Episode 24: Scythians: Tomyris and Cyrus

On this episode, we explore the titanic clash between Cyrus of the Persians and Tomyris of the Massagetae.

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Relevant Books:

• Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
• David Greene (trans.), The History of Herodotus
• Ilya Gershevitch, The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 2

Transcript

A shepherd waited along the banks of the mighty river. His flocks grazed along the nearby grass and drank their fill of the flowing waters. The sky was blue, eternally so, and only a few clouds seemed to permeate through the clear horizon. 

Southwards passed the river, the land seemed to slope upwards, into a kingdom ruled by powerful lords and vast armies. The shepherd had heard rumors that his kindred people had been absorbed into this mighty state. Many attempted to fight, to preserve their shred of independence, but now it seems that they had been defeated and made vassals. Second-hand accounts spoke of organized ranks and powerful tactics that ruined villages and pastures. Though a humble shepherd, the man knew instinctively that great kings and states were never content with their lot. 

There were other strange tidings. To his north, a queen had succeeded in unifying a number of disparate peoples. Their forces were numerous and their arms were swift. If the merchants were to be believed, then this queen possessed thousands of horses and even more warriors. He shuddered at the thought. He’d remembered days old, memories of thundering hooves and angry yells. He remembered how the sky seemed to darken from arrows and javelins. 

There were other whispers… some said that the king of the south had proposed a marriage to the queen of the north. Such an offer was spurned, casted aside, and the paper was torn asunder. The king of the south appeared to be filled with wroth and fire, while the northern queen seemed vindictive and furious. Some wondered if war was to come, if the land the shepherd stood on was soon to be torn limb from limb, filled with black smoke and the screams of the dead or dying. 

The shepherd turned his thoughts away from such horrors. He had seen enough of such things for a lifetime. He looked over westward, towards a great sea, and he made his mind that he would move his herd in that direction. There, he’d find good grazing land and peace for himself. 

He readied himself on his horse and began herding his animals. As he readied to move onward, he turned his head back to the south. 

A great smattering of dust and smoke filled the area some leagues away. A mass of movement lurched northward, toward the river and toward the shepherd. A mighty army was on the move. The Persians were marching. 

Panic kicked into the shepherd’s mind as he hurried his animals toward the Caspian Sea. He would race against the army, hurrying forth to escape the perils of a future war. The Messagatae of the north were a terrifying people, and the shepherd knew full well that this conflict, this war between the Persians and the Messagatae , would ruin the land. 

And so, the shepherd fled, and hoped that he’d find peace and quiet wherever he’d arrive. 

And welcome back to the Nomads and Empires podcast, episode 24! Last time in the narrative, we tracked the Scythians as they were forced out of the Near East. This contingent of Scythians moved northward, heading back to the Pontic steppe. As they journeyed, some Scythian groups stopped in the Caucasus or in the steppes of the north Caucasus, where they intermingled with indigenous groups and those Scythians who never made their way south. Along the way, these Scythians must have experienced conflict and violence, as well as trade and diplomacy. By the end, we speculated that these Near Eastern Scythians may have been the progenitors of the Royal Scythians, and we will return to these nomads in a later period.

But before we examine their history, one key event will occur in another steppe region, and such an event will have ripple effects across the ancient Near East and Eurasian steppe. This particular moment will involve some players we’ve met before. In particular, the Medes, the very peoples who had a hand in ousting the Scythians, will rear their heads here once more. Indeed, today, we’ll be talking about the infamous war between Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae and Cyrus the Great, King of Kings of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. 

Our story, therefore, must start with a geographic overview. For a more detailed discussion, I’ll point you to episode 3, where we talked at length on the geography of the central steppes. But for today, let’s briefly summarize. Over the course of the previous episodes, we’ve focused on the Near East, on the Caucasus, and on the Pontic steppe. Situated further to the east, we have the lands of modern Iran, which is defined by the Zagros Mountains. As one moves further eastward, the land shifts toward deserts and semi-deserts before the great mountains of the Hindu Kush deter access to the Indian subcontinent. In the ancient world, this region was home to a number of different peoples, including the Medes and, significant to us later, the Persians.

North of Iran is an interesting area. The landscape becomes increasingly arid, giving way to the Karakum and Kyzylkum deserts. Though a seemingly inhospitable area, the presence of oases and great rivers like the Syr Darya and Amu Darya have allowed some settled communities to exist here. In particular, the deltas of these rivers proved to be fertile, which resulted in sizable populations in these areas. As we continue moving northward, past the mighty Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash, the deserts shift further into grassland, becoming the Kazakh steppe. 

And so, our story today is one of these two interlocking areas: the plateaus and highlands of Iran and the deserts and steppes of Central Asia. In Iran, centralized polities like the Median and Persian Empires would form, while to their north, semi-nomadic and fully nomadic peoples thrived. Such cultures included names we’re familiar with: the Saka and the Massagetae. These were broadly Scythian cultures, and likely shared some similarities in language and material culture.

Throughout the course of history, the lands of Iran would maintain a somewhat “symbiotic” relationship with the nomads of the Central Asian steppes and deserts. Groups such as the Hepthalites and the Turks would become entwined with the Iranian states of their day. The Achaemenids, the Sassanids, the Abbasids and so forth all faced pressures from the nomads of the central steppe. At the same time, a state could acquire significant benefits if it played its hand correctly. 

These nomads were defined by their military prowess and horsemanship. As we’d seen in the previous episodes, the Assyrian and Median courts would employ Scythian mercenaries to augment their own troops. Iranian states were similar in this regard, and over the ages, nomadic mercenaries would find employment here. Through this interaction, the Iranian states gained powerful cavalry units and a theoretically loyal cadre of guards who owed no allegiance to competing local rivals. At the same time, such a practice was useful in deterring nomadic incursions into the Iranian plateau itself, and so these states would often hire mercenaries from competing nomadic groups. 

This relationship was not a one-way street, and nomadic societies received a number of benefits from this relationship as well. We will expand on the more minute specifics later, but in general, nomadic groups could, of course, raid the border and oasis towns of the Iranian frontier. Raiding was not the only avenue of wealth. In many cases, these towns were more useful for facilitating trade, as nomadic herdsmen could offer goods like excess cattle for vital and scarce resources, such as grain and textiles. Furthermore, nomadic groups on good terms with the Iranian polities could receive gifts and even tribute. Luxury goods from Persia would make their way into courts of nomadic leaders, who in turn could distribute those goods to their retainers and vassals; Professor Barry Cunliffe even speculates that this facilitation of goods from Iran to the nomadic court played an important role in maintaining the nomadic political system.

In this way, we can view the lands of Iran, Central Asia, and the central steppes as not distinct regions with contrasting social systems, but rather as a continuum of influence and synthesis. Just as nomads would find service in Iranian courts, the inverse happened as well, and Iranians from urban settlements could find themselves working for a nomadic leader. We should look no further than Genghis Khan himself, who was known to have acquired the services of various Muslim Persians. As Iver Neumann and Einar Wigen put it: “the prototypical Turkic polity was in fact a hybrid of traditions from the steppe and from the sedentary cultures on the immediate frontier with the steppe.” And though here, Neumann and Wigen focus on the Turks for their assessment, we can broadly consider the same principles here with the Scythians. 

And so, taking a deeper look at the world of the 6th century BCE, let us now analyze the Scythian groups that could be found in Central Asia. 

A number of names can be traced to this region. There were the Massagetae, a Scythian people who lived along the grasslands north of the Aral Sea. The Massagetae, important players in our story today for sure, have actually been instrumental in much of our discussion so far. You see, thinking back to the Kimmerians, we have to remember that the Massagetae were the main reasons for triggering a mass migration movement of Scythians into the Pontic steppe. As Herodotus explains, “the nomad Scythians living in Asia were hard pressed in war by the Massagetae and crossed the river Araxes into Kimmerian country.”

The Massagetae would remain in this part of Central Asia throughout the centuries. Herodotus describes this group as “[wearing] the same kind of clothes as the Scythians and [living] much the same.” They were known to be nomadic herders, as “they do not sow land at all, but live off cattle and also fish, which they have in abundance from the river Araxes… [and] they are drinkers of milk.” The extent to which the Massagetae were fully nomadic has actually been contested, as some archaeological sites in the Kyzylkum Desert show a more symbiotic relationship between agriculturalists and a social stratum of semi-nomadic individuals. 

Beyond the Massagetae, there were other Scythian groups in the region. To the Persians, the most notable were groups known as the Saka. The word itself meant “to go” or “to roam,” and was used to describe the entirety of the Scythians. Today, most scholars tend to use the term Saka to designate those Scythian peoples east of the Ural Mountains. The Persians further subdivided the Saka of Central Asia into two main groups: the Saka Tigrakhauda and the Saka Haumawarga. Though Scythian, these two entities displayed a number of unique differences. 

The Saka Tigrakhauda were known as “the Saka of the pointed hats,” which was a direct reference to a conical helm that these people were known to wear. This appearance was so well known to the Persians that we can find a clear depiction of it in the Bisitun relief of Darius. There, the last figure in a line of individuals is a man named Skunkha. Skunkha, wearing the iconic coned helm, was none other than a king of the Tigrakhauda. The Saka Haumawarga, meanwhile, were known as the “hauma-consuming Saka.” Haoma refers to a plant that Cunliffe describes as an “inebriant,” though this plant may have had mythical origins as well.

These two Saka groups lived in separate locations. The Saka Tigrakhauda resided in the wetlands along the Caspian and Aral Seas, while the Saka Haumawarga are known to have lived in the grasslands and deserts near the Ferghana Valley. In these areas, the Saka were well positioned to take advantage of the oasis towns and Persian border cities in Central Asia. 

To elaborate on this point, we should remember that both groups were defined by a cattle-based economic system. Saka communities depended on their herds of animals, though they could supplement some of their economic activity with fishing, hunting, and some craftwork. A relief from Persepolis highlights to us some of the products developed by the Saka. Here, a delegation of men from the Saka Tigrakhauda had brought to the Persian court “a horse, riding cloaks and leggings, and gold torques.” We can take a step back and infer that similar goods would have been traded at urban centers in Central Asia. Saka nomads likely exchanged their wares for textiles, grains, and luxury goods.

Of course, the Saka would have also engaged in raids and military expeditions into Central Asia and further into Iran. This would prompt Persian leaders to erect garrison towns in the northern frontier. And while relations between the Saka and the Persians were probably mostly peaceful, these periods of warfare and violence would eventually force Persia to take more active measures. 

And so, we get to the story of Cyrus the Great. 

Moving back to the ancient Near East, we last left off with a new geopolitical reality. The Neo-Assyrian Empire had collapsed, and now the major powers of the day were Lydia and Media. Lydia, as we may remember, was the mighty kingdom of Alyattes, who had managed to defeat the Kimmerians and drive them out of Anatolia. Alyattes would be succeeded by his son Croesus, who would begin his rule in around 585 BCE. Their rivals were known other than the Medes, who now ruled a large swathe of territory that spanned from the borders of Anatolia to the Iranian plateau. By the mid-sixth century, this empire was controlled by Astyages, son of Cyaxares. For a time, it seemed that the Medes were poised to become the preeminent power of its day, lasting for generations as a cornerstone of history.

That would not be the case. 

Within the Median Empire were a people known as the Persians. The Persians may have been subjugated under the reign of Cyaxares, though the exact details are not certain. During the reign of Astyages, these Persians would engage in a rebellion. They were supported by various constituent parts of the Median Empire, and in the end, Astyages was deposed, and the lands of Media would bend to the leader of this revolt: Cyrus. But, who was Cyrus exactly, and how did he gain the epithet of “the Great?”

Herodotus offers us a rather legendary account of this leader, and I would be remiss in not talking about it here. The following narrative is almost certainly mythological, and we actually can see echoes of this legendary history in other cultures and beliefs. There is an almost Moses-style narrative that forms here. 

In this account, Astyages receives a number of visions warning him that his daughter’s child would come to overthrow him. Fearing this, he would attempt to murder his grandson. 

“For from his vision, the interpreters among the Magi had read the signs to mean that the child of his daughter would become king in his place. It was against this that Astyages guarded, and so when Cyrus was born, he summoned Harpagus, his kinsman, the faithfullest of the Medes and the steward of all that he had. ‘Harpagus,’ he said, ‘here is a matter I am entrusting to you; by no means mishandle it, nor yet deceive me and choose others: should you do so, you shall thereafter bring upon yourself a fall into ruin. Take this child that Mandane [my daughter] bore and bring it to your own house and kill it, and afterwards bury it in whatever way you please.’”

Harpagus, however, was unable to complete the deed. Harpagus lists several reasons for this, and in the end, he decides to leave the task to a shepherd named Mithridates. Mithridates is, therefore, ordered to take Cyrus to a hill and be abandoned there. But, like Harpagus, Mithridates is unable to do such an act, and after counseling with his wife, the two decide to raise Cyrus as their own. Years would pass, and after a violent incident between Cyrus and a nobleman’s son, Astyages would order Cyrus to his court to answer for his supposed crime. At that moment, Astyages would realize that this boy was none other than his grandson, and soon after, Astyages would make a fateful decision. He would allow Cyrus to reunite with his biological parents and live in the Median court. 

As for why, we are told as such:

“When [Astyages] came to think about Cyrus, he summoned those same Magi who had expounded his dream in their sense. When they came, Astyages asked them how it was that they had expounded the dream. They answered in the same terms as before, declaring that had the boy survived and not died first, he must needs have become king. At [Astyages] answered them: ‘The boy lives, he has survived; and when he was living out in the country, the children in the village made him their king. He did all the things that real kings do: he appointed bodyguards and sentries and messengers and made all the other arrangements, and so he ruled. Now I would know toward what you think all these things tend.’ The Magi said: ‘If indeed the boy survives and he has become king with no connivance, be of good cheer and good heart: he will not come to rule a second time.’”

This would be foolish, and as we move away from legend to the historical narrative, Astyages would be overthrown by Cyrus in 550 BCE. At the time, this change may have not been monumental to most of the world. Many polities would still refer to Cyrus’ state as Media; even Herodotus recounts to us that Tomyris of the Massagetae would call Cyrus “King of the Medes.” However, the ascension of Cyrus would ultimately give way to the first Persian state: the Achaemenids. 

We are told that upon overthrowing Astyages, much of the Median Empire would remain in the hands of Cyrus. Cyrus’ rebellion was likely supported by members of the Median elite, and so there seemed to be little territorial loss in the aftermath of this civil war. Soon after, Cyrus would turn his attention toward his geopolitical rivals: Lydia and Babylon. Babylonian sources indicate that Cyrus would invade Lydia in 547 BCE, though there is not total consensus on this. Whether or not this occurred in 547, we do know that Cyrus was successful in defeating the Lydians and occupying much of Anatolia. In later years, control of Anatolia would allow another Persian leader, Darius, to attempt an invasion of the Pontic Scythians.

In 539 BCE, Cyrus would then turn his attention towards Babylon. Throughout this period, Cyrus would make gains in the outlying areas of Mesopotamia, capturing cities and conducting crucial diplomacy. When it came time to defeat Babylon itself, the Persians would find incredible success. “As it was, the Persians were upon [the Babylonians] when they were quite unaware. By reason of the size of the city, as some of the inhabitants say, when the outer parts were all already taken, those who lived in the center of Babylon did not know that they, the Babylonians, had been captured. They had a festival going on at the time, and they continued dancing and enjoying themselves until they learned the truth all too well. Thus was Babylon captured for the first time.”

In the aftermath of these and other invasions, the Persian Empire stretched from Anatolia to the border of India. Peoples along the frontiers, such as Greeks in Anatolia and Arabs in the southern deserts, were all to some degree impacted by the power of Persia. It is why for this reason, the desert and steppe lands north of Iran would prove to be so significant in our narrative. And now, we can shift our focus back to this period of time, the final epoch of Cyrus’ reign, and the brutal conflict waged between the Persians and the Massagetae. 

As we discussed, the northern Iranian frontier was dominated by several Scythian groups. Such groups posed immediate security threats to the Persian state, and so, one of Cyrus’ first actions in this regard was to create garrison cities. These cities would be able to halt the advance of any Scythian incursion, and the most well known of these would be Cyropolis.

Cyrus would then take more direct measures, and so his foreign policy began to shift towards the Saka. For instance, Herodotus recounts to us that in the aftermath of Cyrus’ invasion of Lydia, the Persian ruler had listed the next enemies he would wage war on. “For Babylon lay in [Cyrus’s] path, and the Bactrian people and the [Saka] and the Egyptians, against whom he designed to lead an army himself.” Other ancient sources, such as Xenophon, corroborate this, though we should remember that these individuals were living centuries removed from Cyrus’ day. 

And so, Cyrus first targeted the Saka Haumawarga. The details of this conflict are rather unclear, but it is likely that Cyrus engaged in this move shortly after defeating Lydia. According to the historian Muhammad Dandamayev, Babylonian records note that “‘Cyrus attacked Babylonia after he had reduced all of Asia.’” This would indicate that a Central Asian campaign occurred sometime after 547 but before 539 BCE. The Persians were evidently successful, and the Saka Haumawarga were directly annexed into the empire. There’s little else we can say about this conflict, except that the Saka may have employed both male and female soldiers against the Persians.

Later, the Persians were able to subjugate the Saka Tigrakhauda, though in this case, the Tigrakhauda were only taken as a vassal state, and therefore given some degree of autonomy. However, most of the sources I examined indicated that the Tigrakhauda were not subdued until the reign of Darius I, though Cyrus may have attempted some moves of his own toward this regard.

With at least some of the Saka now folded into the Persian state, it appears that Cyrus now turned his focus toward the Massagatae. We are now entering somewhat complicated territory, as there are several competing narratives about what occurs next. For now, I will provide the record given to us by Herodotus and corroborated by other ancient sources such as Diodorus Siculus, but remember that this is contested and we will examine other accounts afterwards. 

To set the scene, we must remember that the Massagatae were another Scythian group that resided beyond the Aral Sea and the Syr Darya river. They are described as being similar to other Scythian groups, as having no agriculture, and as worshiping the sun. They were known to have possessed gold and bronze metals, and so were likely adept in metalsmithing. 

Cyrus, having completed his conquests of Babylon and having created an empire that stretched from Anatolia to India, had now set his sights on the Massagetae. The reasons for declaring war, however, are rather obscure. Herodotus believes that hubris played a role. “There were many great inducements to urge him on; first, his own birth, in respect to which he appeared to be something more than human, and second, his good luck in wars. For wherever Cyrus directed his attack, that people could in no way escape.” 

While pride could explain some of the motivation, there may have also been a security element here.  We have reiterated over and over that the northern Iranian frontier would prove to be a dangerous area for the Persians, and the movement of Saka raiders through this area does prove such a point. According to the Encyclopedia Iranica, it may be that Cyrus sought to subdue the Massagetae to provide security for his newly conquered territory in Khwarezm and Sogdiana, areas just across the Syr Darya. 

A combination of these factors is likely, and Cyrus would soon find himself with a casus belli. 

One day, the king of the Massagetae passed away, which made his widow, Tomyris, the sovereign ruler. Cyrus, recognizing a political opportunity, offered a marriage alliance with Tomyris. Tomyris refused this proposal, and Cyrus responded by mobilizing his troops and marching toward the Syr Darya river.

Upon hearing of the Persian advance, Tomyris sent a herald with the following message:

“King of the Medes, cease to be so eager to do what you are doing; for you cannot know whether, when accomplished, it will stand you in good stead. Give it over and rule over your own people, and endure to look upon us governing ours. Still, you will not follow this advice of mine, but will do anything rather than remain at rest. So, if you are so mightily set upon making trial of the Massagetae, give over your work of building bridges over the river; we will retreat three days’ journey from the river, and do you cross over into our land. Or, if you would rather welcome us into yours, do you withdraw for the three days’ journey.”

Cyrus, given the options of entering Massagetae lands or of allowing the Massagetae into his, decided to continue with the offensive. It appears that Cyrus may have recognized the weight of this decision. Herodotus recounts that “Cyrus put Croesus into the hands of his son, Cambyses, to whom he was giving the kingdom, and he charged to boy to honor [Croesus] and treat him well, if [Cyrus’] own crossing against the Massagetae should go ill with him.”

This was a prudent decision. The Massagetae were known to be “great and warlike” by the ancient Greeks. Examining this point more critically, we know that the Massagetae were endowed with metalsmithing capabilities. The Massagetae would have prepared for an incoming Persian offensive with their own weapons and tactics. For instance, the Massagetae employed a mixture of cavalry and infantry, used weapons such as battleaxes, spears, and bows, and were well armored. Massagetae soldiers were likely protected with mail armor, metal helmets, and shields. They may have even developed horse armor, which would provide their cavalry with another layer of protection.

If Cyrus had made such considerations, we don’t really know. Instead, the Persian leader arrived at the Syr Darya and ordered his men to cross it. And so, Cyrus the Great would fight the Massagetae on their home territory, which meant that the Persian army would be far from typical supply lines and would be beset by the harsh conditions of the steppe. 

Cyrus is reported to have had a vision on one of his first nights in Massagetae country. “It seemed to him in his dream that he saw the eldest of the sons of Hystapes with wings on his shoulders, and with one of these wings he overshadowed Asia and, with the other, Europe. Now Hystaspes was the son of Arsames, an Achaemenid, and his eldest son Darius, was a boy of about twenty who had been left behind in Persia.” Cyrus believed this vision meant that Darius would overthrow Cyrus while he was away campaigning, but this apparently was misleading. According to Herodotus, the vision actually meant that Cyrus would die to the Massagetae, and Darius would become the new ruler of Persia.”

This is, of course, the present projecting on the past, and likely an attempt by Herodotus to explain the rise of Darius, but I will not digress further than that. 

The Persian force would make its way through Massagetae territory. They supposedly marched “one day’s journey from the Araxes,” where then, the Persians would leave behind a small force to maintain security in the region. The rest of the army, including Cyrus, would move back to the Syr Darya. This seemed to be a trap, as the Massagetae were goaded into attacking the smaller Persian contingent. This allowed the main bulk of the Persian army to advance forward once again and descend upon the Massagetae, who now were celebrating and, in some cases, had gone to sleep.

“But the Persians stole on them and killed many and took prisoner even more, and among these was the son of Tomyris, who was general of the army of the Massagetae.”

This act greatly inflamed Tomyris, who once more sent a messenger to the Persians to reveal the following message: “Cyris, insatiate of blood, be not uplifted by this thing that has happened-that with this fruit of the vine, whereof you Persians fill yourselves even to madness, so that, as the wine descends into your body, ill words rise up in you to the top-be not uplifted. I say, because with such a powerful drug you have overmastered my son by trickery and not by strength and fighting. Now, therefore, take this proposal from me, for I advise you well. Give back my son to me now and get out of our country, paying no penalty, although you have done violence and insolence to one-third of the army of the Massagetae. If you do not, I swear by the sun, the lord of the Massagetae, that, for all your insatiability of blood, I will give your fill of it.”

Cyrus would not do as such, and so sealed his fate. Tomyris led the Massagetae army toward the Syr Darya, and a battle would soon erupt. Herodotus even notes that “of all the battles that were fought among the barbarians, I judge this to have been the severest.”

And so, the two armies would meet, and we are told that at first, both sides began to skirmish one another with arrows and javelins. After these long-ranged weapons had run out of ammunition, the infantry would advance. Fighting is reported to have gone for a long time, but eventually, the Massagetae gained the advantage and overwhelmed the Persians. With the Syr Darya acting as a border behind, it is likely that this battle was a bloodbath. Some secondary sources even claim that over 200,000 Persians died in the fighting, though this is exaggeration.

Having secured a victory, Tomyris sought the corpse of Cyrus. Having found it, she severed his head and stated the following:

“I am alive and conqueror, but you have destroyed me, all the same, by robbing me of my son by trickery. Now it is you and I; and I will give you your fill of blood, even as I threatened.”

And so ended the reign of Cyrus the Great, who perished in battle in 530 BCE. His throne would pass onto his son Cambyses, and later it would move to Darius, who himself would later embark on a massive invasion of Scythian territory. As for the Massagetae, they would continue in their lands for centuries, possibly becoming integrated by a people known as the Dahae.

And this is where I would end the episode, except… wait. You see, this is not the only historical narrative recounting Cyrus’ death. There are actually a number of different sources that give us wildly different variations. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, for instance, tells us that Cyrus indeed perished in battle against the Massagetae, but his head wasn’t cut off. Instead, Tomyrus had Cyrus crucified. The Greco-Roman writer Polyaenus doesn’t mention anything about Cyrus dividing his forces and goading the Massagetae into a trap. Instead Polyaenus says it was the Persians who became trapped, having entered the Massagetae camp and indulging themselves on wine. Xenophon, meanwhile, doesn’t even mention this whole episode of the Massagetae. In Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, he gives Cyrus an incredibly peaceful death at his bedside, where Cyrus is even able to monologue and state the following:

“Remember my last saying: show kindness to your friends, and then shall you have it in your power to chastise your enemies. Good-bye, my dear sons, bid your mother good-bye for me. And all my friends, who are here or far away, good-bye.”

These different accounts allude back to the fact that our ancient authors wrote their accounts with different objectives in mind. That isn’t to say that there aren’t truths we can’t glean, but we should be critical. Several ancient sources come after Herodotus, and in the case of Polyaenus, much much later. Xenophon has been criticized for having an almost propagandistic element to his writing. The Cambridge History of Iran says that “Xenophon’s true aim is to present his own imaginative conception of a benevolent despotism… [and] it is consequently not easy to distinguish anything that might be authentic.”

The broad strokes, I imagine, are accurate. The Persians were beset by incursions by the Saka, the Massagetae, and likely other nomadic and semi-nomadic groups from Central Asia and beyond. The Persians built garrison and border towns to protect their interior from these attacks, and there is ample archaeological evidence for such. The Persians probably did mount limited military expeditions against these nomads, and they may have lost one of their rulers in such an event. The fact that we have historical precedence from later events gives some credence to this more ancient one. But, again, I only wish to emphasize that we should approach this event with caution, and to not take everything as definitive, especially given the scarcity of sources from the Scythians themselves. 

But for now, this event will set the foundation for another great Persian offensive. The scars of the Massagetae almost certainly influenced the later Persian ruler Darius who, in his time, would launch a massive invasion of the Pontic Scythians. But before we get there, let’s quickly take a look at what those very Scythians were up to during this period of time. In particular, we’ll examine the relationship between the buddening Greek colonies of the Black Sea and the Pontic Scythians.

Thank you all for listening to this episode, and I’m looking forward to what we have coming in the new year of 2024! As always, I appreciate your support and kindness, and please don’t hesitate to reach out for any questions or comments. Otherwise, I’ll see you all next time on the windy plains of the Eurasian steppe. 

Music:
Anders Schill Paulsen, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager - For Lorne
Anders Schill Paulsen, Hanna Ekström, Anna Dager - The Adjunct