西徐亚人(Scythians)

西元前8世纪～西元前7世纪从中亚迁徙至俄罗斯南部的具有伊朗血统的游牧民族。为凶猛的武士，并且是最早的熟练骑兵，因此得以建立从波斯西部穿过叙利亚和犹太到埃及的强大帝国，并将辛梅里安人驱逐出他们在高加索和黑海北部的领地。他们被米底亚人（参阅Media）赶出安纳托利亚之後，仍占有波斯边界到俄罗斯南部的领土。西元前513年他们击退波斯大流士一世的入侵。其文明产生於富有的贵族（西徐亚皇室），他们的坟墓中有制作精美的金质和其他珍贵材料制成的物品。军队由自由人组成。士兵透过赠送敌人的首级分享战利品。他们的武器有双曲、三叶草形的弓箭，以及波斯剑。葬礼要以死者的妻子和仆人当作祭品。西元前5世纪西徐亚人皇室与希腊人通婚。西元前2世纪西徐亚被萨尔马特人（Sarmatian）摧毁。亦请参阅Scythian art。

English version：

Scythians

Nomadic people of Iranian stock who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia in the 8th-7th century BC. Fierce warriors, they were among the first expert horsemen, which enabled them to establish an empire from western Persia through Syria and Judaea to Egypt and to expel the Cimmerians from their territory in the Caucasus and north of the Black Sea. Though driven out of Anatolia by the Medes (see Media), they held territory from the Persian border into southern Russia; they repelled an invasion by the Persian Darius I c. 513 BC. Their civilization produced wealthy aristocrats (“Royal Scyths”), whose graves held richly worked articles of gold and other precious materials. The army consisted of freemen; on presentation of an enemy's head, a soldier could share in the booty. They fought with double-curved bows, trefoil-shaped arrows, and Persian swords. Burial called for the sacrifice of the dead man's wife and servants. In the 5th century BC, the royal family intermarried with Greeks. The community fell to the Sarmatians in the 2nd century BC. See also Scythian art.