Scythian languages
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Scythian and Sarmatian are the names of the East Iranian dialects spoken by the Scythian/Sarmatian tribes of the nomadic cattlebreeders in Southern Russia between 8th century BC and 5th century AD. Sometimes, the Scythian and Sarmatian languages are combined into one name: Scytho-Sarmatian languages.
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History
Scythians migrated from Central Asia toward Eastern Europe, occupying today's Southern Russia and Ukraine and the Carpathian Basin and parts of Moldova and Dobruja. They disappeared from history after the Hunnish invasion of the 5th century, and most people speaking Scythian were probably assimilated by the Turkish (Tatar) and Slavic people. However, in Caucasus a dialect belonging to the Scythian-Sarmatian linguistic continuum is still spoken today, namely Ossetic.
Classification
Affinity
The vast majority of scholars agree that the Scythian-Sarmatian languages (and Ossetic) belong to the North Eastern branch of the Iranian language family like the once widespread but now extinct Sogdian language. The main argument of the Iranian hypothesis is the fact that the Greek inscriptions of the Northern Black Sea Coast contain several hundreds Sarmatian names showing a close affinity to the Ossetic language (cf. Zgusta).
A competing theory claims that the Scythians spoke a Turkic language. The theory was more popular in the 19th century but has become marginalised during the 20th century. The remaining defenders of the Turkic hypothesis accentuate the problematic and sometimes arbitrary Iranian etymologies presented for Scythian names and words. Instead they rely on their own interpretations of the early "Runic" inscriptions found in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Early Hungarian chronicles, namely the two 13th-century Gesta Hungarorums, make claims of a Hungarian-Scythian connection. Few mainstream scientists, Hungarian or otherwise, accept these claims at face value; at most they refer to the experience of Scythian migrations, such as that of the contemporary Jassic tribe, who eventually did assimilate and contribute to Magyar language and culture. There also appears to be similarity between Hungarian runes and Scythian runic writing. (Though it is worth noting that all runic forms of writing bear considerable similarity due to the limitations of the medium.)
Dialects
The Scythian-Sarmatian language group is divided mainly chronologically rather than geographically:
- Scythian (ca. 800 - 300 BC), mainly in Classical Greek authors
- Sarmatian (ca. 300 BC - 400 AD), mainly in Hellenistic and Roman inscriptions
- Alanic (ca. 400 - 1,000 AD), mainly in Byzantine Greek authors
Some scholars (e.g. Harmatta) believe that the Scythian-Sarmatian language was divided into two dialects, a western, more conservative dialect and an eastern, more innovative dialect. The innovative dialect may correspond to Sarmatian, whereas the conservative dialect may continue the dialect spoken by the old Scythians before the invasion of the Sarmatians.
Sources of the Scythian language
Inscriptions
Some scholars ascribe certain inscribed objects found in the Carpathian Basin and in Central Asia to the Scythians, but the interpretation of these inscriptions is disputed (given that the alphabet and the content are unknown).
An inscription from Saqqez written in the Hieroglyphic Hittite script may be in Scythian (text and translation in Harmatta 1990):
| Transliteration: | pa-tì-na-sa-nà tà-pá wa-s6-na-m5 XL was-was-ki XXX ár-s-tí-m5 ś3-kar-kar (HA) har-s6-ta5 LUGAL | par-tì-ta5-wa5 ki-ś3-a4-á KUR-u-pa-ti QU-wa-a5 | i5-pa-ś2-a-m2 |
| Transcription: | patinasana tapa. vasnam: 40 vasaka 30 arzatam šikar. UTA harsta XŠAYAL. | Partitava xšaya DAHYUupati xva|ipašyam |
| Translation: | "Delivered dish. Value: 40 calves 30 silver šiqlu. And it was presented to the king. | King Partitavas, the masters of the land pro|perty." |
King Partitava is identical to the Scythian king which is called Prototyēs in Herodotus (1.103) and Par-ta-tu-a in the Assyrian sources.
Personal names
Our primary sources, however, are the Scythian toponyms, tribal names, and numerous personal names in the ancient Greek texts and the Greek inscriptions found in the Greek colonies on the Northern Black Sea Coast. These names show that the Scythian-Sarmatian language was closely related to Modern Ossetian.
Many toponyms and hydronyms of the Russian and Ukrainian steppe are believed to be of Scythian origin. For example, the name of the river Don derives from Scythian *dānu "water, river", Ossetic don, Avestan dānu- (Vasmer 1923). The river names Danube, Dnieper, and Dniester may also belong to the same Scythian word (Vasmer 1923; Kretschmer 1935).
Herodotus' etymologies
The Greek historian Herodotus is another source of Scythian; he reports that the Amazons are called Oiorpata by the Scythians, and he explains the name as a compound of oior, meaning "man", and pata, meaning "to kill" (Hist. 4,110); and elsewhere he explains the name of the mythical one-eyed tribe Arimaspoi as a compound of the Scythian words arima, meaning "one", and spu, meaning "eye" (Hist. 4,27).
- Most scholars associate oior "man" with Avestan vīra- "man, hero", Sanskrit vīra-, PIE Template:PIE. Various explanations are given for pata "kill": 1) Avestan paiti- "lord", Sanskrit pati-, PIE Template:PIE (i.e. "man-ruler") (Vasmer 1923); 2) Ossetic maryn "kill", Sanskrit mārayati, PIE Template:PIE "die" (confusion of Greek Μ and Π) (Abaev 1949); 3) Ossetic fædyn "cleave", Sanskrit pātayati "fell", PIE Template:PIE "fall" (Zgusta 1959).
- Some scholars connect arima "one" with Ossetic ærmæst "only", Avestic airime "quiet", Greek erēmos "empty", PIE Template:PIE?, and spu "eye" with Avestic spas- "foretell", Sanskrit spaś-, PIE Template:PIE "see" (Marquart 1905; Vasmer 1923; Schaeder 1935). However, the usual words for "one" and "eye" in Iranian are aiwa- and čašman- (Ossetic īw and cæst). Other scholars reject Herodotus' etymology and derive the ethnonym Arimaspoi from Iranian aspa- "horse" instead (Tomaschek 1888, Müllenhoff 1893, Grousset 1941, Lebedensky 2001).
The Scythian theonyms
Herodotus also gives a list of Scythian theonyms (Hist. 4.59):
- Tabiti = Hestia. Perhaps related to Sanskrit Tapatī, a heroine in the Mahābhārata, literally "the burning (one)" (Dumézil 1978).
- Papaios = Zeus. Either "father" (Herodotus) or "protector", Avestan, Sanskrit pā- "protect", PIE Template:PIE (Vasmer 1923; Zgusta 1953; Grantovskij/Raevskij 1983).
- Api = Gaia. Either "mother" (Zgusta 1953) or "water", Avestan, Sanskrit āp-, PIE Template:PIE (Vasmer 1923; Brandenstein 1953; Grantovskij/Raevskij 1983).
- Goitosyros or Oitosyros = Apollo. Perhaps Avestan gaēθa- "animal" + sūra- "rich" (Vasmer 1923).
- Argimpasa or Artimpasa = Aphrodite Urania. To Ossetic art "fire", Avestan āθra- (Dumézil 1983).
- Thagimasadas = Poseidon.
The cited Iranian etymologies are uncertain due to the fact that we do not know what aspect has motivated the naming of the particular deity. They cannot of course serve as a proof of the Iranian nature of the Scythian language since they are based themselves on that assumption (it would be a vicious circle). Furthermore, it cannot be excluded altogether that the Iranian-speaking Scythians had non-Iranian theonyms.
The same criticism is valid for the alternative etymologies proposed by the advocates of the Turkish hypothesis. The following list of cognates in Sumerian and the Altaic and Uralic languages (inter alia) has been compiled by Fred Hamori: [1]
- Tabiti = *"fire god". Cf. Hurrian tib-ir "vulcan"; Sumerian tab "fire"; Egyptian tep "fire, burn, flame"; Ugrian tab-it , tab, tut "fire"; Hungarian tüz "fire"; tap-lo "tinder"; Sumerian tibira "metal worker, smith, to hit"; Turkic timur "iron"; Hungarian tibor (personal name <) *"smith". Second part = Sumerian adda "father"; Elamite atta "father"; Mede atu "father"; Dravidian atu "father"; Finnic atti "father,grandfather"; Chuvash atte "father"; Hungarian atya "father,patriarch"; Turkic ata "father".
- Papaios = *father. First part = Sumerian ab, abba "father, old man, elder" (p / b); Sumerian basu "old man"; Akkadian abu "father" (> Semitic languages); Mongol baba "lord, father"; Turk baba "father, ancestor (clan head)"; Bulgar baba "ruler (old Bulgar Hun)"; Osman aba "father"; Dravidian apa, apu, apan "father"; Hungarian apa, apu "father"; Hungarian ba-chi "respected elder man" (s > ch); Ujgur ba-ch "respected elder man" (s > ch); Elamite an-apa "chief god < heavenly father", ne-bo "royal, heavenly ruler"; Dravidian, Egypt, Polynesian, Hungarian nip, nab, anapu, nap "fire / light / sun". Second part = Chuvas as+atte "grandfather"; Hungarian ösh "ancestor, ancient"; Turk yash "elderly, time".
- Api = = *"mother earth". Cf. Sumerian a-ab-ba "the sea, goddes of the sea", ia "god of wisdom/sea lands"; Hungarian hab "wave, foam"; Ugrian xump "wave".
- Oitosyros = *"sun god". Cf. Sumerian utu "sun/time god", ud "time", iti "month"; Hungarian Idö "time"; Ujgur ödü "time"; Turkic öt "sun", ot "fire"; Mongol ot-utsir "cause of years". Second part of the word = *"royal/king". Cf. Sumir sar; Scythian Sauro-mata "descendants of "royal" scythians"; Etruscan ae-sar "god" > Latin caesar; Assyrian kari-ja "ruler"; Kotanese chara "commander,leader"; Hun chur "prince", kur-sik "a Hun ruler"; Parthian ar-sak "ruler"; Hungarian ur-sag "lordship" (k > h > -), kor-many "government"; Tibetan chor "ruler"; Petcheneg chur "commander,leader"; Kirghiz choro "commander,leader"; Turk chur "early rulers" (archaic)
- Arg/timpasa. First part = Sumerian a'r "a praise"; Mongol Er-gim-basa "important,prominent person"; Turkic Er-dem-pasa "head of righteousness?"; Turkic Ar-dam "virtue"; Hungarian Er-dem "virtuous,praiseworthy"; Cuman er-deng "virgin". Second part = Sumerian basu "elder man"; Ugric Paz "god"; Turkic bash > basha "head > prince"; Chuvash pus "head"; Sumerian pa "top, chief"; Osman beyin "head"; Finn-Ugor paa, paaye "head"; Hungarian fö, fey "top, head, chief" (p > f), feye-del-em "prince"; Dravidian pay "head"
- Thagimasadas. First part = Mongol dagas, tagas "sea" (d > t); Mongol teng-rim "god"; Sumerian ding-ir "god", eng-ur "subterranean sea"; Hun t'ing-li "god"; Hungarian teng-er "sea", dag-ay "tides of the moon" (dag "swelling"), is-ten "god"; Turkic teng-ere "god", teng-iz, ten-iz "sea" (r > z). Or: Scythian *temer "lake/sea"; Sumir tim "lake or well"; Hungarian tav "lake" (m > v; Finnic ti "lake, sea"; Cheremis tomoz; Selkup tama. Second part = Sumir mis "prince / youngman / hero"; Ugor mosh "man"; Dravidian mas, mac "man"; Hungarian meshe "folk tale < hero tale", magy-ari "man > hungarian" (s > sh > z > gy); Turk masal "folk tale"; Russian mozer-ian "Baskir (turkicized magyar)"; Dravidian maga "male" (s > g); Tuva madir "hero". Third member = ata "father", see above.
In addition to being arbitrary like the Iranian etymologies given by mainstream scholars, these alternative etymologies suffer from a serious deficiency, namely the lack of a proper methodology. Even though the accumulative evidence may seem convincing to a non-specialist, it is in fact contrary to the basic principles of comparative linguistics. A superficial similarity of two words with a more or less similar meaning is not a proof of them being cognates (famous examples of accidental similarity are English bad ~ Persian bad or English have, German haben ~ Latin habere). The more languages one includes in a mass-comparison, the chance of finding similar words increases.[2] A sound linguistic comparison, on the other hand, works hard in finding regular sound correspondences and derivation patterns language by language. In most cases related words are in fact very unlike indeed in the different languages (e.g. English hound = French chien, English come = French venir); thus, the apparent similarity of Hamori's cognates do not support his allegation - on the contrary.
References
On the Scythian and Sarmatian languages
- Harmatta, J.: Studies in the History and Language of the Sarmatians, Szeged 1970.
- Zgusta, L.: Die griechischen Personennamen griechischer Städte der nördlichen Schwarzmeerküste. Die ethnischen Verhältnisse, namentlich das Verhältnis der Skythen und Sarmaten, im Lichte der Namenforschung, Prague 1955.
Other references
- Abaev, V.I.: Осетинский язык и фольклор, Moscow / Leningrad 1949.
- Brandenstein, W.: "Die Abstammungssagen der Skythen", Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 52 (1953), pp. 183-211.
- Dumézil, G.: Romans de Scythie et d'alentour, Paris 1978.
- Dumézil, G.: La courtisane et les seigneurs colorés. Esquisses de mythologie, Paris 1983.
- Grantovskij, Ė.A., & D.S. Raevskij: "Об ираноязычном и «индоарийском» населении Сeверного Причерноморья в античную эпоху", in: Этногенез народов Балкан и Северного Причерноморья лингвистика, история, археология, Moscow 1984, pp. 47-66.
- Grousset, R.: L'empire des steppes, Paris 1941.
- Harmatta, J.: "Herodotus, historian of the Cimmerians and the Scythians", in: Hérodote et les peuples non grecs, Vandœuvres-Genève 1990, pp. 115-130.
- Kretschmer, P.: "Zum Balkan-Skythischen", Glotta 24 (1935), pp. 1-56.
- Lebedensky, I.: Les Scythes. La civilisation des steppes (VIIe-IIIe siècles av. J.-C.), Paris 2001.
- Marquart, J.: Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran, Göttingen 1905.
- Müllenhoff, K.: Deutsche Altertumskunde, vol. 3, Berlin 1893.
- Vasmer, M.: Untersuchungen über die ältesten Wohnsitze der Slaven. Die Iranien in Südrußland, Leipzig 1923.
- Schaeder, H.H.: Iranica. I: Das Auge des Königs, Berlin 1934.
- Tomaschek, W.: "Kritik der ältesten Nachrichten über den skythischen Norden", Sitzungsberichte der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 116 (1888), pp. 715-780.
- Zgusta, L.: "Zwei skythische Götternamen", Archiv orientální 21 (1953), pp. 270-271.
Additional Sources
- Rjabchikov S.V. Drevnie texty slavyan i adygov [The Archaic Texts of the Slavs and Circassians; in Russian]. Krasnodar, 1998.
- Rjabchikov S.V. Skifo-sarmatskie istoki slavyanskoy kul'tury: Materialy Yuzhnorossiyskoy fol'klorno-etnograficheskoy expeditsii [The Scythian-Sarmatian Sources of the Slavonic Culture: The Materials of the South Russian Folkloric-Ethnographic Expedition; in Russian]. Krasnodar, 2002. There is a number of works by Sergei V. Rjabchikov on the decipherment of the Scythian/Sarmatian script and language.