Overall: History -The Scythians (And a Partial Summary of the Brit-Am Contribution to this Field of Study).
The Scythians
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The Scythians first appeared in areas to which the Israelite Tribes had been exiled. Scythian History as described by foreigner parallels Biblical and Talmudic descriptions of the Ten Tribes. The Scythians kept Hebraic customs, and bore Israelite Tribal Names. Numerous proofs show that at least a portion of the Scythian Peoples were of Israelite Origin.
The Scythians first emerged from the Cimmerians. What applies to the Cimmerians is also valid for them.
The Scythians first appeared in history when the Assyrians recorded them as part of the Cimmerian Federation. They appeared in regions to which Israelites of the Ten Tribes had been exiled. One of the names attached to them was Isak-Gulu which connotes the Exiles of Isaac. They were found in the region of Mannae which was an Israelite area. Here too were the Zab (Sabatus) River and the Sambatae. This gave rise to the tradition of the Sambation being one of the regions to which Israelites were exiled. Later the term Sambation is found in the Don and Danaper River areas of southern Russia which too had become Scythian centers.
We find parallels between descriptions of the Ten Tribes in the Bible and in Talmudic Literature with the Scythians. What is said about the Ten Tribes describes the Scythians and no-one else. From the Scythians came part of the Celts as well as the Angles, Saxons, Frisians, and related peoples of Western Europe.
Whilst the Scythians were still in the Middle East shortly after their first appearance, they rebelled against the Assyrians and then made peace with them. They became allies and protectors of Assyria. After that they graduated to take a de facto control of the Assyrian Empire. Meanwhile the Kingdom of Judah had been made a vassal of Assyria. Under King Josiah ben Amon, Judah threw off the Assyrian yoke. Josiah established colonies in Philistines areas to the south and in former Israelite areas to the north. He set up a settlement at Megiddo. At Beth Shean a stella testifies to his suzerainty over the area. Rabbinical sources say that King Josiah with the help of the Prophet Jeremiah attempted to re-unite with the Ten Tribes. A small portion came to the Land of Israel but when Josiah was killed they went back to their places of Exile. The Bible also tells us how King Josiah went through all the former areas of the Kingdom of Israel (i.e. of the Ten Tribes who had been exiled) and destroyed every vestige of idolatry he came across. What King Josiah was doing on one side, the Scythians were doing on the other. The Scythians had taken over the Assyrian Empire. They set up their center in Beth Shean which was renamed Scythopolis. The Scythians were to be found throughout the northern area of Israel. They made raids against the Philistines and Egypt. Eventually the Scythians left and King Josiah was killed fighting against the Egyptians on their behalf. The Scythians fulfilled the role that other sources attribute to the Lost Tribes.
This strongly indicates that the Scythians were from the Lost Tribes.
Eventually Assyria reasserted itself. The Scythians from protectors and allies of Assyria turned to the side of the Babylonians and Medes. Assyria was destroyed with the Scythians playing a major role. The Medes got the Scythians drunk and massacred their leaders. Babylonians and Medes divided the Empire between them.
Most of the above points have been mentioned by others before us but not in numerous scattered sources. We brought the different points together and showed how they interrelate with each other.
The Scythians were driven out of the Middle East and into Southern Russia which became known as Scythia.
Pliny (77 CE) b: VI. XIX says that originally the Scythians were called Arami. This term means "Syrian" but it was also applied to people from Judah and would too have been applicable to those of the Ten Tribes.
Some of the Scythian customs were Israelite, e.g. they did not eat swine. The artwork of the Scythians was of Israelite and Phoenician origin. Many of the Scythian Tribes bore the names of Israelite Tribes and Tribal clans. Elite Scythian groups in southern Russia identified Joseph with their ancestral god whom they worshipped.
The early Scythians were to move westward and to become part of the Germanic-speaking peoples (English, Dutch, etc).
They left a group behind who became known as the Khazars. There is a great deal of evidence identifying the Khazars with the Lost Ten Tribes. What applies to the Khazars is also pertinent to the Scythians.
From the Scythians emerged part of the Celts, the Angles and Saxons, the Frisians, many of the Scandinavians and other Northern Peoples. They too were Israelites.