Scythian warfare used state-of-the-art recurve bows and hit-and-run tactics against set infantry formations. Working from nimble horses, Scythian warriors could unleash a cloud of lethal arrows. Known, too, for their innovative use of scale armor, they also fought hand-to-hand with shield and sword. Dominating the steppe of Central Asia between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE, the nomadic Scythians were indeed formidable.
More about: Scythian WarfareDefinition
Timeline
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700 BCE - 300 BCEScythians dominate the western Asian steppes.
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612 BCENineveh is sacked and burned by combined forces of Babylonians and Medes.
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520 BCEDarius I of Persia fights the Scythians (not very successfully).
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c. 513 BCE - c. 512 BCEDarius I of Persia campaigns against Scythians into European Scythia, past the Danube River, Scythians refuse to fight and Darius is forced to abandon the campaign due to lack of provisions.
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342 BCEPhilip II leads a military expedition against the Scythians.
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339 BCEPhilip II of Macedon fights the Scythians.
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329 BCEAlexander the Great wins a decisive battle at the Iaxartes river against the Scythians.
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300 BCESarmatians conquer the Scythians.
