Re: Scythians and Sarmations - GOLD OF THE NOMADS

[Plumpett@aol.com]

Dear Laurel -- 

You wrote "European armies were only capable of moving in slow masses ".

It wasn't the " speed " alone that set the tribes of the steppes apart !

The Sarmatians were the inventors of Chain Mail and the Stirrup -- both gave 
tremendous advantages in combat ! 

The steppe tribes were very well armed and used  double recurve bows of 
tremendous power and short length when compared to the European longbows . 
They were also armed with long spears , long and short swords , axes and 
armor , etc .

Also , I wouldn't leap to any conclusion regarding ""( I have wondered 
whether that reddish hair could have been traced back to some poor woman 
captured in a Viking raid and traded eastward.) "" The Sarmations were BLOND 
according to the writers
of antiquity -- among their neighbors were the Finns , etc.; thus red hair is 
NOT indicative of any social status or origin !!

I have not studied the MONGOLS per se , however , the Saumatian women and 
other
women  of the steppes were often buried with their weapons  ; often went into 
combat alongside their men or alone -- they were the direct descendents of 
the women of the Greek Amazon legends !! ( Herodatus IV, 110-117 ).

"Only after killing an enemy were they allowed to marry !"  (Jettmar VI , 56 )

I too found Harold Lamb to be a remarkable author .

His book on Hannibal was among the very first additions to my personal 
library many decades ago .

Best regards ,
Joe Greigg ( William B. Sinclair - England/Wales 1835 )
Wilmington, Delaware , USA
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