The successors of Scythians

Herodotus wrote about the Sauromatai, bellicoseneighbors of Scythia, mentioning that they lived to theEast of Scythians. These tribes were similar to Scythiansin terms of origin, culture andthe way of life, but theyroamed to the East of the Don-the Tanais. In those times thevictors of Darius I still didn’tintend to share their lands evenwith their closest relatives.Romans also wrote quite a lotabout Sarmatians, though theymet them later than Hellenes.However, that acquaintancewas equally close and lasting.It was Romans who, producingthe first maps of Europe (theones that have survived to thisday) always indicated thecountry “Sarmatia” on them.

In many books on thehistory of the Land we canread that “… in the 3rd centuryBC more bellicose Sarmatiansforced out Scythians from thesteppes”. Just so, “forced out”.True, archeologists never man-aged to show weighty “materi-al evidence” of this “forcingout”, at least in the form of

Sarmatian burial places in mounds which were dated tothis “3rd century BC”. So, doubts concerning the textbookstatements which appeared at the beginning of the 1980s

of the 20th century were quite grounded. A more carefulstudy of the finds and also a more thorough study of other

A s far back as three and a half centuries ago Yuriy Khmelnytskyi in one of the international documents wascalled not only hetman, but also “the knyaz of Sarmatia”. In those times the well-born Polish gentry of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth originated from Sarmatians and learned scholars and poets in their works

sometimes called Ukraine not otherwise than “Roxolania”. Sometimes they still try to link the ethnicon “Russians”with the ethnicon of one of the Sarmatian tribes – “Roxolanis”. On Roman and medieval maps the territory of our landis adorned with the inscription: “Sarmatia”. Who are they, such popular in different times Sarmatians?

The map of Europe according to the description of the Roman Pomponius Mela withindications of Scythia and Sarmatia (reconstructed by F. Nansen)

The country of Sarmatia

Section 23

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circumstances of the beginning of the Sarmatian epochled to unexpected conclusions.

The recording of finds in burial mounds (and atthat time thanks to grandiose new expeditions quite a lotof them had been excavated) showed that actually thedecay of Scythia and the expansion of Sarmatians on thebiggest part of its territory appeared to be a period ofabout one hundred years. To the West of the Don theydidn’t find a single Sarmatian burial ground of the 3rd century BC. Although many thousand burial moundsand dozens of thousands of ancient burial places havealready been excavated. It was also determined that inthe 3rd century BC in the open steppe there are no tracesof Scythians themselves, i.e. there are no traces of thosewho “were forcing out” and of those “who were beingforced out” there.

The study of “concomitant circumstances” and to bemore exact, the natural conditions of the 3rd century BC inPontic area steppes led to unexpected results. It turned outthat at that time both Scythians and Sarmatians had a com-mon enemy which was insidious, cruel and merciless.They couldn’t hit it with arrows or defeat it with a sword.

The climate greatly changed again and frosty wintersforced out steppe residents from their native lands. It isthought that for about one hundred years there was quite aSiberian climate here – nine months of winter and the restwas summer. Scythians left the steppes and some of themeven changed their type of economic activity.

When the weather conditions became normal, newrulers came to the steppe – Sarmatians who settled downhere starting from the 2nd century BC. True, they didn’tmanage to occupy all the territory of the steppe. The oldrulers, Scythians, held on to their lands in the Crimeatightly and Sarmatians also had to keep away from thesteppe triangle between the Inhul and the Dnieper.Another group of Scythians built and held tightly almosttwo dozens of towns and fortresses1.

“Sarmatians” is a common name which was used byHellene and Roman historians. However, the names of afew allied tribes to which this common name was applied

have been preserved. Among them are Roxolanis,Iazyges, Aorsi, Alans and others.

The destiny of these tribal unions was different.Some of them (for example, Roxolanis and Iazyges) dis-appeared in the times of the Roman Empire, other tribeslived till the Middle Ages and the descendants of Alans(Ossetes) still live in the mountains of the Caucasus. The

history was formed in such a way that in differenttimes different tribal unions dominated in thecountry of Sarmatia. At first Roxolanis and theAorsi reigned and later Alans started dominating.

Those who lost the fight for power had toobey. Another choice (as it had happened many times inthe history of the steppes of Eurasia) was to look for a newplace for living. It was good if this place was somewherenearby. Iazyges had to move to the Hungarian plain,Roxolanis unsuccessfully tried to recapture LowerDanube from Romans. If we indicate on the map all theplaces which in ancient times representatives of theSarmatian clan-tribe who were light on their feet visited,then we will seethem in Europe(Hungary, Britain,France, Spain), inmany countriesof Asia andeven in NorthAfrica.

1 You can find more details about the destiny of the former rulers of the steppes in the section “Three Scythias”.

A bronze vessel withfigures of people and

animals which wasfound in the river

Kalmius. The 1st–2nd

century AD

Glass beads. The 1st–2nd century AD

A ceramicSarmatian

mug with azoomorphic

handle

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

224

The way and the mode of life ofSarmatians on the territory of the Land did-n’t differ greatly from the way of life oftheir predecessors – Cimmerians andScythians. Nomadic cattle-breeding in thesteppes which finally unfrozeafter cold winters assured foodbase which was similar to thenotorious “minimum incomelevel for survival” which in alltimes has been quite far from realneeds, to say nothing about theideal. The military-depredatoryeconomy which had been well-tried in the Land for centuries(and also tested by time) continued to remainthe natural addition to pasturing sheep andcattle. The list of its “branches” hadn’tchanged either: collecting tribute(under the guise of “defense”,“protectorate”), robbery, slavetrade, control over goods traffic.They could also get hired as mercenaries; many rulersneeded cavalry. Some of the Hellene poleis of NothernPont fell under the influence of Sarmatians. For example,in Olvia they minted coins with the names of kings Farzoyand Ininthimens for decades.

Gold things quite a lot of which were found in bur-ial places of that epoch suggest that sometimesScythians received good profit. These gold products arequite different from Scythian gold and contain numerousinsertions of stone. Sarmatians especially liked turquoise(the blue on gold looks wonderful) and red stones. Someproducts which were made by Hellene craftsmen some-where on the Bosporus impress with their refinement.For instance, in numerous books the fastener for a cloakin the form of a dolphin is reproduced. It is made of goldand the body of the dolphin is sharpened of rock crystal.Bracelets, torcs, numerous gold pendants for clotheswere made for Sarmatians by jewelers from differentcountries of Asia and Europe.

New “knights” of the steppes

The military-depredatory economy was basedon a certain military potential. Sarmatiansworked on its augmenting and on improv-ing weapons. At that moment their horsemenwere probably the most powerful and trainedand which is more important, rather numerousheavy cavalry in this part of Europe.

Cast bronze pointsof arrows were replaced with

three-edged iron ones which hadbigger penetrating power. Speci -

mens of arrows appeared to be so goodthat they were added to the armory by Romans

who had a good understanding of weapons andmilitary equipment.

Only solid scaly armor which now covered all thebody of a warrior and protected his horse could protectfrom such arrows. The length of the shaft of a spearamounted to 4–5 m and a warrior had to hold it with twohands. But using such a weapon he could not only tilt theenemy out of the saddle, but also act successfully againstinfantrymen in a high-density formation. The popularityof a long sword had also increased as it was easy to cutfrom the saddle.

However, Sarmatians didn’t reject short swordseither the pommels of which were decorated with a ring.Such a sword with a sheath decorated with gold straps anda rich sword belt was found near the village of Porogy inthe Vinnytsia region. It is thought that this is a royal bur-ial place. A man lay in a wooden sarcophagus which wasplaced in a tomb-catacomb. He was dressed in leather (orsuede) clothes of the red color adorned with gold pen-dants. On the sleeve of his jacket there was a gold platewhich protected his hand from the blow of the bow stringwhen shooting. By the way, judging by its position, thedead man was left-handed. In the grave there was a bow

Sarmatian cavalry. Detailed representationswith reliefs

A Sarmatian with a cup anda sword, next to him there isa sword from a royal burialplace near the village ofPorogy. The 1st century

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia

225

and a birchbark quiver with arrows from which only ironpoints of the so-called Xiongnu-Central Asian typesremained. In the corner of the catacomb there were twoamphorae with wine. In the burial mound there was also afemale burial place, in a pit. The woman was also buriedin a suit adorned with gold pendants. Her wide trouserswere embroidered with beads.

On the things which had been put in the grave ofthis noble Sarmatian including on the silver cup therewas an image of the tamga of the clan of the king ofRoxolanis Ininthimens. The same tamgas were mintedon coins of Olvia in the 70s–the beginning of the 80s AD.It was even assumed that the king who is buried near thevillage of Porogy once ruled over Sarmatians – the Aorsiwho came to these lands from the steppes between theDon and the Volga. And in Northern Pont the Aorsi were

supposed to encounter Sar -matians-Roxolanis who had comehere before.

Tamgas-marks were alsospread among the Bosporus kingswho added certain motifs of theGreek mythology to them.Among Sarmatian tamgas thereappear pictograms which resem-ble… the trident of Poseidon. Itis highly likely that the trident ofdifferent contours could come tothe rulers who neighbored uponSarmatia (chiefs, knyazes, sea-kings) as a dowry – after the mar-riage of representatives of thetribal elite.

Who hasn’t used symbolsincluding the trident which weresimilar to tamgas in their stateemblems and on battle flags forthe last two thousand years! Thesewere Kievan knyazes and Tatarkhans.

To the North of Sarmatia

However, the establishment of kind relations betweenthe Northern (Slavic and others) and Sarmatian elites shouldbe probably dated to the period of the beginning of the decayof Sarmatia, to be more exact, to the 3rd century AD whentheir common enemy appears – Goths. And in the epoch oftheir might steppe chiefs considered their Northern neigh-bors first of all as objects for robberies and taking prisonerswho could be sold profitably later. They even divided theterritory of the Northern neighbors between separate clans.It is confirmed by “boundary stones” with tamgas whichwere found here already in these days. One of them lay notfar from the modern city of Obukhiv, just a few kilometersfrom the fortresses which were built by local residents forthe defense from hostile raids.

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

A silver cup with a handle in the form of an animal from a royal burial placenear the village of Porogy. The 1st century

Adornments from a burial place near the village of Porogy. To the left you can see the tamga of Ininthimens. The 1st century

226

Grain growing tribes of the forest-steppe and foreststrip from the 3rd century BC are attributed quite confi-dently by a lot of researchers to the Slavic or Proto-Slaviccultures. The Zarubyntsi archeological culture the repre-sentatives of which lived in Dnieper area is the mostfamous2. However, there is also an opinion that it was left

by Baltic tribes and in addition, was greatly influenced bythe Celtic culture.

Defending themselves from Sarmatian raids, notnumerous local population couldn’t use grandiose fortifi-cations of the Scythian epoch any more which had fallento decay and had been neglected. They built quite a lot ofsmall fortresses the remains of which can be found eventoday approximately every 10—15 kilometers on theDnieper from Kaniv (Babyna Hora) to Kyiv. TheKhodosivka ancient settlement to the right of the road toObukhiv can be seen by anybody who will pay attentionto hang-gliders who take off from it. On the bank of theDnieper there is Divych-Hora (in the outskirts ofTrypillia) the peak of which once was also occupied by aZarubyntsi fortress.

Ancient settlements-shelters where in case of raidsall the surrounding population could hide were built inaccordance with the most advanced technologies and itseems that they even took into account the experience ofthe construction of Roman fortifications. A site on a highcape preferably separated from the surrounding plateauwith deep ravines was chosen. Even now it is not that easyto go up to the Zarubyntsi ancient settlement. Slopeswhich were already steep were reinforced with escarps

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia

A boundary stone with Sarmatian tamgas which wasfound in the Kyiv region

An ancient settlement-fortress on Divych-Hora in the village of Trypillia of the Kyiv region

2 The culture received this name after the excavations of the burial ground near the village of Zarubyntsi on the Dnieper whichwere carried out by V.V. Khvoika.

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that were supported by posts dug in at an angle. A narrow(for one cart) road to the gate fortified with stakes wastwisted along the slope in the form of a serpentine clock-wise, exposing the right unprotected by the shield side ofattackers to an arrow shower of defenders. The entrance,just like in the Khodosivka ancient settlement, could bemade between ramparts, which made it possible to shootat the enemy from all sides.

In any case, Sarmatians had to dismount for theassault. And it nullified all the advantages of the cavalryof the nomads over the modestly armed (a bow witharrows, darts, probably shields, but no armor) Zarubyntsiinfantrymen.

In such a situation, the aggressors could onlyshoot at the ancient settlement from the foot ofthe hill and under the cover of archers assaultwooden stockades. The effectiveness of suchfortifications is confirmed by the fact that for-tifications in the Land were built according tothis scheme till the Middle Ages. And manycities of Rus in Dnieper area were actually built onthe site of Zarubyntsi fortresses, sometimes even withthe use of ancient fortifications.

However, Sarmatians occasionally risked test-ing the strength of fortifications built by localtribes. It is confirmed by iron points of Sarmatianarrows which stuck in the ramparts of ancientfortified settlements the northernmost ofwhich are situated in the outskirts of present-day Kyiv.

Around a common fortified centerthere were a few open settlements theresidents of which were engaged in eco-nomic management according to thetechnologies which had been developed as farback as in the times of Trypillia. Cutting graingrowing with a one thousand year tested set of cul-

tures (glumaceous wheat, barley, millet), cattle-breeding.Finally fishing, hunting, forest beekeeping. People oftensettled down in “nests”, a few people in each nest, usual-ly along small rivers. Sometimes it is thought that such asystem of settlement reflects the tribal system of theorganization of the society. However, it is not improbablethat in this case we observe the movement of one group ofpeople who moved to another place after the land hadbeen exhausted.

Since the times of the Zarubyntsi culture quite alot of necropolises with the help of which we can deter-mine more than modest property of local residents have

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

An ancient settlement of the Zarubyntsi culture near the outskirts of the village of Hrebeni on the Dnieper

Pottery from burial placesof the Zarubyntsi culture

228

survived to this day.Dead people wereburnt and theirashes were hiddenin a small pit. Nextto a heap of ashesarcheologists usuallyfind during excava-tions one or some-

times a few manuallymade pots and a bowl with

food. Even though the pottery is molded, it is maderather neatly and its surface is glazed. Among theashes most often you can find a bronze fastener fora cloak – fibula. In these graves there is no gold, sil-

ver adornments are rare. However, the Zarubyntsitribes never locked themselves up in fortresses. Theyestablished distant relations including with the citiesand markets in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and theDniester.

However, the most powerful defense system can’tprotect open settlements, especially fields and cattle fromregular raids. Since even much more fortified borders ofthe powerful Roman Empire sometimes couldn’t holdsuch an enemy as Sarmatians. Part of Dnieper area resi-dents had to seek refuge among swamps and in forests.Those who didn’t want to move to the North either died orreplenished the markets of slaves in Roman commonEurope.

In Prykarpattia the Sarmatian territories neighboredupon the lands of Celts who in the 3rd century BC werestill the rulers of a considerable part of Europe. One of theCeltic tribes settled down in Zakarpattia, having built herea few fortified cities and quite a lot of settlements. Burialgrounds were also found. Thanks to excavations we haveinformation about the activities and distant relations ofthis small part of the Celtic world. Celts extracted miner-al resources here including iron, made quite a lot ofweapons and armor which they sold their neighbors. Theyeven minted coins some of which suspiciously resembledHellene ones and later Roman ones. Celts were also

engaged in mutually advanta-geous trade including withSarmatians. The Celtic influ-ence can be noticed in manyaspects of the material cul-ture of the Sarmatian worldand sometimes penetratesfar to the East. In the same3rd century BC the tribe ofGalatians even went on acampaign to the shores ofthe Euxeinos Pontus and inthe end even reached AsiaMinor.

The tribes of Getaeand Dacians lived in themountainous area (they leftartifacts of the culture ofCarpathian burial moundshere). It’s worth noting thatin ancient times such placesbecame more than once thelast refuge of people who hadbeen forced out from the sur-rounding plains by morepowerful enemies –Celtsand then by Romans.

The battle for Europe

Sarmatians didn’t lock themselves up within theboundaries of the Pontic area steppes. Not only traders,but also rulers were aware of all the modern Europeanpolitics. Sometimes trade routes turned into the routes ofthe movement of troops. It was too hard not to yield totemptation to take part in some clash for the redistributionof the neighboring lands and fortune.

In the Mediterranean and its nearest outskirts inthe 2nd century BC the star of Rome starts rising at firstgradually and then swiftly. Relying on the battle-hard-ened and invincible legions, the mastery of diplomatsand also on numerous allies, eventually Rome extendedits power over the biggest part of the civilized world.The territories of the empire included the lands fromBritain to Armenia and Iran, from the Rhine to the Nile.True, the laws didn’t guarantee equality to all the resi-dents of the empire. The population of provinces was

Weapons of Celts – asword and points of

spears, probably from theterritories of Zakarpattia.

The collection of theCentral Museum of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine

Fibulas fromburial placesof theZarubyntsiculture

229

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia

limited in their rights for quite a long time as comparedto Roman citizens.

However, eventually there appeared quite a legal andaccessible possibility of receiving the desired Roman cit-izenship when after a number of sanguinary campaignsthe state started to feel a shortage of soldiers. With someluck, in about 16-25 years of campaigns and battles youcould stay alive and having retired, receive not only anhonorable bronze plate with a military diploma with yourname on it, but also the desired Roman citizenship,besides together with a solid land allotment, plus resettle-ment benefits.

The powerful state (and an even more powerful mil-itary machine) required huge costs. Even the biggest plun-der (which sometimes amounted to hundreds of tons ofgold or silver) couldn’t cover all the expenses. Certainprofit was sent to the treasure in the form of taxes whichwere collected in provinces. Accordingly, the state wasinterested in the extension and the increase of provincesand also in the growth of the turnover with rich, but dis-tant Eastern countries. Sooner or later Romans andSarmatians could appear to be adversaries in the fight forthe territories and trade routes.

At first it happened that Sarmatians supportedRomans and some of their kings even visited Rome to pay

respect to emperor Augustus. In those times Sarmatiansand Romans sometimes had common enemies: Getae,Dacians and some Hellene states. Part of Sarmatian tribessupported Rome in the war against Mithradates Eupatorwho tried to establish his ruling in Northern Pont.

Romans properly estimated diverse possibilities oftheir allies and from a certain moment – close neigh-bors. In the times of emperor Vespasianus, they in aneighborly way quartered in Danube area the wholearmy – four legions and created a river flotilla. WhenSarmatians by force of the old habit decided to move tothe right bank of the Danube, the governor of theprovince Moesia acted rather resolutely: he capturedquite a lot of barbarians together with their wives andchildren (historians give a huge figure of 100,000 peo-ple), having taken sons and brothers of tribal chiefs andkings hostage. Finally Sarmatian chiefs started under-standing that Rome in Pontus is a serious matter andthat it was there for long.

Independent Hellene cities which were under theprotectorate of barbarians and proud rulers of kingdomsminted the profiles of divine emperors on coins withoutfail before. Rome finally did what probably Alexander theGreat had dreamt of: created a network of strongholds andbases along the shore, having taken the local trade under

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

The Roman empire and Sarmatians of the 1st–2nd century

230

control and thus, controlling the economy of the nearestoutskirts of the Euxeinos Pontus. The last sudden advanceof iron legions (anywhere – to the East or to the North)now depended more on the whims of Roman emperorsthan on practical necessity. A perfect example is theRoman conquest of the state of Dacians which occupiedpart of the territory of present-day Romania and someother neighboring countries.

While there was a civil war in Rome in which thelegions from frontier provinces took part, Sarmatians feltthat they were in command of the situation. They carriedout raids on Roman Moesia sometimes twice a year andsometimes even remained there to rob the local populationto a more considerable extent. And only an increase of the

number of Roman troops and drasticactions of the new legate, RubriusGallus, rescued the frontier provincefrom complete destruction.

The Roman neighborhood wasnot convenient either for Roxolanis orfor the king of Dacia Decebalus. WhileRomans were getting prepared for theinevitable war, barbarians attackedfirst. And at first the Sarmatian cavalryfought rather successfully on the sideof Dacians. The first Dacian war whichlasted a few years clearly showedRomans the advantage of the heavycavalry which had come from thePontic area steppes.

Suffice it to say that according tothe results of the war with Daciansemperor Domitianus celebrated twotriumphs (the triumph belonged to thecommander who annihilated five thou-sand enemies). But in honor of the vic-tory over Sarmatians he only dedicated

a wreath to Capitoline Jupiter. So, in reality emperorDomitianus had nothing to boast about.

Since it was Sarmatians who deserved the triumphin this war (if we keep to the letter of the Roman law). Insome sources it is reported about their annihilation by theRoman legion (their number together with additional unitscould amount to more than 8 thousand people). And theterms of peace looked rather strange: on the one hand kingDecebalus admitted dependence on Rome and on theother hand he started receiving a yearly subsidy whichlooked like tribute or compensation very much. It isthought that this way Romans just bought a peacefulbreathing space, getting prepared for new wars and hop-ing to return everything with interest.

Section 23. The country of Sarmatia

A horseman-cataphract. A low relief from a gravestone

An image of horsemen-Roxolanis on the column of Trajan. Detailed representation

231

It’s worthnoting that theirhopes were com-pletely justified: inthe next Dacian warthe triumph was deservedsolely by Romans. Emperor Trajan managed to break theresistance of Dacians and their allies-Sarmatians, to bemore exact, Roxolanis. On the column of Trajan whichcan be seen in the center of Rome even today there is animage of a unit of the Sarmatian cavalry dressed in typi-cal scaly armor which is running away to save their livesfrom the victors-Romans.

Romans celebrated their victory over Dacians andtheir allies almost three months. In the triumph celebratedin the year of 107, besides captive Dacians, Sarmatians-Roxolanis were also taken along the streets of the EternalCity. And on one of the coins minted in honor of the victo-ry the emperor holds in his hands a trophy Sarmatian flag –an image of the dragon, fastened to a staff. The dragon has

no tail, probably it was torn off.Perhaps according to the plan of theauthor of the coin, it was supposed tosymbolize the final victory. And onthe column of Trajan whichdescribes the events of that war theSarmatian dragon still has its tail.

However, it looks like thatminting these coins, Romans mistook the wish for thereality, as it appeared to be much more difficult to tear offthe red tails of all Sarmatian dragons in the real life.Otherwise the successor of Trajan, emperor Hadrian,wouldn’t have had to pay big amounts to Roxolanis and toprovide their king Rasparagan with Roman citizenshipjust a dozen years later after the loud celebration, to bemore precise in 117-118. Sarmatians and their allies hadreasons to worry: “the Roman threat” hadn’t gone any-where as the borders of the province Dacia lay exactlywhere they had been drawn by the invincible Trajan andthe last “free Dacians” found shelter in the CarpathianMountains overgrown with forests.

It seemed that the Empire was winning the battle forEurope and soon there would be new victorious cam-paigns, but the Dacian war appeared to be the last large-scale conquest of Rome on the continent. The rulers whoat that time reigned on both sides of the border which hadseparated Europe didn’t want to admit the inviolability ofthe new frontiers at all.

Chapter 1. From Trypillia to the Antes

A coin minted in honor ofthe victory of emperorTrajan in the war withDacians, with an image of a column which was erectedin the center of Rome

A coin minted in honor of thevictory of the emperor over

Sarmatians and marks-dragonswhich are portrayed on the column

of Trajan

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