The Aspurgiani (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: or ) were an ancient people, a tribe of the

Maeotae The Maeotians (; ; ) were an ancient people dwelling along the Sea of Azov, which was known in antiquity as the " Maeotian marshes" or "Lake Maeotis".James, Edward Boucher"Maeotae" and "Maeotis Palus"in the ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geogr ...

dwelling along east side of the Strait of Kerch along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. They seem to be identical with the " Asturicani" of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

(v. 9. § 7). The Aspurgiani inhabited the region called Sindica, between Phanagoria and Gorgippia, among the Maeotae, Sindi,

Dandarii The Dandarii or Dandaridae were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among ...

Toreatae The Toreatae (Greek: , Strabo xi. 2. 11) or Toretae (Greek: , Steph. B. ''s. v.''; Dionys. Per. 682; Plin. vi. 5; Mela, i. 2; Avien. ''Orb. Terr.'' 867) were a tribe of the Maeotae in Asiatic Sarmatia. Strabo describes them as living among the M ...

, Agri,

Arrechi The Arrechi (Greek: ) were an ancient tribe of the Maeotae, on the east coast of the Palus Maeotis. (Strabo xi. 2. 11; Steph. B. ''s. v.''; Plin. vi. 7.) Strabo places them among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Tarpetes, Obidiace ...

Tarpetes The Tarpetes were an ancient people who once lived along the Maeotian marshes Palus Maeotis, in present-day Russia. The Tarpetes were one of many groups in that area that vanished, leaving little or no trace. Strabo describes them living among th ...

Obidiaceni The Obidiaceni were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi (people), Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri (Maeotae), Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurg ...

Sittaceni The Sittaceni were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others (x ...

and

Dosci The Dosci (Doschi) - were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi (people), Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri (Maeotae), Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittacen ...

, among others. (Strab. xi. 2. 11). They were among the Maeotic tribes whom King Polemon I of Pontus and the Bosporus, in the reign of Roman Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, attempted to subdue; however, they took him prisoner and put him to death. (Strab. xi. p. 495, xii. p. 556; Steph. B. ''s. v.''; see Ritter's speculations on the name, in connection with the origin of the name of Asia, Vorhalle, pp. 296, foil.). Scholars often attribute artifacts found in the Bosporus and Gorgippia, which featured the Sun god or its symbols, to the Aspurgiani tribes, indicating their Iranian descent. These tribes were first mentioned in Strabo's works as the group who killed Polemo when he launched a treacherous attack. An account cited that these tribes were more of a political party or a military colony rather than a tribe, having been founded by a person called Aspurgus, who once was a king of the

Bosporan kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (; ), was an ancient Greco-Scythians, Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, centered in the present-day ...

References

*
Strabo's book 11 on-line
Ancient peoples of Russia Ancient Circassian tribes {{Russia-hist-stub