The
Scythians ( or ; from
Greek ), also known as
Scyth,
Saka,
Sakae,
Sacae,
Sai,
Iskuzai, or
Askuzai, were a large group of
Iranian Eurasian nomads who were mentioned by the literate peoples surrounding them as inhabiting large areas in the central
Eurasian steppes from about the 9th century BC until about the 1st century BC. The
Scythian languages belonged to the
Eastern branch of the
Iranian languages. The "classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians were located in the
northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region. Other Scythian groups documented by
Assyrian,
Achaemenid and
Chinese sources show that they also existed in
Central Asia, where they were referred to as the
Iskuzai/
Askuzai,
Saka (
Old Persian:
Sakā;
New Persian:
ساکا;
Greek: ;
Armenian: ;
Latin:
Sacae,
Sanskrit:
Śaka), and
Sai (;
Old Chinese: *), respectively.
