Once upon a time, a people lived in the vastness of the Black Sea steppes, this name, having become a household name for a nomad of ancient times, was included in all textbooks on the history of the ancient world. We are talking about the Scythians. The 900 years they lived in the Black Sea region have become one of the brightest pages in the history of mankind. But the people, to whom in ancient times the glory of the invincible was entrenched, in the III century AD, became a victim of stronger neighbors. Only the name remains. It seemed that the Scythians were destined to share the fate of all nomadic peoples and be forgotten, but it turned out to be the opposite: thanks to the interest in the history of this people, their life in the Black Sea region, culture, beliefs, and relationships with the ancient world were fully studied. But if the life and the last days of any nation are known, as a rule, well enough, then its origin almost always remains a mystery behind seven seals. The Scythians are no exception. Until now, it has not been possible to get an unambiguous answer to the question of what ethnic group they were in Asia and where, from what region did they come to Europe? Who is their closest ethnic relative? What relation do they have to the Iranian-speaking population of the steppes who lived in Asia after their departure from there? Isn't there a trace of the Scythians in Asia?
The search for answers to all these questions began a long time ago, but so far to no avail. Even the legends about the origin of the Scythians, which have come down to us in the exposition of Herodotus, do not help: until now, the peoples named in the legends have not been identified with any of those who lived on the steppe expanses. The reports of other ancient authors, in particular Diodorus of Siculus and Aristotle of Proconnes, who named the peoples who drove the Scythians from their homes, do not shed light on the problem of the Scythians in Europe. The contradictory information does not allow us to understand what kind of peoples they are and which of them (Massagets or Issedons) was involved in the appearance of the Scythians in the Black Sea region?
The idea that the Scythians are associated by origin with the Iranian-speaking population who lived in the steppes after them was expressed long ago. But to confirm it, they needed a key, which was not so easy to “pick up”. What is this key? It turns out that all the same Massagetae with Issedones.
In principle, the question of what kind of peoples the Massagets and the Issedons are is no less confusing than the question of the Scythians. The same Herodotus argued that the Massagets lived on the Araks River, but it is not entirely clear what kind of river it was and at what time it was. And yet the key to the Massagets is the ethnonym, in which the root "sag" - "sogd" is easily distinguished. And this is nothing more than the original transcription of the Persian name "Saki". The first part of the ethnonym "ma" is comparable to the first part of the toponym "maveranahr" - "interfluve", which should be understood only as an indication of the place of residence of a given people. In this case, translate as "Sogd interfluve", but what interfluve is not yet clear.
Issedones. The decomposition of the ethnonym into its component parts shows that the particle "don" is nothing more than the word "river". The "se" part is one of the names of the Sogd-Saks. Part of the ethnonym "is", most likely, should be understood as an indication of the transcendence of something and comparability with the Russian word "for". In general, the ethnonym can be translated as “trans-river Sogdy”. If we recall the indication of Herodotus that the Massagets lived across the Araks River opposite the Issedons, then the understanding will come that both of these ethnonyms are interconnected with each other. And if so, wherever we place the Massagetae, the Issedons will have to be placed next to them, and the river will be the border between these two peoples. Herodotus comes to the rescue in the localization of these peoples, reporting on the neighborhood with the Issedons of the Arimasps living in the mountains. If the Arimasps lived in Altai,then the Issedons had to live somewhere south and west of Altai and west of Tarbagatai. And if so, the Massagets, at least in the 5th century BC, could live in Maverannahr, and the Syr Darya could be the border between the two peoples.
In Maverannahr in the 5th century BC. e. Inhabited by such peoples as the Khorazmians of Khorezm, the Sogdians of Sogdiana and the Kangyuis of Kangyui. The Khorazmii and Sogdians are not suitable for identification with the Massagets, but the Kangyuis are just right. If you look for the people who lived at the named time to the east of the Kangyuyi, then in Persian sources the Saki-tigrahauda is called as such, that is, the Saki in pointed hats. Logic gives us the right to recognize the Issedons in this people.
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But if we are talking about the Sogdhas, then we should mention one more group, which the Persians called "tiai-taradaraya" - "overseas". The Taradaraya lived north and west of the Aral Sea, and their nomads extended to the Caspian Sea. They are known under several more names, one of which is "parny". In the Khazar sources, the parny appear as "pinili", in the Russians - as the "Pechenegs", and in Ptolemy's - as "paniards".
After the identification of the Massagets and Issedons has been carried out, it becomes possible to solve the Scythian problem. In the Scythian legend Targitai is named the ancestor of the Scythians, who had three sons Lipoksai, Arpoksai and Koloksay, who later became the ancestors of individual tribes. The names of the sons are usually translated as Sun-king, River-king, Horus-king. Without any doubt, these are not personal names of people, but an indication of the origin of peoples from one progenitor, the basis people, the geography of their residence, as well as the order of their appearance in the historical arena. If we take the geography of residence, then we can assume that the people of Koloksay lived in an area rich in sun (most likely in a desert, semi-desert or semi-steppe), the people of Arpoksay - in an area located along a river or rich in rivers, and Lipoksay - in the foothills, near the mountains. At the same time, the first formed people were the people of Lipoksai, the second was Arpoksai, and the most recent (youngest) was Koloksai. Without a doubt, the legend reflects not only kinship relations, but also the direction of settlement of the tribes, which makes it possible not only to find the ancestral home of the Scythians, but also to decipher the Scythian tribes named in the legend. To do this, you need to find their prototypes in the tribes that actually lived in the vastness of Asia.
First of all, one should pay attention to the fact that Targitai had three sons and the same number of associations existed in the Sogdian world. Such a coincidence can hardly be accidental. That is why we will try to identify each of the brothers of the Scythian legend with one of the Sogdian peoples: Arpoksai - with Massagets-Kangyuy, Lipoksaya - with Tigrahauda, Koloksaya - with Dai-Parns.
The people of Lipoksai lived in the foothills, but tigrahauda also lived near the mountains. The people of Arpoksay - along the river, but the Kangyuis also lived mainly along the Syr Darya. The people of Koloksay lived in semi-deserts, but the guys also lived on the territory rich in sun - on the Ustyurt plateau.
If the distribution of the Sogdian groups went from east to west, then the Tigrahauda should be called the oldest Sogdian people, the Kanpoys - the younger, and the Parns - the youngest. You can also name the date of the formation of the Sogdian tribes, the Scythians say about it: "From the time of their origin from the first king of Targitai to the arrival of Darius on their, the Scythians, land, as they say, no more than a thousand years have passed", and this gives us 1500 BC … e., which coincides not only with the date of the appearance of the Andronovo culture, but also with the place of its formation.
In this case, not only is the legend of the origin of the Scythians from Koloksai confirmed, but also their relationship with the Paralats-Parns. The Parny, like the Scythians, is the youngest Sogdian tribe. The Massagets with the Issedons are named as the culprits in the expulsion of the Scythians, but nothing is said about the involvement of the guys in this. If the Scythians are the same couples, then everything is correct: the couples, together with the Massagets and Issedons, could not participate in the expulsion of themselves.
Having found the closest relatives of the Scythians and having understood who they are, we will try to find the territory of their residence in Asia. Linking to the Araks River will help here. Herodotus argued that "Araxes has 40 branches that are lost in swamps and marshes, except for one that flows in open areas." It is believed that Herodotus is talking about the Uzboy, the dried up channel of the Amu Darya, which once flowed into the Caspian Sea. But with all the desire, one cannot agree with such a statement. If Araks was an Uzboy, then the Scythians, fleeing from the enemy, would in any case find themselves in Asia: either in the northern steppes between the Emba and the Urals or in the territory of Northern Turkmenistan - Parthia. Doubts are reinforced by the mention of Uzboy having a sleeve. But if the Volga is recognized by the Araks, then everything falls into place: it has a lot of sleeves, drowning in swamps, and a sleeve that flows through an open area,there is Akhtuba, and the Scythians, crossing the Volga, did not get to Asia, but to the Cimmerian land. Having recognized the Volga in the Araks, we can also name the territory that the Scythians occupied before they appeared in Europe - somewhere in the Emba river basin.
The Scythians' assertion that there are large snowfalls to the north of their lands is also evidence of the residence of the Scythians before their arrival in the Black Sea region in this area: it is impossible to penetrate because of the flying feathers. That is, such snow did not fall in their lands, and if there were winters with snow, then it was little snow.
Now you can try to name the location of all Sogdian tribes in the middle of the 7th century BC. e. Issedons lived from Irtysh with Zaisan to Balkhash and Ishim with Sarysu, Massagets - from Sarysu to Turgai, paralats - from Turgai to Emba and Ural. In the 7th century BC, the Sogdians had at their disposal the semi-deserts of modern Kazakhstan.
In the second half of the 7th century BC. e. war breaks out in the vastness of Asia. The Arimasps (who they are is not yet clear, but most likely - the ancestors of the Dinlins, Khagyases and Kyrgyz) begin a war against the Issedons. The Issedons, unable to withstand the onslaught, begin to retreat to the west and south-west (in Semirechye), crowding the Massagetae at the same time. The Massagets, in turn, are divided into two parts, one of which departs to the south and soon finds itself on the territory of the interfluve, occupying the territory later called Sogdiana. The second part of the Massagetae is moving westward and displacing the paralats from their homes. The Paralats, as the youngest and, apparently, not yet gaining strength, tribe, like all other Sogdian tribes, leaves their homeland: some go west to the Cimmerian land, some go to the foothills of the Kopetdag, and some, restraining the onslaught of enemies, go to the banks of the Tobol. Massageta,displacing the paralates, they go to the Volga and for some time live on its banks, thanks to which they get into written sources. At a later time, the Massagets-Katiars retreated to Maverannahr and occupied the territory that became known as Kangyui along both banks of the lower course of the Syr Darya. After the departure of the Kangyuis to Central Asia, the paralats from the Kopetdag forts partially returned to Embu.
It turns out that the Scythians are the same Sogdy-Sarmatians who ended up in Europe as a result of the war that took place in the foothills of Tarbagatai and Altai and reached the Southern Urals. The ancestral home of the Scythians should be considered the semi-desert between the Turgai, Emba and Ural rivers. This conclusion once again confirms the rule: one should treat legends with confidence.