23. The Scary Scythians
Ancient Scythia’s King Idanthyrsus ruled a nomadic Iranian-speaking tribal confederacy in the sixth century BC, that inhabited the Steppe between the Carpathians and central China. His territory lay astride an overland trade network that connected the Greeks, Chinese, Persians, and Indians. Milking that network’s resources, the Scythians created the first of the Steppe empires that terrified the neighboring settled lands for millennia.
Starting in the seventh century BC, the Scythians began raiding into the Middle East. Their first major disruptive role occurred in 612 BC, when they played a leading part in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire. That forever extinguished a nation that had existed for over a millennium and had dominated the Middle East for centuries. The region was eventually taken over by the Persians, and in 513 BC Darius I of Persia sought to end Scythian raids on his empire by conquering them. It did not turn out well.