The Sagartians ( la, Sagartii; grc, Σαγάρτιοι ''Sagártioi''; Old Persian: 𐎠𐎿𐎥𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹 ''Asagartiya'' "Sagartian";

Elamite Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was used in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite works disappear from the archeological record ...

: 𒀾𒐼𒋼𒀀𒋾𒅀 ''Aš-šá-kar-ti-ia'', Babylonian: 𒆳𒊓𒂵𒅈𒋫𒀀𒀀 ^KUR''Sa-ga-ar-ta-a-a'') were an

ancient Iranian The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

tribe, dwelling in the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

. Their exact location is unknown; they were probably neighbors of the Parthians in northeastern Iran. According to Herodotus (1.125, 7.85) they were related to the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

(

Southwestern Iranian The Western Iranic languages are a branch of the Iranic languages, attested from the time of Old Persian (6th century BC) and Median language, Median. Languages The traditional Northwestern branch is a convention for non-Southwestern languages, ...

), but they may also have entered a political union with the Medians (

Northwestern Iranian The Western Iranic languages are a branch of the Iranic languages, attested from the time of Old Persian (6th century BC) and Median. Languages The traditional Northwestern branch is a convention for non-Southwestern languages, rather than a ...

) at some point (J. van Wesendonk in ZII 9, 1933, pp. 23f.). Ptolemy (6.2.6) locates them in

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, while Stephanus of Byzantium claims that there was a peninsula in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

called ''Sagartía''. They were nomadic pastoralists, their main weapon being the

lasso A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...

(Herodotus 7.85). It is unclear whether they are identical to the ''

Zikirti Zikirti or Zikirtu, (also: ''Zikirta'', ''Zikurti'', ''Zekertu'') was an ancient kingdom (750-521 BC), in the north of the Zagros Mountains, which comprised the easternmost part of ''Greater Mannae''. Geographically it corresponds with the modern c ...

'' mentioned by Sargon II as inhabitants of northern

Zagros The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

in the late 8th century BC. They may have been granted the district of Arbela by Median king

Cyaxares Cyaxares (Median: ; Old Persian: ; Akkadian: ; Old Phrygian: ; grc, Κυαξαρης, Kuaxarēs; Latin: ; reigned 625–585 BCE) was the third king of the Medes. Cyaxares collaborated with the Babylonians to destroy the Assyrian Empire, a ...

as a reward for their aid in the capture of

Niniveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...

.J. Markwart, ''Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran'' II, Leipzig, 1905, p. 228 According to Herodotus (3.93), the Sagartians belonged to the 14th taxation Province of the Achaemenid Empire. A Sagartian delegation appears among the tribute bearers on the

Apadana Apadana ( peo, 𐎠𐎱𐎭𐎠𐎴) is a large hypostyle hall in Persepolis, Iran. It belongs to the oldest building phase of the city of Persepolis, in the first half of the 6th century BC, as part of the original design by Darius the Gre ...

relief. Herodotus also mentioned in the seventh book of his histories that the Sagartians provided 8,000 horsemen for King Xerxes' massive army during the Persian king's invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

References

Sources

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External links

Sagartians // Livius
Historical Iranian peoples Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Iranian nomads {{MEast-hist-stub