This month, the Armies And Enemies Of Ancient Greece And Macedonia collection by John Jenkins Designs is opening a new front with the addition of the JJ-SY-01 - Scythian King. This figure is the first of this sub-collection covering one of the most intriguing civilizations of Antiquity. But first, let’s summarize what we know about the Scythian to better appreciate this figure and start this new series.

The Scythian territory was quite vast, encompassing the Eurasian steppes of Kazakhstan, the Russian Steppes of the Siberian, the Ural, the Volga and Southern regions as the eastern Ukraine. This empire lasted from the 8th century BC to the year 200. Surprisingly enough, a lot is unknown about them despite having such a massive territory. This is all because Scythians had no writing and most of what we know from them comes from texts written by other civilizations.

It is believed that Scythians are from iranian origins and therefore it would be easy to assume they simply had dark hairs. However, writings from contemporary Greeks, Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians and Chineses describe them as fair skinned with red or blond hairs and blue or gray eyes. In recent years, DNA tests done on Scythian remains confirmed the claims about their European look. But they also showed that it was not the only reality. Their huge territory was more like a gradient of different ethnic groups on which the hairs and eyes were becoming darker the more they were located in the East. Interestingly enough, DNA tests performed on remains confirmed that some warriors were women, confirming another claim written by other civilizations; Scythian men and women were both fighting on the battlefields. It’s most likely those female fighters that were at the origin of the Greek myth of the Amazons.

Scythian female warrior sepultura from the fourth century B.C found in Russia.
The existence of scythian female warriors can now be safely confirmed by the analysis of artifacts,
DNA testings, ancient texts and combat wounds still visible on the bones.

Contemporaries of the Scythians also described them as tall and muscular people, and that was apparently one of the main reasons why they were sought after as mercenaries. According to some Greek and Roman sources, they were also fond of war. One of their kings, Ateas, fought regularly until he died at 90 years old on the battlefield against the Macedonians. It was apparently more honorable for them to die fighting than to die of old age. The second reason why they were good hired swords was their nomadic lifestyle which made them excellent horsemen. They were one of the first civilizations in the world to domesticate those animals. However, the nomadic lifestyle was not the only option for them. Agriculture settlements are known to have existed in some part of their territory where it was possible to do so.

Prototypes for the Scythian army by John Jenkins Designs.
Look carefully and you will find some women amongst
the mounted warriors and those on foot!

When it comes to the visual look of a warrior, the numerous artifacts found on their territory help us to understand how they dressed and fought. Their most iconic weapon was probably the composite bow. This type of bow, with curved tips and made from different wood essences combined together, was able to strike with strength despite being relatively short. This was the perfect bow to use on a horse as it was easy to flip from one side to the other when riding in a battle. For their defense, the most fortunate warriors were known to wear scale armors. This technologie combined with their affinity with horses most likely led to the first cataphract units. As for fashion, many artifacts made by their skilled craftsmen give us a glimpse of their styles. The Kul-Oba vase shows us that the men wore beards with long hairs held in place by a hairband or a phrygian cap.

The Kul-Oba vase, one of the many artifacts helping to visualize the look of the Scythian peoples.

Now that we went over the basics, let’s look at the Scythian King. As we should expect from a warrior of this rank, he wears a scale armor. He wears a beard and his long hair is held back by a hairband, just like on the Kul-Obas vase. Interestingly enough, John Jenkins went for a dark hair option, suggesting that this king might have origins in the eastern part of the Scythian territory. For weapons, he carries a spear and a light crescent shape weaved peltas. In his right hand and held up in the air is a command staff. A sword is visible attached on his side. But it is on his backside that we can see the typical Scyihian composite bow and quiver. Those are easily accessible to switch weapons during the battle. His horse is decorated with a series of bells around his neck and a very fancy saddle. With the motion of the horse, it’s even possible to imagine how they sound. The energetic body pose of the king and his horse are suggesting that he is holding his mount and is about to give the order to attack, giving a lot of energy to the figure.

As we can see, John Jenkins did his homework and the figure he came with is quite magnificent. His weapons, his armor and his fashion style are all in accordance with what we know of the Scythian civilization. The rest of the collection also seems promising with the various men and women figures. We now have to wait and see what will be the hair color on those!