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Pythagoras’ Greed Cup and Other Lesser-Known Ancient World Facts

Khalid Elhassan July 31, 2020 34 min

Roman Empire - Roman emperor — The assassination of Caligula. Quora

22. An Ancient Merry Chase Across the Steppe

Darius crossing the Bosporus at the start of the Scythian Expedition. Wikimedia

After assembling a huge army to settle the Scythians’ hash once and for all, Persia’s King Darius I launched an invasion along the western Black Sea coast, and into today’s southern Ukraine and Russia. It was one of the ancient world’s greatest attempts to subdue troublesome Steppe nomads. It failed when the Scythians adopted the simple expedient of retreating into the vastness of the Steppe, taking their families and herds with them.

Avoiding the decisive pitched battle Darius sought, the Scythians’ King Idanthyrsus ordered his men to adopt scorched earth tactics in the face of the advancing invaders, and had them lay the countryside to waste. The Scythian men blocked wells and destroyed pastures while wearing down the Persian king’s forces with skirmishes and hit and run attacks.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.