Amardi

A map that shows the area of the Amards between theSefid-RudandDo Hezar River.

TheAmardians,widely referred to as theAmardi(and sometimesMardi), were an ancientIraniantribe living along the mountainous region bordering theCaspian Seato the north,to whom theIron Ageculture atMarlikis attributed.They are said to be related to, or the same tribe as, theDahaeandSacae.That is to say, they wereScythian.Herodotusmentions a tribe with a similar name as one of the ten to fifteenPersiantribes inPersis.

They lived in the valleys in between theSusisand Persis,in what is now southwestern Iran. The southern Mardi are described byNearchusas one of the four predatory mountain peoples of the southwest, along with the Susians,Uxii,andElymaeans.Of these four nomadic groups, they were the only tribelinguisticallyIranian.

Etymology

The termMardicomes from theOld Iranianword for "man"(Old Persian:𐎶𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹martiya;fromProto-Indo-European*mr̥tós,"mortal" ).

Richard N. Fryebelieve that the name of the city ofAmolis rooted in the wordAmard,which occurs asAmuiinMiddle Persian.According to historical literature, Amol was the capital ofTapuria(modern-dayMazanderan), at least in the period starting from theSasanian Empireto theIlkhanateof theMongol Empire.

Historical accounts

Strabomentions the nameMardiseveral times. He places their location to the south of the Caspian Sea in what is nowGilanandMazanderan,in northernIran.On his map, he mentionsAmardos(and theAmardosriver), the name attributed to the region ofSefidrudat the time.

Herodotusmentions a tribe with a similar name as one of the ten to fifteenPersiantribes inPersis.They lived in the valleys in between theSusisand Persis,in what in now southwestern Iran. The southern Mardi are described byNearchusas one of the four predatory mountain peoples of the southwest, along with the Susians,Uxii,andElymaeans.Of these four nomadic groups, they were the only tribelinguisticallyIranian.

Gallery

• 
  Map of theMedian Empire(600 BC), showing the relative locations of the Amardian tribe.
• 
  Iron Agegold cup fromMarlik,kept at theMetropolitan Museum of Art,New York City.
• 
  The Hyrcanian Golden cup. Dated first half of first millennium. Excavated atKelardasht,Mazandaran.
• 
  Deer stagMarlik
• 
  Golden necklace of threeSwastikasfromMarlik,kept at theNational Museum,Tehran.

See also

• Phraates I
• Mardaites

Further reading

• "The Mardians: A Note"(PDF).Leonardo Gregoratti (Durham University,UK).Anabasis, Studies for Classical Eastern Orientalism.