Istvánovits Eszter: International Connections... (Jósa András Múzeum Kiadványai 47. Aszód-Nyíregyháza, 2001)

Eszter Istvánovits - Valéria Kulcsár: Sarmatians through the eyes of strangers. The Sarmatian warrior

ease, and proceeded as far as Armenia, laying all waste before them. Now Tiridates was king of that country, who met them, and fought them, but had like to have been taken alive in the battle; for a certain man threw a net over him from a great distance, and had soon drawn him to him, unless he had immediately cut the cord with his sword, and ran away, and prevented it." Pausanias (I, 21, 8) also states: "They throw a lasso round any enemy they meet, and then turning round their horses upset the enemy caught in the lasso." According to Gamber, a rope, possibly a lasso (if not a shield belt), can be seen on a tropaeum of Trajan's Column (GAMBER 1964, 11). The data on the lasso were summarised by Alföldi. According to him "es ist tatsächlich eine Nationalwaffe bei den Iraniern" (ALFÖLDI 1941, 178). We now turn to the tactics of Sarmatians and their enemies. Warfare underwent numerous changes in the Early Imperial Period - both before and after the Marcomannic Wars. We must keep these changes in mind while examining the Sarmatian evidence. At the end of the 2

nd c, the period of Marcomannic-Sarmatian Wars, information on Sarmatians in the Carpathian Basin suddenly increases. Besides increased archaeological material for Sarmatian warfare, we have literary sources and iconographical material. This is not surprising, given that the role of the Sarmatians had increased in importance from the Imperial perspective; from this point on they numbered among Rome's most serious enemies. It suffices to refer to Marcus Aurelius, who was contemplating the extermination of Sarmatians. A scholarly evaluation of the depictions of barbarians on the Aurelian Column is still lacking (as is the case with most depictions of barbarians). To summarise earlier analyses (PETERSEN 1896; ZWIKKER 1941; CAPRINO 1955), the following can be said: 1. In comparison to earlier works of art, the depictions of the Aurelian Column are more stereotyped and show a serious decline. 2. A series of pictures shows the events of the war in chronological order. 3. The depictions show the events of war starting from 172 (ALFÖLDI 1942, 226, footnote 254). Stereotyping makes it almost impossible to distinguish Sarmatians from other barbarians. Their costumes and arms are homogenised. We can surmise Sarmatians among the enemies of Rome depicted on horseback. They are usually shown with a short spear, the same type used by Romans, Germans(?), and other peoples (fig. 13). The only special feature is the typical bearded face with protruding eyebrows and receding forehead (mentioned earlier). Thus, the Aurelian Column offers little useful data, especially if we consider the special military equipment of the Sarmatians, the cataphracts, known from both literary and other iconographical sources. Other evidence suggests the presence of heavily armoured Sarmatian cavalry in the Carpathian Basin during the Marcomannic Wars. These units must have been formed from members of the aristocracy. From Cassius Dio (LXXII.16.) we know that in the year 175, 5500 Sarmatian warriors were sent to Britain: "For that they were still strong at this time and had done the Romans a great harm was evident from the fact that they returned a hundred thousand captives that were still in their hands even after the many who had been sold, had died, or had escaped, and that they promptly furnished as their contribution to the alliance eight thousand cavalry, fifty-five hundred of whom he sent to Britain." Epigraphic