The Scythian Empire

Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China

By: Christopher I. Beckwith

Narrated by: Jim Lee

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

This audiobook narrated by Jim Lee provides a rich, discovery-filled account of how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world

In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent, creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient world—in the West, the Near East, India, and China. Mobile horse herders who lived with their cats in wheeled felt tents, the Scythians made stunning contributions to world civilization—from capital cities and strikingly elegant dress to political organization and the world-changing ideas of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Laotzu—Scythians all. In The Scythian Empire, Christopher I. Beckwith presents a major new history of a fascinating but often forgotten empire that changed the course of history.

At its height, the Scythian Empire stretched west from Mongolia and ancient northeast China to northwest Iran and the Danube River, and in Central Asia reached as far south as the Arabian Sea. The Scythians also ruled Media and Chao, crucial frontier states of ancient Iran and China. By ruling over and marrying the local peoples, the Scythians created new cultures that were creole Scythian in their speech, dress, weaponry, and feudal socio-political structure. As they spread their language, ideas, and culture across the ancient world, the Scythians laid the foundations for the very first Persian, Indian, and Chinese empires.

Filled with fresh discoveries, The Scythian Empire presents a remarkable new vision of a little-known but incredibly important empire and its peoples.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Christopher I. Beckwith (P)2023 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

“A revolutionary rewriting of the current dominant view on Ancient Central Eurasia, The Scythian Empire will deeply transform what we believed the Greek, Roman, Persian, and Chinese classical ages were. Christopher I. Beckwith, one of the world’s leading linguists, has made accessible the story of the earliest known steppe empire in what is not only a provocative rethinking of Scythian history but a fascinating exploration of their language, art, and philosophy. Interpretatively audacious, adventurous, and ambitious, The Scythian Empire will generate debates for years and make readers see the history of Eurasia in an entirely unexpected way.”—Marie Favereau, author of The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World

“Long forgotten, misunderstood, and dismissed as barbarians, the Empire of Scythia emerges at last from the shadows of ancient history, thanks to Christopher I. Beckwith. His insightful revelations illuminate the far-reaching legacies of the nomads who roamed and ruled the vast territory from the Black Sea to China’s Great Wall. This is a fascinating story of how Scythian culture and innovations in horsemanship, archery, linguistics, technology, warfare, practical dress, and ideas not only spread across the Eurasian continent but powerfully shaped the earlier empires of Persia, India, and China.”—Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World

“Using a wide array of sources, Beckwith has produced an original, pathbreaking, and provocative book that underscores the importance of the Scythians of ancient Central Eurasia in the shaping of peoples, political structures, ideologies, and classical civilization in the eastern Mediterranean world, Greater Iran, China, and South Asia.”—Peter Golden, author of Central Asia in World History

Compelling argument; not too academic

Where did the ancient Greeks and Persians get the seeds of their cultures and philosophies? Professor Beckwith argues that the Scythians are the answer. I found this a fascinating audibook and read most of it twice. (Once through the lingiuist analysis was more than enough.) The first and last chapters were the most thought-provoking. The narrator was very good.

A January 21, 2023 review (not by a professor) in the Wall St. Journal concluded "As for Mr. Beckwith, his curiosity, imagination and learning—from the Yellow River to the Danube, from archaeology to linguistics—do what every history ought to do but few achieve: compel the reader to think." They did!

Convincing

I actually liked the linguistic details given and found them to be convincing of his main argument. This book really opens up this ancient period and makes vital connections previously unseen.

Demystifying the mysteries of the Ancient Worlds through a common source

It’s really hard to find writings about who the Scythians were and the impact they had on civilization. As opposed to most books and articles that try to limit the truth by describing what the Scythians were not.

I appreciate how the author connects the dots without over reaching into over speculation as is the norm with history.

Interesting but title is misleading

Interesting point of view with tons of (mostly linguistic trivia). It’s too repetitious (never ending „arya - harya - the royal ones” sentence). Book focuses mostly on linguistic analysis, thus title should reflect this properly. Without repetitions and better organisation it could be easily 2 hours shorter.

repetitious focus on language

I love history and historical books and have read hundreds of them. This book disappointed me immensely. It was a repetitious accounting of the word Scythian with an over-focus on language.

Apparently everybody was an Aryan/Scythian

It is impossible to take this work seriously. Based on a handful of words, predominately the word Aryan, the author seeks to find that word in almost all ancient cultures as a self-designation which always means Royal Scythian descent. Thus the Medes, Persians, Chinese, Koreans all called themselves Aryans. They also were bilingual in their native language and Scythian (though for some reason they always recorded themselves only in their native language). They also had no agency, only the Scythians had that, just as only the Scythians developed true philosophy.
I could go on but there is little point. The Scythians did play some role in transmitting cultural traits to other cultures, but it is almost impossible to tell what that really was from this book. On a positive note, the narrator has a very pleasant voice and does a Heraclean job of pronunciation,