The 8th-7th centuries BC were the time when the era of the discovery and widespread use of iron began for the tribes inhabiting the territory of Kazakhstan. Different regions have not reached this stage at the same time. Where there were rich deposits of copper and tin, iron at first had difficulty making its way. Such regions include Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, which developed bronze casting to a high level and took the first steps towards the development of iron.
In the historical literature, the terms «Early Iron Age», «era of early nomads», and «Scythian era» are used in relation to this era. Many tribes belonged to the ethnocultural area of the Sakas.
In the first millennium BC, the vast territory from Semirechye and East Turkestan to the Black Sea region, from the Altai Mountains to Khorezm, was inhabited by numerous tribes, collectively called «Saks».
According to ancient sources, nomads were well known in Greece, the Roman Empire, Persia, Egypt, and India.
Scientists know of two groups of ancient texts containing information about the Saka. These are cuneiform rock inscriptions of the Persian kings and writings of Greco-Roman authors («Behistun inscription»). The texts, compiled on the orders of the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes, mention the names of the tribes of Kazakhstan, the Iranians call them «sak». A lot of useful information can be extracted from the holy book of the ancient Iranians, the Avesta.
In Europe, the early nomads were known as the Scythians. Among the sources in Greek and Latin, the writings of Herodotus, Strabo, and Ptolemy can be distinguished. The «father of history» Herodotus writes about the Sakas as Scythians.
These sources, supported by archaeological data, showed that the main part of the territory of Kazakhstan in the 7th-4th centuries BC was occupied by the powerful Saka tribe. The Saks settled in Southern, Eastern, and Central Kazakhstan. Besides them, there were many other large and small tribes. They also participated in the socio-political and cultural events of that time. However, the territory of settlement and the specific history of most of them are unclear. The written information is fragmentary and general, and there is little archaeological material.
The Sakas were excellent horsemen and archers. A Greek writer of the second century BC calls them «the most skilled of all shooters in the world who do not shoot arrows for luck.»
One of the numerous Saka tribes, the Massagetes, living in the east, on the other side of the Syr Darya, is described by the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC): «… In dress and lifestyle they resemble the Scythians. They fight on horseback and on foot. They also know both ways of war: they fight with bows and spears, and they are usually armed with axes…»
The tribal unions of the Sakas are reflected not only in written sources, but also in archaeological, ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological sources. The monuments of the Saka period are also represented by mounds and burial grounds. The monuments of the turn of the VII-VI centuries BC include the finds of the Chilikta valley. In 1960, under the leadership of Professor S. S. Chernikov, excavations of a burial mound were carried out in the Chilikta valley. The mound was located 100 km south of Lake Zaisan between the Manrak and Tarbagatai ranges, at an altitude of 1300-1500 m from sea level. There were many finds: bronze arrowheads (13 specimens) and the remains of a quiver; plaques in the form of flying deer that decorated the quiver, made of gold leaf (the size of deer is on average 7×4 cm); gold plaques in the form of eagles (9 specimens), which depict the head of an eagle with a strongly curved beak; plaques with the image of panthers (29 specimens), wild boars (5 specimens) made of gold foil. Plaques depicting fish and birds were also found.
The remarkable discoveries of Kazakhstani archaeologists led by scientist Akishev A.K. are widely known, who, during the excavation of the Issyk mound near Almaty in 1968-1970, managed to discover the remains of a noble saka – the «Golden Man». The «Golden Man» refers to the monuments of the 5th century BC.
Settlement of the Saka tribes
Saki-tigrahuda, paradaraya, haomavarga.
The inscription of the Persian king Darius I (521-486 BC) mentions 3 groups of Saka tribes: Saki-khaomovarga (who make the drink khaoma), Saki-taradaraya or paradaraya (zarechnye Saki), Saki-tigrahuda (wearing a pointed hat).
The ancient Greek authors called the Saks-paradaraya massagetes and Jaxartes. The unions of the Saka-Paradarai tribes included the Dai and Kaspiy tribes. The Saki Paradaraya lived along the northeastern shores of the Caspian Sea, south and southeast of the Aral Sea, occupying the right bank of the Amu Darya and the lower reaches of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, i.e. on the territory of Western and partly Southern Kazakhstan.
Semirechye was the habitat center of the Tigrahuda Saks. In the northeast, their territory reached the Altai Mountains, in the north – to Lake Balkhash and the Chu River, in the west – to the right bank of the Talas River. The union of the Saka-Tigrahuda tribes included the Issedones, who lived in the valleys of the Chu River, in the east as far as Tarbagatai.
The Tigrahuda Saks settled in the area of modern Tashkent, in Northern Kyrgyzstan, Southern Kazakhstan, and Zhetysu. The latter is the place of the largest concentration of sakas with «pointed caps». This ancient nickname of the Saks persisted until recently, which was reflected in the fact that the Kazakhs called themselves «Kazakhs with high caps.»
In the steppes of Western Kazakhstan, up to the Emba River in the east and the upper reaches of the Ural River (Zhaiyk) in the north, Sauromats or Sarmatians lived.
The Saka tribes that inhabited the lands northeast of the Aral Sea (Central Kazakhstan) were called Dai, Argippei, and Issedones. These tribes roamed in the Southern Aral Sea region, Northern and Central Kazakhstan.
The social structure of the Sakas
In the early Iron Age, social and property inequality increased. This is evidenced by archaeological and written information. The differences between the huge necropolises of the Saka nobility and ordinary burials clearly convince of the far-reaching property differentiation of society. It covered the entire population.
Among the nomads, a clan with real blood relations gradually gave way to a community formed through fictitious kinship schemes. In the process of forming a «new» kind, economic interests prevailed. This was a common phenomenon throughout Eurasia. This transition from primitiveness to statehood was called «military democracy.»
The Saka chieftains turned into powerful rulers, they wielded great power, resolved issues of war and peace, formed alliances, sent ambassadors, and led troops. The power of the chiefs was inherited by their sons.
The majority of the population were ordinary communal herders. The role of the national assembly was great, that is, the assembly of all adult men and women of the tribe, which had influence on the leaders. It was the time of the collapse of the primitive system and the formation of military democracy.
The king was at the head of the tribal union. The king was elected by a military council of tribal leaders. The king’s power lay in the fact that he:
a) distributed pastures and other land for migration among the tribes;
b) established the procedure for the use of these lands;
c) ensured that there were no armed clashes between tribes and clans;
d) led the combined forces during military campaigns.
In addition, the chief exercised leadership powers, resolved disputes between clans and tribes, regulated relations within the clan, as well as with other clans and tribes. The leader also monitored the provision of food and weapons to members of the clan and tribe, and negotiated on behalf of the tribe.
The tribes were ruled by military leaders. The chief was elected by all members of the tribe. Powers of the tribal Chief:
a) ruled his tribe;
b) took care of providing him with weapons and food;
c) negotiated a war or truce on behalf of the tribe.
The Saka society mainly consisted of three groups – warriors, priests, pastoralists and farmers. The warriors were called «ratai-shi» in the Indo-Iranian language, i.e. «charioteers». The distinctive attributes of the priests were sacrificial bowls and special headdresses. Among the pastoralists and farmers, there were also those who were called «eight-legged.» That was the name given to those who plowed the land with a plow with the help of two oxen harnessed to them.
Saka warriors wore red and yellow-red clothes, priests wore white clothes, and cattle breeders and farmers wore yellow or blue clothes.
There was also slavery in Saka society, which was patriarchal in nature. The source of slavery was the captives. Most of the captive slaves were used in the household.
Economy and life of the Sakas
Cattle breeding is the main type of economy of the Sakas. Numerous sources refer to the Sakas as cattle breeders. They raised horses, large and small cattle. They ate meat from domestic animals, fish that the rivers brought them, and dairy products.
Ancient authors define the life of the Sakas somewhat one-sidedly, saying of them: «They are not farmers, but nomads.» Research by Kazakhstani archaeologists in recent years has shown that the form of the Saka economy was largely determined by natural conditions, proximity to urban centers, trade routes and represented a mixed type of economy and a mixed lifestyle: sedentary and nomadic.
Cattle breeding among the Sakas had many variants: from nomadic to pastoral (herding). In the steppes of Western and partly Central Kazakhstan, there was nomadic cattle breeding, which was characterized by long migrations from summer to winter pastures. The nomads spent the whole year with their herds and possessions in steppes, deserts and semi-deserts. Men rode horses, women and children, and the elderly rode in wagons covered with felt. They spent the winter in wintering grounds located in the sands, where the wind blew away the snow and exposed the ground with dried grass, or along the banks of rivers and lakes, in places where pasture for livestock was preserved. Winter camps were not long-term.
The nomads’ main types of livestock were horses, sheep, and camels, which were the most suitable for long-distance nomads.
The semi-nomadic type of cattle breeding required permanent winter and summer camps. During the winter, dugout and semi–dugout dwellings were built. Part of the population remained at these camps in the summer, engaged in grain farming, mowed grass, and harvested supplies for the winter. Semi-nomadic cattle breeding was widespread in the steppe expanses and high-altitude areas in Eastern Kazakhstan, Semirechye, a number of regions of Central and Western Kazakhstan, at the foot of the Tien Shan and Altai Mountains.
The third type of cattle breeding is sedentary. Under him, most of the population led a sedentary lifestyle and engaged in agriculture, while the other migrated with cattle to summer and winter pastures. It was widespread in the south of Kazakhstan, in the Syrdarya and Chu valleys, where there were natural water resources and rich pastures and meadows. Irrigation agriculture prevailed here, and there were many cattle in the herds.
Horse breeding was one of the most important areas of cattle breeding of the Sakas. Two types of horses have been identified based on bone materials from excavations in Central Kazakhstan. The first was a short, thick–legged horse with a massive head and body, and the second was a tall, slender horse used by armed riders. The largest, frisky horses belonged to the chiefs and noble warriors. The best battle horses were highly valued by the nomads, and in the event of the death of their master, they accompanied him to the «other world.»
Sheep farming played an important role in cattle breeding. The sheep provided meat, wool and hides. Large animals similar to the modern breed of fat-tailed sheep were common. They were resistant to harsh conditions, indefatigable in large stretches, capable of grazing, contented themselves with scarce pastures, and quickly gained weight.
Camel breeding was developed among the Sakas in the steppe and semi-steppe regions of Western and Southern Kazakhstan. The camel was used as a riding and pack animal. He provided wool, meat and milk. In nomadic and semi-nomadic farming, camels remained in the open air all year round.
Cattle played a lesser role in the economy of the Sakas, because cows, unlike horses and sheep, could not make do with pasture all year round. The nomads managed to breed cows adapted to nomadic life. The breed was distinguished by its relatively low productivity, low weight, unpretentiousness in food, and thick wool coat, which protected it from the cold.
Most of the Saka tribes combined cattle breeding with agriculture. The Saks grew millet, barley, and wheat. In the south, in the Syr Darya valley, near the Saka settlements of Chirik Rabat and Babish Mullah, ancient fields were found that were irrigated using canals. The Saki farmers built mud-brick houses for themselves, and wooden houses where there was a lot of forest.
Over time, the settled Saka population had not only villages, but also cities where crafts and trade flourished.
Crafts and trade
Crafts and crafts related to metal mining and processing have reached a high level of development among the Saka tribes. Deposits of iron, copper, tin, lead, gold and silver continued to be used, the development of which began in the Bronze Age.
Saka craftsmen cast daggers, arrowheads and spears, horse harness items, jewelry, mirrors, as well as cauldrons and altars, many of which are works of art. Molds made of stone and clay were used to cast the products.
The Sakas perfected the processing of iron and the production of iron products. Knives, daggers, swords, and armor were forged from iron.
Excavations of the Chilikta mound in Eastern Kazakhstan have yielded many interesting finds. 13 bronze arrowheads were found, made with bushings, in which pieces of the shafts were preserved. The remains of a quiver made of deer or horse skin sewn with tendons have been discovered. The quiver was decorated with golden plaques in the form of deer, depicted with legs tucked up to their bellies and horns thrown over their backs. The ears and eyes of deer are decorated with turquoise.
Early nomads made extensive use of wooden and leather tableware. Pottery also developed in parallel. The largest amount of pottery was produced in Semirechye and Western Kazakhstan.
Unlike Andronovo pottery, Saka ceramics are small, rounded, and spherical in shape. Low bowls of the kese type, squat mugs with a looped handle, spherical vessels with short and narrow necks, pots with a spout and a looped handle were especially common. All the dishes were made by hand.
Archaeologists most often find copper and bronze cauldrons and altars in the treasures on the territory of Semirechye, in the Ili Valley and the Issyk-Kul region. Most of the Saka cauldrons were of impressive size, had a spherical shape, on a spherical pallet or on legs, which were often shaped like animal legs, with loop-shaped handles. The boilers were cast in clay molds in a technologically complex way, which consisted in making a wax model, which was coated with clay. After the clay dried, the mold was heated and the place of the melted wax was occupied by the infused metal.
The altars were different. Artistically decorated bronze altars were often found in Southern Kazakhstan, and in Central and Eastern Kazakhstan sacrificial dishes were made of stone.
One of the found altars is a bronze tray in the form of a table with a side on legs. Three-dimensional figures of a man and a horse are mounted on the bottom of the tray. The man is depicted sittingWe walk with our legs tucked in. With his left hand, he rests on his hip, and in his right hand he holds a cylindrical vessel without a bottom, where a wick is inserted. The man is wearing a short jacket tied at the waist with a wide belt, tight trousers, and soft leather shoes. On his head is a cap in the form of a helmet. The horse is short, with a large head and a sagging belly. There is a tuft of hair on the withers, and the tail is tied in a knot.
A unique altar was found on the territory of Almaty, on the site of a former sanctuary. On the cone-shaped stand there is a round dish decorated with 15 figures of zebu bulls around the edge. A figurine of a mounted man is mounted on a platter, half-turned towards the bulls and shooting them with an arrow. A vertical tube for the wick is mounted nearby.
In the 1st millennium BC, there was a fairly lively trade in Eurasia between the countries of the West and the East, the Mediterranean and China. There were separate sections of the Great Silk Road: Lapis lazuli and jade. Lapis lazuli mined in the Pamirs was exported to Iran and Mesopotamia, and jade was exported from Kashgaria to China.
The Saks had trade relations with the peoples of Altai, Siberia, Europe and the East. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC, the «steppe way» began to function. Necessary goods were delivered to the steppe zone along this route. Starting in the great bend of the Yellow River, the path crossed the eastern and northern spurs of Altai, the steppes of Kazakhstan and the Black Sea region, and reached the lands of the Greeks and Etruscans. Along this route, Chinese silk and Iranian carpets came to the Saks.
There was also internal trade. There were close ties between East Kazakhstan and the Semirechye regions.
Thus, in the first millennium BC, a vast territory from Semirechye and East Turkestan to the Black Sea region, from the Altai Mountains to Khorezm, was inhabited by numerous tribes, bearing the common name «sak». The Saka tribes, tribes with a rich culture and archaeological sites, gave the world not only nomadic inventions and «animal style» in art, but also formed such values that they passed on to the following peoples who lived in Kazakhstan: independence, freedom, peacefulness, hospitality.
Until now, the elements of the Saka culture are symbols of Kazakhstan. The treasures of the Issyk Kurgan, including an exact replica of the «Golden Man», were exhibited at the Kazakh Museum of Archaeology in Almaty, and are now in the State Museum of Gold and Precious Metals of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana.
The «Golden Man» on the winged leopard has become one of the national symbols of Kazakhstan. Copies of the Saka warrior are installed in many cities of Kazakhstan, one of them crowns the Independence Monument on the main square of Almaty. The standard of the President of Kazakhstan also depicts the figure of a young leader of the Saka era on a winged leopard.
Glossary
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian, the «Father of History», who lived from about 484 BC to 425 BC.
The Behistun inscription is a trilingual (ancient Persian, Elamite and Babylonian) cuneiform text on the Behistun rock (Bisutun), southwest of Ecbatan between Kermanshah and Hamadan in Iran, carved by order of King Darius I on the events of 523-521 BC. The most important of the inscriptions of the Achaemenid kings and one of the largest epigraphic monuments. It was read (mostly) in the 30-40s of the XIX century by the English scientist G. K. Rawlinson, which marked the beginning of deciphering the cuneiform script of many peoples of the ancient East.
The cataphractary is a heavy cavalryman. The name «cataphractarium» comes from the Greek definition of the armor of a heavily armed horseman – «cataphract».
additional information
References to the Massagetes by Herodotus
«… These Massaguetes are said to be a numerous and brave tribe. They live in the east towards sunrise across the Araks River opposite the Issedones. Others also consider them a Scythian tribe.
The Massagetes wear Scythian-like clothing and lead a similar lifestyle. They fight on horseback and on foot (both ways). They usually also have bows, spears, and battle axes. All their things are made of gold and copper. But they make all the metal parts of spears, arrows and battle axes from copper, and decorate their headdresses, belts and baldric with gold. They also wear copper armor on their horses, like breastplates. The bridles, bits and collars are inlaid with gold. They have absolutely no iron and silver in their everyday life, since these metals are not found at all in this country. But there is plenty of gold and copper.
The Massaguetes do not sow bread, but they live by cattle breeding and fishing (there is an extreme abundance of fish in the Araks River), and they also drink milk. The only god they worship is the sun. They sacrifice horses to the sun, believing that the meaning of this sacrifice is that the fastest god should sacrifice the fastest creature in the world…»
According to Herodotus, the Saks lived on the right bank of the Syr Darya in the Aral Sea region. That’s how he described them.:
«…The Saks (a Scythian tribe) wore high pointed turbans on their heads, thick, so that they stood straight. They wore trousers and were armed with Saka bows and daggers. In addition, they also had saragis- battle axes…».