Siracena ( grc-gre, Σιρακηνή) is the alleged capital settlement or village of the tribe of

Siraces The Siraces ( gr, Sirakoi, lat, Siraci, also ''Siraceni'' and ''Seraci'' ) were a hellenized Sarmatian tribe that inhabited Sarmatia Asiatica; the coast of Achardeus at the Black Sea north of the Caucasus Mountains, Siracena is mentioned by Taci ...

, a powerful, hellenized

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

tribe on the steppe. It was ruled by the kings of the Siraces, most notably

Aripharnes Aripharnes ( fl. 310–309 BC) or Arypharnasha the Thataean was ruler of the Sarmatian tribe of Siraces and took part in the First Bosporan Civil War of 310-309 between king Satyros II and his brother Eumelos, a pretender to the throne. At first ...

, who engaged in the

Bosporan Civil War The Bosporan Civil War was a war of succession that happened in the Bosporan Kingdom somewhere between 311 and 308 BCE and lasted for about a year. The casus belli was the death of archon Paerisades I, whose sons disputed the succession. The ...

of 309 BC. The exact location of this settlement is unknown, but it is described as being on the Thatis River (a tributary to the

Kuban Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...

Fourth Century BC

The city was besieged by Bosporan and Scythian forces during the Bosporan succession war because Aripharnes had sided with

Eumelos Eumelus of Bosporus (, fl. 309–304 BC) was a Spartocid ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom and a son of Paerisades. Eumelus was the brother of Satyrus II (not to be confused with his great-grandfather, Satyrus I, another Bosporan ruler) and Prytani ...

, the pretender to the Bosporan throne. It was besieged particularly by Satyrus II, ''then'' the ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom, and his mercenary captain Meniscus who fought with great valor during the

Siege of Siracena The Siege of Siracena was a Bosporan siege led by Satyrus II and Meniscus on the fortified capital city of the Siraces, Siracena, that occurred in 309 BC during the First Bosporan Civil War. The Siraces were a hellenized Sarmatian tribe that had s ...

. The settlement withstood the siege all of its duration.

Layout

The city was situated on the Thatis river and was encircled by it. It was surrounded by cliffs and thick forest and was only accessible through two artificial entry ways. One side had the royal castle and was heavily defended with high wooden towers. Whilst the other side was in swamp land and had been fortified with wooden

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

References

{{Reflist Iranian archaeological sites Sarmatians