In the western part of the Sahara Desert - the one that belongs to Mauritania - a little east of the village of Ouadan is one of the most amazing and mysterious places on the planet, known as the "Rishat structure" or "Earth's eye". Mysterious circles drawn by an unknown force among the monotonous desert landscape attract an inexhaustible stream of inquisitive travelers.
The age of the geological formation is more than venerable: the researchers of the unique object claim that the oldest ring from the series of circles of the Guel-er-Rishat structure is not "younger" than 600,000,000 years. And the dimensions of the “eye” are solid: the diameter of its outer contour is about 50 km. It is clear that with such an impressive scale, the contours of the rings can only be detected at a considerable height from the object.
That is why the unique structure was discovered only with the advent of the space age in 1965. Since then, the eye of the planet has served as a clear guide to astronauts in orbit, and scientists have been puzzling day and night over the nature of this wondrous formation.
Versions.
The first version is the place where the meteorite fell. I did not find confirmation, since there is no depression on the surface of the earth in the center of the structure, as in other places where cosmic bodies fell. And there are no traces of shock impact on the rocks.
The second version is the mouth of an extinct volcano. The Richat structure is composed of dolomitic sedimentary rocks, and the complete absence of volcanic rocks and a volcanic dome nullified this assumption.
What is the richat structure? The third version is fantastic. “This is an alien landing site,” some say. "This was Atlantis," say others. But no one can prove either the first or the second.
The fourth version is the result of erosion. According to the assumptions of scientists, the platform in this place either rose or fell, constantly weathering, which led to such a layered formation. To date, this version is the most plausible.
Thanks to images taken from space, there has been a significant breakthrough in geological research. Scientists in a relatively short period of time have managed to identify many places that are most interesting for researchers in various areas. Among all these discoveries, of considerable interest are numerous geological formations in the form of rings, which differ not only in size, ranging from a few hundred meters to 3 thousand kilometers and an age sometimes reaching the Archean era, estimated in billions of years, but also in their genesis, which put before researchers a number of controversial issues.
One of these mysteries was for scientists an amazing Mauritanian soil formation, perfectly visible from space. Due to its large size and clear outlines, which give it vast and lifeless landscapes of the Saharan desert, it has been serving people plowing the endless ocean of space as a kind of lighthouse for half a century.
Cosmonaut Valentin Lebedev, in October 1982, examining this geological object, amazing in its almost round shape and unusual structure, from the window of the Salyut-7 station, associated it with a children's pyramid assembled from rings of various colors. You can verify the correctness of this comparison by looking at the picture below.
True, this miracle of nature is actually not a child's toy at all. The diameter of its outer ring is fifty kilometers, and on closer examination it does not look like a pyramid at all. Being directly on this place and contemplating the rocky desert with a series of various lowlands and elevations, you can’t even say that it can look so impressive from space.
Apparently, this circumstance was earlier for researchers the main factor preventing them from focusing their attention on this point of our planet, which turned out to be so interesting for its mystery. But, as they say, "everything has its time." The development of outer space by mankind, of course, has benefited in the field of knowledge of our home - the Earth.
After all, just think, a person during his existence, due to his curiosity, was able to explore almost every corner of our native planet. He discovered many previously unknown islands, conquered the impregnable peaks of the highest mountains, found a way to conduct research in the ocean depths, and overcame the cold of the earth's poles. It seemed that people had explored everything and there was nothing on Earth that would be unknown to mankind. But this, as time shows, was just a small flight of stairs leading to the heights of knowledge.
Obtained from space half a century ago, a picture of the Moorish "pyramid" seriously puzzled scientists. Even after a series of studies, they still have not been able to come to a consensus about the cause of this geological formation. It, based on the conclusions of the researchers, has a rather unusual structure, reminiscent at first glance of the place where mining was once carried out here, or a huge crater formed after the fall of a meteorite, and possibly the consequences of the eruptions of an ancient volcano. According to the conclusions of experts, the age of this geological formation, which received the names “eye of the desert” and “navel of the earth” thanks to the media, is 500-600 million years, that is, theoretically reaches the Proterozoic period.
As you know, at the end of this period there was a global change in the climate of our planet. This coincidence naturally became a significant factor that prompted researchers to put forward a version of the Richat ring-shaped structure, as formed as a result of a huge meteorite falling.
However, the attempt of geologists to collect the evidence base for this hypothesis during subsequent studies was not successful. They were never able to find traces of the impact itself and its consequences. In the center of this formation, there was also no recess corresponding to the impact force, similar to depressions at the places where cosmic bodies fell. In addition, they failed to explain the presence of not one, but several rings, perfectly nested in each other. To get such a formation, several meteorites had to fall into this place with perfect accuracy, which, of course, is unlikely.
Of all the versions put forward, the most plausible is the volcanic version of the Rishat structural formation.
Scientists, analyzing images of this geological artifact with seemingly similar objects on Mars, Mercury and the Moon, put forward a seemingly irrefutable version of its volcanic origin. They even managed to give an explanation of the new type of volcanic formations discovered by them thanks to these photographs, called "Ring structures". This topic first appeared in a special section in the 1985 textbook "General Geotectonics", written by A. E. Mikhailov and V. E. Khain.
According to this version, the origin of the Mauritanian ring structures is explained by the centuries-old erosion of the volcano, under the influence of which the current geological artifact was formed.
But subsequent studies forced many scientists to reconsider the evidence part of this hypothesis. According to the conclusion of many experts from the field of geology, the Rishat structure cannot be the result of a volcanic eruption, because sedimentary dolomite rocks predominate in its formation and volcanic rocks, characterized by microscopic sizes of mineral crystals, and effusives are completely absent. In addition, in its central part, geologists have not been able to detect at least some signs of a volcanic dome.
By the way, why an eye? Yes, because from a certain distance, the complex of giant rings miraculously accurately recreates the shape of the pupil of the human eye, framed by the contours of the eyelids. The initial hypothesis was that the watchful eye of the planet is nothing more than a crater formed as a result of the fall of a giant meteorite. This version still defends its right to exist among the possible reasons for the appearance of the most ancient geological structure.
But the explanations of the supporters of the "crater" theory about the flat shape of the bottom of the ring formation sound, to put it mildly, not very convincing. The Rishat formation cannot boast of a characteristic deepening or impact marks.
The essence of another version is that the appearance of a geological artifact is the result of a long-standing volcanic eruption. Upon closer examination, this hypothesis does not withstand the onslaught of criticism: the product of the eruption should have left a dome-shaped imprint of volcanic rocks in memory of itself, but this, alas, is not. It's a pity: the almost perfectly round shape of the mysterious rings would harmoniously fit into the hypothesis of an extinct volcano. In attempts to explain the reason for the appearance of mystical circles, completely fantastic versions were put forward, including the landing of aliens - it is clear that such ideas were shattered into smithereens by elementary common sense.
Proponents of the supernatural, who tried to explain the presence of circles by the presence of otherworldly forces, also faced a fiasco: there are no anomalies in the area of \u200b\u200bthe structure at all - shepherds have long lived in the mysterious territory and camels graze peacefully, without showing even the slightest sign of anxiety.
The most plausible and tenacious hypothesis was that the eye of the planet was formed as a result of natural geological processes. First, there was a rise in the earth's crust, and then the wind and water flows began to work - it was the centuries-old erosion that led to the appearance of an all-seeing eye on the face of the planet. But even this theory does not provide an exhaustive explanation of the strict geometry of Rishat, so the question of where the correct circles in the middle of the desert came from still remains open. And this means that the great discovery of the true origin of the rings of Guel-er-Rishat lies ahead of us.
The Scythians are ancient tribes in the Northern Black Sea region, who lived in the 7th-3rd centuries BC. e. and managed to create a culture high enough for that time, which was subsequently absorbed by the peoples of Eastern Europe, Western and Central Asia.
In the history of civilization, the Scythians took second place after the Greeks and Romans, moreover, they were the direct heirs of their cultural traditions. The origin of the Scythians is still unknown. Despite the presence of a huge number of hypotheses, even now it is impossible to say with certainty where this people came from.
Ancient Greek scientist, "father of history" Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., during one of his travels he visited the Northern Black Sea region and got acquainted with the mores and customs of the Scythians. It was he who wrote down two legends about the origin of the Scythians, one of which was told to him by the Scythians themselves, and the other by the Hellenes.
According to the first legend, in the land of the Scythians, which was at that time a deserted desert, a man named Targitai was born to the god Zeus and the daughter of the Borisfen river. The boy grew rapidly and soon turned into a handsome, strong young man. He married a beautiful girl who gave him three sons: Lipoksai, Artoksai and Kolaksai.
Once the brothers were walking across the field, and suddenly 4 golden objects fell from the sky: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl. The elder brother noticed them first and wanted to take them. But as soon as he came closer, the gold suddenly ignited. Then the second brother tried to pick up the items, but he suffered the same fate. When the younger brother approached the things, the burning of gold ceased. Kolaksay picked up the items and carried them to himself. The elder and middle brothers understood the symbolism of this event and conceded to the younger the right to rule the kingdom.
Further, Herodotus says: “And those Scythians descended from Lipoksai, who bear the name of the genus Avkhats; from the middle brother Artoksai - those who are called catiars and trapii, and from the younger king - those that are called paralats; the common name of all of them is chipped, after the name of one king; the Hellenes called them Scythians.
The legend of the Hellenes tells of Hercules, who, “chasing the bulls of Geryon”, arrived in the country where the Scythians now live, and “since a blizzard and frost overtook him, he wrapped himself in a lion skin and fell asleep, and at that time his horses looked like miraculously disappeared into the pasture.” A rather interesting caveat: Hercules drove the bulls, and his horses disappeared. Who made the inaccuracy - the Hellenes or Herodotus, is still unknown.
According to this legend, in search of bulls (horses), Hercules went around the whole earth and came to Polissya. There, in one of the caves, he discovered a strange creature - a half-maiden half-snake. Hercules asked if she had seen his horses, to which the half-maiden replied that she had mares, "but she will not give them to him before he communicates with her."
Hercules agreed to her terms, but the half-maiden, wanting to prolong their connection, kept delaying the return of the animals. They lived together for a long time and had three sons. In the end, she decided to give the mares to Hercules, but before that she asked him what to do with her sons when they grow up: keep them or send them to their father.
Hercules answered this way: “When you see your sons matured, do the best thing like this: look which of them will pull this bow like this and gird it in my opinion with this belt, and give this land for residence, and which will not be able to fulfill the proposed my tasks, that they left the country. Having said this, Hercules handed the half-maiden a bow and a belt with a golden bowl at the end of the buckle.
When the sons matured, the mother subjected them to the test proposed by Hercules. The eldest - Agathirs - and the middle one - Gelon - could not repeat their father's feat and were expelled from the country. The younger son - Scythian - exactly reproduced the movements of his father and became the ancestor of the dynasty of Scythian kings.
Meanwhile, the ancient Greek historian had his own point of view on the problem of the origin of the Scythians. According to his hypothesis, the nomadic Scythians who lived in Asia, tired of repulsing the constant raids of the Massagets, retired to the Cimmerian land and founded their state there several centuries later.
Having settled in the new lands, the Scythians established trade relations with the Greeks, as evidenced by the dishes and metal products of Greek origin found by archaeologists. Commodity-money relations in those distant times were not yet developed, therefore, Scythian tribes were forced to pay for Greek dishes, gold and bronze jewelry with their own products, mainly bread.
In those distant times, the Scythians were undergoing a process of decomposition of tribal relations, which was reflected in funeral rites. The dead were buried in wooden structures on pillars, in pits imitating a dwelling, in catacombs and in mounds. Among the grave goods one can find battle axes, swords, shells and helmets of Greek workmanship, various kinds of decorations, and mirrors.
The patriarchal nature of relations is evidenced by the fact that free women were buried in mounds built for male burials. Burials of young women deserve special attention, in which, in addition to jewelry, weapons were found. Apparently, while the men were making aggressive campaigns, the women were forced to defend their home with weapons in their hands from the raids of the nomads.
The Scythians had an institution of slavery. In the early stages of the development of society, captives captured in military campaigns became slaves. When a master died, his slaves followed him to the grave. The unfortunate were buried in a bent position with their knees pressed to their stomachs.
The basis of the economy of the Scythian state was conquest campaigns against neighboring tribes. Herodotus tells of a campaign against the Medes, which lasted for 28 years. Tired, the Scythians returned to their native places, hoping to find comfort and peace there. However, their hopes were not destined to come true. Returning home, “they met a considerable army that opposed them, because the Scythian women, due to the long absence of their husbands, entered into a relationship with slaves ...”
Young men born as a result of such misalliances decided to oppose the Scythians. They dug a deep ditch stretching from the Taurus Mountains to Lake Meotida. Nevertheless, the Scythians managed to overcome this obstacle, after which several battles took place, in which the returned warriors won. The values brought from the campaign, which belonged to the class societies of the Near East, had a huge impact on the formation of the artistic style of the Scythians.
At the end of the VI century BC. e. Darius, the king of the powerful Persian state, went to war against the Scythians. In the amount of 700 thousand people, the Persian army invaded the territory of Scythia.
Scythian intelligence worked superbly. The military leaders had an idea not only about the number of Persian troops, but also about their route. The Scythians realized that it would not be possible to defeat the Persians in open battle. Then they invited to the military council the kings of neighboring peoples - Taurians, Agathyrsians, Neurians, Androphages, Budins and Savromats.
It should be noted that most of the kings refused to help the Scythians, arguing that "the Scythians were the first to start the war and now the Persians, at the suggestion of the deity, are paying them the same." Then the Scythians divided all the available military forces into 3 fronts and began to defend their territory using the methods of guerrilla warfare.
For a long time, the Scythians managed to hold back the onslaught of the Persians. During this period, they managed to inflict significant damage on the Persian army. Then Darius sent a messenger to them with a proposal either to fight in open battle, or to submit and recognize the Persian king as his sovereign.
In response, the Scythians announced that they would fight only when it pleased them, and promised to send gifts to Darius in the near future, but not those that he expected to receive. At the end of the message, the Scythian king Idanfirs allowed himself to express a threat to the Persian king: "For the fact that you called yourself my master, you will pay me."
Military operations continued, and the forces of the Persians were fading away. Herodotus tells that in the last days of the war, when it was already clear who would win, the Scythian king sent ambassadors to Darius with gifts consisting of a bird, a mouse, a frog and five arrows. No comments were attached to the gifts.
Darius understood the meaning of these gifts in this way: the Scythians are given to him with land and water. The arrows, in his opinion, symbolized the refusal of the Scythians to continue hostilities. However, another Persian, Gorbia, who was familiar with the mores and customs of the Scythians, interpreted the meaning of these gifts in a different way: “If you Persians do not fly away like birds to heaven, or, like mice, do not hide in the ground, or, like frogs, If you don’t jump into the lakes, you won’t turn back and fall under the blows of these arrows.”
After sending gifts, the Scythians prepared for a decisive battle. Suddenly, a hare ran in front of the formation and the Scythians rushed to pursue it. Upon learning of this case, Darius said: "These people treat us with great disdain, and it is now clear to me that Gorbia correctly explained to me the meaning of these gifts." On the same day, the Scythians finally defeated the Persians and drove them out of the country.
After the victory over the Persians, the Scythians lived in peace with their neighbors for a long time. However, the invasion of the Sarmatians forced the Scythians to leave their homes and move to the Crimea. The new capital of the Scythian state began to be called Scythian Naples.
The last stage in the history of the Scythians is associated with their concentration on the Crimean peninsula. The territory of the Scythian slave-owning state became much smaller than before, and the number of neighbors also decreased. In the south, in the Crimean mountains, these are the descendants of the Cimmerians - the Taurians, on the Kerch Peninsula - the Bosporus Kingdom and on the west coast - the Greek city of Chersonesus. The exit to the Ukrainian steppes was blocked by the Sarmatian tribes.
During this period, especially close relations developed between the Scythians and the Taurians. The latter, apparently, were drawn into the general political life of the Crimea and were no longer such savages as the Greek historians painted them. The contact of the Scythians with the Taurians became known after studying the burial sites of the steppe Crimea. In particular, in some burial grounds, archaeologists discovered collective burials of ordinary Scythians, characteristic of the Taurians.
Interestingly, they did not have weapons. Similar stone boxes are found mainly in the foothills of the Crimean Peninsula, that is, near the territories of the Taurians. At the beginning of our era, a new term appeared - "Tauro-Scythians", found on one of the Bosporan inscriptions. Some researchers believe that it may indicate the partial assimilation of the Taurians with the Scythians.
The Crimean settlements of the Scythians of this period, studied in recent years, are mainly of an antique character. This can be seen in the system of fortifications and residential buildings. The most indicative in this regard are Scythian Naples - a city that combined barbarian and Greek features; Turkish rampart and ditch, limiting the Crimea along the Perekop line.
In the II century BC. e. Olbia, located on the periphery of the state, began to lose its former importance. Chersonese acquired an ever greater role, especially in trade. The Scythian state, despite the fact that it lost a significant part of its territories and weakened economically, continued to pursue a rather active policy in the Crimea. First of all, the Scythians tried to take possession of Chersonese and subjugate it completely.
But Chersonesos, having enlisted the support of the Pontic king Farnak, who promised to protect the city from the barbarians, defeated the army of the Scythians and Taurians. The war ended with the defeat of the Scythian army.
Despite the hard times that came for the Scythian kingdom and the defeat in the Crimea, these events did not lead to the death of the state. Historians testify that the Scythians started most of the wars due to a lack of money in the state. But after they lost their former power, the Scythians decided to improve their position in another way.
The state decided to transfer the possession of its lands to those who wanted to cultivate them, and were content with the agreed payment. With those who refused to pay them, they fought.
During this period, the Scythians could no longer hold Olbia in their permanent power, and in the 1st century BC. e. it was defeated by the warlike tribe of the Getae. After that, the Scythians partially settled and restored Olbia, but it no longer resembled the once rich and flourishing city. Nevertheless, as a sign of its independence, the city issued coins with the names of the Scythian kings Farzoy and Inismey.
During this period, Olbia was under the protectorate of the Scythians, but they did not influence the general political situation, and when in the 2nd century BC. e. the Romans decided to include it in their empire, the Scythian state was unable to resist this.
It should be noted that at that time the Scythian state could not pursue an independent policy on the Black Sea coast, much less resist Roman intervention. During the II-I centuries BC. e. conflicts regularly occurred between the Bosporus and the Scythians, as a result of which the advantage constantly turned out to be on the side of the more powerful Bosporan state.
Thus, the Scythian state by the 1st century BC. e. was no longer viable: its economy was completely undermined, trade ties fell apart due to the inaccessibility of the points through which it constantly traded. In addition, a mass movement of barbarians began at this time. An important role in this was played by the state of Germanarich, which united many tribes of the Northern Black Sea region, which, together with the Sarmatians, Proto-Slavs and Goths, penetrated into the Crimea.
As a result of their invasion, Naples and many other Scythian cities were destroyed. After this raid, the Scythian state did not have the strength to restore. It is with this event that historians associate the final death of the Scythian state, which existed from the 5th to the 2nd century BC. e.
The Scythians are an ancient people who, according to sources, existed in the 8th century. BC e. - III century. n. e. and created his own state on the territory between the lower reaches of the Danube and the Don at the time of his power. Most of the information about the Scythians became known thanks to the "father of history" Herodotus (484 BC - 425 BC). He described in detail the history, life and customs of this people.
Herodotus tells that the nomadic tribes of the Scythians lived in Asia. When the Masagets drove them out, the Scythians crossed the Araks River (probably the Volga) and came to the Black Sea steppes, where the Cimmerians dominated at that time. The Cimmerian people were for retreat, but the kings recognized death on their native land as better than flight. Not wanting to retreat, the leaders of the Cimmerian tribes divided into two parts and courageously fell among themselves. The people buried them under a high grave on the banks of the Dniester and retreated to Asia Minor. Herodotus claims that while traveling along the Northern Black Sea coast, he seemed to be shown this grave.
The first reliably Scythian monuments in the Northern Black Sea region date back to the 7th century BC. BC e. In the VIII - VII centuries BC. e. there are the first mentions of the Cimmerians and Scythians in Assyrian sources. Probably, the Scythians moved to the shores of the Black Sea in several waves and at first got along here with the Cimmerians, acting with them together and against the states of Asia Minor. Later, relations between them became hostile. In the 7th century BC e., pursuing the displaced Cimmerians, the Scythians invaded Asia Minor, reaching Syria, and the Egyptian pharaoh Psammetich I was forced to pay off their further advancement with generous gifts. The Scythians ruled there for 28 years. The end of their reign is associated with the Median king Cyaxares, who invited the Scythian leaders to a banquet, where he interrupted them. The Scythians were forced to return to the Northern Black Sea region.
According to the legend of Herodotus, which he included in his "History", when the Scythians returned home, another difficult test awaited them there. After 28 years of domination in Western Asia, they were met by a strong army, which was created by the children of Scythian women and slaves, who remained in Scythia for 28 years. Upon learning of the return of the Scythians, the young men decided to stop them. Since the Scythians also considered the children of their slaves to be slaves, captivity awaited them. There were many battles, but the Scythians could not defeat the enemy in any way. Then one Scythian said that it was necessary to leave spears and bows and let everyone go to them with his whip. After all, while they saw the Scythians armed, they considered themselves equal to them, that is, free-born. But when they see the Scythians with whips instead of weapons, they will understand that they are their slaves, and, having recognized this, they will no longer dare to resist. Herodotus claims that it was this tactic that helped the Scythians defeat the descendants of slaves.
Returning from Western Asia, the Scythians eventually subjugated a vast territory from the Don in the east to the Danube in the west.
The Scythians were divided into several large tribes. The lower reaches of the Bug were inhabited by callipids, who were also called the Hellenic-Scythians. To the north of them lived the Alazons. Even further north, the territory between the Dnieper and the Dniester was inhabited by the Scythians-plowmen. The steppe to the west and east and east of the Dnieper is the territory of nomads. Nomadic Scythians and royal Scythians lived there. The latter occupied the region of the left-bank steppe to the Sea of Azov and the Don, as well as the steppe Crimea. The royal Scythians considered all other Scythians their slaves. The nomadic Scythians owned more of the western part of the steppe.
The Scythians were a freedom-loving and wise, but at the same time, cruel people. War played the most significant role in the life of the Scythian society. The arsenal of Scythian weapons consisted of akinaki swords, daggers, spears, darts, battle axes, slings, bows. The Scythian bow gained special fame all over the world: in terms of range and lethal force, it had no equal at that time. No wonder Herodotus calls the Scythians "horse archers."
As Greek historians testify, the Scythian warrior drank the blood of the first enemy he killed. Those who did not have their own sacrifice were not even allowed to the festive table. The god of war Ares built original altars in the form of a pile of brushwood. On its top, as a symbol of this god, a sword was placed and every hundredth prisoner was sacrificed to him.
For living, the Scythians used large wagons, to which they sometimes harnessed several pairs of oxen. Women, children and the elderly lived in tents. The whole life of men passed on a horse, it was not for nothing that this animal was the most beloved among the Scythians.
Ancient historians were surprised by the adaptability of the Scythians to their environment. Herodotus tells how the Scythians learned how to cook meat in the conditions of treelessness. Having stripped the skin from the animal, they peeled the bones from the meat and threw them into the cauldrons. Putting the meat in cauldrons, the bones were set on fire and boiled on them. And when they did not have a cauldron, then they put all the meat in the skins of animals, poured water and scorched the bones from below. Thus it turned out that the ox boils itself.
The Scythians left behind many of their monuments - burial mounds, where they buried their kings and noble people. At the moment, most of them have been explored. Thanks to the excavations at the mound Tolstoy Mogila (Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukraine), which were carried out by Kyiv archaeologists led by B.M. Mozolevsky in 1971, the world learned about the real treasure - the golden pectoral. Pectoral - a golden decoration of the Scythian king. Its weight is 1150 gr., diameter is 30.6 cm. The whole work is made of 958 gold. The breastplate of royal power harmoniously combines gold weaving and casting. It consists of three tiers depicting everyday scenes from the life of the Scythians, domestic and mythical animals. According to the insurance estimate, the cost of the pectoral is 186 million dollars, it is exhibited in Kyiv, in a branch on the territory of the Lavra - in the Museum of Historical Treasures.
Herodotus describes the funeral customs of the Scythians in this way. When a king dies among the Scythians, then in Herrah, the legendary burial place of their kings, they dig a large quadrangular pit. When the pit is prepared, the body is lifted onto a cart, covered with wax; then the stomach is cut open, cleaned and filled with crushed cooper and various seeds. After that, the belly of the deceased is sewn up and taken on a cart to another tribe. The inhabitants of each region where the body of the king is brought, cut off a piece of their ear, cut off the hair on the head around, cut their hand, tear their forehead and nose, and pierce their left hand with arrows. From here the deceased is taken further, to other parts of his kingdom. Accompany the body of those to whom it was brought earlier. After a detour of all the lands, they again arrive in Gerra. There, the body is lowered into the grave on straw mats, spears are stuck into the ground on both sides, and boards are laid on top and covered with mats of reeds. In the free space of the tomb they bury one of the king's concubines, who was previously strangled, as well as various servants, horses, and put golden bowls. Then all together they pour a huge hump over the tomb.
A year after the funeral, everyone gathered at his grave, performed a feast, after which they made stuffed animals from 50 dead horses and the same number of the best royal servants, placed them for protection near the mound, and this ended the ceremony.
The Scythians strictly adhered to their age-old customs and rituals. On this occasion, Herodotus tells a story about the Scythian philosopher Anacharsis, whom the Greeks recognized as the seventh sage in the world (the other six are Greeks).
Traveling in Greece, Anacharsis became closely acquainted with Greek philosophy and religion. He especially liked the feast of the Great Goddess, which the Greeks celebrated on the island of Cyzicus. Returning to Scythia, Anacharsis climbed into Gilea (the former Dnieper floodplains), where he sacrificed to the goddess according to the rite seen among the Cyzikinites and arranged a night celebration in her honor. But someone reported this to his brother, King Saul. He arrived in the forest and killed Anacharsis on the spot.
Perhaps it was about an attempt by Anacharsis to introduce a new cult and new social orders in Scythia. But the fact remains: protecting their land from foreign influences, the Scythians did not stop at nothing.
In the VI century. BC e. the so-called Scythian-Persian war took place, for the sake of describing which Herodotus took so much space in his History.
In 514 BC. e. Persian king Darius I Hystasp crossed the Bosporus with a huge army and moved to Scythia in order to punish the Scythians for their campaigns in Asia Minor. Unable to resist the army of Darius, the Scythians turned to neighboring tribes for help, among which the tribes of Budins, Gelons and Savromats agreed to help.
The Scythians adopted the tactic of retreating and luring the enemy deep into the country. The main ones were the royal Scythians, who divided their forces into three detachments. The main forces were led by King Idanfirs.
Moving after the Scythians, the army of Darius crossed the Don. But then the Scythians suddenly headed north and west.
Tired of the futile pursuit of the Scythians, he sent a messenger to Idanfirs to report that he should no longer run away, but recognize Darius as his master, "carrying water and earth." Idanfirs replied that Darius would regret what he said and let him wait for other gifts that he deserved.
Meanwhile, the Persian army began to languish from fatigue, thirst and hunger. Not daring to stand with the Persians in open battle, the Scythians exhausted them with short fights. After some time, Idanfirs sent Darius the gifts he spoke of: a bird, a mouse, a toad, and five arrows.
Darius believed that the Scythians recognize his power over themselves and, as a sign of this, offer him earth and water, which meant a mouse and a toad, surrendering along with the cavalry, which is similar in speed to a bird, and the whole army, which meant arrows. But the adviser of Darius Gobrius explained to the king the essence of the gifts in a different way: “When you Persians do not fly up into the sky like birds, or burrow into the ground like mice, or jump into the swamp like toads, then we will not return back, hit by these arrows.
After that, Darius decided to return home with his army. The Scythians pursued the Persians as far as the Danube.
But there is an opinion of historians that there could not have been a Scythian-Persian war, since there is no archaeological evidence on the territory of the Northern Black Sea region that could be attributed to this event. Perhaps the entire war was limited to local skirmishes on the border of Scythia in the west. But, nevertheless, the glory of the invincible has established itself behind the Scythians since that time.
Scythia reaches its greatest power in the 4th century. BC e., when the graves of the steppe people appear even at the latitude of Kyiv. It was at this time that King Atey ruled, who united all the Scythian tribes into a single state. His power extended even to the Transdanubian lands, where the Thracians lived from time immemorial. But such an advance to the west led to a conflict between the Scythians and the Macedonian state. In 339 BC. e. the Macedonian king Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, marched against them. In this battle, in which the 90-year-old king Atey died, the Scythians were defeated.
But after that, the Scythians more than once opposed the Macedonians. In 331 BC. e. they defeated the 30,000th army of the governor of Alexander the Great in Thrace, Zopyrion, who tried to carry out a campaign against Scythia, and in 292 BC. e. Together with the Getae, they defeated Lysimachus, who owned Thrace after the death of Alexander the Great. However, the power of Scythia at this time noticeably weakens. In the west, it loses the Transdanubian territories, in the east it cannot withstand clashes with the Sarmatians. At the end of III - at the beginning of II century. BC e. the territory of Scythia is limited to the Crimean peninsula and the narrow line of the Lower Dnieper. But for about four more centuries, the Scythians remained on the historical arena of the Black Sea coast as a formidable force that successfully resisted both the barbarian tribes and the Greek colonialists. The final defeat at the beginning of the III century. n. e. they were inflicted by the Goths. Since that time, Scythia ceased to exist as an ethnic and political entity. For a long time, ancient authors will give the name "Scythian" to all the peoples who, wave after wave, swept the southern Ukrainian steppes. Even the ancient Russian chronicler calls his country "Great Skuf". Such longevity did not know the name of any ancient people living on the territory of Ukraine.
Herodotus reports three legends about the origin of the Scythians:
5. According to the stories of the Scythians, their people are the youngest of all. And it happened in this way. The first inhabitant of this still uninhabited country was a man named Targitai. The parents of this Targitai, as the Scythians say, were Zeus and the goddess Api, the daughter of the Borisfen river. Targitai was of this kind, and he had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai, and the youngest, Kolaksai. During their reign, golden objects fell from the sky to the Scythian land: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl.
6. The elder brother saw these things first. As soon as he went to pick them up, the gold blazed. Then he retreated, and the second brother approached, and again the gold was engulfed in flames. So the heat of the flaming gold drove away both brothers, but when the third, younger, brother approached, the flame went out, and he took the gold to his house. Therefore, the older brothers agreed to give the kingdom to the younger. So, from Lipoksais, as they say, there was a Scythian tribe called Avhats, from the middle brother - a tribe of Katiars and Traspians, and from the younger of the brothers - the king - a tribe of Paralats. All tribes together are called skolots, that is, royal. The Greeks call them Scythians.
7. This is how the Scythians tell about the origin of their people. They think, however, that from the time of the first king of Targitai to the invasion of their land by Darius, only 1000 years have passed. The Scythian kings carefully guarded the mentioned sacred golden objects and revered them with reverence, bringing rich sacrifices every year. If someone at the feast falls asleep in the open air with this sacred gold, then, according to the Scythians, he will not live even a year. Therefore, the Scythians give him as much land as he can go around on a horse in a day. Since they had a lot of land, Kolaksais divided it, according to the stories of the Scythians, into three kingdoms between his three sons. He made the largest kingdom where gold was stored (not mined). In the region lying even further north of the land of the Scythians, as they say, nothing can be seen and it is impossible to penetrate because of flying feathers. Indeed, the earth and air there are full of feathers, and this interferes with vision.
8. This is how the Scythians themselves talk about themselves and about their neighboring northern countries. The Hellenes, who live on Pontus, convey differently. Hercules, chasing the bulls of Gerion (more often - cows), arrived in this then still uninhabited country (now it is occupied by the Scythians). Geryon lived far from Pontus, on an island in the Ocean near Gadir behind the Pillars of Heracles (this island is called Erythia by the Hellenes). The ocean, according to the Greeks, flows, beginning at sunrise, around the whole earth, but they cannot prove this. From there, Hercules arrived in the now so-called country of the Scythians. There he was caught by bad weather and cold. Wrapped in a pigskin, he fell asleep, and at this time his draft horses (he let them graze) miraculously disappeared.
9. Awakening, Hercules went all over the country in search of horses, and finally arrived in a land named Gilea. There, in a cave, he found a creature of mixed nature - a half-maiden, half-snake (the Goddess with snakes, the ancestor of the Scythians, is known from a number of ancient images). The upper part of her body from the buttocks was feminine, and the lower part was snake-like. Seeing her, Hercules asked with surprise if she had seen his lost horses somewhere. In response, the snake woman said that she had horses, but she would not give them up until Hercules entered into a love affair with her. Then Hercules, for the sake of such a reward, joined with this woman. However, she hesitated to give up the horses, wanting to keep Hercules as long as possible, and he would gladly leave with the horses. Finally, the woman handed over the horses with the words: “These horses that came to me, I have saved for you; you have now paid a ransom for them. After all, I have three sons from you. Tell me, what should I do with them when they grow up? Should I leave them here (after all, I alone own this country) or send them to you? So she asked. Hercules answered this: “When you see that your sons have matured, it’s best for you to do this: see which of them can pull my bow like this and gird this belt around, as I indicate to you, leave him to live here. The one who did not follow my instructions was sent to a foreign land. If you do this, then you yourself will be satisfied and fulfill my desire.
10. With these words, Hercules pulled one of his bows (until then, Hercules wore two bows). Then, having shown how to gird himself, he handed over the bow and belt (a golden cup hung at the end of the belt clasp) and left. When the children grew up, the mother gave them names. She named one Agathirs, the other Gelon, and the younger Scythian. Then, remembering the advice of Hercules, she did as Hercules commanded. Two sons - Agathirs and Gelon could not cope with the task, and their mother expelled them from the country. The younger one, Skiff, managed to complete the task, and he remained in the country. From this Scythian, the son of Hercules, all the Scythian kings descended. And in memory of that golden bowl, even to this day, the Scythians wear bowls on their belts (this was only done by the mother for the benefit of the Scythian).
11. There is also a third legend (I myself trust him most of all). It says so. The nomadic tribes of the Scythians lived in Asia. When the Massagetae forced them out of there by military force, the Scythians crossed the Araks and arrived in the Cimmerian land (the country now inhabited by the Scythians, as they say, belonged to the Cimmerians since ancient times). With the approach of the Scythians, the Cimmerians began to hold advice on what to do in the face of a large enemy army. And here on council opinions were divided. Although both sides stubbornly stood their ground, the proposal of the kings won out. The people were in favor of retreat, considering it unnecessary to fight with so many enemies. The kings, on the contrary, considered it necessary to stubbornly defend their native land from invaders. So the people did not heed the advice of the kings, and the kings did not want to obey the people. The people decided to leave their homeland and give their land to the invaders without a fight; the kings, on the contrary, preferred to lay down their bones in their native land rather than flee with the people. After all, the kings understood what great happiness they experienced in their native land and what troubles await the exiles deprived of their homeland. Having made such a decision, the Cimmerians divided into two equal parts and began to fight among themselves. The Cimmerian people buried all those who fell in the fratricidal war near the Tiras River (the grave of the kings can still be seen there today). After that, the Cimmerians left their land, and the Scythians who came took possession of a deserted country.
12. And now even in the Scythian land there are Cimmerian fortifications and Cimmerian crossings; there is also a region called Cimmeria and the so-called Cimmerian Bosporus. Fleeing from the Scythians to Asia, the Cimmerians occupied the peninsula where the Hellenic city of Sinop is now. It is also known that the Scythians, in pursuit of the Cimmerians, lost their way and invaded the Median land. After all, the Cimmerians constantly moved along the coast of Pontus, while the Scythians, during the persecution, kept to the left of the Caucasus until they invaded the land of the Medes. So, they turned inland. This last legend is transmitted equally by both Hellenes and barbarians.
Herodotus. Story. IV.5 - 12
Tribes of Scythia
The main area of settlement of the Scythians is the steppes between the lower reaches of the Danube and the Don, including the steppe Crimea and areas adjacent to the Northern Black Sea coast. The northern border is unclear. The Scythians were divided into several large tribes. According to Herodotus, the dominant ones were royal Scythians- the easternmost of the Scythian tribes, bordering the Sauromatians along the Don, also occupied the steppe Crimea. To the west they lived Scythian nomads, and even to the west, on the left bank of the Dnieper - Scythian farmers. On the right bank of the Dnieper, in the basin of the Southern Bug, near the city of Olvia lived callipids, or Hellenic-Scythians, to the north of them - alazones, and further north Scythian plowmen.
Ancient sources mention a number of other tribes that lived in Scythia or adjacent territories, both related to the Scythians and foreign-speaking: Boruski, Agathirs, Gelons, Nevri (Nervii), Arimaspians, Fissagetes, Iirki, Budins, Melankhlens, Avkhats (Lipoksai), Katiars (arpoksai), traspii (arpoksai), paralats (koloksai, chipped), issedons, taurus, argippei, androphages
Story
emergence
Scythian culture is actively studied by supporters of the Kurgan hypothesis. The formation of a relatively generally recognized Scythian culture, archaeologists date back to the 7th century BC. e. . There are two main approaches to interpreting its occurrence:
§ according to one, based on the so-called "Third Tale" of Herodotus, the Scythians came from the east;
§ Another approach, which can also be based on the legends recorded by Herodotus, suggests that the Scythians by that time lived on the territory of the Northern Black Sea region for at least several centuries, standing out from among the successors of the Srubna culture.
heyday
The beginning of the relatively generally recognized history of the Scythians and Scythia - VIII century BC. e., the return of the main forces of the Scythians to the Northern Black Sea region, where before that the Cimmerians ruled for centuries. The Cimmerians were driven out by the Scythians from the Northern Black Sea region by the 7th century BC. e. and campaigns of the Scythians in Asia Minor. In the 70s of the 7th century BC. e. the Scythians invaded Media, Syria, the Kingdom of Israel and, according to the characteristics of Herodotus, “dominated” in Asia Minor, where they created the Scythian Kingdom - Ishkuz, but by the beginning of the VI century BC. e.were ousted from there. Traces of the presence of the Scythians are also noted in the North Caucasus.
Close relations with the slave-owning cities of the Northern Black Sea region, the intensive trade of the Scythians in cattle, bread, furs and slaves intensified the process of class formation in the Scythian society. It is known about the existence of a union of tribes among the Scythians, which gradually acquired the features of a kind of state of the early slave-owning type, headed by the king. The power of the king was hereditary and deified. It was limited to the union council and the people's assembly. There was a separation of the military aristocracy, warriors and the priestly stratum. The political unity of the Scythians was facilitated by their war with the Persian king Darius I in 512 BC. e. - at the head of the Scythians were three kings: Idanfirs, Skopas and Taksakis. At the turn of the 5th-4th centuries BC. e. the Scythians became more active on the southwestern borders of Scythia. Expansion into Thrace intensified under King Ateas, who probably united Scythia under his rule. This caused a war with the Macedonian king Philip II. However, Justin does not report that Philip crossed the Danube during the campaign against Athea, but says that Philip sent ambassadors ahead to inform Atheus that he was heading to the mouth of the Istra (modern Danube) to erect a statue of Hercules. Based on this, the question of what territories Atey owned remains debatable.
In 339 BC e. King Atey died in the war with the Macedonian king Philip II. In 331 BC e. Zopyrion, governor of Alexander the Great in Thrace, invaded the western possessions of the Scythians, laid siege to Olbia, but the Scythians destroyed his army:
Zopyrion, left by Alexander the Great as the governor of Pontus, believing that he would be recognized as lazy if he did not make any enterprise, gathered 30 thousand troops and went to war against the Scythians, but was destroyed with the whole army ...
Archaeological research of the Kamensky settlement (about 1200 hectares) showed that in the heyday of the Scythian kingdom it was the administrative and trade and economic center of the steppe Scythians. Sharp changes in the social structure of the Scythians by the 4th century. BC e. reflected in the appearance in the Dnieper region of the grandiose burial mounds of the Scythian aristocracy, the so-called. "royal mounds", reaching a height of more than 20 m. They were buried kings and their combatants in deep and complex funerary structures. The burials of the aristocracy were accompanied by the burial of dead wives or concubines, servants (slaves) and horses.
Warriors were buried with weapons: short akinaki swords with gold sheaths, a mass of arrows with bronze tips, quivers or goritas lined with gold plates, spears and darts with iron tips. Rich graves often contained copper, gold and silver utensils, Greek painted ceramics and amphoras with wine, various decorations, often fine jewelry made by Scythian and Greek craftsmen. During the burial of ordinary Scythian community members, basically the same rite was performed, but the grave goods were poorer.
Picking up a yellowed document or reading a book published 150-200 years ago (not to mention older ones), you feel a respectful feeling of touching the past, belonging to history. It is easy to understand those who prefer to read books in their first edition. We are not in a position to offer the reader to familiarize themselves with the original edition in order to fully experience the “flavor of the time”, but we hope that 2500 years is a long enough period to arouse interest and attention to the text below.
“The Scythians say that their people are younger than all the others and happened as follows: in their land, which was a deserted desert, the first man was born, named Targitai; the parents of this Targitai they call, in my opinion, incorrectly, Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes. According to them, Targitai was of such origin, and three sons were born to him: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the younger Kolaksai. Under them, golden objects fell from the sky to the Scythian land: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl. The eldest of the brothers, the first to see these objects, came closer, wanting to take them, but at his approach the gold ignited. After his removal, the second one approached, but the same thing happened with gold. Thus, the gold, ignited, did not admit them to itself, but with the approach of the third brother, the youngest, the burning ceased, and he took the gold to himself. The older brothers, realizing the significance of this miracle, handed over the entire kingdom to the younger.
And those Scythians who bear the name of the genus Avkhat descended from Lipoksai-de; from the middle brother Arpoksai - those who are called catiars and trapii, and from the younger king - those that are called paralats; the common name of all of them is chipped, after the name of one king; the Hellenes called them Scythians.
This is how the Scythians tell about their origin; they are from the beginning of their existence, or from the first king of Targitai to the campaign against them by Darius, according to them, in round numbers, no more than a thousand, but exactly so many.
This legend was preserved for us by Herodotus, an ancient Greek scientist who was called the "father of history." We note, by the way, that this honorary title is recognized for him to this day. He was born around 484 and died around 425 BC. e. There are good reasons to believe that during his travels he visited the Northern Black Sea region, most likely the city of Olbia (on the banks of the Bug-Dnieper estuary), and could closely observe the life of the Scythians. Thus, his information is to some extent an eyewitness account. Probably, in Olbia, Herodotus wrote down the legend, although he did not believe it. Having reported some more information about the Scythians and their country and again recalling that all of the above is told about themselves by the Scythians, Herodotus writes: “... and those living on Pontus (that is, on the Black Sea. - A. S.) the Hellenes narrate ... ”- and then sets out the second legend. Let's listen.
“Hercules, chasing the bulls of Geryon, arrived in the country occupied by the Scythians and which was not yet inhabited ... and since a blizzard and frost overtook him, he wrapped himself in a lion skin and fell asleep, and at that time his horses somehow then miraculously disappeared into the pasture.
The reader will immediately note the incongruity: Hercules drove the bulls, and his horses disappeared. This should not be embarrassing: in myths about gods and heroes, this does not happen yet. Or maybe not the myths and not Herodotus are to blame here, but the scribe of the work of Herodotus, who was not as attentive as the reader. Let's continue with the legend.
“Waking up, Hercules began to look for them and, proceeding all over the earth, he finally came to the so-called Polissya; then he found in a cave a creature of mixed breed, half-maiden and half-viper, in which the upper part of the body from the buttocks was female, and the lower part was snake. Seeing her and amazed, Hercules asked if she had seen lost mares somewhere; to this she replied that she had mares, but that she would not give them to him before he communicated with her; and Hercules reported for this fee, but she kept postponing the return of the horses, wanting to live as long as possible in connection with Hercules, while the latter wanted to get them and leave. Finally she returned the horses with the words: "I I saved you these horses that wandered here, and you repaid me for this: I have three sons from you. Tell me what to do with them when they grow up; should I settle here (I alone own this country) or send it to you?” So she asked, and Hercules, they say, said to her in response: “When you see your sons matured, do the best thing like this: look which of them will pull this bow like this and gird it, in my opinion, with this belt, and provide this one for residence. land, and whoever is unable to fulfill the task I propose, they left the country. By doing so, you yourself will be satisfied and fulfill my desire.”
At the same time, Hercules pulled one of the bows (until then he wore two), showed the method of girdling and handed her the bow and belt with a golden bowl at the end of the buckle, and then left. She, when the sons born to her matured, gave them names, one - Agathyrs, the next - Gelon, the youngest - Scythus, and then, remembering the covenant of Hercules, she fulfilled his order. Two of her sons, Agathyrs and Gelon, being unable to fulfill the proposed feat, were expelled by their parent and left the country, and the youngest Scythian, having completed the task, remained in the country. It was from this Hercules son of Scythus that all the ruling Scythian kings descended, and from the cup of Hercules - the custom that still exists among the Scythians to wear bowls on their belts. This is what the Hellenes who live near Pontus say.
In support of the fact that this version of the myth was indeed widespread in the Northern Black Sea region and, in particular, among the Greeks who lived there, one can refer to the images of the snake-footed goddess found during archaeological excavations.
The second legend, like the first, is also a fairy tale. Their similarity in this respect allows us to think that the civilized Hellenes in the field of belief in myths were not so far removed from the barbarians of the Scythians. It is easy to see that the "father of history" was as skeptical about the stories of his compatriots as he was about the stories of the Scythians. He himself preferred the third legend, and in this he is supported by many modern scholars.
“There is, however, another story,” writes Herodotus, “which I myself most trust. According to this story, the nomadic Scythians who lived in Asia, being pressed by the war from the Massagets, crossed the Arak River and retired to the Cimmerian land (indeed, the country now occupied by the Scythians originally belonged, they say, to the Cimmerians). Telling further how the Cimmerians left the country and how, pursuing them, the Scythians got into Asia Minor, Herodotus adds: “This is a different story, equally common among Hellenes and barbarians.”
The modern reader hardly needs to be told why the third legend deserves more attention, and he will easily understand Herodotus. But the matter is not so simple. Centuries of the development of historical science have convinced researchers that there is no smoke without fire, and they formulated this observation as follows: every legend, every myth, no matter how fantastic they may be, contains a rational kernel. Obviously, this grain is also contained in the legends that Herodotus did not believe. But extracting the truth is not so easy, the establishment of every fact in the history of the Scythians was and is given with great difficulty. Since the 17th century, generations of Russian historians have been collecting, systematizing and interpreting information from ancient authors about the Scythians. It is enough to name such names as G. V. Leibniz, V. N. Tatishchev, M. V. Lomonosov. Somewhat later, archaeologists joined the historians, and for many years the Scythians were one of the main objects of their research in Russia. The history of the study of the Scythians is almost the history of archeology in Russia. I. E. Zabelin, A. S. Lappo-Danilevsky, V. V. Latyshev, N. I. Veselovsky, A. A. Spitsyn, V. A. Gorodtsov, B. V. Farmakovskiy, M. I. Rostovtsev - all these are the largest Russian archaeologists, and all of them, in one way or another, participated in the study of the history of Scythia. Of the currently employed, we will name M. I. Artamonov, B. N. Grakov, A. I. Terenozhkin. And, despite the works of named and even more unnamed scientists, we still do not have a clear answer to many questions. Herodotus reported three versions or hypotheses about the origin of the Scythians. Over the 2500 years that have passed since then, the number of versions has not decreased, although all stories about the divine origin of the Scythians have been decisively discarded. Moreover, there are probably more hypotheses. But the origin is not the only question, not the only mystery in almost a thousand years of Scythian history. Only one rather stingy presentation of the positions of Russian scientists, the evolution of their views and the process of accumulating materials amounted to a thick book written by S. A. Semenov-Zuser.
In the following chapters, we will try to acquaint the reader mainly with those “grains” of truth that science has already managed to extract. But since sometimes there is no agreement among scientists on whether the “grain” has been extracted or not, we will have to dwell on controversial issues and present different points of view. To be frank, all the main questions of the history of the Scythians continue to be controversial, debatable.
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