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THIS BLOG HAS NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS RELATED TO OUR WEBSITE at www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism or
www.zoroastrianheritage.com & .org
Contact: enquiry@heritageinstitute.com
Introduction:
» What is Zoroastrianism?
» Is Zoroastrianism a Religion, Philosophy, Way-of-Life...? The Spirit
» The Name Zoroaster, Zarathushtra, Zarathustra
» Etymology of the Name Zoroaster, Zarathushtra, Zarathustra - Speculations
» Images of Zarathushtra / Zarathustra / Zoroaster
» Magi - Zoroastrian Priests
Astrology:
» Astrology & Zoroastrianism
» Note in J.M. Ashmand's Translation (1822) of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos
Calendar:
» When Does the Zoroastrian Day Start?
» When Does the Zoroastrian Day Start? Detailed
Environment:
» Disposal of Organic Waste. Environmental Protection
Ethics and Values:
» Zoroastrian Ethos
Ferdowsi's Shahnameh:
» Ferdowsi's Legacy
» Bastan Nameh
Food, Diet, Cuisine:
» Were Ancient Iranians and Zoroastrians Vegetarian? (Updated)
» Irani Cafés - Disappearing Heritage
» Irani Zarathushti Traditions: Health Giving and Healing Foods
» Dietary Training of Achaemenian Persian Children
» Achaemenian Persian King's Table
» Parthian Cuisine
» Sassanian Cuisine
» Wine
» Similarities in Greek & Persian-Iranian Cuisine
Greek-Persian Relations and Influence:
» Alexander and the Talking Trees
» Greek Perceptions of Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism & the Magi
» Zoroastrian-Persian Influence on Greek Philosophy and Sciences
» Influence of Persians on Greek Philosophy, Arts and Science - Clement of Alexandria
» Alcibiades, Plato & Some Amazing Insights. Part 1 The Historical Alcibiades
» Alcibiades, Plato & Some Amazing Insights. Part 2 Selections from Plato
» Ostanes Persian Sage
» (Chaldean) Oracles of Zoroaster - an Introduction
» (Chaldean) Oracles of Zoroaster - Beliefs Summary by Psellus and this Author
» Roman Emperor Julian and the Seven Rays
» Similarities in Greek & Persian-Iranian Cuisine
» Porphyry on the Magi, Animals and Diet
» Diogenes Laertius - Lives of Eminent Philosophers
» Arteans: Persian's Native Name. Persians, Perses, Perseus & Cephenes (New)
» Herodotus on Persian Attire (New)
Health & Healing:
» Zoroastrian Heritage and Healing
History:
» Who Were the Aryans?
» Iranian-Aryan Connections with Western Tibet
» Cyrus the Great (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - His Religion & Inspiration
» Cyrus the Great - Pasargadae, Capital (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Information Sources
» Cyrus the Great - Xenophon's Cyropaedia (at Zoroastrian Heritage)
» Cyrus the Great - Hebrew Bible Quotes
» Cyrus Cylinder
» Cyrus Cylinder - its Discoverer Hormuzd Rassam
» Cyrus Cylinder - its Remarkable Discovery
» Cyrus Cylinder - Contents (Eduljee)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Rogers)
» Cyrus Cylinder - Translation (Finkel)
» Cyrus' Edict & the Chinese Cuneiform Bones
» Cyrus Cylinder - Talk by Neil MacGregor
» Amazons & Kurdish Women Warriors (New)
» Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana (New)
» Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor (New)
» Herodotus' References to the Saka (New)
» Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources (New)
» Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran) (New)
» Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels (New)
» Ethnicity of Amazons, Artemisia & Carians. Clues Through Attire (New)
Language & Etymology:
» Etymology & Genealogy of Tahmuras / Tahmurath
» Zamyad (Zam) Yasht 19.4/5 Translation & Notes. Hushang Subjugates Divs, Yatus & Pairikas
» Meaning of Suffix -va, -van(em), -vant(em), -vand, -mand
» Etymology of Khoda / Khuda & khvet-vadta
» Khv, Xv and Hv Sounds in Avestan & Transition to Modern Persian
Mithraism:
» Exploring Connections Between Persian & Roman Mithraism
» Roman Emperor Julian and the Seven Rays
» Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels (New)
Mythology & Legends:
» Gaya, Gav, Geush Urvan, Gaokerena, Haoma
» Kangdez - Far Away Land Beyond the Sea
» The Great Ocean Vourukasha / Frakhvkard / Varkash
» Etymology & Genealogy of Tahmuras / Tahmurath
» Cypress of Kashmar Sources. In six parts:
» 1. Shahnameh
» 2. The Dabistan
» 3. Thomas Hyde
» 4. Qazvini
» 5. Burhan-i Kati
» 6. Various
» Pahlavans & Sakastan. In nine parts:
» 1. Introduction
» 2. Timur's Account
» 3. Lineage & Nation
» 4. Thraetaona & Thrita. Keresaspa & Urvakhshaya. Varena, Rangha & Patashkhvargar
» 5. Trita, Visvarupa & Ahi in the Vedas
» 6. Battles with Dragon-Snakes
» 7. Garshasp, Saam & Zal in the Shahnameh
» 8. End Times. The Renovation of the World
» 9. Religion in Sakastan
Philosophy:
» Hermippus Redivivus by J.H. Cohausen (1749) - Hermetic Philosophy & Zoroaster
» Bon, Zoroastrianism & Dualism
» Dual, Duality & Dualism. Definitions
» The Two - Ta Mainyu
» Yin-Yang Dualism. Development of the Concept
» Yin-Yang in Daoism / Taoism. The Daodejing by Laozi. Zhuangzi
» Plutarch. His Work, Duality and the Soul
» Pythagorean Beliefs and Zoroastrianism
» Golden Verses of Pythagoras
» Summary of the Doctrines of Zoroaster and Plato by George Gemistos Pletho(n)
Scriptures:
» When was the Avestan Canon Closed?
» Aredvi Sura Anahita & Aban
Theology:
» God, Time & Creation in Zoroastrianism
» Etymology of Khoda / Khuda & khvet-vadta
» The Difference between Ahura (Khoda), Mazda & Yazata (Yazdan) - Lord, God & Divine
» Bon, Zoroastrianism & Dualism
Zoroastrian Practice:
» Attaining the Age of Responsibility & Initiation. Kusti.
» Hamazor - United in Strength, Handshake & Prayer. The Payvand
This blog contains random articles and notes prepared by this author. For a more comprehensive overview of Zoroastrian / Zarathushtrian heritage, please visit this author's Zoroastrian Heritage website at:
http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Its Amazonomachy Frieze Panels
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| Amazonomachy scene: An Amazon woman warrior (left) doing battle with a Greek on a frieze (decorative band that runs the length of a building's wall) panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum and now at the British Museum. Image credit: Wikipedia. |
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| A frieze panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum depicting Amazons battling Greek soldiers. The Amazons can be identified by their flowing capes. Image credit: British Museum. |
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| Another Amazonomachy frieze panel from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Image credit: Wikipedia, |
Besides being one of Strabo's seven wonders of the world (at Geography 14.2.16), the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Caria (now in western Turkey) is also famed for a relief depicting the Amazons (the Amazon Frieze) that once adorned the magnificent edifice. The word 'mausoleum', now part of our everyday lexicon meaning a grand tomb, is derived from Mausolus, the Persian satrap or governor-general of Caria, known to the Persians as Karka. Mausolus had been satrap of Caria/Karka from 377 to 353 BCE. He succeeded his father Hecatomnus who served as satrap for the Persian Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II (r. 404-359 BCE). Upon Mausolus' death, his wife, Artemisia II (r. 353-350 BCE and not to be mistaken for her illustrious namesake who flourished c.480 BCE) commissioned the building of the mausoleum as the resting place for his remains. Artemisia became satrap of Caria upon Mausolus' death.
[The use of a mausoleum for a resting place for the dead conforms to the Zoroastrian standards for disposing dead bodies i.e. encased in stone with no contact with the soil - as with the tomb of Cyrus the Great and the rock face tombs of the other Achaemenid kings.]
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| An artist's impression of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Image credit: Pervandr at Deviantart.com. |
Halicarnassus was a port city on the south-western (Aegean) coast of Anatolia. Today, it is the Turkish city of Bodrum. Halicarnassus' other claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Herodotus (c. 484–425 BCE), often called the father of history. Halicarnassus became the capital of the Persian satrapy (governorate) of Caria when the satrap (governor general) Mausolus moved there from Mylasa (present day Milas located to the east of Halicarnassus/Bodrum). (Mylasa/Milas is home to the ruins of a Roman era mausoleum said to have been modelled on the larger one at Halicarnassus.)
Caria/Karka
Anciently, Caria was a part of the Hittite sub-kingdom of Arzawa. It was known to the Persians as Karka and to the Phoenicians as Karak. Parts of coastal Caria were invaded and settled by Ionian and Dorian Greeks in the century or so following the c. 1200 BCE Greek assault and destruction of Troy to the north of Caria (see Chronology of the Region's History at our page on Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor
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| Halicarnassus (follow red arrow) in Anatolia. Place names are Greco-Roman. |
Mausoleum Ruins
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| The rubble. What is left of the Mausoleum today. Image credit: Wikimedia (2009). |
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| The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Washington, DC, USA was designed to be a replica of the Halicarnassus Mausoleum. |
Ethnicity of Amazons, Artemisia & Carians. Clues Through Attire
Ethnic Clues in Amazon & Other Imagery
Greco-Roman artists and sculptors depicted the ethnicity of their Iranian/Persian by the subjects' attire and the armaments they carried. The various depictions did not necessarily have all the ethnic elements. Rather, they had a sufficient number of elements to allow a viewer to make the identification. It is quite likely that neither the artists or their clients had any concept of the diversity of the different Aryan ('Persian') groups and their respective attire. A standardized set of readily recognizable design elements would have been necessary once a tradition was established. Greek soldiers were often depicted nude while the Aryans (Iranians/Persians/Amazons) were invariably clothed.
The distinguishing features of Aryan/Iranian (commonly called 'Persian') subjects are:
- a so-called (felt) 'Phrygian' cap;
- a flowing or static cape (often patterned);
- a tunic (often patterned and sleeved);
- leggings (often patterned);
- shoes (often designed and colourful), and
- a crescent-topped shield.
In studying the images below, we can see that the Amazons are depicted as 'Persians' (Aryans).
[Also see our pages on » Herodotus on Persian Attire. & » Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels.]
Scenes Depicting Amazon Attire & Armaments
Roman Concept of the Zoroastrian Magi's Attire
Mithraic Scene Showing Mithra Wearing 'Persian'(Aryan/Iranian) Attire
Mithraic Scene Showing Attire, Barsom & Farr (Halo with Sun's Rays)
Persian Sasanid Era Scene Showing Later Persian Attire, Barsom & Farr (Halo with Sun's Rays)
Ethnic Clues in the Name Artemisia
Mausolus' wife Artemisia was the second Carian woman of note with that name. About a hundred and fifty years prior, around 480 BCE, another 'queen' of Caria named Artemisia served Persian King Xerxes the Great and fought against the Greeks as an admiral of her own fleet. The two Artemisias appear to be from different parts of Caria.
Artemisia from Arta?: Regarding the name Artemisia, Charles Anthon in his Classical Dictionary [(New York, 1855) under "Artemis" p. 210] notes that the root of the name 'Artemisia' is probably of Persian origin from 'Arta' [i.e., 'Asha' meaning 'cosmic order' and 'righteous' in Zoroastrianism]. Arta, the Old Persian derivative of the Avestan Asha, was a fairly popular root word for both male and female Zoroastrian-Aryan names. Xenophon in his Annabasis (at 7.8.25) mentions a satrap of Lydia named Artemas and a Achaemenid king was named Artaxerxes.
Arta-ean, Original Name of Persia: Herodotus in his Histories at 7.61.2 states that the Persians "they called themselves and were called by their neighbours" Ἀρταῖοι/Artaíoi, which transcribes to English as Artaeans, i.e., the people of Arta. We wonder if by 'Arta' Herodotus meant 'Arya'/'Aria' as he has noted (in 7.62.1) that the Medians were previously called Arioi and the Achaemenid kings stress their Aryan heritage in their inscriptions.
Artemisia Considered by Greeks as Persian?: Second century CE Greek geographer Pausanias notes in the section titled 'Laconia' in his work Description of Greece (at 3.11.3) that, "The most striking feature in the marketplace (of Sparta) is the portico which they call Persian ...it is large and splendid. On the pillars are white-marble figures of Persians, including Mardonius, son of Gobryas. There is also a figure of Artemisia (I), daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Halicarnassus." It is noteworthy that the Spartans would memorialize Persians in this manner and that Artemisia statue is placed among those of notable Persians.
Persian General Mardoniye (Mardonius): On his part, Mardonius (Persian, Mardon/Mardoniye who died 479 BCE) was the Persian military commander under King Darius the Great. In response to a series of Greek insurrections, In 492 BCE, Mardonius led an expedition that brought Thrace and Macedon back under the Persian Empire. Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted Darius in gaining the Persian throne. Mardonius married Darius' daughter Artazostra, another Zoroastrian name with 'Arta'.
Arzawa from Artava/Artavan?: The name of the western region of Asia Minor during the Hittite era was Arzawa, a name that coincidentally or otherwise, is close to the Zoroastrian-Persian name Artavan and not too far from 'Aryana'.
Ethnicity of Carians
There are two traditions regarding the ethnicity of Carians - both in Herodotus' Histories. One is that the Carians are the aboriginal peoples of Asia Minor. The other that they are descendants of Greek invaders and settlers. Both traditions can hold true with the aboriginal descendants occupying the inland regions of Caria while the coastal regions may have had mixed populations. The coastal regions of western Asia Minor also appear to have been Hellenized significantly in language, religion and culture in general. Despite this outward Hellenization, the Carians appear to have maintained significant elements of their aboriginal culture.
1. Aboriginal Carians
Herodotus' Histories at 1.171 (tr. Rawlinson): "the Carians themselves say very differently. They maintain that they are the aboriginal inhabitants of the part of the mainland where they now dwell, and never had any other name than that which they still bear...." As we had noted above, 'Caria' is the westernized version of the name known to the Persians as Karka and to the Phoenicians as Karak. In Hittite inscriptions from 1800 to 1200 BCE we find mention of a chiefdom called Karkisa or Karkiya.
Homer's listing of combatants in the Trojan War in his Iliad otherwise known as the Trojan Catalogue or Trojan Battle Order (Iliad lines 815-875), notes that the Carians are speakers of a barbarian tongue (Il. 867).
The native people of Asia Minor included the Hittites and the Mittani, both with Irano-N. Indian (Aryan) connections. The Mittani in particular could be a mainstream Aryan group. The territorial control of both groups at their greatest extent extended to the west coast of Asia Minor.
2. Hellenized Carians & Ethnic Cleansing
As we note on our page Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor, "A citizen of Caria himself, Herodotus records in his Histories (at 1.145-6) that when the Ionians (previously Aegialians from European Hellenica) from the Peloponnese - the peninsula now part of southern Greece - were displaced by the invading Achaeans, they fled to Asia. Rawlinson's translation states, "Even those who came from the Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls whose fathers they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them, "That none should ever sit and eat with her husband, or call him by his name"; because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and then forced them to become their wives. It was at Miletus [just north of Herodotus' hometown Halicarnassus] that these events took place." What we read here that Miletus in Caria was one of the earliest Greek settlements and that in those parts of coastal Caria that the displaced Ionians seized, the Ionians massacred the aboriginal Carian men and then bred with the aboriginal Carian women - a form of 'ethnic cleansing' that when repeated in other centers, quickly Hellenized the west coast of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, the subsequent generations of Ionians therefore had no claim to be pure 'Greeks' (if we may use that term). Not only did the invading Ionians ethically cleanse Caria, they culturally cleansed it as well, with Greek becoming the lingua-franca of the region." See the entry for further details.
Greco-Roman artists and sculptors depicted the ethnicity of their Iranian/Persian by the subjects' attire and the armaments they carried. The various depictions did not necessarily have all the ethnic elements. Rather, they had a sufficient number of elements to allow a viewer to make the identification. It is quite likely that neither the artists or their clients had any concept of the diversity of the different Aryan ('Persian') groups and their respective attire. A standardized set of readily recognizable design elements would have been necessary once a tradition was established. Greek soldiers were often depicted nude while the Aryans (Iranians/Persians/Amazons) were invariably clothed.
The distinguishing features of Aryan/Iranian (commonly called 'Persian') subjects are:
- a so-called (felt) 'Phrygian' cap;
- a flowing or static cape (often patterned);
- a tunic (often patterned and sleeved);
- leggings (often patterned);
- shoes (often designed and colourful), and
- a crescent-topped shield.
In studying the images below, we can see that the Amazons are depicted as 'Persians' (Aryans).
[Also see our pages on » Herodotus on Persian Attire. & » Halicarnassus Mausoleum & Amazonomachy Frieze Panels.]
Scenes Depicting Amazon Attire & Armaments
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| Amazonomachy scene: An Amazon woman warrior (left) doing battle with a Greek on a frieze (decorative band that runs the length of a building's wall) from the Halicarnassus Mausoleum and now at the British Museum. Note the Amazon has a 'Phrygian' cap, flowing cape and a crescent-topped shield (edges here). Image credit: Wikipedia |
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| Amazonomachy scene on a lekythos (oil vase) like the Darius Vase c.420 BCE attributed to the so-called Eretria Painter Patterned leggings and short tunics together with crescent shaped shields were considered as 'Persian'. Image credit: Wikimedia |
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| c. 565 CE mosaic in Byzantine style depicting the Magi in Persian attire with so-called Phrygian caps (also seen on Mithraic images), belted tunics and leggings, at the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy. Image credit: Wikipedia. |
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| 3rd cent CE plaster cast sarcophagus slab with a coloured incised image of three Magi bearing gifts. From Priscilla catacomb under via Severa, Rome. |
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| Mithraic altar scene. Side 1 of a two-sided white marble relief. Mithra in a tauroctony scene. 2nd-3rd cent. CE. Discovered near Fiano Romano, near Rome, Italy in 1926. Currently in the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Image credit: Wikipedia. |
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| Mithraic altar scene. Side 2 of the two-sided white marble relief shown above. Personified Sun is at the top-center flanked by the Moon and Mithra. Three of the figures have so-called 'Phrygian' caps and 'Persian' attire - Mithra & the two figures below (priests/Magi?). The three & the deified Sun have Magian barsoms (stick bundles) in the hands. Image credit: Wikipedia. |
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| Investiture of Persian-Zoroastrian-Sassanian King Ardeshir II (r. 379-383 CE, center image). Rock relief at Taq-e Bostan, Kermanshah, Iran. The image of the left figure including his clothing has become a model for Zarathushtra’s modern portraits. Compare this image to that of the personified Sun in the Mithraic image above. Both hold a barsom in their hands and both have a sun-shine (khur-sheed)-like farr emanating from their heads. Image credit: Alieh Saadatpour at Flickr. |
| Images of the Magi or Magi-like Individuals from East (Bactria) to West of Aryana (Iran & Asia Minor) Showing Attire & Barsom | ||||||||
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Note that the two images of Zoroastrian Magi at Turkey and Kurdistan, Iran are almost identical.
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Ethnic Clues in the Name Artemisia
Mausolus' wife Artemisia was the second Carian woman of note with that name. About a hundred and fifty years prior, around 480 BCE, another 'queen' of Caria named Artemisia served Persian King Xerxes the Great and fought against the Greeks as an admiral of her own fleet. The two Artemisias appear to be from different parts of Caria.
Artemisia from Arta?: Regarding the name Artemisia, Charles Anthon in his Classical Dictionary [(New York, 1855) under "Artemis" p. 210] notes that the root of the name 'Artemisia' is probably of Persian origin from 'Arta' [i.e., 'Asha' meaning 'cosmic order' and 'righteous' in Zoroastrianism]. Arta, the Old Persian derivative of the Avestan Asha, was a fairly popular root word for both male and female Zoroastrian-Aryan names. Xenophon in his Annabasis (at 7.8.25) mentions a satrap of Lydia named Artemas and a Achaemenid king was named Artaxerxes.
Arta-ean, Original Name of Persia: Herodotus in his Histories at 7.61.2 states that the Persians "they called themselves and were called by their neighbours" Ἀρταῖοι/Artaíoi, which transcribes to English as Artaeans, i.e., the people of Arta. We wonder if by 'Arta' Herodotus meant 'Arya'/'Aria' as he has noted (in 7.62.1) that the Medians were previously called Arioi and the Achaemenid kings stress their Aryan heritage in their inscriptions.
Artemisia Considered by Greeks as Persian?: Second century CE Greek geographer Pausanias notes in the section titled 'Laconia' in his work Description of Greece (at 3.11.3) that, "The most striking feature in the marketplace (of Sparta) is the portico which they call Persian ...it is large and splendid. On the pillars are white-marble figures of Persians, including Mardonius, son of Gobryas. There is also a figure of Artemisia (I), daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Halicarnassus." It is noteworthy that the Spartans would memorialize Persians in this manner and that Artemisia statue is placed among those of notable Persians.
Persian General Mardoniye (Mardonius): On his part, Mardonius (Persian, Mardon/Mardoniye who died 479 BCE) was the Persian military commander under King Darius the Great. In response to a series of Greek insurrections, In 492 BCE, Mardonius led an expedition that brought Thrace and Macedon back under the Persian Empire. Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted Darius in gaining the Persian throne. Mardonius married Darius' daughter Artazostra, another Zoroastrian name with 'Arta'.
Arzawa from Artava/Artavan?: The name of the western region of Asia Minor during the Hittite era was Arzawa, a name that coincidentally or otherwise, is close to the Zoroastrian-Persian name Artavan and not too far from 'Aryana'.
Ethnicity of Carians
There are two traditions regarding the ethnicity of Carians - both in Herodotus' Histories. One is that the Carians are the aboriginal peoples of Asia Minor. The other that they are descendants of Greek invaders and settlers. Both traditions can hold true with the aboriginal descendants occupying the inland regions of Caria while the coastal regions may have had mixed populations. The coastal regions of western Asia Minor also appear to have been Hellenized significantly in language, religion and culture in general. Despite this outward Hellenization, the Carians appear to have maintained significant elements of their aboriginal culture.
1. Aboriginal Carians
Herodotus' Histories at 1.171 (tr. Rawlinson): "the Carians themselves say very differently. They maintain that they are the aboriginal inhabitants of the part of the mainland where they now dwell, and never had any other name than that which they still bear...." As we had noted above, 'Caria' is the westernized version of the name known to the Persians as Karka and to the Phoenicians as Karak. In Hittite inscriptions from 1800 to 1200 BCE we find mention of a chiefdom called Karkisa or Karkiya.
Homer's listing of combatants in the Trojan War in his Iliad otherwise known as the Trojan Catalogue or Trojan Battle Order (Iliad lines 815-875), notes that the Carians are speakers of a barbarian tongue (Il. 867).
The native people of Asia Minor included the Hittites and the Mittani, both with Irano-N. Indian (Aryan) connections. The Mittani in particular could be a mainstream Aryan group. The territorial control of both groups at their greatest extent extended to the west coast of Asia Minor.
2. Hellenized Carians & Ethnic Cleansing
As we note on our page Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor, "A citizen of Caria himself, Herodotus records in his Histories (at 1.145-6) that when the Ionians (previously Aegialians from European Hellenica) from the Peloponnese - the peninsula now part of southern Greece - were displaced by the invading Achaeans, they fled to Asia. Rawlinson's translation states, "Even those who came from the Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls whose fathers they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them, "That none should ever sit and eat with her husband, or call him by his name"; because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and then forced them to become their wives. It was at Miletus [just north of Herodotus' hometown Halicarnassus] that these events took place." What we read here that Miletus in Caria was one of the earliest Greek settlements and that in those parts of coastal Caria that the displaced Ionians seized, the Ionians massacred the aboriginal Carian men and then bred with the aboriginal Carian women - a form of 'ethnic cleansing' that when repeated in other centers, quickly Hellenized the west coast of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, the subsequent generations of Ionians therefore had no claim to be pure 'Greeks' (if we may use that term). Not only did the invading Ionians ethically cleanse Caria, they culturally cleansed it as well, with Greek becoming the lingua-franca of the region." See the entry for further details.
Arteans: Persian's Native Name. Persians, Perses, Perseus & Cephenes
Artaeans: Persians' Native Name & Cephenes
Herodotus Histories (7.61.2):
Translation by George Rawlinson: "...This people was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of Cephenians; but they called themselves and were called by their neighbours, Artaeans."
Translation by A. D. Godley: "...They were formerly called by the Greeks Cephenes, but by themselves and their neighbours Artaei."
Greek: καὶ ἄρχοντα παρείχοντο Ὀτάνεα τὸν Ἀμήστριος πατέρα τῆς Ξέρξεω γυναικός, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ πάλαι ὑπὸ μὲν Ἑλλήνων Κηφῆνες, ὑπὸ μέντοι σφέων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν περιοίκων Ἀρταῖοι.
Transcription: kaí árchonta pareíchonto Otánea tón Amí̱strios patéra tí̱s Xérxeo̱ gynaikós, ekaléonto dé pálai ypó mén Ellí̱no̱n Ki̱fí̱nes, ypó méntoi sféo̱n a̓f̱tó̱n kaí tó̱n perioíko̱n Artaíoi..
Notes (Reginald Walter Macan) at Perseus:
Κηφῆνες: Strabo 42 οἱ δὲ πλάττοντες Ἐρεμβοὺς ἴδιόν τι ἔθνος Αἰθιοπικὸν καὶ ἄλλο Κηφήνων καὶ τρίτον Πυγμαίων καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἦττον ἂν πιστεύοιντο, πρὸς τῷ μὴ άξιοπίστῳ καὶ σύγχυσίν τινα ἐμφαίνοντες τοῦ μυθικοῦ καὶ ἱστορικοῦ σχήματος. The ‘Kephenes’ (Cephenes) are here not in very good company. Andromeda is the daughter of Kepheus (c. 150 infra), and the ‘Kephenes’ are no doubt (as with Ovid, Metamorph. 5. 1, 97) the followers of Kepheus (or Kepheus is eponym of the Kephenes, irregularly, for why not Kepheioi, or Kephen?). Further items in the mythical pedigree are set forth c. 150 infra, 6. 53, 54 (cp. my notes ad ll.) and 1. 7. The pedigree here assumed does not, however, expressly contradict that in 1. 7 (as Stein suggests) but rather that in 6. 53. Rawlinson can discern “no ray of truth in the fables respecting Perseus”*; Blakesley observes that Hdt. is here drawing “not from Persian but from Greek sources” (Hekataios? cp. Introduction, § 10). Stein well explains all Hdt. means as being that the Kephenes known to old Greek story are to be identified with the people now known as Persians. Kepheus, however, certainly does not represent ‘Assyria’ (Ninos) any more than Babylonia (Belos): but why not the primitive, pre-Phoenician inhabitants of Canaan? (or Elam?) Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη has οἱ Ἔλληνες κακῶς φασιν: ἀφ᾽ οὖ Κηφῆνες οἱ Αἰθίοπες (i.e. ‘eastern Aethiopians’): again, sub v. Χαλδαῖοι: οἱ πρὸτερον Κηφῆνες. The authority for this was Hellanikos, in the first Book of his Persica, who thus differed from Hdt. on the point.
Ἀρταῖοι (Artaíoi) has a genuine ring about it, from its obvious connexion with arta — ἔσχε, ‘had to wife.’
αὐτοῦ, ‘on the spot’: but where was it? The Perseus-Andromeda myth laid the scene in Phoenicia (Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη), or perhaps in Babylon (Hellanikos?). The vagueness here is necessary, Hdt. not having courage to lay the scene actually in Persia.which appears in many Persian names: Artaios itself as a proper name cc. 22 supra, 66, 117 infra, and in the Ktesian list of Median kings (cp. Gilmore, Ktesias, p. 92). The most valuable gloss on the name is in Steph. Byz. Ἀρταῖα: Περσικὴ χώρα, τὴν ἐπόλισε Περσεύς (sic), ὸ Περσὲως καὶ Ἀνδρομέδας: Ἑλλάνικος ἐν Περσικῶν πρώτῃ. οἱ οἰκοῦντες Ἀρταῖοι. Ἀρταίοὺς δὲ Πέρσαι ὤσπερ οι<*> Ἔλληνες τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἥρωας καλοῦσι, κτλ. This article shows a source common to Hdt. and Hellanikos. Rawlinson's “most probable account” of the word, connecting it with Afarti, “which is not an Arian name at all,” seems far-fetched. Ed. Meyer (ap. Pauly-Wissowa ii. 1303) sees in it a distortion of the ‘Arian’ name itself.
Persians from Perses
Herodotus Histories (7.61.3):
Translation by George Rawlinson: "It was not till Perseus, the son of Jove and Danae, visited Cepheus the son of Belus, and, marrying his daughter Andromeda, had by her a son called Perses (whom he left behind him in the country because Cepheus had no male offspring), that the nation took from this Perses the name of Persians."
Translation by A. D. Godley: "When Perseus son of Danae and Zeus had come to Cepheus son of Belus and married his daughter Andromeda, a son was born to him whom he called Perses, and he left him there; for Cepheus had no male offspring; it was from this Perses that the Persians took their name."
Godley's notes: Herodotus is always prone to base ethnological conclusions on Greek legends and the similarity of names; so in the next chapter Medea supplies the name of the Medes. But it is strange that Perseus, being commonly held great-grandfather of Heracles, is here made to marry the granddaughter of Belus, who in Hdt. 1.7, is Heracles' grandson.
Greek: ἐπεὶ δὲ Περσεὺς ὁ Δανάης τε καὶ Διὸς ἀπίκετο παρὰ Κηφέα τὸν Βήλου καὶ ἔσχε αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα Ἀνδρομέδην, γίνεται αὐτῷ παῖς τῷ οὔνομα ἔθετο Πέρσην, τοῦτον δὲ αὐτοῦ καταλείπει: ἐτύγχανε γὰρ ἄπαις ἐὼν ὁ Κηφεὺς ἔρσενος γόνου. ἐπὶ τούτου δὴ τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ἔσχον.
Transcription: epeí dé Persèf̱s o Danái̱s te kaí Diós apíketo pará Ki̱féa tón Ví̱lou kaí ésche a̓f̱toú tí̱n thygatéra Andromédi̱n, gínetai a̓f̱tó̱ país tó̱ oúnoma étheto Pérsi̱n, toúton dé a̓f̱toú kataleípei:̱ etýnchane gár ápais eó̱n o Ki̱fèf̱s érsenos gónou. epí toútou dí̱ tí̱n epo̱nymíi̱n éschon.
Herodotus Histories (7.61.2):
Translation by George Rawlinson: "...This people was known to the Greeks in ancient times by the name of Cephenians; but they called themselves and were called by their neighbours, Artaeans."
Translation by A. D. Godley: "...They were formerly called by the Greeks Cephenes, but by themselves and their neighbours Artaei."
Greek: καὶ ἄρχοντα παρείχοντο Ὀτάνεα τὸν Ἀμήστριος πατέρα τῆς Ξέρξεω γυναικός, ἐκαλέοντο δὲ πάλαι ὑπὸ μὲν Ἑλλήνων Κηφῆνες, ὑπὸ μέντοι σφέων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν περιοίκων Ἀρταῖοι.
Transcription: kaí árchonta pareíchonto Otánea tón Amí̱strios patéra tí̱s Xérxeo̱ gynaikós, ekaléonto dé pálai ypó mén Ellí̱no̱n Ki̱fí̱nes, ypó méntoi sféo̱n a̓f̱tó̱n kaí tó̱n perioíko̱n Artaíoi..
Notes (Reginald Walter Macan) at Perseus:
Κηφῆνες: Strabo 42 οἱ δὲ πλάττοντες Ἐρεμβοὺς ἴδιόν τι ἔθνος Αἰθιοπικὸν καὶ ἄλλο Κηφήνων καὶ τρίτον Πυγμαίων καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἦττον ἂν πιστεύοιντο, πρὸς τῷ μὴ άξιοπίστῳ καὶ σύγχυσίν τινα ἐμφαίνοντες τοῦ μυθικοῦ καὶ ἱστορικοῦ σχήματος. The ‘Kephenes’ (Cephenes) are here not in very good company. Andromeda is the daughter of Kepheus (c. 150 infra), and the ‘Kephenes’ are no doubt (as with Ovid, Metamorph. 5. 1, 97) the followers of Kepheus (or Kepheus is eponym of the Kephenes, irregularly, for why not Kepheioi, or Kephen?). Further items in the mythical pedigree are set forth c. 150 infra, 6. 53, 54 (cp. my notes ad ll.) and 1. 7. The pedigree here assumed does not, however, expressly contradict that in 1. 7 (as Stein suggests) but rather that in 6. 53. Rawlinson can discern “no ray of truth in the fables respecting Perseus”*; Blakesley observes that Hdt. is here drawing “not from Persian but from Greek sources” (Hekataios? cp. Introduction, § 10). Stein well explains all Hdt. means as being that the Kephenes known to old Greek story are to be identified with the people now known as Persians. Kepheus, however, certainly does not represent ‘Assyria’ (Ninos) any more than Babylonia (Belos): but why not the primitive, pre-Phoenician inhabitants of Canaan? (or Elam?) Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη has οἱ Ἔλληνες κακῶς φασιν: ἀφ᾽ οὖ Κηφῆνες οἱ Αἰθίοπες (i.e. ‘eastern Aethiopians’): again, sub v. Χαλδαῖοι: οἱ πρὸτερον Κηφῆνες. The authority for this was Hellanikos, in the first Book of his Persica, who thus differed from Hdt. on the point.
Ἀρταῖοι (Artaíoi) has a genuine ring about it, from its obvious connexion with arta — ἔσχε, ‘had to wife.’
αὐτοῦ, ‘on the spot’: but where was it? The Perseus-Andromeda myth laid the scene in Phoenicia (Steph. B. sub v. Ἰόπη), or perhaps in Babylon (Hellanikos?). The vagueness here is necessary, Hdt. not having courage to lay the scene actually in Persia.which appears in many Persian names: Artaios itself as a proper name cc. 22 supra, 66, 117 infra, and in the Ktesian list of Median kings (cp. Gilmore, Ktesias, p. 92). The most valuable gloss on the name is in Steph. Byz. Ἀρταῖα: Περσικὴ χώρα, τὴν ἐπόλισε Περσεύς (sic), ὸ Περσὲως καὶ Ἀνδρομέδας: Ἑλλάνικος ἐν Περσικῶν πρώτῃ. οἱ οἰκοῦντες Ἀρταῖοι. Ἀρταίοὺς δὲ Πέρσαι ὤσπερ οι<*> Ἔλληνες τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἥρωας καλοῦσι, κτλ. This article shows a source common to Hdt. and Hellanikos. Rawlinson's “most probable account” of the word, connecting it with Afarti, “which is not an Arian name at all,” seems far-fetched. Ed. Meyer (ap. Pauly-Wissowa ii. 1303) sees in it a distortion of the ‘Arian’ name itself.
Persians from Perses
Herodotus Histories (7.61.3):
Translation by George Rawlinson: "It was not till Perseus, the son of Jove and Danae, visited Cepheus the son of Belus, and, marrying his daughter Andromeda, had by her a son called Perses (whom he left behind him in the country because Cepheus had no male offspring), that the nation took from this Perses the name of Persians."
Translation by A. D. Godley: "When Perseus son of Danae and Zeus had come to Cepheus son of Belus and married his daughter Andromeda, a son was born to him whom he called Perses, and he left him there; for Cepheus had no male offspring; it was from this Perses that the Persians took their name."
Godley's notes: Herodotus is always prone to base ethnological conclusions on Greek legends and the similarity of names; so in the next chapter Medea supplies the name of the Medes. But it is strange that Perseus, being commonly held great-grandfather of Heracles, is here made to marry the granddaughter of Belus, who in Hdt. 1.7, is Heracles' grandson.
Greek: ἐπεὶ δὲ Περσεὺς ὁ Δανάης τε καὶ Διὸς ἀπίκετο παρὰ Κηφέα τὸν Βήλου καὶ ἔσχε αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα Ἀνδρομέδην, γίνεται αὐτῷ παῖς τῷ οὔνομα ἔθετο Πέρσην, τοῦτον δὲ αὐτοῦ καταλείπει: ἐτύγχανε γὰρ ἄπαις ἐὼν ὁ Κηφεὺς ἔρσενος γόνου. ἐπὶ τούτου δὴ τὴν ἐπωνυμίην ἔσχον.
Transcription: epeí dé Persèf̱s o Danái̱s te kaí Diós apíketo pará Ki̱féa tón Ví̱lou kaí ésche a̓f̱toú tí̱n thygatéra Andromédi̱n, gínetai a̓f̱tó̱ país tó̱ oúnoma étheto Pérsi̱n, toúton dé a̓f̱toú kataleípei:̱ etýnchane gár ápais eó̱n o Ki̱fèf̱s érsenos gónou. epí toútou dí̱ tí̱n epo̱nymíi̱n éschon.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)
Suggested prior reading:
» Kurdish Origins & the Saka. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources
» Herodotus' References to the Saka
» Saka (& Scythians)
Harmatta's Claim: 'Scythian' Connection
J. Harmatta in his article 'Herodotus, historian of the Cimmerians and the Scythians' at Hérodote et les peuples non grecs (Genève, 1990, pp. 123–126) provides his translation and analysis of an inscription in Hieroglyphic Luwian (33 characters)/Hittite (15 characters) incised on a silver dish fragment found at a "rich" burial site uncovered at Sakkez (Ziwiye) in Iranian Kurdistan south of Lake Urmia.
The inscription and Harmatta's translation are as follows:
Transliteration: "patinasana tapa wasnam XL waswaski XXX arstim shkarkar (HA) harsta lugal. partita tawa kisaa kurupati quwaa. ipasam"
Transcription: "patinasana tapa vasnam 40 vasaka 30 arzatam shikar. uta harsta khshayal. partitava khshaya dahyuupati khva ipashyam"
Translation: "Delivered dish. Value: 40 calves 30 silver shiqlu. And it was presented to the king. King Partitavas, the masters of the land property."
Harmatta deduces that the name 'Partita' translates as 'Partitavas'. Earlier in his article, he informed us that the Scythian name 'Protothyes' ("who liberated Ninua from the siege of the Medes" according to Herodotus) is the same as the personage named 'Partatua' on Assyrian texts. From this Harmatta concludes, "Obviously, this inscription represents an administrative record prepared in the court or in the chancellery of the Scythian king Partatua of the Assyrian texts, the Protothyes of the Greek sources, the master of the land of Mannai* in the 7th century BCE." This is quite a dramatic conclusion and a leap considering it is the only such inscription found in the region and one limited to 48 characters. We find the equating of homonyms and then planting the label 'Scythian' based on Herodotus' vague notion of Scythians as problematic. [*Mannai/Manna = approx. S. Azerbaijan/S. Lake Urmia today. See our map at Ranghaya, Upper Tigris-Euphrates Basin.]
The stitching together of similar sounding words would be similar to us stating that 3=8=6 (by slightly manipulating, adding or subtracting minor lines). Even if the names equate, we don't have any evidence they refer to the same person. We will have to await far more evidence for us to accept Harmatta's conclusions. However, if the transliteration of the text is correct, then the word endings 'ita', 'pati' and 'asam' are identifiable Old Irano-N. Indian word endings and there is no need at this stage to further extrapolate, speculate and build a fantastic and implausible construct on such meagre evidence.
Harmatta goes on to state, "The Iranian character of the language used in the inscription cannot be mistaken: it is Old Iranian." Harmatta seems to imply that the language of the 'Scythians' was Old Iranian. If so, Harmatta is likely referring to the Eastern Aryan (Iranian) Saka and not the language of European Scythians.
Harmatta concludes by stating, "Thus the inscription of Sakkez fully verifies the narrative of Herodotus on the Scythian king Partatua-Protothyes...." At the end of it all, Harmatta's contention is that the Sakas (who he calls 'Scythian' in the fashion of other European writers) of the Ranghaya-Mitanni-Media-Kurdistan region adapted the Luwian and Hittite scripts of Asia Minor in order "to write their own Old (Saka) Iranian language." [Regrettably, Harmatta does not provide a dating for the plate though he indirectly refers to the 7th century BCE when King Partitavas was "master of the land Mannai".]
Are the Kurds Descendants of the Saka ('Scythians' sic)?
It would also be hasty to surmize from this single inscription that the Kurds have Saka origins as some participants in online discussion groups on the net have done. Given that we find that modern Kurdistan stands where Ranghaya, the sixteenth Aryan nation of the Zoroastrian scriptures', the Avesta's, book of Vendidad stood, as also where the later kingdoms of Mitanni and Media stood, the Kurds are likely descendants of a branch of the mainstream Aryan family: the Mitanni anciently and later the Medes. This does not exclude the possibility of a mixing of the original Aryan migrants with Saka-Aryan elements who could have migrated to the same or adjacent lands. Also see our page on the Aryans.]
What the inscription does demonstrate is yet another added clue to the close cultural connection between Asia Minor, the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia (via Old Iranian).
Luwian-Hittite Inscription Script
Harmatta remarks that while there are some similarities in the script with Luwian/Hittite, the two alphabets are not identical. Harmatta also notes that the plate was found together with "some pieces decorated in Scythian animal style." We also note that the use of the Luwian/Hittite script for writing an Old Iranian dialect does not in itself indicate a connection between the Luwian or Hittite languages and Old Iranian. [Also see Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor.]
Luwian-Hittite Languages
The Luwian language was spoken across western Asia Minor including Arzawa,Troy, the Seha River Lands and lands now in northern Syria (cf. western Kurdish lands). The name 'Arzawa' gave way to 'Luwiya', the forerunner of the name 'Lydia'. From the 14th century BCE, Luwian became the majority language in Hattusa, the Hittite capital. The Luwian language, while still linked to the Central Asia based quasi-Aryan languages, does not appear to be as close to Old Iranian as the language of the Sakkez/Saqqez plate inscription. It does seem that the further from the Central Asian center the Aryans migrated, the less connected was their language with Old Iranian. Local languages and possibly even Greek may have mingled to produce what became the Hittite language. We again caution the reader that the use of the same script, or parts, in different artifacts does not imply that the same language is being used.
The Lydian, Carian and Lycian languages belonged to the Hittite-Luwian subfamily of languages.
The Mitanni & Hittites of Asia Minor - an Introduction
The Mitanni dynasty ruled over the northern Euphrates-Tigris region between c.1475 and c.1275 BCE. The Mitanni were an Irano-N. Indian Aryan dynasty that ruled in the land of the Hurrians located in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin - land that is now part of northern Iraq, Syria and south-eastern Turkey and, which coincides quite well with the Kurdish lands of today. While the Mitanni kings were Aryans, they used the local language Hurrian, leaving us to question to what extent the population they governed were Mitanni. Very little evidence exists of the Mitanni after 1275 BCE when their lands appear to have been divided and absorbed into Hittite Hatti and Assyria (reminiscent of the manner in which the Kurds have been dispersed today).
The Hittites were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c. 700 BCE. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine.
A c.1380 BCE treaty between the royal houses of the Hittites and the Mitanni acknowledge various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra together with names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots. Name beginnings with 'Arta' are rooted in Aryan-Zoroastrian tradition. The Mitanni and Hittites appear on the historical stage in the Upper Euphrates basin, the Hittites to the north of the Euphrates and the Mitanni to the south. At different periods, they were allies or rivals and in any event, their royal houses behaved as kin.
The land of the Hittites was called Katpatuka (Cappadocia) during Persian Achaemenid times (c. 675 to 330 BCE). Strabo in the first century CE noted that the Magi (Zoroastrian priests) of Cappadocia “...have Pyraetheia (fire-houses), noteworthy enclosures...” the first record of priestly Zoroastrian fire temples (the general population, even royalty, worshipped in the open and on hilltops). The Hittite lands of Hatti could have formed the western extent of Ranghaya, the sixteenth and last Aryan land in the Vendidad – the last land mentioned before the Avestan canon was closed.
Also see:
» Mitanni
» Hittites
» Mitanni-Hittite Treaty
» Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor
» Kurdish Origins & the Saka. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources
» Herodotus' References to the Saka
» Saka (& Scythians)
Harmatta's Claim: 'Scythian' Connection
 |
| Dish found at Sakkez/Saqqez, Iranian Kurdistan. |
The inscription and Harmatta's translation are as follows:
Transliteration: "patinasana tapa wasnam XL waswaski XXX arstim shkarkar (HA) harsta lugal. partita tawa kisaa kurupati quwaa. ipasam"
Transcription: "patinasana tapa vasnam 40 vasaka 30 arzatam shikar. uta harsta khshayal. partitava khshaya dahyuupati khva ipashyam"
Translation: "Delivered dish. Value: 40 calves 30 silver shiqlu. And it was presented to the king. King Partitavas, the masters of the land property."
 |
| c. 1400 BCE Hittite Seal of Tarkummuwa King of Mera with Hittite hieroglyphs text in the inner circle and in cuneiform around the rim. Image credit: Wikipedia |
The stitching together of similar sounding words would be similar to us stating that 3=8=6 (by slightly manipulating, adding or subtracting minor lines). Even if the names equate, we don't have any evidence they refer to the same person. We will have to await far more evidence for us to accept Harmatta's conclusions. However, if the transliteration of the text is correct, then the word endings 'ita', 'pati' and 'asam' are identifiable Old Irano-N. Indian word endings and there is no need at this stage to further extrapolate, speculate and build a fantastic and implausible construct on such meagre evidence.
Harmatta goes on to state, "The Iranian character of the language used in the inscription cannot be mistaken: it is Old Iranian." Harmatta seems to imply that the language of the 'Scythians' was Old Iranian. If so, Harmatta is likely referring to the Eastern Aryan (Iranian) Saka and not the language of European Scythians.
Harmatta concludes by stating, "Thus the inscription of Sakkez fully verifies the narrative of Herodotus on the Scythian king Partatua-Protothyes...." At the end of it all, Harmatta's contention is that the Sakas (who he calls 'Scythian' in the fashion of other European writers) of the Ranghaya-Mitanni-Media-Kurdistan region adapted the Luwian and Hittite scripts of Asia Minor in order "to write their own Old (Saka) Iranian language." [Regrettably, Harmatta does not provide a dating for the plate though he indirectly refers to the 7th century BCE when King Partitavas was "master of the land Mannai".]
Are the Kurds Descendants of the Saka ('Scythians' sic)?
It would also be hasty to surmize from this single inscription that the Kurds have Saka origins as some participants in online discussion groups on the net have done. Given that we find that modern Kurdistan stands where Ranghaya, the sixteenth Aryan nation of the Zoroastrian scriptures', the Avesta's, book of Vendidad stood, as also where the later kingdoms of Mitanni and Media stood, the Kurds are likely descendants of a branch of the mainstream Aryan family: the Mitanni anciently and later the Medes. This does not exclude the possibility of a mixing of the original Aryan migrants with Saka-Aryan elements who could have migrated to the same or adjacent lands. Also see our page on the Aryans.]
What the inscription does demonstrate is yet another added clue to the close cultural connection between Asia Minor, the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia (via Old Iranian).
Luwian-Hittite Inscription Script
 |
| Luwian-Hittite hieroglyphic script characters of the type used on the Sakkez/Saqqez, Iranian Kurdistan plate. |
Luwian-Hittite Languages
The Luwian language was spoken across western Asia Minor including Arzawa,Troy, the Seha River Lands and lands now in northern Syria (cf. western Kurdish lands). The name 'Arzawa' gave way to 'Luwiya', the forerunner of the name 'Lydia'. From the 14th century BCE, Luwian became the majority language in Hattusa, the Hittite capital. The Luwian language, while still linked to the Central Asia based quasi-Aryan languages, does not appear to be as close to Old Iranian as the language of the Sakkez/Saqqez plate inscription. It does seem that the further from the Central Asian center the Aryans migrated, the less connected was their language with Old Iranian. Local languages and possibly even Greek may have mingled to produce what became the Hittite language. We again caution the reader that the use of the same script, or parts, in different artifacts does not imply that the same language is being used.
The Lydian, Carian and Lycian languages belonged to the Hittite-Luwian subfamily of languages.
The Mitanni & Hittites of Asia Minor - an Introduction
 |
| The lands of Mitanni and Hatti (Hittite). Assuwa/Arzawa was part of the greater Hittite lands. Image credit: Wikipedia |
The Hittites were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c. 700 BCE. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine.
A c.1380 BCE treaty between the royal houses of the Hittites and the Mitanni acknowledge various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra together with names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots. Name beginnings with 'Arta' are rooted in Aryan-Zoroastrian tradition. The Mitanni and Hittites appear on the historical stage in the Upper Euphrates basin, the Hittites to the north of the Euphrates and the Mitanni to the south. At different periods, they were allies or rivals and in any event, their royal houses behaved as kin.
The land of the Hittites was called Katpatuka (Cappadocia) during Persian Achaemenid times (c. 675 to 330 BCE). Strabo in the first century CE noted that the Magi (Zoroastrian priests) of Cappadocia “...have Pyraetheia (fire-houses), noteworthy enclosures...” the first record of priestly Zoroastrian fire temples (the general population, even royalty, worshipped in the open and on hilltops). The Hittite lands of Hatti could have formed the western extent of Ranghaya, the sixteenth and last Aryan land in the Vendidad – the last land mentioned before the Avestan canon was closed.
Also see:
» Mitanni
» Hittites
» Mitanni-Hittite Treaty
» Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor
 |
| Asia Minor with classical Greco-Roman names. |
Ancient Westernmost Asia Minor
Introduction
The westernmost regions of ancient Asia Minor - otherwise known as Anatolia (meaning 'east' or 'rising Sun' in Greek) and today as Turkey - was where Aryana, more commonly known as the Persian Empire, met Hellenic lands. It was the theatre of the start of the Greco-Persian Wars. Below, we introduce the names of the westernmost regions and give a brief timeline of the region's history.
Place Names on the Western Asian Seaboard
The following are the Hittite and Greco-Roman based English names of states on the western seaboard of Asia Minor:
- Taruisha (Hittite)/Troad (English)
- Wilusa/Troy
- Seha (River Land)/Mysia
- Arzawa/Lydia, Caria,Phrygia
- Ahhiyawa/Lydia, Caria
- Apasa/Ephesus
- Mira/Phrygia
- Miletus/Milawanda
- Karkija (OP Karka)/Caria
- Lukka/Caria, Lycia
Chronology of the Region's History
c.1900 to c.1200 BCE: Hittite Era. The Hittites - a people with Irano-N. Indian (Aryans) ties - were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c.1200 BCE. Anatolia is otherwise known as Central Asia. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine. Successors of the Hittite called neo-Hittites asserted control over parts of Asia Minor until c. 700 BCE.
In Hittite annals from 1800 to 1200 BCE, we find mention of the chiefdom of Karkisa/Karkiya (the predecessor to Caria?). In 1274 BCE, Karkisa joined the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians. A shared heritage did not prevent the Hittites, Karkisa and other related groups from fighting against one-another from time to time.
c.1200 BCE: Trojan War. Writing around the eight century BCE, Hellenic poet Homer noted in the 'Catalogue of Ships' (that consisted of lines 494 to 759 of his epic, the Iliad's of Book), that Miletus (just north of Halicarnassus and south of Samos that would later become one of the most prosperous Greek settlement in Asia Minor) was inhabited by Carians. Later in Homer's epic (at 2.867ff), we also learn that the Carians and Lydians came to the defence of the Trojans when the latter were attacked by the Greeks. We can reasonably surmize that around 1200 BCE, the Miletians, Carians and Lydians were not Greek but Asians as were the Trojans. (For a further discussion on the ethnicity of the Carians and their Persian-Aryan links, see 'Mausolus, Artemisia & Ethnicity'.
c.1475 to c.1275 BCE: Mitanni rule. Mitanni were an Irano-N. Indian Aryan dynasty that ruled in the land of the Hurrians located in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin - land that is now part of northern Iraq, Syria and south-eastern Turkey and, which coincides quite well with the Kurdish lands of today.
c.1380 BCE: Hittite-Mittanni Treaty. The treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni royal houses acknowledges various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra. The treaty also contains names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots.
c.1200 to c.700 BCE: Neo-Hittite & Greek Occupation era. It is estimated by several authors that refugee-invaders from Greece began to aggressively displace and settle the coast of Caria and Lydia after the Trojan War, i.e., between c.1200 and c.1100 BCE.
c.700 - c.550 BCE: Lydian Rule. Around 700 BCE, Lydian king Gyges invaded Smyrna and Miletus. During the reign of Croesus (560–545 BCE), the Ionians and their Grecian cousins, the (Thracian) Aeolians, all became subjects of the Lydians (see 'Media & Lydians' in our article 'Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana'). Lydia for its part was allied to, or subject to, the Aryan Medes.
545-7 BCE: Beginning of Persian Rule. In 545 BCE, Persian Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great defeated Lydian king Croesus and Croesus' Milesian subjects accepted (perhaps at the urging of Thales) Cyrus' terms to become part of the Persian Empire. Herodotus in his Histories (at 1.143 tr. Rawlinson) states, "The Milesians had separated from the common cause [of the Greek settlements] solely on account of the extreme weakness of the Ionians: for, feeble as the power of the entire Hellenic race was at that time, of all its tribes the Ionic was by far the feeblest and least esteemed, not possessing a single state of any mark excepting Athens. The Athenians and most of the other Ionic States over the world, went so far in their dislike of the name as actually to lay it aside; and even at the present day the greater number of them seem to me to be ashamed of it." [This unflattering assertion earned Herodotus yet another dose of abuse from Plutarch.] Greece was known to the Achaemenid Persians as 'Yauna' (Ionia) and we see from Herodotus' account that mainland Athens was a part of the Ionian confederation of city states. Herodotus at 1.141 states, "Immediately after the subjugation of Lydia by the Persians, the Ionian and Aeolian Greeks sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, and prayed to become his lieges [subjects] on the [same]footing which they had occupied under Croesus."
In 547 BCE, Cyrus brought the Ionians under his control, though we read that the Ionians enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy from central Persian authority.
Greek Occupation & Ethnic Cleansing in Western Asia Minor
A citizen of Caria himself, Herodotus records in his Histories (at 1.145-6) that when the Ionians (previously Aegialians from European Hellenica) from the Peloponnese - the peninsula now part of southern Greece - were displaced by the invading Achaeans, they fled to Asia. Rawlinson's translation states, "Even those who came from the Prytaneum of Athens, and reckon themselves the purest Ionians of all, brought no wives with them to the new country, but married Carian girls whose fathers they had slain. Hence these women made a law, which they bound themselves by an oath to observe, and which they handed down to their daughters after them, "That none should ever sit and eat with her husband, or call him by his name"; because the invaders slew their fathers, their husbands, and their sons, and then forced them to become their wives. It was at Miletus [just north of Herodotus' hometown Halicarnassus] that these events took place." What we read here that Miletus in Caria was one of the earliest Greek settlements and that in those parts of coastal Caria that the displaced Ionians seized, the Ionians massacred the aboriginal Carian men and then bred with the aboriginal Carian women - a form of 'ethnic cleansing' that when repeated in other centers, quickly Hellenized the west coast of Asia Minor. According to Herodotus, the subsequent generations of Ionians therefore had no claim to be pure 'Greeks' (if we may use that term). Not only did the invading Ionians ethically cleanse Caria, they culturally cleansed it as well, with Greek becoming the lingua-franca of the region. Nevertheless, at Histories 1.148 we have, "The names of festivals, not only among the Ionians but among all the Greeks, end, like the Persian proper names, in one and the same letter." We suspect, that after the initial pogrom and once the Ionians felt secure, non-Greeks ('barbarians' as the Greek called them) re-entered Miletus and the philosopher Thales was said to have one such 'barbarian' born of 'barbarian' parents in Miletus - according to Herodotus (at 1.170) of of Phoenician descent. [For all this troubles recording the history of the formation of Hellenic Ionia, Herodotus was rewarded with much abuse by first century CE super nationalist Plutarch in his diatribe titled the Malice of Herodotus. Plutarch specialist R. H. Barrow, in his Plutarch and His Times (1967) concludes, “Plutarch is fanatically biased in favour of the Greek cities; they can do no wrong.”]
While the Ionians were occupying the central western coast (and offshore islands) of Asia Minor - the coast of Lydia and northern Caria, the Aeolians of Boeotia (NW of Athens) simultaneously settled the coast north of the Ionians while the Dorians of the island of Crete settled the southern coast of Caria. [The Greeks divided themselves into four major tribes: the Aeolians, Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians.]
Hittite Rock Reliefs in Western Asia Minor
Hittite-Luwian Rock Monument Sites
The map at the comprehensive site HittiteMonuments.com has interactive links to each of the site descriptions.
The westernmost regions of ancient Asia Minor - otherwise known as Anatolia (meaning 'east' or 'rising Sun' in Greek) and today as Turkey - was where Aryana, more commonly known as the Persian Empire, met Hellenic lands. It was the theatre of the start of the Greco-Persian Wars. Below, we introduce the names of the westernmost regions and give a brief timeline of the region's history.
Place Names on the Western Asian Seaboard
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| Lands of the Hittites/Hatti.Image credit: Robert Mcroberts. |
- Taruisha (Hittite)/Troad (English)
- Wilusa/Troy
- Seha (River Land)/Mysia
- Arzawa/Lydia, Caria,Phrygia
- Ahhiyawa/Lydia, Caria
- Apasa/Ephesus
- Mira/Phrygia
- Miletus/Milawanda
- Karkija (OP Karka)/Caria
- Lukka/Caria, Lycia
Chronology of the Region's History
c.1900 to c.1200 BCE: Hittite Era. The Hittites - a people with Irano-N. Indian (Aryans) ties - were the people who ruled Hatti, a central Anatolian (Turkey today) kingdom, from c. 1900 to c.1200 BCE. Anatolia is otherwise known as Central Asia. The Hittites formed the earliest known Anatolian civilization and employed an advanced system of government based on a legal doctrine. Successors of the Hittite called neo-Hittites asserted control over parts of Asia Minor until c. 700 BCE.
In Hittite annals from 1800 to 1200 BCE, we find mention of the chiefdom of Karkisa/Karkiya (the predecessor to Caria?). In 1274 BCE, Karkisa joined the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians. A shared heritage did not prevent the Hittites, Karkisa and other related groups from fighting against one-another from time to time.
c.1200 BCE: Trojan War. Writing around the eight century BCE, Hellenic poet Homer noted in the 'Catalogue of Ships' (that consisted of lines 494 to 759 of his epic, the Iliad's of Book), that Miletus (just north of Halicarnassus and south of Samos that would later become one of the most prosperous Greek settlement in Asia Minor) was inhabited by Carians. Later in Homer's epic (at 2.867ff), we also learn that the Carians and Lydians came to the defence of the Trojans when the latter were attacked by the Greeks. We can reasonably surmize that around 1200 BCE, the Miletians, Carians and Lydians were not Greek but Asians as were the Trojans. (For a further discussion on the ethnicity of the Carians and their Persian-Aryan links, see 'Mausolus, Artemisia & Ethnicity'.
c.1475 to c.1275 BCE: Mitanni rule. Mitanni were an Irano-N. Indian Aryan dynasty that ruled in the land of the Hurrians located in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin - land that is now part of northern Iraq, Syria and south-eastern Turkey and, which coincides quite well with the Kurdish lands of today.
c.1380 BCE: Hittite-Mittanni Treaty. The treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni royal houses acknowledges various deities together with the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) deities Mitra, Varuna and Indra. The treaty also contains names such as Artatama that have Aryan roots.
c.1200 to c.700 BCE: Neo-Hittite & Greek Occupation era. It is estimated by several authors that refugee-invaders from Greece began to aggressively displace and settle the coast of Caria and Lydia after the Trojan War, i.e., between c.1200 and c.1100 BCE.
c.700 - c.550 BCE: Lydian Rule. Around 700 BCE, Lydian king Gyges invaded Smyrna and Miletus. During the reign of Croesus (560–545 BCE), the Ionians and their Grecian cousins, the (Thracian) Aeolians, all became subjects of the Lydians (see 'Media & Lydians' in our article 'Amazons, Troy & the Western Realms of Aryana'). Lydia for its part was allied to, or subject to, the Aryan Medes.
545-7 BCE: Beginning of Persian Rule. In 545 BCE, Persian Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great defeated Lydian king Croesus and Croesus' Milesian subjects accepted (perhaps at the urging of Thales) Cyrus' terms to become part of the Persian Empire. Herodotus in his Histories (at 1.143 tr. Rawlinson) states, "The Milesians had separated from the common cause [of the Greek settlements] solely on account of the extreme weakness of the Ionians: for, feeble as the power of the entire Hellenic race was at that time, of all its tribes the Ionic was by far the feeblest and least esteemed, not possessing a single state of any mark excepting Athens. The Athenians and most of the other Ionic States over the world, went so far in their dislike of the name as actually to lay it aside; and even at the present day the greater number of them seem to me to be ashamed of it." [This unflattering assertion earned Herodotus yet another dose of abuse from Plutarch.] Greece was known to the Achaemenid Persians as 'Yauna' (Ionia) and we see from Herodotus' account that mainland Athens was a part of the Ionian confederation of city states. Herodotus at 1.141 states, "Immediately after the subjugation of Lydia by the Persians, the Ionian and Aeolian Greeks sent ambassadors to Cyrus at Sardis, and prayed to become his lieges [subjects] on the [same]footing which they had occupied under Croesus."
In 547 BCE, Cyrus brought the Ionians under his control, though we read that the Ionians enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy from central Persian authority.
Greek Occupation & Ethnic Cleansing in Western Asia Minor
 |
| Greek settlements in Asia Minor. Image courtesy: Wikipedia. |
While the Ionians were occupying the central western coast (and offshore islands) of Asia Minor - the coast of Lydia and northern Caria, the Aeolians of Boeotia (NW of Athens) simultaneously settled the coast north of the Ionians while the Dorians of the island of Crete settled the southern coast of Caria. [The Greeks divided themselves into four major tribes: the Aeolians, Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians.]
Hittite Rock Reliefs in Western Asia Minor
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| c.1400 BCE Hittite-Luwian rock-face carving of Tarkasnawa, King of Mira at the Karabel cliffs, Arzawa (Smyrna) near modern Izmir in Kemalpasa dist. Turkey. Image credit: Nejdet Duzen at Panoramio |
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| c.1400 BCE Luwian-Hittite rock-face carving (perhaps a deity) at Manisa, Arzawa (Lydia) modern Akpinar, Turkey. Image credit; Wikipedia |
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| c.1400 BCE Luwian-Hittite rock-face carving of a personage ("great prince") in a rock shelter at Mira-Ahhiyawa (Caria) modern Suratkaya, Turkey. Image credit: Ancient Cities of Turkey on Facebook |
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| Hittite-Luwian and neo-Hittite rock monument site locations. Sites in red date to the Empire Period (1480 to 1200 BCE). Sites in Black date to the Neo-Hittite Period (1200 to 712 BCE). Image credit: Tayfun Bilgin at hittitemonuments.com |
Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 1 - Credibility of Sources
Credibility of Research Sources
There is a fair amount of information and speculation in books and on the internet regarding the ethnic antecedents of the the Kurdish peoples in particular and western Aryans (ancient Irano-N. Indians) in general. Some of the discussion speculates on the possible Saka/Scythian origins of the Kurdish people. Since conclusions are only as good as the information on which they are based, before we review the information available to us, it is prudent to assess the credibility of our information sources.
Researchers are essentially of two kinds and then everything in-between: Those who approach research scientifically and analytically and those who skew information to support a bias, or speculate, or jump to conclusions, or who are inclined towards the fantastic making them better suited as writers of fiction.
We find many English translations of texts originally in Avestan, Greek and Latin to be extremely problematic and subject to a translator's bias. As such, we have been compelled to conduct our own translations.
The sources cited by researchers are useful if they provide consistent, factual or credible information. If the researcher provides information that is objective rather than laced with opinions, the reader can agree or disagree with any conclusions drawn by the researcher and in the event of the latter, make her or his own informed and considered decision.
This holds true for the information on the Medes, Saka & Kurds of Kurdistan.
Information via Herodotus & Xenophon
For instance, two of our primary sources of Achaemenid and Parthian era historical information are the famed classical (we use 'classical' loosely here) Greek authors Herodotus (c.484-c.425 BCE) and Xenophon (c.430-c.354 BCE). At times, the information one provides contradicts the other, compelling us to make a choice. While the circumspect researcher will seek to make a choice based on whose information is more credible, some researchers appear to make a choice based on a personal bias. Researchers with a Eurocentric or anti-Iranian/Persian bias will gravitate towards the source (and translation) which supports that bias.
One the one hand, Greeks such as Xenophon who held the Persian system of governance in high regard (and even served the Persians) were labelled derogatorily as medized Greeks. Those researchers who are offended by Xenophon's pro-Persian approach, dismiss his accounts such as those on the life of King Cyrus as romanticized fiction. They prefer the works of 'classical' authors who are more critical of Cyrus.
Jacob Abbott in his Histories of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great (New York, 1880, pp. 13-36) offers us some valuable insights on bias and credibility. While Abbott does not venture a judgement on credibility, he notes that Herodotus’ "object was to read what he was intending to write at great public assemblies in Greece, he was, of course, under every possible inducement to make his narrative as interesting as possible." Xenophon on the other hand was a military commander who in Abbott’s opinion presented a more authentic (and therefore more reliable) account in the form of a chronicle. In classical antiquity, Polybius, Cicero, Tacitus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius and Longinus ranked Xenophon among philosophers and historians of the highest calibre. They considered his Cyropaedia as the masterpiece of a very widely respected and studied author. Then there are classical Greek writers who for one reason or the other criticize Herodotus quite severely. Photius in his Bibliotheca (at 72) cites Ctesias’ Persica as stating, "In nearly every instance he (Ctesias) gives an opposing account to Herodotus, going so far as to expose him as a liar and label him an inventor of fables (other translators have ‘spinner of yarns’)." Those opposed to Ctesias make a similar charge against him. Plutarch, however, goes the other way and finds Herodotus a 'barbarian' lover.
Despite all that is said about these two great souls, we have found the writings of both Herodotus and Xenophon (and others) to be remarkable achievements and stores of invaluable information.
We use context and corroborating evidence as our guide in selecting between competing sources of information. It is necessary to be circumspect while being as thorough as the space available in a non-technical forum as this reasonably allows us to be.
Regarding information provided by classical writers on the Saka (Sacae) and Scythians, Roman author Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) in his Natural History at 6.19 (on Scythians) says it best: "Nec in alia parte maior auctorum inconstantia...." Translation: "On no other subject are the major authorities/authors more inconsistent (i.e. confused)...."
Next page: » Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)
Also see:
» Herodotus' References to the Saka
» Saka (& Scythians)
There is a fair amount of information and speculation in books and on the internet regarding the ethnic antecedents of the the Kurdish peoples in particular and western Aryans (ancient Irano-N. Indians) in general. Some of the discussion speculates on the possible Saka/Scythian origins of the Kurdish people. Since conclusions are only as good as the information on which they are based, before we review the information available to us, it is prudent to assess the credibility of our information sources.
Researchers are essentially of two kinds and then everything in-between: Those who approach research scientifically and analytically and those who skew information to support a bias, or speculate, or jump to conclusions, or who are inclined towards the fantastic making them better suited as writers of fiction.
We find many English translations of texts originally in Avestan, Greek and Latin to be extremely problematic and subject to a translator's bias. As such, we have been compelled to conduct our own translations.
The sources cited by researchers are useful if they provide consistent, factual or credible information. If the researcher provides information that is objective rather than laced with opinions, the reader can agree or disagree with any conclusions drawn by the researcher and in the event of the latter, make her or his own informed and considered decision.
This holds true for the information on the Medes, Saka & Kurds of Kurdistan.
Information via Herodotus & Xenophon
For instance, two of our primary sources of Achaemenid and Parthian era historical information are the famed classical (we use 'classical' loosely here) Greek authors Herodotus (c.484-c.425 BCE) and Xenophon (c.430-c.354 BCE). At times, the information one provides contradicts the other, compelling us to make a choice. While the circumspect researcher will seek to make a choice based on whose information is more credible, some researchers appear to make a choice based on a personal bias. Researchers with a Eurocentric or anti-Iranian/Persian bias will gravitate towards the source (and translation) which supports that bias.
One the one hand, Greeks such as Xenophon who held the Persian system of governance in high regard (and even served the Persians) were labelled derogatorily as medized Greeks. Those researchers who are offended by Xenophon's pro-Persian approach, dismiss his accounts such as those on the life of King Cyrus as romanticized fiction. They prefer the works of 'classical' authors who are more critical of Cyrus.
Jacob Abbott in his Histories of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great (New York, 1880, pp. 13-36) offers us some valuable insights on bias and credibility. While Abbott does not venture a judgement on credibility, he notes that Herodotus’ "object was to read what he was intending to write at great public assemblies in Greece, he was, of course, under every possible inducement to make his narrative as interesting as possible." Xenophon on the other hand was a military commander who in Abbott’s opinion presented a more authentic (and therefore more reliable) account in the form of a chronicle. In classical antiquity, Polybius, Cicero, Tacitus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Quintilian, Aulus Gellius and Longinus ranked Xenophon among philosophers and historians of the highest calibre. They considered his Cyropaedia as the masterpiece of a very widely respected and studied author. Then there are classical Greek writers who for one reason or the other criticize Herodotus quite severely. Photius in his Bibliotheca (at 72) cites Ctesias’ Persica as stating, "In nearly every instance he (Ctesias) gives an opposing account to Herodotus, going so far as to expose him as a liar and label him an inventor of fables (other translators have ‘spinner of yarns’)." Those opposed to Ctesias make a similar charge against him. Plutarch, however, goes the other way and finds Herodotus a 'barbarian' lover.
Despite all that is said about these two great souls, we have found the writings of both Herodotus and Xenophon (and others) to be remarkable achievements and stores of invaluable information.
We use context and corroborating evidence as our guide in selecting between competing sources of information. It is necessary to be circumspect while being as thorough as the space available in a non-technical forum as this reasonably allows us to be.
Regarding information provided by classical writers on the Saka (Sacae) and Scythians, Roman author Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) in his Natural History at 6.19 (on Scythians) says it best: "Nec in alia parte maior auctorum inconstantia...." Translation: "On no other subject are the major authorities/authors more inconsistent (i.e. confused)...."
Next page: » Kurdish Origins & the Saka Claim. Pt. 2 - Inscriptions at Saqqez, Kurdistan (Iran)
Also see:
» Herodotus' References to the Saka
» Saka (& Scythians)
Herodotus' References to the Saka
Conflation of Saka with Scythes
Herodotus in his Histories and Strabo in his Geography conflate the Saka with the Scythians. In our research, we have found the two to be different peoples [we invite the reader to read our webpage on the Saka & Scythians for an expanded discussion on the subject]. Perhaps a reason for the conflation was that the Saka lay at the frontiers of western consciousness and at times shared traits such as their mastery of horsemanship and a nomadic lifestyle. However, we have not found any evidence that the western Scythians and the eastern Saka made community together or promoted being a single national or ethnic group. Nor were all the Saka nomadic. The conflation of the two by Herodotus and Strabo is compounded by the bias of modern authors such as those who are Eurocentric and racists or those who wished to provide justification for the Soviet era consolidation of the Russian Empire in the eastern 'stans' that were earlier part of Iranian domains ('stan' means 'place or 'land' in Persian and is used as a suffix cf. Eng-land or Ire-land). It is in the eastern 'stans' such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that the Saka had their original home).
Herodotus on the Eastern Border of Scythia
Herodotus defines the extent of Scythia quite well in his Histories at 4.21: Travelling west to east, "Across the Tanais (commonly today's Don River in the Ukraine) it is no longer Scythia; the first of the districts belongs to the Sauromatae, whose country begins at the inner end of the Maeetian lake (commonly taken to mean the Sea of Azov at the north of the Black Sea) and stretches fifteen days' journey north, and is quite bare of both wild and cultivated trees. Above these in the second district, the Budini inhabit a country thickly overgrown with trees of all kinds." In other words, we can approximate ancient Scythia around present-day Ukraine. Having said this, Herodotus at 1.201 begins the conflation of the Scythians with the Saka by noting that "some say" the Massagetae (in Central Asia) are Scythians.
Herodotus Introduces the Saka
At 7.64 of his Histories, Herodotus makes a revealing statement, "Σάκαι δὲ οἱ Σκύθαι...", i.e., "Sákai dé oi Skýthai", which translates as, "The Sakai (Sakas) who are Skythai (Scyths)...." A sentence later, "τούτους δὲ ἐόντας Σκύθας Ἀμυργίους Σάκας ἐκάλεον: οἱ γὰρ Πέρσαι πάντας τοὺς Σκύθας καλέουσι Σάκας" i.e., "toútous dé eóntas Skýthas Amyrgíous Sákas ekáleon:̱ oi gár Pérsai pántas toús Skýthas kaléousi Sákas.", which translates as, "But these (people) are in reality called Amyrgyian* Sakas. For the Persians call all those Scythians, Sakas." Most translators do not translate τοὺς/toús (epic form of ὁ, 'the following' and here 'those', a demonstrative pronoun), leaving the phrase to incorrectly read "...the Persians call all Scythians, Sakas." The exclusion of τοὺς/toús changes the meaning of the phrase substantially. [*5th cent. BCE Greek historian Ctesias in his Persica at § 3 has Amorges as king of the Sacae in the time of Cyrus. Polyaenus (2nd. cent. CE) in his Stratagems at vii. 12 has Amorges as king at the time of Darius. 'Amorg' is likely derived from the Old Iranin/Avestan 'amer' meaning 'immortal'.]
Pliny on the Saka & Location
Compare our translation to the statement by Pliny in his Natural Geography at 6.19: "Ultra sunt Scytharum populi. Persae illos Sacas universos appellavere a proxima gente, antiqui Aramios, Scythae ipsi Persas Chorsaros et Caucasum montem Croucasim, hoc est nive candidum". For the primary translation of this passage, we get, "Beyond* (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya mentioned previously in 6.18) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?*) and/also the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white/whitened (cf. Safeed Kuh/Paropamisus)." We get a secondary translation by inserting 'call': "Beyond (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves (call) Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?**) and/also (call) the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white." [*"Beyond" the Jaxartes means east of the Jaxartes. **Khor in Old Iranian = Sun; as in Khorasan and Khorasmia/Chorasmia.]
Pliny continues, "Multitudo populorum innumera et quae cum Parthis ex aequo degat." Out translation reads, "The multitude of the (Saka) populace is innumerable and they live on equal terms with the Parthians."
Significantly, Pliny places his description of the 'Scythians' after his chapter on the Caspian Sea and before his chapter on the Seres (eastern most lands). His passage states (as does Herodotus) that the Persians call all those 'Scythians" descended from the Arami as Saka. 'Aram' is an Irano-N. Indian word. It could also be a corruption of Herodotus' 'Amyrgi'. Pliny lived during the Parthian reign of Aryana and we also know of Parthava as Khorasan. This might explain Pliny's statement regarding the "Persians Chorsares". Paradoxically, even though the West knew the Parthians under the general appellation of 'Persians', the Parthians were originally a Saka group.
Darius' Behistun Inscription & the Saka
A note by Maj. Gen. Sir A. Cunningham in his article (at p. 223) published in the Royal Numismatic Society's Numismatic Chronicle (Great Britain, 1888) states, "In the Babylonian version of the inscriptions of Darius (likely at Behistun), Namiri (N'amiri?) is substituted for Saka. Perhaps Aramii should be Amarii." King Darius' inscription at Behistun that chronicles a secession by the Saka Tigra-Khauda is on column five. Gen. Cunningham's note indicates a possible relationship between 'Arami', 'Amyrgi' via 'Amiri' and the Saka Tigra-Khauda.
Darius in responding to the secession of the Saka Tigra-Khauda, states in his inscription that went he marched with his army to the Saka lands, he crossed a 'draya', a river, likely today's Syr Darya before encountering the Saka. Modern translators inevitably translate 'draya' as 'sea' and therefore translate 'para draya' incorrectly as 'across the sea'.
For a further discussion on the Aryan Saka see our pages Pahlavans & Sakastan.
Herodotus in his Histories and Strabo in his Geography conflate the Saka with the Scythians. In our research, we have found the two to be different peoples [we invite the reader to read our webpage on the Saka & Scythians for an expanded discussion on the subject]. Perhaps a reason for the conflation was that the Saka lay at the frontiers of western consciousness and at times shared traits such as their mastery of horsemanship and a nomadic lifestyle. However, we have not found any evidence that the western Scythians and the eastern Saka made community together or promoted being a single national or ethnic group. Nor were all the Saka nomadic. The conflation of the two by Herodotus and Strabo is compounded by the bias of modern authors such as those who are Eurocentric and racists or those who wished to provide justification for the Soviet era consolidation of the Russian Empire in the eastern 'stans' that were earlier part of Iranian domains ('stan' means 'place or 'land' in Persian and is used as a suffix cf. Eng-land or Ire-land). It is in the eastern 'stans' such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that the Saka had their original home).
Herodotus on the Eastern Border of Scythia
Herodotus defines the extent of Scythia quite well in his Histories at 4.21: Travelling west to east, "Across the Tanais (commonly today's Don River in the Ukraine) it is no longer Scythia; the first of the districts belongs to the Sauromatae, whose country begins at the inner end of the Maeetian lake (commonly taken to mean the Sea of Azov at the north of the Black Sea) and stretches fifteen days' journey north, and is quite bare of both wild and cultivated trees. Above these in the second district, the Budini inhabit a country thickly overgrown with trees of all kinds." In other words, we can approximate ancient Scythia around present-day Ukraine. Having said this, Herodotus at 1.201 begins the conflation of the Scythians with the Saka by noting that "some say" the Massagetae (in Central Asia) are Scythians.
Herodotus Introduces the Saka
At 7.64 of his Histories, Herodotus makes a revealing statement, "Σάκαι δὲ οἱ Σκύθαι...", i.e., "Sákai dé oi Skýthai", which translates as, "The Sakai (Sakas) who are Skythai (Scyths)...." A sentence later, "τούτους δὲ ἐόντας Σκύθας Ἀμυργίους Σάκας ἐκάλεον: οἱ γὰρ Πέρσαι πάντας τοὺς Σκύθας καλέουσι Σάκας" i.e., "toútous dé eóntas Skýthas Amyrgíous Sákas ekáleon:̱ oi gár Pérsai pántas toús Skýthas kaléousi Sákas.", which translates as, "But these (people) are in reality called Amyrgyian* Sakas. For the Persians call all those Scythians, Sakas." Most translators do not translate τοὺς/toús (epic form of ὁ, 'the following' and here 'those', a demonstrative pronoun), leaving the phrase to incorrectly read "...the Persians call all Scythians, Sakas." The exclusion of τοὺς/toús changes the meaning of the phrase substantially. [*5th cent. BCE Greek historian Ctesias in his Persica at § 3 has Amorges as king of the Sacae in the time of Cyrus. Polyaenus (2nd. cent. CE) in his Stratagems at vii. 12 has Amorges as king at the time of Darius. 'Amorg' is likely derived from the Old Iranin/Avestan 'amer' meaning 'immortal'.]
Pliny on the Saka & Location
Compare our translation to the statement by Pliny in his Natural Geography at 6.19: "Ultra sunt Scytharum populi. Persae illos Sacas universos appellavere a proxima gente, antiqui Aramios, Scythae ipsi Persas Chorsaros et Caucasum montem Croucasim, hoc est nive candidum". For the primary translation of this passage, we get, "Beyond* (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya mentioned previously in 6.18) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?*) and/also the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white/whitened (cf. Safeed Kuh/Paropamisus)." We get a secondary translation by inserting 'call': "Beyond (the Jaxartes River/Syr Darya) are the Scythian people. The Persians call all as Saka after the nearest people, the ancient Arami, Scythians themselves (call) Persians Chorsares (Chorasmian?**) and/also (call) the Caucasian Mountain Croucasis, that is snow white." [*"Beyond" the Jaxartes means east of the Jaxartes. **Khor in Old Iranian = Sun; as in Khorasan and Khorasmia/Chorasmia.]
Pliny continues, "Multitudo populorum innumera et quae cum Parthis ex aequo degat." Out translation reads, "The multitude of the (Saka) populace is innumerable and they live on equal terms with the Parthians."
Significantly, Pliny places his description of the 'Scythians' after his chapter on the Caspian Sea and before his chapter on the Seres (eastern most lands). His passage states (as does Herodotus) that the Persians call all those 'Scythians" descended from the Arami as Saka. 'Aram' is an Irano-N. Indian word. It could also be a corruption of Herodotus' 'Amyrgi'. Pliny lived during the Parthian reign of Aryana and we also know of Parthava as Khorasan. This might explain Pliny's statement regarding the "Persians Chorsares". Paradoxically, even though the West knew the Parthians under the general appellation of 'Persians', the Parthians were originally a Saka group.
Darius' Behistun Inscription & the Saka
A note by Maj. Gen. Sir A. Cunningham in his article (at p. 223) published in the Royal Numismatic Society's Numismatic Chronicle (Great Britain, 1888) states, "In the Babylonian version of the inscriptions of Darius (likely at Behistun), Namiri (N'amiri?) is substituted for Saka. Perhaps Aramii should be Amarii." King Darius' inscription at Behistun that chronicles a secession by the Saka Tigra-Khauda is on column five. Gen. Cunningham's note indicates a possible relationship between 'Arami', 'Amyrgi' via 'Amiri' and the Saka Tigra-Khauda.
Darius in responding to the secession of the Saka Tigra-Khauda, states in his inscription that went he marched with his army to the Saka lands, he crossed a 'draya', a river, likely today's Syr Darya before encountering the Saka. Modern translators inevitably translate 'draya' as 'sea' and therefore translate 'para draya' incorrectly as 'across the sea'.
For a further discussion on the Aryan Saka see our pages Pahlavans & Sakastan.
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