Tapuri or Tapyri were a tribe in the

Medes The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

south of the Caspian Sea mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

and Arrian. Ctesias refers to the land of Tapuri between the two lands of

Cadusii The Cadusii (also called Cadusians; grc, Καδούσιοι, ''Kadoúsioi''; Latin: ''Cadusii'') were an ancient Iranian tribe that lived in the mountains between Media and the shore of the Caspian Sea. The area that the Cadusii lived in bordere ...

and

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian ...

. The name and probable habitations of the Tapuri appear, at different periods of history, to have been extended along a wide space of country from Armenia to the eastern side of the Oxus. Strabo places them alongside the Caspian Gates and Rhagae, in Parthia or between the Derbices and Hyrcani or in company with the Amardi and other people along the southern shores of the Caspian; in which last view Curtius, Dionysius, and Pliny may be considered to coincide.

in one place reckons them among the tribes of Media, and in another ascribes them to Margiana. Their name is written with some differences in different authors; thus Τάπουροι and Τάπυροι occur in Strabo; Tapuri in Pliny and Curtius; Τάπυρροι in Steph. B. sub voce There can be no doubt that the present district of

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

derives its name from them. Aelian gives a peculiar description of the Tapuri who dwelt in Media. Ptolemy refers to two different tribe with similar names. The first tribe, called Tapuri, lived in the Medes south of the Caspian Sea. The second tribe, called the

Tapurei Tapurei (Greek: Ταπούρεοι) were a tribe in Scythia intra Imaum mentioned by Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and m ...

, lived in the land of the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

. According to the ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'', the origin of the Tapurei reached the mountains of the land of Hyrcania. Some of the Tapur migrated from Parthyene to central parts of southern territories of

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

during kingdom of

Phraates I Phraates I ( xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt'') was king of the Arsacid dynasty from 170/168 BC to 165/64 BC. He subdued the Mardians, conquered their territory in the Alborz mountains, and reclaimed Hyrcania from the Seleucid Empire. He died i ...

when

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

became strong during

, he attacked to Amard (another

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

tribe) and defeated them. Then he forced them to leave southern fringes of

and replaced them with Tapur people. After this event, ancient

Tapuria Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

was established. These Tapuri clan furnished 1,000 cavalry for the

battle of Gaugamela The Battle of Gaugamela (; grc, Γαυγάμηλα, translit=Gaugámela), also called the Battle of Arbela ( grc, Ἄρβηλα, translit=Árbela), took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander the Great ...

as Achaemenid Empire Army. According to Arrian, a group of Tapurs lived among the Hyrcanians and Amards during the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

and

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

periods. Alexander obeyed the Tapurs and went to battle with Amard and defeated them. Alexander then annexed the land of Amard to the land of Tapur. Satrap Tapur was under Autophradates's rule.Alexsander dimissed Mardians and appointed as their satrap Autophradates also made satrap of the Tapurians. anabasis of alexsander. arrian (24.2.5)

References

Scythian tribes Historical Iranian peoples Iranian nomads Iron Age peoples of Asia {{Asia-hist-stub