The Saka were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who historically inhabited the northern and eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin. For the Achaemenids, there were three types of Sakas: the Sakā tayai paradraya ("beyond the sea", presumably between the Greeks and the Thracians on the Western side of the Black Sea), the Sakā tigraxaudā ("with pointed caps"), the Sakā haumavargā ("Hauma drinkers", furthest East). In the 2nd century BC, many Sakas were driven by the Yuezhi from the steppe into Sogdia and Bactria and then to the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, where they were known as the Indo-Scythians Other Sakas invaded the Parthian Empire, eventually settling in Sistan, while others may have migrated to the Dian Kingdom in Yunnan, China. In the Tarim Basin and Taklamakan Desert region of Northwest China, they settled in Khotan, Yarkand, Kashgar and other places, which were at various times vassals to greater powers, such as Han China and Tang China. (Credit: Saka, Wikipedia) [Image 1: Types of Sakas, According to Achaemenids, Soldiers of the Achaemenid army, Xerxes I tomb detail, circa 480 BC. 2. Captured Saka king Skunkha, from Mount Behistun, Iran, Achaemenid stone relief from the reign of Darius I (r. 522–486 BC) 3. The Sakas as subjects of the Achaemenid Empire on the statue of Darius I, circa 500 BC. 4. Silver coin of the Indo-Scythian King Azes II (ruled c. 35–12 BC). Note the royal tamga on the coin. ] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Xerxes_detail_three_types_of_Sakas_cleaned_up.jpg ) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Behistun.Inscript.Skunkha.jpg ) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Darius_I_Statue_Sakas.jpg ) ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coin_of_Azes_II.jpg )
Saka and Scythians
