Budini
TheBudini(Ancient Greek:Βουδῖνοι)[1]were an ancientScythiantribe whose existence was recorded by ancientGraeco-Romanauthors.
The Budini were closely related to theAndrophagiand theMelanchlaeni.[2]
Location[edit]
The Budini lived alongside theGeloniansin the valley of theVorsklariver.[3]
History[edit]
Origin[edit]
The Scythians originated in the region of the Volga-Ural steppes ofCentral Asia,possibly around the 9th century BC,[4]as a section of the population of theSrubnaya culture[5]containing a significant element originating from the SiberianAndronovo culture.[6]The population of the Srubnaya culture culture was among the first trulynomadic pastoralistgroups, who themselves emerged in theCentral AsianandSiberiansteppesduring the 9th century BC as a result of the cold and dry climate then prevailing in these regions.[7]
During the 9th to 8th centuries BC, a significant movement of the nomadic peoples of theEurasian Steppestarted when another nomadic Iranic tribe closely related to the Scythians from eastern Central Asia, either theMassagetae[8]or theIssedones,[9]migrated westwards, forcing the early Scythians to the west across theAraxesriver,[10]following which some Scythian tribes had migrated westwards into the steppe adjacent to the shores of the Black Sea, which they occupied along with theCimmerians,who were also a nomadic Iranic people closely related to the Scythians.[5]
Over the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the Scythians migrated into the Caucasian and Caspian Steppes in several waves, becoming the dominant population of the region,[8]where they assimilated most of the Cimmerians and conquered their territory,[5]with this absorption of the Cimmerians by the Scythians being facilitated by their similar ethnic backgrounds and lifestyles,[11]after which the Scythians settled in the area between the Araxes, the Caucasus and theLake Maeotis.[10][12][5][8][13]The section of the Scythians from whom the Budini originated participated in this migration, and had established itself in Ciscaucasia aroundc. 800 BC.[14]
From their base in the Caucasian Steppe, during the period of the 8th to 7th centuries BC itself, the Scythians conquered the Pontic and Crimean Steppes to the north of the Black Sea up to theDanuberiver, which formed the western boundary of Scythian territory onwards,[4][8][4][15][16]with this process of Scythian takeover of the Pontic Steppe becoming fully complete by the 7th century BC.[17]
Archaeologically, the westwards migration of the Early Scythians from Central Asia into the Caspian Steppe constituted the latest of the two to three waves of expansion of the Srubnaya culture to the west of the Volga. The last and third wave corresponding to the Scythian migration has been dated to the 9th century BC.[18]The expansion of the Scythians into the Pontic Steppe is attested through the westward movement of the Srubnaya-Khvalynsk culture into Ukraine. The Srubnaya-Khvalynsk culture in Ukraine is referred to in scholarship as the "Late Srubnaya" culture.[19]
Migration towards the forest steppe[edit]
From the Caucasian steppe, the tribe of the Royal Scythians expanded to the south, following the coast of theCaspian Seaand arrived in theCiscaucasiansteppes, from where they settled in easternTranscaucasiauntil the early 6th century BC.[20][21][22][5][23][24][25]
The Royal Scythians were finally expelled from West Asia in thec. 600s BC,[26]after which, beginning in the later 7th and lasting throughout much of the 6th century BC, the majority of the Scythians migrated from Ciscaucasia into thePontic Steppe,which became the centre of Scythian power.[27][28][8]
The retreat of the Royal Scythians from West Asia into the Pontic steppe pushed a Scythian splinter group to the north, into what is the present-day region ofDonets-Kramatorsk,where they formed the Vorskla and Sula-Donets groups of the Scythian culture,[29]of which the Donets group corresponded to the Melanchlaeni, the Sula group to theAndrophagi,[3]and the Vorskla group to the Budini.,[30]with all of these groups remaining independent from theScythians proper.[3]
Gelonus[edit]
During the 6th century BC, the city ofGelonuswas built in the country of the Budini, where theGeloniansset up an important industrial, commercial, and political centre. This city was protected by a defensive system of three earthworks surrounded by ramparts.[30]The present-day site ofBilsk hill fort (Coordinates50°5′34″N34°38′46″E/ 50.09278°N 34.64611°E) is one hypothesized location for Gelonus.[30][31]
The Budini andGeloniansboth lived in Gelonus, although each population lived in separate sections of the city: the Gelonians lived in the eastern earthwork, where was located the city's industrial, commercial, and political centre; the poorer native Budini lived in the western earthwork.[32][31]
The Persian invasion[edit]
When thePersianAchaemenidkingDarius Iattacked the Scythiansin 513 BC, the Scythian kingIdanthyrsussummoned the kings of the peoples surrounding his kingdom to a meeting to decide how to deal with the Persian invasion. The kings of the Budini,GeloniansandSarmatiansaccepted to help the Scythians against the Persian attack, while the kings of theAgathyrsi,Androphagi,Melanchlaeni,Neuri,andTaurirefused to support the Scythians.[33]
During the campaign, Darius captured the city of Gelonus and set it on fire.[30]
Society and culture[edit]
The Budini were culturally similar to the other Scythian tribes of the forest steppe, such as theAndrophagiand theMelanchlaeni.[31]
Appearance[edit]
According toHerodotus of Halicarnassus,the Budini had red hair and blue eyes.[3]
Lifestyle[edit]
The Budini were poorer than theGeloniansand led a largely nomadic life and were dependent on huntingotters,beavers,and other animals. The territories where the Budini lived were thickly forested.[34]
Language[edit]
The Budini were described by Herodotus of Halicarnassus as speaking a different language from theGelonians,[34]the latter of whom might have originated as a group of the Scythians proper.[35]
Clothing[edit]
The Budini lined their cloaks with the skin of the otters, beavers, and other animals that they hunted.[34]
Ritual cannibalism[edit]
The remains of intact human bones discovered in seven earthworks of the Budini and Melanchlaeni suggests that these two tribes might have engaged in ritual cannibalism similarly to the Androphagi.[36][14]
Crafts[edit]
The Budini and Gelonians brought ores from outside to the industrial section of the city of Gelonus, where iron and copper were smelted from them.[31]
Trade[edit]
The Budini and the Gelonians participated in the ancient trade route which started from theancient GreekcolonyofPontic Olbiaon the northern shore of theBlack Seaand continued to the north-east into the steppe and forest-steppe regions.[31]
Archaeology[edit]
The Budini archaeologically belonged to theScythian culture,and they corresponded to its Vorskla group, which extended over the basin of the Vorskla river in the Eastern European forest steppe zone.[37]
The Donets, Sula and Vorskla groups of the Scythian culture, respectively corresponding to theMelanchlaeni,Androphagi, and Budini, are sometimes grouped the Zolnichnaya (that is "Ash-Mounds" ) culture because of the presence of severalzolnyk(зольник), that is ash mounds containing containing refuse from kitchens and other sources, near dwellings.[2]The three groups of the Zolnichnaya culture were closely related to each other, with the Vorskla group nevertheless exhibiting enough significant differences from the Sula and Donets groups that the latter two are sometimes grouped together as a Sula-Donets group distinct from the Vorskla group.[2]
References[edit]
- ^Herodotus, The Histories, 4.21
- ^abcSulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 586.
- ^abcdSulimirski 1985,p. 185.
- ^abcBatty 2007,p. 204-214.
- ^abcdeMelyukova 1990,pp. 97–110.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,pp. 168–169.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 552.
- ^abcdeOlbrycht 2000b.
- ^Olbrycht 2000a.
- ^abSulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 553.
- ^Bouzek 2001,p. 44.
- ^Harmatta 1996.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 560-590.
- ^abSulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 587.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 558.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 576.
- ^Melyukova 1990,pp. 98.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,pp. 173–174.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 561.
- ^Sulimirski 1954,p. 282.
- ^Ivantchik 1993a,p. 127-154.
- ^Diakonoff 1985,p. 89-109.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 560-564.
- ^Phillips 1972.
- ^Barnett 1991,pp. 333–356.
- ^Jacobson 1995,p. 38.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,pp. 169–171.
- ^Sulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 564-568.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,pp. 179.
- ^abcdSulimirski 1985,p. 187.
- ^abcdeSulimirski & Taylor 1991,p. 588.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,p. 187-188.
- ^Herodotus & Godolphin 1973.
- ^abcSulimirski 1985,p. 188.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,p. 189.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,p. 186.
- ^Sulimirski 1985,p. 186-187.
Sources[edit]
- Barnett, R. D.(1991). "Urartu". InBoardman, John;Edwards, I. E. S.;Hammond, N. G. L.;Sollberger, E.(eds.).The Prehistory of the Balkans; and the Middle East and the Aegean world, tenth to eighth centuries B.C.The Cambridge Ancient History.Vol. 3.Cambridge,United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.pp. 314–371.ISBN978-1-139-05428-7.
- Batty, Roger(2007).Rome and the Nomads: The Pontic-Danubian Realm in Antiquity.Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-198-14936-1.
- Bouzek, Jan[in Hungarian](2001). "Cimmerians and Early Scythians: the Transition from Geometric to Orientalising Style in the Pontic Area". InTsetskhladze, G.R.(ed.).North Pontic Archaeology: Recent Discoveries and Studies.Leiden,Netherlands:Brill Publishers.pp. 33–44.ISBN978-9-004-12041-9.
- Diakonoff, I. M.(1985). "Media". InGershevitch, Ilya(ed.).The Median and Achaemenian Periods.The Cambridge History of Iran.Vol. 2.Cambridge,United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-20091-2.
- Harmatta, János(1996). "10.4.1. The Scythians". InHermann, Joachim;Zürcher, Erik;Harmatta, János;Litvak, J. K.;Lonis, R.[in French];Obenga, T.;Thapar, R.;Zhou, Yiliang (eds.).From the Seventh Century B.C. to the Seventh Century A.D.History of Humanity. Vol. 3.London,United Kingdom;New York City,United States;Paris,France:Routledge;UNESCO.ISBN978-9-231-02812-0.
- Herodotus;Godolphin, Francis R. B. (1973)."Herodotus: On the Scythians".The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin.32(5): 129–149.doi:10.2307/3269235.JSTOR3269235.Retrieved26 November2021.
- Ivantchik, Askold(1993a).Les Cimmériens au Proche-Orient[The Cimmerians in the Near East](PDF)(in French).Fribourg,Switzerland;Göttingen,Germany: Editions Universitaires (Switzerland);Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht(Germany).ISBN978-3-727-80876-0.
- Jacobson, Esther (1995).The Art of the Scythians: The Interpenetration of Cultures at the Edge of the Hellenic World.Leiden,Netherlands:Brill Publishers.ISBN978-9-004-09856-5.
- Melyukova, A. I.(1990). "The Scythians and Sarmatians". InSinor, Denis(ed.).The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia.Cambridge,United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.pp. 97–117.ISBN978-0-521-24304-9.
- Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2000a)."The Cimmerian Problem Re-Examined: the Evidence of the Classical Sources".InPstrusińska, Jadwiga[in Polish];Fear, Andrew (eds.).Collectanea Celto-Asiatica Cracoviensia.Kraków:Księgarnia Akademicka.pp. 71–100.ISBN978-8-371-88337-8.
- Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2000b)."Remarks on the Presence of Iranian Peoples in Europe and Their Asiatic Relations".InPstrusińska, Jadwiga[in Polish];Fear, Andrew (eds.).Collectanea Celto-Asiatica Cracoviensia.Kraków:Księgarnia Akademicka.pp. 101–140.ISBN978-8-371-88337-8.
- Phillips, E. D. (1972)."The Scythian Domination in Western Asia: Its Record in History, Scripture and Archaeology".World Archaeology.4(2): 129–138.doi:10.1080/00438243.1972.9979527.JSTOR123971.Retrieved5 November2021.
- Sulimirski, T.(1954)."Scythian Antiquities in Western Asia".Artibus Asiae.17(3).Ascona,Switzerland:Artibus Asiae Publishers: 282–318.doi:10.2307/3249059.JSTOR3249059.Retrieved4 April2023.
- Sulimirski, T.(1985). "The Scyths". InGershevitch, I.(ed.).The Median and Achaemenian Periods.The Cambridge History of Iran.Vol. 2.Cambridge,United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.pp. 149–199.ISBN978-1-139-05493-5.
- Sulimirski, Tadeusz;Taylor, T. F.(1991). "The Scythians". InBoardman, John;Edwards, I. E. S.;Hammond, N. G. L.;Sollberger, E.;Walker, C. B. F. (eds.).The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C.The Cambridge Ancient History.Vol. 3.Cambridge,United Kingdom:Cambridge University Press.pp. 547–590.ISBN978-1-139-05429-4.