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Scythians

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Mounted nomads who held the steppe north of the Black Sea. Herodotus described their customs, and their kurgans hold some of the finest gold work of the ancient world. Sarmatians and then Goths displaced them by the 3rd century CE.

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Key events

  1. Scythian horsemen establish themselves on the Pontic steppe north of the Black SeaDisputed

    Herodotus and most modern scholars have the Scythians arrive from Asia. Dates for the move range from the late 9th century BCE (Tuva) through the late 8th century BCE (Encyclopedia of Ukraine) to the 7th century BCE (British Museum).

  2. – Darius I leads a Persian army against the Scythians, who retreat and strip the land until he withdrawsDisputed

    The Encyclopedia of Ukraine dates the campaign to about 513–512 BCE. Herodotus gives no year.

  3. – Scythian elites are buried in steppe mounds with gold vessels and ornaments, as at Kul-Oba in Crimea
  4. King Ateas fights Philip II of Macedon and is killed in the battleDisputed

    The World History Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Ukraine both date Ateas's death in battle against Philip to 339 BCE. Strabo records the war but gives no year, and a later author, Lucian, is the source for Ateas dying in it.

  5. The Royal Scythians make Neapolis in Crimea their capitalDisputed

    EBSCO dates the capital to the 3rd century BCE. The Encyclopedia of Ukraine has the Scythians re-established around Neapolis in the 2nd century BCE.

  6. Sarmatians, Alans and Goths overrun the Crimean Scythian kingdomDisputed

    Both sources give only the 3rd century CE. After this the Scythians disappear as a distinct people, assimilated mainly by the Sarmatians.