The Scythians, Barry Cunliffe
The Scythians, Barry Cunliffe
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The Scythians
Nomad Warriors of the Steppe

Author: Barry Cunliffe

Narrator: Matthew Waterson

Unabridged: 8 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/28/2020


Synopsis

The Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain in the first millennium BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe.

Relations with the Greeks around the shores of the Black Sea were rather different—both communities benefiting from trading with each other. It is from the writings of Greeks like the historian Herodotus that we learn of Scythian life: their beliefs, their burial practices, their love of fighting, and their ambivalent attitudes to gender. It is a world that is also brilliantly illuminated by the rich material culture recovered from Scythian burials, where all the organic material is amazingly well preserved.

Barry Cunliffe here marshals this vast array of evidence—both archaeological and textual—in a masterful reconstruction of the lost world of the Scythians, allowing them to emerge in all their considerable vigour and splendour for the first time in over two millennia.

About Barry Cunliffe

Barry Cunliffe taught archaeology at the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was professor of European archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been president of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, Governor of the Museum of London, a Commissioner of English Heritage, and a Trustee of the British Museum. His many books include Facing the Ocean, Druids: A Very Short Introduction, Britain Begins, By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean, and On the Ocean, all published by Oxford University Press. He received a knighthood in 2006.


Reviews

Goodreads review by ExtraGravy on May 07, 2025

Thorough work of history; impressively dependent on archeology. Pleasurable read.......more

Goodreads review by A. on August 18, 2021

This was a great read. The only reason that I gave it 4-star rating instead of five was because I read it on a B&W Kindle which did not do justice to the maps and photos. So, one should get the printed book for a thoroughly satisfying read. This is a well researched, authoritative work on enigmatic,......more

Goodreads review by Einzige on June 21, 2021

Pre-Review Warning If you haven't read history books on the more ancient peoples before its worth knowing that archaeological discussions are central to them. Accordingly depending on how much that does/doesnt interest you will really be the difference between this being a 5/5 vs a 2/5. Review Th......more

Goodreads review by Marianne on January 06, 2021

Great survey of Scythian history and culture. Thorough and well organized. Cunliffe does a great job comparing the written record with the archeological. There isn't any sort of narrative or drama here, which may cause it to bore some people, but for me this is right in the sweet spot of a book that......more

Goodreads review by Amy on June 18, 2022

Solid book and very well researched but occasionally I found myself feeling like the analysis was unable to break from a Greek bias, which makes sense considering most if not all the written sources are Greek, but it did feel a little out of place in certain spots (the religion sticks out the most).......more