What If: A Scythian Empire?

What would be the best POD in you guys' opinion for the creation of an organized Scythian State on par with say... the Parthian Empire?


Myself, I thought that a crushing defeat of Philip of Macedon by Ateas, preferably including his death looked rather seductive. But what about you guys?
 
Scythian name

Welcome to the Board.

Regarding to the Pod... it's difficult for a set of different nomadic tribes of various origins who lived in the Eurasian steppes, manage to organize in an organized state
in the steppes, at most would have a nomadic empire if and when a lord of war achieved to submit and follow against a weak tantalizingly rich and sedentary neighbor in internal difficulties convincing Hordes of converting an incursion into a permanent conquest, abandoning their nomadic life; so dear to them.

But the main problem is that they are only a comfortable Scythian name for contemporaries and historians call a set of tribal origins dissimilar ethnic groups who shared the same lifestyle, claiming descent from some mythical ancestor and nominally subject to any tribe and stronger than the other leader.

But the 'Scythians' of the European steppes are not the same as the 'Scythians' tribes of northern Persia or Bactria.

It's possible perhaps to conquer some Kingdom and avoid being assimilated for some time while creating an empire.
 
The Scythians of Eastern Europe, at least prior to the Late Roman Empire when they started calling everyone "Scythians", were speakers of Eastern Indo-Iranian languages though. I meant to be more specific in my posting - I meant speakers of Eastern-Indo-Iranian languages in Eastern Europe - might they have established some sort of a state without being later assimilated, and if so, what POD do you think is best?
 
Nomadic-sedentary interaction

Requesting a Pod, which is contrary to all known history regarding the nomadic-sedentary interaction from the city of Ur to the Realms
German-Romans in Europe.
Sooner or later all Nomadic people had successfully in conquered to their Sedentary neighbors were assimilated.
Even with the Mongols happened so.
Maybe some other member may respond as you wish.
 
Any Scythian 'empire' would likely be a loosely-organized (and likely short-lived) federation of tribes, similar to Khazaria.
 
I imagine a Scythian tribe can go through with the time honored nomad tradition of breaking into the Middle East and establishing an empire.
 
I imagine a Scythian tribe can go through with the time honored nomad tradition of breaking into the Middle East and establishing an empire.

Yeah, but they would face the same problem as did all middle eastern conquerors: "alright, we conquered it---now what?"

It wouldn't last very long.
 
Ummm... Hungary, anyone?


I think I'm being misunderstood. I'm interested in the idea of the Eastern European Scythians settling down, perhaps in Pannonia, perhaps in Romania or Ukraine, and creating a lasting state that doesn't get absorbed within the first few centuries after.
 
Ummm... Hungary, anyone?


I think I'm being misunderstood. I'm interested in the idea of the Eastern European Scythians settling down, perhaps in Pannonia, perhaps in Romania or Ukraine, and creating a lasting state that doesn't get absorbed within the first few centuries after.

Pull a Magyar mate? Possible yet tough. You need an external threat or climate change to make them migrate and even then, why would you head westwards into the unknown when you could just plunder down south into the richness of Bactria and Persia?

If you want your eastern European state to last you need to raise the population number of the, Paradraya Saka as they were called in Persian, much higher as they never had a large population. You need more Scyths to come in from the East and the Kazakh* Steppe.
 
Yeah, but they would face the same problem as did all middle eastern conquerors: "alright, we conquered it---now what?"

It wouldn't last very long.
The Parthians would like a word with you. If it's an iranian speaking tribe, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to last.
 
The Gokturks to my knowledge were not a distinct ethnic group until some centuries after Christ. What are the theories behind what drove Turkish Migration, by the way?


I haven't had the chance to do a lot of reading the past couple of days, it's been pretty busy.
 
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