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Die Welt der Skythen: Stutenmelker und Pferdebogner : ein antikes Reitervolk in neuer Sicht (Report Archäologie)
German
159 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 10, 2025
Renate Rolle's book on the Scythians is older, from 1980, but is still one of the best history books about the mysterious Scythians to be found. Full of illustrations and using archaeology and finds to explain Scythian life, this is a great book for anyone seeking a good history of these oft-little-known peoples.
The Scythians were a nomadic horse people from the steppe lands of Eurasia. The Scythian and Cimmerian peoples, in the 9th to 8th centuries BCE, migrated into the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia, where they remained until the 3rd century BC. In the 6th century BC, they were expelled from West Asia by the Medes, and retreated back into the Pontic Steppe, and were later conquered by the Sarmatians in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC. By the 3rd century AD, last remnants of the Scythians were overwhelmed by the Goths, and by the early Middle Ages, the Scythians were assimilated and absorbed by the various successive populations who had moved into the Pontic Steppe.
Rolle's book not only explains the migrations but offers an in-depth look at the armor, weapons, tactics and other cultural aspects of the Scythians, all backed up by archeology which is used to give us a look into the history of the Scythian peoples.
The Scythians were a nomadic horse people from the steppe lands of Eurasia. The Scythian and Cimmerian peoples, in the 9th to 8th centuries BCE, migrated into the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia, where they remained until the 3rd century BC. In the 6th century BC, they were expelled from West Asia by the Medes, and retreated back into the Pontic Steppe, and were later conquered by the Sarmatians in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC. By the 3rd century AD, last remnants of the Scythians were overwhelmed by the Goths, and by the early Middle Ages, the Scythians were assimilated and absorbed by the various successive populations who had moved into the Pontic Steppe.
Rolle's book not only explains the migrations but offers an in-depth look at the armor, weapons, tactics and other cultural aspects of the Scythians, all backed up by archeology which is used to give us a look into the history of the Scythian peoples.
January 19, 2019
While dated, this book is a concise yet comprehensive review of what we know about the Scythians. The illustrations are fantastic, and, for example, provide some excellent images of the Pazyryk tattoos. It also synthesises a lot of data from various Soviet era and older excavations, many of which are written in other languages and therefore inaccessible to English readers.
November 18, 2024
Fascinating!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews