Sarmatian shoulder-arm tribal tattoo

SARMATIAN CULTURE AND HISTORY

Accomplished horse-breeders and horsemen, Sarmatians were nomadic Indo-European tribes closely related to the Scythians. Originating in the southern Ural region, the Sarmatian expansion put an end to Scythian rule in the North Black Sea area in the 3rd century BC. The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus describes Sarmatian tribesmen as “tall and handsome, their hair inclines to blond; by the ferocity of their gaze they inspire dread. They delight in danger and warfare.”
Sarmatians were troublesome neighbors of the Roman Empire. Ovid complained about his difficult life in exile on the “barbarous coast,” susceptible to attacks by marauding nomads “strong in horses and strong in far-flung arrows.” Equipped with long swords, Sarmatians wore pointed helms and scale armor made of splintered horn or horse hoofs, later replaced by metal plates and rings. The military prowess of the Sarmatians was of such merit that a manual on Sarmatian warfare was issued to the Roman legions.
Turning the nomadic problem into part of the solution, Roman military leaders recruited Sarmatian cavalry into the Roman cohorts. In the 2nd century, 5,500 Sarmatians were sent to Britain by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. According to some historians, stories of these armored horsemen contributed to the legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. A fascinating feature of Sarmatian society was the high status accorded to women. Sarmatian warrior queens were renowned in antiquity. Herodotus affirmed that the Sarmatians were descendants of the Amazons and Scythians, whose women “frequently hunted on horseback with their husbands; in war taking the field; and wore the very same dress as the men.” The Sarmatian tradition had it that “no girl should wed till she had killed a man in battle.” In ancient kurgans, sumptuous female burials often included swords and arrowheads together with elegant jewelry inlaid with dazzling gems in the Hellenistic style. Eastern campaigns of Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) spread Greek influences throughout his huge empire and exposed local artisans to new styles. The composite style that emerged is known as Hellenistic.
The Sarmatians were overrun by the invasions of the Goths and Huns in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The intense multi-ethnic encounter on the steppe resulted in a complex mix of cultures and artistic styles, evident in the artifacts found in the region.
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SARMATIAN GOLDEN TREASURE

The Animal Style of the Hellenistic period differs from the earlier decorative approache developed by Scythian artisans whose animal designs resemble heraldic representations. As Sarmatian tribes became the masters of the steppe, the artists began to focus on scenes of struggle rather than on individual animals, bringing into their creations the dynamism and the tension of a mortal combat between predators and their victims.
Vessels with animal-shaped handles were known to many ancient cultures from China to Persia. Appearing on the artifacts of the Sarmatian period, animal-shaped handles may be interpreted as a sign of the Iranian influence. Moreover, zoomorphic handles were typical of Sarmatian culture. Animals were positioned with their heads looking towards the rim in order to protect the contents. The Sarmatians believed that animal images formed a protection against evil spirits.
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