Meotian monuments of the Kuban region. The country of Meotians is a prototype of Circassia. The meaning of the word Meotians

To fully reveal the essence of human culture, it is not enough to study the current state of the culture of peoples. It is necessary to take an excursion into the history of the formation of the people. At the same time, it is necessary to study what influence other civilizations had on the formation of their culture.
More than two and a half thousand years ago, the steppes of the shores of the Black and Azov Seas were inhabited by numerous and militant peoples. Who were they, what did they look like, where did they come from?
For all these and

Introduction
Meotians - who are they?
Maeotian culture.
The system of religious cults and beliefs of the Maeotians.
Maeotian writing.
Settlements of the Maeotians.
Sindo-Meotian era.
Meotian tribes.
Meotians and nomads.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

The work contains 1 file

Introduction

1. Meotians - who are they?
2. Maeotian culture.
3. The system of religious cults and beliefs of the Maeotians.
4. Maeotian writing.
5. Settlements of the Maeotians.
6. Sindo-Meotian era.
7. Meotian tribes.
8. Meotians and nomads.

Conclusion.

Bibliography.

Introduction

To fully reveal the essence of human culture, it is not enough to study the current state of the culture of peoples. It is necessary to take an excursion into the history of the formation of the people. At the same time, it is necessary to study what influence other civilizations had on the formation of their culture.

More than two and a half thousand years ago, the steppes of the shores of the Black and Azov Seas were inhabited by numerous and militant peoples. Who were they, what did they look like, where did they come from?

Archeology can now answer all these and other questions. The ancient inhabitants of this land disappeared without a trace among the new nomads, whose invasions, like waves, rolled across the Northern Black Sea region.

The middle and lower reaches of the Kuban River, the Eastern Azov region, the Taman Peninsula and the Trans-Kuban region were occupied by settled agricultural tribes, united by a common name - Maeota.

Therefore, the Greeks called the tribes that lived along the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, and later all other tribes closely related to the Azov tribes in language, religion and culture and living in the vast Kuban expanses, as Meotians.

1. Meotians - who are they?

In the first millennium BC, the coast of Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov), almost the entire territory of the North Caucasus, with the plains adjacent to it from the north, were inhabited by related peoples. These peoples - Sinds, Zikhs, Psessians, Dandarii, Doshis, Toreates, Abydiacens, Arreachi, Achaeans, Moschi, Sittakeni, Tarpeti, Fatei in the annals of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are collectively called maiotis (hereinafter Maeotians).
The Meotians are excellent craftsmen, among them blacksmiths, stonemasons, potters, shoemakers, tailors, and jewelers. Representatives of each craft formed a clan class. At the same time, it was unacceptable for anyone to mind their own business.

The Meots are the indigenous population of the Northwestern Caucasus, belonging to the Caucasian language family and being one of the distant ancestors of the Circassians. We find confirmation of this both in archaeological monuments and in linguistic data - names of tribes, proper names, geographical names.
Archaeological materials are even more important. Excavations of Meotian settlements on the territory of Adygea (Takhtamukayskoye, Novovochepshiyevskoye, Krasny farms) showed the continuity of the development of Meotian culture up to the early Middle Ages inclusive (VII-VII centuries BC).
True, there is a different point of view on the origin of the Meotians. Linguist O. N. Trubachev believes that the Sinds and Meots are Proto-Indians with an independent dialect, being the remnants of the Indo-Aryans in the North Caucasus after the bulk of them left for the southeast.

The Meotians lived in the mountains and plains of Ciscaucasia. The Meotian mountaineers led a sedentary lifestyle and were mainly engaged in agriculture. On the plains, the Meotians usually led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and were mainly engaged in transhumance cattle breeding. Fishing was an important branch of the economy. For fishing, a net, seine, and hook tackle were used.

The ancient Greeks called the Sea of ​​Azov Meotida, and translated it means “stinking puddle.” Unflattering; but, for comparison, the name of the Abin River translated from ancient Adyghe means “lost place”... (a hypothesis now refuted - A. Zh.). The last expedition of the school archaeological circle to the ancient settlement was crowned with success: more than 200 units of excavated material were found (to put it simply - beads, shards, bones of fish and livestock, etc.). And although the total mass of finds is quite modest (for example, the amphora was very poorly preserved and cannot be restored in itself, unless it can be restored using samples from other places), they can tell something about the life of the settlers.
There were no particularly rich people among them: there was no luxuriously ornamented crockery, which at that time was considered an indicator of wealth and authority. Almost all the dishes (with the exception of the amphora, which will be discussed later) are made locally and are very simple. The remoteness of the settlement from cultural and economic centers, including Taman, is obvious, because, among other things, there is nothing indicating their visit (that is, horse harness or fragments of wheeled vehicles). The settlers lived by raising livestock, hunting and fishing, the latter being evidenced by the discovery of a dry river bed. Although fish could also be bought from visiting traders. A clay spindle whorl was also found - a weight that gives the spindle the force of inertial rotation; This means that the spinning craft was familiar to them.
Fragments of dwellings indicate that the local Meotians lived in tourist huts, built on reed “stilts”. This means that flooding also happened here.
Despite the poverty of everyday life, trade ties with the “civilized world” existed. Two glass beads of different shapes and colors were discovered; one of them is definitely Greek (from Taman), the other was brought by merchants from Egypt. But the main wealth of the tribe (or at least the main wealth of the archaeological group) is the amphora mentioned above. It was this that made it possible to approximately determine the year the settlement was founded.
It was made in the workshop of the famous master Lin, whose mark is well preserved on the shard: the name (Λινου) and the image of a vine - such an antique trademark. In other nearby areas of Abinsk and other regions, several amphorae under the same “brand” were found. Eponyms written on the other side of each amphora helped to establish the date of events. Eponyms are the names of people (or gods) after whom, for example, years are named (as in our cases); here these are the ruling magistrates Astimedes and Nikasagoras I. However, it was not possible to read the eponym on the amphora from this quarry - it was very poorly preserved. But the name of industrialist Lin was sufficient. It has been established that he worked in 200 - 170 BC. e.

1. Maeotian culture

The Maeotian culture took shape at the dawn of the Iron Age and continued to develop for more than ten centuries under the influence of the cultures of neighboring peoples and states. Excavations and study of household and cultural objects found at the Novodzherelievsky settlement (radante, as the locals call this place) tell us about the life of the Meotians. Throughout history, the Meotians were in close contact with nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes, first with the Cimmerians, then with the Scythians and Sarmatians. This is confirmed by objects found during excavations of burial grounds. The dead were buried crouched on their sides or stretched out on their backs. When burying warriors, they placed spearheads, arrows, daggers, swords, parts of horse harness - bits, cheekpieces. All these items are exhibited in the Museum of History and Archeology of the village of Novodzherelievskaya.

The formation of the Meotian culture most likely took place on the territory of the Northern Kuban region during the 8th - 7th centuries BC. The Meotian tribes came to the Eastern Azov region only in the 2nd century BC. Along both banks of the Kirpili River (Maly Rombit), the Meotians founded a number of settlements that stretched from the modern village of Rogovskaya to the city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

The most ancient Sindian tribes were engaged not only in cattle breeding and hunting, but even ancient authors note that those Sindians who lived near the seas and rivers had developed fishing. Research by scientists shows that these ancient tribes had some kind of cult of fish. Sinds from the 3rd millennium BC. e. began to engage in pottery production, as evidenced by numerous materials from archaeological excavations in various regions of the North Caucasus - habitats of the Sindo-Meotian tribes. In addition, other skills have existed in Sindik since ancient times - bone dressing and stone cutting.

The most significant successes were achieved by the ancestors of the Circassians and the Circassian ethnic group itself in agriculture, cattle breeding, and gardening. Many cereal crops: rye, barley, wheat, etc. were the main agricultural crops that were grown by them from time immemorial. The Adygs bred many varieties of apple and pear trees. The science of horticulture has preserved about ten names of Circassian (Adyghe) varieties of apple trees and the same number of pears 17 .

The Sinds very early switched to iron, to its production and use. Iron made a real revolution in the life of every people, including the ancestors of the Circassians - the Sindo-Meotian tribes. Iron has been firmly established in the North Caucasus since the 8th century. BC e. Among the peoples of the North Caucasus who began to receive and use iron, the Sinds were among the first. This is evidenced by the fact that ancient authors recognized the Sinds primarily as a people of the Iron Age. It is not for nothing that the ancient Greeks considered the Caucasus the birthplace of metallurgy, and the ancient metallurgists of the Caucasus were the first in the world. High skill in processing non-ferrous metals could only be developed on the basis of the rich experience of their predecessors, on the previously created material and technical base.

In addition to the above monuments of the ancient Sinds, we find a lot of interesting things in their culture. These are original musical instruments made of bone; primitive but characteristic figurines, various dishes, utensils, weapons and much more. The ancient Sinds worshiped the Sun. When burying leaders in mounds, they built large circles of stone. In addition, in ancient times they had the custom of sprinkling the deceased with red paint - ocher. This is evidence of Sun worship. One of the significant periods in the development of ancient Sindica, including its culture, is the 5th century. BC e., agriculture and animal husbandry are widely developed in Sindik. Culture reaches a high level of development. Trade and economic ties with many peoples, including the Greeks, are expanding.

They had extensive connections with many peoples, including the peoples of Georgia, Asia Minor, etc., and trade was at a high level. It was during the Iron Age that it reached the highest level of its development.

1. System of religious cults and beliefs of the Maeotians
   The Meotian beliefs are characterized by the deification of the forces of nature, natural phenomena, which appear to the Meotians in the form of the god of the sun, light, fire, god of rain, thunderstorms, god of the forest, god of the sea and other gods. The Meotians made sacrifices to these gods, accompanied by a complex ritual.
   Various magical rituals performed by the elders of the clan were widespread. The rituals consisted of casting special spells and preparing magical potions. The eldest of the family, the most experienced in magical knowledge, plunged into a trance, during which he “saw” the events of the past, present, future, “talked” with deceased relatives, gods, asked for help or advice on what to do in this or that case
   The composition of the Maeotian pantheon is very complex and difficult to comprehensively classify. Meotian gods could personify both natural and elemental phenomena - the gods of the sky, earth, sun, fire, wind, and abstract concepts: hospitality, honesty, loyalty to the traditions of ancestors, loyalty to the oath, etc. There were also patron gods for representatives of each craft.
   The cults of honoring deceased relatives and funeral rites were very important for the Meotians. The body was placed in a pit in a crouched position. Objects that the deceased might need in the land of the dead were placed into the grave. Funeral gifts from the relatives and fellow villagers of the deceased were also placed there - dishes, weapons, clothes, jewelry. An earthen mound was built over the burial.
   For a certain period of time, from several weeks to several months, depending on what class the deceased belonged to, funeral rituals were carried out near the grave. The Meotians organized a circular procession around the grave, with ritual chants, crying, and noise, driving away evil spirits. In order to scare and ward off evil spirits, all sorts of “scary” images of predators and phantasmagoric monsters were installed around the grave.
   The main god of the Meotians was the god of the sun, fire, light, and heat. The Meotians identified these phenomena with each other, considered them the source of life on Earth, and deified them. They, like the peoples of the Maikop, dolmen, and North Caucasian cultures, sprinkled the body of the deceased with red paint - ocher, which symbolized fire.
   Since the Early Iron Age, thanks to ancient Greek and eastern written sources, we have become aware of the names of the tribes and nationalities that inhabited the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northwestern Caucasus. In the steppe zone, ancient authors call the Cimmerians, then the Scythians and their eastern neighbors - the Sauromatians. The indigenous population of the Eastern Azov region, the Kuban region and the Trans-Kuban region (Adygea) were the tribes of the Meots; on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus there were related tribes of the Kerkets, Torets, Achaeans, and Zikhs. The term "Meotians" is a collective term that unites a number of smaller tribes.
   P.U. Outlev, based on the materials of the Nart epic, believes that the word “Meots” in its full form “Meuthjokh” meant “a sea that is muddier.” The proposed interpretation of the name of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, as P.U. Outlev writes, sheds some light on the question of the origin of the ethnic name “Meota” and the toponymic Meuthjokh.
   The Meotians and Sindians were first mentioned by ancient Greek authors of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. More complete and detailed information on the history, geography and ethnography of the North-West Caucasus is available in the work of the Greek geographer Strabo (lived at the turn of our era). Strabo has a list of numerous Maeotian tribes, and among the Maeotians he includes the Sindians, as well as the tribes of the Caucasian coast. Describing the eastern coast of Maeotis, Strabo notes many fishing points for salting, as well as Little Rombit and a fishing cape where the Maeotians themselves work. Maly Rombit can be identified with the Kirpili River, which in ancient times flowed into the Sea of ​​Azov.
   In addition to ancient authors, the names of local tribes were preserved for us by dedicatory inscriptions of the 4th century. BC e. from the territory of the Bosporan state. They contain a list of Maeotian tribes that were subordinate or dependent on the Bosporan rulers. These are the Sinds, Dandarias, Torets, Psess, Fatei, Doskhs. The localization of numerous Meotian tribes on a modern map does not seem possible with the exception of the Sinds, who lived in the lower reaches of the river. Kuban (on its left bank), on the Taman Peninsula and the Black Sea coast to Anapa. A study of archaeological sites showed that Meotian tribes inhabited the basin of the Kuban River and its lower and middle reaches, both the right bank and the left bank (Zakubanye) to the northern spurs of the Caucasus Mountains. In the north, in the steppe zone, they bordered on the nomadic tribes of the Sauromatians (Sarmatians).

Throughout their history, the Meotians repeatedly entered into close relationships with nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes. First with the Cimmerians, then with the Scythians and, finally, with the Sarmatians. The Cimmerians were steppe nomads who inhabited the steppe spaces of the Northern Black Sea region. It is generally accepted that the Cimmerians also lived in the steppes of the right bank of the Kuban. From here the Cimmerians moved through Transcaucasia to Asia Minor and Asia Minor. The Scythians ousted the Cimmerians from the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and followed them into Western Asia. The campaigns of the Scythians date back to the beginning of the 7th century. BC. Having stayed in Western Asia for about 90 years, they returned to their original homeland. The Scythians, upon their return, could have stayed for some time in the Kuban region. This was reflected in the weapons and elements of the animal style.

1. Writing of the Sindo-Meotian tribes

Research by specialists has shown that it was during the period of military democracy that the ancient Sinds developed their own, albeit largely primitive, writing. Thus, more than 300 clay tiles were found in the places where the Sindo-Meotian tribes lived. They were 14–16 cm long and 10–12 cm wide, about 2 cm thick, made of gray clay, well dried, but not fired. The signs on the tiles are mysterious and very diverse.

Ancient Sindic expert Yu. S. Krushkol notes that it is difficult to abandon the assumption that the signs on the tiles are the embryo of writing. A certain similarity of these tiles with clay, also unfired, tiles of Assyrian-Babylonian writing confirms that they are monuments of writing. 19 A significant number of these tiles were found near the city of Krasnodar, one of the areas inhabited by the ancient Sinds.

In addition to the Krasnodar tiles, scientists in the North Caucasus discovered another remarkable monument of ancient writing - the Maykop inscription. It dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. and is the oldest in the territory of the former Soviet Union. This inscription was studied by a major specialist in oriental inscriptions, Professor G. F. Turchaninov. He proved that it is a monument to pseudo-hieroglyphic Biblical writing.

The similarity of the Krasnodar tiles with the Maykop inscription eloquently testifies to the origin of writing among the Sindo-Meotian tribes - the ancestors of the Abkhaz-Adygs back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. It should be noted that scientists have discovered some similarities between the Maykop inscription and the Krasnodar tiles with the Hittite hieroglyphic script.

I. N. Anfimov

MEOTIAN TRIBES OF THE KUBAN REGION

In the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. In the North-Western Caucasus, the production of iron tools and weapons became widespread. Iron probably penetrated here from Asia Minor and Transcaucasia, where the secret of its production was discovered in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The relatively late development of iron by humans is explained by the fact that it is almost never found in nature in its pure form, it is difficult to process, and, moreover, before the discovery of the carburizing technique, iron was too soft a material for making tools. Iron, unlike deposits of copper and tin, is widespread in nature. In ancient times, it was mined everywhere from brown iron ores, swamp and other ores. But smelting iron from ore was inaccessible to ancient metallurgists due to its very high melting point (1528°C). The only technology for producing iron in primitive society was the raw-blown method: iron was reduced from ore with carbon dioxide during the combustion of charcoal, layers of which alternated with ore in a furnace. For better combustion of coal, ancient metallurgists blew atmospheric air into the furnace without heating (“raw”), hence the name of this method - raw-blown. Iron was obtained in a doughy state in the form of kritsa weighing several kilograms at a temperature of 1110°-1350°. The resulting kritsa was repeatedly forged to compact and remove slag. Already in ancient times, a method was discovered for hardening (cementing) soft cryogenic iron by saturating it with carbon in a forge. The higher mechanical qualities of iron, the general availability of iron ores and the low cost of the new metal ensured that it quickly replaced bronze and stone, which continued to be used for the manufacture of certain types of tools and weapons until the end of the Bronze Age.

The technical revolution caused by the spread of iron greatly expanded man's power over nature and changed his life. F. Engels, noting the revolutionary role of the transition from bronze to iron, wrote: “Iron made it possible to cultivate large areas, clear wide spaces for arable land, it gave the artisan tools of such hardness and sharpness that not a single stone, not a single then known metals." In historical periodization, the Early Iron Age is distinguished, which covers the time from the beginning of the widespread use of iron to the early Middle Ages, that is, until the 4th century. n. e. inclusive. During the Early Iron Age, major shifts in economic development and social relations took place in the Kuban region. The steppe tribes are finally moving from pastoral agriculture to intensive nomadic cattle breeding. The development of arable farming, livestock husbandry, and various crafts, primarily metallurgical production, served as the basis for the flourishing of the culture of settled agricultural tribes in the Northwestern Caucasus. The development of productive forces in all areas of economic activity has led to social stratification: in a clan or tribe, rich families appear, forming a clan aristocracy, on which the ordinary mass of fellow members become dependent. In conditions of frequent military raids with the aim of seizing pastures, livestock, and slaves, more or less large tribal unions are created, and a class of professional warriors-combatants, led by military leaders, gradually takes shape.

The tribes of the Kuban region, who were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system, did not have their own written language, but already from the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e., thanks to ancient Greek and partly ancient Eastern written sources, the names of the tribes that inhabited the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northern Caucasus become known. These are steppe Iranian-speaking nomads - the Cimmerians, and later the Scythians and their eastern neighbors the Sauromatians. Middle and lower reaches of the river. The Kuban, Eastern Azov region, Taman Peninsula and Trans-Kuban region were occupied by settled agricultural tribes, united by the name “Meotians”. For the first time, the Meotians and Sinds, one of the Meotian tribes, were mentioned by ancient Greek authors of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. Hecatea of ​​Miletus, Hellanicus of Mytilene, Herodotus. Later, information about them is found in Pseudo-Skylakos (IV century BC), Pseudo-Skymnus (II century BC), Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) and other authors . The ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo, who lived at the turn of the new era, reports about them in more detail in his work. Describing the eastern coast of Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov), Strabo notes many fishing points, as well as “the Maly Rombit River (possibly the Kirpili River) and a cape with fishing grounds, where the Meotians themselves work.” Along this entire coast, according to Strabo, live the Maeotians, “engaged in agriculture, but not inferior to the nomads in belligerence. They are divided into quite a few tribes, of which those closest to Tanais (Don I.A.) are distinguished by greater savagery, and those adjacent to the Bosporus have softer morals.” The names of the Meotian tribes were also preserved in dedicatory inscriptions of the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e. on stone slabs from the territory of the Bosporan kingdom. These are the Sinds, Dandarias, Torets, Psess, Fatei, Doskhs. They were subordinate or dependent on the rulers of the Bosporus. The Taman Peninsula and adjacent territories south of the Kuban were occupied by the Sinds. Along the Black Sea coast, ancient authors indicate the Kerkets, Torets, Zikhs and other tribes, some of which are classified as Meotians. The main body of Meotian tribes is the indigenous population of the North-Western Caucasus, belonging to the Caucasian language family. This is what most Caucasian scientists think. Based on an analysis of local languages ​​and toponymic data, researchers (I. A. Javakhishvili, E. I. Krupnov, etc.) proved that the Meotians belonged to one of the distant ancestors of the Circassians. A number of proper names, preserved on Bosporan stone steles, can be found among modern Circassians (for example, Bago, Dzazu, Bleps, etc. ). Consequently, the science of names - onomastics - confirms the Caucasian origin of these tribes. Excavations of Meotian settlements on the left bank of the Kuban (Takhtamukaevskoe first and Novochepshievskoe settlements) showed the continuity of life on them from the last centuries BC. e. until the 7th century n. e. Thus, based on the late Meotian culture of the first centuries AD. e. the formation of the culture of the early Adyghe tribes takes place. A different point of view on the origin of the Sinds and Meots is held by the linguist O. N. Trubachev, who, ignoring the data of Caucasian archeology and linguistics, classifies these tribes as Proto-Indians who have survived in the North-Western Caucasus since the Bronze Age.

The Maeotian culture took shape at the dawn of the Iron Age and continued to develop for more than ten centuries, undergoing significant changes and being influenced by the cultures of neighboring peoples and states. The oldest monuments of Meotian culture (Protomeotian period) date back to the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. and are represented mainly by ground burial grounds (Nikolaevsky, Kubansky, Yasenovaya Polyana, Psekupsky, etc.) on the left bank of the Kuban and in the basin of the Belaya and Fars rivers. Currently, one settlement of the 9th-8th centuries has been identified. BC e. near the village of Krasnogvardeisky. Burials in Protomeotian burial grounds were shallow ground pits. The dead were buried crouched on their sides or stretched out on their backs. Funeral equipment was placed next to the deceased in the grave. Usually this is black-polished earthenware: a ladle with high handles, bowls, jugs, pots, various pots; bronze jewelry, and in the burials of warriors - bronze spear and arrow tips, a bronze ax, stone war hammers, and later - iron swords and daggers with bronze handles, iron spear tips. Bronze details of horse bridles are especially varied - bits and cheekpieces, plaques - decorations of horse harness belts. The types of weapons and horse bridles from the Proto-Meotian burial grounds of the Kuban region are similar to products of the so-called Cimmerian type, common in the vast territories of the North Caucasus, Don region, Ukraine and the Volga region, which reflects the close ties of the population of the North-West Caucasus at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. with the steppe world of South-Eastern Europe. Throughout their history, the Meotians were in close relationships with nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes: first with the Cimmerians, then with the Scythians and Sarmatians.

The Cimmerians are the first tribes of the Northern Black Sea region known to us by name. This warlike people, familiar to the Greeks since the time of Homer, repeatedly mentioned in Assyrian cuneiform texts, lived in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region until the beginning of the 7th century. BC e., when it was partly ousted and partly assimilated by the Scythians. The early history of the Scythians is associated with military campaigns in the countries of Western Asia through the Caucasus in the 7th-beginning. VI century BC e., where they played an active role, successfully fighting on the side of one or the other ancient Eastern states. The Scythians were first mentioned in Assyrian documents in the 70s. VII century BC, when they, in alliance with Media and the state of Mann, opposed Assyria. Herodotus (5th century BC), describing the stay of the Scythians in Western Asia, noted that “the Scythians ruled over it for 28 years and devastated everything with their violence and excesses. They collected tribute from everyone, but, in addition to tribute, they raided and robbed.” At the beginning of the 6th century. BC, having been defeated by the Medes, the Scythians returned to the Northern Black Sea region. During this period (VII-VI centuries BC), numerous Scythian tribes lived throughout the territory of Ciscaucasia. It was not only a springboard from which the Scythians set off on campaigns through the passes of the Caucasus, but also their permanent habitat. At the end of the XIX-early In the 20th century, burials of tribal nobility were excavated in the Kuban from the time of the completion of the Scythian Near-Asian campaigns and their return to the Black Sea region. These are the Kelermes, Kostroma, and Ul mounds, located on the left bank of the Kuban - in the river basin. Labs. Under huge earthen mounds, the richest graves of leaders were found with numerous funeral goods, jewelry and ceremonial gold utensils. Some of them were war trophies from Western Asia. Burials were usually accompanied by numerous horse sacrifices.

The culture of the Scythians, who dominated the North Caucasus at that historical period, left a certain imprint on the culture of the local population, including the Meotians of the Kuban region. First of all, this was reflected in the wide distribution in the North-Western Caucasus of objects characteristic of the early Scythian culture and existing mainly among the military aristocracy. These are Scythian weapons (akinaki swords, bronze triangular arrowheads, helmets), horse equipment and works of decorative and applied art in animal style. The subjects of Scythian art are associated with stylized images of powerful animals (leopard, deer), birds of prey or their parts (claws, hooves, beaks, eyes, etc.), which usually decorated ceremonial weapons, bronze ritual pommels, mirrors, items of horse equipment, and also ritual utensils and costume. The images of animals had not only decorative significance, but, according to the ideas of the ancients, they had magical, supernatural properties; they could personify various gods. Items from the Kuban variant of the animal style were used in the everyday life of the Meotians until the end of the 4th century. BC e.

The main sources on the history, economy, social system and culture of the Meotians, as well as other ancient peoples of the North Caucasus, are archaeological monuments: settlements, ground burial grounds and mounds. Settlements at the early stage were small tribal villages located along the banks of rivers. From the end of the 5th century. before i. e. they expand, earthen fortifications appear - ramparts and ditches. Fortified settlements - settlements of the sedentary population are known in the Trans-Kuban region. They are especially common on the right bank of the Kuban from the village of Prochnookopskaya to the village of Maryanskaya. Groups of Meotian settlements were found on the river. Bricks were made in the eastern Azov region (III-I centuries BC) and in the lower reaches of the Don, where most of them arose at the turn of the new era. Currently, more than ten groups of Meotian monuments have been identified, primarily settlements and adjacent burial grounds, which may correspond to the territory of settlement of individual tribes. Further research will make it possible to more accurately present the history of the settlement of the Meotians and the features of the development of each local group.

Meotian settlements were located, as a rule, on high river terraces, often occupying natural spurs and capes, additionally fortified on the floor side. The site usually had a hill-shaped central part surrounded by a ditch. With the increase in population, the villages expanded and external fortifications were built. Their area was usually 1.5-3.5 hectares.

In the lower reaches of the Kuban, west of the village of Maryanskaya, there are unfortified settlements, preserved in the form of hills of the “cultural layer”, consisting of the remains of dwellings, ash, and household garbage. During excavations of the ancient settlements, the remains of turluch houses, cellars, and ceramic workshops were discovered; The layers are saturated with a huge number of fragments of pottery and bones of domestic animals; sometimes there are charred grains of cereals, tools, clay weights from looms and fishing nets, and other objects. Meotian dwellings, judging by the surviving building remains, were subrectangular in plan, with adobe floors. The walls were a frame made of twigs or reeds, coated with a thick layer of clay. Pieces of such walls, burned in fires, with characteristic imprints of frames, are often found during excavations of settlements. Mud bricks - adobe - were also used for construction. The roofs were made of reeds or straw. There was a fireplace in the center of the dwelling; Special baking ovens are also known.

Behind the outer fortifications of the settlements there were cemeteries of ordinary community members - ground burial grounds that had no visible external signs; small grave mounds have long been leveled to the ground. Excavations of burial grounds (Ust-Labinsk, Voronezh, Starokorsun, near the Lenin farm, Lebedi, etc.) give an idea of ​​the funeral rite, which reflected certain religious ideas, ethnic changes in the composition of the population, property and social stratification of society. Together with the deceased, his personal belongings (jewelry, weapons, tools), as well as sacrificial meat and a set of ceramic dishes with food and drink were usually placed in the grave. Graves were usually dug in simple holes less than two meters deep. Representatives of the family aristocracy were buried in the mounds, which were large round earthen mounds, sometimes with complex burial structures; these burials were accompanied by rich grave goods, animal and sometimes human sacrifices (for example, Elizabethan burial mounds of the 4th century BC).

The natural wealth and resources of the region contributed to the development and prosperity of arable farming and cattle breeding, fishing and various crafts among the Meotians. The arable tool was a wooden plow (ralo). They cultivated wheat, barley, millet, rye, and lentils; from industrial crops - flax. The development of agriculture is evidenced by the finds of small iron sickles in graves and settlements, square grain grinders and round millstones, as well as the remains of conical-shaped grain pits. Cattle breeding, along with agriculture, was of great importance in the economy. It provided draft power, fertilizers and, in addition, hides, wool, milk, and meat. The meat of cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and goats was eaten. Horse breeding supplied war horses. The horses were mostly short and thin-legged. The presence of bridled riding horses in graves throughout the history of the Meotians indicates that they to a certain extent served as a measure of wealth.

The Sea of ​​Azov with its richest fish reserves, as well as the Kuban and Don rivers, created favorable conditions for fishing, especially in the eastern Azov region, which was due to the abundance of commercial fish. We caught pike perch, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, sterlet, carp and catfish. The main fishing gear was a net. At Meotian sites, net sinkers made of baked clay are found in large numbers. At Don settlements, seine sinkers made from the handles of Greek amphorae are found. Occasionally large fishing hooks made of iron and bronze are found.

The fish was not only eaten fresh, but also salted for future use. The scale of fishing is indicated by the rather thick layers of fish bones in the cultural layer of the settlements. Hunting had an auxiliary significance; they hunted deer, roe deer, wild boars, hares, and fur-bearing animals.

The sedentary tribes developed various crafts, among which metallurgy and the manufacture of pottery occupied the most important place. It was these crafts that were the earliest to emerge as specialized industries. Almost all the main tools of labor were forged from iron - axes, adzes, sickles, knives, as well as weapons - swords and daggers, spear and arrow tips, parts of protective armor. "Iron, along with bronze, was used to make parts of horse harnesses and household items , some types of jewelry. Bronze was used to make mirrors, jewelry, armor. Among the artisans, toreuts stood out - masters of artistic processing of metal - gold, silver, bronze. Most of all, we know the ceramic production of the Meotians. From the 5th century BC. the potter's wheel began to be used for shaping vessels, which led to the widespread spread of circular, mostly grey-polished, Meotian ceramics. For firing the manufactured products, special kilns were used, the remains of which were found in many Meotian settlements. For example, during the excavations of Starokorsun settlement No. 2, in a relatively small area near northern outskirts of the settlement, 20 forges were discovered that functioned in the first centuries AD, the size of which ranged from 1 to 2.6 m in diameter. Meotian kilns, built of mud brick, were two-tiered: below the firebox there were heat channels, from where hot gases entered a vaulted firing chamber filled with products. Firing was carried out in a reduction mode: after the required temperature was obtained in the forge, the combustion hole was covered with a clay slab, all cracks were carefully sealed: without air access, the iron oxides in the clay turned into ferrous oxide, which gave the finished products a characteristic gray color. High-quality Meotian pottery ceramics were also in demand among neighboring steppe tribes, as evidenced by finds in nomadic burials. In addition to dishes, pottery workshops also produced other products, for example, fishing sinkers. Thus, the firing chamber of one of the Starokorsun kilns was filled with weights from nets (for some reason the kiln was not unloaded and was no longer used). Finds of ceramic slag, dishes deformed and burned during firing, and special tools for polishing the walls of Vessels before firing indicate that ceramic production was widespread in almost all Meotian settlements.

Along with crafts, trade was important in the Meotian economy. For centuries, the most important trading partner of the Meotians and other tribes of the Kuban region was the Bosporan Kingdom - a large slave-holding state in the eastern part of the Northern Black Sea region. The Bosporus included Greek colonial cities, as well as areas of the Eastern Crimea, the lower reaches of the Kuban and Don, and the Eastern Azov region inhabited by local tribes. During the heyday of the Bosporan kingdom in the 4th century. BC e. a number of Meotian tribes in the lower Kuban were dependent on the Bosporan rulers from the Spartokid dynasty. Earlier than others, the Sinds came into close contact with the Greeks, creating in the 5th century. BC e. his state, annexed in the middle of the 4th century. BC e. to the Bosporus (the territory of the modern Anapa region - Eastern Sindika). Through the cities of the Bosporus, the Maeotians were drawn into trade and cultural contacts with the ancient world. Already in the 6th century. BC e. Antique imports began to penetrate into the Kuban, but mutually beneficial trade between the Bosporan Greeks and neighboring tribes reached its peak by the 4th century. BC e. In exchange for bread, livestock, fish, furs, slaves, the Meotians received wine and olive oil in amphorae, expensive fabrics and jewelry, ceremonial weapons, expensive black-glazed and bronze dishes, glass (beads, bottles, bowls, etc.). At this time, grain bread came to Athens in large quantities through the Bosporus. The ancient Greek orator Demosthenes noted in one of his speeches that every year the kings of the Bosporus supplied Athens with 400 thousand medimni of grain (i.e. more than 16 thousand tons), which was half of the bread imported there.

The development of trade and political contacts with the Greeks contributed to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the clan aristocracy and tribal leaders, and caused the rapid disintegration of tribal relations. The social system of the Meotians was a military democracy - the final stage in the development of the primitive communal system and the transition to a class society. This process was accompanied by changes and complication of social structures. In particular, the clan community was replaced by a territorial one, although clan ties continued to play a certain role in society.

Northern neighbors of the Meotians in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. uh, there were nomads - Sauromats. At the end of the IV-I centuries. BC e. The political and ethnic situation in the Kuban changed due to the activation and movements of the Sarmatian tribes. At this time, the Siraks, one of the Sarmatian tribal associations, occupied the North Caucasian steppes, penetrating into the territories inhabited by the Meotians. Probably, some Meotian tribes of the Kuban steppe region entered into a powerful tribal union led by the Siracs. At the turn of the new era, some of the nomads switched to a sedentary lifestyle, while the population of the Meotian settlements on the right bank of the Kuban became mixed (Meotian-Sarmatian), and the area of ​​the settlements themselves increased.

With the settlement of the Sarmatians in the Cis-Caucasian steppes at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. - I century n. e. and the growth of their political influence in the region, the Meotians acquired common Sarmatian cultural elements: weapons, toiletries and jewelry, artistic style, and some details of the funeral rite. In the first centuries of the new era, a new Sarmatian tribe that came from the east, the Alans, began to dominate the Kuban steppes. At the turn of the II-III centuries. n. e., probably under pressure from the Alans, part of the settled Meoto-Sarmatian population of the right bank moved to the Trans-Kuban region. Life in small settlements fades and the population concentrates on large settlements with a powerful defensive system, but they too fell into disrepair after a few decades, by the middle of the 3rd century. n. e.

The Meotians who moved to the Trans-Kuban region with the Sikars who were partially assimilated and mixed with them, together with related tribes and tribes of the Zikh Union of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus who previously lived here, laid the foundations for the formation of the Adyghe-Kabardinian peoples of the North Caucasus in the Middle Ages.

Cimmerians

According to the records of Herodotus, the most ancient inhabitants of the lands of the Northern Black Sea region and the first of the Northern Black Sea tribes were the Cimmerians.

The origin and language of this people continue to be debated to this day, however, according to the most common version, they were an Iranian-speaking tribe.

These tribes lived not only in the territories of the Northern Black Sea region, but also in its eastern part. The main regions of residence are Crimea, the Azov region, Taman, western Ciscaucasia and the Caucasus. It is also known that the warlike Cimmerians, together with detachments of other Kuban tribes, made campaigns in Transcaucasia and Asia Minor.

From the Northern Black Sea region, the Cimmerians were driven out by the Scythians to the southern coast of the Black Sea, to the Synod region.

Herodotus is an ancient Greek historian, in the popular expression of Cicero “the father of history” - the author of the first surviving significant treatise “History”, describing the Greco-Persian wars and the customs of many contemporary peoples. The works of Herodotus were of great importance for ancient culture. Wikipedia

• Born: 484 BC, Halicarnassus, Caria, Anatolia, Achaemenid Power
• Died: 425 BC (59 years old), Sybaris, Calabria or Pella, Ancient Macedonia
• Quote: I am obliged to convey everything that they tell me, but I am not obliged to believe everything.

Scythians

The Scythians are perhaps the most legendary nomadic people who lived in the Northern Black Sea region from the 8th century. BC. and left behind many mysteries.

In the 7th century BC, Iranian-speaking Scythian tribes appeared in the steppes of the Black Sea region. The Scythians' weapons consisted of an akinak sword, a small bow and arrows with cast bronze tips, and a cast bronze helmet. The Scythians decorated horse harness, clothing and many household items with images of animals. In this regard, the concept of “animal” style arose. Another feature of Scythian culture was the burial mound ritual.

On the territory of the Kuban, the Scythian ones include the Kostroma, Kelermes and mounds near the village of Ulyap. Many of these mounds were explored by the famous archaeologist N.I. Veselovsky.
The burial mounds of noble warriors take the form of quadrangular tombs with an area of ​​25-114 square meters. They are built of wood or stone directly on the surface of the earth or in quadrangular pits. A mound was built over the grave. A stone stele or statue was placed on its top.
On their final journey, the warriors were “accompanied” by war horses. Archaeologists also discover weapons, horse harness, and a large amount of gold items in Scythian mounds.

The Scythians learned to ride horses from early childhood, considering walking on foot a great disgrace. They attached paramount importance to the military education of future riders. The Scythian cavalry was famous in the world of that time. The rulers of the Ancient East sought to get Scythian horsemen into their army. They preferred to establish allied relations with them so as not to have them as dangerous rivals. The Scythians used the territory of the Kuban steppes and foothills, rich in pastures, as a springboard for campaigns in Transcaucasia and Western Asia.
At the end of their predatory military expeditions, the Scythians returned to Kuban. Here they buried their leaders in mounds. These burials are characterized by many valuable things. Excavations of mounds indicate the customs of that time.
We find a description of the life and customs of the Scythians in Herodotus, Hippocrates and other ancient authors.
Treaties of friendship among the Scythians were sanctified by an oath and accompanied by a mandatory ritual: wine mixed with the blood of the parties to the agreement was poured into a large clay bowl, and a sword, arrows, axes and a spear were immersed in it. After this ritual, long spells were recited.
Funeral customs were also unique. The Scythians first embalmed the deceased king and then transported him to all the tribes that were part of the Scythian kingdom.
When the king’s body was brought to one of the tribes of the kingdom, people “cut off part of their ear, cut off their hair, made cuts on their hands, scratched their forehead and nose, and pierced their left hand with arrows.” These actions were repeated by every tribe subject to the Scythians. After such a farewell procedure, the deceased king was buried, laid on a straw mat. Spears were driven into both sides of the grave, boards were laid on them and everything was covered with reed mats. Together with the king they buried one of the concubines, a cupbearer, a cook, a groom, a close servant, and horses, having previously killed them. Weapons and golden bowls were placed in the grave. An earthen mound was poured over all this, trying to make it as high as possible.
One year after the funeral, a funeral ceremony was held over the royal grave - a memorial rite, during which the king’s close associates, as well as horses, were sacrificed.
Excavations of Scythian mounds in the Kuban confirm the stories of Herodotus. In the Ulyapsky mounds of the 6th century. BC e. burial structures in the form of a square pit with log walls and reed-log ceilings were discovered. Mass horse burials with harnesses were discovered in them. About 500 horses were buried in one of the mounds. Archaeological scientists suggest that such a large number of horses could not belong to the buried person. Most likely, hundreds of animals were offerings to the late leader from dependent clans and tribes.

Scythian dwellings

The Scythians built their homes on carts. According to the testimony of the Greek historian Herodotus (482-425 BC), nicknamed the “father of history,” the ancient Scythians had neither cities nor fortifications. But where conditions allowed, the settled Scythians built their homes. Their main occupation was cattle breeding.
The Scythians not only waged frequent wars with their neighbors, but also made long journeys. War was a constant trade for them. Individual tribes united into tribal unions for military purposes. Professional squads were also created. The most important decisions were made by the people's assembly, taking into account the opinions of all adult male warriors, the council of elders and the leader. Moreover, the leader’s power extended not only to the warriors, but also to the entire population under his protection. The wealth looted during continuous wars made the vigilantes a special privileged class. In the Black Sea region in the 6th century. BC e. A powerful alliance was formed, the leaders of which were called kings. These “royal” Scythians developed agriculture.

Scythian legends

The myths and legends of the peoples of Kuban have reached us only in the retelling of ancient authors. They are complemented by images on gold and silver vessels, weapons, jewelry and household items found during excavations of rich burials.
The most valuable source of information about the origin, history and customs of the Scythians and their neighbors is rightfully considered the work of Herodotus “History”.
Herodotus traveled a lot in the countries of the East, visited Babylon and Sicily, the banks of the Nile and the islands of the Aegean Sea. He also visited Scythia. Everything seen and heard formed a bright, motley picture of the life and morals of the Scythians, social structure, military affairs, beliefs and rituals.
The way of life, customs, legends and myths described by Herodotus provide a lot of information about the peoples of the Kuban region, who were close to the Scythians in language and occupation.

Legends about the origin of the Scythians

One of them, according to Herodotus, was told to him by the Black Sea Scythians themselves.
“The Scythians say that their people are younger than all others and originated as follows: in their land, which was a deserted desert, the first man, named Targitai, was born.
He had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the younger Kolaksai. With them, three golden objects fell from the sky onto the Scythian land: a plow, an ax and a bowl. The eldest of the brothers, the first to see these objects, came closer, wanting to take them, but as he approached, the gold ignited. Then the second one came up, but the same thing happened with the gold.
Thus, the gold, igniting, did not allow them to approach it, but with the approach of the third brother, the youngest, the burning stopped, and he took the gold.
The older brothers, realizing the significance of this miracle, handed over the entire kingdom to the younger ones.” According to the Scythians, they descended from the sons of Targitai, who was considered the son of Zeus.
Herodotus attributes the second legend about the origin of the Scythians to the Greek colonists. According to this legend, the first people in the Scythian land were Agafyrs, Gelon and Scythian, born from the Greek hero Hercules and the local half-maiden-half-snake. Leaving her, Hercules said: “When you see your sons matured, it is best to do this: see which of them will draw this bow like this and gird himself, in my opinion, with this belt, and give him this land to live in, and which one will not be able to To fulfill my task, we left the country. By doing this, you yourself will be satisfied and this will fulfill my desire.”
Having drawn the bows and shown the method of girding, Hercules left the bow and the belt with a golden cup at the end of the buckle and left. Two of the sons were unable to fulfill their father’s orders and were expelled from the country by their mother. And the youngest, Skif, having completed the task, remained. “From this son of Hercules,” writes Herodotus, “the Scythian kings originated, and from the cup of Hercules is the custom that still exists among the Scythians of wearing cups on their belts. This is what the Greeks living near Pontus say.”
There are other legends about the origin of the Scythians. All legends substantiate the divine origin of power.
Greek and Scythian myths, retold by different people, coincide in some ways, but also differ in the description of events and heroes.

Scythian gods

Herodotus also describes the religion of the Scythians. “They were pagans and worshiped many gods: first of all Hestia, then Zeus and Heya. These gods are recognized by all Scythians, and the so-called royal Scythians also make sacrifices to Poseidon. In the Scythian language, Hestia is called Tabiti, Zeus is called Papai, Gaia is called Api.”

Tabiti

The Scythians revered this deity “most of all.” The oath to this goddess was considered the most important, and those who violated it were executed. The cult of Tabiti, like the cult of the Greek goddess Hestia, was associated with fire and the hearth, which were revered. Tabiti was also considered a giver of food and prosperity.

Popeye

Popeye is the progenitor of the Scythians and Scythian kings. His name is of Iranian origin and means “father”, “protector”. Popeye is the personification of the sky, the creator of the world and people.
Api was considered Popeye's wife. In Scythian mythology, she was represented as the serpentine, “earth-born maiden,” the ancestor of the Scythians. Her image is also associated with water that feeds the earth, underground waters. Quite a few images of Api-Serpentine were found in the Kuban - in the Bolshaya Bliznitsa mounds on the Taman Peninsula, near the village of Ivanovskaya and Ust-Labinsk. On a golden plaque from the village of Ivanovskaya, which adorned a wooden bowl, a winged goddess is depicted in a tunic, the folds of which end with the heads of snakes and griffins. On the goddess’s head is a high headdress, in her hand is a man’s head. It is interesting that in the same burial golden plaques (clothing decorations) with images of Hercules were found.

Hercules

Herodotus does not give his Scythian name. But he is close to the image of Targitai - the first man of Scythian mythology, the conqueror of monsters, the father of Lipoksai, Arpoksai and Kolaksai, who became the ancestors of the Scythian tribes. Hercules-Targitai is both a man and a god, the creator of the world order, the personification of strength and valor. Unlike Popeye-Zeus, his image is closer to people and therefore was very popular in the Bosporus and among barbarian tribes. On the rhyton from the Karagodeuashkh mound he is depicted as a horseman in the scene of the divine transfer of power. The popularity of Targitai’s image is evidenced by the use of his name. Thus, the famous Meotian queen bore the name Tirgatao.
Other Scythian gods are also associated with the Greek ones: Argimpasa - with the Greek Aphrodite Urania (Heavenly). She was revered as a fertility deity, intercessor and patroness.

Arey

Ares is close to the Greek god of war Ares. Altars were built in his honor, and sacrifices to him were particularly pompous and cruel. “In each Scythian region, shrines to Ares were erected in districts: mountains of brushwood were piled one on top of the other... At the top there was a quadrangular platform. On each such hill there is an ancient iron sword. This is the idol of Ares. Horses and cattle are sacrificed to this sword every year..."

Tagimasad - Poseidon

Tagimasad, Poseidon, the god of fruit-bearing water (seas, rivers) and the patron of horses, was deeply revered by the Scythians.
Herodotus's information about Scythian cults and sanctuaries is confirmed by archaeological finds.

Scythian rituals

The religious beliefs of the Scythians, Maeotians and Sarmatians were manifested in various rituals, including funeral ones.

Herodotus writes about the veneration of the dead, citing the words of the Scythian king: “If you urgently needed to speed up the battle, then here we are: we have the tombs of our ancestors; find them, try to destroy them, then you will find out whether you and I will fight over these tombs or not.” Dead ancestors were represented in legends as heroes and were deified. Findings of stone male and female sculptures is a clear confirmation of this. The statue, found in Krasnodar, depicted a warrior in a metal armor to the waist. The mantles are decorated with griffin heads, and in the center there is a figure of a deer. A sword is attached to the combat plate belt, and a case for a bow and arrow is hung on the left. The huge sculptures found in the village of Pregradnaya are majestic: the female one is in the form of a figure in a long folded robe and a cloak thrown over the shoulders, the male one is in a caftan with pointed hems and with a weapon. Today these wonderful finds can be seen in the Krasnodar State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve named after. E. D. Felitsyna.

The existence of a cult of fertility and veneration of the hearth is evidenced by the finds of clay idols - female figurines with imprints of grains of wheat and barley. They were found at ancient Meotian settlements, sometimes in the ashes of hearths. When performing rituals, various objects were used - clay figurines, incense burners, and metal mirrors. The shape of the mirror resembled the sun, which was credited with the ability to influence fertility. It was believed that a mirror reflects a person, contains his image and soul, can tell about the past and predict the future. Seated goddesses were often depicted on golden plaques with a magic mirror in their hand.
Archaeologists include a silver mirror from the Kelermes mound, which dates back to the 7th century, among the most valuable finds. BC e.
One of the ritual objects among the population of the Kuban region was a rhyton - a vessel for drinking and libations in the form of a horn. Rhytons made of silver, bronze, clay, horns lined with gold were found in many burials of noble people. Rhytons were depicted on stone sculptures and gold plates.

Since ancient times, such a vessel has served as a symbol of fertility. In Greece it was depicted as a cornucopia in the cult of Dionysus. The population of the Kuban region had the same attitude towards the horn and rhyton.
The finds of archaeologists and the evidence of ancient authors confirm that the Scythians and peoples close to them deified the forces of nature. And with the separation of the tribal nobility, the deification of the power of leaders and kings began.

Life of the Scythians

Life, or material culture, to which historians include the world of things, objects that surround a person and are created by him. We know about the clothing and weapons of the Scythians, Meotians and Sarmatians thanks to the products of Greek jewelers found in the mounds, who depicted scenes from the life of the “barbarians” on gold plaques, torcs, vessels, and plates of headdresses. In some burials, parts of clothing made of fabrics, leather, and fur were preserved.

Findings by archaeologists and descriptions of ancient authors make it possible to reproduce the appearance and costume of the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Maeotians.
The stern men depicted on vases and decorations are distinguished by regular facial features. Straight long hair falls to the shoulders or is gathered into a knot at the back of the head. Most of them have beards and mustaches. They are dressed in long shirts and caftans, trimmed with fur and decorated with patterned embroidery. Narrow or wide trousers tucked into soft low leather boots or worn over boots are also embroidered. The head is covered with a hood. The caftan is tied with a leather belt.
Women appear in long dresses and wide clothes, reminiscent of a fur coat thrown over their shoulders. On the head there is a high headdress of a pointed or widening shape. The blanket goes down the back. During excavations, wide skirts and shirts are also found. The warriors of the Scythians, Sarmatians and, probably, Meotians were mounted archers. In early burials, sets of arrows are found - bronze, two- and three-bladed, with a sharp spike, which brought additional torment to the wounded. The bows were small, convenient for the rider.
The types of arrows and bows changed. In Sarmatian times, arrowheads began to be made of iron, and their shape changed. The size of the bow increased, its shape also became different.
The warriors' weapons were supplemented by throwing darts, heavy spears, and short (30-50 centimeters) akinaki swords. There were also long swords.

Sometimes the length of the sword exceeded 1 meter, the width at the top of the blade reached 5-7 centimeters. The rich weapons had hilts and scabbards lined with gold plates. Iron axes were used - axes with a long handle.
Bows and arrows were carried in gorits - special wooden cases covered with leather and decorated with gold or bronze plates.
Typical details of defensive weapons include a helmet, armor, leggings, shield, and combat plate belt. The helmets, mostly bronze, had a hemispherical shape. Iron helmets also came into use among the Sarmatians from the 2nd century BC. The armor was made of iron and copper plates sewn onto a leather base. The shield was round, with a notch at the bottom. The armor of ordinary soldiers was leather. The horse's attire consisted of bronze, later iron, bits and cheekpieces. The saddle was secured to the horse by a system of girth straps. Both the bridle and saddle straps were sometimes richly decorated with plaques made of bronze, gold and silver.
Aeschylus in his poem “Chained Prometheus” notes that the Scythians did not part with “long-range bows.”

Scythian art

The most striking examples of the art of the Scythians, Meotians, and Sarmatians were objects made in the so-called Scythian animal style. Images of animals were subordinated to the shape of this or that thing (vessel, armor), with deliberate highlighting of individual details. Parts of animal bodies could also be depicted.

Highly artistic works of the Scythian animal style include items found in the Kuban in the Kostroma, Kelermes and other mounds.
The golden deer from the Kostroma burial mound is considered a classic example of early animal art. With bent legs, head stretched forward, branched horns thrown back, full of life, movement, inner strength, he became the prototype for numerous images of this most popular motif of Scythian art.

In the Kelermes mound, a large golden plaque was found that once adorned a shield in the form of a panther preparing to jump. The almond-shaped ear of the predator is divided by triangular inserts, the eye is decorated with white and gray enamel, and the pupil is brown, the nostrils are filled with white paste. At the ends of the paws and along the tail there are additional images of a curled up predator. This panther is one of the most remarkable masterpieces of the Scythian animal style.

Other finds from Kelermes include a rectangular gold plate—the lining of a gorit—and a gold bowl with images of animals.
The image of a griffin, a winged fantastic creature that combined body parts of a lion and a bird of prey, was also popular in Scythian art. In Kuban he was depicted crouching on his hind legs, with his mouth open. The head of a griffin was often placed on parts of harnesses and weapons. Such images were found in the Ulsky mound in Adygea. Scenes of animal fights were also popular among Scythian artists.
Later, in the 5th century BC, new images of animals appeared in the art of the Scythian animal style, and geometric and floral patterns were introduced. Curls of horns, paws, and tails turn into eagle heads; the heads of an eagle, elk, and sometimes an entire figurine of an animal fit into the contours of a shoulder or hip.
In the 4th-3rd centuries BC, the images change again, becoming flat, schematic, and openwork. The art of this period is called Greco-Scythian due to the increased Greek influence. Horse harness decorations found in the Elizabethan burial mounds (near Krasnodar) were made in this style. When making objects, craftsmen used a wide variety of techniques - casting, stamping, chasing, carving and engraving. Elements of the animal style served for decorative purposes: to decorate weapons, armor, horse harness, religious utensils, clothing, jewelry - hryvnias, earrings, pectorals, bracelets, rings. All these things emphasized the prestige and social significance of the warriors - owners of decorated objects.
But since ancient times, images of animals have also been given another meaning - religious and magical. Animals personified natural elements. Myths told about the transformations of humans, animals and plants, reflecting the Scythian ideas about the “world tree”, connecting three worlds - underground, earthly and heavenly.
Importance was also attached to the magical essence of images, which were supposed to protect people from harm and give them qualities characteristic of certain animals: strength, dexterity, speed. The images were a kind of amulets-talismans.

Scythian traditions

The culture, traditions, religious ideas, legends and tales of the ancient population of the Kuban region - the Maeotians, Scythians, Sarmatians - left their traces in the history and culture of the peoples of the North Caucasus, especially the Circassians and Ossetians. The most famous are the tales of the Nart heroic epic. His heroes are the Nart heroes. Legends about them go back to the times of the Scythians and Sarmatians; many stories are close to the descriptions of the life and customs of the Scythians given by Herodotus. This includes the worship of the sword and legends about a magic cup from which only glorious heroes could drink.
The central figure of the Nart epic is the woman Satanei (Adyghe), Satan (Ossetian). Sataney is the soul of Nart society, the mother of the people, the teacher and mentor of the main characters Sosruko (Adyghe), Soslan (Ossetian) and Peterez (Adyghe), Batradz (Ossetian). She is also a powerful sorceress. Not a single event in the life of the Narts takes place without her participation and advice.
The high position of women in the society of the Narts corresponds to the position of women described by ancient authors in the society of the Sarmatians, possibly the Scythians and Maeotians. The Sarmatians were called “woman-ruled.” As one of the sources says: “... they obey their wives in everything, like mistresses, a girl is not given in marriage before she kills an enemy.” The names of women - queens and warriors of the Meotians and Scythians are known: Tirgatao, Amaga, Tamyris, Zarina.
The favorite animal of the Scythians and Narts is deer. The legends of the Nart epic describe scenes of heroic hunting, which are found on the pictorial monuments of the Scythians, Meotians, and Sarmatians. Among them are drawings scratched on the walls of clay vessels, images on jewelry made of gold and silver. In the legends of the epic, the deer is often called “eighteen-horned.” Scythian animal-style deer also have eighteen tines on their antlers. There are quite a lot of similar coincidences.
Thus, the folklore of the Caucasian peoples preserved and brought to us images of the ancient world from the past of the Krasnodar region.

Sarmatians in Kuban

The neighbors of the Scythians in the east in the 6th-5th centuries BC were related tribes of the Sarmatians. Herodotus wrote that the Sarmatians speak “an anciently distorted Scythian language.” They first penetrated the steppes of the Right Bank Kuban in the 4th century. BC.

The Sarmatians were mainly engaged in nomadic cattle breeding. The ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo describes their life and way of life this way: “The tents of nomads (nomads) are made of felt and attached to the carts on which they live; Cattle graze around the tents, from which they feed on meat, cheese and milk. They follow their herds, choosing areas with good pastures...”
To a lesser extent, the Sarmatians were engaged in agriculture, pottery and leather crafts. Sarmatian artisans skillfully made helmets and armor from raw cowhide. They knew how to make dishes, but preferred to buy them. To a large extent, the Sarmatians lived by imposing tribute on the surrounding agricultural tribes, and subsequently on the Greek colonies.
In the ancient Roman poet Ovid we find a description of the external appearance of the Sarmatians: “They protect themselves from severe frosts with animal skins and sewn pants, and of the whole body only their face remains open. When you move, your hair often rings from the pieces of ice hanging on it, and your white beard shines, covered with frost.”
Kuban archaeologist N. E. Berlizov examined Sarmatian burials. They often contain bronze mirrors, often broken or tightly sewn in a special case. Apparently, the Sarmatians believed that the soul of the deceased was reflected in the mirror - they tried to protect themselves from its return to the world of the living. In addition, they believed in the cleansing power of fire. It is no coincidence that in Sarmatian burials there are incense burners, the smoke from which, according to the Sarmatians, should also free them from the influence of evil forces. The purity of the dead was supposed to be symbolized by pieces of chalk or lime. They were usually placed at the bottom of the grave. It is noteworthy that the Sarmatians used Bronze Age mounds to bury their dead ancestors. The most famous were the Sarmatian burials discovered in mounds along the right bank of the Kuban River from the village of Kazanskaya to the village of Voronezh. Archaeologists call them the “Golden Cemetery.”
In the 4th century. BC e. - I century n. e. The Kuban steppes were inhabited by one of the Sarmatian tribes - the Siraki. They moved here from the Volga region. Engaged in nomadic cattle breeding and agriculture, they were good warriors and subjugated the local Meotian tribes to their power.
The sources of that time mention the “kings” of the Siracs. However, their power was not hereditary. The Siracs elected their “kings” (military leaders).
The Great Silk Road passed through the possessions of the Siraks, which contributed to the development of trade. They traded with the Bosporan kingdom, the states of Asia Minor, Rome and with the neighboring tribes of the North Caucasus. Many Sirak archaeological monuments were discovered on the right bank of the Kuban River near the villages of Dinskaya, Bryukhovetskaya, Baturinskaya and others. Kuban archaeologist I. I. Marchenko is actively studying archaeological monuments related to the Sirak tribe.
Ancient historians and geographers about the peoples of the Kuban region. The Caucasus and the peoples inhabiting the lands of the Ciscaucasia and Kuban region have long attracted the attention of ancient Greek and Roman authors - historians and geographers, poets and philosophers. Their works are the basis of knowledge on the ancient history of Kuban. However, the evidence of ancient authors must be treated critically. They abound in retellings of myths; the location of geographical points and tribes in ancient writings is sometimes controversial. In addition, some authors wrote based on their own observations, while others wrote from someone else’s words. Sometimes authors combined sources from different periods in their works. The most famous ancient authors who wrote about the Ciscaucasia and Kuban region include Herodotus, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Strabo and others.

Meots in Kuban

During the Early Iron Age, the Meotians lived in the Kuban region and the Eastern Black Sea region. Meotians are agricultural tribes of the Northwestern Caucasus. Meotian culture began to take shape in the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. The Meotians got their name from the ancient name of the Sea of ​​Azov - Meotida, translated from Greek as “salt marsh”.

Territory of residence of the Meotians

The Azov coastal area was then swampy. At the same time, ancient authors call Maeotis the “mother of Pontus” (that is, the Black Sea). This name was explained by the fact that from the Sea of ​​Azov a huge mass of water through the Cimmerian Bosporus fell directly into the Black Sea.
Meotian tribes - Sinds, Dandarii, Fatei, Psessians and others - occupied the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the Kuban River from the village of Prochnookopskaya to the mouth, in the north - to the Kirpili River, in the west - the Eastern Azov region, and the southern border ran along the northern slope of the Caucasus ridge.
More precisely, it is possible to determine the places of residence of only one of the Meotian tribes: the Sinds. They lived in the lower reaches of the Kuban River (on its left bank), on the Taman Peninsula and the Black Sea coast to Anapa. Along the high bank of the main river of the region, Meotian settlements stretch in an almost continuous chain: from the village of Maryanskaya and further east to the village of Temizhbekskaya.

In ancient times, settlements were trade, craft, and administrative centers. People hid behind the fortifications of settlements-shelters during times of danger. The most interesting monuments of Meotian culture (fortifications and burial grounds) were discovered along the banks of the Kuban River and its tributaries - from the city of Armavir to the village of Maryanskaya, as well as along the Kirpili River.
A scientific description of the Meotian culture was first given by the famous archaeologist N.V. Anfimov. To date, about 200 Meotian settlements have been identified, and several thousand burials have been excavated.

Meot classes

The main occupation of the settled Meotian tribes was arable farming. To plow the fields they used a wooden plow (ralo). They cultivated millet, barley, wheat, rye, and lentils. Flax was also grown, the stems of which contain a lot of fiber. They were used to weave cloth and sew clothes.
During excavations of Meotian settlements, small iron sickles, square grain grinders, round millstones and the remains of conical grain pits were found. Cattle breeding was directly related to agriculture. Raising livestock provided the Meotians with milk, meat, wool and hides, as well as draft labor for plowing and harrowing fields, transporting crops from the field to places where they were processed and stored. Horse breeding was also practiced for the purpose of breeding war horses.
Fishing was also well developed. In Meotian sites, archaeologists find large quantities of fishing sinkers made of baked clay; seine sinkers made from the handles of Greek amphorae; There are fishing hooks made of iron and bronze. Sedentary Meotian tribes were engaged in various crafts. The most important of them were pottery and metallurgy.
The use of the potter's wheel contributed to the mass production of ceramic products.
Meotian craftsmen forged the main tools and weapons, as well as various household items, from iron. A special group of artisans were jewelers who were engaged in artistic processing of non-ferrous metals.
Trade occupied a prominent place in the life of the Meotian tribes. Particularly close trade ties were maintained with the Greek city-colonies of the Bosporan Kingdom, whose possessions were located in the Eastern Crimea and on the Taman Peninsula from the 5th century. BC e. The Meotians supplied the Greeks with cattle, fish, furs, and slaves. A significant part of the grain consumed by the population of Attica came from the Bosporus.
In exchange for the goods supplied, the Meotians acquired from the Greeks expensive black-glazed and bronze dishes, glass (beads, bottles, bowls), expensive fabrics, jewelry, wine and olive oil in amphorae.
In the early stages of development, Meotian society was divided into clans and tribes. At the final stage, individual tribes united into tribal unions. Such associations were headed by leaders who relied on the support of vigilantes. They often waged wars, seized booty and new lands. As a result, they became rich and became the most revered, noble people.

MEOTS

In the first millennium BC, the coast of Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov), almost the entire territory of the North Caucasus, with the plains adjacent to it from the north, were inhabited by related peoples. These peoples - Sinds, Zikhs, Psessians, Dandarii, Doshis, Toreates, Abydiacens, Arreachi, Achaeans, Moschi, Sittakeni, Tarpeti, Fatei in the annals of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome are collectively called maiotis (hereinafter Maeotians).

Peoples of the Caucasus in the first millennium BC

(Approximate map).

Meotians- excellent craftsmen, among them blacksmiths, stonemasons, potters, shoemakers, tailors, jewelers. Representatives of each craft formed a clan class. At the same time, it was unacceptable for anyone to mind their own business.

The Meotians had their own system of religious cults and beliefs. Their beliefs are characterized by the deification of the forces of nature, natural phenomena, which appear to the Meotians in the form of the god of the sun, light, fire, god of rain, thunderstorms, god of the forest, god of the sea and other gods. The Meotians made sacrifices to these gods, accompanied by a complex ritual.

Various magical rituals performed by the elders of the clan were common. The rituals consisted of casting special spells and preparing magical potions. The eldest of the family, the most experienced in magical knowledge, plunged into a trance, during which he “saw” the events of the past, present, future, “talked” with deceased relatives, gods, and asked for help or advice on what to do in this or that case. Immersion in a trance was accompanied by preliminary fasting and solitude, or, conversely, the intake of abundant food, intoxicating drinks and incense.

The composition of the Maeotian pantheon is very complex and difficult to comprehensively classify. Meotian gods could personify both natural and elemental phenomena - the gods of the sky, earth, sun, fire, wind, and abstract concepts: hospitality, honesty, loyalty to the traditions of ancestors, loyalty to the oath, etc. There were also patron gods for representatives of each craft.

The cults of honoring deceased relatives and funeral rites were very important for the Meotians. The body was placed in a pit in a crouched position. Objects that the deceased might need in the land of the dead were placed into the grave. Funeral gifts from the relatives and fellow villagers of the deceased were also placed there - dishes, weapons, clothes, jewelry. An earthen embankment - a mound - was made over the burial.

For a certain period of time, from several weeks to several months, depending on what class the deceased belonged to, funeral rituals were carried out near the grave. The Meotians organized a circular procession around the grave, with ritual chants, crying, and noise, driving away evil spirits. In order to scare and ward off evil spirits, all sorts of “scary” images of predators and phantasmagoric monsters were installed around the grave.

The main god of the Meotians was the god of the sun, fire, light, and heat. The Meotians identified these phenomena with each other, considered them the source of life on Earth, and deified them. They, like the peoples of the Maikop, dolmen, and North Caucasian cultures, sprinkled the body of the deceased with red paint - ocher, which symbolized fire.

The Meotians lived in the mountains and plains of Ciscaucasia.

The Meotian mountaineers led a sedentary lifestyle and were mainly engaged in agriculture. On the plains, the Meotians usually led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and were mainly engaged in transhumance cattle breeding. Fishing was an important branch of the economy. For fishing, a net, seine, and hook tackle were used.

SARMATIA

In the first millennium BC, related nomadic tribes of Iranian-speaking Sarmatians penetrate from the northern coast of the Caspian Sea into the Kuban plains. The peoples included in this union constantly staged internecine clashes for power in the union. This led to the fragmentation of the Sarmatians into separate, warring groups. The largest and most famous of these groups are the Aorsi, Siracs, Alans, Roxolans, and Iazyges. By the 4th century, the Sarmatians inhabited the Kuban plains bordering the Meotians very densely. According to Strabo, "the Aorsi live along the course of the Tanais. Siraki along the stream of the Akhardey (Kuban), which flows from the Caucasus Mountains and flows into Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov). Strabo claims that the Aorsi owned a huge territory and dominated most of the Caspian coast. The Sarmatians were superior the countless peoples they conquered not only in numbers but also in weapons, the ability to fight. They were excellent riders, their weapons were not only bows and arrows, but spears, long swords, heavy armor.

The presence of such warlike, dangerous neighbors as the Sarmatians led to the unity of the Meotians. A set of laws and customs appeared that related to all spheres of life and everyday life. Classes of warriors and military leaders appeared.

Swords, shields, and spears made by Meotian craftsmen are many times stronger than Sarmatian ones. Arrows fired from Meotian bows cover a distance several times greater than the arrows of nomads. But the Meotians could not rely only on their weapons in the face of countless hordes of nomads. Means of military diplomacy were also needed. The Meotians readily provided food, shelter, generous gifts, and all kinds of honors to anyone who came in peace. Any foreigner was revered equally, if not more than, a natural resident. Anyone who needed shelter could count on it. If a foreigner had hostile intentions, he encountered militant resistance. If the enemy was superior in numbers and weapons, the Meot could not resist him immediately, he still had to do it later. Revenge was supposed to be taken with blood for blood, death for death, mutilation for mutilation. For a relative driven into slavery, the Meot took revenge by enslaving a relative of the enemy. Particularly cruel revenge awaited those who dared to desecrate the main shrine - the memory of their ancestors, their graves, the hearth, and its attributes. The culprit must be punished by death, his corpse beheaded and burned.

If a Meot died without having time to take retribution, his relatives had to do it. It was believed that a Meot could not enter the “kingdom of the dead” while his enemy was alive. This imposed special obligations on all of his relatives, without exception, because the safe entry of the deceased “into the land of the dead” was their most important task during the burial ritual.

RELATIONS OF THE MEOTIANS WITH THE SARMATIANS

Maeotian military diplomacy had certain results. By the middle of the 5th century BC, the Maeotians were fenced off from the Sarmatian nomads by the area of ​​the relatively friendly Siracs. Over the course of three centuries, there was a gradual mutual penetration of the cultures of the Meotians and Sarmatians. This, and possibly ethnic kinship, explains the relatively peaceful coexistence of these tribes for a long time. And the fact that the nomads constantly did not get along with each other was used by the Meotians to unconditional benefit.

In subsequent years, the Meotians experienced strong Sarmatian influence. In the second half of the 2nd century BC, among the objects of Meotian life, Sarmatian weapons, agricultural tools, dishes, and jewelry were increasingly found. Funeral rites are changing. The beliefs of the Maeotians remain the same, but are supplemented by many elements of Sarmatian cults. At the same time, Sarmatian ideas do not displace or conflict with Meotian beliefs; the Meotians, rather, perceive them as additional information received from strangers who came from afar.

Many Siracs, under the influence of sedentary agricultural settlements, switch to sedentary life, and settling among the Meotians, they are gradually assimilated by them.

With the settling of a large number of Siracs among the Maeotians, the character of the Maeotian community changes. Family ties are broken. Property and social differentiation is increasing. With the increasing danger of an Alan invasion, on the left bank of the Kuban, the Meotians with their partially assimilated Siraks moved from small villages to large fortified settlements.

SINDI

One of the largest Meotian tribes were the Sinds, who lived from the beginning of the first millennium BC on the Taman Peninsula and the northeastern Black Sea coast. By the beginning of the 5th century BC, the Sinds created their own state - Sindica, ruled by the dynasty of Sindian kings. The capital of Sindika was the city of Sindika (now the city of Anapa). The ancient Greeks called this city the Sind Harbor. Like other Meotians, the Sinds were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing, and handicrafts. Sindica was a slave state.

In 480 BC, the Greek colony cities located on the shores of the Kerch Strait united into one state. This state became known as the Bosporan Kingdom. Its capital was the city of Panticapaeum.

The Sinds actively traded with the Bosporan cities. In the markets and cramped streets of the syndica one could often meet Greek merchants. The townspeople sold them bread, grain, vegetables, and milk. The Greeks bought slaves in the markets.

Like Greek cities, the amphitheater built by the Greeks towered over the houses of Sindiki. It hosted theatrical performances and gladiator fights.

The Greeks supplied Sindica with salt, amphorae, wine, and fabrics. Many Sinds adopted the habits of the Greeks, Greek clothes, Greek weapons, and methods of building houses. They studied the art of Greek painting and sculpture.

At the same time, the Bosporan rulers hatched plans to capture Sindica and turn it into a Greek colony. Numerous diplomatic intrigues and bribery did not produce any results, and in 479 the Bosporans launched an open military invasion of Sindica. According to contemporaries, “one day at dawn, an armada of Greek warships arrived on the shores of Sindh harbor. Residents, seeing this, gathered on the walls of the city and prepared for battle. Residents of the surrounding villages hastened to take refuge in the city, its gates were tightly closed behind them.. .The Greek spies who were in the city, dressed in Sindian clothes, by prior agreement with the legionnaires, moved to the eastern gate and attacked the soldiers guarding them, stabbing them to death.... The Greeks entered the city and by noon, with heavy losses, captured the city completely.. ".

Subsequently, large detachments of Sinds and other Maeotians repeatedly attempted to recapture Sindika from the Greeks. During these wars the city was destroyed. In its place, the Greeks built their city colony, which they called Gorgipia.

With the fall of Sindiki, the process of consolidation of the Meotians began around the Meotian tribe, the Zikhs, who lived east of the Sindians on the Black Sea coast. The Greeks called them Zikhs, but in the Bosporan inscriptions the word ADZAHA is also found, which most likely corresponds to the Adyghe adzekhe (“troops” or “people of troops”). Perhaps this was the self-name of the Zikhs, which over time transformed into “Adyghe”. According to another version, the name Adyghe is associated with the spread of the cult of sun worship and has a fairly close sound to the early Adyghe "a-dyg'e" - people of the sun. In Italian and Greek sources, the name “zikh” in relation to the Circassians was used until the 15th century. The Genoese author Interiano, who devoted many articles to the Circassians, reports: “they are called Zikhs in Italian, Greek, Latin, the Tatars and Turks call them Circassians, they call themselves Circassians.”

Over the next years until 438, bloody battles took place between the Maeotians and the Greeks. The Maeotians, under the auspices of Zikhia, constantly attack the Bosporan cities.

In 438, Spartok I, Meotian by origin, founder of the Spartokid dynasty, came to power in the Bosporus. With his arrival, the wars between the Zikhs and the Greeks cease. But the begun process of consolidation of the Maeotians around Zikhia continues in subsequent years.

Trade ties between the Bosporus and the Maeotians are intensifying. The Meotians were suppliers of bread to the cities of the Bosporan Kingdom and to other cities of Ancient Greece, including Athens.

The Meotians borrowed a number of achievements of material and spiritual culture from the ancient Greeks. Under the influence of the Greeks, the potter's wheel appeared. Amphoras, jewelry made in Ancient Greece, and Greek battle armor appear among the Meotian objects. The Bosporans, in turn, borrowed from the Maeotians many types of weapons, battle tactics, and the cut of clothing, which was more convenient in local conditions than Greek clothing.

ZICHIA

In the second century, the Zikh king Stahemfak, wanting to strengthen the position of the Zikhs among the surrounding tribes, calls himself a subject of the Roman Emperor. Like foreign rulers, the Zikh kings began to have harems, where up to several hundred concubines, brought here from different countries, lived.

Over time, the Zikhs united around themselves an increasing number of Meotian tribes. This leads to the formation of a military alliance, which became the core of the Meotian opposition to warlike aliens.

Like other Meotians, the Zikhs are engaged in cattle breeding, agriculture, and fishing. Viticulture is becoming widespread.

A significant part of the population is concentrated in large settlements, surrounded on all sides by fortified earthen ramparts, behind which, outside, new houses continue to be built all the time, which are then, after some time, again surrounded by a ring of earthen defensive dam. In small settlements, houses are arranged in a circle and form a defensive wall on the outside.

Navigation is developing in Zichia. Initially, Zikh vessels were small longboat-type boats. The Zikhs adopted many shipbuilding skills from the Bosporans. The Zikhs invariably decorate their ships with the image of the sea god Hatha, with a trident in his hand and a fish tail instead of legs. Zikh ships move along the northwestern coast of the Black Sea, in a group consisting of several ships. They use different combat strategies, such that a foreign ship suddenly finds itself surrounded by several ships at once, which approach it from different directions and board it.

The influence of Ancient Greece is not limited to viticulture, shipbuilding, and sources of pottery. Slavery was common in Zichia. Slaves captured in pirate raids were sold by the zikhs in markets in the Bosporan cities.

In the 1st century BC, Zichia relied on the support of the Pontic kingdom. Frequent robberies and raids on neighbors led to a great abundance of gold and jewelry in Zichia. There was so much gold that it was inferior in price to bronze, steel, and other more durable metals used to make weapons of war and labor.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ADYGEA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MAIKOP DISTRICT

MUNICIPAL BUDGETARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

SECONDARY SCHOOL No. 6

MAYKOP DISTRICT

Republican competition of students' local history research works

"FATHERLAND"

Meots - ancestors of the Circassians

Prepared by:

Stolbenko Anna Anatolevna

7th grade student, MBOU Secondary School No. 6, 385782

Maykop district, st. Kurdzhipskaya, st. Lenina, 145,

Home address: 385782

Art. Kurdzhipskaya, st. Krupskaya, 51

Supervisor:

Chebotareva Lyudmila Aleksandrovna

teacher of history and social studies MBOU secondary school No. 6, Kurdzhipskaya station

Table of contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………. 3-4

Main part……………………………………………………… 5-8

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… 9

List of sources and literature used………………. 10

Applications………………………………………………………………………………11-15

Introduction

More than two and a half thousand years ago, the steppes of the shores of the Black and Azov Seas were inhabited by numerous and militant peoples. Who were they, what did they look like, where did they come from? Archeology can now answer all these and other questions. The ancient inhabitants of this land disappeared without a trace among the new nomads, whose invasions, like waves, rolled across the Northern Black Sea region. Only silent witnesses of the past have reached us - lonely burial grounds, hills, mounds and ancient settlements with the remains of fortress walls, houses and ditches.

My native village of Kurdzhipskaya is located on this historical territory. It is located 22 km south of the city of Maykop, on the banks of the Kurdzhips River, the left tributary of the Belaya River. The village was founded on April 17, 1863 above the location of the Adyghe village of Daur-Khabl.

There are many beautiful places in our village, especially on the river. One day, while walking along the river bank after heavy rain, I saw something sticking out of the ground. I carefully dug up the ground and took out a small vessel that looked like a mug (see Appendix 1). I was very interested in where he was from. Our old-timers told me that it was in this place that the boys found fragments of pots, particles of daggers and even human bones. By all descriptions it looked like an ancient burial ground. I decided to research what time this vessel dates back to approximately.

Relevance of the topic:

I believe that the science of archeology is a very important science; it is this science that restores the past bit by bit. My discovery prompted me to choose the topic of my research. What people lived in this territory? What did you do? What kind of social system did they have? The study of ancient culture is of great importance today for the history of the Caucasus, and therefore the publication of new archaeological materials is a great success among historians. The Kurdzhip burial mound is widely known outside of Adygea; the objects found in it are kept in the Hermitage, but I have never read about this burial place.

The novelty of this research work is that this is the first detailed description of this vessel and the approximate time of its origin.

Goal of the work: Based on available sources, determine the time frame to which the vessel from the burial ground belongs.

Job objectives:

determine the time frame of the found vessel;

trace the development of the economy and social relations at a given time;

increase interest in ancient culture.

Research methods: studying archaeological materials and reports, studying monographs and articles on archeology, working with specialists - archaeologists.

General characteristics of sources:

In my work I used the monographs of P.W. Outleva “Meots - the ancestors of the Circassians”, V.N. Ratushnyak “Essays on the history of Kuban from ancient times to 1920”, H.K. Casanova “Culture of the Circassians” (according to the testimony of European authors).

I also considered articles by N.G. Lovpache “Evolution of forms and artistic means in Meotian ceramics”, P.A. Ditler “Meotian burial ground in the quarry of the Maykop brick factory No. 2”, L.M. Noskova, S.P. Kozhukhov “Meotian burials of the Novo-Vochepshisky burial ground”, M.A.Meretukova “Settlements among the Circassians.”

Archival material . During the research, I read the reports of A.M. Leskova et al. “Report on the work of the Caucasian archaeological expedition of the GMINV in 1984,” which was found in sufficient quantities on the Internet.

Main part

Since the Early Iron Age, thanks to ancient Greek and eastern written sources, we have become aware of the names of the tribes and nationalities that inhabited the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and the Northwestern Caucasus. In the steppe zone, ancient authors call the Cimmerians, then the Scythians and their eastern neighbors - the Sauromatians. The indigenous population of the Eastern Azov region, the Kuban region and the Trans-Kuban region (Adygea) were the tribes of the Meots; on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus there were related tribes of the Kerkets, Torets, Achaeans, and Zikhs. The term "Meotians" is a collective term that unites a number of smaller tribes.P.U. Outlev, based on the materials of the Nart epic, believes that the word “Meots” in its full form “Meuthjokh” meant “a sea that is muddier.” The proposed interpretation of the name of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, as P.U. Outlev writes, sheds some light on the question of the origin of the ethnic name “Meota” and the toponymic Meuthjokh.

Meotians are the indigenous population of the North-Western Caucasus, their culture developed in the Trans-Kuban region in the 8th - first halfVIIcenturies BC. Most Caucasian experts classify the Meotians as Caucasian tribes. The study of languages, toponymy and onomastics of the North-Western Caucasus gives grounds to attribute the ancient Meotian population to the Adyghe-Kabardian ethnic massif, which is consistent with archaeological sites testifying to the deep originality of the formation and development of the Meotian culture and its connection with subsequent cultures of the medieval Circassians.

The history of the Maeotian tribes spans more than a millennium and is divided into several stages, allowing us to trace the development of their economy and social relations.

The Meotians and Sindians were first mentioned by ancient Greek authors of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. More complete and detailed information on the history, geography and ethnography of the North-West Caucasus is available in the work of the Greek geographer Strabo (lived at the turn of our era). Strabo has a list of numerous Maeotian tribes, and among the Maeotians he includes the Sindians, as well as the tribes of the Caucasian coast. In addition to ancient authors, the name of the Meotian tribes was preserved for us by dedicatory inscriptions from the territory of the Bosporan state. The middle and lower reaches of the Kuban River, the Eastern Azov region, the Taman Peninsula and the Trans-Kuban region were occupied by settled agricultural tribes, united by a common name - Meotians.

Having studied enough specialized literature and read several archaeological reports, I came to the conclusion that my find is very similar to the finds found in the Novo-Vochepshisky burial ground (see Appendix 2). All I needed was confirmation from experts in the field of archaeology. Then my teacher and I turned to Nurbiy Aslanovich Pocheskhov, dean of the Faculty of History at ASU, and the faculty staff kindly helped to detail my find. Lovpache Nurbiy Gazizovich detailed the find I found toV – VIIcenturies University teachers advised me to read literature that would help me write this work.

Invasion of Alan nomads inI- IIcenturies forced the Meotians to leave for the Trans-Kuban region, where they, together with other Meotian tribes and tribes of the Black Sea coast who lived here, laid the foundations for the formation of the future Circassian (Adyghe) people.

During this era, the ancestors of modern Circassians acquired the skills of mining and processing iron. This made it possible to cultivate large areas, clear forests for arable land, and manufacture tools and weapons. The primitive hoe method of cultivating the fields gave way to plowing technology, and the grown grain was harvested using iron sickles. But threshing was carried out primitively: livestock was driven along a current, and it trampled grain from ripe ears. Millet becomes the leading grain crop.

Another leading branch of the economy was animal husbandry. They raised large and small cattle, horses and pigs. The importance of horse breeding has increased, especially in the steppe regions of the Northwestern Caucasus. Fishing and hunting still took place, as evidenced by the finds of bronze figurines of deer, bear, wild boar, mountain goat and birds.

Craft production has risen to new levels. Blacksmiths improved the art of the most ancient Caucasian metallurgists: iron products - weapons and tools - were produced using the cheese-blowing method. Earthen pits served as ovens, in the lower part of which there were passages for air flow. After heating with a fire, the pits were loaded with a mixture of ore and charcoal. This is how iron was smelted. Blacksmiths produced armor, parts of horse harnesses, and bronze jewelry; jewelers – highly artistic gold and silver items.

Ceramic masters firmly mastered the art of making dishes on a potter's wheel. Weaving, which was of a domestic nature, was widespread (woolen fabrics were made).

Although the economy of the Meotians and Sinds was of a subsistence nature, exchange and trade relations were still expanding. Trade caravans from Meotia and Sindia rushed to the northwest - in the region of eastern Europe, to the banks of the Dnieper and Danube. They exported grain, especially wheat, livestock products, fish, bronze and leather goods. They imported painted ceramics, expensive gold jewelry, olive oil, wine, weapons and spices. Trade and barter ties were also maintained with the countries of Transcaucasia, Asia Minor and Asia Minor, and the Middle East (Urartian swords and glass beads from Phenicia, Syria and Egypt were found in the mounds).

During the same period, the main elements of men’s costume, which later became common in the Caucasus, arose: Circassian coat, beshmet, leggings, and belt. Despite all the difficulties and dangers, the Meotians retained their ethnic independence, their language and the characteristics of their ancient culture.

Particular consideration should be given to funeral rituals. The buried lie either extended (most) on their backs, or in a crouched position on their sides. They were accompanied by a variety of molded vessels such as pots, ladles and pots. A group of burials of warriors with horses stands out, or more precisely, with the skin of a horse with the head and lower parts of the legs with hooves left with it. Here with them there are usually bits and cheekpieces, and horse harness plaques. The most common weapons were iron arrowheads and spears, iron knives, axes, and bimetallic daggers.

The information that I was writing this work became known at school. And soon Svetlana Lemesheva, a 6th grade student, brought two arrowheads that she and her father found in the same place (see Appendix 3). Now there is no doubt that this was the burial of a warrior. If a Meot died without having time to take retribution, his relatives had to do it. It was believed that a Meot could not enter the “kingdom of the dead” while his enemy was alive. This imposed special obligations on all of his relatives, without exception, because the safe entry of the deceased “into the land of the dead” was their most important task during the burial ritual. It is a pity that the remaining relics were so irretrievably lost.

In the IV - V centuries. The Meotians, like the Bosporus as a whole, experienced the onslaught of Turkic nomadic tribes, in particular the Huns. The Huns defeated the Alans and drove them to the mountains and foothills of the Central Caucasus, and then destroyed part of the cities and villages of the Bosporan kingdom. The political role of the Meotians in the North-West Caucasus faded away, and their ethnic name disappeared in the 5th century. As well as the ethnonyms of the Sinds, Kerkets, Heniokhs, Achaeans and a number of other tribes. They are being replaced by one big name - Zikhia (zihi), the rise of which began withIcentury AD It is they, according to domestic and foreign scientists, who are beginning to play the main role in the unification process of the ancient Circassian (Adyghe) tribes. Over time, their territory expanded significantly. But this is the story of completely different tribes.

Conclusion

The tragedy - or greatness - of the mountain people was that they never in their history recognized foreign power over themselves. Hence the eternal struggle for self-preservation. The Meotians never in their history waged wars of conquest with the aim of seizing foreign lands - only defensive ones. That is why the life of these tribes is so interesting. It is archeology, as one of the auxiliary historical disciplines, that sheds light on the fate of this people.

In my research, I found answers to the tasks. With the help of experts, I determined the time frame of the items found. I was able to trace the economic and social life of the Meotians. I am proud that I live in a very beautiful place (see Appendix 4.5), but now I know for sure that the village of Kurdzhipskaya is also unique in that truly great tribes lived here. Bravery, intelligence, remarkable beauty: nature gave them everything, and what I especially admired in their character was a cold and noble dignity, which was never refuted and which they combined with the most chivalrous feelings and with an ardent love of national freedom.

List of sources and literature used

Monographs

P.U. Outleva. Meots are the ancestors of the Circassians / Maykop, 1989. – P.159.

V.N. Ratushnyak. Essays on the history of Kuban from ancient times to 1920. Publishing house "Soviet Kuban", Krasnodar, 1996. - P.656.

H.K. Casanova. Circassian culture (according to European authors). Publishing house "Elbrus", Nalchik, 1993. - P. 256.

I.V. Zhernoklev, E.I. Zhernoklev. Maykop district / Tula village, 1988. - 142 p.

Strabo. Geography in 17 books. M.: 1964. – P.405.

Science articles

N.G. Lovpace. Evolution of forms and artistic means in Meotian ceramics // Issues of Archeology. Maykop, 1981. pp. 154-192.

P. A. Ditler. Meotian burial ground in the quarry of the Maikop brick factory No. 2 // Collection of works on the archeology of Adygea. Maykop, 1977. – pp. 167-216.

L.M. Noskova, S.P. Kozhukhova. Meotian burials of the Novo-Vochepshisky burial ground // Collection of works on archeology. Maykop, 1989.

M.A. Meretukov. Settlements among the Circassians // Collection of articles on the ethnography of Adygea. – Maykop, 1975. – P.37-51.

Archival material

A.M. Leskova and others. Report on the work of the Caucasian archaeological expedition of the State Museum of Natural History in 1984 // Archive of the Institute of Academy of Sciences of the USSR. R-I No. 10482, a, b.

P. A. Ditler. Meotian burial ground in the quarry of the Maykop brick factory No. 2. 1977. – pp. 167-216.

Meretukov M.A. Settlements among the Circassians // Collection of articles on the ethnography of Adygea. – Maykop, 1975. – P.37-51.