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 also
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--
