The legal nature of royal power in the Scythian state

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal nature of royal power in Scythia in the context of legal, political and sacred factors that determined the functioning of power in Scythian society. The author focuses on the legal basis for the legitimation of royal power, the peculiarities of its functioning and its relationship with elements of the sacred and customary order, namely, what legal principles underpinned his rule and what role customary, military and religious elements played in the legal justification of his status. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the sources of the ancient tradition, primarily the works of Herodotus, Strabo, Justin, as well as a number of works by Ukrainian and foreign scholars, that provided a holistic picture of ideas about the law, power and political organisation of the Scythians. The article proves that the Scythian king was not only a military leader, but also served as a supreme judge, administrator and sacred mediator between the gods and people. In addition, the author singles out the diplomatic function of the king, since he was the only legitimate representative of Scythia at the international level. It was he who concluded agreements, received ambassadors, gave gifts and demonstrated his greatness through interstate ceremonies. In other words, the royal power in Scythia did not have clearly delineated branches, but concentrated all key powers, which gives it the character of a centralised traditional legal model of governance. The head of the Scythian state mainly relied on customary law, which was transmitted orally, regulated relations within the tribe and supported the authority of the ruler. The king acted not only as a guarantor of these norms, but also as their living embodiment, which determined the close connection of law with the personality of the monarch. At the same time, the work emphasises that this form of government was fully consistent with the social structure of nomadic society, in which the need for quick decision-making and the authority of force were combined with deep ritual and religious meaning. Thus, the legal nature of royal power in Scythia is a phenomenon that was formed on the basis of a synthesis of customary legal norms, sacred ideology and political and military needs, and reflects the specifics of statehood in the Scythian environment. This model of government corresponds to the political and legal features of nomadic civilisation and is an important component in understanding the development of archaic forms of statehood.