Page 18 - 4331

Asia. They occupied the territory from the
Don river to the Dniester river and the lower
stream of the Danube river, from the
confluence of the Prypiat river into the
Dnieper up to the Crimea inclusive;
2) Scythia represented a complex political
formation including different tribes, which
were divided into three groups: a) the regal
Scythians; b) the Scythians-cattle-breeders
(nomads); c) the Scythians-tillers (local tribes
dependent on the Scythians;
3) the regal Scythians played a dominant role
in society, other people rendered tribute to
them. The tsar was at the head (first three of
them, then only one), his power being
hereditary. He relied on the council of elders
and warlords who headed troops. The
supreme body of power was represented by
people’s meeting (the council of the
Scythians) but later on its significance
weakened because of the tsar’s accretion of
power;
4) the most prominent events of political
history of Scythia included the war with
Persian tsar Darius I (514 y. B.C.) who
invaded Scythian lands but after considerable
losses he had to retreat, wars with the army of
Philip the Macedonian (339 y. B.C.) and
Zopirion (331 y. B.C.) that undermined the
power of Scythia and led to its decline;
5) the most well-known monuments are:
Tovsta Mohyla, Bilske settlement.
~7th cent. Greek city-states:

16