Re: The complexities of Bastarnia (B)-- From Mithradates to Farzoi

From: george knysh
Message: 67652
Date: 2011-05-30



Do you think the southward movement of the Przeworskers was related the fact that Mithridates had enlisted the Cimbri as allies in 89 BCE, cf Justinus' epitome of Trogus 38.3.6
http://attalus.org/translate/justin6.html#38.3
(assuming there are the same people)? I know the time is a bit off.

Torsten
 
****GK: We don't know if the "Cimbri" were at all involved in any of the Mithradatian campaigns. If Justinus is correct in his statement (he may be, since his later text also mentions the Cimbri in Mithradatus' speech) then we at least know that M. tried to recruit there. But we don't know how successful he might have been. On the other hand there is an oddity in Justin's account: the Thracians are missing, and we know they participated in good numbers. One possibility is that a scribe mistakenly wrote "Cimbri" for "Thracians" (they seem to do these things: cf. in Strabo the already mentioned "Pasiani" business, and the "Taurisci" for "Scordisci" in 4,6,10, and, perhaps, the "Adrias" for "Tyras" already discussed), another is that a scribe simply omitted "Thracians" from the list...
As to the Przeworkers, all that archaeology can say is that they BEGIN  to settle in great numbers in Ukraine (Galicia and South Volynia) not earlier than the middle of the first c. BCE (which is why I thought of Burebista). One arguable Mithridatian "resettlement" however would be that of Bastarnae on Peuce. I would agree that a very good case could be made for Ps.Scymnos noting just that fact as recent. And understandable as helping to "dividere et imperare" the Scythians.
 
P.S. I am definitely going to try to acquite Pachkova's magnum opus on the Zarubinians, since it seems to contain the kind of microanalysis which might help to establish what areas representatives of culture 'X' came from. For instance in her earlier work on Poeneshti-Lukashovka, she established that the Yastorfers who moved to the east and south at the beginning of the Bastarnia-creating process were primarily "Gubin" Yastorfers. Maybe she has the same type of info about the Przeworskers.*****