The Iazyges (), singular Ἰάζυξ. were an ancient Sarmatian tribe that traveled westward in BC from Central Asia to the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s of modern Ukraine. In BC, they moved into modern-day Hungary and Serbia near the Dacian steppe between the Danube and Tisza rivers, where they adopted a semi- sedentary lifestyle. In their early relationship with Rome, the Iazyges were used as a buffer state between the Romans and the Dacians; this relationship later developed into one of overlord and client state, with the Iazyges being nominally sovereign subjects of Rome. Throughout this relationship, the Iazyges carried out raids on Roman land, which often caused punitive expeditions to be made against them. Almost all of the major events of the Iazyges, such as the two Dacian Wars—in both of which the Iazyges fought, assisting Rome in subjugating the Dacians in the first war and conquering them in the second—are connected with war. Another such war is the Marcomannic War that occurred between 169 and 175, in which the Iazyges fought against Rome but were defeated by Marcus Aurelius and had severe penalties imposed on them. Map after Ptolemy's Geographia (Burney MS 111, f

Map after Ptolemy's Geographia (Burney MS 111, f

Culture

Although the Iazyges were nomads before their migration to the Tisza plain, they became semi-sedentary once there, and lived in towns, although they migrated between these towns to allow their cattle to graze. Their language was a dialect of Old Iranian, which was quite different from most of the other Sarmatian dialects of Old Iranian. According to the Roman writer

Gaius Valerius Flaccus Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the " Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic.Pomponius Mela, threw themselves from a rock.

Etymology

The Iazyges' name was Latinized as ' () or ', or sometimes as '. Their name was also occasionally spelled as ''Iazuges''. Several corruptions of their name, such as ', ', ', and ', existed. Other modern English forms of their name are ', ', ', and '. The root of the name may be

Proto-Iranian Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Pashto, Persian, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandarani ...

''*yaz-'', "to sacrifice", perhaps indicating a caste or tribe specializing in religious sacrifices. According to Peter Edmund Laurent, a 19th-century French classical scholar, the Iazyges Metanastæ, a warlike Sarmatian race, which had migrated during the reign of the Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, and therefore received the name of "Metanastæ", resided in the mountains west of the Theiss ( Tisza) and east of the Gran ( Hron) and Danube. The Greek Metanastæ ( gr, Μετανάσται) means "migrants". The united Scythians and Sarmatæ called themselves Iazyges, which Laurent connected with

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

(''językŭ'', "tongue, language, people").

Burial traditions

The graves made by the Iazyges were often rectangular or circular, although some were ovoid, hexagonal, or even octagonal. They were flat and were grouped like burials in modern cemeteries. Most of the graves' access openings face south, southeast, or southwest. The access openings are between and wide. The graves themselves are between and in diameter. After their migration to the Tisza plain, the Iazyges were in serious poverty. This is reflected in the poor furnishings found at burial sites, which are often filled with clay vessels, beads, and sometimes brooches. Iron daggers and swords were very rarely found in the burial site. Their brooches and arm-rings were of the La Tène type, showing the Dacians had a distinct influence on the Iazyges. Later tombs showed an increase in material wealth; tombs of the 2nd to early 4th century had weapons in them 86% of the time and armor in them 5% of the time. Iazygian tombs along the Roman border show a strong Roman influence.

Diet

Before their migration into the Pannonian Basin, while still living north of Tyras, on the north-western coast of the Black Sea, the geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

states that their diet consisted largely of "honey, milk, and cheese". After their migration, the Iazyges were cattle breeders; they required salt to preserve their meat but there were no salt mines within their territory. According to Cassius Dio, the Iazyges received grain from the Romans. The Iazyges used hanging, asymmetrical, barrel-shaped pots that had uneven weight distribution. The rope used to hang the pot was wrapped around the edges of the side collar; it is believed the rope was tied tightly to the pot, allowing it to spin in circles. Due to the spinning motion, there are several theories about the pot's uses. It is believed the small hanging pots were used to ferment alcohol using the seeds of touch-me-not balsam (''

Impatiens noli-tangere ''Impatiens noli-tangere'' (touch-me-not balsam; Latin ''impatiēns'' "impatient" or "not allowing", and ''nōlī tangere'' "do not touch": literally "be unwilling to touch") is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Balsaminaceae found in dam ...

''), and larger hanging pots were used to churn butter and make cheese.

Military

The Iazyges wore heavy armor, such as Sugarloaf helms, and scale armor made of iron, bronze, horn, or horse hoof, which was sewn onto a leather gown so the scales would partially overlap. They used long, two-handed lances called

Contus The kontos ( el, κοντός) was the Greek name for a type of long wooden cavalry lance used by the Iranians, especially Achaemenid successors' cavalry, most notably cataphracts (''Grivpanvar''). It was also used by the Germanic warriors of ...

; they wielded these from horses, which they barded. Their military was exclusively cavalry. They are believed to have used saddle blankets on their horses. Although it was originally Gaulish, it is believed the Iazyges used the Carnyx, a trumpet-like wind instrument.

Religion

One of the Iazygian towns, Bormanon, is believed to have had hot springs because settlement names starting with "Borm" were commonly used among European tribes to denote that the location had hot springs, which held religious importance for many

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

tribes. It is not known, however, whether the religious significance of the hot springs was passed on to the Iazyges with the concept itself. The Iazyges used horse-tails in their religious rituals.

Economy

When the Iazyges migrated to the plain between the Tisza and the Danube, their economy suffered severely. Many explanations have been offered for this, such as their trade with the Pontic Steppe and Black Sea being cut off and the absence of any mineable resources within their territory making their ability to trade negligible. Additionally, Rome proved more difficult to raid than the Iazyges' previous neighbors, largely due to Rome's well-organized army. The Iazyges had no large-scale organized production of goods for most of their history. As such, most of their trade goods were gained via small-scale raids upon neighboring peoples, although they did have some incidental horticulture. Several pottery workshops have been found in Banat, which was within the territory of the Iazyges, close to their border with Rome. These pottery workshops were built from the late 3rd century and have been found at Vršac–Crvenka, Grădinari–Selişte, Timişoara–Freidorf, Timişoara–Dragaşina,

Hodoni Satchinez (formerly only Chinez; hu, Temeskenéz; german: Knees; rom, Ogav-Chinizitican; sr, Кнез, Knez) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bărăteaz, Hodoni and Satchinez. Name History The firs ...

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; german: Pantschowa; hu, Pancsova; ro, Panciova; sk, Pánčevo) is a city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on ...

, Dolovo, and Izvin şi Jabuca. The Iazyges' trade with the Pontic Steppe and Black Sea was extremely important to their economy; after the Marcomannic War, Marcus Aurelius offered them the concession of movement through Dacia to trade with the

Roxolani The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( grc, Ροξολανοι , ; la, Rhoxolānī) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), a ...

, which reconnected them with the Pontic Steppe trade network. This trade route lasted until 260, when the Goths took over Tyras and Olbia, cutting off both the Roxolani's and the Iazyges' trade with the Pontic Steppe. The Iazyges also traded with the Romans, although this trade was smaller in scale. While there are Roman bronze coins scattered along the entirety of the Roman Danubian Limes, the highest concentration of them appear in the Iazyges' territory.

Imports

Because the Iazyges had no organized production for most of their history, imported pottery finds are sparse. Some goods, such as bronze or silver vessels, amphorae, terracotta wares, and lamps are extremely rare or nonexistent. Some amphorae and lamps have been found in Iazygian territory, often near major river crossings near the border with Rome, but the location of the sites make it impossible to determine whether these goods are part of an Iazygain site, settlement, or cemetery; or merely the lost possessions of Roman soldiers stationed in or near the locations. The most commonly found imported ware was '' Terra sigillata''. At Iazygian cemeteries, a single complete ''terra sigillata'' vessel and a large number of fragments have been found in Banat. '' Terra sigillata'' finds in Iazygian settlements are confusing in some cases; it can sometimes be impossible to determine the timeframe of the wares in relation to its area and thus impossible to determine whether the wares came to rest there during Roman times or after the Iazyges took control. Finds of ''terra sigillata'' of an uncertain age have been found in Deta, Kovačica–Čapaš, Kuvin, Banatska Palanka,

, Vršac, Zrenjanin–Batka, Dolovo, Delibata, Perlez, Aradac,

Botoš Botoš (; hu, Botos) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The village has a Serb ethnic majority (89.43%) and its population numberi ...

, and Bočar. Finds of ''terra sigillata'' that have been confirmed to having been made the time of Iazygian possession but of uncertain date have been found in Timișoara–Cioreni,

, Iecea Mică, Timișoara–Freidorf,

Satchinez Satchinez (formerly only Chinez; hu, Temeskenéz; german: Knees; rom, Ogav-Chinizitican; sr, Кнез, Knez) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bărăteaz, Hodoni and Satchinez. Name History The firs ...

, Criciova, Becicherecul Mic, and Foeni–Seliște. The only finds of ''terra sigillata'' whose time of origin is certain have been found in Timișoara–Freidorf, dated to the 3rd century AD. Amphorae fragments have been found in Timișoara–Cioreni, Iecea Mică, Timișoara–Freidorf, Satchinez, and

Biled Biled ( hu, Billéd; german: Billed) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Biled. It also included two other villages until 2004, when they were split off to form the commune of Șandra. Geography Biled is lo ...

; all of these are confirmed to be of Iazygian origin but none of them have definite chronologies. In

Tibiscum Tibiscum (''Tibisco'', ''Tibiscus'', ''Tibiskon'') was a Dacian town mentioned by Ptolemy, later a Roman castra and municipium. The ruins of the ancient settlement are located in Jupa, Caraș-Severin County, Romania. See also * Dacian dav ...

, an important Roman and later Iazygian settlement, only a very low percent of pottery imports were imported during or after the 3rd century. The pottery imports consisted of ''terra sigillata'', amphorae, glazed pottery, and stamped white pottery. Only 7% of imported pottery was from the "late period" during or after the 3rd century, while the other 93% of finds were from the "early period", the 2nd century or earlier. Glazed pottery was almost nonexistent in Tibiscum; the only finds from the early period are a few fragments with Barbotine decorations and stamped with "''CRISPIN(us)''". The only finds from the late period are a handful of glazed bowl fragments that bore relief decorations on both the inside and the outside. The most common type of amphorae is the

Dressel 24 similis The Dressel family history begins with Benedictus de Benehusin, who lived in the middle of the 11th Century. He was a free noble vassal of the abbot of Hersfeld monastery in Hessen. He gave his first name to his estate, which was originally called ...

; finds are from the time of rule of Hadrian to the late period. An amphora of type

Carthage LRA 4 Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

dated between the 3rd and 4th century AD has been found in Tibiscum-Iaz and an amphora of type Opaiţ 2 has been found in Tibiscum-Jupa.

Geography

Records of eight Iazygian towns have been documented; these are

Uscenum Uscenum or Véskenon (Ancient Greek: Οὔσκενον / Οὔεσκενον.) was an ancient city mentioned by Ptolemy. It was located between the Middle Danube and the Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central ...

Bormanum Bormanum ( Ancient Greek: Βόρμανον) was an ancient city mentioned by Ptolemy. It was located between the Middle Danube and the Tisza River, in what was considered the territory of the Iazyges Metanastæ. References Sarmatians

, Abieta,

Trissum Trissúm (Ancient Greek: Τρισσόν) was an ancient city mentioned by Ptolemy. It was located between the Danube, Middle Danube and the Tisza, Tisza River, in what was considered the territory of Iazyges, Metanasian Iazyges. References