The Sons of Cimmeria: A Cimmerian Anatolia

[Pachac]

POD: The plague that hits Sardis and weakened Cimmeria’s hold on Central Anatolia never happened, and Dugdamme, feeling more confident, decided to consolidate his position in the face of Assyrian might.

A study Of The Anatolian Cimmerians, by the University of Creca
Volume II


The tale of the Cimmerians is long and harsh. After a group of them, led by one Dugdamme I, ravaged Anatolia, destroying the kingdom of Phrygia after Midas poisoned himself, and Gordium fell. Soon they fell upon the Lydians, with the fury of Dugdamme I directed towards them. Dugdamme captured the city after a quick siege, slaying King Gyges, in 678 BCE. While most others would have simply left the city and returned later to reap more benefit out of them, Dugdamme was reluctant. He felt that he had a kingdom in his hands, and he was not going to give it up. He collected his forces, some 7000 Horsemen, and 3000 light skirmishers, and prepared to meet Gyges’ son, Ardys II. Ardys had been gathering a large force, of around 7900 Infantry troops and 1000 cavalry, mainly conscripted from the population, to reinstate his rule. He assumed that the Cimmerians would simply leave, allowing him to the rebuild the kingdom and Sardis. However, he was dead wrong.

The battle took place near the Hermus valley in the summer of 677 BCE, a flat plain near Sardis where Dugdamme hoped to use his much superior horsemen to outflank and destroy Ardys’ force. Ardys was a young ambitious king, with very little real experience. Dugdamme assumed this, and used a small patrol to lure in Ardys, onto the plain. Dugdamme’s forces had hid inside Sardis, ready to burst out as soon as Ardys appeared on the plain. The ruse worked almost too well, as Ardys’ emotions overcame him, for he had seen the head of his father on a spear outside the city- a clear warning that Dugdamme was to be feared. Ardys ordered his infantry to take the city, which he believed was still empty and deserted. Suddenly, his anger turned to shock when Dugdamme’s forces burst out of the city. Ardys struggled to get his men back into order, as they yearned to save their families- a futile gesture, to be sure. The men managed to get themselves back in order. Unfortunately, the cavalry had not managed to prepare themselves. Ardys’ left flank was hopelessly undefended, and Dugdamme ordered an attack on it. Ardys’ troops fought surprisingly hard, but they were inexperienced peasants, not prepared for battle with the veterans who had fought against the Phrygians, and indeed, the Assyrians[1].

His cavalry was smashed, and Ardys, noticing the danger, hoped to use his stronger infantry to force Dugdamme’s left flank to retreat, distracting Dugdamme’s superior cavalry long enough to break through his[2] infantry and hopefully break into the city[3]. Dugdamme, noticing this danger to his left flank, led his triumphant cavalry to where Ardys was going to break through, and surprised him. Over 5000 cavalry smashed Ardys’ offensive, and Ardys’ himself was killed by a stray arrow. After his death, Ardys’ army crumbled, and many troops made a futile last attack towards the city of Sardis. Dugdamme’s Right flank managed to overcome them, and Dugdamme left his left flank to their rear, essentially turning the battle into a rout. A great many troops surrendered, and this is where an interesting quality of Dugdamme came to be shown. Dugdamme essentially absorbed those who wished to into his army, and allowed those who didn’t to tend their farms and return to Sardis, devastated though it was. All in all, Dugdamme gained around 900 troops, an excellent supplement to those who he had lost. The reasons for the large amount of capitulators is often questioned by many scholars, but general consensus has generally agreed that the harsh prosecution of many countrymen[4] by Gyges, and later, Ardys, explained this.

With Lydia securely under his rule, and Phrygia as well, Dugdamme began to look for new targets. The Assyrians were out of the question; they were a dangerous threat and there was no need to antagonize them. In the west were the well defended Ionian coastal cities; while a valuable prize, Dugdamme had neither the infantry nor the siege weapons able to take them. Sardis had been a special case[5]. The only logical area to attack was Lycia, to the far south, In order to gain control of an area with a history of strong infantry, from where Dugdamme could easily gain a large infantry force(and challenge the Assyrians) from. For now, however, the question remained of how Dugdamme could get his own infantry force, in order to challenge the skilled Lycians in a battle. The answer came with the Meliac war. Priene and Melite[6], two Greek cities in the area, grew out of favour. The small arguments between aristocrats of the cities soon escalated into full scale war. Melite, losing heavily by 676 BCE, requested help from Dugdamme, in a desperate position. Dugdamme, hoping for an intervention such as this, thanked Cybele[7] and gleefully declared war on Priene. Priene was terrified[8] of the Cimmerians and requested aid from the Greek cities of the area. Samos and Miletus both refused, citing their rivalry with Priene and no interest in their petty disputes. Didyma also refused, with some city states never answering their call to help, which was to have repercussions in the future. On the side of Priene, Hereacleia, Alabanda, and Myus joined. Interestingly, Mylasa and Labruada joined on Cimmeria’s side, after much bribing, as well as to assert their position in Ionia. And so a minor conflict escalated to a region wide war, becoming War of the Cimmerian alliance.

The first battle of the war took place in the upper Maeander river, in a more hilly area. The forces of both sides had mobilized their forces- but Dugdamme’s forces were nowhere to be found. Unbeknownst to them, Dugdamme was fighting a large amount of surviving Lydian troops, many of which rallied around a pretender, one Halydes. The commander of the Cimmerian alliance, as it was called, Nerues of Mylasa, decided to go ahead anyways, which proved to be a disaster. Around five thousand of their men met Six thousand of Priene and her allies, and it was a disastrous encounter. Nerues was an impatient man, and instead of waiting for Priene to cross the river, ordered his own men to cross it, in the hopes he would be able to cross before Priene’s army reached the area. He was obviously wrong, and the fact he had not sent out any scouts to watch the surrounding area proved his ignorance[8]. Priene’s army met theirs before half of it had crossed the river, causing a horrific massacre of Nerues’ troops[9]. Nerues managed to escape across the river, from where he ‘conveniently’ found himself a horse and rode back to Mylasa with Three thousand of his troops, and the usual Hellenic rituals began, with the returning of bodies and other usual customs. Then, Priene’s army, led by Lysander of Myus[10] began to chase Nerues. Lysander, while more level-headed and a better general than the aristocrat Nerues, who was more suited to be a scholar, had forgotten about the army of Dugdamme, which was approaching fast, after having defeated the forces of Halydes, and learned some lessons from his battles with the pretender as well..

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1- The Cimmerians had already attacked the Assyrians in Cicilia, I believe, and deciding they were too big a fish to fry.

2- Dugdamme’s, that is.

3- An interesting note was that there was a large garrison inside, so any attempt to take the city would have failed at the walls.

4- Biased. Gyges didn’t really have that much of a hate towards his countrymen, he simply needed them to defend their homeland.

5- Not really. They seem to be ignoring the fact that they did have siege weapons, and used that excuse to label them as ‘primitive ancestors’.

6- Melite was actually a Greek city in the area, from what I’ve read, but the records on it are scarce. All I really know was that it was a conflict between Priene and Melite, and when it was over, Melite was gone. It also instigated the formation of the Ionian league, and that may be interesting to explore.

7- Some real guesswork on my part. I do believe that some Cimmerians were quite fascinated by Cybele, a Phrygian goddess. She’ll be talked about more later.

8- The author seems to have some personal beef with Nerues.

9- Not really a massacre. A bit more than the usual amount of troops killed in a hoplite battle, but not by much.

10- An interesting note is that both armies were commanded by commanders from the allies of the leaders of both states, rather than the actual leading states.

Thanks to Monopolist for vaguely instigating me into writing this.

 

[Pachac]

This Time line has a lot more research and basis into it than My others. I'm going to put a full commitment into this.

 

[Falecius]

Sounds interesting.

 

[The Space Viking]

This was just as good as I speculated, Impi. Consider me subscribed, no because you're my bro, but because I find this interesting and want to follow this through. Great work and I look forward to more.

 

[Cuāuhtemōc]

Well you have me hooked for more.

 

[Pachac]

A study Of The Anatolian Cimmerians, by the University of Creca
Volume II

Halydes’ rebellion was quite interesting, actually. He was, in fact a pretender to the Lydian throne. Ardys II had been planning to destroy him and his tiny band of men, who were frequently attempting to ‘assert their rightful rule’ on the people of the mountainous areas. Interestingly enough, once Ardys had fallen, and Lydia with it, Halydes essentially gained legitimacy. A large amount of men flocked to him, mainly the survivors of the battle against Dugdamme. He began a small guerrilla war against Dugdamme, who was having headaches from Halydes’ skirmishes with him. The final straw was when Dugdamme was attempting to move his army to assist his allies in Ionia, and Halydes’ men began to skirmish with his rear guard. Angered by this continued defiance, Dugdamme sent Five thousand horsemen and Two thousand infantry against Halydes’ small force of men.

What happened next was an example of Dugdamme’s failure to understand guerrilla warfare, which was understandable given his origins[1]. Dugdamme attempted to force Halydes into a pitched battle, which did not happen. Instead, Halydes lured his cavalry into the highlands of Lydia, and managed to defeat his cavalry using a multitude of traps and ambushes along the routes leading to Halydes’ stronghold, a small fort of dubious[2] origin in the Lydian highlands. Realizing that he was going to face disgrace, a possible coup, and failure to exert his influence over the city states of Ionia, Dugdamme took a different approach to defeating Halydes. With a large infantry force of some four thousand men, mainly Lydians, with lightly armed Phrygians and Cimmerian cavalry supporting him, he marched across the route to Halydes’ refuge. Using his light troops, he secured the high ground above his army, dispersing any ambushes and discouraging Halydes’ from attacking. Essentially, he stopped Halydes’ from using the advantage of the irregular terrain to his advantage. This innovation in warfare was not Dugdamme’s; his Phrygian commander, Daguvas, who had spent much time perfecting this kind of warfare against the Neo-Hittites and other attacking peoples which often tried to take Phrygia. Using this method, he was able to reach the fortress unharmed, only to find that Halydes’ had fled. Where he had fled was to haunt Dugdamme for many years, but for now, the crisis was averted. He had reasserted his dominance among the various clans of the Cimmerians, which were encroaching on him, with many of the tribal chieftains wanting to assert their dominance if Dugdamme showed signs of weakness.

The different clans of Cimmeria were a mess of family feuding and Clan leaders vying for control. Dugdamme was part of the Gala clan, a large clan which was dominant in the group of Cimmerians who had migrated into Anatolia. The story of how the Gala clan, often described as one of the weaker clans in surviving notes made by later Cimmerian scholars, rose to prominence, is quite interesting. When the Scythians invaded the ancestral homelands of Cimmeria[3], the clans of Cimmeria agreed to flee the area. However, copying an ancient ritual, the leaders of the greater clans had to battle one another for supremacy. Dugdamme’s great Grand father, Tigroi, was the leader of the Gala clan at the time, and had to battle his enemy, one of the Kolos clan. Tigroi had been wounded at the age of ten by a bear[4], and was believed to have been easy to defeat. It was most likely this overconfidence of the leader of the Kolos that led him to challenge him to a hand-to-hand fight. Little did he know that Tigroi had been training his good arm immensely, and managed to defeat the overconfident Kolos leader by strangling him and causing him to surrender, thereby winning the match. This was an extremely unique and peculiar tradition that led to the later Cimmerian-style boxing, which will be discussed later. Tigroi was victorious over the clan leader of the Kolos, who vowed loyalty to Tigroi before they embarked on the journey to Anatolia. This clan, the Kolos, had been attempting to gain control over the dominant Gala tribe. As long as Dugdamme was the leader of the Cimmerians in this area, however, they were kept under control. Dugdamme’s turning around of the defeat that Halydes had dealt him, solidified his rule over the clans.

Now that the threat of Halydes had finally been dealt with, Dugdamme collected his forces for the offensive on Priene. Melite had been doing badly against Priene, and Nerues was exiled from Mylasa for his failure to defeat the forces of Priene. The Cimmerian alliance was facing a crisis, until Dugdamme had arrived on the scene. Dugdamme collected his massive cavalry force, chasing Lysander’s army, which in turn had been chasing Nerues army. Lysander, perhaps clouded by his superiority complex[5], or the fact that he was hell-bent on catching Nerues, much to the anger of many people who felt that this was a break with traditional codes of warfare in Greece[6]. Lysander had his army camped near Myus, where he was waiting for Summer to arrive again, as it was already late fall, and much too late for any operations, at least in his opinion. Dugdamme thought differently, and began a series of baiting attacks on Lysander. Lysander, believing these were simply bandits[7], followed them into the foothills beyond the valley of the Maeander.

The reasons for Dugdamme’s lure were many. For one, Dugdamme knew that facing a large force of hoplites while depending mainly on cavalry on a plain was suicide. Furthermore, he believed that he could ambush him and use his light Phrygian troops to his advantage in the hills, where it was difficult, if not impossible, for Lysander to keep his troops in a phalanx. The plan worked, and Dugdamme used his peltists, mainly of Phrygian origin, to disrupt Lysander’s line while his cavalry lied in wait. When Lysander’s troops fell into disarray, mainly because of the difficulty of holding a phalanx in such uneven terrain, many were slaughtered by the arrows of the Cimmerian horse archers, who harried Lysander’s troops to no end. Finally, in an a final assault, the heavy cavalry of Dugdamme, supplemented by around Two thousand Lydian heavy spearmen[8], attacked and broke the centre of Lysander’s phalanx. Lysander, realizing the danger, attempted to bring troops from the flank in a pincer movement to trap Dugdamme’s cavalry. However, when he brought the troops from the flank, he realized his grave mistake; he had left his flank open to attack by Dugdamme’s superior cavalry. Dugdamme swiftly led a large force of cavalry into both of Lysander’s flanks, while urging his central Lydian infantry to continue in their push, and in the end, Lysander’s troops retreated. A large amount of them were captured, perhaps as many as One thousand. The rest that had not died retreated from the battlefield, taking their army but leaving Priene’s former strength to wither on the battlefield.

It was here that an interesting example of clashing traditions occurred. The forces of the alliance requested, after the battle, to have their prisoners returned, and their bodies as well. Dugdamme, not understanding traditional Greek customs, exclaimed ‘Woe to the defeated!’ and gave them the body of their second in command, who had died, but none else. This faux pas, although thought by Dugdamme to be perfectly reasonable, was seen as an insult to the Greeks. They had upheld these traditions for some two hundred years, and (rather ignorantly) expected those of non-Greek origin who they thought to do the same. Ultimately, Dugdamme did hand over the bodies, after much bribing by the Greeks. He handed the prisoners as well, but only after he had stripped them of their armour and weapons. The people of Priene, who had lost a large amount of their young men after the battle, pleaded for peace. Melite and Cimmeria, leading the league of states which were dictating the peace, agreed that a tribute would be paid to Cimmeria and that Melite would gain a larger amount of land near Priene.

The other states which had fought against the Cimmerian alliance also had to pay tribute to Dugdamme, though it was less severe than Priene’s tribute. Priene also had to give up a small amount of their able young men over to Cimmeria so Cimmeria would have a trained Hoplite force, ready to fight for them. In practice, this could mean rebellions by them, but these young men often got hefty sums of gold, and Cimmerian brides in reward for their service, as well as plots where they could farm. The war of the Cimmerian alliance, or First Ionian war, shook much of Anatolian Greece. On the one hand, here was a powerful force which could protect the Greeks from each other. On the other hand, it could just as easily turn against them, and was felt as a barbaric, crude, uncultured civilization which did not abide by basic laws of decency and combat. Particularly disgusting to the Greeks was the Cimmerian treatment of women, which was reminiscent to the treatment of Sparta’s women. Cimmerian women were often trained in horseback riding, shepherding, and in fact, were allowed to be the leaders of clans. In fact, Cimmerian legend often recalls a famous Leader of the Gala, Hippylika(Corrupted by the Greeks to ‘Hippolyte’) from where the legend of the warrior women may have originated from. Regardless of this tale, women were not warriors, and although they were often described as fiery and powerful, they were still focused on the raising of children, though like Spartan women, they were ordered to stay fit and practice horseback riding often in order to have healthy, strong, children.

With his influence in Ionia secured, Lydia destroyed and the rebels pacified, Dugdamme turned to Pisidia. Pisidia was a small mountainous region in Central Anatolia, which had often eluded capture by many different kingdoms. If Dugdamme could successfully capture the different cities of Pisidia, and ‘pacify’ the area, it would be much easier in the long run to project his power to Lycia, and Pamphylla. However, the Pisidians were not an easy group of people to conquer. Like a Sparta in Anatolia, they were a warrior culture, and heavily Hellenized due to the Greek presence in Lycia and Ionia. It was going to be a challenge for Dugdamme, but if he won, he could receive a valuable manpower source of experienced Hoplites[9]. The problem was that he somehow needed to win over their favour. Dugdamme was no politician, and could successfully manipulate the different city states of the area against each other. That task belonged to Anacharchis, a good friend of his, and one of the more Hellenized Cimmerians which had settled in the area of the black sea coast a generation before and followed Dugdamme in his conquest of the various peoples of central Anatolia. Anacharchis tried several times to bribe the city states of Pisidia, and once started threats against them. He, however, underestimated the resolve of the Pisidians to act as one unit when defending their homeland, and failed miserably to make the city states battle one another.

Furthermore, he had now alerted the different city states that they were to be attacked, causing them to begin preparing their troops. The Pisidians were armed and ready to deal with Dugdamme’s forces. Dugdamme, in his anger, almost struck down Anacharchis, but held himself back from slaughtering his valuable partner and friend. It was a simple underestimation of the Pisidian resolve, but Dugdamme made it clear that if it happened again, Anacharchis would not get off easily. In the mean time, while Dugdamme waited for the spring thaw, he moved the capital of Cimmeria to Gordium, where a large amount of Cimmerian settlers travelled and took up residence. It was not easy for them to transition to a sedentary lifestyle, and for perhaps two centuries, a large amount of tents periodically moved around the surrounding countryside, vaguely in the area of the city but not bound by the chains of sedentary life. In The spring of 675 BCE, Dugdamme prepared his forces. However, it was not the Pisidians he was preparing them against. Esarhaddon had entered Cilicia, and he was coming towards Dugdamme with increasing speed.

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[1]- They’re basically implying that he was a man of the steppe and foreign to mountain tactics. While not necessarily true, it hold some truth, as Dugdamme had only experienced mountain warfare as a child when they were in Armenia and attacked Urartu.

[2]- Most likely a Hittite fort; It was dubious because mass graves were found in the area dating to before the Hittites.

[3]- Around the Don river valley area in the Ukraine.

[4]- He injured his Right arm, basically rendering it useless.

[5]- Generally a feeling that Hoplite tactics were superior to the Middle eastern and steppe tactics, which is bollocks.

[6]- Traditional codes of Hoplite warfare essentially made both sides return the dead and prisoners to the other side after fighting.

[7]- Dugdamme dressed them up as bandits, and gave them weaker horses.

[8]- Not to be confused with Hoplites.

[9]- In reality, the Pisidians were a massive pain to anyone who controlled them until the Romans.

 

[Berserker]

Consider me subscribed as wel

 

[Pachac]

Any specific questions from anyone?

 

[Pachac]

Here's a campaign map in Ionia. If anyone's confused, Lyzander is the one marching from the Red star, while Dugdamme is marching towards the blue star.

 

[Monopolist]

Excellent start; subcribed.

 

[Pachac]

A study of the Anatolian Cimmerians
Volume II


Halydes had in fact fled to Assyria. The story around his popularity around the Assyrian court and his popularity with Esarhaddon, the king of Assyria, is quite interesting. It goes back to Gyges, who had had a certain dream revolving around The Assyrians saving his kingdom from the Cimmerians. He reportedly told his dream to many people, and it must have spread to Halydes. Halydes, after his retreat from Lydia across the black sea coast and into Mesopotamia, must have gone to the Assyrian court and claimed that he had the dream. Esarhaddon, intrigued, and already contemplating attacking the now strengthened Cimmerians, agreed to his wish. In exchange for expelling the Cimmerians and becoming the king of a new Lydian kingdom, he would pay tribute to Esarhaddon. It was a perfect deal for Esarhaddon, and he could raise his prestige with a few more campaigns before his son, Ashurbanipal, took the throne [1]. With a massive force of Eighty Thousand men, he crossed the Seihan [2] river and began to march towards Dugdamme. Dugdamme was quite prepared. He had assembled a massive force of his own. Two thousand hoplites, which he had received from the various Ionian city-states allied to him, four thousand Lydian heavy infantry, six thousand Phrygian skirmishers, three thousand Scythian archers, and over Fifteen thousand of his best cavalry. It was truly to be a battle of giants. Dugdamme rushed to meet Esarhaddon on level ground, and got his wish, as the two met on the plain of Cicilia, and perhaps one of the most important engagements in early Cimmerian history began.

Esarhaddon began with the usual Assyrian tactic, using a large barrage of arrows to soften his enemy. Realizing this, Dugdamme had prepared wicker shields for those of his soldiers who needed them, mainly the cavalry and light troops, before responding with a barrage of his own. He then moved a large amount of his hoplites away from the centre, in an interesting trap. Esarhaddon, taking the bait, made a devastating cavalry charge. However, Dugdamme had not intended this, and in fact, Esarhaddon knew this. Dugdamme had underestimated the sheer power of the Assyrian cavalry charge. Knowing he was running out of time before the main Assyrian force would get there; he ordered the peltists and archers to stall the main army with a massive barrage. Meanwhile, he and his cavalry went in a pincer movement, careful not to leave his flank open, to trap the Assyrian cavalry.

Here is where Hoplite bravery came in. The Hoplites, under a Greek commander, were able to rally themselves in a phalanx and pushed the Assyrian cavalry out, if not destroy it. Now, the main Assyrian army was without its cavalry. Now that he had his chance, Dugdamme reorganized his army in order to prepare for the final Assyrian attack. It was here the Esarhaddon’s usual strategy failed, as he overestimated the weakness of the Cimmerian centre. He attempted to break it, but his infantry found it slaughtered at the hands of Dugdamme’s experienced hoplites. Had they not participated, its doubtful Dugdamme would have been in a good situation. Finally, Dugdamme’s exhausted cavalry attempted a final push to dissuade Esarhaddon from another attack. They succeeded, barely, and Esarhaddon was driven off the battlefield. Both sides had learned much from that battle, but Dugdamme had won out the day, if barely. His hoplites had stood firm, but his cavalry, mainly veterans, were decimated. Riding back a victorious if emotionally damaged man [3] he decided to put off the Pisidian campaign for now and to organize the kingdom into something more than an army with a kingdom.

As for Halydes, he got a horrible fate. For his misinformation in telling Esarhaddon that the Cimmerian army was mainly light troops and cavalry[4] and thereby having him lose a large amount of cavalry in an initial charge, he was skinned alive and fed to Esarhaddon’s ‘pet’ lions[5]. This disturbing Assyrian practice was barbaric, and alienated Esarhaddon from the Lydian troops that had come with Halydes. These troops eventually fled Assyria into Urartu, where they fought against Esarhaddon in his campaigns against the Armenian state. Esarhaddon, while not entirely disgraced, had to turn away from conquering the Cimmerians. Instead, he began to attack the surviving towns that had not submitted to his rule in Cilicia before turning towards the troublesome Medes and Gutians[6] who were harassing Mesopotamia from the Zagros mountains. He replaced his lost cavalry with much gold, and vowed that Assyria would one day come back and conquer the stalwart Cimmerians. That task would go to his son, Ashurbanipal, but that is going too far into the future to be relevant at this point.

When Dugdamme returned home, he returned to violence, intrigue, and betrayal. The Kolos had challenged the superiority of the Gala clan, and demanded that they be given the better pastoral land. This episode is explained by some of the rites of the Cimmerians. In the steppe, there was plentiful grazing land where the large herds of cattle and the horses of the Cimmerians could easily graze. However, once they had arrived in Asia Minor, the problem appeared of how to separate the sparse grazing land between the two clans. In a temporary solution, he had allotted a large amount of land to the Gala clan. The Kolos clan, the majority, took offence to this. While Dugdamme is constant campaigning had kept them quiet for the moment, with his return, they demanded more grazing land. Their demands came into conflict with those of the native farmers, and Dugdamme had a problem. On one hand, he could betray his clan and the native people and please the majority Kolos, keep things as is and anger the Kolos to the point that they may attempt a coup, or give the farmers more land, thereby angering his fellow Cimmerians. Dugdamme was puzzled with what to do until Anacharchis suggested that the dispute be settled between the Gala and the Kolos by the traditional Cimmerian duel.

Both sides reluctantly agreed, and champions among both clans were chosen to battle. On the one side was Gerkik, the champion of the Gala clan, and a good friend of Dugdamme. On the other side was a burly youth by the name of Bratekat who represented the Kolos clan and was said to have defeated a boar easily with his bare hands. Both sides prepared for battle. The rules of the traditional duel were quite simple. No eye gouging, attacking of sensitive body parts, or scratching. The first person to yield would be the loser. The battle ensued, with Bratekat supposedly gaining the upper hand early by putting Gerkik in a headlock. However, this was a ruse, and Gerkik flipped Bratekat over him, and pinned him to the floor. Gerkik knew exactly where to pin him, and Bratekat could not get up. He finished Bratekat with an Elbow to his eye. The Gala clan was victorious and their favourable position was kept, once more. Gerkik was a hero and bestowed with all kinds of gifts from both clans, while Bratekat was kept well fed and was soon ready to o hunting again.

With that settled, Dugdamme pondered invading Pisidia and Thrace, but ultimately decided against it. By now, he was in his thirties, and while he was still a superb general, he had been hurt in the battle against Esarhaddon. Now, the years of campaigning ended, and the kingdom could have peace. First off, much of his Phrygian territories were devastated by his troops, and he needed to bring back the farmers who had ran to the hills. Granting them plots along the various rivers of central Anatolia, he essentially allowed them to farm in peace. Dugdamme was disinterested in urban life, and while he rebuilt the walls of Gordium, now Croigoi [7], as well as those of Sardis, he did little in his way of public works. He built a large number of forts in south-eastern Anatolia in order to guard the path to Gordium against any attempts by Esarhaddon to assert his influence over Cimmeria.

Trade reopened with the Greeks of the black sea coast, who were fascinated by the various tapestries created by the Cimmerian women. In exchange for them, the Greeks eagerly traded gold, jewellery, and tools, which were used to rebuild the various walls and houses destroyed by the Cimmerian rampage. The Cimmerians themselves rarely settled. While some intermarried with Phrygians, Greeks, and Lydians, and settled down, many kept strictly to themselves and often moved around in camps, a peculiar site in Anatolia. When a war needed to be fought, messengers from across Cimmeria would inform the various families, who were usually required to give one able young man and his horse [8], if he had one. Poorer families without horses, who were mainly shepherds, were usually accepted anyways and allowed one of the ‘surplus’ horses bred by a special group of people known as Kotoi[9]. The Kotoi had priest like status, belonging to one of the higher classes in the Cimmerian hierarchy. They were in charge of breeding good, strong horses so that if they were ever needed, they could be used to supplement a lack of horses. As well, it was these horses, which were more actively used in messenger work, or menial labour, rather than for the army.

By 674 BCE, Dugdamme had reassembled his army, gotten more cavalry [10], and had prepared a concise strategy for taking Pisidia. The earliest document we have of this was written two generations later, by a Cimmerian palace scribe, who had apparently obtained the information from oral tradition. The small tablet, found in Croigoi, detailed Dugdamme’s campaign in Pisidia. The point of view seems to have been that of a soldier who told the story to his compatriots.

“We prepared to defeat them. They met us in a hilly area near Callas [11] where they lined in a strong Galag’o [12]. We rained fire [13] upon them, but they defended themselves with their shields. We sent our cavalry against them, to break their line, but they kept firm. We sent our powerful Helnoi [14] against them, but they pushed us back. Finally, we sent our peltists against them, and they defeated them. I saw Dugdamme there, with a face full of anger. He ordered an attack on them, with all the troops. They held firm, beating their shields, and shouting, until they all fell. I have never seen such bravery and defiance in the face of defeat. If the Spartans we hear of are like this...we will have problems.”

It is obvious when we look at this document that Dugdamme won, but had severe problems with them. Strangely, specific details about this battle are omitted by later Cimmerian historians. It is possible that they were attempting an early historical revisionism in order to blatantly ignore the problems that Dugdamme had.

After the defeat of the Pisidians, what scarce documents we have of Dugdamme are quite uninteresting. They mainly detail his reorganization of crops and the allotment of crops between different people. It also, importantly, mentions who will take the title of ‘Ruler of the clans’ or Xsyal, in Cimmerian. The next Xsyal was Gerkik, the young man who was champion of the Gala. Heirs were not chosen in the usual dynastic system; rather, it was often the man who proved themselves most on either the field of battle or in duels. Heirs could only be chosen from the dominant tribe, which was the Gala at this time. Dugdamme gave Gerkik the title of Xsyal in 672 BCE, and he retired. When he died, he was given a traditional Cimmerian funeral, and cremated. His ashes were stored in the temple of Cybele in Croigoi, as requested by him. And so ends the first period of Cimmerian history. With the death of Dugdamme, Gerkik married the wife of a Greek noble. Her name was Eirene Helena, and she was to be one of the most important figures of Cimmerian history, ending many of the more primitive ways and ushering an era of Greek civilization.

---

[1]- Ashurbanipal took the throne in 668 BCE.

[2]- A large river in Cicilia. The defining feature of the Taurus plain.

[3]- Many of his friends had perished in the battle. People within clans had close relationships with each other.

[4]- Not really misinformation, as Halydes had no knowledge that Dugdamme had obtained hoplites from Greece.

[5]- It’s well known that Assyrian kings fancied exotic pets.

[6]- A large tribe in the Zagros mountains.

[7]- It’s Cimmerian for ‘City with the Tents’ which is a reference to the tents around the city.

[8]- To own a war horse was of great social standing, much like the Equestrian class in Rome, defined by whether or not they owned a horse.

[9]- Literally ‘Horse-raiser’ in Cimmerian.

[10]- Well, he couldn’t really replace the losses he had from Assyria, but he did levy quite a few more horses.

[11]- This is probably referring to a small plain in the area.

[12]- A Phalanx in Cimmerian. Literally ‘Line of spears’.

[13]- Probably fire-tipped arrows.

[14]- ‘Hoplites’ in Cimmerian.

 

[Berserker]

Any specific questions from anyone?

can you tell me something about Culture and warfare??
I know that the Cimmerians where the dominant steppe people before the Scythians, and I know very few things about them, accept Conan

 

[Pachac]

can you tell me something about Culture and warfare??
I know that the Cimmerians where the dominant steppe people before the Scythians, and I know very few things about them, accept Conan

Well, in culture, they're your general steppe people. A nomadic culture susceptible to more 'advanced' cultures and having lots of strange rituals, as we saw with the 'fight for your right' duels.

Their warfare generally consists of a large cavalry used to outflank and disruprt their enemies. Before Dugdamme they relied on speed but now they rely on a combination.

Take Conan out of your mind for now

 

[Pachac]

Any interest?

 

[Monopolist]

Any interest?

Excellent update; can't wait to see how Gerkik (loved the wrestling match by the way, it's so... barbaric ) and Eirene do.

Question: Herodotus (after a check on the genocide) claimed that the Cimmerians were similar to the Thracians... is there any truth to that?

Oh, and where'd you find the Cimmerian?

 

[Berserker]

Well, in culture, they're your general steppe people. A nomadic culture susceptible to more 'advanced' cultures and having lots of strange rituals, as we saw with the 'fight for your right' duels.

Their warfare generally consists of a large cavalry used to outflank and disruprt their enemies. Before Dugdamme they relied on speed but now they rely on a combination.

Take Conan out of your mind for now

aaah, alright
I get it now

 

[Pachac]

Excellent update; can't wait to see how Gerkik (loved the wrestling match by the way, it's so... barbaric ) and Eirene do.

Question: Herodotus (after a check on the genocide) claimed that the Cimmerians were similar to the Thracians... is there any truth to that?

Oh, and where'd you find the Cimmerian?

Oh, he'll do quite a bit, though not much fighting. The war machine needs rest.

Not really. Herodotus, while excellent on Greek and Anatolian sources, had scarce information on the Cimmerians, who were not much like the Thracians at all. The Thracians were mainly peltists, while the Cimmerians Steppe Herdsmen.

Do you mean the language?

 

[Monopolist]

Do you mean the language?

Yep; it just seems like it'd be a pretty hard language to find, so I was curious if there was like an online dictionary or something.

 

[Pachac]

Yep; it just seems like it'd be a pretty hard language to find, so I was curious if there was like an online dictionary or something.

Oh, I mainly used Scythian as a base and used earlier prefixes and suffixes for it. Xsyal, for example, is a Scythian word for King.

 

[Pachac]

A study of the Anatolian Cimmerians
Volume III

When Dugdamme died, Gerkik inherited a strong stable Xsyaldom[1]. He had married a Hellene noble’s daughter, the later famous Eirene Helena, as his wife and Xysalida[2], and had an able army ready to conquer whatever he commanded. However, what he did not have was a happy subject populace, manpower reserves to replace the skilled horsemen lost in the Pisidian campaigns, roads so his men would not have to walk through massive hills and dirt paths, and more temples to his favourite goddess, Cybele. Before what he did to improve his nation’s situation is talked about, it is important to understand his personality, and his origins. Gerkik was not a pure-blood Cimmerian[3]. He was in fact born in Trapezeus[4], a small Greek colony in the area of Pontus along the black sea. When the Cimmerians invaded the area for the first time, his mother fell in love with a Greek living in the city[4] and they married. When the second Cimmerian migration occurred, he, against his Mother’s wishes, joined them. He participated in the sack of Gordium and was a trained horseman. However, importantly, unlike Dugdamme, he was a quite educated, organized Greek, if rougher than his compatriots. He despised many of the Greek traditions, feeling many of them lazy and decadent, as he was still a man of the steppe, if in spirit. Furthermore, he was not the greatest at diplomacy, and Anacharchis was aging considerably, growing more senile. He was soon restricted to his deathbed, and Gerkik required a new diplomatic agent to accompany him in his diplomatic endeavours. Eirene soon showed that she had a gift for diplomacy, although there could be awkward situations as women were generally not in such important positions in the ancient world.

Gerkik’s hate of general Hellenic culture caused him to take a turn in an interesting direction, instead beginning to use many traditions of Anatolian cultures. He especially tried to win the favour of Phrygians by constructing a large temple to Cybele outside Gordium. Cybele had replaced the traditional earth deity of the Cimmerians[5], becoming very popular with many. By Gerkik’s time, shrines were springing up in Cimmerian tents and houses, becoming a normal site to see for many. The Lydians and Pisidians felt alienated by this, so to please them, Gerkik repaired the old temples to the Greek deities that had been damaged when Dugdamme had campaigned through these areas and promoted a tolerance of all religions. Gerkik himself was indifferent to these religions, and needed to win the support of many subjects to prevent revolts. This didn’t stop the fiercely independent Pisidians from rioting every once in a while, but as a whole, rebellion was muted. A side effect of this was that the Greeks began to feel like they were beside a completely alien culture, something that was threatening their way of life[6]. This, along with the feeling that there was a dangerous state near them, caused the formation of the Ionian league, a large alliance of states in the Ionian region of Anatolia united against the threat of the Cimmerians. The Lycians declined to join. The cities in this Heptacapolis[7] were Miletus, Myus, and Priene, in Caria, the island of Chios, and Erythrae, and Samos. As well, the Chalcedonians, wary of the Cimmerians, also requested to join the league, and were allowed in. The league had a ‘council of cities’ where the different cities, represented by theoroi[8], would gather to celebrate festivals, and more importantly, defend against any threat to one of the league’s cities. In retrospect, it may not have been a good idea to anger the Cimmerians by accepting a city which was in their line of conquest, and not easily defended[9], but the Ionians had little grasp of how the Cimmerian system worked.

The Cimmerians had an intriguing military system. Gerkik, in order to give his men rest and give enough time for new horses to be bred, and new men to be born and trained, he declared that there would be a ten year rest when needed. During this rest, unless the country itself attacked, there would be no attacks against neighbouring countries. The border guard consisted of mainly Phrygians pressed into service where they could get a good “pay”[10], rather than the usual jobs of craftsmen. During these years of rest, the army tended their fields and herded cattle. When the time of peace was over, the men prepared their armour and horses, amassed in either Gordium or Sardis(depending on which one was closer to the campaign target) and rode off into battle. The army collected in early spring, when the mountains of Anatolia were melting and an easy source of water was available. They usually fought in early to late summer, and when the campaign was done, in the fall, they went back to Gordium or Sardis, and the loot taken from the campaign was split between the men. A specialized share was given to each man, and the state placed the rest in the treasury in Gordium, in case it needed to be used. The state depended on war, and if a leader could not support a successful campaign, the results could be violent. Luckily, Gerkik was a quite good leader, taking after the last king as a good military leader. The time of peace allowed leaders skilled in administrative or diplomatic practices to improve(and repair) infrastructure, restock armouries, and build more siege weapons, so Gerkik could be excused during this time for not starting a campaign. The clans were itching for a battle, but both understood his situation. However, it was obvious that they would not understand it for a prolonged period of time. Leaders not going to war lost popularity. If the Xsyal died before a campaign could be carried out, the next Xsyal was expected to start a campaign as soon as possible. Gerkik knew that if he was to carry out a successful campaign in his later years, he could die of some ailment quite easily.

To stop this problem, or at least combat it more effectively, a series of roads were built across the kingdom. The most important road was the Xsyalial[11] road which ran from the cities of Pisidia, to Sardis, where it took a turn towards Gordium, before hitting the main Cicilian fort defending against the Assyrians. The way the roads were made were much akin to the way that Celtic “track ways” were built. Of course, we have much more respect for so-called ‘barbarian’ cultures than other scholars[12], so we recognize that these are roads. However, unlike Celtic track ways, there was no abundance of forests in Anatolia, thereby making mud bricks more efficient. First, the area where the road was to be placed was plotted, and then all heavier rocks in the way were moved. Smaller rocks were destroyed by large blocks of cut granite dragged by horses. Once there was not much left, mud bricks were placed over it, with bronze nails used to prevent too much distortion and expansion of it. By the time of Gerkik’s death in 661 BCE, the road running from Sardis to Gordium was mainly finished. It was a large endeavour, and required a large amount of slaves that Gerkik did not have.

Near the end of his reign, Gerkik declared the time of peace over. The clans demanded new grazing land, which could be found in Thrace, across the Bosporus. Eirene pleaded against this course of action, citing the Ionia league, but Gerkik continued on. Still trying to make herself useful in some way, Eirene began an interesting series of underhanded discussions with Melite and the cities not admitted to the Ionian league. By the end of the year, Melite, Abruanda, Labruada, and Hereacleia were prepared to take action against the Decapolis. Gerkik amassed his army, rallied in Sardis, prepared a Four thousand man border guard in the areas bordering the Decapolis, and went to Chalcedon.

He gathered his army outside the city, and formally requested to be allowed across the strait. When the Chalcedonians refused, not allowing a barbarian to use their boats, Gerkik began his siege by firing off a volley of arrows. He then began preparations for a siege ramp, using a large amount of earth to build up a large ramp. The defenders attempted to light the wood on fire by way of mining, but a rainstorm stopped their efforts. When the Cimmerian army reached the walls, the Chalcedonians responded by raising them. Nevertheless, parts of the wall collapse. By now large casualties had been taken by Gerkik, and he was running out of time. So his anger when he saw a second wall constructed must have overcame him, because he rashly ordered mining under it. It worked, luckily, but the siege ramp collapse as well, destroying his siege engine. He had taken the city, but he had lost the materials for more. In his fury, he allowed the troops to loot, kill, and rape whatever they wanted. Once they had finished, he turned his sights towards the Ionian cities. What he saw did not please him. Sardis had been sacked, the garrison had run to the hills, as he had ordered if the city fell[13] and the roads were damaged. He rallied the Phrygians and Lydians, and began a speech.
Leaning on his sword hilt, he began.
“Men, we have been attacked by a menace. One that dares to call itself civilized, then rapes our women and slaughters our sons and daughters! One that refuses to allow those that worship Marduk, or Cybele, or even Zeus, do it together, and in peace. One that is decadent and rotten to the core. I say we do not let these men corrupt us and conquer us, and instead we show them our power! As to the Helnoi among us, you have been given a chance to prove yourself once again on the field of battle, but on the side which is truly able to defend you!”

With that, the cavalry in the front, the army chased the Ionian league with astonishing speed. Lysander, who had managed to hold on to power after his defeat, was marching his army back to Ionia when scouts informed him that the Cimmerians were coming. Instead of forming a tight phalanx to stop Gerkik’s army in its tracks, as he should have done, Lysander foolishly believed that he could make it to the Maeander plain before Gerkik reached him. This mistake was to cost him his life, as Lysander’s army was caught in its retreat. Gerkik split his cavalry in two, in order to cut off his retreat, as well as surrounding the hills around Lysander’s army with peltists and archers, and moving his[14] main group to attack Lysander in the front. Needless to say, the phalanx was not capable of defending a hoplite on all four sides. Lysander’s smaller army of perhaps Eight thousand was slaughtered in a rout from which the cities of Ionia(which survived Gerkik’s conquests) would not recover from for a generation. With Lysander dead and horrendous casualties imposed upon his army, along with a large number of prisoners, many of which were perfect for building roads, the Ionian league’s capacity to wage war was effectively compromised, with only Samos, the cities of Northern Ionia, and Miletus having a standing army left, refusing to join their armies into the main group. Meanwhile, the five thousand man army of the Ionian cities that joined Cimmeria’s side were sieging Myus. It didn’t work out very well, however, as they were unable to keep them from getting supplies, from fear of exposing their flank to Miletus.

In such a dire situation, the Ionian league appealed to their mainland brothers, namely Athens, Megara, and Corinth, the primary colonizers of Ionia. Athens, without much of a standing navy, told them that it needed to prepare a navy in order to be of any use, and declined, while Corinth eagerly agreed, as did Megara. So began the conflict which sparked the infamous Cimmerian wars and threatened the destruction of the City state.

--

[1]- As in a Kingdom

[2]- Queen.

[3]- The Cimmerians took their origin seriously.

[4]- The Cimmerians avoided the Greek cities along the black sea coast during their attack.

[5]- Much less pleasant than Cybele.

[6]- Not really, as the Cimmerians had their way of life threatened by Greek cultural encroachment, not the other way around.

[7]- 7 City league.

[8]- Ancient Greek for delegates.

[9]- It’s difficult to reinforce the city, and difficult to defend it, as unlike Byzantium, it didn’t have the advantage of massive walls and being on the other side of the Bosporus.

[10]- Loot more like it.

[11]- Cimmerian for ‘Royal’.

[12]- This one needs some explanation. This is a little Easter egg as a joke about how many scholars viewed a lot of advanced cultures as Barbarians, such as the Celts.

[13]- He was very cautious with manpower, and the city didn’t mean much to him except as a supply hub. If Croigoi was burned, that would be another matter.

[14]- Gerkik’s group if there’s confusion.