Scythians

The Scythians (/ˈsɪθi.ən/ or /ˈsɪði.ən/; from Greek Σκύθης, Σκύθοι), or Scyths /ˈsɪθ/, were an Iranian nomadic people living in Scythia, the region encompassing the Pontic-Caspian steppe (in Eastern Europe) and parts of Central Asia throughout the Classical Antiquity. Much of the surviving information about the Scythians comes from the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BC) in his Histories and Ovid in his poem of exile Epistulae ex Ponto, and archaeologically from the exquisite goldwork found in Scythian burial mounds in Ukraine and Southern Russia. Two of the largest Scythian tribal confederations were the Sarmatians of Western Scythia and the Amyrgians of Eastern Scythia.

In a broader sense, the name "Scythian" has also been used to refer to various peoples seen as similar to the Scythians, or who lived anywhere in the area known as Scythia.