located the main industrial centre of Scythia:[138] and which corresponded to the country of Gerrhos ,
which was located in the eastern part of the country of the Aroteres, on the boundary of the steppe and
the forest-steppe. During this period, the Royal Scythians buried their dead in the country of Gerrhos .[142]
At this time, there were close links between the new political centre of Scythia in Gerrhos and the Greek
colony of Pontic Olbia, and members of the royal family often visited this city.[143]
During this period, the Scythians were ruled by a succession of kings whose names were recorded by
Herodotus of Halicarnassus:[19]
Spargapeithes
Lykos, son of Spargapeithes Gnouros, son of Lykos
Saulios, son of Gnouros Idanthyrsus, son of SauliosAt the time of Idanthyrsus, and possibly later, the Scythians were ruled by a triple monarchy,
with Skōpasis and Taxakis ruling alongside Idanthyrsus.[19]
Scopasis was himself the king of the Sauromatians, who maintained peaceful relations with the
Scythians, with a long road starting in Scythia and continuing towards the eastern regions of Asia
existing thanks to these friendly relations.[144]
The Persian invasion [edit]
Persian soldiers (left) fighting against Scythians. Cylinder
seal impression.[145]
Main article: Scythian campaign of Darius I
In 513 BC, the king Darius I of the Persian Achaemenid Empire carried out a campaign against the Pontic
Scythians. In, the Scythian king Idanthyrsus summoned the kings of the peoples surrounding his kingdom
to a meeting to decide how to deal with the Persian invasion. The kings of
the Budini, Gelonians and Sarmatians accepted to help the Scythians against the Persian attack, while
the kings of the Agathyrsi, Androphagi, Melanchlaeni, Neuri, and Tauri refused to support the
Scythians.[146]
When the armies of the Scythians fled to the territories of their neighbours in front of the advancing
Persian army, the Agathyrsi refused to provide refuge to the Scythians, which forced them to retreat
back into their own territory.[147]