Names 

Who was after the Sarmatians. Who are the Sarmatians? Great Migration

In the III century BC. e. new masters came to the Northern Black Sea region - the Sarmatians. These were Iranian-speaking nomads who formerly lived in the steppes between the Don and Turkestan, but then, under strong pressure from the Turks, began an outflow to the west, pushing the Scythians in turn. As a result of a stubborn struggle, in the first half of the II century BC. e. The Scythian kingdom ceased to exist. Part of the Scythians remained to roam in Northern Tavria, recognizing the power of the Sarmatians, the rest went to the right bank of the Danube in the Dobruja region - this territory began to be called by the ancient authors "Small Scythia".

The Sarmatians lived in felt tents, eating meat and milk. A distinctive feature of their appearance was long reddish hair. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (second half of the 4th century) found the appearance of the Sarmatians "pretty", even though "by the ferocity of their gaze they inspire fear, no matter how they restrain themselves."

The Sarmatian horde was a formidable military force. The Iranian world at that time was experiencing a military-political upsurge. In Asia Minor, the power of the Parthian kingdom* was growing. The Roman infantry was powerless against the heavy cavalry of the Parthians.

* The Parthian kingdom is a state formed by the Parthians (parns), an Iranian nomadic people who invaded at the beginning of the 2nd century. BC e. to the province of the Seleucid state - Parthia. Later, the Parthians extended their power to Mesopotamia and Bactria and turned Armenia into a vassal kingdom. The last Parthian king, Artaban V, died in 226.

The Sarmatian cavalry was armed on the model of the Parthian. The core and color of the army were riders from noble families, dressed in iron helmets and armor and armed with swords and spears. Other Sarmatians sewed on their dressing gowns horn plates skillfully cut from horse hooves. In battle, heavily armed noble horsemen became in the center of the battle formation, and their lightly armed relatives on the flanks. Tacitus notes that it was possible to stop the pressure of the Sarmatian cavalry only on rough or swampy terrain or under unfavorable weather conditions for the cavalry - for example, on a rainy day, when the Sarmatian horses could slip under the weight of an armored rider. A huge advantage over the Roman cavalry was given to the Sarmatians by the use of stirrups, thanks to which they held on tighter in the saddle (although the Sarmatian stirrups were, as a rule, not iron, but leather).

Even more important was the system of values ​​that the Sarmatians adhered to and which put murder and destruction in the category of the highest virtues. Ammian Marcellinus writes about the Alans, one of the tribes that were part of the Sarmatian horde: “The pleasure that good-natured and peace-loving people get from scholarly leisure, they find in danger and war. The highest happiness in their eyes is death on the battlefield; to die of old age or an accident is shameful for them and is a sign of cowardice, the accusation of which is terribly insulting. Killing a person is a manifestation of heroism, which does not even deserve praise. The most glorious trophy is the scalped enemy's hair; they decorate war horses. Among them you will not find a temple, or a sanctuary, or even a thatched niche for an altar. The naked sword, plunged into the ground according to the barbaric custom, becomes the symbol of Mars, and they devoutly worship him as the supreme ruler of the lands through which they pass. This worldview was destined to become dominant for several centuries.

A characteristic feature of the social structure of the Sarmatians was the high position of women, who often led tribes, performed priestly functions and fought on an equal footing with men. In the archaeological zone of the Sarmatian nomads (in the adjacent territories of Russia and Kazakhstan, in the North Caucasus and in the Northern Black Sea region), there are burial mounds of women with armor, military weapons and horse harness. Apparently, the Sarmatian clan at the stage of decomposition of the tribal system was still maternal, and the kinship was counted along the female line. Therefore, ancient writers often called the Sarmatians a “women-ruled” people. This feature of their social life led to the emergence of the myth of the Amazons. According to Herodotus, the Sarmatians descended from the marriages of Scythian youths with legendary female warriors, which allegedly explains why Sarmatian women ride horses, wield weapons, hunt and go to war, wear the same clothes as men and do not even get married while in battle. won't kill the enemy.

Politically, the Sarmatian horde was a confederation of several related tribes. In the first decades after R.Kh. most deeply to the west - in the Pannonian steppes - the yazygi wedged; Roxalans (“bright Alans”) roamed between the Don and the Dnieper, and even further to the east - the Alans (or Ases, “yases” of our chronicle, the ancestors of the Ossetians). Under the first Roman emperors, the Iazyges and Roxalans crossed the Danube and invaded Moesia. Emperor Hadrian (117-138) had to pay them an annual tribute.
In the future, the struggle was fought with varying success. Scenes of the military triumph of the Romans over the Sarmatians are depicted on the bas-reliefs of the triumphal column of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The most fierce wars on the Sarmatian front of the empire had to be waged in the last decades of the 3rd century, under the emperors Aurelian and Probe, who received the same title - "Sarmatian" for their victories over the steppes. The Goths and Huns put an end to the dominion of the Sarmatians in the Northern Black Sea region, but their last wave - the Alanian horde - reached the Baltic, Spain and North Africa, however, already in alliance with other barbarians, vandals and Sueves.

The sources are silent about direct Slavic-Sarmatian contacts. This gives reason to believe that the ancient Sarmatians played an insignificant role in the fate of the Slavs, although, perhaps, somewhat more than the Scythians. In the Sarmatian era, the Iranian and Slavic worlds moved towards each other, but a genuine mutually fertilizing cultural meeting did not take place then. The Sarmatian nomad camps were located much higher along the Dnieper than the Scythian ones, and, possibly, they were adjacent to the eastern grouping of Slavic tribes, which by that time had advanced to the upper reaches of the Dniester. It has been suggested that the main Sarmatian city, or rather camp, known to the Greeks under the name of Metropolis, could stand on the site of present-day Kyiv * - this conjecture, however, is not confirmed archaeologically. Sarmatian pressure, and hence the influence experienced only the outskirts of the Slavic world. Therefore, in the cultural and historical sense, the Sarmatian rule in the Black Sea steppes was just as fruitless as the Scythian. The memory of him survived only in the name "Sarmatia", used by ancient and medieval writers to refer to Eastern Europe along with "Scythia", and in a number of Iranianisms in the Slavic language. The Slavs had, in fact, nothing to borrow from the Sarmatians. It is significant, for example, that the metallurgists of the Middle Dnieper region, despite the geographical proximity to the Sarmatian nomads, focused exclusively on the Celtic iron production.

* Shmurlo E.F. Course of Russian history. The emergence and formation of the Russian state (862-1462). Ed. 2nd, corrected. SPb., 1999. T. 1. S. 61.

The ethno-cultural merging of some East Slavic tribes with the descendants of the Sarmatians (the Iranian-speaking population of the southern Russian steppes) occurred much later, in the 7th-8th centuries, during the active Slavic colonization of the Dnieper and Don region.
The place of their meeting was the Middle Dnieper. Ases - one of the fragments of the Sarmatian horde - settled in the Don region and, possibly, in Porosie (Saltovskaya culture). At the end of the 7th century Slavs appeared on the northern border of the Asian settlements. The inevitable process of miscegenation of neighbors was accelerated by the invasion of the Khazars, who pursued the defeated Bulgar horde. A short fight with the steppes ended in a crushing defeat for the aces. Their settlements were completely destroyed, and at the beginning of the 8th century. the inter-tribal association created by them ceased to exist. At the same time, probably, the Slavs who settled in the forest-steppe zone, the Vyatichi, Radimichi, northerners, also became tributaries of the kagan.

Fleeing from extermination, the aces rushed to the north, to the Polyana land (Porosye region). Apparently, their resettlement among the Dnieper Slavs took place peacefully; in any case, there are no archaeological traces of military clashes in this area. But there are numerous confirmations of the rapid assimilation of newcomers by the Slavs. The settlements of the Dnieper Slavs even in the tenth century. did not cover the Poros region, and meanwhile, many elements of the Poros culture can be clearly seen in the Slavic antiquities of this time. It is natural to assume that this circumstance is the result of the mass penetration of the carriers of the Poros culture into the Slavic environment. Anthropological studies say that the “Scythian-Sarmatian” (i.e. Alan-Asian) features *, in the physical appearance of the Kievan population of ancient Rus', both urban and rural, are expressed so clearly that “this similarity can be interpreted in terms of non-Slavic affiliation of the meadows” [Alekseeva T. I. Ethnogenesis of the Eastern Slavs according to anthropology data. M., 1973. In the book: Slavs and Rus: Problems and ideas: Concepts born of three centuries of controversy, in a textbook presentation / Comp. A. G. Kuzmin. 2nd ed., M., 1999. S. 121].

* The Scythian-Sarmatian population of the Northern Black Sea region is characterized by an average skull size, a rather narrow face, a low forehead and a straight, narrow nose.

The presence of a numerous Iranian-speaking contingent in the "Russian" squads of the Kyiv princes is quite clearly evidenced by the Iranian deities Khors and Simargl in the pagan Pantheon of Prince Vladimir. By the way, Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (mid-10th century) also knew the Alanian name for Kyiv - Sambatas, probably derived from the Iranian personal name Smbat.
I want to draw attention to the fact that the legend of the Polyana tribute paid to the Khazars with swords belongs precisely to the As population of the Dnieper region. The mention of the sword as a characteristic weapon of the Scythian-Sarmatian peoples can be traced in written monuments from the time of Herodotus. Meanwhile, archaeological research in the Middle Dnieper region suggests that the sword "does not have local roots in the culture of the previous period" [Kirpichnikov A.N., Medvedev A.F. Armament / / Ancient Rus': City, castle, village. M., 1985. (Archaeology of the USSR). P. 320], and the mass arming of the East Slavic militias with swords took place no earlier than the 10th century, that is, when the Kiev principality had already got rid of tributary dependence on the Khazars. Consequently, the legend of tribute with swords arose among the people who settled in the Middle Dnieper in the 7th-8th centuries. and for a long time professed the cult of the sword. These people could only be Ases. In the light of the above anthropological data on the physical appearance of the "glades", this hypothesis is on solid ground.

The formation of the Dnieper Rus became that genuine meeting of the Slavic and Iranian worlds, the prelude to which was the thousand-year period of Scythian-Sarmatian rule in the Northern Black Sea region. Since that time, ancient Russian culture has been under strong Iranian influence. The Old Russian dictionary is replete with words of Iranian origin - “ax”, “hut”, “harem pants”, etc. Through the aces, ancient Rus' got acquainted with the Babylonian and Pergamum measures of length and weight, generally accepted in the Sarmatian period throughout the Near East, the Caucasus and the North Black Sea region. So, the old Russian "big hryvnia" or "Russian pound" corresponds to the Babylonian mine, and "pood" - to the Babylonian talent; the Pergamum “finger” is equal to the Russian “top”, and the “step” is equal to the “arshin” [Vernadsky G. V. Ancient Rus'. Tver; Moscow, 2000, p. 118]. Russian folk art adopted many Iranian motifs. The most striking of them is a favorite subject of ancient Russian embroidery: a woman on a horse or between two horses, under whose hooves, as well as at the top, two swastika signs are depicted - probably the sun in the "upper" and "lower" hemispheres of heaven. The veneration of the Great Mother by the Scythians was noted by Herodotus; this cult was also characteristic of the Alans.

Ancient Russian epics know many cases of the marriage of Kyiv knights to bogatyrs-"polyanytsy", who leave "in the open field to Pole, but to look for a rival for themselves." Moreover, as a rule, they surpass the male “opponents” in strength, prowess and martial arts. Here Dobrynya three times runs into Nastasya, who accidentally met in the steppe, trying to knock her off her horse with blows of a club on the head. For the third time, Nastasya finally pays attention to him:

I thought Russian mosquitoes bite,
Azhno Russian heroes click!

And she puts her proposal to marry her in the following form:

Make with me a great commandment,
And you will not do the great commandment -
I put it on the palm, I will press the other one from above,
I'll make you yes with oatmeal pancake.

Although the hero of the Danube manages to defeat Nastasya the Queen in a duel, then, at the wedding feast, she wins the competition for accuracy: the “hot arrow” fired by her falls into the blade of the knife, which “cuts the arrow into two halves”; Danube, meanwhile, misses three times and in his hearts directs the fourth arrow "into Nastasya's white breasts."

These plots reflect the fact of numerous marriages of the Slavic-“Russian” warriors with representatives of the noble families of the Alans. A warrior girl is a common figure in the folklore of the Iranian-speaking peoples of the Great Steppe, and in the most ancient legends, their heroines, in order to get married, must certainly kill the enemy. In the Dmitrievsky burial ground on the territory of the Saltovskaya culture (in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets), about 30% of female burials, overwhelmingly belonging to the 9th century, contain weapons: hatchets, bows with arrows, daggers, sabers. Along with weapons, there are a lot of amulets in the burials. It is noteworthy that the legs of these women are tied, and in some of the dead, the bones of the limbs are even taken out of the grave. Archaeologists believe that this funeral custom reflected “the desire of the living to neutralize the dead as much as possible, to deprive him of the opportunity to leave the grave. Obviously, women with amulets were recognized as the most dangerous, that is, women endowed with some kind of supernatural abilities, which after their death it would be desirable to weaken as much as possible ”[Pletneva S.A.“ Amazons ”as a socio-political phenomenon. In: Culture of the Slavs and Rus'. M., 1998. S. 536].

So, Middle Dnieper Rus is also "Alano-Asian" Rus.

The Sarmatians were not a single people, but rather several groups of nomadic peoples who had a common origin. Sarmatians roamed the Eurasian steppes - a huge corridor stretching from China to Hungary, gradually leaving to the west. They spoke Iranian dialects, close to the dialects of the Scythians and related to the Persian language.

The Sarmatians appeared on the historical scene in the 7th century. BC. in the steppe region located east of the Don and south of the Urals. For centuries, the Sarmatians lived in relative peace with their western relatives and neighbors, the Scythians. In the III century. BC. or a little earlier, the Sarmatians crossed the Don and attacked the Scythians who inhabited the northern coast of the Black Sea (Pont Euxinus). Soon" most of this country has turned into a desert"(Diodorus, 2.43). The surviving Scythians went to the Crimea and Bessarabia, leaving their pastures to the newcomers. The Sarmatians dominated their new lands for the next five centuries.

The following Sarmatian tribes are best known: Savromats, Aorses, Siraks, Yazigis and Roxolans. The Alans who appeared later were relatives of the Sarmatians, but they are usually considered as an independent group of tribes. The fact that the Alans were not one people, but a confederation of different tribes, is evidenced by Ammian Macelliv (31.2.13 17) and some medieval Arabic sources.

Northern Pychernomorye in the II century. BC. - III century. AD

Most of the Sarmatian tribes were engaged in cattle breeding. This occupation provided them with food and clothing. They spent the winter on the southern edge of the steppes, not far from the Black and Caspian Seas, near the mouths of the Don, Dnieper and Volga. In the spring, the Sarmatians migrated to the north. Carts served as transport and dwellings for the Sarmatians. Ammianus Marcellinus writes (3S.2.18): " In them, husbands sleep with their wives, children are born and fed in them.«.

The early Sarmatians became the source of the famous myth of the Amazons. According to Herodotus (4.116), the Sauromat women hunt, shoot with bows and throw javelins while riding on horseback. Neither do they go to war with men and even dress the same. The myth of the Amazons is confirmed archaeologically. In the early Sarmatian female burials, bronze arrowheads are found, and sometimes even swords, daggers and spearheads. The skeletons of girls aged 13-14 years old have crooked legs - evidence that they learned to ride a horse before they could walk. The status of a woman among the Sarmatians was unexpectedly high. Some ancient authors (Pseudosillax, 70) even believed that Sarmatian society was run by women.

In the 1st century Since the birth of Christ, the Sarmatians and Alans left a particularly noticeable mark in history, having made several successful raids on their settled neighbors. Having invaded Asia Minor, the nomads devastated the lands inhabited by Parthians, Indians and Armenians. At the same time, other Sarmatian tribes plundered the Danubian provinces of the Roman Empire: Pannonia and Moesia. Then the Sarmatians moved further along the lower reaches of the Danube and entrenched themselves on the Hungarian plain. Some entered the military service of the Roman army, but for several centuries the Sarmags remained unpredictable neighbors, starting a war on minimal provocation. The tension on the border was so high that the Roman authorities began to allow the Sarmatians to settle in the territory of the Empire. As a result of the wars with the Sarmatians, the Roman army underwent a radical rebirth. The legionary infantry, which had previously been the main fighting force of the army, began to fade into the background, but the previously secondary cavalry was unusually strengthened. The Roman cavalry now took as a model the cavalry of the Sarmatians armed with spears.

Throughout their history, the Sarmatians maintained close ties with the Greek colonies on the northern coast of the Black Sea, as well as with the Cimmerian Bosporan kingdom, lying in the east of the Crimea and the west of the Taman Peninsula up to the mouth of the Don. In the middle of the 1st c. from AD in the Bosporus kingdom, the Sarmatian dynasty came to power, as a result, the army of the kingdom was largely “Sarmatized”. Outwardly, the heavy Bosporan cavalry practically ceased to differ from the heavy cavalry of the Sarmatians. The Bosporan fine arts have preserved for us the best images of Sarmatian weapons.

The appearance of the Goths broke the former ties between the Sarmatians and the Bosporus kingdom. Goths - Germanic people - about 200 AD began resettlement to the south from Scandinavia through Poland and the Dnieper region. By 250, the Goths captured Olbia and continued their movement to the east, occupying the Crimea. As a result, the Goths completely ousted the Sarmatians and Alans from this region.

Somewhere a century later, the appearance of the Huns in the Black Sea region was no less dramatic. Successive waves of Goths and Huns caused great disturbance to the western frontier of the Roman Empire. The Alans had no choice but to join the Huns. Waves of invasion reached Gaul, Spain and even North Africa. Small groups of Sarmatians and Alans served in the Roman army. By the middle of the 5th century, the Sarmatians no longer represented a noticeable force, but by the 6th century. it is possible to trace only traces of their presence in the west of Europe. Apparently, the Sarmatians did not disappear, but organically merged into the motley tapestry of peoples, which was medieval Europe.

COMMENTS

   SAUROMATES(lat. Sauromatae) - nomadic Iranian tribes who lived in the 7th-4th centuries. BC. in the steppes of the Volga and Ural regions. The first Sarmatian people noted in written history.

In the 5th century BC Herodotus (4.21) wrote that the Savromats live to the east of the Don on a treeless plain that extends for 15 days north of Lake Msoti (the Sea of ​​Azov). The Savromats of Herodotus, apparently, correspond to the culture discovered between the Don and the Volga by archaeologists and dating back to the 7th-4th centuries. BC. In the east, this culture reaches the territory of modern Kazakhstan, stretching from the northern coast of the Caspian Sea to the southern Urals.

By origin, culture and language, the Savromats are related to the Scythians. Ancient Greek writers (Herodotus and others) emphasized the special role that women played among the Savromats. Most of the facts we know about the Sauromates are semi-mythical. Herodotus (4.110-116) states that the Sauromates were the children of the Scythians and Amazons who lived north of the Caucasus. Their language is a distorted Scythian, as the Amazon mothers never knew it perfectly.

The history of the Savromats reflected in written sources begins with the following event. In 507 B.C. (dating uncertain) the Savromats became allies of the Scythians, who were attacked by the Persian king Darim I. The detachment of the Savromats advanced far to the west, reaching the Danube, trying to interfere with the actions of the Persian army.

Archaeologists have found burials of wealthy women with weapons and horse equipment. Some Sauromatian women were priestesses - stone altars were found in the graves next to them. In con. 5th-4th centuries BC. Sauromatian tribes pressed the Scythians and crossed the Don. In IV-III centuries. BC. they developed strong tribal alliances. The descendants of the Savromats are the Sarmatians (III century BC - IV century AD).

Today, the Sauromatian period is understood as the earliest period in the history of the Sarmatians (VII-IV centuries BC). The Savromats formed the core of the Sarmatian group of tribes, which gradually moved westward.

   AORS(Greek "Aorsoi") - one of the most powerful confederations of the Sarmatian tribes, apparently, migrated here etkudato from the east.

Strabo (11.5.8) distinguishes two groups of Aorsi: some lived closer to the Black Sea and could raise an army of 200,000 cavalry warriors, others were even more powerful and lived closer to the Caspian. Modern scholars believe that the lands of the Aorses extended all the way to the Aral Sea.

Some scholars believe that the Aorses and the people of Yen-Tsai (An-Tsai) mentioned in the Chinese chronicles are one and the same. The chronicle of the early Han Dynasty ("Han-shu"), compiled around 90 AD, states that " they have 100,000 fen archers". They live 2000 li (1200 km) northwest of Khan-chu (Sogdiana) - a state that lay in the fertile interfluve of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya (Transoxania) southeast of the Aral Sea. Later, Chinese texts describe clothes and customs of the Yen-Tsai people, who were close to those in Kahan-Chu.

During the Bosporus War in 49 AD. the Aorsi supported the pro-Roman faction, while the Siraci chose the opposite side.

Meanwhile, the Aorsi were subjugated and absorbed by a new confederation of Sarmatian tribes - the Alans, who, like their predecessors, arrived in the Black Sea region from Central Asia. Some of the Aorsi retreated to the west, to the north of the Crimea, where for some time they retained their independence. Ptolemy mentions "alanors", probably a mixed alliance. In the Chinese chronicles, the people of "Alan-Liao" came to the place of the Yen-Tsai people.

   SIRAKI(Greek "Sirakoi", Latin "Siraces" or "Siraci") - part of the Sarmatian horde, a nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes, migrated at the end of the 5th century. BC. from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea region. By the end of the IV century. BC. they occupied lands from the Caucasus to the Don, gradually becoming the sole masters of the region known today as the Kuban. Siraki became the first of the Sarmatians to establish contacts with the Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast. In 310-309 years. BC. the Sirak king Arifarn intervened in the war for the throne of the Bosporus kingdom, but soon his army was defeated in the battle on Fates, as one of the tributaries of the Kuban was called in those days.

The Siraki were a relatively small people, but Strabo (11.5.8) states that King Abeak could muster up to 20,000 horsemen during the reign of the Bosporan ruler Pharnaces (63-47 BC). The Sirak aristocracy led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, but the lower social strata were sedentary. The Siraks were Hellenized to a greater extent than other Sarmatians, they also maintained close contacts with the Bosporan kingdom.

During the Bosporus War in 49 AD. the Aorsi supported the pro-Roman faction, while the Siraci chose the opposite side. During the war, the Romans laid siege to the fortified Siracian city of Uspa. The fortifications of the city, consisting of wicker hedges plastered with clay, turned out to be too weak to withstand the assault (Tacitus, Annals, 12.16-17). " The night did not stop the besiegers. The siege was completed within a day"Uspa was quickly taken by storm, the entire population of the city was killed. The Siracs had to swear allegiance to Rome. The war of 49 seriously weakened the Siracs, they almost disappeared from history until another Bosporan conflict, in 193, after which their traces are finally lost.

   YAZIGI- part of the Sarmatian horde, a nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes that roamed in the Northern Black Sea region and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov.

The meaning of the word "yazigi" (Greek and Latin "Iazyges") remains unclear. However, the word "Yazigi" in classical texts is invariably used as part of the phrase "Iazyges Sarmaiae", which indicates that they represented some part of the Sarmatian horde.

The Yazigi and the Roxolans were among the first to cross the Don. The Yazigi chose the area immediately north of Crimea as their new place of residence.

In 16 BC. the Iazyges made the first armed contact with Rome. The proconsul of Macedonia pushed back the nomads who invaded the territory of Rome beyond the Danube. For the next three centuries, the Sarmatians constantly harassed the eastern borders of Rome. The poet Ovid witnessed several such raids that took place in 8-17 years. from AD, when he was in exile in the Black Sea colony of Tom (modern - Constanta). Ovid describes the Sarmatian cavalry and their wagons crossing the frozen Danube.

The Yazigs moved northwest along the lower reaches of the Danube. By the middle of the 1st c. AD they reached the Hungarian plain between the Danube and the Tisza. In 50, they assisted Vannius, the king of the Suebi, dependent on Rome, in his war with his neighbors. The Iazigs provided Vannius with cavalry, but when the king of the Suebi took refuge in the fortress, the Iazigs " could not stand the siege and scattered around", after which Vannius was quickly defeated (Tacitus, "Annals" 12.29-31).

Throughout this period, the Iazyges generally maintained friendly relations with Rome and even sometimes acted as direct allies, participating in the military operations of the Empire. The creation of the province of Dacia by Trajan in 106 drove a wedge between the Roxolans and the Iazyges, leading to enmity with both peoples. Peace was restored only during the reign of Andrian, when the Sarmatians were allowed to move around Dacia, and the Roxolan king Rasparagn received Roman citizenship.

Major unrest again arose during the war with the Marcomanni (167-180), when the Iazyges, together with some Germanic tribes, invaded Dacia and Pannonia. The Yazigi suffered heavy losses in the battle with the Romans on the ice of the frozen Danube in the winter of 173-174.

Two years later, peace was reached. Marcus Aurelius received the title "Sarmatian" (Sarmalieus), and the king of the Yazygi Zantik handed over a detachment of 8,000 horse soldiers as hostages to Rome. Most of this detachment was later transferred to Britain. For some time, a plan was hatched to turn the lands of the Yazigs into a new province, which was supposed to be called Sarmatia.

Peace reigned for half a century, but the emergence of Goths in the Ukrainian steppes caused a chain reaction of conflicts. Having spent in 236-238. campaign against the Iazyges, Emperor Maximin I (nicknamed the Thracian, his mother was a Sarmatian) received the title "The Greatest Sarmatian" (Sarmalicus Maximus). In 248-250 years. the Iazyges invaded Dacia, and in 254 Pannonia, but in 282 they were defeated in Pannonia by the army of Emperor Kara (282-283). Battles with the Yazigi continued throughout the reign of Diocletian (284-305).

During the III-IV centuries. Rome allowed some Sarmatian tribes to move to the territory of the Empire, where they were assigned the role of a human shield, designed to cover the Empire from Goth raids. In addition, the Sarmatians were more willing to serve in the army than the degenerate indigenous population of the Empire. Notitia Dignitatum lists 18 centers of Sarmatian settlements in Gaul and Italy. Until now, traces of these settlements are preserved in toponymy. So, near Reims there are the cities of Serme and Sermier, which were formerly settlements of the Sarmatians. Many representatives of the Sarmatian nobility managed to obtain Roman citizenship, and some were able to achieve power, for example, Victor, master of the horse of Emperor Jovian (c. 363).

   ROKSOLANS(lat. Roxolani; Iran. - "bright Alans") - a Sarmatian-Alanian nomadic tribe that led a large union of tribes that roamed in the Northern Black Sea region and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov.

Among the many attempts to explain the meaning of the word "roxolani" (Greek "Rlioxolanoi"), the most plausible is the linking of the first part of the word with the Iranian adjective raokhshna - "white", "light". Thus, the Roxolans are the "White Alans".

The ancestors of the Roxolans are the Sarmatians of the Volga and Ural regions. In II-I centuries. BC. Roxolans conquered the steppes between the Don and the Dnieper from the Scythians. According to the ancient geographer Strabo, roxolans follow their herds, always choosing areas with good pastures, in winter - in the swamps near Meotida(Sea of ​​Azov) , and in summer - and on the plains".

Roksolany and Yazigi were among the first to cross the Don. If the Iazyges chose the area immediately north of the Crimea as their new place of residence, then the Roxolans moved further north, populating the territory of present-day southern Ukraine. In 107 BC The Roxolans, led by Tasias, intervened in the conflict in the Crimea, where they clashed with the army of the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator. Strabo reports (7.3.17) that a mixed Roxolan-Scythian army of 50,000 people could not resist a detachment of 6,000 people led by the commander Diophantus. After this defeat, many Sarmatians went over to the side of Mithridates and participated in the era of the war with the Bosporan kingdom and Rome (Ashshan, "Mithridates", 15, 19. 69; Justin 38.3, 38.7).

In the 1st century AD warlike Roksolani occupied the steppes and west of the Dnieper. During the Great Migration of Peoples in the IV-V centuries. some of these tribes migrated along with the Huns.

Sarmatian tribes dominated the current territory from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD.

Arriving from the South Ural steppes, they settled to the northeast of the habitat of the Scythians. In the middle of the 3rd century AD, the Germanic tribes swept away the Sarmatians, as a result of which the latter partially became part of the Gothic state of Germanarich, the other part was accepted by the Proto-Slavs and became part of the Chernyakhov culture.

The remnants of the Sarmatian tribe went beyond the Don. The Huns finally eliminated the Sarmatians: they exterminated some, assimilated others.

Sarmatian tribes for 600 years had a significant impact on the worldview of the peoples who lived in their habitats.

Consider the following aspects of the life of the Sarmatians:

  • Sarmatians are similar in nationality to, as they have an identical anthropological type;
  • the Sarmatian tribes spoke a distorted Scythian language; The Sarmatians were a kind of people-army, where all men were liable for military service. They were extremely aggressive and warlike. The main arm of the Sarmatian tribes was the cavalry, while their horses were not very fast, but extremely hardy. In battle, the Sarmatians used swords, the length of which was in the range of 70-110 cm;
  • The basis of the social structure of the Sarmatians was the tribal community, which included a group of kindred families. They lived in camp in tents that resembled the yurts of the Mongols.The Sarmatians were a nomadic people, while each tribe owned its own territory, the crossing of which led to intertribal wars. They ate meat, cheese and milk. Sarmatian tribes were engaged in breeding horses and sheep;
  • Sarmatian "economy" was based on war and robbery. By making attacks, the nomads seized provisions and took men into slavery. The Sarmatians processed skins, from which they sewed clothes, and also mined metals. Casters cast cauldrons and mirrors from metal, made metal parts of horse harness, and blacksmiths forged iron swords and daggers. In addition, jewelers made jewelry from gold and silver. The Sarmatians actively traded in skins and handicrafts. Slaves were their main export item;
  • a special place in the religious beliefs of the Sarmatians was occupied by the cults of fire and the sun. They also revered analogues;
  • the Sarmatians used beautiful Greek-made pottery, as their own ceramic crafts were primitive;
  • A feature of the Sarmatian system was the high position in society of women, who were mistresses and educators of children, and also occupied a high place in the hierarchy of the tribe.

The Sarmatians are nomadic pastoral tribes who created a strong state in the East of Europe in the third century BC, and it lasted until the fourth century AD.

Story

For the first time, the Sarmatians are mentioned in the famous work of Herodotus "History". Historians report that the Sarmatians came from Media, Herodotus says that they were descendants of the Amazons.
At first, the Sarmatian tribes were neighbors of the Scythian state. There was peace between the two peoples, sometimes they united in a common struggle against the Persians. Sarmatian warriors even served in the service of the Scythian kings.
In the third century, the situation changes radically. Sarmatians launch an offensive against Scythia. It was during this period that the Scythian kingdom experienced its decline, so the Sarmatians chose the right moment for the offensive. Mass raids on the Scythian lands were replaced by the colonization of these lands by the Sarmatian tribes.
The Sarmatians, after the founding of their state, became one of the most powerful peoples in Europe of that period. They established dominance in the European steppes, and then began to establish relations with neighboring states.
Already at the beginning of our era, the Great Migration of Peoples began, associated with the movement of the Hun tribes. Their tribes forced many Sarmatians to leave their lands and attack the Roman Empire. The Huns are gradually pushing the Sarmatians out of their lands.

Dwellings of the Sarmatians

According to many historians, the Sarmatians led a nomadic lifestyle. Therefore, their dwellings were tents. They never lived in
cities and did not stay anywhere for a long time. Their tents were light and could be easily assembled and dismantled.

clothing

The Sarmatians wore long, spacious trousers made of thin fabric; they can remind many of trousers. On the torso they put on leather jackets. They wore boots on their feet, they were also made of leather. Many historians believe that Sarmatian women wore the same clothes as men. This is explained by the fact that the Sarmatians were a warlike people, and women participated in battles along with men.

The role of women in society

In addition, Sarmatian women occupied a high position in society. At first, the Sarmatian society was matriarchal, but then it was supplanted by patriarchy. However, the role of a woman remained, as before, high and honorable.

culture

All tribes of the Sarmatians worshiped animals, the image of a ram occupied a central place in their beliefs. The image of a ram is often found on weapons and household items, mainly utensils. In addition to worshiping animals, they believed in the cult of ancestors. There is evidence that the Sarmatian warriors worshiped the sword.
The most famous monuments left by the Sarmatians are mounds, some of which reach a height of 8 meters. Weapons are most often found in such mounds: swords, bows and arrows, daggers. In addition to weapons, ceramics, bronze items (mainly jewelry) and bone items are found.

Warfare

As many sources say, the Sarmatians were considered excellent warriors. They fought mostly on horseback. The basis of the army was heavy cavalry, many believe that it was the Sarmatians who created such a branch of the army as heavy cavalry.
The Sarmatian warriors were armed with the so-called Sarmatian swords, which they used in equestrian combat quite effectively due to their length. Basically, they had a length of 70 to 110 cm. In addition to the sword, they also used a spear in battle, which helped them deliver powerful, swift blows to the ranks of opponents, literally blowing them out of the way with a spear. In addition to edged weapons, the warriors also fought with bows, from which they could fire while in the saddle on a horse.
They used leather armor as armor.
Sarmatian combat tactics were quite advanced for their time, and even the Roman Empire used similar maneuvers and tactics. In addition to tactics, Sarmatian weapons were also used, mainly it was a sword.
Historians emphasize the endurance of the Sarmatian cavalry, some saying that they could cover a distance of 150 miles in just one day.
Summing up, it should be said that the Sarmatians managed to create one of the strongest states, the heyday of which falls at the end of the third century BC. and until the beginning of the third century AD. Then comes the decline, and finally it fell apart due to the intensive migration of the Huns.
The Sarmatians were excellent cavalry warriors and all neighboring states reckoned with him.

Sarmatians - steppe warriors

For eight hundred years this legendary nomadic people dominated the boundless Eurasian steppes. From the 4th century BC to 4th century AD Historians find evidence of the enormous influence of the Sarmatians on Europe. Sarmatian warriors were part of the Roman army as a foreign legion. Sarmatian women - "Amazons" fought no worse than men.

Sergei Lukyashko (Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences) says: "The Sarmatians actively participated in political life on the borders of the Roman Empire, reached the Apennine Peninsula and Iberia in their campaigns. The Sarmatians even organized their own kingdom in the center of France."

This nomadic people still remains a mystery. Archaeologists have discovered many masterpieces of ancient art in mounds, including those in the Southern Urals, created by the Sarmatians millennia ago. Lots of gold items. The mystical beauty of Sarmatian products captures the imagination. People have always admired the qualities of this metal. For centuries, gold has been considered a gift from the gods, blessed by the sun. Gold is surprisingly capable of taking bizarre shapes when forged and cast, taking on chased reliefs, twisting into threads of bizarre patterns. The brilliance of gold jewelry fascinates, captivates with the complexity of skillful drawing. Priceless treasures reveal the secret of the great nomadic people.

The Great Eurasian Steppe stretches for thousands of kilometers from the borders of China in the east to the Danube in the west, from the Siberian taiga in the north to the mountain ranges in the south. The Great Steppe for many centuries was the only land route connecting Europe with the East. The steppe became the cradle of a whole chain of nomadic cultures born in the expanses of Asia.

Some replaced others. Younger aggressive peoples won the right of their neighbors to be the first and dominate in the endless steppes. The Sarmatians are a mysterious people less known to us than their predecessors, the Scythians. Now, thanks to archaeological excavations, the culture of the Sarmatians is beginning to take on a real shape. Around the 4th century BC. The Sarmatians pushed back the previously dominant Scythians to the Crimea and gained fame as one of the most powerful nomadic peoples of the ancient world. Several waves of invasions of nomads from Central Asia to the south of Europe are known.

They went their separate ways. Through the steppes of the Southern Urals and Northern Kazakhstan - the 1st wave. Through the oases of Central Asia, the Southern Caspian, Transcaucasia - the 2nd. Once in Eastern Europe, the Sarmatians came to the attention of ancient authors. On ancient maps, the usual name of Scythia is replaced by Sarmatia.

The first mention of the Sauromatians, in whom many tend to see the ancestors of the Sarmatians, can be found in the Greek traveler and historian Herodotus. He reports: "Beyond the Tanais River (the ancient name of the Don River) there are no longer Scythian lands, but the lands there belong to the Savromats."

Scythian. Artist Evg.Kray

According to S. Lukyashko: "This culture was formed mainly in the Southern Urals and from there it comes to the territory of Eastern Europe." We refer to "Sarmatians" - a historical generalization. They were not a single people and were a group of related tribes: Aors, Alans, Siraks, Yezyks, Salans. These tribes were not always friendly among themselves and adhered to an independent policy. The Sarmatians, like the Scythians, were Iranian-speaking.

It is extremely difficult to recreate the history of a people who did not have cities and writing. The Sarmatians throughout the Great Steppe left evidence of their stay. These are mounds - earthen mounds over the burial place. Mounds are found everywhere, becoming an integral part of the modern steppe landscape. Like thousands of years ago, they impress with their grandeur, dominate the surrounding space. Topographic survey allows us to conclude that the mounds are not randomly located. They arose along the routes of nomadic tribes. This is confirmed by images from space. Russian satellites are constantly monitoring the entire territory of the steppe, helping to protect the mounds as national historical monuments.

The mounds are of great interest for the reconstruction of the spiritual life of the nomads. According to the beliefs of the Sarmatians, things that the deceased would need in the afterlife were placed in the burial: weapons, horse harness, dishes and jewelry. Archaeologists are gradually recreating the past on the basis of found objects and human remains, fragments of ceramics and jewelry. Burials reveal the world of complex images and original culture, which was not even a hint in the ancient texts that have come down to us. The treasures of the golden collection from the Sarmatian burial mounds tell about the power, beauty and strength of this amazing people. S. Lukyashko: "The archaeological discoveries of recent years in the field of Scythian-Sarmatian archeology showed the whole world the extraordinary greatness of this ancient culture. Magnificent examples of artistic bronze, gold, silver showed that the world still did not know this part of its own culture. And world culture is discovering for myself this great page of ancient history and, of course, the interest in this page is huge.

It is important to understand how the life of the Sarmatians was organized. The world of life and the world of death in the minds of the nomads were clearly separated. Many items were made specifically for burial and were not used in everyday life. Boris Raev (Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences): “The living culture in which we live and the dead culture that archaeologists encounter are completely different. We can’t, also because the culture of the settled population is more informative for science than burials. Burials are a very specific complex, it is connected with beliefs... Let's say they put one thing in the grave and never put another. But this does not mean that the Sarmatians did not have this thing, they had it. And we can find such a thing in the settlements. But the nomads did not have settlements. There appears to be a vicious circle of problems. Some we will decide, some we will never decide.

One of the ancient sources reports that, like the Persians, the Sarmatians worship the sword. The Roman historian Amian Marcellinus wrote about the veneration of the sword by the Alans: “They don’t see any temples or sanctuaries, you can’t even see their thatched huts anywhere, and according to the barbarian custom, they stick a naked sword into the ground and reverently worship him as Mars, the patron countries in which they roam."

B. Raev: "A nomadic society, due to its specificity, cannot be closed, it can never exist without the products of an agricultural society, in contrast to a sedentary society, which can exist without the products of a nomadic civilization for the simple reason that the settled population has its own livestock products ." Sarmatians are constantly in contact with settled peoples. The closest neighbors of the Sarmatians living in the Azov region are Greek colonies-settlements along the shores of the Black Sea and in the delta of the Don River. As well as the agricultural tribes of the Kuban region. The Sarmatians conducted a wide trade exchange, selling animal skins, slaves, weapons and livestock. In ancient Greek cities, they bought agricultural products: jewelry, fabrics, clothes, ceramics, mirrors, olive oil, wine. In mounds, archaeologists find glass, ceramics and gold items from Central Asia, Iran, the Middle East, and Egypt. There are connections with China and India. The relations of the Sarmatians with settled peoples were not always peaceful. Military superiority and the need for agricultural and handicraft products led to predatory attacks. The Sarmatians established tributary relations with some settled peoples.

Many artifacts are found in ancient settlements. For example, a settlement of the Meotian culture, which was in direct contact with the Sarmatian tribes. The Meots are the ancient tribes of Sindra, Dandaria, Seraks, Doskhi, and others who lived on the southeastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov in the 1st millennium BC. The Sea of ​​Azov, by the way, was called the Meotian. B. Raev - head of the excavations: "The ancient settlement is one of the largest Meotian ancient settlements in the Kuban, perhaps it is the city of Serac, mentioned by Ptolemy. This place is probably the capital of the country of seracs." Much evidence of relations with the Sarmatians has been found. Ceramics carries a lot of information. For example, the brand on the extracted item allows you to establish the place of its manufacture and the time of manufacture of the barrow. Many gold items from the Sarmatian barrows are not cast in one piece, but are made of thin foil deposited on a wooden base. Over the centuries, the organic base decays and the decoration collapses under the weight of the soil. A jeweler-restorer must recreate a work of ancient art from a handful of gold plates, restore its appearance to its original integrity. This requires not only painstaking work but also the intuition of the artist.

The Sarmatians willingly used imported things, which did not exclude their own crafts.

The successes of the Sarmatian masters in pottery, weapons, and jewelry are worthy of the highest praise. They skillfully used gold casting, embossing, stamping on gold foil. The art of the Sarmatians is characterized by the animal style (zoomorphic). The image is filled with dynamics. Figures of predators with a flexible body, horses, eagles and vultures are presented with amazing expressiveness of details. Often masters filled their works with images of mystical creatures. An important feature of the Sarmatian style is multicolor, which was achieved through the widespread use of precious and semi-precious stones, glass and colored enamel. The idea of ​​the master delights with the boldness of execution. Figurines of deer frozen in a swift jump. Here, artistic expressiveness, stylization of images, expressiveness makes you forget about the age of the bracelet.

Of great interest is the discovery of a ritual silver jug ​​with a handle in the form of a figurine of a predator engraved with plot scenes. Scenes from the Avesta, an ancient Aryan teaching, are clearly read on the plots.

Horse breeding and cattle breeding were the basis of the economy of the Sarmatians. The transition from pasture to pasture determined the rhythm of nomadic life. Everything needed was transported in wagons. The horse is the constant companion of the nomad. The very life of the Sarmatian and his community depended on the horse, on its endurance. B. Raev: “The horse was everything. It was food, it was a means of transportation, in general it was life. These people are so merged with horses, like all other nomads. "He didn't get off. At 52, he was taken on a horse to be buried under a barrow. But at the same time, the horse was not absolutely a cult animal, like cows in India or cats in Egypt. That is, it was a means of life." Restorers work with priceless golden harness elements. The Sarmatians left this sacred symbol of human life in the steppe next to the deceased. The Sarmatians traditionally decorated their horses. Funeral structures brought to us the appearance of Sarmatian horse equipment. Falars are round plates made of gold or silver decorated with relief ornaments or drawings - elements of ceremonial horse harness. They were placed at the crosshairs of harness belts. A large phalar was placed on the horse's chest.

Surprisingly complex sculptural falar with three-dimensional relief. In the center is a patterned agate. It is surrounded by a golden relief consisting of figures of lions lying one after another. The composition includes inserts of almantine, turquoise and glass. Particular attention is drawn to the massive falar - a hemispherical breastplate. Its top is decorated with a medallion consisting of an insertion of a large precious stone almandine, to which magical properties were attributed at all times. Ornamental bands are inlaid with turquoise and pink coral. The abundance of decorative elements in the harness confirms the assumption about the special attitude of the Sarmatians to the horse. We can only imagine how majestic and monumental the noble Sarmatian horseman looked when his horse was decorated with luxurious gold and silver.

Cheprak - horse cape is decorated with gold plaques-stripes. The woven base has been lost, but all the decorations have been preserved in their original form. All plaques are made using the embossing technique. It took 15 years for the restorers to find the most reliable version of the location of the gold details. Scientists suggest that the sacrificial animal was covered with this golden cape, thus turning it into a divine heavenly horse - an intermediary between the two worlds or a companion of the deceased.

What was the appearance of the Sarmatian? What was the color and shape of his eyes? Hair color? The remains of nomads are the object of scrupulous study of anthropologists. Studies of the skeleton, the proportions of the bones and the skull allow us to assert that the Sarmatians are Caucasoid. Ancient authors talk about the high growth of the Sarmatians, about their slender and strong physique. The color of the eyes was light, the hair was long, blond. The men wore beards. The Sarmatian costume was formed as the clothes of a rider. Unlike the Greeks, they wore tight trousers tucked into soft leather boots.

The Sarmatians went down in history as a people of exceptional military courage. With the death of Great Scythia, they became the only powerful force on the territory of the steppes of Eastern Europe. In fact, they were a well-trained, well-armed, battle-hardened army. Their independence from other nations was guaranteed by military force. S. Lukyashko: "Sarmatian nomads take an active part in all military and political conflicts of that time. They take an active part in military events in Central Europe, the Middle East, serve either the Parthian kings or the Armenian kings for a fee, actively participating in the struggle of Armenia and Parthia, they sell their military prowess and prowess to the highest bidder with great pleasure. "

By the 1st century A.D. Sarmatians are already neighbors of the Roman Empire. On the Danube border, they increasingly have clashes with Roman troops. Rome immediately appreciated their strength and military prowess. This led to the conclusion of a peace treaty, which brought the emperor Marcus Aurelius the title of Sarmatian. Since that time, the Sarmatians take part in the wars of the Roman Empire as a foreign legion. Under the terms of the agreement, the Sarmatian tribes of the Yazygs sent 8,000 horsemen to Rome, of which more than 5,000 were transferred to Britain to guard fortresses under the control of Roman military leaders. In the well-known legends about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, many researchers see features characteristic of the squad of the Sarmatian army. This may be due to the Sarmatian presence in the British Isles.

S. Lukyashko: “There is a deep conviction of British historians that this group of Sarmatians had a serious influence on the formation of Scottish culture. peoples connected with each other turn out to be connected by ties of a very ancient history.In fact, in Scotland the root stem "don" is known and often used, meaning "water" in Iranian. Previously, the Scots were also warlike pastoral tribes and led at least as far back as the Middle Ages. century, the way of life is very close to the way of life that was characteristic of the Sarmatians.

A unique example of Sarmatian weapons is a dagger with a golden handle and a golden scabbard lining, made in the animal style. The relief vividly illustrates the fatalism of psychology, fighting spirit, inflexibility, faith in one's own strength as a Sarmatian warrior. The golden pattern reflects dramatic scenes of the struggle of an eagle - a symbol of courage and a camel - a symbol of farmers. The eagle attacks the camel, torments it...

The life of a Sarmatian is a constant struggle, there is no peace and tranquility in it. This is a confrontation that can end in victory or death.

The strength of the Sarmatians was also manifested in the fact that their nomadic way of life had an amazing feature. Women had equal rights with men of their kind. S. Lukyashko: "It is this extraordinary position of women in the Sarmatian society that made the history of the Sarmatians quite noticeable against the backdrop of the nomadic history of antiquity." Beautiful, graceful riders who freely handled weapons radically changed ancient ideas about the place of women in society. S. Lukyashko: “After all, for the Greeks, for whom a woman could not even go to the market without an escort, suddenly seeing a woman riding a horse, wielding a bow and arrow, throwing a spear and darts, was unacceptable for their culture. Since the Sarmatians are not very sometimes they looked like the Amazons, about whom the ancient Greeks composed myths, then the Greeks came up with a version that the Sarmatians and Sauromatians are the closest relatives of the Amazons. They say they are descended from the Amazons." Perhaps the warlike image of the Amazons is due to the fact that the women themselves guarded the herds and the economy when the men went on long military campaigns. In many Sarmatian mounds, the central burial is female. There, along with horse harness and weapons, all sorts of women's things were found: necklaces, jars for some kind of cosmetics, possibly incense or perfume. The careful processing of miniature products is striking. Scientists believe that women were at the head of some Sarmatian tribes.

S. Lukyashko: "But in the 4th century AD, as a result of the invasion from the east of a new powerful nomadic wave - the Huns, the Sarmatians could not resist it. And around 375 they suffered a crushing defeat from the Huns. Part of the Sarmatian population of the steppe was destroyed, part of the Sarmatian tribes entered the Hunnic union.
It has always been so. The arrival of new nomads, new nobility led to the disappearance of the former nobility, and the rank and file merged with the newcomers, losing their self-name, some elements of their culture, but still retaining the language. The Sarmatians were known for a long time in the vastness of Eastern Europe under the name Assy or Ossy. Later they settled in the central Ciscaucasia. Modern Ossetians originated from them. The genetic and cultural background has been preserved right here on the territory of Ossetia. "

The ancient nomadic peoples disappeared into the mists of time. At the same time, many of their skills and abilities were transferred to other peoples, becoming an integral part of their everyday life. Archeology observes common phenomena like a relay race, when the best crafts and achievements become the global experience of mankind.

B. Raev: "Our work lies in the fact that we are restoring the past, which would seem so far away, so unnecessary now for people who fly on some space stations and use the Internet. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. Modern people do not could now enjoy the benefits of civilization if it were not for those people who made ceramics, grinded grain, etc. Therefore, we just have to study this culture, we need to know them, and this greatly enriches us. Azov. This is the richest collection of world significance. This is the memory of a people who have been an active participant in European history for 8 centuries.