- Sarmatian warrior woman
Sarmatians — a general designation for Iranian-speaking nomadic pastoral tribes. They included tribal unions of the Roxolani, Alans, Sarmatians proper, part of the Scythians, Iazyges, and others. In the 6th-4th centuries BC, they firmly established themselves in the steppe regions of the Don region, Kalmykia, the Kuban region, and the Central Ciscaucasia. In the 3rd century BC, they displaced the Scythians from the Northern Black Sea region. In the 2nd century BC, the Sarmatians began to develop the steppe regions west of the Don; by the end of the 2nd century BC — the 1st century AD, they established themselves in the Lower Dnieper region; in the 1st century BC, they penetrated the steppe interfluve of the Southern Bug and the Danube. They destroyed Greek colonies in Crimea and the Caucasus; waged wars with the states of Transcaucasia and the Roman Empire; in the 4th century AD, they were defeated by the Huns. Participating in the Great Migration of Peoples, part of the Sarmatian tribes advanced into the regions of Central and Western Europe.
"Ashkharatsuyts. 7th century." Ed. Patkanov 1877: "The following peoples live in Sarmatia: Khazars, Bushi (var. Bulkhi), Basliks (Barsils), Apshegs, Abkhazians, Royal Sarmatians, Hippophagi, Nakhchamatians, Phthirophagi, Syurikatsi, Mitrikatsi, Amazons, Alans, Kheburs (var. Khebary), Kudets, Skyumi, Argavets, Margols, Takotsi (var. Takry), Argozes, Dachans, Pinchi, Dvals, Huns, Vospurs (var. Apuls), Tsanars (who have the Alan and Tsekan passes), Tushi, Khushi, Kusty, Anthropophagi, Tskhavats, Gudamakars, Duichiki, Didotsi (var. Digoi, more correctly — Didoi), Leks, Katapastians, Agutakans, Khenuts (var. Khenuki), Shily (var. Shiby), Tchigby (Tchigi), Khely, Kaspy, Pukhi, Shirvans, Khrans (var. Kharans), Tavaspary, Khechmataki, Izhamakhi, Paskhi, Puskhi, Pikonaki, Bakans, Maskuts, near the Caspian Sea itself, where the spurs of the Caucasus reach and where the Derbend Wall, a huge fortress in the sea, is erected. To the north live the Huns, who have the city of Varachan and other cities. The King of the North is called Khagan. He is the lord of the Khazars. The Queen, the wife of the Khagan, comes from the family of the Basils. [...] Sarmatia (Asiatic) is separated from its half (European) by the eastern extremities of the Riphean Mountains, the Tanais River, the Maeotian Sea, and extends along the Caucasus Mountains near Georgia and Albania to the Caspian Sea. In Sarmatia are the Hippian Mountains (‛Ιππικ), the Ceraunian Mountains (Κεραύνια), and others, and many rivers, among which is the Itil with 70 branches (sources), on the banks of which the Basil people fortified themselves."
The ancient Scythians and Sarmatians were genetically descendants of the Indo-Iranian block of Indo-Europeans. The Scythians most likely belonged 50% to haplogroup R1a. There is a high probability that the Scythians also had a small number of representatives of R1b and, to a lesser extent, G1, G2a2b2a, J2a, J2b2, Q1b, and T1a1a. The Sarmatians should have had the same composition of haplogroups as the Scythians, but probably without G1 and Q1b with the addition of Eastern European I2a1b and E-V13. [Maciamo Hay 2008]
VARIANT NAMES: Latin. Sarmatae, Sarmati, Saurobatae, Saurobati, Sauromaces, Sauromates, Sauromatae, Syrmatae, Syrmate, Greek. Σαρμαται, ΣαυρομΑται, Σαμαται, Συρμαται.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015
Sarmatians