Sarmatians and Scythians: The Nomadic Tribes during the Roman Era

The Scythians were among the earliest identifiable groups of Iranian-speaking nomads to dominate the Eurasian steppes. Emerging around the 9th century BCE, they occupied a vast territory that included parts of modern-day Ukraine, southern Russia, and Central Asia. Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, described them in detail—depicting a warrior culture that revered archery, honored the dead with great burial mounds, and held elaborate rituals involving horses and fire.

The Scythians were not an empire in the traditional sense but rather a loosely organized collection of tribes united by similar customs, languages, and economic patterns. They were masters of horseback warfare and developed advanced forms of mounted archery and cavalry tactics long before such strategies became common elsewhere. Their success in warfare allowed them to control vital trade routes between East and West, collecting tribute from weaker neighboring peoples and sometimes engaging in brutal raids.