The Scythians: Iranian Peoples, Not Turks or Ukrainians
The Scythians, an ancient group of nomadic horse-riders who roamed the Eurasian steppes, have often been the subject of historical misrepresentation. In recent debates, some have erroneously conflated them with modern-day Turks or Ukrainians. However, historical, linguistic, and genetic evidence shows that the Scythians were neither Turks nor Ukrainians but were, in fact, of Iranian origin. Their culture, language, and migration patterns distinctly reflect their Iranian roots, even as they traversed and influenced vast regions, including modern-day Ukraine, Turan, and Iran.
1. The Iranian Roots of the Scythians
The Scythians, often identified with the term Saka in ancient Persian texts, were an Indo-Iranian people. Their language belonged to the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European family, linking them more closely to ancient Persian and Medo-Iranian peoples than to the Turkic or Slavic linguistic groups. The most compelling evidence of their Iranian identity comes from linguistic analysis, which shows the Scythian language shared core characteristics with other Eastern Iranian languages such as Sogdian, Bactrian, and Ossetian.
Linguists have identified key Iranian elements in Scythian toponyms, personal names, and even religious vocabulary. For example, Scythian names like Skiluros, Targitaos, and Spargapithes have clear Iranian parallels. Additionally, the religious practices of the Scythians, particularly their reverence for fire and sky deities, align with ancient Zoroastrian practices, further corroborating their Iranian origins .
2. Migration Patterns and Regional Influence
The Scythians originated from the Central Asian steppes, with their homelands situated in the area between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. This vast region was historically inhabited by Iranian nomadic peoples, who shared similar cultural traits. The Scythians were part of this broader Iranian milieu and, over time, migrated westward toward the Pontic-Caspian steppe, the region corresponding to modern-day Ukraine and southern Russia.
Although the Scythians eventually occupied the territory of modern Ukraine, their occupation of this land does not make them ethnically Ukrainian. Rather, they were an Iranian-speaking group that temporarily settled in what is now Ukraine during their westward migrations. Similarly, the Scythians are often confused with Turkic peoples due to their occupation of regions that later became part of the Turkic world. The Turks, however, arrived in these regions centuries later, during the early medieval period, as part of the Turkic migration from Central Asia .
3. The Misinterpretation of Scythians as Turkic Peoples
One of the major reasons for the confusion about the Scythians' identity stems from later Turkic migrations into the steppes once dominated by Iranian-speaking peoples like the Scythians and Sarmatians. The Turkic peoples, who moved into these regions during the 6th century CE, encountered a cultural landscape that had already been shaped by Iranian nomadic groups for centuries. Over time, Turkic groups, such as the Khazars and later the Mongols and Tatars, assimilated some of the cultural elements from these earlier Iranian inhabitants, but this does not imply that the Scythians themselves were Turkic .
Additionally, some scholars have misrepresented Scythians as proto-Turks based on superficial similarities in nomadic lifestyle and mounted warfare. However, these similarities stem from the shared ecological adaptation to the steppe environment, not from any ethnic or linguistic connection. The distinction between Turkic and Iranian steppe nomads is clear in both historical records and genetic studies .
4. The Iranian-Scythian Connection to Ancient Iran and Turan
The Scythians' connection to ancient Iran and the broader Iranian world is particularly significant in the context of the historical tension between Iran and Turan, a region associated with the steppe nomads in Persian literature. In the Shahnameh, the Iranian national epic, the Scythians and other Iranian-speaking nomads such as the Sarmatians and Alans are often portrayed as the enemies of the settled Persian civilization. Despite this adversarial relationship, the Scythians were ethnically and linguistically Iranian, sharing a common heritage with the very people they fought.
The Scythians also played a crucial role in the history of Iran itself. During their westward expansion, Scythian groups penetrated the Iranian plateau and temporarily controlled parts of modern-day Iran, particularly during the late 7th century BCE. They interacted with and influenced the Medes and Persians, the two dominant Iranian groups of the time. According to Herodotus, the Scythians even invaded the Median Empire and established a brief hegemony over the region before being expelled .
5. Genetic Evidence: An Iranian Legacy
Recent advances in genetics have further clarified the Iranian origin of the Scythians. Studies of ancient Scythian burial sites have revealed DNA markers consistent with other Indo-Iranian groups, particularly those from the Central Asian and Iranian plateau regions. These genetic studies confirm that the Scythians were part of the broader Indo-Iranian migration, which also produced other Iranian-speaking groups such as the Parthians, Medes, and Persians .
Genetic research also dispels the notion that the Scythians were Turkic or Slavic in origin. Turkic peoples, who migrated from eastern Central Asia during the early medieval period, have distinct genetic markers that are not present in the Scythian samples. Similarly, while modern Ukrainians may have absorbed some Scythian ancestry through millennia of intermarriage and migration, the Scythians themselves were not ethnically Ukrainian. Their distinct Iranian identity remains clear in both the historical record and modern genetic studies.
6. Conclusion: Iranian Scythians, Not Turks or Ukrainians
The Scythians were an ancient Iranian-speaking people who left a profound mark on the Eurasian steppe and the surrounding regions. Despite their migrations into territories now known as Ukraine and their influence on what is today Turan, they were neither Turkic nor Slavic. Instead, they were part of the larger Indo-Iranian cultural and linguistic world, which stretched from the steppes of Central Asia to the Iranian plateau. Their legacy, often misrepresented, is that of an Iranian people whose contributions to history are best understood within the context of the broader Iranian and Indo-European heritage.
The persistence of Iranian culture and language in the Scythians, even as they spread into different regions, attests to the enduring influence of Iranian nomadic traditions. Both historical and modern evidence affirm that the Scythians were, indeed, Iranian in origin and identity, and any attempt to label them as Turkic or Ukrainian distorts the historical reality of this ancient people.
References
- Herodotus. Histories, Book IV.
- Harmatta, János. "The Scythians." In History of Civilizations of Central Asia, UNESCO Publishing, 1994.
- Mallory, J. P., and Adams, D. Q. The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Di Cosmo, Nicola. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- Rolle, Renate. The World of the Scythians. University of California Press, 1989.
- Parpola, Asko. "The Formation of the Aryan Branch of Indo-European." In The Roots of Hinduism, Oxford University Press, 2015.
- Cunliffe, Barry. The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe. Oxford University Press, 2019.
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