13. The Nomad Queen Who Brought the Career of a Great Conqueror to an End
Queen Tomiri (flourished 500s BC) was ruler of the Massagetae, a nomadic confederation that stretched across the Central Asian Steppe from China’s borders to east of the Caspian Sea. A formidable warrior queen, she is credited with defeating King Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Dynasty that ruled the first Persian Empire. Tomiri brought the illustrious career of the King of Kings, as Cyrus came to be known, and his brilliant career of uninterrupted conquests to a screeching halt in 530 BC.
According to ancient sources, the Massagetae were Iranian-speaking nomads who led a hardy pastoral life on the Eurasian Steppe. They made their living tending their herds most of the time, interspersed with raids into the surrounding settled lands bordering the Steppe. Their predation eventually grew too bothersome for Cyrus, who had recently founded the Persian Empire, and whose realm now encompassed many of the territories being raided. So he led an army into the Steppe to bring the nomads to heel, little knowing that his expedition would end in disaster, with Tomri gloating as she exacted vengeance upon his remains.
