served as the basis for ancient Greek legends about the mysterious Amazons.

Burials

Cemetery mounds are mounds in which several burials are located according to a certain rule: either in a ring or in a row. The buried lie in rectangular pits, stretched out on their backs, with their heads to the south. Material finds usually include swords and daggers with sickle-shaped pommels, bronze and iron arrowheads, warlocks and belt buckles, molded ceramics, bronze mirrors, bone piercings, spindle whorls, and bone spoons.

Culture and religion

Warfare

The Sarmatians were considered excellent warriors, they created heavy cavalry, their weapons were swords and spears. Appearing first in the Lower Volga region, the Sarmatian sword, 70 to 110 cm long, soon spread throughout all the steppes. He turned out to be indispensable in horse combat.

The Sarmatians were serious opponents for their neighbors. " ...among the Sarmatians, more than one voice of the leader matters: they all incite each other not to allow arrows to be thrown in battle, but to warn the enemy with a bold attack and engage in hand-to-hand combat"(Cornelius Tacitus). However, the Sarmatians rarely appeared before their enemies on foot. They were always on horses. " It is remarkable that all the valor of the Sarmatians lies, as it were, outside themselves. They are extremely cowardly in foot combat; but when they appear in mounted detachments, it is unlikely that any system can resist them».

The Sarmatians were very clever warriors. Sarmatian warriors were armed with long pikes and wore armor made of cut and ironed pieces of horn, sewn like feathers onto linen clothes. They covered vast spaces when they pursued the enemy or when they retreated themselves, sitting on fast and obedient horses, and each one led with him another horse or two. They changed from horse to horse in order to give them rest.

Military affairs of the Sarmatians in the works of ancient authors

Sarmatian military art was at a high level of development for its time. Sarmatian strategy and tactics, the latest weapons were adopted by the Scythians, Bosporans, and even the Romans. In the process of eastern expansion, first Greek and then Roman colonists encountered nomadic tribes. Greek authors paid more attention to the customs and history of the barbarians. They were less interested in military affairs, since their relations with the local population were most likely peaceful. The art of war of the Sarmatians was mostly illuminated by Roman historians. There are many traditional and legendary moments in the descriptions of Sarmatia. For example, most authors of the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. traditionally calls the Sarmatians Scythians or Sauromatians. Until the 1st century. BC e. There is no direct information about the military affairs of the Sarmatians, but since the time of the first active appearance of nomads in the historical arena falls in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e., then we should consider documents that indirectly tell about various areas of military affairs of the nomads.

Brief messages

Military epithets and brief references to the Sarmatians as ferocious warriors appear from the 1st century. n. e. in the works of poets and philosophers. Roman poet Ovid, sent in 9 AD. e. in exile to the Black Sea coast in the city of Toma, he was one of the first to mention the Sarmatians as fierce warriors and compared them to Mars (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7).

Some customs of the “Scythians and similar tribes” were described by Lucius Anyaeus Cornutus, a philosopher of the Stoic school who lived during the time of Nero. The author paid attention to the indomitable justice and military exercises of nomadic tribes. The writer also mentioned the veneration of the god of war Ares.

Dionysius Periegetes also mentioned the relationship of nomads with the god of war. His works date back to the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. The Latin author describes the nomads living near Maeotis, and among them “the tribes of the Sauromatians, the glorious family of the warlike Ares” (Description of the Inhabited Land, 652-710).

The poet Guy Valerius Flaccus Setin Balbus left information concerning the “fierce Sarmatian youth” and their “animal roar” (VI, 231-233).

Rufius Festus Avienus, wrote about the “fierce Sarmatian” who lived around Taurus (Description of the Earthly Circle, 852-891). Claudius Claudian mentioned the Sarmatian cavalry units (Pangerik on the third consulate, VV, 145-150).

Ancient authors, when describing the Sarmatian cavalry, paid great attention to such qualities as endurance and nobility. According to writers, Sarmatian horses could travel up to 150 miles per day, which equates to 220 km. Some authors mention replacement horses. All this allowed the nomads to cover considerable distances. Ovid reports that “enemies fly in a predatory flock” (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 10), Josephus describes the “swift raids” of the Sarmatians on Moesia and Media (On the Jewish War, VII, 4, 3; 7, 4).

Descriptions of weapons and weapons of the Sarmatians

Ancient authors paid great attention to the arrows of nomads. Aristotle wrote about a recipe for Scythian poison for arrows prepared from echidna and human blood (On miraculous events, 141). Almost verbatim, this story repeats the story of Pseudo-Aristotle; in his story, instead of the echidna component, the Scythians use snakes (Tales of Curiosities, 845a, 141).

Theophrastus writes about “deadly plants with which arrows are anointed.” As the ancient botanist says, some poisons kill immediately, while others cause a person to die from exhaustion. (Theophrastus, On Plants, XV, 2).

Ovid attaches great importance to arrows. The poet repeatedly mentions the poisonous hooked arrows of the nomads (Sorrowful Elegies, III, 10; V, 7, 10; Letters from Pontus, IV, 7, 10). He even sends one quiver as a gift to his friend Fabius Maximus with a letter (Letters from Pontus, III, 8).

Pausanias talks about Sarmatian bone arrowheads (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Pliny the Elder also writes that the Scythians moisten their arrows with poison (Natural History, 2, XI, 279). Claudius Aelianus also writes about this (On Animals, IX, 15).

A description of traditional melee weapons - the sword and spear - is also presented in the works of ancient authors. Ovid writes about the Sarmatians armed with knives (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7). Josephus mentions the Sarmatian sword (On the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4), Valerius Flaccus describes “the manager of a huge Sarmatian pike” (Argonautica, VI, 20), Pausanias writes about bone spears (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Claudius Claudian also writes about the Sarmatian spears (On the Consulate of Stilicho, I, 122).

Quite often, ancient authors mention in their works the use of the lasso by the Sarmatians. It was used either to capture prisoners or to throw a rider from a horse. Josephus writes about an attempt to capture the Armenian king of Trinidad with a lasso (On ​​the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4). Pausanias notes that “the Sarmatians throw lassoes over their enemies and then, turning their horses back, overturn those caught in the lassoes” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). The latest mention of the use of lassos by nomads is found in the Bishop of Macedon Ambrose, who lived in the 5th century AD. e. The bishop writes that “the Alans are skilled in the custom of throwing a noose around the enemy’s neck” (On the destruction of Jerusalem, V).

The first mention of the defensive weapons of nomads belongs to Theophrastus of Eres. In the treatise “On the Waters” he writes: “Tarand is found in Scythia or Sarmatia, its muzzle looks like a deer... Its bone is covered with skin, from where the wool grows. The skin is as thick as a finger and very strong, which is why it is dried and made into shells” (On the Waters, 172).

Pausanias left an interesting description of the armor: “They make armor in the following way: each of them holds many horses…. They use horses not only for war, but also sacrifice them to the native gods and eat them as food. They collect their hooves, clean them, cut them and make them into something like snake scales. Anyone who has never seen a snake has probably seen green pine cones, so with the grooves visible on pine cones one can, perhaps, unmistakably compare what is made from hooves. They drill these plates, sew them together with horse and bull sinews and use them as armor, which is neither inferior in beauty nor strength to the Hellenic ones, they can even withstand blows and wounds inflicted in hand-to-hand combat” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5).

Claudius Aelian, similarly to Theophrastus, described the animal Tarand, but in his story the nomads covered shields with skin, rather than making shells from it (On Animals, II, 16).

Full-scale descriptions of military affairs and military customs of the Sarmatians

Strabo describes the defeat of the 50 thousandth army of the “warlike” Roxolani, and also notes that the nomads “wear helmets and armor made of raw cowhide and shields woven from twigs, and their offensive weapons are spears, bows and swords” (VIII, 3, 17). The geographer gives the number of troops of the Siracs and Aorses, writes about the dominance of the latter over most of the Caspian coast (V, 8).

Publius Cornelius Tacitus tells of the unsuccessful Sarmatian raid on Moesia in 69 AD. e. (History, I, 79). Mentioning that few could resist the mounted Sarmatian hordes, Tacitus described the defeat of the nine thousand-strong army of nomads by the auxiliary forces of the third legion. In his description of the weapons of the Sarmatians, Tacitus mentions pikes and long swords, which the Sarmatians hold with both hands, as well as the heavy armor of leaders and nobles, consisting of plates fitted to each other or of the hardest leather. At the same time, he clarifies that nomads do not use shields at all.

The works of the Roman historian and outstanding statesman Flavius ​​Arrian, who ruled Cappadocia in 131-137, are of great importance. In 135 AD e. Arrian "repels" the Alan raid. It should be noted that the battle of the Roman legions with the Sarmatians did not take place - the army of Cappadocia advanced to the eastern border, and the nomads decided not to risk it and retreated. As a result of the “clash with the Alans,” Arrian developed an interest in his opponents, and he dedicated the “Disposition against the Alans” to the events of 135. Describing the scenario of the failed battle, Arrian characterizes the Sarmatian weapons and tactics (Disposition against the Alans, 17, 28, 30, 31). Arrian's Sarmatians use shields and pikes, are dressed in armor, and use various tactics during battle - a false retreat, encirclement.

Early history

However, speaking about the origin of the Scythians themselves, Herodotus reported that the “Scythian nomads” who lived in Asia were displaced Massagetae and, “crossing the Araks River, they went to the Cimmerian land,” while uncertainly classifying the Massagetae themselves among the same Scythians. Herodotus also reported that the language of the “Sauromatians” was Scythian, “but they have been speaking it for a long time with errors.” During the invasion Darius I In Scythia, the Sarmatians supported the Scythians and formed part of the army of the Scythian kings.

There is another version about the origin of the name “Sarmatians”, which I. Marquart related to the name of one of his sons Traethaons , Avestan history about Sairim, Tur and Arya. Ferdowsi V " Shahnameh“writes that Salmu (Sairime) got the “West”, Turu - Chin and Turan, and Ireju (Arya) - Iran.

Conquest of Scythia

In the V-IV centuries BC. e. the Sarmatians were peaceful neighbors Scythia. Scythian merchants, heading to the eastern countries, freely passed through the Sarmatian lands. In the war with the Persians, the Sarmatians were reliable allies of the Scythians. During times Atea allied relations were preserved, Sarmatian detachments served in the army and at the court of the Scythian king. Separate groups of Sarmatians settled on the territory of European Scythia.

In the 3rd century BC. e. friendly relations gave way to hostility and a military offensive of the Sarmatians on Scythia. The aggressive militancy of the young Sarmatian unions coincided with the weakening of the Scythian kingdom. At the end of the 4th century BC. e. the Scythians were defeated by the ruler Thrace Lysimachus. Thracians And Celtic tribes Galatians pressed the Scythians from the west. The consequence of unsuccessful wars was the decline of the economy and the falling away from Scythia of some previously conquered lands and tribes.

In Lucian's famous story " Toxaris or friendship” the Scythians Dan-damis and Amizok test their loyalty to friendship in the difficult events of the Sarmatian invasion. " “Suddenly the Sarmatians, numbering ten thousand horsemen, attacked our land,” says the Scythian Toksaris, “and they say there were three times as many on foot.” And since their attack was unforeseen, they put everyone to flight, kill many brave men, and take others away alive. ...Immediately the Sarmatians began to round up the loot, gather captives in crowds, plunder tents, and took possession of a large number of carts with everyone in them» .

Constant raids and the gradual seizure of Scythian territory by the Sarmatians culminated in the massive resettlement of Sarmatian tribes to the Northern Black Sea region.

Pomponius Mela in his description used information from the Roman naval expedition that reached Jutland in 5 AD. e. Of all the Germanic tribes, only the Hermiones lived east of the Elbe, but Pomponius did not know about their eastern neighbors, apparently assuming that they were Sarmatians, since this was on the borders of the Roman Empire with present-day Hungary, and applied this ethnonym to all non-Germanic tribes north of the Danube and east of the Elbe. .

Great Migration

At the beginning of our era the era began Great Migration peoples, the initiators of which, according to many researchers, were Huns.

Between 370 and 380 the Huns crush Ostrogoths, and before that, according to Jordan, crossing Maeotis, subjugate the Alans, weakening them with frequent skirmishes.

The linguistic descendants of the Sarmatians are Ossetians, whose ancestors - the Alans - were a collection of part of the Sarmatian tribes.

Sarmatia Ptolemy

After the conquest of European Scythia, the Sarmatians gained fame as one of the most powerful peoples of the ancient world. All of Eastern Europe, together with the Caucasus, was named Sarmatia. Having established their dominance in the European steppes, the Sarmatians began to establish peaceful cooperation with agricultural peoples and provided patronage to international trade and the Greek cities of the Black Sea region. The political unions of the Sarmatian tribes forced their near and distant neighbors to reckon with themselves. China before Roman Empire.

Since the 2nd century BC. e. Sarmatians appear more and more often in the works of Greek, Roman and Eastern authors. We learn from Strabo names of their tribes - Iazygi , Roxolans , aorsi , shiraki , Alans ; Tacitus reports the devastating Roxolani raid on the Danube province of the Roman Empire Moesia in 68 AD. e., where are they " cut down two cohorts"; exiled to the city Then we in 8 AD e. poet Ovid with melancholy and fear he describes in his “Sorrowful Elegies” the Sarmatians under the city - “ an enemy, strong with a horse and a far-flying arrow, ravages... the neighboring land»; Josephus Flavius And Arrian left messages about the wars of the Alans in the 1st and 2nd centuries in Armenia And Cappadocia - « stern and eternally warlike Alans».

"European Sarmatia"

Western Sarmatian tribes - roxalans And Iazygi- occupied the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region. Around 125 BC e. they created a powerful, although not very strong, federation, the emergence of which is explained by the need to resist the pressure of the eastern Sarmatian tribes. Apparently, this was an early state typical of nomads, led by a tribe of royal Sarmatians. However, the Western Sarmatians failed to repeat the state experience of the Scythians - from the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they acted as two independent unions. In the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper roksolans roamed, to the west of them - between Dnieper And Danube- the Iazygs lived.

In the first half of the 1st century AD, the Iazyges advanced to the Middle Danube Lowland, where they occupied the area between the Danube and Tisza rivers (part of the current territory Hungary And Serbia). Following the Iazyges, the Roxolani approached the border of the Roman Empire, most of whom settled in the lower reaches of the Danube (in the territory of modern Romania). The Western Sarmatians were restless neighbors of Rome, they acted either as its allies or as opponents and did not miss an opportunity to intervene in the internecine struggle within the empire. As befits an era of military democracy, the Sarmatians viewed Rome as a source of rich booty. The methods of acquiring it were different: predatory raids, receiving tribute, military mercenaries.

Starting from the second half of the 1st century, the Sarmatians, responding to the king’s call Dacia Decebalus, take part in Dacian wars. In 87, the Roman army under the command of Cornelius Fuscus invades Dacia. The Romans are defeated at the Battle of Tapai. The Dacians obtained annual subsidies from Rome in exchange for participation in the defense of the Roman borders. The Iazyges also received part of these subsidies. Roxolani and Iazyges were loyal allies of the Dacians and took part in all military campaigns of the Dacians against the Romans, including first Dacian campaign of Trajan And second Dacian campaign of Trajan, until the summer of 106, when the Roman troops, led by the emperor Trajan, finally captured Dacia and its capital Sarmizegetusu. Having suffered huge losses, the Iazyges were never able to restore their former power. Now leadership passed to the Roxolani - tribes who lived to the east, and therefore did not fall under Roman occupation. After the fall of Dacia, the Romans continued to pay tribute to the Roxolani for some time, but soon abandoned this. Having stopped receiving tribute, the Roxolani and Iazyges invaded the Danube provinces of Rome in 117. After two years of raids, the Roman Empire, wishing for peace on its eastern borders, was forced to resume payment to the Roxolani. The Romans concluded a peace treaty with King Rasparagan, who had two titles - “king of the Roxolans” and “king of the Sarmatians.” Perhaps this suggests that the Iazyges and Roxolani formally retained a single supreme power. Most often they acted in a close alliance, although the Iazyges occupied the plains of the Middle Danube, and the Roxolani were located on the Lower Danube and in the North-Western Black Sea region. Having conquered Dacians, who lived between the Iazyges and the Roxolani, the Romans tried to destroy their connections and even prohibit communication between them. The Sarmatians responded to this with war.

The struggle of the Sarmatians with Rome was especially stubborn in the 160s and 170s. The terms of the peace treaty that the Iazyges concluded with the emperor in 179 are known. Marcus Aurelius. Both the Romans and the Sarmatians were tired of the war, in whose camp two parties fought - supporters and opponents of the agreement with Rome. Finally, the peace party won, and King Banadasp, the leader of the war supporters, was taken into custody. Negotiations with Marcus Aurelius were headed by King Zantik. According to the agreement, the Iazyges received the right to pass to the Roxolani through Roman lands, but in return they pledged not to sail on ships on the Danube and not to settle near the border. Subsequently, the Romans abolished these restrictions and established days on which the Sarmatians could cross to the Roman bank of the Danube for trade. The Iazyges returned 100 thousand prisoners to Rome.

An eight-thousand-strong detachment of Iazygian cavalry was accepted into the Roman army, while some of the horsemen were sent to serve in Britain. According to some scientists, for example Georges Dumezil, it was these Sarmatians who were the source Celtic myths about King Arthur And knights of the round table.

Clashes between the Sarmatians and Rome occurred later. Peace gave way to war, followed again by cooperation. Sarmatian troops entered the service of the Roman army and the kings of the Germanic tribes. Groups of Western Sarmatians settled in the Roman provinces - in the territory of present-day Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria , Yugoslavia , France , Italy , Great Britain.

"Asian Sarmatia"

Eastern Sarmatian unions aorsov And Sirakov inhabited the space between the Azov and Caspian seas, in the south their lands extended to the Caucasus Mountains. The Siraks occupied the Azov steppes and the North Caucasus plain north of the Kuban. The foothill and lowland regions of the Central Ciscaucasia also belonged to the Siracs, but at the turn of the new era they were supplanted by the Aorsi. The Aorsi roamed the steppes from the Don to the Caspian Sea, in the Lower Volga region and Eastern Ciscaucasia. Beyond the Volga, their nomads reached the Southern Urals and the steppes of Central Asia.

According to the ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo, aorsi and siraki " partly nomads, partly living in tents and farming».

The highest level of social development was distinguished by the Siracs, who subjugated the Meotian farmers in the North-West Caucasus and created their own state. One of the residences of the Sirak kings was the city of Uspa, located near the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Aorsi, who lived in the steppes of the Caspian and Ciscaucasia regions, were called “upper Aorsi”. They dominated the western and northern coasts of the Caspian Sea and controlled trade routes through the Caucasus and Central Asia. The power and wealth of the Aorsi was already explained in ancient times by their participation in international trade. In China, the country of the Aors was called “Yantsai” - through it there was a route connecting China and Central Asia with Eastern Europe and maritime trade along the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Little is known about the relationship between the Siracs and the Aorsi. In the middle of the 1st century BC. e. they were allies and jointly provided military assistance to the Bosporan king Pharnaces. In the middle of the 1st century AD, during the struggle for the throne between the Bosporan king Mithridates VIII and his brother Kotis, Aorsi and Siracs act as enemies. The Siracians supported Mithridates, the Aorsi, together with the Romans, were on the side of Cotys. The combined troops of the Romans, Aorsi and Bosporan opposition captured the Syracuse city of Uspa. These events were described by the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus. He says that after the fall of Uspa, the king of the Siraks Zorsin " decided to choose the good of his people" and laid down his weapon. Having lost allies, Mithridates soon stopped resisting. Not wanting to fall into the hands of the Romans, he surrendered to the king of the Aorsi, Eunon. Tacitus writes: “ He entered the king’s chambers and, falling to the knees of Eunon, said: Mithridates, who has voluntarily appeared before you, who has been persecuted by the Romans for so many years».

According to the testimony of ancient historians, the Sarmatians “ a warlike tribe, free, rebellious and so cruel and ferocious that even women participated in the war on an equal basis with men"(Roman geographer 1st century new era Pomponius Mela).

Dwellings

The Sarmatians, according to ancient authors, were nomads. Tents and wagons served as their homes. " Sarmatians do not live in cities and do not even have permanent residence. They live forever in camp, transporting property and wealth to wherever they are attracted by the best pastures or forced by retreating or pursuing enemies.» ( Pomponius Mela).

During the migrations, the Sarmatians transported their children, old people, women and property to wagons. According to the Greek geographer of the late 1st century BC. e. - beginning of the 1st century AD e. Strabo : « The tents of nomads (nomads) are made of felt and attached to the carts on which they live, cattle graze around the tents, meat , cheese And milk which they feed on».

Status of women

Noble women often performed honorary priestly functions. It is significant that in addition to jewelry, weapons were often placed in the grave of a deceased woman, even a girl. A family cemetery, as a rule, was formed around the earlier burial of a noble woman - a leader or priestess, whom relatives revered as a foremother.

Ancient authors who lived in that era reported about Sarmatian women warriors. Thus, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that their women “ they ride on horseback to hunt with and without their husbands, go to war and wear the same clothes as men... Not a single girl gets married until she kills an enemy" Pseudo- Hippocrates also reported that Sarmatian women ride horses, shoot bows and throw darts. He also cites this amazing detail: girls’ right breasts were often removed so that all the strength and vital juices would pass into the right shoulder and arm and make the woman as strong as the man. Sarmatian women warriors probably served as the basis for ancient Greek legends about mysterious Amazons.

Culture and religion

Apparently, the Sarmatian form of government was a military democracy, but there is no direct evidence of the structure of supreme power in the Sarmatian tribes at the beginning of the era. When characterizing the supreme power, the term “skeptuh” is most often used, the meaning of which is not entirely clear, since it was applied to tribal leaders, kings, military leaders, and court dignitaries (in particular, at the Achaemenid court).

Early Sarmatian (“Prokhorovskaya”) in a series of Sarmatian cultures dates back to the 4th-2nd centuries. BC e. It received its name in connection with the mounds located near the village. Prokhorovka (Sharlyk district in the Orenburg region), excavated by peasants in 1911. The indicated mounds were further investigated S. I. Rudenko in 1916. M. I. Rostovtsev, who published material from excavations near the village. Prokhorovka, for the first time identified monuments of this type with the historical Sarmatians, dating them to the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. The classical concept of “Prokhorovskaya culture” was introduced by B. N. Grakov for similar monuments in the territory Volga region And Cisurals. Currently, the latest monuments attributed to the “Prokhorov culture” date back to the turn of the era.

The Middle Sarmatian (“Suslovka”) culture was identified by P. D. Rau in 1927. In his periodization, such monuments constituted stage A (“Stuffe A”) and belonged to the early Sarmatian time. He dated these monuments (most of which came from the Suslovsky burial mound, located in the Sovetsky district, Saratov region) to the end of the 2nd - the end of the 1st century. BC e. In the periodization of B. N. Grakov, similar complexes were called the Sarmatian or “Suslov” culture. And further, in the works of K.F. Smirnov, the modern name “Middle Sarmatian culture” was established for them.

Burials

Cemetery mounds are mounds in which several burials are located according to a certain rule: either in a ring or in a row. The buried lie in rectangular pits, stretched out on their backs, with their heads to the south. The most common material finds include swords and daggers with sickle-shaped pommels, bronze and iron arrowheads, sword belt buckles and belt buckles, molded ceramics, bronze mirrors, bone piercings, spindle whorl, bone spoons.

Anthropology

Anthropologically, the Sarmatians belonged to brachycranial Caucasians (wide and round heads), with the exception of the Alan tribe, who belonged to dolichocranial Caucasians (narrow and long skull). The late Sarmatians were characterized by an admixture of Mongoloidity.

Warfare

The Sarmatians were considered excellent warriors; it is widely believed that they created heavy cavalry, their weapons were swords And spears. Appearing first in Lower Volga region, a Sarmatian sword, 70 to 110 cm long, soon spread throughout the steppes. He turned out to be indispensable in horse combat.

The Sarmatians were serious opponents for their neighbors. " ...among the Sarmatians, more than one voice of the leader matters: they all incite each other not to allow arrows to be thrown in battle, but to warn the enemy with a bold attack and engage in hand-to-hand combat» ( Cornelius Tacitus). However, the Sarmatians rarely appeared before their enemies on foot. They were always on horses. " It is remarkable that all the valor of the Sarmatians lies, as it were, outside themselves. They are extremely cowardly in foot combat; but when they appear in mounted detachments, it is unlikely that any system can resist them».

The Sarmatians were very clever warriors. Sarmatian warriors were armed with long pikes and wore armor made of cut and ironed pieces of horn, sewn like feathers onto linen clothes. They covered vast spaces when they pursued the enemy or when they retreated themselves, sitting on fast and obedient horses, and each one led with him another horse or two. They changed from horse to horse in order to give them rest.

Military affairs of the Sarmatians in the works of ancient authors

Sarmatian military art was at a high level of development for its time. Sarmatian strategy and tactics, the latest weapons were adopted by the Scythians, Bosporans, and even the Romans. In the process of eastern expansion, first Greek and then Roman colonists encountered nomadic tribes. Greek authors paid more attention to the customs and history of the barbarians. They were less interested in military affairs, since their relations with the local population were most likely peaceful.

The art of war of the Sarmatians was mostly illuminated by Roman historians. In the descriptions Sarmatia many traditional and legendary moments can be traced. For example, most authors of the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. traditionally calls the Sarmatians Scythians or Sauromatians. Until the 1st century. BC e. There is no direct information about the military affairs of the Sarmatians, but since the time of the first active appearance of nomads in the historical arena falls in the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e., then we should consider documents that indirectly tell about various areas of military affairs of the Sarmatians.

Brief messages

Military epithets and brief references to the Sarmatians as ferocious warriors appear from the 1st century. n. e. in the works of poets and philosophers. Roman poet Ovid, sent in 8 A.D. e. in exile to the Black Sea coast in the city of Tomy, he was one of the first to mention the Sarmatians as fierce warriors and compared them to Mars (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7).

Some customs of the “Scythians and similar tribes” were described by Lucius Anyaeus Cornutus, a philosopher of the Stoic school who lived during the time of Nero. The author paid attention to the indomitable justice and military exercises of nomadic tribes. The writer also mentioned the veneration of the god of war Ares.

He also mentioned the relationship of nomads with the god of war. Dionysius Periegetes. His works date back to the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. The Latin author describes the nomads living near Maeotis, and among them “the tribes of the Sauromatians, the glorious family of the warlike Ares” (Description of the Inhabited Land, 652-710).

The poet Guy Valerius Flaccus Setin Balbus left information concerning the “fierce Sarmatian youth” and their “animal roar” (VI, 231-233).

Rufius Festus Avienus, wrote about the “fierce Sarmatian” who lived around Taurus (Description of the Earthly Circle, 852-891). Claudius Claudian mentioned Sarmatian cavalry units (Pangerik on the third consulate, VV, 145-150).

One of the last authors who wrote about nomadic cavalry was Claudius Aelianus. He once again repeats Aristotle’s “story of the Scythian mare” (On Animals, IV, 7).

Ancient authors, when describing the Sarmatian cavalry, paid great attention to such qualities as endurance and nobility. According to writers, Sarmatian horses could travel up to 150 miles per day, which equates to 220 km. Some authors mention replacement horses. All this allowed the nomads to cover considerable distances.
Ovid reports that “enemies swoop in in a flock of predators” (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 10), Josephus Flavius describes the “rapid raids” of the Sarmatians on Moesia and Media (On the Jewish War, VII, 4, 3; 7, 4).

Descriptions of Sarmatian weapons

Ancient authors paid great attention to the arrows of nomads. Aristotle wrote about a recipe for Scythian poison for arrows prepared from echidna and human blood (On miraculous events, 141). This story repeats the story almost verbatim. Aristotle, in his story, instead of the echidna component, the Scythians use snakes (Tales of Curiosities, 845a, 141).

Pausanias tells about Sarmatian bone arrowheads (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Pliny the Elder also writes that the Scythians moisten their arrows with poison (Natural History, 2, XI, 279). Claudius Aelianus also writes about this (On Animals, IX, 15).

A description of traditional melee weapons - the sword and spear - is also presented in the works of ancient authors. Ovid writes about the Sarmatians armed with knives (Sorrowful Elegies, V, 7). Josephus mentions the Sarmatian sword (On the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4), Valerius Flaccus describes “the manager of a huge Sarmatian pike” (Argonautica, VI, 20), Pausanias writes about bone spears (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5). Claudius Claudian also writes about the Sarmatian spears (On the Consulate of Stilicho, I, 122).

Quite often, ancient authors mention in their works the use of the lasso by the Sarmatians. It was used either to capture prisoners or to throw a rider from a horse. Josephus writes about an attempt to capture the Armenian king of Trinidad with a lasso (On ​​the Jewish War, VII, 7, 4). Pausanias notes that “the Sarmatians throw lassoes over their enemies and then, turning their horses back, overturn those caught in the lassoes” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5).
The latest mention of the use of lassos by nomads is found in the Bishop of Macedon Ambrose, who lived in the 5th century AD. e. The bishop writes that “the Alans are skilled in the custom of throwing a noose around the enemy’s neck” (On the destruction of Jerusalem, V).

The first mention of the defensive weapons of nomads belongs to Theophrastus of Eres. In the treatise “On the Waters” he writes: “Tarand is found in Scythia or Sarmatia, its muzzle looks like a deer... Its bone is covered with skin, from where the wool grows. The skin is as thick as a finger and very strong, which is why it is dried and made into shells” (On the Waters, 172).

Pausanias left an interesting description of the armor: “They make armor in the following way: each of them holds many horses…. They use horses not only for war, but also sacrifice them to the native gods and eat them as food. They collect their hooves, clean them, cut them and make them into something like snake scales. Anyone who has never seen a snake has probably seen green pine cones, so with the grooves visible on pine cones one can, perhaps, unmistakably compare what is made from hooves. They drill these plates, sew them together with horse and bull sinews and use them as armor, which is neither inferior in beauty nor strength to the Hellenic ones, they can even withstand blows and wounds inflicted in hand-to-hand combat” (Description of Hellas, I, 21, 5).

Claudius Aelian, similarly to Theophrastus, described the animal Tarand, but in his story the nomads covered shields with skin, rather than making shells from it (On Animals, II, 16).

Full-scale descriptions of military affairs and military customs of the Sarmatians

Strabo describes the defeat of the 50 thousandth army of the “warlike” Roxolans, and also notes that the nomads “wear helmets and armor made of raw cowhide and shields woven from twigs, and their offensive weapons are spears, bows and swords” (VIII, 3, 17 ). The geographer gives the number of troops of the Siracs and Aorses, writes about the dominance of the latter over most of the Caspian coast (V, 8).

Publius Cornelius Tacitus tells of an unsuccessful Sarmatian raid on Moesia in 69 AD. e. (History, I, 79). Mentioning that few could resist the mounted Sarmatian hordes, Tacitus described the defeat of a nine-thousand-strong army of nomads by the auxiliary forces of the third legion. In his description of the weapons of the Sarmatians, Tacitus mentions pikes and long swords, which the Sarmatians hold with both hands, as well as the heavy armor of leaders and nobles, consisting of plates fitted to each other or of the hardest leather. At the same time, he clarifies that nomads do not use shields at all.

The works of the Roman historian and outstanding statesman are of great importance Flavia Arriana, who ruled Cappadocia in 131-137. In 135, Arrian “repels” an Alan raid. It should be noted that the battle of the Roman legions with the Sarmatians did not take place - the army of Cappadocia advanced to the eastern border, and the nomads decided not to risk it and retreated. As a result of the “clash with the Alans,” Arrian developed an interest in his opponents and he dedicated the “Disposition against the Alans” to the events of 135. Describing the scenario of the failed battle, Arrian characterizes the Sarmatian weapons and tactics (Disposition against the Alans, 17, 28, 30, 31). Arrian's Sarmatians use shields and pikes, are dressed in armor, and use various tactics during battle - a false retreat, encirclement.

Another work of Arrian also tells about the military affairs of the Sarmatians (Tactics, 47, 16.6, 35.3). In Tactics, the historian mentions horsemen armed with javelins and charging in the Alan style, wedge-shaped formations of nomadic cavalry, as well as military badges in the form of dragons. Banners “not only cause pleasure or horror by their appearance, but are also useful for distinguishing attacks and so that different troops do not attack one another.”

Ammianus Marcellinus described some military customs of the Sarmatians. From birth, nomads learn to ride horses, constantly train, and worship the sword. Among them, the one who dies in battle is considered lucky. Marcellinus also describes the custom of scalping enemies and decorating Sarmatian horses with these scalps.

Notes

1. Shchukin M.B. At the turn of the era. St. Petersburg: Farn, 1994, p. 145.
2. Archeology: Textbook. Edited by Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.L. Ioannina. M.: Publishing house Mosk. Univ., 2006, pp. 327, 344.
3. Galkina E.S. Secrets of the Russian Kaganate. M.: “Veche”, 2002, p. 327.
4. Sulimirsky T. Sarmatians. Ancient people of southern Russia. M.: ZAO Tsentrpoligraf, 2008, p. 126.
5. Scythians and Sarmatians: problems of ethnicity. Conversation with antiquarian A. Ivanchik
6. Dovatur A. I., Kallistov D. P., Shishova I. A. The peoples of our country in the “History” of Herodotus. - M., 1982. - P. 109.
7. Herodotus. "History", 4. 21.
8. N. Lysenko. Iazyges on the Danube Limes of Rome in the 1st-2nd centuries. n. e. - P. 3-4.