Chapter Five
THE CIMMERIANS
The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel were conquered and exiled mainly by the Assyrian monarchs, Pul and Tiglathpileser. The later Assyrian rulers Shalmaneser, Sargon, and Sennacherib were responsible for exiling the remainder. Tiglathpileser (745-727) had been responsible for transforming the Assyrian Empire from a powerful but decaying entity to the major world power. Prior to his reign Assyria had been seriously threatened by the kingdom of Urartu to the north of Assyria. Urartu (Ararat) occupied the approximate area later known as Armenia. Urartu had been constituted as an Assyrian vassal state populated with deportees from previous Assyrian conquests. The culture of Urartu was an archaic form of the Assyrian. Its ruling elite appear to have been an Assyrianized group of Horite (Hurrian) or Hittite vassals. The earliest documents of Urartu are written in Akkadian which was considered the ancestral tongue of the Assyrian nobility and an official tongue of the Assyrian Empire. Salvini (1978) believed the Urartian ruling class to have been bi-lingual and to have spoken Assyrian.
Urartu was centered around Lake Van (in Armenia), and had exercised suzerainty over Mannae, over the region of Gozan at the headwaters of the Khabur river, and also over parts of Cilicia with its port of Anatolian Tarsis. These were all areas of Israelite settlement or future re-settlement. Tiglathpileser defeated the forces of Urartu and conquered most of its territory. He besieged the capital Van but apparently never completely subdued it. Areas conquered from Urartu were re-settled by the Assyrians with deportees from other areas including those from the kingdom of Israel. Exiles from Israel were also re-settled elsewhere including neighboring regions.
With the death of Tiglathpileser, Urartu made a partial recovery, and attempted to regain control over lands it had once ruled. Some of these regions had meanwhile been re-settled by Israelites who thus due to Urartu regaining part of its former domain passed out of Assyrian control. Other Israelites had been taken to the centre of Assyria as well as to the fringes of the Empire. Israelite and Syrian warrior corps were absorbed into the Assyrian armies and quickly began to gain power and influence. The Israelites held very important positions in the Assyrian Army especially in the specialized equestrian corps and as bowmen. In the equestrian corps the Israelites are believed to have been the leading element in the chariotry units whereas at a lower rank Urartian instructors were employed (alongside Israelites) in the cavalry. The Assyrians took their cavalry horses to Mannae for training. Mannae was between Assyria and Urartu and linked to both of them. It was one of the major places to which Israelites had been exiled. Mannae was also one of the first regions from which the Cimmerians were first reported, “The Cimmerians went forth from the midst of Mannae,” says an Assyrian inscription. Mannae was also destined to become a Scythian centre. The Scythians were one and the same people as the Cimmerians or at any rate Scythians and Cimmerians were: “...two groups of people who seem inclined to operate in the same geographical zones, and whose names seem to be interchangeable already in the Assyrian sources”1. There were three main groups of people in the Cimmerian and Scythian forces: Cimmerians, Scyths, and Guti or Goths. Both the Cimmerians and the Scyths of history contained representatives of all three groups though in varying proportions. Later, in the east of Scythia (modern Russia, Central Asia, Siberia, and even northern China) areas associated with the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Goths were those in which there were religious practices of Israelite and pagan Canaanite origin, Aramaic was commonly spoken Tribal names were those of Israelite Tribal clans already recorded in the Bible, and contemporary reports as well as legends spoke of The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
GOMER AND ISRAEL
The exiled Israelites had joined with a group of peoples identified as Gomer in the Bible. The name “Gomer” is applied to a parent figure of the exiled Ten Tribes in the first chapter of Hosea: Hosea the Prophet acts out a kind of allegorical partnership in which he symbolizes the original northern Israelites who link up with “Gomer” and bring forth three groups. Hosea is commanded to marry a loose woman named “GOMER” the daughter of Diblaim. Gomer was also the name of the Cimmerians and company. The coupling therefore may be said to represent Israel joining GOMER (who was already an uncertain combination of peoples) and bringing forth from between them three additional entities (“children of whoredoms”) whose identity was uncertain.
The parable is referring only to the northern ten tribed kingdom of “ISRAEL” who became “THE LOST TEN TRIBES”. “Judah” in the south is explicitly excluded from the Gomer parable (Hosea (1:7).
In the Book of Hosea, a union is made with Gomer: three children (2 boys and a girl) of uncertain identity are born. These children represent the northern ten tribes and not the Tribe of Judah. It is prophesied that they will be utterly taken away, i.e. exiled all together. They will be disowned, considered not the people of God and dwelling without God. At the same time they shall become enormously numerous “as the sands of the sea” (Hosea 1:10): Ultimately, they shall be reconciled and called “sons of the living God” (Hosea 1:10). They shall eventually be re-united with Judah (Hosea 1:11).
These verses are consistent with the idea that the Ten Tribes were exiled, united with an entity called Gomer and became identified with it. They lost all knowledge of their own identity, all spiritual contact between themselves and Judah and they also lost contact with their God. They became legally considered, in Jewish Law according to the Talmud, to be “Gentiles, to all intents and purposes” (Talmud, Yebamot 17). [Even before their exile they may well have been virtually indistinguishable from pagans]. At the same time they were also to become a great, rich, and numerous nation and the world power. In the end, they are destined to be reconciled both to Judah and to God. From the union with Gomer emerged three “children”. Similarly another ethnic entity named Gomer is earlier mentioned in the Bible as Gomer son of Japhet son of Noah. Gomer had three sons: “And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphat, and Togarma” (Genesis 10:3). These sons of Gomer son of Japhet became founders of nations that were to settle in Europe and with whom the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel were to be associated. The children of Hosea and Gomer (representing the exiled northern Israelites) are divided into three sections: “Sons of the Living God” in Hosea 1:10 (formerly “Jezreel” in Hosea 1:4, meaning “Scattered”), “My People” (“Ami”) in Hosea 2:1 and “The Pitied One” (In Hebrew: “Ruhama” in Hosea 2:1).
The Ten Tribes before their exile had been called by the Assyrians, “Khumri”. This term in Assyrian could also be rendered “GUMRI”. A similar name, “Gimiri” in Babylonian can connote “tribes” and a related term “gamira” can mean mobile exiles. The Israelite “Khumri” (“Gumri”, “Gimiri” and/or “Gamira”) were in the same region as another group also known as Gimiri, Gamera, or Gomer. The two groups were both used by the Assyrians for the settlement of border areas and both initially supplied equestrian forces to the Assyrian army. The two groups were to combine and thus their separate historical identities for a time were indistinct! This conclusion is consistent with the evidence.
At all events most authorities agree that the Cimmerians of history were composed of several peoples of differing origins. All signs indicate that at least some of these peoples were Israelite!
The Cimmerians had first been reported of by the Assyrians at the earliest in 714 though the more accepted date is ca.707 BCE. In 705 Sargon, the king of Assyria was killed in battle against them. The successor of Sargon, Sennacherib, defeated the Cimmerians in Elam and drove a portion of them into Phrygia, which they conquered in 695 BCE. Those Cimmerians who did not go into Phrygia remained along the boundaries of the Assyrian Empire and by the end of his reign Sennacherib had lost ground to the Cimmerians in Urartu and Mannae. Essarhaddon, who ruled after Senacherib, at first was hard pressed by the Cimmerians and their allies. An inscription from the time of Essarhaddon says,
“Let the cavalry and Dakku invade the Gimira [i.e. the Cimmerians] who have spoken saying,
~The Mannai pertain to you, we have not interfered!~
Certainly this is a lie, they are the offspring of outcasts: they recognize neither the oath of a god nor any human agreement”.
This inscription records the Cimmerian involvement with Mannae and their being called “offspring of outcasts” both of which are interesting since the prophet Amos foresaw the Ten Tribes being cast out (or “out cast”) to Mannae!
<<HEAR, THIS WORD, YE KINE OF BASHAN, THAT ARE IN THE MOUNTAIN OF SAMARIA, WHICH OPPRESS THE POOR, WHICH CRUSH THE NEEDY, WHO SAY TO THEIR HUSBANDS, BRING, AND LET US DRINK...
<<EACH WOMAN WILL BE CARRIED STRAIGHT OUT THROUGH THE BREACHES AND CAST OUT BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS OF MANNAE>> (Amos 4:1-3).
The Assyrians under Essarhaddon defeated the Cimmerians in Tabal (just north of Cilicia) in ca.679 BCE driving still more of them westward toward Phrygia and Lydia. At the same time some other Cimmerians formed a unit in the army of Esarhaddon. In 676 another group was reported of for the first time. They were known as the Scythians, and appeared as part of the main Cimmerian forces. Towards the end of his reign Essarhaddon lost control of Tabal and Cilicia and so came to terms with the Scythians and gave their king one of his daughters. The Scythians though originally part and parcel with the Cimmerians had separated from the main body and were acting independently. Cimmerians and Scythians essentially consisted of the same elements though in different proportions.
Assurbanipal (668-635) followed Essarhaddon. He conquered Egypt and was father-in-law to Gyges king of Lydia in western Anatolia. Assurbanipal helped Gyges against the Cimmerians who were making incursions. In 658-651 the Egyptians rebelled against Assyria and Gyges sent Greek and Carian [Anatolian] mercenaries to assist the Egyptians against Assyria even though Assyria was his ally. Consequently when the Cimmerians attacked Lydia again Assurbanipal tarried in sending help. The Cimmerians overran the capital of Lydia, Sardes, in 652. Gyges was killed and replaced by his son who was reconciled to Assurbanipal. With Assyrian and Scythian help the Cimmerians were driven out of Lydia and to some extent out of Anatolia altogether into Europe. The Cimmerians had been led by Tugdamne.
CIMMERIANS AND SCYTHS
The Terms
The king of the Cimmerians was referred to in an Assyrian inscription as “King of the Amurru”3. The name “Amuru” was sometimes applied to Israelites and geographically the land of “Amurru” had encompassed the former Israelite areas of “Syria and Palestine”.
Cimmerians and Scythians were roughly speaking different combinations of the same groups of Umman Manda (Cimmerians proper or Gimiri), Sakai (Scyths), and Guti (Goths). The Cimmerian king, Tugdamne, is sometimes referred to as Lygdamne or Dugdammei. In one inscription he is called “King of the Umman manda: King of the Sakai and Guti”. UMMAN-MANDA, SAKAI, AND GUTI all composed the Cimmerian forces.
The term “UMMAN-MANDA” had previously been applied in Mesopotamia to nomadic entities in northern Syria bearing Semitic names4 and would therefore have been also applicable to the Israelites of that area.
The Assyrians of the 600s BCE used the expression “Umman-Manda” for the Cimmerians and Scythians. The Assyrians were later replaced by the neo-Babylonians who employed the designation as a synonym for the Medes who succeeded the Scythians. The earlier “Umman-Manda” recalled (by the Mesopotamians) on the Syrian plateau may have been Israelites from the Tribes of Reuben, Goth (Gad), and half-Manasseh. These Tribes had lived in that region and from time to time gained control over it and of the areas beyond it. The Israelite half tribe of Manasseh (together with Gad [i.e. the Guti-Goths] and Reuben) had led a semi-nomadic existence in the areas now known as northern Arabia and as Syria. After the Cimmerians appeared the name was given to them and to their relations, the Scythians. The term “Umman-Manda” has been understood to imply “barbarian” but actually has ethnic connotations. An Assyrian astrological annotation says expressly that the Umman Manda are Cimmerians. The name “Umman Manda” is said to mean “People of Manda”. This is an archaic expression which was re-applied to the Cimmerians when they appeared. A linkage with ancient Israel and Syria may explain why the Cimmerians were termed “Manda”. Many of the Israelites were to be exiled to areas culturally influenced by Iranian elements such as the Medes, Persians, and other groups. The name “Manasseh” could be pronounced in the Iranian regions as “Manda”. [The Scythian offshoots of the Cimmerians according to Pliny (77 CE) b: VI. XIX) were originally known as “Arami” or “Syrian”. The term “Syria” in Classical terms encompassed the former lands of Israel].
Cimmerians and Scyths were frequently confused with each other by foreigners and by historians. “SAKAI” is the name later given in Persian inscriptions to the Scyths. In Afghanistan the appellation, “SAK” (from Saka) was much later understood to be a form of the Hebrew “Isaac”5. Other names applied to the Scythians such as Zohak (by the Persians), and Ishkuzai (by the Assyrians) support the “Isaac” equation.
Van Loon identifies a people in north Armenia (near Lake Leninkan close to the border with Iberia in Georgia) named “ISQI-GULU” as Scythians6. “ISQI-GULU” is the equivalent of “ISAACI-Golu”! i.e. “The Exiles of Isaac” since “Golu” in Hebrew connotes “exiled”. Variations of the name Isaac were applied to the Scythians who in many respects were identical with (or identified as) the Cimmerians. A city named after the Cimmerians and called Gymrias or Gamir was to be found in the ISQI-GULU area. This city in Armenian was later referred to as “Kumayri” and this name is considered a sign of Cimmerian presence as well as being an alternate Assyrian pronunciation of “Omri” which was the name they gave to northern Israel.
Abraham the first Hebrew had been promised, “In Isaac will your seed be called” (Genesis 21:13). The Northern Ten Tribed Kingdom of Israel was termed “Isaac” (or “Ishak”, Amos 7:9 in the Hebrew Bible). The Sakai (Scythians) of Isaac were also known as Saxe and as Saxon and the Anglo-Saxons are their descendants.
The GUTI, who are frequently mentioned alongside the Gimiri and Sakai, have a name which previously had been used for a group in the Zagros mountains in the very early history of Mesopotamia. This people (i.e. the original Guti) disappeared and the name fell out of use for centuries. In the time of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (Tiglathpileser-iii and onwards) there was a revival of archaic terminology and the name “GUTI” again came into use. The term GUTI is an alternative form of the name GAD and the Israelite Tribe of Gad was to play an important role in partnership with the Sakai. Later this name and variations of it such as Guti, Gauth, Geti, Gothi, Gudo, and Gad were applied to the Goths who eventually settled in Sweden. “Gauth”, which is one of the forms for the name Gad, was one of the terms applied to the Goths. “Gauth” was also used until fairly recently by the people of Damascus in Syria as a general designation for nomadic marauder from the area once controlled by Gad. The region of present-day Damascus adjoins the former Israelite territory of Gad and Damascus itself is well within the borders of the Promised Land, i.e. Damascus is “occupied” territory! The Syrians are illegal squatters.
Madyes the Scythian king is called a Cimmerian in one passage by Strabo (1.3.20) and a Scythian in another. Sulimerski and others state that archaeologically the Cimmerians cannot be distinguished from the Scyths. Ivantchik described archaeological claims to distinguish Cimmerians from Scythians as “useless”7. In a few inscriptions the Scythians are referred to as Iskuzai (Ishkuzai) or Askuzai (Ashkuzai) though usually they are called either Sakai or Uman Manda or Gimiri like the Cimmerians. M.N. van Loon wished to emphasize this point:
“It should be made clear from the start that the terms ‘Cimmerian’ and ‘Scythian’ were interchangeable: in Akkadian the name Iskuzai (Asguzai) occurs only exceptionally. Gimirrai (Gamir) was the normal designation for ‘Cimmerians’ as well as ‘Scythians’ in Akkadian.”8
Akkadian was the language employed in Assyrian inscriptions. In Babylonian texts the Scythians (Sakai) are referred to as “Gimmirai” which usually means Cimmerians, Harmatta also said that with regard to language and ethnic origin the Gimmirai (Cimmirians) seem to have been indistinguishable from the Sakai-Scythians. Harmatta noticed that the rank and file of the “Gimirri” (i.e. Cimmerians or Scythians) had Aramaic names9. Both Cimmerians and Scyths were combinations in differing proportions of the same groups. The Cimmerians (i.e. West Scythians) were defeated by the Assyrians and disappeared. The East Scythians (Sakai) remained however for a time in the Middle East area, gained control of the Assyrian Empire, and eventually took the leading role in devastating the Assyrian cities. They too were destined to suffer defeat (at the hands of their Median and Babylonian allies who betrayed and ambushed them) and to be driven northwards, beyond the Caucasus Mountains into the steppe areas of southern Russia (“Scythia”) whence they ultimately continued westward into Europe. Their history in the Middle East as determined by secular sources is parallel to descriptions of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel in the Bible and Talmud. These parallels are part of the proofs serving to equate the Scyths (at least in part) with the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
The Cimmerians were driven westward. They invaded Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia. These States were all in modern day Turkey. Ultimately the Cimmerians to the west of Assyria were to be defeated and to leave the area of Turkey, crossing the Bosporus and advancing into Europe. They became the dominant factor of Celtic civilization, the Galatae of Gaul, the Cimbri of Scandinavia, and the Cymry of Britain. Homer and other Greeks reported Cimmerians in Britain at an early date.
A portion of the Cimmerians had not gone to the west of Assyria. Some of these joined the Assyrian forces, while others were with the Scythians to the east of Assyria. The Scythians also were to be driven out of the Middle East and to go northwards.
The Scythians in the north split into two sections, one was to the north of the Caucasus west of the Caspian Sea and the other was east of the Caspian.
The Scythians in the west at an early stage sent offshoots into Europe who joined the Cimmerians already there. Later the Western Scythians migrated to Scandinavia, which at first was named “Scath-anavia” in their honor, and to Germany. The Mesopotamians and Persians called all of the Scythians “Sakae”, while the Greeks called them “Scythians”. Modern historians in order to distinguish between the two sections of Scythians often use the term “Scythian” to refer to those Scythians from west of the Caspian Sea and north of the Caucasus, while “Sakae” is used for those situated east of the Caspian. The Scythian-Sakae were also known as “Sexe” and as “Saxon” and the Anglo-Saxons emerged from them. The city of Saksin on the northwest shores of the Caspian Sea was referred to by contemporaries as the “Saxon city”10. Saksin was one of the capitals of the Khazars who were a Scythian people and traditionally believed to have been descended from the Israelite Tribes of Manasseh and Simeon11.
THE CIMMERIANS IN THE WEST
HALSTATT
The dominating element in Central and Western Europe from ca.1200 BCE had been bearers of the Urnfield Culture, out of which developed Halstatt civilization. The given dates of transition from Urnfield to Halstatt cultures vary from one authority to another, but the usually accepted date is around 700. Even those who use Halstatt as a term for the civilization prior to that date agree that after ca 700 BCE a very significant change took place. This was caused by groups of conquerors from the east identified as Cimmerian. Sometime in the 700s BCE (or later, the dates are uncertain) “there appear in Hungary, and westwards to the southern parts of the North Alpine province, bronze horse bits, and bridle mounts, which are closely related in form to types found across the Pontic steppes in Caucasia and even farther afield, in Iran....It seems on the whole that horsemen with far flung connections over the steppes were in fact involved .....Their contribution was a stimulus in things martial and in improved horse management, and they may even have been veteran mercenaries from the armies of Assyria and Urartu”12.
Not too long after the coming of the above group, or together with them other groups similar to the first arrived. Over a period of time they gradually moved their centers of operation westward. They exhibited strong oriental influences and brought an increased emphasis on the use of iron. The newcomers were numerous. They dominated the previous inhabitants and in some areas at least must have replaced them. They came from the Middle East and had been influenced by Assyrian military practices. Celtic civilization as it is known to history developed from the culture that they introduced.
THE AUSTRIAN CHRONICLE,
CIMMERIANS, AND ISRAEL
The early center of Celtic Halstatt civilization was in Austria. A Latin document known as “The Austrian Chronicle” says that Central Europe had been subjected by the Assyrians and that Jews exiled by Sennacherib entered Europe via the Danube River. Beginning in ca. 707 BCE, says the Chronicle, the Jews overcame a certain King Gennan who then became Jewish. Consequently, the Jews intermarried with the local rulers in the regions of Austria and Hungary, the pagans were subdued and the whole country was Jewish until ca.227 CE. Comparing this legend with other information we have the following: Many Jews from Judah were exiled by Sennacherib and they appear to have joined the northern Lost Ten Tribes in Exile and to have become identified with them. In popular Jewish and non-Jewish literature “Sennacherib” came to represent the Assyrian Monarchs in general and “Jew” could mean Israelite of any kind. There are signs in Europe at this time of Assyrian influence. The Cimmerians (who at the least included Israelites amongst them) did come westward in the period ca. 700-650 BCE and did gain control over the area in question. A Cimmerian-Celtic presence may have remained more or less dominant in the area of Austria up until the late date ascribed to Jewish suzerainty.
Another group from Scythia came later and introduced more changes into “Celtic” civilization. They produced the “La Tene” culture on the Middle Rhine after ca.500 BCE. The center of “La Tene” moved into North France and from there passed over into the British Isles.
According to Wagner,
“Early Celtic civilisation seems to have its roots in the civilization of the North Balkans (Thrace), Asia Minor, and the adjacent Iranian and Mesopotamian areas. This does not exclude the possibility of certain features of insular Celtic civilization having either a very old Western European background or direct links with North Africa”13.
Important elements amongst the Celts (Cimmerians) had originated in the Middle East (i.e. in the Land of Greater Israel), been exposed to Mesopotamian (Assyrian & co.) and Iranian (i.e. Persian and Median) influences, sojourned partly in Asia Minor, and had passed through the Balkans to the west. The “Insular” natives (of Britain and Ireland) before receiving Celtic reinforcements and culture had been associated with the Phoenicians and arrived via North Africa and Spain which was subject to North African influence.
In Spain the Cimmerian-Celts amalgamated with the Hiberi (i.e. Hebrews) of “Tarshish” and influenced their culture. In the 500s BCE the combined Israelite Cimmerians-and-Hiberi (from Spain) were established on the Rhone in southern France Those Celts who emerged from Spain are roughly speaking those who identified themselves as HIBERI (or “Iberi” i.e. Hebrews) and who were also known as Galatae. They came from Gilead in Israel. The Galatae Celts were thrown back from the Rhone, but partially recuperated, gained control over most of Gaul, and penetrated Britain and Ireland. In Gaul they tended to gravitate towards the north. The Belgae were associated with them.
THE CYMRY AND CIMBRIANS
The Celts were believed to have come from the east and to have advanced via the Danube Valley. Welsh Legend stated that their ancestors, the Cymry, had been led by Hu Gadarn from Drephane opposite Byzantium (on the Bosporus) across the sea to Britain. This account accords with what is known concerning the Cimmerians and their Celtic offspring who arrived in Europe overland from the same direction and bearing essentially the same name and culture.
In North Europe there appeared a people called Cimbri. The Cimbri were reported by the Romans in ca.114 BCE at which time they were moving along the Danube but assumedly had already based themselves in Scandinavia which the Romans considered their homeland and wherein place names testify to their presence. The Cimbrians carried a metal bull with them in their migrations. This was admittedly a pagan custom but one which Hebrews had practiced almost from the beginning (Exodus 32:4). Archaeological research shows strong Thracian and Anatolian influences on the Danish Iron Age from this time which connects with the Cimbri and paths of Cimmerian migration.
Diodorus Siculus (32:4 7) linked the Cimmerians of old, the Galatians, and the Cimbri altogether.
Plutarch (in “Marius”) reported the opinion that the Cimmerians, Cimbri, and Scythians, were in effect all members of the one nation whom he calls “Celto-Scythians”.
Homer placed the Cimmerians in the British Isles as did a poem allegedly written ca.500 BCE by the Greek Orpheus.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (891 CE) begins by saying that the Britons came from Armenia and the Picts (of Scotland) from the south of Scythia. “Armenia” is the land of Urartu wherein the Cimmerians had sojourned and from which as an historically identifiable entity they emerged. The idea that the Scots came from Scythia is found in most legendary accounts of Ireland and Scotland.
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ORIGIN TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIX