The term Scythian, Sarmatian, Massagetae, Getae, Roxolani, and Alan refers to the same nomadic Iranian peoples at various times. As I mentioned in a previous article, our own Darvish family Y-DNA is Sarmatian and specifically Alan (J1-FGC6024). They are famous for having Blonde and Red hair along with fierce eyes...as told by thier Roman enemy and later overlords and allies. The White Caucasian Iranic Alans and Germanic Vandals migrated west together due to the incursion of enemy Huns, Turks, Arabs and Mongols.
The Iranic Alans actually helped the Romans defeat Atilla the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields. The Alans were excellent Horse and Dog breeders that hunted Wild Boar, had Tattoos, drank Beer/Wine and apparently smoked Hemp in thier rituals.
The Scythians (A generalizing term applied for an Iranian-speaking people that used to live between the Ukrainian steppes and the Altai) are probably one of the most famous people of Antiquity. As dangerous horse nomads they used to live on the periphery of the “civilized” world, always eager to conduct raids on their settled neighbours to the south. Their reign of the steppe gradually came to an end with the Huns, a people of Mongol or Turk origin. Until the 4th century AD the Scythians were either killed, subjugated or forced to migrate west- or southwards. A faction of these Scythians were the Alans, formerly part of the Sarmatian confederation. Some of them moved westwards, actively participating in the downfall of the Western Roman Empire by raiding its territory and eventually founding two post-Roman kingdoms: One short-lived kingdom north of the Loire River in modern France and an other, more famous and successful one in North Africa, where they would share their rule with the Germanic Vandals. On the long run though, all Alans who migrated westwards were assimilated fairly quickly. As dramatic their appearance was, as quickly were they forgotten, now appearing as not much more than a footnote in history, interesting only to those with a passion for late Antiquity.
But this is not their whole story, not even close. The branch of the Alans that did not migrate to west, but to the south, was about to see a much different fate. They migrated to the steppes near the Caucasus, roughly corresponding to the modern "North Caucasus Federal district" (Leaving out Dagestan). As attested by archaeology, the Alans started to migrate in this area from the fifth to the sixth century in large numbers, where they, despite their nomadic origins, would settle immediately. It appears that the relations to the Eastern Roman Empire were quite friendly from the very beginning. Some of them, like Ardabur and his son Aspar (5th century), reached high ranks in the Eastern Roman army.
Roughly one century later sources mention an Alan king for the first time, named Sarosius and described as friend of the Byzantine Empire. He and his warriors are described as very active against the Persians in the Caucasus. It seems likely that Sarosius was the king of the western Alans, living near the Kuban River. The eastern Alans, who settled near the Terek River, were probably in closer proximity to Persia.
Why the Alans could consolidate themselves that fast must be explained with a new branch of the Silk Road developing after the 6th century, leading through passes controlled by the Alans. The Alans would obviously greatly benefit from the taxes and luxury goods travelling through that road. Since the Byzantine Empire, western Alanias most important ally, was mostly at war with Sasanid Persia the Caucasian road was a welcome alternative to supply the markets with precious far eastern goods. The safety of the road would be granted by a myriad of fortresses how they are proven for this and even more so the following time.
Moving forward in time, we are reaching the mid 7th century, when not only the Arabs conquered Persia and large parts of the Byzantine Empire, but a new power has risen in the steppes as well: The Khazar Khanate, located on the north-western shores of the Caspian Sea. Mentioned in 586 for the first time, it quickly became one of the mightiest states of its time. Expanding Islam reached the khanate in 642, resulting in a war lasting a decade. However, the Khazars were one of the few nations who managed to defeat the Arabs decisively. It had now time to erect its hegemony over the western steppes, degrading the Alans to a tributary status until the mid-8th century. Promoted by an influx of Turkic settlers, perhaps Bulgars, the Alans also underwent a process of “soft” Turkization, visible for example in the replacement of the classical Scythian longswords by sightly curved sabres.
It was also a time when many new fortresses were constructed, serving the protection of the frontier zone with the Caliphate. Indeed, this era was one of titanic struggles, marked by the wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad and later Abbasid caliphate. The Khazars mainly tried to remain neutral in these conflicts, instead focusing on its role as trading empire. Nevertheless, it was again dragged into war with the Muslim Caliphates in the 8th century. This time the odds were against the Khazars, and Alania became the mentioned frontier zone. However, after the 8th century the Khazar-Arab relations remained mostly peaceful.
After those conflicts the Khazars wanted to ensure once and for all that they would never to be dropped into the Byzantine-Arab sruggles. They made a revolutionary decision: The conversion to Judaism in the 9th century. As far as we can tell, this decision did not affect the Alans very much. They remained predominantly pagan, adhering the archaic Scythian religion and folklore of old. Yet.
Literature:
-Alemany, Agustyi (2000): “Sources on the Alans. A critical compilation”
-Arzhantseva, Irena: ”Alans: Between Byzantium and Khazaria”
-Arzhantseva, Irena et al (2001): “Alan settlements of the first millennium in the Kislovodsk Basin, Russia” in “One Land, Many Landscapes”
-Kutzentsov, Vladimir & Jaroslav Lebedynsky (2005): “Les Alains. Cavaliers des steppes, seigneurs de Caucase”
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