Cyrtians

The Cyrtians or Kyrtians (Ancient Greek: Κύρτιοι, romanized: Kýrtioi, Latin: Cyrtii) were an ancient tribe in historic Iran near Zagros Mountains.^[1] Based on their name,^[1] it has been suggested that they may be ancestors of the Kurds.^[2]^[3]

According to Rüdiger Schmitt,^[2] they were a tribe dwelling mainly in the mountains of Atropatenian Media (Northern Zagros Mountains) together with the Cadusii, Amardi (or "Mardi"), Tapyri, and others (Strabo 11.13.3). Strabo characterized the Cyrtians living in Persia as migrants and predatory brigands.

In the Hellenistic period, they seem to have been in demand as slingers, because they fought as such for the Median satrap Molon in his revolt against King Antiochus III in 220 BC.^[2]

Origins

According to Garnik Asatrian, Cyrtians were a collection of indigenous, non-Iranian tribes who only shared a nomadic lifestyle.^[4] The Cyrtians were not connected to the Carduchii (Cordyaei, Gordyaei, Karduchoi) and the like, who lived further west.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b G. Asatrian, Prolegomena to the Study of the Kurds, Iran and the Caucasus, Vol.13, pp. 1–58, 2009: "Evidently, the most reasonable explanation of this ethnonym must be sought for in its possible connections with the Cyrtii (Cyrtaei) of the Classical authors."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Schmitt 1993, p. 515.
^ (Berlin), Brentjes, Burchard. "Kyrtioi". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Potts 2014.

Sources

Potts, Daniel T. (2014). Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era. London and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0190600594.
Schmitt, Rüdiger (1993). "Cyrtians". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. VI/5: Čūb-bāzī–Daf(f) and Dāyera. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 515. ISBN 978-1-56859-003-5.