Skunkha

Skuⁿxa
Behistun relief of Skuⁿxa
Label: iyam Skuⁿxa hya Saka ("This Skuⁿxa, he is a Saka")[1]
King of the Sakā tigraxaudā
Reignmid 6th century BCE–518 BCE
PredecessorTomyris (?)
Successorunknown
SakaSkuⁿxa
ReligionScythian religion

Skunkha (Old Persian: 𐎿𐎤𐎢𐎧 Skuⁿxa),[1] was king of the Sakā tigraxaudā ("Saka who wear pointed caps"), a group of the Saka, in the 6th century BC.

Name

The name Skuⁿxa might be related to the Ossetian term meaning "distinguishing oneself," and attested as sgwyxyn (сгуыхын) in the Iron dialect, and as æsk’wænxun (ӕскъуӕнхун) in the Digor dialect.[2][3]

Capture

In 519 BC, Darius I of Achaemenids 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

  1. ^ a b "Old Persian Corpus: Part No. 23: Text: DBk". Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien. Goethe University Frankfurt. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  2. ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger (2018). "SCYTHIAN LANGUAGE". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 28 July 2022. OPers. Skunxa- (the leader of the Sakas, who rebelled against Darius I), perhaps related to Oss. skₒyxyn/æsk'wænxun "to distinguish oneself".
  3. ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger (2018). "Die Sprache der Skythen" [THE LANGUAGE OF THE SCYTHIANS] (PDF). Nartamongæ. The Journal of Alano-Ossetic Studies: Epic, Mythology & Language (in German). 13 (1–2): 77–86. doi:10.23671/VNC.2018.1-2.37869. ISSN 1810-8172. Retrieved 28 July 2022. 3. altpers. Skunxa- (der Anführer der Saken, die sich gegen Dareios I. erhoben), vielleicht zu verbinden mit osset. digoron skₒyxyn, iron æsk'wænxun „sich auszeichnen usw.". [3. OPers. Skunxa- (the leader of the Sakas, who rebelled against Darius I), perhaps related to Osset. Digor skₒyxyn, Iron æsk’wænxun "to distinguish oneself, etc.".]
  4. ^ Rolle, Renate (1 July 1992). The World of the Scythians. University of California Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0520068643.
  5. ^ 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. 44–46. ISBN 978-8120815407.
Skuⁿxa
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of the Sakā tigraxaudā
mid 6th century BCE–518 BCE 		Succeeded by
unknown
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