The Scythian Empire

English language

Published Feb. 10, 2023 by Princeton University Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-691-24054-1

(1 review)

In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent, creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient world—in the West, the Near East, India, and China. Mobile horse herders who lived with their cats in wheeled felt tents, the Scythians made stunning contributions to world civilization—from capital cities and strikingly elegant dress to political organization and the world-changing ideas of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Laotzu—Scythians all. In The Scythian Empire, Christopher I. Beckwith presents a major new history of a fascinating but often forgotten empire that changed the course of history.

At its height, the Scythian Empire stretched west from Mongolia and ancient northeast China to northwest Iran and the Danube River, and in Central Asia reached as far south as the Arabian Sea. The Scythians also ruled …

In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent, creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient world—in the West, the Near East, India, and China. Mobile horse herders who lived with their cats in wheeled felt tents, the Scythians made stunning contributions to world civilization—from capital cities and strikingly elegant dress to political organization and the world-changing ideas of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Laotzu—Scythians all. In The Scythian Empire, Christopher I. Beckwith presents a major new history of a fascinating but often forgotten empire that changed the course of history.

At its height, the Scythian Empire stretched west from Mongolia and ancient northeast China to northwest Iran and the Danube River, and in Central Asia reached as far south as the Arabian Sea. The Scythians also ruled Media and Chao, crucial frontier states of ancient Iran and China. By ruling over and marrying the local peoples, the Scythians created new cultures that were creole Scythian in their speech, dress, weaponry, and feudal socio-political structure. As they spread their language, ideas, and culture across the ancient world, the Scythians laid the foundations for the very first Persian, Indian, and Chinese empires.

Filled with fresh discoveries, The Scythian Empire presents a remarkable new vision of a little-known but incredibly important empire and its peoples.

2 editions

Teru reviewed The Scythian Empire by Christopher I. Beckwith

Scholarly rethink of classical history

4 stars

Beckwith makes a compelling case, using a vast range of sources and evidence, that of the importance of Scythia in influencing, if not outright founding, many of the Eurasian civilizations that lasted for hundreds or thousands of years. Most of the book concerns itself in establishing all sorts of evidence to back the central argument, drawing from the best of historiographical and linguistic tradition. I am certain that his work will be much debated for years and may prove to be a new starting point for better understanding of diverse fields such as Classical, Middle Eastern. Chinese and general Eurasian studies.

The book is deliberate to the point of repelling more casual readers who may want "big picture" historical overviews but this is done for the purpose of creating a watertight argument that stays well away from the wishful speculation that is often the hallmark of ancient history. Likewise, minutiae …

Beckwith makes a compelling case, using a vast range of sources and evidence, that of the importance of Scythia in influencing, if not outright founding, many of the Eurasian civilizations that lasted for hundreds or thousands of years. Most of the book concerns itself in establishing all sorts of evidence to back the central argument, drawing from the best of historiographical and linguistic tradition. I am certain that his work will be much debated for years and may prove to be a new starting point for better understanding of diverse fields such as Classical, Middle Eastern. Chinese and general Eurasian studies.

The book is deliberate to the point of repelling more casual readers who may want "big picture" historical overviews but this is done for the purpose of creating a watertight argument that stays well away from the wishful speculation that is often the hallmark of ancient history. Likewise, minutiae or in-depth analysis about Scythian society itself is mostly missing as anything without much direct evidence is treated, wisely, in a skeptical fashion. The career-long interest and patience of Beckwith has culminated in a fascinating book that promises both a revolutionary new understanding of history while at the same time staying, conservatively, to the facts available.