The Rulers of the Black Sea Scythia (Chronology and Archaeology)

Written sources brought to us the names of Scythian rulers and information about their dynasties. For 7-6 centuries BC the names of Ishpakai, Bartatua/Prototius and his son Madius. By 7-4 centuries BC information about two possible Scythian royal dynasties refers: I – Spargapyphus, Likos, Gnur, Anaharsis, Savli and the victor of the Persian king Darius I – Idanfirs (Hdt. IV, 76); II – Ariapith and his sons: Skil, Orik and Oktamasade, who seized the power of Skil by killing his brother (Hdt. IV, 78-80). The names of some have been revealed archaeologically (fig. 1-3). The new variant of the reconstruction of the chronology of the Scythian rulers of the Black Sea Scythia is conditioned by the appearance of additional chronological reference points. The date of Ariapif ’s death and the coming to power over the Scythians of Scylus (about 450 B.C.), determined by the end of the issue of Scylus’ coins in Nikonia, served as a repeater for establishing the time of the reign of the Scythian basileus. The clarification of the period of reign of the Scythian kings made it possible to strengthen the attribution of archaeological monuments identified with the names of the Scythian kings known from written sources. According to the dates obtained, it is assumed that the cenotaph of the Melgunov barrow is associated with the name of Madia (fig. 4). In the Kul-Oba barrow (fig. 5) rested the Bosporan rulers: Spartok II and, perhaps, Perisad I. Ariapif and Octama-sad rested in the Solokha barrow (fig. 6), and Orik’s grave was in the Berdyansky barrow (fig. 7), in the territory of the Scythian society of his mother – a Scythian woman Opoya. In the Oguz barrow (fig. 8) is the Scythian king Atey (390 -339 BC).