Amardi

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A map that shows the area of the Amards between the Sefid-Rud and Do Hezar River.

The Amardians, widely referred to as the Amardi (and sometimes Mardi), were an ancient Iranian[1] tribe living along the mountainous region bordering the Caspian Sea to the north,[2] to whom the Iron Age culture at Marlik is attributed.[3] They are said to be related to, or the same tribe as, the Dahae and Sacae. That is to say, they were Scythian.[4] Herodotus mentions a tribe with a similar name as one of the ten to fifteen Persian tribes in Persis.[1][5]

They lived in the valleys in between the Susis and Persis,[6] in what is now southwestern Iran. The southern Mardi are described by Nearchus as one of the four predatory mountain peoples of the southwest, along with the Susians, Uxii, and Elymaeans.[7] Of these four nomadic groups, they were the only tribe linguistically Iranian.[8]

  1. ^ a b "IRAN" [v. PEOPLES OF IRAN (2) Pre-Islamic]. Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. XIII. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  2. ^ Compact Bible atlas with gazetteer. Baker Book House. 1979. p. 7. ISBN 9780801024320 – via Google Books.
    - Smith, William (1854). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 1. Little, Brown & Company – via Google Books.
    - Indo-iranica. Vol. 2. Iran Society. 1947. p. 21 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Negahban, Ezat O. (1995). Marlik: The Complete Excavation Report. UPenn Museum of Archaeology. p. 321. ISBN 9780924171321.
  4. ^ Norris, Edwin (1853). Memoir on the Scythic Version of the Behistun Inscription. Harrison and Sons.
  5. ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 13. Routledge & Kegan Paul. 2004. p. 336. ISBN 9780933273955. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Eadie, John (1852). Early Oriental History, Comprising the Histories of Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Lydia, Phrygia, and Phoenicia. Griffin. ISBN 9780848207410.
  7. ^ "CASPIANS". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. V. p. 62. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. ^ electricpulp.com. "IRAN v. PEOPLES OF IRAN (2) Pre-Islamic – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2017-08-07.