The Early Nomads

The first nomadic tribes appeared in Ukraine approximately between 1500 and 1000 BC. They were called Cimmerians and were also the first inhabitants whose real name we know. It was Homer who, in the Odyssey, mentioned “the land of the Cimmerians” on the northern shore of the Black Sea. This was probably the first time when Ukrainian land was mentioned in a book. Up to about 700 BC, the Cimmerians inhabited the land between the Don and Dnister rivers. Their major occupations were cattle-breeding and wars. The Cimmerians belonged to the Indo-European language family and probably spoke Iranian.

In the early 7^th century BC Iranian-speaking nomadic tribes called the Scythians pushed the Cimmerians out of Ukraine into Asia Minor. The Scythians, who came from Central Asia, belonged to the Indo-European language family, although they apparently also included Mongol elements.

In the 5^th century BC the famous Greek historian Herodotus, also known as “the father of history”, visited Scythia and described its inhabitants. Thus scholars got an important source about Scythian civilization. Scythians were quite cruel people. To develop warlike instincts, their warriors were encouraged to drink the blood of the first enemy they killed, to make cups out of their enemies’ skulls, and to take scalps. Part of the prisoners was sacrificed to the gods. Those unhappy warriors who failed to kill a single enemy in the battle did not have the right to take part in a victory feast and felt ashamed.

Archeologists found many remnants of Scythian society in graves. It was usual practice among Scythians that when an important man died his wives and servants were killed and buried with him. Besides corpses numerous expensive things were also put in graves. Rich Scythians were buried in kurhany (huge mounds). The remnants of kurhany can still be seen in southern Ukraine.

The Scythians were a warlike people and often made raids against other nations. In 513 BC the famous Persian king Darius I invaded Scythia at the head of an enormous army. The Scythians applied the so-called scorch-earth strategy by burning the grass (major food of Darius’ cavalry) and poisoning the wells. Left without food and water Darius had to retreat. Scythia reached its zenith in the 4^th century BC under the reign of King Atei. In 339 BC the Scythians invaded Thracia (present-day northern Greece and Bulgaria) but were defeated by Philip of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great). That was the beginning of decline for Scythians.

In 2nd century bc, the Sarmatians, another powerful Iranian-speaking nomadic people from the east, defeated and assimilated most of the Scythians.

The Sarmatians dominated the steppes north and east of the Black Sea for 400 years until 2^nd century AD. Like all nomadic rulers of the Ukrainian steppes, the Sarmatians were not a single tribe, but a loose federation of related and frequently feuding tribes, such as the Iazyges, the Roxolany, and the Alans.

From the fragmentary information available about the Sarmatians, it is evident that they looked and lived much like the Scythians and other Iranian-speaking nomads. A contemporary wrote about the Alans, the most powerful Sarmatian tribe, “they are tall and handsome, their hair tends to be blond and the ferocity of their glance inspires dread.” A striking Sarmatian peculiarity was the prominent role played by their women. An ancient historian stated that Sarmatian women followed “the ancient Amazon mode of living, going out on horseback to hunt, joining their husbands in war and wearing the same dress as men.” Archeologists found many graves of Sarmatian women buried with their weapons. According to ancient traditions only warriors could be buried with weapons.

The Sarmatian army was very powerful. Their cavalry called katafraktarii was extremely efficient in battle, according to writings of Roman historians. Both riders and horses were covered with iron. The Sarmatian cavalry became prototype of medieval knightly cavalry.