Eurasian Nomadic Horse Warrior Cultures

The success of the Mongol Empire was due not only because of a superior tactics and battle strategies, but also due to operational planning. The Mongols developed an operational strategy which I term as the tsunami strategy, due to its resemblance to a tsunami or tidal wave. The expansion of the empire was aided by tsunami method of conquest. In this process, the Mongols invaded an area and carried out far-ranging military operations. Using several examples, I demonstrate that their intent, however was not to conquer the entire region; rather, while the Mongols raided and devastated, only a small portion of the area was annexed into the empire. The Mongols then governed and controlled the newly annexed area while the Mongol armies, remained on the frontier of the newly acquired territory. Rather than attempting to control large swaths of the territory they conquered, they retained only a portion of it. Thus they could govern it with fewer troops and keep the bulk of their forces on the periphery.

Some 2200 years ago, people belonging to the Pazyryk archaeological culture gathered together to bury their dead in mounds on high plateaus in the remote Altai Mountains in the center of Asia. Entire horses—and often groups of horses—were sacrificed at these funerals and interred with the men and women, presumed leaders and commoners alike. By employing an human-animal studies approach to these burials, in this chapter I digress from the archaeological position which views nonhuman animals as calories or constructs to one which includes animal others as impactful upon human social realities.

After grounding this approach in multidisciplinary theory, I bring into the discussion facets of horses, and of human-horse relationships, through both ethological studies of horses and an inside auto-ethnographic research strategy which uses my position within the context of those I shall term working riders: riders who live with and care for horses and possess the ability and knowledge to school them to be ridden. I touch on aspects of human-horse intersubjectivities and situate particular elements of the Pazyryk horse burials. I then attempt to phenomenologically recreate the actual killing of the Pazyryk horse from the perspective of the humans—and the horses—and suggest some mental and emotional processes that might have caused certain behaviors of both at the burial ceremony. Finally I reflect on the viability of creating relational archaeologies of human-animal interactions which allow for both essentialist and constructionist perspectives.

One of the features of Scythian archaic blade weaponry is the use of bronze, often in the combination with iron. This technologe of Early Scythian bimetallic akinakai goes back to “Cimmerian scheme”. Within the framework of that scheme Prescythian daggers of Kabardino-Pjatigorsk type were manufactured.  The most later daggers of this type are likely were used until the middle 7th c. BC, so they could be treated as prototypes for Scythian akinakes. Bimetallic technology of Scythian smiths was inspired by previous tradition and the first exemplars of Gudermes akinakai appeared at the turn of 8th–7th c. BC in the Caucasus. In the Carpathian basin archaic Scythian akinakai made wholly or partly from bronze are also well-known. These akinakai of Posmuş type are closely related to the next tradition — of Kelermes type — which also penetrated to Northern Pontic region from the territory of Caucasus region. Posmuş type was probably an intermediate combining old technology of bronze casting and new morphology. A number of features shows a genetic link between Gudermes and Kelermes types. Among them are: three-part handle and the bight under the pommel. So, the bimetallic akinakes is the product of the further evolution of bladed weaponry producted by “Caucasian laboratory” and it could be assumed that for a while it was coexisting with Kabardino-Pjatigorsk type daggers, perhaps in the 1st half of 7th c. BC. Further development of the Scythian akinakai and their distribution in Black Sea region probably provoked the renouncement of the use of bronze due to the excessive complexity of or limited access to raw materials. However, the morphology of this new product was more stable, as a result new types of swords and daggers appeared. In the Danube-Carpathian region a creative rethinking of Gudermes and Kelermes traditions is registered for Early Scythian period. These processes led to the emergence of such types as Posmuş in Transilvania and Ferigile in Wallachia — local phenomena of the Carpathian-Danube. The singularity of distribution of the first akinakai allow us to conclude that Scythian akinakes entered this region two main routes: initially, along the northern border of forest-steppe to Transilvania and later — along the southern border, to Bărăgan Plain.

During my fieldwork in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia, I encountered a particularly rare dance song with the title " Doldoi zeerd biyelgee " (Dance of the fiery chestnut horse). This song can only be heard in a very small area and is performed by only a few old people belonging to the Zakhchin, a subgroup of the Oirat ethnic group. The versions of the text I recorded differ considerably from the usual song texts of the dance genre in question. While the motifs of the latter include, above all, scenes from the daily life of the herders, the " Doldoi zeerd biyelgee " – in the versions I got access to – does not only differ in that it is more similar to epics, but its text also has a mythical epic character. The latter is of particular interest as epics, in contrast to dance songs, belong to the ritual genre. Apart from characterising the same heroic figure that also features in the Jangar Epic, the recorded texts describe his special everyday life as a leader of a people as well as the battles he fought together with his soldiers. As can be gathered from the song title, considerable room is also given to his favourite horse. Not only the literary similarity of the recorded parts of the text to the Jangar Epic is of interest, but also particular details of events that cannot be traced back to the Oirat areas of settlement. The comparison with other examples of the same genre suggests that this dance song is older and that its motifs are more widespread. The origin of this dance song seems to go back to the Jangar Epic, which was widely disseminated from Asia to Europe.

The article is devoted to the burial of a warrior of Late Sarmatian time from the Southern Urals. The complex from mound no. 4 of the burial mound Taksai I is distinguished by large size of barrow and grave. The reconstructed height of the mound was less than 2 meters. The depth of the burial pit was more than 3 meters. For Late Sarmatian culture such dimensions of sepulchral structures are unique. Under the mound the ritual platform from mainland soil was discovered. The found inventory of a warrior-rider included: horse bridle, a
set of bladed weapons consisting of a long sword, dagger and knife, as well as a small bronze cauldron. Analysis of inventory allows us to date this burial to the second half of the 3rd century A.D. This burial belongs to an elite funerary complexes of Late Sarmatian culture and is a burial of professional warriors. This social stratum was formed in Late Sarmatian society at the end of the 2nd - first half of the 3rd century A.D. Most of these graves are dating back to the first half of the 3rd century A.D and were found in the Low Don and in the Volga region. The situation in these regions changed in that period due to the invasion of the tribes of the North-Caucasian origin. Their occurrence is associated with the destruction of the Tanais in the Lower Don region and the spread of graves in the T-shaped catacombs in the steppe monuments. The tradition of burying warriors-horsemen of high social status almost disappears in the Volga-Don steppes after the middle of 3rd century A.D. In the Southern Urals where these processes had an indirect influence, the existence of traditional hierarchies of Late Sarmatian society could continue until the end of the 3rd century A.D.
Among the parts of a horse bridle the researchers discovered bronze B-shape buckle. These buckles are widely distributed in the 4th-5th centuries A.D. in the basin of the Kama river and the Danube river. The found buckle is the earliest currently known sample of this type.

See in English:
YATSENKO S.A.  Archaeological Complex with Extremely Early Banners Found in the Territory of the Former USSR (End of the I and Beginning of II Centuries AD). – In: Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia. 2001. Vol. 7, No. 1 (Leiden, Boston, Köln), pp. 45-54
(there is one mistake in the title: “…not Millenium AD”, but Centuries!).
SEE IN INTERNET (30 $): http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/157005701753359813 .
(with additngs/с дополнениями) - 2015
SUMMARY:
In 1986 Evgenii Baspalyi founded in Dachi barrow necropolis the looting king’s barrow 1 of the Early Alans near Azov town (the Mouth of Don River, Rostov Region of European Russia) (fig. 1). All grave of the late 1st-early 2nd cc. AD was destroyed by robbers. Only sthe hiding-place near the grave (0,6 x 0,6 m) was preserved with more than 16 000 golden artifacts, mostly the small applications (fig. 2). There were 4 layers of the golden applications. The most of them (11 720 rhomb-shaped applications: fig. 3, 15) decorated the rectangulat item (0,9 x 0,6 m, layers 2-3), probably - the ritual carpet. The most interesting finds in the hiding-place were two banners (figs. 4; 6). The upper banner (0,6 x 0,35 m: fig. 6,a) was decorated more then 350 applications of 4 types (fig. 5.1-3, 5). The lower banner (0,58 x 0,4 m: fig. 6, б/b) was decorated by 674 applications of 2 types (fig. 5.6-7).
Both banners have closed analogies in the culture of the Early Alans’ descandants – the Medeival Alans and Ossetians of the Northern Caucasus. The upper banner was wedding (‘chyndzy tyrysa’) according to the popular association: death=wedding. It was red or white and had the several golden ‘pendants’ (a male costume assoceries), had the rounded ends and half moons ornament up to the early 20th c. (fig. 7,c). The lower banner was funeral (‘sau tyrysa’), it was recently black (fig. 7,a). Both banners had also some analogies to the Xiongnu’ banners of that time (Noyon Uul / Noin Ula in the NE Mongolia). Third type of Alano-Ossetian banners – the battle flag of military leader we know after some medieval depictios (fig. 7, d) and ‘Nart’ epic poems. 
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fig. 1. A map of Sarmatia in the 2nd half of the 1st c. AD with the points of analyzed barrows: I – points where the «kings» barrows were discovered; II – local chiefs’ barrows; III – ancient cities; IV – capitals (after Sergey A. Yatsenko).
Fig. 2. The plan of hiding-place in the barrow 1 in Dachi (after Evgenii I. Bespalyi).  Беспалому)
Fig. 3. The types of gold applications (after Tamerlan A. Gabuev, 2005, 21).
Fig. 4. The silhouettes of artifacts made of organic meterials from the hiding-place: 1 – a small carpet (applications layers 2 and 3); 2 – the upper banner (applicatios layer 1); 3 - – the lower banner (applicatios layer 4).
Fig. 5. The types of golden plaques from the upper banner (1-5) and the lower banner (6-7).
Fig. 6. Banners recinstruction: а – the upper banner; b(б) – the lower banner.
Fig. 7. Banners analogies on medieval Alans and Ossetians meterials: а – the funeral benner, the 11th c. AD (the relief of the stone tomb on Krivaia River, after Vladimir A. Kuznetsov and Nikolai A. Okhonko); b – the types of funeral banners of Ossetians (after Vilen S. Uarziati); c – the wedding banner of Ossetians (after Vilen S. Uarziati); d – the battle flag (the relief of the stone tomb on Krivaia River, after Vladimir A. Kuznetsov and Nikolai A. Okhonko).

"Una constante, cuando nos referimos a la mitología griega, consiste en que, a menudo, parece que traspasa la realidad, de manera que ambos mundos, el real y el imaginado, se mezclan. En lo que respecta a las amazonas, existían diversos mitos y, dentro de ellos, diversas versiones de cada mito que a lo largo del tiempo fueron generando, en el imaginario colectivo, una visión estereotipada de ellas y de los acontecimientos que las rodearon. En lo que respecta al ámbito económico, el comercio griego no solo abarcó todo el Mediterráneo sino que a través de él los griegos se pusieron en contacto con culturas tan alejadas de su órbita como los iberos o los escitas.

En este sentido, y a tenor de los recientes descubrimientos de numerosas tumbas de mujeres guerreras entre los escitas, sármatas, saurómatas, etc. que habitaron en las estepas rusas situadas al norte del Mar Negro, pretendo establecer una relación entre estas y la gran cantidad de piezas cerámicas que con representaciones de amazonas se han localizado en las colonias griegas situadas en las estribaciones de la costa norte del Mar Negro. Sobre ellas, hay que destacar que esta zona se ha conformado como la tercera región (tras Etruria y la propia ciudad de Atenas) en que se han localizado un mayor número de estas piezas (tras un análisis que he realizado sobre cerca de 1700 piezas cerámicas en todo el Mediterráneo). De forma que podría ser posible intentar trazar algún tipo de relación entre los motivos que estas piezas presentaban y la cercanía de dichos asentamientos a culturas como las mencionadas donde la capacidad bélica de la mujer parece haber sido importante y que quizá podría tener conexión con los tradicionales mitos sobre las amazonas.
"

Professor Aleksandr Leskov is known in Ukrainian and Russian archaeology as " Sasha the Golden Hand. " Indeed, gold jewelry and toreutic from his excavations in the Crimea and south Ukrainian steppes constitute a significant part of the collection in the Ukrainian Museum of National Treasures in Kiev, while his excavations on the northwestern Caucasus (Adygeia) formed the core of the " Golden Chamber " in the Moscow Museum of Oriental Art. Leskov is undoubtedly responsible for more discoveries of ancient gold than any living Scythian archaeologist. Given that the odds of finding true treasures in archaeological excavations are about the same as for winning a major lottery jackpot, everybody unavoidably asks: what is the secret of Leskov's never-fading luck? The truth is, there are no miracles which lead to buried treasure. At least three serious factors have always significantly increased the probability of Leskov's success. The first is his organizational ability which enables him to marshal substantial resources effectively. Excavation of a major Scythian barrow involves obtaining sizeable funding and supplies, interacting with multiple institutions, and coordinating the daily work of dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Leskov manages such undertakings with an iron will and in turn inspires devotion from those he is supervising. During the Adygeia excavation seasons of the 1980s, I remember him repeating again and again: " You have only one excavation season in your life. It is this very one. The next season will be different and will take place in a different year. You have to do the maximum today. " Doing the maximum of itself should maximize the results. Yet his success requires a second talent, the ability to select the best excavation site through consideration of all the geographic, topographic and historiographic data about the steppes. For example, his selection of Adygeia for the excavations in the 1980s began from his understanding that the major passes through Caucasian mountains were the shortest route to the rich coastal areas of the Black Sea and further to the centers of Near Eastern civilizations in the northwestern Caucasus. These considerations were supported by his analysis of a great number of exciting discoveries in the area ranging from the early Bronze Age kurgans like the Maikop barrow to the burials of the Belorechenskaia culture filled with objects brought by the Levantine trade of the 14th and 15th centuries CE. The last link in the logical chain leading to Leskov's discovery of the now famous Uliap barrow field was his knowledge of the collection of the local museum-a cauldron

Necropolis of the Middle Sarmatian Culture on the right bank of Dnepr had three barrows accumulations (figs. 1-2): the north-western (17 barrows with the rectangular graves prevalence), the central (22 barrows with approximately equal percentage of three types of graves and the female, male and children elite barrows concentration) and the south - most late placed on the uncomfortable hillside (34 barrows with the alcove graves domination). For some reasons the square pits with the diagonal location of dead (the smallest group) will be interpreted as the local elite attribute. In each barrow accumulation were more than 1/3 of barrows more high than 0.5 m. The results of some specific rituals and the looting peculiarities in each barrows accumulation were also analyzed.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Fig. 1. Ust’Kamenka Necropolis: 1 – probable male barrow; 2 – probable female barrow; 3 – barrow with the dead of uneasy sex; 4 – cenotaph; 5 – adult and child in the same barrow; 6 – robbery; 7 – children barrow; 8 – non-excavated barrows; 9 – settlement’ borders; 10 – borders of the mains barrows’ accumulations.
Fig. 2. Ust’Kamenka Necropolis: 1 – rectangular pits; 2 – alcove pits; 3 – square pits; 4 – secondary graves in the barrows of Halcolithic and Bronze Ages; 5 – socio allocated graves; 6 – male graves with spear; 7 – female graves with weapons or horse harness; 8 – ritual pits in a barrow.
Fig. 3. Map of Sarmatia in the 2nd half of the 1st c. CE (after Yatsenko 2015б): I – points with the “king” graves; II – barrows of the “local chiefs”; III – ancient cities; IV – capitals; V – graves with diagonal dead pose in the North Azov Sea Region  (after Simonenko 2000, fig. 4); 1 – Ust’-Kamenka.
Fig. 4. Secondary warriors’ graves with diagonal dead pose in the row of the early barrows (after Kostenko 1992), main artifacts: 1 – barrow 38; 2 – barrow 43; 3 – barrow 56.
Fig. 5. Female graves of the 1st – early 2nd cc. CE with the iron axe and the sarcophagus from Ust’-Kamenka: 1 – Kobyakovo, barrow 10 (after Prokhorova 1992); 2 – Peregruznoe I, barrow 38 (after Balobanova et all. 2014); 3 – Ust’-Kamenka, barrow 69 (after Kostenko 1992); 4 – Ust’-Kamenka, barrow 22 (after Kostenko 1992).