Dahae

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Author: Laxman Burdak, IFS (R).

Location of Dahae :present-day west and northwest Turkmenistan, far southwest Kazakhstan and far west Uzbekistan (most of the Ustyurt Plateau)

Dahae or Dahaeans were a confederacy of three Ancient Iranian tribes.

Variants

Jat Gotras Namesake

Jat Gotras Namesake

Location

Dahae people lived in the region to the immediate east of the Caspian Sea. They spoke an Eastern Iranian language. It was known as Dihistan and Dahistan during the Sassanid period.

The Dahae initially lived in the north-eastern part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, in the arid steppes of the Karakum Desert near Margiana, alongside the Saka groups and the Sogdians and Chorasmians,[2] and immediately to the north of Hyrcania.[3]

During late 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE, the Dahae, and especially their constituent tribe of the Parni, had settled along the southern and southwestern fringes of the Karakum desert, and by the mid-3rd century BCE they had moved west and had settled along the southeastern shores of the Caspian Sea, in the lands to the north of Hyrcania. Two other Dahae tribes, the Xanthioi and the Pissouroi, lived further east till the regions to the north of Areia.[4]

Name

The name of the Dahae, attested in the Old Persian form Dahā, is derived from a Saka language name meaning "man," based on the common practice among various peoples of calling themselves "man" in their own languages. This term is attested in the Khotanese form daha.[5] The Dahae were a nomadic people, and no known sedentary settlement can be attributed to them.[6]

The scholar David Gordon White has instead suggested that the name of the Dahae meant "Stranglers," and was derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dhau, from which he also derived the name of the Dacians.[7]

Ch.11 Tactics of the Opposing Generals (p.160-163)

Arrian[8] writes..... Darius and his army remained drawn up during the night in the same order as that in which they had first arrayed themselves; because they had not surrounded themselves with a completely entrenched camp, and, moreover, they were afraid that the enemy would attack them in the night. The success of the Persians, on this occasion, was impeded especially by this long standing on watch with their arms, and by the fear which usually springs up before great dangers; which, however, was not then suddenly aroused by a momentary panic, but had been experienced for a long time, and had thoroughly cowed their spirits.[1]

The army of Darius was drawn up in the following manner: for, according to the statement of Aristobulus, the written scheme of arrangement drawn up by Darius was afterwards captured.

His left wing was held by the Bactrian cavalry, in conjunction with the Daans[2] and Arachotians; near these had been posted the Persians, horse and foot mixed together; next to these the Susians, and then the Cadusians. This was the arrangement of the left wing as far as the middle of the whole phalanx.

On the right had been posted the men from Coele-Syria and Mesopotamia. On the right again were the Medes; next to them the Parthians and Sacians; then the Tapurians and Hyrcanians, and last the Albanians and Sacesinians, extending as far as the middle of the whole phalanx.

In the centre where King Darius was, had been posted the king's kinsmen,[3] the Persian guards carrying spears with golden apples at the butt end,[4] the Indians, the Carians who had been forcibly removed to Central Asia, and the Mardian archers.[5] The Uxians, the Babylonians, the men who dwell near the Red Sea, and the Sitacenians had also been drawn up in deep column.

On the left, opposite Alexander's right, had been posted the Scythian cavalry, about 1,000 Bactrians and 100 scythe-bearing chariots. In front of Darius's royal squadron of cavalry stood the elephants and 50 chariots. In front of the right wing the Armenian and Cappadocian cavalry with 50 scythe-bearing chariots bad been posted. The Greek mercenaries, as alone capable of coping with the Macedonians, were stationed right opposite their phalanx, in two divisions close beside Darius himself and his Persian attendants, one division on each side.[6]

Alexander's army was marshalled as follows: The right wing was held by the cavalry Companions, in front of whom had been posted the royal squadron, commanded by Clitus, son of Dropidas. Near this was the squadron of Glaucias, next to it that of Aristo, then that of Sopolis, son of Hermodorus, then that of Heraclides, son of Antiochus. Near this was that of Demetrius, son of Althaemenes, then that of Meleager, and last one of the royal squadrons commanded by Hegelochus, son of Hippostratus. All the cavalry Companions were under the supreme command of Philotas, son of Parmenio. Of the phalanx of Macedonian infantry, nearest to the cavalry had been posted first the select corps of shield-bearing guards, and then the rest of the shield-bearing-guards, under the command of Nicanor, son of Parmenio. Next to these was the brigade of Coenus, son of Polemocrates; after these that of Perdiceas, son of Orontes, then that of Meleager, son of Neoptolemus, then that of Polysperchon,[7] son of Simmias, and last that of Amyntas, son of Andromenes, under the command of Simmias, because Amyntas had been despatched to Macedonia to levy an army. The brigade of Craterus, son of Alexander, held the left end of the Macedonian phalanx, and this general commanded the left wing of the infantry.[8] Next to him was the allied Grecian cavalry, under the command of Erigyius, son of Larichus. Next to these, towards the left wing of the army, were the Thessalian cavalry, under the command of Philip, son of Menelaüs. But the whole left wing was led by Parmenio, son of Philotas, round whose person were ranged the Pharsalian horsemen, who were both the best and most numerous squadron of the Thessalian cavalry.


1. See note 1 to ii. 10 supra.

2. These people were a Scythian tribe leading a nomadic life east of the Caspian. They are called Daoi by Herodotus, i. 125; Dahae by Ammianus, xxii. 8, 21; Livy, xxxv. 48; xxxvii. 38; Vergil (Aeneid, viii. 728); Pliny, vi. 19; Strabo, xi. 7. They are mentioned in Ezra iv. 9 as subjects of Persia. The district is now called Daikh. See Früst's Hebrew Lexicon, sub voce דֶֽה.

3. A title of honour. Curtius says that they numbered 15,000.

4. Cf. Herodotus, vii. 41.

5. This people lived to the south of the Caspian.

6. "Several names of various contingents stated to have been present in the field are not placed in the official return— thus the Sogdiani, the Arians, and the Indian mountaineers are mentioned by Arrian as having joined Darius (iii. 8); the Kossaeans by Diodorus (xvii. 59); the Sogdiani, Massagatae, Belitae, Kossaeans, Gortyae, Phrygians, and Kataonians, by Curtius (iv. 12)."—Grote.

7. This distinguished general succeeded Antipater as regent of Macedonia, but was overcome by Cassander, the son of the former, and became subordinate to him.

8. There were thus six taxeis, or brigades of foot Companions, as they were called, in the phalanx of infantry at the battle of Arbela. Arrian's description of the battle at the Granicus (i. 14) seems to be erroneous in some of the words of the text; yet it may be gathered from it that there were also six taxeis in Alexander's phalanx on that occasion also.

p.160-163

Ch.28: Alexander crosses the Hindu-Koosh (p.196-199)

Arrian[9] writes.... After the transaction of this business, he advanced against Bactra and Bessus, reducing the Drangians and Gadrosians[1] to subjection on his march. He also reduced the Arachotians to subjection and appointed Menon viceroy over them. He then reached the Indians, who inhabit the land bordering on that of the Arachotians. All these nations he reached marching through deep snow and his soldiers experiencing scarcity of provisions and severe hardship. Learning that the Areians had again revolted, in consequence of Satibarzanes invading their land with 2,000 cavalry, which he had received from Bessus, he despatched against them Artabazus the Persian with Erigyius and Caranus two of the Companions, also ordering Phrataphernea, viceroy of the Parthians, to assist them in attacking the Areians. An obstinately contested battle then took place between the troops of Erigyius and Caranus and those of Satibarzanes; nor did the barbarians give way until Satibarzanes, encountering Erigyius, was struck in the face with a spear and killed. Then the barbarians gave way and fled with headlong speed.

Meantime Alexander was leading his army towards Mount Caucasus,[2] where he founded a city and named it Alexandreia.[3] Having offered sacrifice here to the gods to whom it was his custom to sacrifice, he crossed Mount Caucasus, after appointing Proexes, a Persian, viceroy over the land, and leaving Neiloxenus son of Satyrus, one of the Companions, with an army as superintendent. According to the account of Aristobulus, Mount Caucasus is as lofty as any in Asia, and most of it is bare, at any rate in that part where Alexander crossed it. This range of mountains stretches out so far that they say even that Mount Taurus, which forms the boundary of Cilicia and Pamphylia, springs from it, as do other great ranges which have been distinguished from the Caucasus by various names according to the position of each, Aristobulus says that in this part of the Caucasus nothing grew except terebinth trees and silphium;[4] notwithstanding which, it was inhabited by many people, and many sheep and oxen graze there; because sheep are very fond of silphium. For if a sheep smells it even from a distance, it runs to it and feeds upon the flower. They also dig up the root, which is devoured by the sheep. For this reason in Cyrene,[5] some drive their flocks as far as possible away from the places where their silphium is growing; others even enclose the place with a fence, so that even if the sheep should approach it they would not be able to get within the enclosure. For the silphium is very valuable to the Cyrenaeans.

Bessus, accompanied by the Persians who had taken part with him in the seizure of Darius, and by 7,000 of the Bactrians themselves and the Daans who dwelt on this side the Tanais,[6] was laying waste the country at the foot of Mount Caucasus, in order to prevent Alexander from marching any further, both by the desolation of the land between the enemy and himself and by the lack of provisions. But none the less did Alexander keep up the march, though with difficulty, both on account of the deep snow and from the want of necessaries; but yet he persevered in his journey. When Bessus was informed that Alexander was now not far off, he crossed the river Oxus,[7] and having burnt the boats upon which he had crossed, he withdrew to Nautaca[8] in the land of Sogdiana. He was followed by Spitamenes and Oxyartes, with the cavalry from Sogdiana, as well as by the Daans from the Tanais. But the Bactrian cavalry, perceiving that, Bessus had resolved to take to flight, all dispersed in various directions to their own abodes.


1. Gadrosia was the furthest province of the Persian empire on the south-east It comprised the south-east part of Beloochistan.

2. This was not the range usually so called, but what was known as the Indian Caucasus, the proper name being Paropanisus. It is now called Hindu-Koosh.

3. This city was probably on the site of Beghram, twenty-five miles north-east of Cabul. See Grote's Greece, vol. xii. ch. 94.

4. There are two kinds of silphium of laserpitium, the Cyrenaic, and the Persian. The latter is usually called asafœtida. See Herodotus (iv. 169); Pliny (Historia Naturalis, xix. 15; xxiii. 48); Aelian (Varia Historia, xii. 37); Aristophanes (Plutus, 925); Plautus (Rud., iii. 2, 16); Catullus (vii. laserpitiferis Cyrenis).

5. Cyrene was a colony founded by Battus from Thera, an island colonized by the Spartans. The territory of Cyrenaica is now a part of Tripoli. Cf. Pindar (Pyth., iv. 457); Herodotus (iv. 159-205)

6. This Tanais was usually called Jaxartes, now Sir, flowing into the sea of Aral.

7. The Oxus, now called Jihoun or Amou, flows into the sea of Aral, but formerly flowed into the Caspian.

8. Some think this town stood where Naksheh now is, and others think it was at Kesch.

p.196-199

Ch.12: Passage of the Hydaspes (p.284-285)

Such were the injunctions laid upon Craterus. Between the island and the great camp where Alexander had left this general, he posted Meleager, Attalus, and Gorgias, with the Grecian mercenaries, cavalry and infantry, giving them instructions to cross in detachments, breaking up the army as soon as they saw the Indians already involved in battle. He then picked the select body-guard called the Companions, as well as the cavalry regiments of Hephaestion, Perdiccas, and Demetrius, the cavalry from Bactria, Sogdiana, and Scythia, and the Daan horse-archers; and from the phalanx of infantry the shield-bearing guards, the brigades of Clitus and Coenus, with the archers and Agrianians, and made a secret march, keeping far away from the bank of the river, in order not to be seen marching towards the island and headland, from which he had determined to cross. There the skins were filled in the night with the hay which had been procured long before, and they were tightly stitched up. In the night a furious storm of rain occurred, on account of which his preparations and attempt to cross were still less observed, since the claps of thunder and the storm drowned with their din the clatter of the weapons and the noise which arose from the orders given by the officers. Most of the vessels, the thirty-oared galleys included with the rest, had been cut in pieces by his order and conveyed to this place, where they had been secretly fixed together again1 and hidden in the wood. At the approach of daylight, both the wind and the rain calmed down; and the rest of the army went over opposite the island, the cavalry mounting upon the skins, and as many of the foot soldiers as the boats would receive getting into them. They went so secretly that they were not observed by the sentinels posted by Porus, before they had already got beyond the island and were only a little way from the other bank.


1. The perf. pass. πέπηγμαι is used by Arrian and Dionysius, but by Homer and the Attic writers the form used is πέπηγα. Doric, πέπαγα.

p.284-285

Mention by Pliny

Pliny[10] mentions The nations of Scythia and the countries on the Eastern Ocean..... Beyond this river (Jaxartes) are the peoples of Scythia. The Persians have called them by the general name of Sacæ,1 which properly belongs to only the nearest nation of them. The more ancient writers give them the name of Aramii. The Scythians themselves give the name of "Chorsari" to the Persians, and they call Mount Caucasus Graucasis, which means "white with snow."

The multitude of these Scythian nations is quite innumerable: in their life and habits they much resemble the people of Parthia.

The tribes among them that are better known are the Sacæ, the Massagetæ,2 the Dahæ,3 the Essedones,4 the Ariacæ,5 the Rhymmici, the Pæsici, the Amardi,6 the Histi, the Edones, the Came, the Camacæ, the Euchatæ,7 the Cotieri, the Anthusiani, the Psacæ, the Arimaspi,8 the Antacati, the Chroasai, and the Œtei; among them the Napæi9 are said to have been destroyed by the Palæi.


1 The Sacæ probably formed one of the most numerous and most powerful of the Scythian Nomad tribes, and dwelt to the east and north-east of the Massagetæ, as far as Servia, in the steppes of Central Asia, which are now peopled by the Kirghiz Cossacks, in whose name that of their ancestors, the Sacæ, is traced by some geographers. 2 Meaning the "Great Getæ." They dwelt beyond the Jaxartes and the Sea of Aral, and their country corresponds to that of the Khirghiz Tartars in the north of Independent Tartary.

3 The Dahæ were a numerous and warlike Nomad tribe, who wandered over the vast steppes lying to the east of the Caspian Sea. Strabo has grouped them with the Sacæ and Massagetæ, as the great Scythian tribes of Inner Asia, to the north of Bactriana.

4 See also B. iv. c. 20, and B. vi. c. 7. The position of the Essedones, or perhaps more correctly, the Issedones, may probably be assigned to the east of Ichim, in the steppes of the central border of the Kirghiz, in the immediate vicinity of the Arimaspi, who dwelt on the northern declivity of the Altaï chain. A communication is supposed to have been carried on between these two peoples for the exchange of the gold that was the produce of those mountain districts.

5 They dwelt, according to Ptolemy, along the southern banks of the Jaxartes.

6 Or the Mardi, a warlike Asiatic tribe. Stephanus Byzantinus, following Strabo, places the Amardi near the Hyrcani, and adds, "There are also Persian Mardi, without the a;" and, speaking of the Mardi, he mentions them as an Hyrcanian tribe, of predatory habits, and skilled in archery.

7 D'Anville supposes that the Euchatæ may have dwelt at the modern Koten, in Little Bukharia. It is suggested, however, by Parisot, that they may have possibly occupied a valley of the Himalaya, in the midst of a country known as "Cathai," or the "desert."

8 The first extant notice of them is in Herodotus; but before him there was the poem of Aristeas of Proconnesus, of which the title was 'Arimaspea;' and it is mainly upon the statements in it that the stories told relative to this people rest—such as their being one-eyed, and as to their stealing the gold from the Gryphes, or Griffins, under whose custody it was placed. Their locality is by some supposed to have been on the left bank of the Middle Volga, in the governments of Kasan, Simbirsk, and Saratov: a locality which is sufficiently near the gold districts of the Uralian chain to account for the legends connecting them with the Gryphes, or guardians of the gold.

9 The former reading was, "The Napæi are said to have perished as well as the Apellæi." Sillig has, however, in all probability, restored the correct one. "Finding," he says, "in the work of Diodorus Siculus, that two peoples of Scythia were called, from their two kings, who were brothers, the Napi and the Pali, we have followed close upon the footsteps of certain MSS. of Pliny, and have come to the conclusion that some disputes aro

History

The first dateable mention of this nomad confederacy appears in the list of nations of Xerxes the great Daeva inscription. In this list of the peoples and provinces of the Achaemenid Empire, the Dahae are identified in Old Persian as Dāha and are immediately followed by a "Saka" group, who are listed as being neighbors of the Dāha.

In the 1st century BCE, Strabo (Geographika 11.8.1) refers to the Dahae explicitly as the "Scythian Dahae". The historiographer further places the Dahae in the approximate vicinity of present-day Turkmenistan.

The Dahae, together with the Saka tribes, are known to have fought in the Achaemenid armies at the Battle of Gaugamela. Following the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, they joined Alexander of Macedon in his quest to India. Saka coins from the Seleucid era are sometimes specifically attributed to the Dahae.

In the third century, a branch of Dahae called the Parni would rise to prominence under their chief Arsaces. They invaded Parthia, which had just previously declared independence from the Seleucids, deposed the reigning monarch, and Arsaces crowned himself king. His successors, who all named themselves Arsaces and are thus referred to as the Arsacids, would eventually assert military control over the entire Iranian plateau. By then, they would be indistinguishable from the Parthians, and would also be called by that name.

While 'Dahae' was preserved in the toponym 'Dahestan'/'Dihistan' - a district "on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea" - "an urban center of the ancient Dahae is quite unknown."[11]

Legacy

The lands to the north of Hyrcania where the Dahae had settled in the 3rd century BCE became known as Dehestān (دَهستان) and Dahistān (داهستان) after them.[12]

कैस्पियन सागर के दहिया

दलीप सिंह अहलावत[13] लिखते हैं:

दहिया - चीनी इतिहासकारों के अनुसार 2600 ई० पू० में दहिया जाटों का शासन कैस्पियन सागर के क्षेत्र पर था। ये लोग वहां से अमू दरिया तथा ईरान के उत्तरी भाग तक फैल गये। इन लोगों का 331 ई० पू० में सिकन्दर से युद्ध अरबेला (अमू दरिया के उत्तर में) के स्थान पर हुआ। इन लोगों के नाम पर इनका देश दहिस्तान कहलाया। अट्रेक नदी के उत्तर में अखल की उपजाऊ भूमि में इनके नाम से एक ‘दहिस्तान’ जिला भी है (फारस का इतिहास, जिल्द 1, पृ० 307)। जब दहिया लोगों की शक्ति कैस्पियन सागर क्षेत्र पर हुई तब वह इनके नाम पर ‘दधि या दहाय सागर’ कहलाया (वायु पुराण 49-75)।

500 ई० पू० का एक नक्शा जो कि डी० पी० सिंहल ने अपनी लिखित पुस्तक ‘इण्डिया एण्ड वर्ल्ड सिविलाईज़ेशन’ के पृ० 417 पर दिया है। इसके अनुसार शक लोगों को सिकन्दरिया (बल्ख के उत्तर में) के ऊपर तथा सौग्डियाना के उत्तर में और अरल सागर एवं मस्सागेटाई के पूर्व में दिखलाया है। अरल सागर तथा कैस्पियन सागर के मध्य में दहिया लोगों को और सीथियन जाटों को काला सागर के पश्चिम में डेन्यूब नदी पर और उत्तर में डॉन नदी पर दिखलाया गया।

जाट्स दी ऐनशन्ट रूलर्ज पुस्तक में लेखक बी० एस० दहिया ने 800 ई० पू० मध्य


जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठान्त-344


एशिया में जातियों व नगरों का एक नक्शा प्रस्तुत किया है। उसके अनुसार शक लोग अरब सागर के उत्तर में, कांग अमू दरिया के पश्चिम में, दहिया अमू दरिया व कैस्पियन सागर के मध्य में, विर्क दहिया से दक्षिण तथा अमू दरिया से पूर्व में और कैस्पियन सागर के उत्तर में, मान कैस्पियन सागर के दक्षिण में और वेन लोगों को कैस्पियन सागर के पश्चिम तथा कुर नदी के दक्षिण व वेन झील (तुर्की में) के उत्तर व पूर्व क्षेत्र में दिखलाया है। बैंस लोग वेन के पूर्व में तथा नारा जाट वेन के दक्षिण में शासक थे।

सम्राट् साईरस ने 529 ई० पू० मस्सागेटाई राज्य की महाराणी तोमिरिस पर आक्रमण किया, उस युद्ध में महाराणी की सेना में दहिया वीर सैनिक भी थे। अन्त में साईरस मारा गया, उस समय वह दहिया जाटों से लड़ रहा था (P. Sykes, OP. cit, P. 153)।

कर्नल जेम्स टॉड ने लिखा है कि ईसा से हजारों वर्ष पहले दहिया महाजाति दल सिर दरिया के पूर्व में आबाद था। इनके निकट क्षेत्र में हेर, भुल्लर और सिहाग जाटवंश बसे हुए थे। इन लोगों का राज्य ईरान तथा अरमानिया में भी रहा (अधिक जानकारी के लिए देखो, तृतीय अध्याय दहिया प्रकरण)। ईरान में दहिया लोगों का शासन 256 ई० पू० से सन् 224 A.D. तक 480 वर्ष रहा।

दहिस्तान में चहल जाटवंश

चहल - इस जाटवंश का राज्य दहिस्तान देश (कैस्पियन सागर) के क्षेत्र पर था। इनको सन् 440 ई० में यज़देगिर्द तृतीय (Yazdegird III) ने युद्ध करके इसी क्षेत्र में हराया। जाट्स दी ऐनशन्ट रूलर्ज, पृ० 36, लेखक बी० एस० दहिया)। चहल गोत्र के जाटों की आबादी उत्तर प्रदेश, राजस्थान, पंजाब और हरयाणा के कई जिलों में है। पंजाब में ये लोग सिक्खधर्मी हैं। विदेशों में भी मुसलमान व ईसाई तथा अन्य धर्मी चहल जाट पाए जाते हैं। [14]

External links

References

  1. Francisco Rodríguez Adrados (1994). basileutos - daimōn, Vol 4
  2. Vogelsang, Willem (1993). "DAHAE". Encyclopædia Iranica.
  3. Francfort, Henri-Paul (1988). "Central Asia and Eastern Iran". In Boardman, John; Hammond, N. G. L.; Lewis, D. M.; Ostwald, M. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 4. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-521-22804-6. "The Dahas of Xerxes' 'Daiva' inscription (XPh) are perhaps to be situated to the north of Hyrcania where the Dahas mentioned by more recent writers are later to be found"
  4. Vogelsang 1993.
  5. Vogelsang 1993.
  6. Bivar, A. D. H. (1983). "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids". The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 3.1. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-521-20092-9.
  7. White, David Gordon (1991). Myths of the Dog-Man. University of Chicago Press. p. 239.
  8. The Anabasis of Alexander/3a, p.160-163
  9. The Anabasis of Alexander/3b, p.196-199
  10. Natural History by Pliny Book VI/Chapter 19
  11. Bivar, A.D.H. (1993), "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids", in Fischer, W.B.; Gershevitch, Ilya, Cambridge History of Iran 3.1, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 21–99
  12. Vogelsang, Willem (1993). "DAHAE". Encyclopædia Iranica.
  13. जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठ.344-345
  14. Jat History Dalip Singh Ahlawat/Chapter IV,p.352