Citation with stable link: Philip A. Harland, 'Scythians, Sarmatians, or Massagetians: Josephos and others on wild invading Alans (first century CE),' Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World, last modified August 23, 2026, https://philipharland.com/Blog/?p=23230.
Ancient authors: Josephos, Judean War 7.244-251 (link); Dio Cassius, Roman History 69.15 (via Xiphilinus’ summary).
Comments: We know very little about a population around the Black Sea area that some Greek-speaking and Roman authors (beginning in the first century CE) labelled “Alans” (Alanoi / Alani). It’s only in later antiquity that we hear significantly more, at least from Ammianus Marcellinus who refers to earlier confusion about this people (link). So it’s worth discussing some of that earlier, if hazy, material here and worth providing two passages in which an author characterizes this people.
In fact, the sparse sources offer conflicting categorizations of the population, with some authors talking about a subset of Scythians, others of Massagetians (as does Marcellinus), and still others of Sarmations. In all cases, the assumption is that Alans are nomadic and unruly barbarians. The different designations matter little, however, since the Greek category of “Scythians” (inherited by Romans as well) is such a large umbrella term, and this could often envelop Massagetians and/or Sarmatians and/or other populations anyways. Outsider designations rarely exactly matched a particular population’s own self-description or boundaries. But the result of such generalizing categorizations is that the information about “Alans,” as with many such lesser known peoples, is jumbled or obscured.
It happens to be that the most direct characterization of the Alans, in this case expressly as wild nomads, is from a Judean author (writing in Greek), Josephos. Once again we find Judeans fully engaged in ethnographic interests. The strange thing is that this ethnographic paragraph (provided below) comes out of the blue in the midst of Josephos’ narrative about the Judean War around the year 72 CE. Perhaps Josephos was trying to impress his reader with some obscure ethnographic knowledge with this digression, as he also does elsewhere (e.g. link). But catching up the reader with wars taking place in Vespasian’s time seems to be at play.
Later on (in his Judean Antiquities 18.96-100), Josephos briefly mentions the Alans without any further comment in connection with military clashes in the earlier time of emperor Tiberius. In that case, the Alans function as allies of Rome in the struggle against the Parthians. This seems to be the same situation that Roman senator Tacitus deals with, although he speaks of Sarmatians rather than Alans (Tacitus, Annals 6.35). I have not included either of these passages here since they do not offer any characterizations of the Alans at all. Brief mentions of the Alans in first century Roman poets also suggest that Alans were on the radar screen: Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 6.42, speaking of “fiery Alans” alongside Heniochians; Martial, Epigrams 7.30, depicting an Alan riding a Sarmatian horse; Lucan, Pharsalia 8.223-224 and 10.454, with durable Alans “always at war” (cf. Seneca the Younger, Thyestes 639-630, with “barbarous Alans” alongside “wide-wandering Scythians”).
The portions that survive of Arrian’s work on an Expedition Against the Alans (Ektaxis kata Alanōn), not provided below because they offer little about the Alans beyond that they usually rode horses in battle, come from a couple decades after Tacitus (around 135 CE). This material is quite different from Josephos’ ethnographic aside. Arrian merely offers his real or literarily enriched battle plans in connection with actual encounters with Alan combatants in Arrian’s role as Roman governor (legate) of Cappadocia around 135 CE. One thing is clear in these fragments, and that is that Arrian thinks of Alans as a sub-set of “Scythians.” It is notable that this work also refers to various foreign peoples who served in the auxiliary cohorts and in allied troops of the Roman forces in Cappadocia, including Rhaetians (from northern Gaul or Celtic territory), Celts generally, Germans, Kolchians, Rhizians, Goths, Aurianians, Cyrenaeans, Itureans, and Italians. (See the translation in Bachrach 1973, pages 126-132).
Later on (after 211 CE), Dio Cassius (as summarized by a later Byzantine epitomist) refers to the same military engagements by Arrian. In the passage provided below, Dio thinks of the Alans as a subset of Massagetians. Dio’s brief characterization in the summary has the Alans bribeable (by other interested parties) and fearful (of Arrian). No interviews of the Alans were held.
Works consulted: B.S. Bachrach, A History of the Alans in the West: From Their First Appearance in the Sources of Classical Antiquity Through the Early Middle Ages (University of Minnesota Press, 1973) (link); A. B. Bosworth, “Arrian and the Alani,” Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 81 (1977): 217–55 (link); D. Chiritoiu, “Arrian’s Ektaxis in the Roman Empire: Local Identity, Diversity and the Geography of the Army,” Mnemosyne 74 (2021): 780–98 (link).
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Josephos, Judean War (late 70s CE)
[Digression on Alans’ incursions into Median territory, placed around 72 CE by Josephos]
(7.244-251) The people (ethnos) of the Alans (Alanoi / Alani) – that are Scythians settled on the banks of the river Tanais [modern Don River] and lake Maiotis [modern Sea of Azov], as I have shown previously somewhere [cf. Antiquities 18.96-?, though written later] – who at this time contemplated an incursion into Media and beyond for plunder, entered into negotiations with the king of the Hyrkanians [located south of the Caspian Sea]. That king was master of the mountain pass which king Alexander had closed with iron gates. Being granted admission by the king, masses of Alans attacked the Medes [i.e. Parthians], who suspected nothing. The Alans plundered a populous country filled with all kinds of live-stock with no one daring to oppose them. For Pakoros, the king of the country, had fled in terror up into his fortifications, abandoning all his possessions. With difficulty he recovered from them his wife and concubines, who had been taken prisoners, by a ransom of a hundred talents.
[Incursions into Armenia]
Pursuing their plundering raids with perfect ease and unresisted, they advanced as far as Armenia [i.e. to the west], destroying everything. Tiridates, the king of that country, who met them in battle, narrowly escaped being taken alive in the engagement. For a noose was thrown around him by an enemy from a distance. The enemy would have dragged him off if had Tiridates not instantly cut the rope with his sword and succeeded in escaping. The Alans, whose wildness was increased by this opposition, made havoc of the country. Carrying off masses of the population and plunder of all kinds from both kingdoms, returned once again to their own land. In Judaea, meanwhile . . . [omitted return to the narrative about the Judean war].
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Dio Cassius, Roman History (early third century CE)
[War with the Alans, set around 135 CE]
(69.15; Xiphilinus’ Byzantine summary) This, then, was the end of the war with the Judeans [i.e. the Bar Kochba war in Hadrian’s time]. A second war was begun by the Alans (Alanoi), who are Massagetians (Massagetai), at the instigation of Pharasmanes. The war caused major damage to the Albanian territory and Media, and then involved Armenia and Cappadocia. Afterwards, this came to a stop, since the Alans were not only persuaded by gifts from Vologaisos, but were also very afraid of Flavius Arrian, the [Roman] governor of Cappadocia. Envoys were sent from Vologaisos and from the Iazygians. The envoys from Vologaisos made some charges against Pharasmanes and the latter envoys wished to confirm the peace. He introduced them to the senate and was empowered by that body to return appropriate answers; and these he accordingly prepared and read to them.
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Source of translations: H.S.J. Thackeray and R. Marcus, Josephus, volumes 1-7; LCL (Cambridge, MA: HUP, 1926-43), public domain (Thackeray passed away in 1930, Marcus passed away in 1956, and copyright not renewed); E. Cary and H.B. Foster, Dio’s Roman History, 9 vols. (Cambridge, MA: HUP, 1914-27), public domain, adapted by Harland.