A 'Scythian' Pick From Vaske (Gilan) and the Identity of the XVIIth Delegation at Persepolis

7/31/2019 A 'Scythian' Pick From Vaske (Gilan) and the Identity of the XVIIth Delegation at Persepolis

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Stories of long ago.

Festschrift fr Michael D. Roaf

Herausgegeben vonHeather Baker, Kai Kaniuth

und Adelheid Otto


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Zeichnung: Cornelie Wolff


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A Scythian Pick from Vaske (Gilan) andthe Identity of the XVIIth Delegation at PersepolisDaniel T. Potts

IntroductionIn 1991 M. R. Khalatbari excavated a number of Iron Age graves in a cemetery atVaske in the Rezvanshahr region of Gilan (Khalatbari 2004). Grave 3 was a roofed

cist constructed of unworked stone slabs and cobbles (2 1.2 1.25 m) built on afoundation of clay, lime and sand which contained a single individual. The richlyfurnished grave contained 25 iron objects (a sword, dagger, arrowhead, lances orspearheads and an axe), 107 bronze objects (vessels, jewellery, three mirrors, pinsand needles), 34 stone spindle-whorls and 25 ceramic vessels. One of the most in-teresting objects discovered was an iron shaft-hole pick (Fig. 1; Khalatbari 2004, Ill.10.7 and Fig. 45.7) with a pointed, though not blade-like, pickhead and a somewhatrounded and elongated protrusion extending off the poll. It measures 25.8 cm fromthe tip of the pick to the poll and is described as being 5.8 cm thick (possibly referringto the diameter of the shaft-hole measured from the exterior). The purpose of this

short note, dedicated in friendship to Michael Roaf, whom I rst met in 1973 at theBritish Institute of Persian Studies in Tehran, is to consider this and several relatednds in the belief that they can help us resolve the identity of the XVIIth Delegation

on the Apadana reliefs at Persepolis.

Fig. 1: Iron pick from Vaske grave 3 (after Kalatbari 2004, Fig. 45.7)

The Vaske pick and its relativesPicks like the one excavated at Vaske are not attested in Gilan during the earlier IronAge (Haerinck 1988) or the Achaemenid period (Haerinck 1989). Looking furthera eld, the excavator rightly compared theVaske pick to a bronze pick excavated atPersepolis (Figs. 23) that measures 24 cm in length. In his original publication of


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the Persepolis nd Schmidt noted that it was the only specimen of its kind foundin the excavations. It resembles closely the head of the royal battle-ax shown in thesouthern relief of the Treasury and in similar representations of the carrier of theroyal battle-ax and bow, that is, in the northern doorways of the Throne Hall and onthe royal tombs, adding in n. 12, The slender socketed battle-axes offered by theSogdian (?) delegation are somewhat similar (Schmidt 1957, 100 and n. 12). It isdif cult to agree with Schmidts rst parallel, i.e. between the excavated pick and theroyal weapon shown on the southern relief in the Treasury (Fig. 4). Although thereis a super cial similarity between the lunate projection on the weapon in the relief,which looks a bit like the end of an open-ended spanner or wrench, and the indentedend of the excavated pick, the very clear blade as opposed to pickhead emanatingfrom the bill of a duck, is obviously very different. On the other hand, the referenceto the weapons carried by theSogdian delegation deserves further scrutiny.

Fig. 2: Bronze pick from the Throne Hall, portico, oor, Plot GF 32(after Schmidt 1957, Pl. 78.1)

TheSogdian delegation referred to here is, more accurately speaking, the XVIIthDelegation that appears on both the North and East Apadana Stairway at Persepolis.Because of their cut-away coat, soft cap (bashlyq ) and trousers, their appearance has been termed typically Scythic (Vogelsang 1992, 157). On both stairways the lastdelegate accompanies a horse. On the North Stairway, the two delegates walking inadvance of the horse are shown grasping the handle of a shaft-hole weapon in eachhand, the righthand one quite upright, the lefthand one held at a slight angle (Fig. 5).On the East Stairway only one delegate, directly in front of the horse, is shown bran-dishing a pair of shaft-hole weapons, one in each hand. So far as one can tell froman examination of the extant photographs, these clearly resemble the excavated picksfrom Persepolis and Vaske.

Schmidt termed the weapons carried by these delegates short battle-axes(Schmidt 1953, 89). Some scholars have interpreted them as tribute (Trmpelmann1988, 88), whereas others have suggested that they were specially crafted, ceremonialweapons (Prunkxte) fashioned especially for the Great King, rather than annualtribute (Walser 1966, 94). Herzfeld thought they were examples of thesagaris (Herz-feld 1968, 363), the axe carried by the Amyrgian Scythians ( Amyrgioi Skai ) whotook part in Xerxes expedition of 480 BC against Athens ( Hist . 7.64.2). According toHerodotus, The Sakai, who areScythians, had on their heads tall caps (kyrbasias )


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erect and stiff and tapering to a point. They wore breeches and carried their nativebows, daggers, and axes which are calledsagaris . These were Amyrgian Scythians,but were called Sakai, for the Persians call all Scythians Sakai (trans. Balcer 1972,124). Trmpelmann went so far as to suggest that Herodotus account of the Amyr-gian Scythians weaponry was a description of the weapon ensemble of the XVIIthDelegation (Trmpelmann 1988, 89). Furthermore, he termed the weapon which theycarry a Pickel, sometimes translated as an ice axe, and identi ed the excavatedpick fromPersepolis (Figs. 23) as a Skythische Streitaxt, or Scythian battle-axe(Trmpelmann 1988, 87 and Abb. 4 caption).

Fig. 3: Bronze pick from the Throne Hall, portico, oor, Plot GF 32(after Schmidt 1957, Pl. 79.1ab)

The Eurasian origins of the shaft-hole pickIn his 1985 dissertation on Achaemenid military dress and weaponry, Stephan Bit-tner pointed to the presence of generally similar weapons in southern Siberia, e.g.from the Angara region (Bittner 1987, Taf. 14.3). He also singled out a much moreelaborate axe head from Elabuga (Jettmar 1967, Fig. 28). This, however, bears noresemblance whatsoever to either the weapon excavated at Persepolis or those shownon the reliefs there. However, although I would not agree with Bittner when he char-acterised the weapon on the Treasury relief (Fig. 4) as in ihrer Auffassung eine typ-isch skythische Knigsaxt (Bittner 1987, 177, n. 1), he was on the right track whenhe looked to the east for parallels.

A more compelling dossier of eastern evidence was assembled just a few yearslater by Leo Trmpelmann who, correctly in my opinion, pointed to similaritiesbetween the weapons carried by the members of the XVIIth Delegation and theshaft-hole picks and axes of the Tagar Culture in the Minusinsk, Lake Tagar and


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Tomsk regions (north of Novosibirsk) (Trmpel-mann 1988, 84 and Abb. 6) where large numbershave been found (Chlenova 1967, Tab. 78). Hisconclusion, however, was that this similarity indi-cated where one should seek the homeland of thePersians and Medes. While that may or may notbe true, surely the more immediate conclusion heshould have drawn from this line of reasoning wasthat the Tagar Culture might be the archaeologicalsource of the XVIIth Delegation and its weaponry.

Several years after Trmpelmanns article ap-peared, Bokovenko published a general overviewof the Tagar Culture, the beginnings of which heplaced in the 8th6th centuries and the end of whichhe dated to the 4th / 3rd centuries BC (Bokovenko1995c: 299, 302). A number of different variants of an essentially common pick or axe type (the dis-tinction is dif cult to make in all cases since someblades appear in the drawings to be more pointedand pick-like, while others are atter and either chisel- or blade-like) characterises the Tagar wea-pons (Brentjes 1996, Pl. XIX.6). Similar weapon-ry is found in the Altai mountains and in Tuva,e.g. in the Aran 1kurgan , a context dated to the9th/8th centuries BC (Parzinger 2004, Abb. 1;ugunov / Parzinger / Nagler 2010, 10 and Abb.8.3), and in the later Aran 2kurgan , dated to the7th/6th centuries BC and related to the Aldy Belculture of Tuva, where bronze axes (Streitpickel)of a similar type were found in Graves 20 and 25

(ugunov / Parzinger / Nagler 2010, Taf. 95.1 = Taf. 111.1 and Taf. 101.1 = Taf. 114.5).Two examples were found at Dog-Baary 2 in Kurgans 10 and 15 (ugunov 1998,297, Abb. 15.12). These have been described as Streitpickel mit kurzer TlleDermeielfrmige Krper ist mit dem Rcken durch einen halbrunden Wulst verbunden,der die Tlle von beiden Seiten umfat, belonging to the Ujuk-Saglyn Culture, thedate of which is between the late 6th and the late 4th centuries BC (ugunov 1998,301, 305).

Scholars have long debated connections between the socketed picks / axes of theMinusinsk basin (Fig. 6) and axes in China (Loehr 1949, 135136; 1951, 136137,142; Watson 1952; Psarras 2000, 3031). Watson suggested that the shaft-hole axewith oblong blade as it was made in north China is thought to be the prototype of the pickelxte which spread wide in Siberia (Watson 1972, 143). Loehr was deci-dedly against this view, devoting an entire paper to the subject and observing, Der

Fig. 4: Detail of weapon-bearerwith axe on the southern relief in the Treasury (after Schmidt

1953, Pl. 121)


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Pickel tritt in allerlei Variationeneiner im Wesentlichen immer bei-behaltenen Grundform von derVollbronzezeit bis in die Eisenzeithinein in Russland und Siberienauf, und die hier zu beobachtendeweite Verbreitung, lange Lebens-dauer und Fundhu gkeit machenes so gut wie sicher, dass diesesGebiet als Herkunftsgebiet derchinesischen Parallelen anzuse-hen ist (Loehr 193940, 596).Loehr characterised these picksas consisting of a bayonet-like,pointed element in front of thesocket and a hammer-like elementbehind it (Loehr 193940, 599).Finally, when reviewing the evi-dence from the Minusinsk basin,he wrote, Nirgends gab der Bo-den die Pickaxt in grerer Zahlher als in diesem Gebiet, und esscheint, dass das MinusinskerBecken eines der Zentren, wennnicht das eigentliche Zentrum frHerstellung und Gebrauch dieserWaffe war. Sie ist in der Bronze-

zeit da und hlt sich noch, als unter vernderten ethnischen Verhltnissen das Eisenseine Herrschaft antritt; auch die etwa seit Beginn der Eisenzeit als Grabbeigabenbeliebten Miniaturpickel besagen etwas ber die Bedeutung, die dieser Waffe hierzukam (Loehr 193940, 598599).

Loehrs paper is a revelation, and the examples he illustrated (Fig. 6) two fromAnanino (Ananyino), one from Relka, one from west Siberia, one from Korelka (Mi-nusinsk), one from Subinsk (Minusinsk) and one from Sui-yan in China (not shownon Fig. 6 here) leave no doubt that this is the type illustrated in the hands of theXVIIth Delegation at Persepolis. Moreover, the fact that it has Bronze Age antecedentsin the Minusinsk region, and even appears clearly on an exceptional deer stoneshowing a chariot in Somon district of Chovd province in the west Mongolian Altai(Burmeister 2009, Abb. 3; Raulwing 2009, Abb. 2), is a strong argument in supportof origin there since elsewhere it does not seem to be attested before the Iron Age.

Some examples of this type have turned up much further a eld. As earlier scholars like Tallgren (1919) and Loehr discussed, a number have been found in theAnanino (Ananyino) culture, an important centre of bronze and iron metallurgy

Fig. 5: Members of the XVIIth Delgation on thenorth staircase of the Apadana (after Schmidt

1953, Pl. 43A)


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of the 9th6th centuries BC in the Cis-Ural region (Koryakova / Epimakhov 2007,194; Childe 1943, 89). Another is known from a grave of probable 7th century BCdate at Imirler in Turkey (nal 1982, pers. comm. S. Burmeister). A single exam- ple described as unusual and characteristic of those found in theKama River [anorthern tributary of the Volga] area and in Siberia, is known from the Krasnyi-YarSauromatiankurgan . The Krasnyi-Yar, Vaske and Persepolis examples are typologi-cally related to the Tagar and Tuva ones, with one important difference: they have allbeen found well to the west of the zone which seems, judging by the sheer numbersrecovered, to be the original source of this type of shaft-hole pick.

If a Eurasian, more speci cally southern Siberian, origin or at the very least aEurasian prototype for the Vaske and Persepolis exemplars (both the excavated andthe depicted ones) seems virtually certain, this raises two important questions: rst-ly, is the shaft-hole pick / axe type known from Persepolis and Vaske the weaponknown to Herodotus as a sagaris? and secondly, is it possible to establish the identityof the XVIIth Delegation?

Fig. 6: Picks from Ananino (12), Relka (3), west Siberia (4), Korelka, Minusinsk (5),and Subinsk, Minusinsk (6) (after Loehr 193940, Taf. III)


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on Greek vases have a more blade-like front part, which clearly differs from pick-like shape of the Persepolis andVaske nds. The shortish handle and rear projectionare similar, however, and one might suggest that Greek vase painters had neitherintimate knowledge of thesagaris nor an overly great concern to depict the weaponwith any degree of precision, anymore than they did to depict the dress and otheraccoutrements of Persians and Scythians (cf. Hartog 1980; Lissarrague 1990). Forthe moment, it seems impossible to determine whether or not the socketed pick typeunder discussion is the Herodoteansagaris .

The XVIIth DelegationEven if the shaft-hole picks of Persepolis, Vaske, the Persepolis reliefs and the Mi-nusinsk basin do not represent thesagaris , and we cannot clearly identify them witha known weapon in early Iranian sources (Jackson 1894; Malandra 1973; Tafazzoli

1993/94), their relevance for the identi cation of the XVIIth Delegation is not there- by diminished. In the past half-century scholars have identi ed the delegation hes-itantly as Sogdians (e.g. Schmidt 1953, 8889; Walser 1966, 93; Herzfeld 1968,363; Gabrielli 2006, 14); Chorasmian Scythians (Barnett 1957, 73, Pl. 22.1 caption);Sogdians or Chorasmians (Barnett 1957, 71; Roaf 1983, 55); Scythians, Sogdians orChorasmians (Muscarella 1987, 114); Scythians or Sogdians (Trmpelmann 1988,90); orSak haumavarg(Hachmann 1995, 213). Junge placed theSak haumavarg in Ferghana, Pamir und angrenzende Gebiete and the Schwerpunkt der Ost-Sa-kain Ferghana und stlich davon (Junge 1962, 8586). For unspeci ed reasons,Barnett identi ed the homeland of the XVIIth Delegation as either Lake Balkash

(Sak haumavarg) or the region of the Aral Sea (Chorasmians) (Barnett 1957, 71).Ghirshman believed that theSak haumavarg were probably the most importanttribe of the Massagetae (Ghirshman 1953, 300). Narain suggested thatSak hau-mavarg lived in the easternmost areas of the Sakaland extending from the Altaiin the north to the Pamirs in the south and more speci cally located their originalhomeland in the Semirechye, north of the Tienshan (Narain 1987, 30). As Schmitt(2003) rightly observed, however, There seems to be a certain agreement, thoughthere is not the slightest hint of this in the sources, that their home has to be sought inthe region between the Caspian Sea and the Pamir mountain area, more restrictedlybetween modern Tashkent and Dushanbe aroundFargnaat any event, somewhere beyond the Oxus River / mu Daryin the neighborhood of the Bactrians andSog-dians. The Chorasmian identi cation may well have been inferred fromHerodotusattribution of thesagaris to the Massagetae, normally associated with the area nearthe Aral Sea and hence with the region of ancient Chorasmia.

In considering whether or not the XVIIth Delegation = theSak haumavarg, theMassagetae, or another group, and the varying locations proposed for them over theyears, we have one advantage over earlier writers, namely the realisation that the shaft-hole pick type with which this essay began does appear to be at home in theTuva / Minusinsk region. If we use this as a criterion for locating the XVIIth Delegation, then


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the Aral Sea (Barnett), Ferghana-to-Pamirs (Junge) and Lake Balkhash (Barnett)options are much too far to the west. Hence our delegation cannot be Chorasmians orSogdians. Although he was concerned with theSak haumavargand not with theXVIIth Delegation, Narains location, between the Altai and Tien-Shan, centred onthe Semirechye region, is getting warm, but is still south and west of the Tagar / Tuva / Minusinsk territory. If we focus exclusively on the shaft-hole pick, the conclusionmust be that its association with southern Siberia is a strong indicator that this wasthe homeland of the elusive XVIIth Delegation. Moreover, picks of this sort have notbeen recorded near the Aral Sea, around Ferghana, at Lake Balkhash or in the Sem-irechye region. Rather, their concentration in the Tagar / Tuva / Minusinsk region of southern Siberia is clear, and where they have been found far to the west, whetherin Gilan, Fars or in the Volga-Ural area, they are clearly alien to the local context. Itis, of course, possible that the Scythians who used such picks also expanded west-ward, perhaps as a result of climatic amelioration (van Geel et al. 2004; Bokovenko2004), bringing them closer to the outer borders of the Achaemenid empire, but untilexamples of their distinctive picks are found, e.g. around Ferghana or the Aral Sea,this remains nothing more than a speculation.

ConclusionDarius (DPh 56 = DH 2) knew of theScythians who lived on the far (i.e. eastern) sideof Sogdiana. All of the northern nomadic groups were calledSaka by the Persians,a noun derived from the Iranian rootsak - meaning to go, roam (Szemernyi 1980,4446). Archaeological and historical investigations have shown that Scythians,

in many guises, populated a vast area extending from the Black Sea to the border of Mongolia. Those that lived around Minusinsk were well and truly Ost-Saken, andrepresented some of the easternmost peoples with which the Achaemenids main-tained contact. The name of the XVIIth Delegation may yet be hidden from us, but itsdistinctive, shaft-hole pick offers a clear indication that its homeland lay in southern Si-beria. As Trmpelmann noted over twenty years ago Pazyryk, another site with clearAchaemenid links, lies just southwest of this area (Trmpelmann 1988, 90). The journey to the Persian capital may have been long, but it was undoubtedly achievablewith the help of the steppe ponies we see being brought by the XVIIth Delegation onthe Apadana reliefs at Persepolis.

AcknowledgementsI am grateful to my colleague Margaret Miller (Univ. of Sydney) for her critical readingof an earlier draft of this paper; Stefan Burmeister (Museum und Park Kalkriese),for help with Mongolian references; and Marcia Tucker, Librarian in the HistoricalStudies-Social Sciences Library, Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, USA) forso kindly getting hold of Monumenta Serica from the Firestone Library at PrincetonUniversity and scanning the plates in Loehr 193940 for me.


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A 'Scythian' Pick From Vaske (Gilan) and the Identity of the XVIIth Delegation at Persepolis