Skunkha (Old Persian: đżđ¤đ˘đ§ Skuâżxa),[1] was king of the SakÄ tigraxaudÄ (“Saka who wear pointed caps”), a group of the Saka, in the 6th century BC.
Name
The name Skuâżxa might be related to the Ossetian term meaning “distinguishing oneself,” and attested as skâyxyn (ŃĐşŃŃŃ ŃĐ˝) in the Iron dialect, and as ĂŚskâwĂŚnxun (ÓŃĐşŃŃÓĐ˝Ń ŃĐ˝) in the Digor dialect.[2][3]
Capture
In 519 BC, Darius I of the Persian Achaemenid Empire attacked the Saka tribe and captured their king. His capture is depicted in the relief sculpture of Behistun Inscription, last in a row of defeated “lying kings”.[4] After his defeat, Darius replaced him with the chief of another tribe.[5]
References
- ^ a b “Old Persian Corpus: Part No. 23: Text: DBk”. Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien. Goethe University Frankfurt. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Schmitt, RĂźdiger (2018). “SCYTHIAN LANGUAGE”. EncyclopĂŚdia Iranica. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
OPers. Skunxa- (the leader of the Sakas, who rebelled against Darius I), perhaps related to Oss. skâyxyn/ĂŚsk’wĂŚnxun “to distinguish oneself”.
- ^ Schmitt, RĂźdiger (2018). “Die Sprache der Skythen” [THE LANGUAGE OF THE SCYTHIANS] (PDF). NartamongĂŚ. The Journal of Alano-Ossetic Studies: Epic, Mythology & Language (in German). 13 (1â2): 77â86. doi:10.23671/VNC.2018.1-2.37869. ISSN 1810-8172. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
3. altpers. Skunxa- (der AnfĂźhrer der Saken, die sich gegen Dareios I. erhoben), vielleicht zu verbinden mit osset. digoron skâyxyn, iron ĂŚsk’wĂŚnxun âsich auszeichnen usw.”.
[3. OPers. Skunxa- (the leader of the Sakas, who rebelled against Darius I), perhaps related to Osset. Digor skâyxyn, Iron ĂŚskâwĂŚnxun “to distinguish oneself, etc.”.] - ^ Rolle, Renate (1 July 1992). The World of the Scythians. University of California Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0520068643.
- ^ M. A. Dandamayev (1999). History of Civilizations of Central Asia Volume II: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 BC to AD 250. UNESCO. pp. 44â46. ISBN 978-8120815407.