The Israelite Origin of the Scythians (5 of 6)
By Steven M. Collins
Brief History of the Scythians:
Many students of history have heard or read much about the history of the Assyrian and Persian Empires. However, few have been taught that the Scythians fought three major wars against Assyria and Persia and won them all.
In approximately 624 B.C., the Scythians launched a massive invasion of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Syria, Media, etc. They marched through the Holy Land and reached Egypt, but spared the Egyptians who paid tribute money to the Scythians. The Assyrian Empire, however, was “inundated” and conquered by Scythian armies. As the descendants of the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel who were driven from their homeland by Assyrian armies, the Scythians (i.e. the “Sacae” who bore the name of “Isaac” upon them) had every reason to want revenge upon Assyria. The Scythians were allied to the Babylonians in this war, although the main burden of the war apparently was borne by the Scythians, whose massive armies invaded and occupied the entire Middle East. The Encyclopaedia Britannica states simply; “Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Scythian army.”
The Scythians did not stay very long in their conquered regions. Historical sources record they stayed 10-25 years and then returned to their homelands to live. It is noteworthy that although they destroyed Assyria with great violence, Herodotus wrote that the Scythians marched through the Holy Land on their way to and from Egypt “doing no harm to anyone.” Indeed, the city of Beth-Shan in the Holy Land was renamed Scythopolis apparently in their honor, but certainly in their memory. It is at this juncture when they had entered the Holy Land in large numbers and marched as far as Egypt that the Scythians resurfaced in the Bible’s accounts. However, the Bible refers to them by their historic, Israelite tribal names instead of the Greek name of “Sacae” or “Scythians.”
There is a portion of the Bible that critics have attacked as “proving” that the Bible has internal contradictions. In fact, this very section offers profound evidence that the Bible is historically accurate. The supposed contradiction comes from the fact that while II Kings 17:18 states that all the tribe of Israel were removed from the Promised Land except for the tribe of Judah circa 721 B.C., the Bible also states that people from the expelled tribes were again present in the land approximately a century later in the reign of King Josiah of the kingdom of Judah. King Josiah led a revival in the kingdom of Judah, restoring the observance of God’s laws. II Chronicles 34:6-9 records that in Josiah’s reign, there were again present in the Promised Land people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, Naphtali and Benjamin. II Chronicles 35:17-18 clearly states that “children of Judah and Israel (i.e. the ten tribes of Israel) were both “present” at a Passover which was sponsored by King Josiah. How does one reconcile these seemingly irreconcilable passages? Easy!
Herodotus and secular history record unequivocally that the “Scythians” (the “Sacae”) invaded Mesopotamia and the Mideast from their homelands in the Black Sea region circa 620 B.C. They also record the Scythians entered the Holy Land at that time and stayed for 10-25 years. This Scythian presence in the Holy Land occurred during the reign of King Josiah of the kingdom of Judah, whose Passover celebration was attended by members of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Naphtali, Simeon, etc. who were again “present” in the territory of the former kingdom of Israel. The connection is obvious. The very people called the Scythians or Sacae by Herodotus were the same people called by their Israelite tribal names in the Bible! Far from demonstrating a biblical contradiction, the combined accounts of Herodotus and II Chronicles clearly demonstrate that the Scythian Sacae were the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel because the Bible calls these Scythians by their Hebrew tribal names! The Scythian/Israelites did not remain long in their historic tribal lands in the Holy Land, and they migrated back to the Black Sea region perhaps two decades later.
The history of the Scythians is as remarkable as it is overlooked in history texts. They were a major world power in ancient times, yet they are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts. Besides crushing the Assyrian Empire, the Scythians also twice defeated massive invasions of their homelands by the Persian Empire. The first Persian invasion occurred circa 528 BC when the famous Persian monarch, Cyrus the Great, invaded the eastern Scythian tribes who lived east of the Caspian Sea. The dominant Scythian tribe to be invaded was the Massagetae, whose ruler was the aforementioned Queen Tomyris (whose name was a form of the Israelite name “Tamar”). The Persian army was crushed and Cyrus the Great lost both his army and his head.
The second Persian invasion of Scythian territory occurred in 512 B.C when King Darius marched an army of 700,000 soldiers into Balkan Europe and attacked the Black Sea Scythians by marching into their territory via Eastern Europe. King Darius was repulsed by the Scythians, but at least Darius and most of his army survived their retreat back to Persia.
The forgotten but fascinating history of the Scythians is revealed in much greater detail in this author’s book, Israel’s Lost Empires, which can be ordered on-line at www.bibleblessings.net. ;
continued tomorrow...
Brief History of the Scythians:
Many students of history have heard or read much about the history of the Assyrian and Persian Empires. However, few have been taught that the Scythians fought three major wars against Assyria and Persia and won them all.
In approximately 624 B.C., the Scythians launched a massive invasion of Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Syria, Media, etc. They marched through the Holy Land and reached Egypt, but spared the Egyptians who paid tribute money to the Scythians. The Assyrian Empire, however, was “inundated” and conquered by Scythian armies. As the descendants of the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel who were driven from their homeland by Assyrian armies, the Scythians (i.e. the “Sacae” who bore the name of “Isaac” upon them) had every reason to want revenge upon Assyria. The Scythians were allied to the Babylonians in this war, although the main burden of the war apparently was borne by the Scythians, whose massive armies invaded and occupied the entire Middle East. The Encyclopaedia Britannica states simply; “Nineveh was captured and destroyed by the Scythian army.”
The Scythians did not stay very long in their conquered regions. Historical sources record they stayed 10-25 years and then returned to their homelands to live. It is noteworthy that although they destroyed Assyria with great violence, Herodotus wrote that the Scythians marched through the Holy Land on their way to and from Egypt “doing no harm to anyone.” Indeed, the city of Beth-Shan in the Holy Land was renamed Scythopolis apparently in their honor, but certainly in their memory. It is at this juncture when they had entered the Holy Land in large numbers and marched as far as Egypt that the Scythians resurfaced in the Bible’s accounts. However, the Bible refers to them by their historic, Israelite tribal names instead of the Greek name of “Sacae” or “Scythians.”
There is a portion of the Bible that critics have attacked as “proving” that the Bible has internal contradictions. In fact, this very section offers profound evidence that the Bible is historically accurate. The supposed contradiction comes from the fact that while II Kings 17:18 states that all the tribe of Israel were removed from the Promised Land except for the tribe of Judah circa 721 B.C., the Bible also states that people from the expelled tribes were again present in the land approximately a century later in the reign of King Josiah of the kingdom of Judah. King Josiah led a revival in the kingdom of Judah, restoring the observance of God’s laws. II Chronicles 34:6-9 records that in Josiah’s reign, there were again present in the Promised Land people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon, Naphtali and Benjamin. II Chronicles 35:17-18 clearly states that “children of Judah and Israel (i.e. the ten tribes of Israel) were both “present” at a Passover which was sponsored by King Josiah. How does one reconcile these seemingly irreconcilable passages? Easy!
Herodotus and secular history record unequivocally that the “Scythians” (the “Sacae”) invaded Mesopotamia and the Mideast from their homelands in the Black Sea region circa 620 B.C. They also record the Scythians entered the Holy Land at that time and stayed for 10-25 years. This Scythian presence in the Holy Land occurred during the reign of King Josiah of the kingdom of Judah, whose Passover celebration was attended by members of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Naphtali, Simeon, etc. who were again “present” in the territory of the former kingdom of Israel. The connection is obvious. The very people called the Scythians or Sacae by Herodotus were the same people called by their Israelite tribal names in the Bible! Far from demonstrating a biblical contradiction, the combined accounts of Herodotus and II Chronicles clearly demonstrate that the Scythian Sacae were the descendants of the ten tribes of Israel because the Bible calls these Scythians by their Hebrew tribal names! The Scythian/Israelites did not remain long in their historic tribal lands in the Holy Land, and they migrated back to the Black Sea region perhaps two decades later.
The history of the Scythians is as remarkable as it is overlooked in history texts. They were a major world power in ancient times, yet they are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts. Besides crushing the Assyrian Empire, the Scythians also twice defeated massive invasions of their homelands by the Persian Empire. The first Persian invasion occurred circa 528 BC when the famous Persian monarch, Cyrus the Great, invaded the eastern Scythian tribes who lived east of the Caspian Sea. The dominant Scythian tribe to be invaded was the Massagetae, whose ruler was the aforementioned Queen Tomyris (whose name was a form of the Israelite name “Tamar”). The Persian army was crushed and Cyrus the Great lost both his army and his head.
The second Persian invasion of Scythian territory occurred in 512 B.C when King Darius marched an army of 700,000 soldiers into Balkan Europe and attacked the Black Sea Scythians by marching into their territory via Eastern Europe. King Darius was repulsed by the Scythians, but at least Darius and most of his army survived their retreat back to Persia.
The forgotten but fascinating history of the Scythians is revealed in much greater detail in this author’s book, Israel’s Lost Empires, which can be ordered on-line at www.bibleblessings.net. ;
continued tomorrow...
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