Saspeires ( grc, Σάσπειρες, ka, სასპერები, ''sasp'erebi'', other names include Saspers, Saspines, Sapinians, and Sapirians) are a people of uncertain origin mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

. According to the most widespread theory, they are a

Kartvelian Kartvelian may refer to: * Anything coming from or related to Georgia (country) * Kartvelian languages * Kartvelian alphabet, see Georgian alphabet * Kartvelian studies * Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველ� ...

tribe, however, their origins have also been attributed to

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Cent ...

people. The toponym of modern day city

İspir İspir ( hy, Սպեր, Sper; ka, სპერი, Speri) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, on the Çoruh River. They also appear as the Sasperi, the name Sper with a Georgian prefix of place Sa- ...

and ancient region of Speri is thought by some to be derived from their name. According to Rayfield,

Diauehi Diauehi ( Georgian ''დიაოხი,'' Urartian ''Diauehi'', Greek ''Taochoi'', Armenian '' Tayk'', possibly Assyrian ''Daiaeni'',) was a tribal union located in northeastern Anatolia, that was recorded in Assyrian and Urartian sources d ...

is mentioned in the Greek records as Taochoi, but Herodotus in 450 BC refers to them as Sasperi. the name

Sper Sper may refer to: * Sper (Armenia), ancient Armenian region * Sper (Georgia), ancient Georgian principality * Sper (historical region), now part of the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey * South Pacific Electric Railway (SPER), which operates the ...

with a Georgian prefix of place Sa-, which evolved into the term Iberian. The Saspires were originally associated with the

Caucasian Iberians In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ...

and appear to have emerged from the

Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran. It ru ...

to the east. The

Alarodians Alarodians (Ancient Greek: Ἀλαρόδιοι (Alarodioi)) were tribe living in Northern Persia or Armenia during Classical antiquity. According to Herodotus, the Alarodians were part of the 18th Satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire and formed a sp ...

Colchians In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...

, and Saspires were joined in one command, and all were dressed alike. The Colchians themselves, were not classified as belonging to any

Satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

. The Colchians, however, attended the army of Xerxes as auxiliaries. The incredible number of tribes of Mount Caucasus is spoken by ancient as modern historians.Memoir of the Map of the Countries between the Euxine and the Caspian, 1788 According to some authors, they constituted a significant part of the population of the early Georgian

Kingdom of Iberia In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages w ...

and played a large role in the ethnogenesis of the Georgian nation.

References

{{Ancient Georgians Ancient peoples of Georgia (country) Tribes described primarily by Herodotus

See also

References