The Scythian Empire - by Christopher I Beckwith

Book Synopsis

A rich, discovery-filled history that tells how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world

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.

Review Quotes

"Lively and engaging. . . .The Scythians deserve more attention from historians and this book provides a significant contribution to the redirection of our focus in this way."---Steve Illingworth, The Historian

"Prodigiously learned. . . .Full of hitherto unthought-of connections across the northern steppes. Not everyone will agree with Beckwith, but all will be challenged by his book which turns the classical world as we know it inside out."-- "History Today"

"A History Today Book of the Year"

"The Scythian Empire is simply, dazzlingly original. . . . [Beckwith's] curiosity, imagination and learning--from the Yellow River to the Danube, from archaeology to linguistics--do what every history ought to do but few achieve: compel the reader to think."---Maxwell Carter, Wall Street Journal

"A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year"

"Before I read this book, I thought the prophet Jeremiah had produced the best summary image of Scythians when he said of them simply that 'They ride upon horses.' . . . Now that I have read [The Scythian Empire], I am tempted to think again, for, if he is right, Scythians were far more than riders, mare-milkers and curd-eaters; they were also administrators and thinkers."---D. B. Saunders, Classics for All

"Bold and controversial."---Paul Cartledge, Literary Review

"Highly recommended for all students of the Scythians and Classical Persia or China."-- "Library Journal"

"Illuminating."-- "History Revealed"

"Magisterial. . . .Archaeologists should not write a word more about Scythia until they have read it."-- "Current World Archaeology"

"Often regarded by historians as a collection of savage tribes, the Scythians emerge as a pivotal force of the ancient world in this monumental history."-- "The New Yorker"

"Prof. Beckwith offers an original synthesis of the history of the Old World from the Black Sea to the Yellow River, between the 8th and the 4th century BC. . . . Beckwith's book is impressive with a large array of erudition."---Henri-Paul Francfort, Sehepunkte

About the Author

Christopher I. Beckwith is Distinguished Professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. His many books include Empires of the Silk Road, The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia, Greek Buddha, and Warriors of the Cloisters (all Princeton).