Scythia

Scythia (Scythian: Skulatā; Old Persian: 𐎿𐎤𐎢𐎭𐎼 Skudra; Ancient Greek: Σκυθια Skuthia; Latin: Scythia) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: Σκυθικη Skuthikē; Latin: Scythica), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Etymology The names and are themselves Latinisations of the Ancient Greek names and, which were themselves derived from the ancient Greek names for the Scythians, and, derived from the Scythian endonym . History Origins The Scythians originated in Central Asia possibly around the 9th century BC, and they arrived in the Caucasian Steppe in the 8th and 7th centuries BC as part of a significant movement of the nomadic peoples of the Eurasian Steppe. This movement started when another nomadic Iranian tribe closely related to the Scythians, either the Massagetae or the Issedones, migrated westwards, forcing the Early Scythians to the west across the Araxes river, following which the Scythians moved into the Caspian Steppe, where they conquered the territory of the Cimmerians, who were also a nomadic Iranian people closely related to the Scythians, and assimilated most of them while displacing the rest, before settling in the area between the Araxes, the Caucasus Mountains and the Lake Maeotis.