The Scythians

This book by Barry Cunliffe provides a masterful reconstruction of the Scythians, a nomadic people who roamed the Eurasian steppe from the 9th to the 2nd centuries BC. Cunliffe marshals a vast array of evidence, including rich material culture from Scythian burials and textual accounts from Greek historians like Herodotus.

The book illuminates the Scythians' culture, their nomadic life, their elaborate gold work, vividly colored fabrics, and their significant interactions with the Greek world around the Black Sea. It also highlights their broad cultural similarities across the steppe from the Altai Mountains to the Lower Danube valley.