Amage was a Sarmatian warrior queen, who lived towards the end of the 2nd century BC.
She was the queen of the Sarmatians, an Iranian people who lived in the western region of Scythia, on the coast of the Black Sea. According to the Greek strategist, Polyaenus, though Amage's husband, Medosaccus, was king, Amage considered him unworthy to rule; as she believed Medosaccus abused his power, in order to live a life of excessive luxury. So Amage took over the government & military, using her influence to build defensive garrisons, which she used to defend her lands on multiple occasions.
Her success as a leader made her famous all over Scythia. At one point, the Chersonesians, a neighbouring people, came to Amage asking to make an alliance with her, to defend themselves against the invasion of the Crimean Scythians. Amage agreed to the alliance and sent a message to the Scythian king, demanding he cease his invasion of the Chersonesian lands. When the king refused her request, Amage led a force of 120 seasoned warriors, each equipped with 3 horses, so they could cover ground more quickly. Amage & her army covered 180km, in just a single night & day, on their way to the Scythian palace. The sudden ambush caught Scythian forces off guard & they were soundly defeated. Amage personally led the assault on the palace, she broke into the king's personal chambers & killed him along with his entire family, apart from one of his sons. She put the boy on the throne, as the new Scythian ruler with the promise that Chersonesus would remain free & the Scythians would never again attack their neighbours.
While little else is recorded of Amage's reign, Sarmatian women became known for having a prominent role in war & dressed in the same clothes as men in battle, according to the historian, Herodotus. Some theorize that Amage & other Sarmatian women like her served as the inspiration for the Greek myth of the Amazons.
Side notes:
Scythia- a region in-between eastern Europe & western Asia, during classical antiquity. The Greeks called the entire region north-east of Europe & along the coast of the Black Sea.
Black Sea- a large body of water connected to the Atlantic Ocean, in-between the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Caucasus & Western Asia. It is fed by major rivers such as a the Danube.
Crimean Scythians- nomads that occupied an area which is now part of modern-day Ukraine.
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