Sarmatians and Monte Amiata: Difference between pages

Coordinates: 42°53′17″N 11°37′22″E / 42.88806°N 11.62278°E / 42.88806; 11.62278
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{{Infobox Mountain | Name = Monte Amiata
<!--This article is in Commonwealth English-->
| Photo = Amiata_z01.jpg
{{redirect|Sarmatia}}
| Caption = View
[[Image:Sarmatia.jpg|left|thumb|Sarmatia Europea in map of [[Scythia]], 1697]]
| Elevation = {{convert|1738|m|ft|0}}
[[Image:1729.jpg|thumb|left|"''Sarmatia Europæa''" separated from "''Sarmatia Asiatica''" by the [[Tanais]] (the [[Don River, Russia|River Don]]), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ''ca'' 1770]]
| Location = [[Tuscany]], {{ITA}}
{{Infobox Ethnic group
| Range = Tuscan Antiapennines
|group={{Tnavbar-header|Sarmatians|Scythians}}
| Prominence =
|image=[[Image:Scythia-Parthia 100 BC.png|250px]]<br>Approximate extent of [[East Iranian languages]] in the first century BC is shown in orange.
| Coordinates = {{coord|42|53|17|N|11|37|22|E|type:mountain|display=inline,title}}
|poptime=Unknown
| First ascent =
|popplace=Eastern Europe<br>Central Asia<br>Northern India
| Easiest route =
|langs=[[Scythian language]]
| Translation =
|rels=[[Animism]]
| Language =
|related=
*[[Sarmatians]]
*[[Dahae]]
*[[Sakas]]
*[[Indo-Scythians]]
*[[Massagetes]]
}}
}}
The '''Monte Amiata''' is a [[mountain]] in the [[Apennine Mountains|Tuscan Antiapennines]], in the [[province of Grosseto|provinces of Grosseto]] and [[province of Siena|Siena]], [[Tuscany]], central [[Italy]]. The highest peak is at {{convert|1738|m|ft|0}} above sea level.
{{History of Ukraine|width=258}}


The Amiata is an ancient, inactive volcano, characterized by volcanic rocks and small lakes. Waters from the mountain feed the Fiora aqueduct, which serves much of southern Tuscany and part of northern [[Lazio]]; in the Amiata are also the springs of [[Fiora (river)|Fiora]] and [[Albegna]] rivers, the latter on Mount Buceto, which constitutes the south-westernmost spur of the massif.
The '''Sarmatians''', '''Sarmatae''' or '''Sauromatae''' ([[Old Iranian]] ''Sarumatah'' 'archer'<ref name="UNESCO">{{Citation|first=J.|last=Harmatta|contribution=Scythians|title=History of Humanity Volume III: From Seventh Century B.C. to the Seventh Century A.D|year=1996|page=182|publisher=Routledge for UNESCO}}</ref>, {{lang-el|Σαρμάτες}}) were a people of [[Ancient Iranian peoples|Iranic]] origin<ref>(2007). ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', ''s.v.'' "Sarmatian". Retrieved [[May 20]], [[2007]], from [Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9065786]</ref><ref name="UNESCO">J.Harmatta: "Scythians" in UNESCO Collection of History of Humanity - Volume III: From the Seventh Century BC to the Seventh Century AD. Routledge/UNESCO. 1996. pg 182</ref>. Mentioned by classical authors, they migrated from [[Central Asia]] to the [[Ural Mountains]] around fifth century B.C. and eventually settled in most of southern European [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], and the eastern [[Balkans]].


The main economical resources of the Amiata region are [[chestnut]]s, wood and, increasingly, tourism (ski resorts include the peak area, Prato delle Macinaie, Prato della Contessa, Rifugio Cantore and Pian della Marsiliana). The lower areas are characterized by olive trees and vines. Other vegetation include [[beech]] and [[fir]]. In ancient times [[cinnabar]] was extracted here.
[[Pliny the Elder]] ([http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/4*.html#80 ''Natural History'' book iv]) wrote that the Latin ''Sarmatae'' is identical to the Greek ''Sauromatae''. At their greatest reported extent these tribes ranged from the [[Vistula]] river to the mouth of the [[Danube]] and eastward to the [[Volga]], and from the mysterious domain of the [[Hyperboreans]] in the north, southward to the shores of the [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] seas, including the region between them as far as the [[Caucasus mountains]].<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius]] (''[[Argonautica]]'', iii) envisaged the ''Sauromatai'' as the bitter foe of King [[Aietes]] of [[Colchis]] (modern Georgia).</ref> The richest tombs and the most significant finds of Sarmatian artifacts have been recorded in the [[Krasnodar Krai]] of [[Russia]].


The Amiata is included in the ''[[comuni]]'' of [[Abbadia San Salvatore]], [[Arcidosso]], [[Castel del Piano]], [[Piancastagnaio]], [[Santa Fiora]] and [[Seggiano]], all located between 600 and 800&nbsp;metres of altitude.
The old name of [[Paraćin]] (Paratjin) in [[Serbia]] was [[Sarmatae]].


{{commons|Monte Amiata}}
It is perhaps no coincidence that the boundary between the so-called [[Centum-Satem isogloss]] in the [[Indo-European languages]] apparently split at the European border of the Sarmatians.


== References ==
Around the year 100 BC, Sarmatian land ranged from [[Barents Sea]] or [[Baltic Sea]] ("Oceanus Sarmaticus") <!--Scandia is referred as an Island --> to tributary of [[Vistula River]], to the [[Carpathian Mountains]], to the mouth of the [[Danube]], then eastward along the northern coast of [[the Black Sea]], across the [[Caucasus]] to the [[Caspian Sea]] and north along the [[Volga]] up to the [[polar circle]].
{{unreferenced|date=July 2008}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Amiata}}
The Sarmatians flourished from the time of [[Herodotus]] and allied partly with the [[Huns]] when they arrived in the fourth century AD.
[[Category:Mountains of Tuscany]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Italy]]


{{Volcanology-stub}}
A popular belief ([[Sarmatism]]) in the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, held that the nobility were direct descendants of the Sarmatians. No concrete evidence exists to back up this claim.
{{Italy-geo-stub}}


[[ca:Monte Amiata]]
==Archaeology and ethnology==
[[de:Amiata]]
[[Image:steppe of western Kazakhstan in the early spring.jpg|thumb|left|[[Great steppe]] of Kazakhstan in early spring.]]
[[fr:Mont Amiata]]
[[Image:Sarmatian crown.jpg|thumb|255px|right|A Sarmatian [[diadem]], found at the Khokhlach [[kurgan]] near [[Novocherkassk]] ([[1st century AD]], [[Hermitage Museum]]).]]
[[it:Monte Amiata]]
In 1947, the leading Soviet historian [[Boris Grakov]] defined a culture apparent in late [[Kurgan]] graves, sometimes reusing part of much older Kurgans. It is a nomadic steppe culture ranging from the [[Black Sea]] to beyond the [[Volga]], and is especially evident at two of the major sites at [[Kardaielova]] and [[Chernaya]] in the trans-Uralic steppe.
[[nl:Monte Amiata]]

[[nn:Amiata]]
The date of the culture (from the seventh century BC to the fourth century AD) and the location are in synchronicity with the written information we have about the Sarmatians. Accordingly Grekov defined four phases:
[[pl:Amiata]]

#Sauromatian, sixth-fifth centuries BC
#Early Sarmatian, fourth-second centuries BC
#Middle Sarmatian, late second century BC to late second century AD
#Late Sarmatian: late second century AD to fourth century AD

The Sarmatians of [[Ptolemy]] fall into the Middle Sarmatian period. However, Grekov’s Sarmatia does not extend at all into the [[Balto-Slavic]] range, where the two elements have their own archeologies descending to the [[Balts]] and the [[Slavs]].

Already anchored in the west in eastern Europe, the Huns were located to the north of the [[Alans]] and extended east to the borders of the [[Han Dynasty]]. These Huns were quite peaceful trading partners of the Alans. Their archeology and mode of life is nearly indistinguishable from that of the Alans. The various peoples of the extensive eastern plains did own distinctive bronze [[kettle]]s. Also, the graves of the people of central Asia, including those of the Huns, include remains that many believe are of mixed features, just as are the peoples of central Asia today.

Whatever happened in the east to bring warriors from there upon the Alans did not introduce a new people to the steppes or to Europe. As far as the Sarmatians are concerned, the Hunnic augment from the east only worked an ethnic reversal of dominance. Some Alans chose to flee to the Romans and others to fight for the Huns. The former disappeared into Europe long ago, while the latter remain in the Caucasus region.<ref>See [[Alans]].</ref>

==History==
===Herodotus===
[[Herodotus]] ([[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]] 4.21) in the fifth century BC placed the land of the Sarmatians east of the [[Tanais]], beginning at the corner of the [[Maeotian Lake]], stretching northwards for fifteen days' journey, adjacent to the forested land of the [[Budinoi]]. Herodotus describes the Sarmatians' physical appearance as blond, stout and tanned; in short, pretty much as the Scythians and [[Thracians]] were seen by the other classical authors.

Herodotus (4.110-117), unaware of the [[Iranic]] name of this group, standing for 'archers', presents a fanciful [[pseudo-etymology]] of the Sauromatae, which he incorrectly derives from the Greek [[homophone]] 'Σαυρομάτης, "one who has lizard-like eyes", and explains it as being the unfortunate result of marriage between a band of young Scythian men and a group of [[Amazons]]. In the story, some [[Amazons]] were captured in battle by Greeks in [[Pontus]] (northern [[Turkey]]) near the river [[Thermodon]], and the captives were loaded into three boats. They overcame their captors while at sea, but were not able sailors. Their ships were blown north to the [[Sea of Azov|Maeotian Lake]] (the [[Sea of Azov]]) onto the shore of [[Scythia]] near the cliff region (today's southeastern [[Crimea]]). After encountering the Scythians and learning the Scythian language, they agreed to marry Scythian men, but only on the condition that they move away and not be required to follow the customs of Scythian women. According to Herodotus the descendants of this band settled toward the northeast beyond the [[Don River (Russia)|Tanais (Don)]] river and became the [[Sarmatians|Sauromatians]]. Herodotus' account explains the origins of the Sarmatians' <!-- not a words or terminology of Herodotus: north-eastern Iranian -->language as an "impure" form of Scythian and credits the unusual freedoms of Sauromatae women, including participation in warfare, as an inheritance from their supposed Amazon ancestors. Later writers refer to the "woman-ruled Sarmatae" (γυναικοκρατούμενοι).
<!-- also not a Herodotus: As the 2006 [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] has observed, this "early [[matriarchal]] form of society was later replaced by a system of male chieftains and eventually by a male monarchy. This transition may well have stemmed from the rapid development of horsemanship and a male cavalry corps, attributable to the invention of the metal stirrup and the spur. These innovations contributed greatly to success in military campaigns and even influenced the Roman style of combat." The only Sarmatian warrior queen known by name was [[Amage]]. By the way is more known -->

===Hippocrates===
[[Hippocrates]] (''De Aere'', etc., 24) explicitly classes them as Scythian.

===Strabo===
[[Strabo]] mentions the Sarmatians in a number of places, never saying very much about them. He uses both Sarmatai and Sauromatai, but never together, and never suggesting that they are different peoples. He often pairs Sarmatians and [[Scythia]]ns in reference to a series of ethnic names, never stating which is which, as though Sarmatian or Scythian could apply equally to them all.

In Strabo the Sarmatians extend from above the Danube eastward to the Volga, and from north of the [[Dnieper River|Dnepr]] into the [[Caucasus]], where, he says, they are called Caucasii like everyone else there. This statement indicates that the [[Alans]] already had a home in the Caucasus, without waiting for the Huns to push them there.

Even more significantly he points to a Celtic admixture in the region of the [[Basternae]], who, he says, are of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] origin. The [[Celt]]ic [[Boii]], [[Scordisci]] and [[Taurisci]] are there. A fourth ethnic element being melted in are the [[Thracians]] (7.3.2). Moreover, the peoples toward the north are Keltoskythai, "Celtic Scythians" (11.6.2).

Strabo also portrays the peoples of the region as being nomadic, or Hamaksoikoi, "wagon-dwellers" and Galaktophagoi, "milk-eaters" referring, no doubt, to the universal [[koumiss]] eaten in historical times. The wagons were used for porting tents made of [[felt]], which must have been the [[yurt]]s used universally by Asian nomads.

===Pliny the Elder===
Tacitus is not the only Roman military man to have been interested in the Sarmatians; the admiral, [[Pliny the Elder]], relying on intelligence from Roman military stations in the north (by that time amber from the Baltic was being purchased by Roman agents on location), provides the most defining statement regarding the Sarmatians (4.12.79-81):
{{cquote|From this point (the mouth of the [[Danube]]) all the races in general are Scythian, though various sections have occupied the lands adjacent to the coast, in one place the [[Getae]] ... at another the Sarmatae ... Agrippa describes the whole of this area from the Danube to the sea ... as far as the river Vistula in the direction of the Sarmatian desert ... The name of the Scythians has spread in every direction, as far as the Sarmatae and the Germans, but this old designation has not continued for any except the most outlying sections ....}}

What this passage seems to tell us is that the Scythians or Scythian rule once extended even to the Germans, but now remained only in the far districts. [[Jordanes]] supports this hypothesis by telling us on the one hand that he was familiar with the ''Geography'' of [[Ptolemy]], which includes the entire Balto-Slavic territory in Sarmatia{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, and on the other that this same region was Scythia. By "Sarmatia", Jordanes means only the Aryan territory. The Sarmatians therefore did come from the Scythians.

===Tacitus===
[[Image:Sarmatian clothes.png|thumb|right|200px|Modern reconstructions of Sarmatian and Dacian costumes and the [[European dragon#Roman dragons|dragon standard]] from Roman bas-reliefs;]]

[[Tacitus]]' ''[[Germania (book)|De Origine et situ Germanorum]]'' speaks of “mutual fear” between [[Germans|Germanic peoples]] and Sarmatians:

<blockquote>All Germania is divided from Gaul, Raetia, and Pannonia by the Rhine and Danube rivers; from the Sarmatians and the Dacians by shared fear and mountains. The Ocean laps the rest, embracing wide bays and enormous stretches of islands. Just recently, we learned about certain tribes and kings, whom war brought to light.<ref>{{lang|lat|Germania omnis a Gallis Raetisque et Pannoniis [[Rhine|Rheno]] et [[Danube|Danuvio]] fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus separatur: cetera Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum inmensa spatia complectens, nuper cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum aperuit.}}</ref></blockquote>

According to Tacitus, like the [[Persians]], the Sarmatians wore long, flowing robes (ch 17). Moreover, the Sarmatians exacted tribute from the [[Cotini]] and [[Osi (Celtic tribe)|Osi]], and iron from the Cotini (ch. 43), “to their shame” (presumably because they could have used the iron to arm themselves and resist).

===Ptolemy===
By the third century BC, the Sarmatian name appears to have supplanted the Scythian in the plains of what is now south [[Ukraine]]. The geographer, [[Ptolemy]], reports them at what must be their maximum extent, divided into adjoining European and central Asian sections. Considering the overlap of tribal names between the Scythians and the Sarmatians, no new displacements probably took place. The people were the same Indo-Europeans they used to be, but now under yet another name.

===Pausanias===
Later, [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], viewing [[votive offering]]s near the Athenian Acropolis in the second century AD. (''Description of Greece'' 1.21.5-6), found among them a Sauromic breastplate.
{{cquote|On seeing this a man will say that no less than Greeks are foreigners skilled in the arts: for the Sauromatae have no iron, neither mined by themselves nor yet imported. They have, in fact, no dealings at all with the foreigners around them. To meet this deficiency they have contrived inventions. In place of iron they use bone for their spear-blades, and [[Dogwood|corneal-wood]] for their bows and arrows, with bone points for the arrows. They throw a lasso round any enemy they meet, and then turning round their horses upset the enemy caught in the lasso.''

Their breastplates they make in the following fashion. Each man keeps many mares, since the land is not divided into private allotments, nor does it bear any thing except wild trees, as the people are nomads. These mares they not only use for war, but also sacrifice them to the local gods and eat them for food. Their hoofs they collect, clean, split, and make from them as it were python scales. Whoever has never seen a python must at least have seen a pine-cone still green. He will not be mistaken if he liken the product from the hoof to the segments that are seen on the pine-cone. These pieces they bore and stitch together with the sinews of horses and oxen, and then use them as breastplates that are as handsome and strong as those of the Greeks. For they can withstand blows of missiles and those struck in close combat.}}

Pausanias' description is well borne out in a relief from Tanais. These facts are not necessarily incompatible with Tacitus, as the Sarmatians on the west might have kept their iron to themselves, it having been a scarce commodity on the plains. If true, this circumstance argues for a lack of central government or even for bad communication (as opposed to the Persians).

===Pontic inscriptions===
The greater part of the foreign names occurring in the inscriptions of [[Pontic Olbia|Olbia]], [[Tanais]] and [[Panticapaeum]] are supposed to be Sarmatian, and as they have been well{{Fact|date=February 2007}} explained from the [[Iranic language]] now spoken by the [[Ossetians]] of the [[Caucasus]] (the [[Ossetic language]]), these are supposed to be the modern representatives of the Sarmatians and can be shown to have a direct connection with the [[Alans]], one of their tribes.

===Ammianus Marcellinus===
Sarmatians were still a force the Romans had to reckon with in the late fourth century A.D. [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] (29.6.13-14) describes a severe defeat, which Sarmatian raiders inflicted upon Roman forces in the province of Valeria in [[Pannonia]] in late 374 A.D. The Sarmatians almost annihilated both a legion recruited from [[Moesia]] and one from Pannonia, which had been sent to intercept a party of Sarmatians who had been pursuing a senior Roman officer named Aequitius deep into Roman territory. The two legions failed to coordinate and their quarreling allowed the Sarmatians to catch them unprepared and deal a stunning blow.

===At the end of antiquity===
{{Seealso|Alans|Ossetians}}

The Sarmatians remained dominant until the [[Goths|Gothic]] ascendancy{{Fact|date=April 2007}} in the Black Sea area and then disappeared{{Fact|date=April 2007}} at the [[Huns|Hunnish]] destruction of the Gothic empire and subsequent invasion of central Europe. From bases in Hungary the Huns ruled the entire former Sarmatian territory. Their various constituents enjoyed a [[floruit]] under Hunnish rule, fought for the Huns against a combination of Roman and Germanic troops, and went their own ways after the [[Battle of Chalons]] (a stand-off), the death of [[Attila]] and the disappearance of the [[Chuvash]] ruling elements west of the Volga.

This contradicts [[Priscus]] who sees a lot of 'happy' Scythians around Attila. They played a significant part in the rise of early [[Russia]].{{Fact|date=April 2007}}

====Constantine the Great's campaign, 332====
{{Cleanup-section|date=August 2008}}
Goths attacked Samaritan tribes on the north of the Danube in what is today Romania. The Roman Emperor [[Constantine]] called [[Constantine II]] up from Galia in order to run the campaign. In very cold weather the Romans were overwhelmingly victorious, destroying 100.000 Goths and capturing [[Ariaricus]] the son of the Goth king. <ref>Origo Constantini 6.32 mentions the actions</ref><ref>Eusebius Vita Constantini IV.6</ref><ref>Charles Manson Odahl Constantine and the Christiane Empire chapter X</ref>

====334AD Constantine the Great campaign====
{{Cleanup-section|date=August 2008}}
In their efforts to halt the [[Goth]] expansion on the north of Lower Danube (present-day Romania), the Sarmatians armed their slaves. However, after the Roman victory the local population revolted against their Sarmatian masters, pushing them beyond the Roman border. Constantine, on whom the Sarmatians had called for help, defeated [[Limigantes]], the leader of the revolt, and moved the Sarmatian population back in. In the Roman provinces, Sarmatian combattants were enlisted in the Roman army, whilst the rest of the population was distributed throughout Thracia, Macedonia and Italy. [[Origo Constantini]] mentions 300,000 refugees resulting from this conflict. The emperor Constantine was subsequently attributed the title of SARMATICUS MAXIMUS.<ref>Origo Constantini 6.32 mention the actions</ref><ref>Eusebius Vita Constantini IV.6</ref><ref>Barnes Victories of Constantine page 150-154</ref><ref>Grant Constantine the Great pages 61-68</ref><ref>Charles Manson Odahl Constantine and the Christian Empire Chapter X</ref>

==Genetics==
Ancient DNA of 13 Sarmatian remains from Pokrovka and Meirmagul kurgans was extracted for comparative analysis. Most of the genetic traits determined were of western Eurasian origin, while only a few were of central/east Asian origin. <ref>[http://www.csen.org/DNA_Report/DNA.html].</ref>

==Recent research==
[[Image:Sarmatianpottery.JPG|right|thumb|Üllő5 Sarmatian pottery]]

In a recent excavation of Sarmatian sites by Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball, a tomb was found wherein female warriors were buried, thus lending some credence to the myths about the [[Amazons]]. Amazons are reported as Sauromatae wives.
<!--Following the excavation in 2003 by Dr. Davis-Kimball, she and Dr. Joachim Burger compared the genetic evidence from the site with the nomadic [[Kazakhs]], and have found a striking genetic link – verified later by the [[University of Cambridge]] [http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=1272] – and lending credence to the long-held thesis that the ancient Turkic people who expanded into this region neither exterminated nor completely drove out the original Iranian inhabitants, but indeed assimilated a significant number of them. The ancient DNA article will be interesting but links go to empty page-->

In [[Hungary]] a great Late Sarmatian pottery center was reportedly unearthed between 2001-2006 near [[Budapest]], in [[Üllő5]] archaeological site. Typical gray, granular Üllő5 ceramics forms a distinct group of Sarmatian pottery found everywhere in the north-central part of the [[Great Hungarian Plain]] region, indicating a lively trading activity. A recent paper on the study of glass beads found in Sarmatian graves suggests wide cultural and trade links.<ref>[http://www.nbz.or.jp/eng/pdffiles/hallandyablonsky1998.pdf Chemical Analyses of Sarmatian Glass Beads from Pokrovka,
Russia], by Mark E. Hall and Leonid Yablonsky.</ref>

Those Sarmatians, being in the early Iranian range of south Russia, were probably [[Ancient Iranian peoples|Iranian]] people akin to the [[Scythian]]s/[[Saka]]. The numerous Iranian personal names in the Greek inscriptions from the Black Sea Coast indicate that the Sarmatians there spoke a north-eastern Iranian dialect related to [[Sogdian]] and [[Ossetic]].

Like the Scythians, Sarmatians were of Caucasian appearance; before the arrival of the Huns it is thought that few of the western steppe peoples had Asiatic or Turco-Mongol features.<ref>Brzezinski, R., et al, ''The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450'' (in series Men-At-Arms 373) 2002, pp.6-7</ref>

==Tribes at some time considered Sarmatian==
{{Indo-European topics}}
Below is a list of tribes considered by various ancient writers to be among the people called Sarmatian, or to be in territory considered Sarmatian.<ref>The writers are identified in the articles for the tribes.</ref> Note that the political and ethnic affiliations of the Sarmatians as well as their territory varied somewhat over the centuries. Authors do not all identify the same tribes.

* [[Abii]], [[Achaei]], [[Acibi]], [[Agathyrsi]], [[Agoritae]], [[Alans]] (Alauni, Halani, [[Alanorsi]]), [[Alontae]], [[Amadoci]], [[Hamaxobian|Amaxobi]], [[Amazons|Amazones]], [[Anartophracti]], [[Antae]], [[Aorsi]] (Adorsi, [[Alanorsi]]), [[Arichi]], [[Arsietae]], [[Asaei]], [[Aspurgiani]], [[Atmoni]], [[Eurasian Avars|Avarini]]
* [[Basilici]], [[Basternae]], [[Biessi]], [[Bosporani]], [[Budini|Bodini]], [[Prussian people|Borusci]], [[Burgiones]]
* [[Carbones]], [[Careotae]], [[Cariones]], [[Carpians]], [[Caucasii]], [[Cercetae]], [[Chaenides]], [[White Croats|Choroatos]], [[Chuni]], [[Cimmerians]], [[Costoboci]], [[Conapseni]]
* [[Diduri]]
* [[Exobygitae]]
* [[Fenni]] (Tacitus was not sure if Fenni were Sarmatians or [[Germanic people]])
*
* [[Galactophagi]], [[Galindae]], [[Gelones]], [[Gerri]], [[Gevini]], [[Drużno#Ptolemy and the prehistory|Greater Venedae]], [[Drużno#Ptolemy and the prehistory|Gythones]]
* [[Hamaksoikoi]], [[Heniochi]], [[Hippemolgi]], [[Hippophagi]], [[Hippopodes]], [[Hyperboreans]], [[White Croats|Horouathos or Horouatos]]
* [[Iaxamatae]], [[Iazyges]], [[Igylliones]], [[Isondae]]
* [[Materi]], [[Melanchlaeni]] or Melanchlani, [[Metibi]], [[Modoca]], [[Mysi]]
* [[Nasci]], [[Navari]], [[Nesioti]]
* [[Ombrones]], [[Ophlones]], [[Orinei]], [[Osili]], [[Ossetians|Ossi]]
* [[Pagyritae]], [[Perierbidi]], [[Peucini]], [[Piengitae]], [[Phrungundiones]], [[Phthirophagi]], [[Psessi]]
* [[Rheucanali]], [[Rhoxolani]]
* [[Saboci]], [[Sacani]], [[Saii]], [[Sargati]], [[Savari (tribe)|Savari]], [[Alans|Scythian Alani]], [[Senaraei]], [[Serboi]], [[Sidoni]], [[Siraces]], [[Stavani]], [[Sturni]], [[Suani]], [[Suanocolchi]], [[Suardeni]], [[Yotvingians|Sudini]], [[Sulones]]
* [[Taïphali]], [[Tanaitae]], [[Tauroscythae]], [[Thatemeotae]], [[Tigri]], [[Toreccadae]], [[Transmontani]], [[Tusci]], [[Tyrambae]], [[Tyrangitae]]
* [[Udae]]
* [[Vali(tribe)|Vali]], [[Veltae]], [[Venedes|Venedae]], [[Vibiones]]
* [[Zacatae]], [[Zinchi]]

==Name==
{{Refimprove|date=June 2008}}

One can always find proponents of the hypothesis that two distinct peoples existed, the Sauromatae and the Sarmatae. This is not a popular hypothesis, as both peoples would have to be using many of the same tribal names. Moreover, [[Jordanes]], a churchman of mixed [[goths|Gothic]] and Sarmatian background, states that they were the same and that the Goths changed their name in some places to Sarmatians before conquering.

There is a suggestion in Lubotsky's Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (on the Leiden University IED site) that the name is related to the [[Avestan language|Avestan]] zarəman-, "old". This is the same zar- that appears in [[Zarathustra]]. The exact sense is not clear, but words with that root can mean "senior" and "undying" (through being very old) or {{lang|ave|kos'tur}} of sun or fire. This word has the advantage of being in the most appropriate language and of being able to be the source of both Sar- and Sauro-.

The Avesta contains references to a people ''{{lang|ave|sairima}}''. In later tradition, recorded in [[Ferdowsi]]'s [[Shahnameh]], "[[Salm (son of Fereydun)|Salm]]" is one of three sons of [[Fereydun]], and the ancestor of the European peoples.

Since there is the theory that the linguistic descendants of the Sarmatians are the [[Ossetians]]{{1}} (contrary to, at that time completely unknown genetic data), one may include the three following theories for the origin of the name:
#[[Georges Dumezil|Dumezil]]: oss. saw (black) scr. róman- (fur), oss tae (plural marker)
#[[Vasily Abaev|Abaev]]: oss. saw (black) oss arm (arm), oss tae (plural marker)
#Christol: *sarumant (archer) from scr. saru (arrow)

The Indo-European root, which is the *ĝerh<sub>2</sub>- of [[Julius Pokorny]], "old", opens out exciting speculations. The word [[Ancient Greece|Greek]], Latin Graeci, is from the same root, originating from an obscure Balkan tribe, the Graioi, which the ancients took to be "the old ones." In the area of '''Sauro'''-matae lived Ma-'''zurian'''. <!-- ma- = has, mate- = has this--> If zur(zar -sun) is similar to saur (sol -sun) then is also related to water founded 'zur niesiemy zur', vedi vodi or (sola sla). Graroi, given ż<>g<>h may be related to Żaroi Graroi ''Haroy'' Harian Hurian or even ''Hunga'' till today sing as ''Ha'Hary'', Compare the war cray ''Hurra'' of people from this area. Sarmatian is the [[satem]] equivalent of [[centum]] Greek.It must be noted here that ''Αέρα'' ( AERA ) is the Greek battle cry to this day. A genetic commonality would require an original satem word in [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]. Such a connection is speculative at this point.

The numerous Iranian personal names in the Greek inscriptions from the [[Black Sea]] Coast indicate that the Sarmatians spoke a [[North-Eastern Iranian]] dialect ancestral to [[Ossetic]] (see [[Scytho-Sarmatian]]). <ref> Handbuch der Orientalistik, Iranistik. By I. Gershevitch, O. Hansen, B. Spuler, M.J. Dresden, Prof M Boyce, M. Boyce Summary. E.J. Brill. 1968. </ref>

==Popular culture==
*"Sarmatian Knights" were prominently featured in the 2004 film ''[[King Arthur (movie)|King Arthur]]''. The film posited that Arthur was a Roman officer with a Roman father and Briton mother origin. This was based on the [[Historical basis for King Arthur#Sarmatian connection|Sarmatian connection]] hypothesis of Littleton and Thomas, who pointed out in 1978 that many Arthurian legends have surviving parallels among the [[Ossetians]], and that [[Marcus Aurelius]] planted a Sarmatian colony of [[cataphracts]] (''i.e.,'' heavily armoured cavalry) in [[Roman Britain]].
*[[Edward Gibbon]]'s "[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]" devotes several chapters to the series of skirmishes and minor wars between the Sarmatians and Roman legions during the first few centuries AD, and includes the dubious footnote commenting on the Consul Proculus: "He had taken one hundred Sarmatian virgins. The rest of the story he must relate in his own language: {{lang|lat|Ex his una nocte decem inivi; omnes tamen, quod in me erat, mulieres intra dies quindecim reddidi.}}"<ref> Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1, chapter 12, p397. By Edward Gibbon. 1727. </ref>

==See also==
* [[Hittites]]
* [[Scythians]]
* [[Iranian People]]
* [[Sarmatism]]
* [[Sindes]]
* [[Tirgatao]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Commons|Sarmatians}}

==Bibliography==
*Almsaodi, Aymn. ''The Historic Atlas of Iberia''
*[[Richard Brzezinski]] and [[Mariusz Mielczarek]], ''The Sarmatians 600 BC-AD 450'' (in series ''Men-At-Arms'' 373), Oxford: Osprey, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-485-X
*Davis-Kimball, Jeannine. 2002. ''Warrior Women: An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines''. Warner Books, New York. first Trade printing, 2003. ISBN 0-446-67983-6 (pbk).
* [[Tadeusz Sulimirski]], ''The Sarmatians'' (vol. 73 in series "Ancient People and Places") London: Thames & Hudson/New York: Praeger, 1970.
*[[Alexander Guagnini]] (1538-1614), ''Sarmatiae Europeae descriptio'', Spira [[1581]].

==External links==
* [http://83.1911encyclopedia.org/S/SA/SARMATAE.htm ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' 1911:] "Sarmatae"
* [http://www.kroraina.com/sarm/jh/index.html Studies in the History and Language of the Sarmatians]
* [http://dpg.lib.berkeley.edu/webdb/dsheh/heh_brf?Description=&CallNumber=HM+1092 Ptolemaic Map (Digital Scriptorium)]
* [http://www.sarmacja.com.pl/1697eng.htm Map of Sarmatia 1697]
* [http://www.csen.org/BAR%20Book/BAR.%20Part%2001.TofC.html Kurgans, Ritual Sites, and Settlements: Eurasian Bronze and Iron Age]
* [http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/pilgr/bord/10Bord03Sirmium.html ''THE ANONYMOUS PILGRIM OF BORDEAUX (333 A.D.)'']

[[Category:Sarmatians| ]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:Bosporan Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Eurasian nomads]]
[[Category:Alans]]

[[ca:Sàrmates]]
[[cs:Sarmati]]
[[cy:Sarmatiaid]]
[[de:Sarmaten]]
[[es:Sármatas]]
[[eo:Sarmatoj]]
[[fa:سرمتی]]
[[fr:Sarmates]]
[[gl:Sármata]]
[[is:Sarmatar]]
[[it:Sarmati]]
[[kk:Сарматтар]]
[[lv:Sarmati]]
[[lt:Sarmatai]]
[[hu:Szarmaták]]
[[nl:Sarmaten]]
[[ja:サルマタイ]]
[[no:Sarmatianere]]
[[pl:Sarmaci]]
[[pt:Sármatas]]
[[ro:Sarmaţi]]
[[ru:Сарматы]]
[[sk:Sarmati]]
[[sr:Сармати]]
[[fi:Sarmaatit]]
[[sv:Sarmater]]
[[vi:Người Sarmatia]]
[[tr:Sarmatlar]]
[[uk:Сармати]]
[[zh:萨尔马提亚人]]

Revision as of 22:27, 11 October 2008

Monte Amiata

The Monte Amiata is a mountain in the Tuscan Antiapennines, in the provinces of Grosseto and Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. The highest peak is at 1,738 metres (5,702 ft) above sea level.

The Amiata is an ancient, inactive volcano, characterized by volcanic rocks and small lakes. Waters from the mountain feed the Fiora aqueduct, which serves much of southern Tuscany and part of northern Lazio; in the Amiata are also the springs of Fiora and Albegna rivers, the latter on Mount Buceto, which constitutes the south-westernmost spur of the massif.

The main economical resources of the Amiata region are chestnuts, wood and, increasingly, tourism (ski resorts include the peak area, Prato delle Macinaie, Prato della Contessa, Rifugio Cantore and Pian della Marsiliana). The lower areas are characterized by olive trees and vines. Other vegetation include beech and fir. In ancient times cinnabar was extracted here.

The Amiata is included in the comuni of Abbadia San Salvatore, Arcidosso, Castel del Piano, Piancastagnaio, Santa Fiora and Seggiano, all located between 600 and 800 metres of altitude.

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