Warmatrix

The Scythians (Skythoi / Scyth / Saka / Sakae / Sacae / Sai / Iskuzai / Askuzai) were nomads from the Eurasian steppes. They did not form a state but rather were a loose collection of peoples sharing a common language and culture. Their armies were tribal, made up from herders and hunters. Steppe nomads were used to travel, the hardships of camping and could re-use the skills learned from hunting in warfare. These qualities made them formidable warriors. Almost all of the male Scythians were part-time warriors and even a substantial part of the women too, as Scythian society did not discriminate them and their method of warfare was suitable for women too.
Fluctuations in climate and weather can make or break the supply of food on the steppes. This prompted frequent conflicts over grazing grounds. Combined with the mobility of the nomads, this made steppe wars frequent and very fluid, with tribes defeating and absorbing other tribes in high times and disintegrating when their fortunes went bad. Steppe nomads could easily campaign in winter, when obstacles like rivers were frozen over. But they needed open grasslands for their horses to feed and to use their tactics, so seldom ventured deep into Europe or the Middle East. Most of their war was made of raiding neighbors, to get by plunder what they could not obtain by trading. Scythians were often hired as mercenaries. Thracians, neighbors of the Scythians, even ended up as police force in classical Athens.
The Scythians were one of the first peoples to master the use of the horse as a mount. They did no longer use it to pull a chariot, but rode on the backs of the horses. Horse riders appeared many canturies after the domestication of the horse, because the animals first had to be bred to larger sizes, capable of carrying riders near their heads instead of at their rear. Strong horses freed the Scythians from the costs and limitations of the chariots, which could not travel through rough terrain. The most common weapon was the composite bow and Scythians were famous archers in their time. They could shoot from a standing position, but also from horseback, even 180° backwards in what was later called the 'Parthian shot'. Steppe nomads used their mobility to surprise enemies, pepper them with arrows at close range to defeat armor, then wheel out and run off before they could be counterattacked. Often they used these hit-and-run tactics to lure enemies out of defensive positions and wear them out, to counterattack in force when the enemy was at his weakest.
The Scythians were just one of the earliest of steppe peoples who lived a nomadic lifestyle and fought with mounted archers. Successors include well-known names like Sarmatians, Huns, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols and Magyars.