Scythians facts for kids

Scythians
	; Approximate extent of East Iranian languages the 1st century BC is shown in orange.
Total population
	(Unknown)
Regions with significant populations
	Eastern Europe; Central Asia; West Asia; Northern India
Languages
	Scythian language
Religion
	Animism
Related ethnic groups
	Sarmatians; Dahae; Sakas; Indo-Scythians; Massagetes; Jatts; Cheemas; Nairs;

The Scythians or Scyths. were an Iranian speaking people.

They were nomadic, famous for their skills at horse riding, who dominated the Pontic steppe (modern Ukraine and Southern Russia) throughout the ancient world. By the 2nd century AD the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scyths in this area. Much of our information about the Scyths comes from the famous Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BC) in his Histories, and from archaeologically from the beautiful goldwork found in Scythian kurgan burial mounds in Ukraine and southern Russia.

Images for kids

Gold Scythian pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal kurgan in Tolstaya Mogila, Pokrov, Ukraine, dated to the second half of the 4th century BC. The central lower tier shows three horses, each being torn apart by two griffins.
Scythians shooting with the Scythian bow, Kerch (ancient Panticapeum), Crimea, 4th century BC
Gold Scythian belt title, Mingachevir (ancient Scythian kingdom), Azerbaijan, 7th century BC.
Map of the Roman Empire under Hadrian (ruled AD 117–138), showing the location of the Scythae Basilaei ("Royal Scyths") along the north shore of the Black Sea
Scythian defence line 339 BC reconstruction in Polgár, Hungary
Treasure of Kul-Oba, near Kerch
Scythian warriors, drawn after figures on an electrum cup from the Kul-Oba kurgan burial near Kerch, Crimea. The warrior on the right strings his bow, bracing it behind his knee; note the typical pointed hood, long jacket with fur or fleece trimming at the edges, decorated trousers, and short boots tied at the ankle. Scythians apparently wore their hair long and loose, and all adult men apparently bearded. The gorytos appears clearly on the left hip of the bare-headed spearman. The shield of the central figure may be made of plain leather over a wooden or wicker base. (Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg)
Timeline of Scythian kurgans in Asia and Europe.
Skunkha, king of the Sakā tigraxaudā ("pointed-cap-wearing Sakae"). Detail of Behistun Inscription.
Silver coin of Indo-Scythian King Azes II (ruled c. 35–12 BC). Buddhist triratna symbol in the left field on the reverse.
An arm from the throne of a Scythian king, 7th century BC. Found at the Kerkemess kurgan, Krasnodar Krai in 1905. On exhibit at the Hermitage Museum.
A Pazyryk horseman in a felt painting from a burial around 300 BC. The Pazyryks appear to be closely related to the Scythians.
"Kings with dragons", Tillia Tepe
Royal crown, Tillia Tepe
Scythian bowl, 5th century BC found at Castelu, Romania. In display at Constanţa Museum of National History.
Sheath for knives
Pectoral from burial mound in Arzhan
Bronze Ordos culture plaque, 4th century BC; a horse attacked by a tiger
Gold plaque with panther, probably for a shield or breast-plate, 13 in/33 cm long, end 7th-century BC
Chinese jade and steatite plaques, in the Scythian-style animal art of the steppes. 4th to 3rd centuries BC. British Museum.
Offering pot from a Scythian grave from Alba Iulia, Romania, 6th century BC. In display at National Museum of the Union, Alba Iulia
A document from Khotan written in Khotanese Saka, part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, listing the animals of the Chinese zodiac in the cycle of predictions for people born in that year; ink on paper, early 9th century
Scythian artefacts originating from sites in Transylvania, in display at Aiud History Museum, Aiud, Romania.
Scythian artefacts originating from sites in Transylvania, in display at Aiud History Museum, Aiud, Romania.
Silver coin of the Indo-Scythian King Azes II (ruled c. 35–12 BC). Note the royal tamga on the coin.
Romantic nationalism: Battle between the Scythians and the Slavs (Viktor Vasnetsov, 1881).
Eugène Delacroix's painting of the Roman poet, Ovid, in exile among the Scythians.
Scythian and related archaeological groups in circum- Pontic region, c. 7th to 3rd centuries BC
A cataphract-style parade armour of a Saka royal, also known as "The Golden Warrior", from the Issyk kurgan, an historic burial near ex-capital city of Almaty, Kazakhstan
Scythians at the Tomb of Ovid (c. 1640), by Johann Heinrich Schönfeld.