When Worlds Collide: The Eurasian Steppe Nomads in Ancient Near Eastern Sources

Neo-Assyrian and Ancient Greek sources mention the Cimmerians and Scythians as outsiders who invaded parts of the Near East during the 7th and 6th centuries BC. They are often identified as rider nomads but the details are unclear. It has been difficult to identify them on the archaeological record. The present study combines textual and archaeological data to address this problem, and approaches the matter from a view of the emerging connectivities between the Eurasian steppe lands and the Ancient Near East transpired during the period in question. This requires recognizing the transition to agro-pastoralism in the Steppes and its impact on political and military mobility. One must look at zones of new material culture and shared economic and religio-political values, most notably with Steppe burials sometimes dubbed the kurgans. Some of the associated Steppe technologies, in particular archery and the expertise of the mounted archer, are then attested in the Near East. This is around when the Steppe peoples appear in the Near East. They are depicted in Near Eastern sources according to the available scribal topoi. In turn, ancient Near Eastern art and culture, in particular Urartian, Assyrian, and Mannaean, can be traced on the weaponry and other artefacts of the Steppe peoples. The presentation will seek to elaborate some of the discrete elements of this impact.