Thyssagetae
TheThyssagetae(Ancient Greek:Θυσσαγέται) were an ancient tribe described byHerodotusas occupying a district to the north-east ofScythia,separated from theBudiniby a "desert" that took seven days to cross.[1]The Thyssagetae therefore seem to have occupied the southern end of theUral Mountains,north of theCaspian Sea.[2]
According to the 19th Century archaeologist SirEllis Minns,the form of their name suggests that the Thyssagetae spoke anIranian language,such asScythianorSarmatian,like the neighbouringMassagetae(on the north-east shores of the Caspian).[3]
The 15th Century chroniclerGiacomo Filippo Foresti(a.k.a. Jacobus Philippus Foresti da Bergamo) mentioned a river in the area named theThisageta,and Minns suggested that the name of theChusovaya(or Chussovaja) River in the Urals may be linked to the Thyssagetae.[3]
According to Ellis Minns, while Herodotus claimed that four rivers from the land of the Thyssagetae flowed into theMaeotis(Sea of Azov), he appears to have been mistaken.[3]He may have confused the Caspian Sea with the Maeotis, as one of the rivers, named the "Oarus",was almost certainly theVolga.[2]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Herodotus.Histories,4.22.1: "...after the desert, if one inclines somewhat to the east, the Thyssagetae are reached, a numerous nation quite distinct from any other, and living by the chase."
- ^abMinns 1911.
- ^abcEllis Hovell Minns, (2011; orig. 1903),Scythians and Greeks: A Survey of Ancient History and Archaeology on the North Coast of the Euxine from the Danube to the Caucasus,Cambridge, Cambridge University Press p. 107.
Sources[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Minns, Ellis Hovell(1911). "Thyssagetae".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 26.
