Scythians | Wikipedia audio article |
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This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Scythians 00:04:43 1 Names and terminology 00:07:09 2 Origins 00:07:18 2.1 Literary evidence 00:08:33 2.2 Archaeology 00:10:24 3 History 00:10:33 3.1 Classical Antiquity (600 BC to AD 300) 00:14:13 3.2 Sakas of the Eastern Steppe 00:18:49 3.3 Khotan and kingdoms of the Tarim Basin 00:20:51 3.4 Indo-Scythians 00:21:48 3.5 Late Antiquity 00:23:44 4 Archaeology 00:25:45 4.1 Kurgans 00:27:15 4.2 Pazyryk culture 00:28:24 4.3 Bilsk excavations 00:29:15 4.4 Tillia Tepe treasure 00:30:27 5 Culture and society 00:30:37 5.1 Tribal divisions 00:33:51 5.2 Warfare 00:35:37 5.3 Clothing 00:40:02 5.4 Art 00:43:06 5.5 Religion 00:43:52 6 Language 00:45:31 7 Physical appearance 00:47:55 8 Historiography 00:48:04 8.1 Herodotus 00:51:35 8.2 Strabo 00:53:28 8.3 Indian sources 00:53:47 9 Genetics 01:00:04 10 Legacy 01:00:13 10.1 Early Modern usage 01:03:28 10.2 Descent claims 01:06:15 11 Related ancient peoples 01:07:02 12 See also Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago. Learning by listening is a great way to: - increases imagination and understanding - improves your listening skills - improves your own spoken accent - learn while on the move - reduce eye strain Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone. You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKfABj2eGyjH3ntPxp4YeQ You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through: https://github.com/nodef/wikipedia-tts "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates SUMMARY ======= The Scythians (; from Greek Σκύθης, Σκύθοι), also known as Scyth, Saka, Sakae, Sai, Iskuzai, or Askuzai, were Eurasian nomads, probably mostly using Eastern Iranian languages, who were mentioned by the literate peoples to their south as inhabiting large areas of the western and central Eurasian Steppe from about the 9th century BC up until the 4th century AD. The "classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians, agreed to be mainly Iranian in origin, were located in the northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region. Other Scythian groups documented by Assyrian, Achaemenid and Chinese sources show that they also existed in Central Asia, where they were referred to as the Iskuzai/Askuzai, Saka (Old Persian: Sakā; New Persian/Pashto: ساکا; Sanskrit: शक Śaka; Greek: Σάκαι; Latin: Sacae), and Sai (Chinese: 塞; Old Chinese: *sˤək), respectively.The relationships between the peoples living in these widely separated regions remains unclear, and the term is used in both a broad and narrow sense. The term "Scythian" is used by modern scholars in an archaeological context for finds perceived to display attributes of the wider "Scytho-Siberian" culture, usually without implying an ethnic or linguistic connotation. The term Scythic may also be used in a similar way, "to describe a special phase that followed the widespread diffusion of mounted nomadism, characterized by the presence of special weapons, horse gear, and animal art in the form of metal plaques". Their westernmost territories during the Iron Age were known to classical Greek sources as Scythia, and in the more narrow sense "Scythian" is restricted to these areas, where the Scythian languages were spoken. Different definitions of "Scythian" have been used, leading to a good deal of confusion.The Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. They kept herds of horses, cattle and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons and fought with bows and arrows on horseback. They developed a rich culture characterised by opulent tombs, fine metalwork and a brilliant art style. In the 8th century BC, they possibly raided Zhou China. Soon after, they expanded westwards and dislodged the Cimmerians from power on the Pontic Steppe. At their peak, Scythians came to dominate the entire steppe zone, stretching from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to central China (Ordos culture) and the south Siberia (Tagar culture) in the east, creating what has been called the first Central Asian nomadic empire, although there was little that could be called an organised state.Based in what is modern-day Ukraine, Southern European Russia and Crimea, the western Scythians were ruled by a wealthy class known as the Royal Scyths. The Scythians established and controlled the Silk Road, a vast trade network connecting Greece, Persia, India and China, perhaps contributing to the contemporary flourishing of those civilisations. Settled metalworkers made portable decorative objects for the Scyt ... |