Concerning the name "Skudra Tabari"

**Hax** · 09-19-2008, 17:03

In EB, the name "Skudra Tabari" is used for the Scythian axemen, so I was wondering why this name was chosen for them. The name itself (Skudra) is Persian, and it was the name that the Persians gave to Makedonia and Thrace, so why was this name chosen for this certain unit?

**Foot** · 09-19-2008, 17:26

Actually I believe Skudra is a reconstruction of what the Scythians called themselves. Compare with Skuda in Armenian for the Scythians.

Foot

**Hax** · 09-19-2008, 18:13

So the word Skudra is also reminiscent of the Greek word 'Skuthioi'? So were the Skudra of Makedonia and Thrace a Skythian people?

**Foot** · 09-19-2008, 18:16

The ancients weren't known for their accurate descriptions of populations. There certainly were skudra along the west coast of the black sea but how far they extended I do not know.

Foot

**Hax** · 09-19-2008, 18:32

Thank you, that would be all

**Aemilius Paulus** · 09-20-2008, 12:10

Since this thread is already about name origins and I do not want to start an entirely new thread just to ask one minor question, I'm hoping Hax will not mind if I ask how did Mori Gaesum get their name? I am Russian and in Russian, as well as in majority of the other Slavic languages, 'mori" means sea. Gaesum is the Celtic word for spear, if I am not mistaken. So how did the Celtic and Slavic languages end up in the name of a Helvetian unit? Was "mori" also a word for sea in Celtic? Was the word borrowed from Slavic, or did the Slavic languages borrow the word from Celts?