Pages: 235-256

The author examines male warriors’ elite graves and tamga-signs with a series of Sarmatian elements and, especially, tamga-signs in the Bosporan cities and fortresses of the 1st—4th cc. CE. In the case of double burials, the Barbarian elements are observed in male ones, but their wives/daughters look like ordinary Greek women. The analysis of tamgas and applications of clothing in famous graves of 1837 and 1841 found in Kerch and the origin of king Inenthimeus’s (234—239) sign are of special importance. In some cases, noble men preserved the traditions of the earlier Middle Sarmatian culture, extinct for 150—250 years before the studied burials. Some Sarmatian clans in times of crises (the early 1st, mid. 2nd and 3rd cc. CE) found refuge behind the walls of Bosporan cities. Some Sarmatian families that lived in Bosporus originated from Central Asian states — Xiongnu, Khwarezm and Kushan Empire.

Keywords: Bosporus Kingdom, 1st—4th cc. CE, Sarmatian men-warriors, towns, necropolis, tamga-signs, elite burials, assimilation

Information about author:

Sergey Yatsenko (Moscow, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Russian State University for the Humanities. Miusskaya Sq., 6, Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]