Scythians, << SIHTH ee uhnz, >> were ancient nomads who lived mainly north of the Black Sea in present-day Ukraine and southwestern Russia. They originated in the plains of what is now southern Kazakhstan. But tribes from China pressured most of the Scythians to move west during the early 600’s B.C. Scythian territory expanded through the years. By the 300’s B.C., these people lived as far west as present-day Hungary and eastern Germany, as far south as Palestine, and as far east as India.
The Scythians were famed as warriors. They were especially known for their skill as horse riders, and their mounted archers gave them a strong advantage in battle. They also engaged in a great deal of trade, particularly with the ancient Greeks.
The Scythians first appear in history about 675 B.C. From that time and throughout the 600’s, they menaced the Assyrians, who controlled a vast empire stretching from Egypt to Iran. By about 615 B.C., the Scythians had conquered much of Syria and Palestine. About 513 B.C., the Scythians prevented the Persian Empire under Darius I from expanding beyond Thrace—a region in the Balkan Peninsula—into the rest of eastern and central Europe. In the late 200’s B.C., the Scythians were defeated by a people called the Sarmatians and restricted to the area of the Crimea in eastern Europe. They died out in the A.D. 200’s.
