The Uxii () were a tribal confederation of non-

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

semi-

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

people who lived somewhere in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

. They were classified by

Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos (; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and ending at t ...

as among the four predatory peoples of the southwest along with the

Mardi ''Mardi: and a Voyage Thither'' is the third book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in London in 1849. Beginning as a travelogue in the vein of the author's two previous efforts, the adventure story gives way to a romance sto ...

, Sousii, and Elymaei. They raided the settled people of Iran and raised sheep. The Uxii also tolled passing armies until they were defeated by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

at the Battle of the Uxian Defile. After some time, the Uxians regained independence. Some think that the tolling was a gift tradition from the Persian kings to local tribes, and wasn't forced (especially as the need for Darius to go out of his way to pay the "toll"). Greek authors may have misinterpreted the practice or spun it to make Darius look weak.

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

policy on people such as the Uxii involved gift giving and condensing tribal confederations together and then setting up a loyal ruler for that tribe. During Alexander's conquest of Persia, the Uxians were led by Madates. They could be divided into two groups, one which lived in the plains and was sedentary and one which lived in the mountains and was nomadic. The plain Uxians surrendered to Alexander, while the Mountain Uxians demanded a toll. The division of the Uxians into a sedentary and nomadic component is similar to many other tribes of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. The Uxii may have come from

Khuzistan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

and as such are likely related to the Elymaei and Elamites. The mother of Darius III, Sisygambis, was likely Uxian in origin, and later negotiated the release of Uxian prisoners headed by Madates.

References

Ancient history of Iran Ancient peoples Nomadic groups in Eurasia Pastoralists Uxii {{Iran-stub