05-18-2015, 04:52 PM
Cranial deformation was a feature of 4th or 5th century Eastern Alans and Huns or the peoples who lived east of the Don but I don’t think it was practised amongst the earlier western Sarmatian groups like Iazyges or Roxolani and earlier Alans like the Aorsi etc. The early Spangenhelms were worn by the 2nd century Roxolani as depicted on Trajan’s Column and there was no evidence or observations by Roman writers of the practice of skull deformation amongst earlier Sarmatian groups.
[attachment=12377]roxolani.jpg[/attachment]
The Alans never gave up the bow but the Sarmatians in general relegated it to a secondary weapon to the lance. I think the Romans boosted their long range archery capabilities on the Hungarian front by bringing in auxiliary archer units after the defeat of the Iazyges in 175AD so they must have realised that they were lacking in long range weapons capability against the Iazyges, who had the bow and even though Cassius Dio made no mention of them using bows it seems that they did some damage to the Romans in the early part of the Marcomannic wars for them to fix this deficiency.
As to falconry Evan is correct in saying that the Alans and Huns being excellent horsemen and hunters made falconry popular in Europe. The Alans probably spread it amongst the later Romans and it seems the Huns spread falconry amongst the various Germanic groups who they had contact with. Paulinus of Pella recalled in 459AD his wish to possess, besides a horse with fine trappings, a swift dog and a splendid hawk and he had close contact with Alans at times that he even helped an unnamed Alan king to switch allegiance from Athaulf of the Visigoths to Rome Even Sidonius Apollinaris wrote a letter to Ecdicius recalling their youth when they played with a ball, dice, a hawk, a dog, a horse and a bow. We know falconry was popular amongst the Germans by the numbers of laws amongst the various groups like the Ripaurian Franks, the Lombards etc. where fines are mentioned for the theft of falcons and hawks scaled as to how well trained the hawk or falcon was that was stolen.
As to dogs, they would have been essential to nomadic groups for herding, guarding, hunting and killing predatory animals like wolves and foxes. They would have been used to flush birds out of the tall reeds prominent in the wetlands of the major river systems they frequented from the Don to the Danube. So like their horses I think dog breeding would be very profitable for Sarmatian tribes as a good dog would be worth its weight in gold and would be prized at markets. However I think they used a variety of dogs large or small and not just the aluant. Originally the spoilt looking poodle was bred in Germany as a working dog to retrieve birds from rivers and lakes that were shot down by hunters and a pack of Afghan hounds could chase down and kill a lone wolf in no time. The Aluant would have been used as a herding dog who could guard the herds from various predators and alert the occupants of an encampment of approaching danger, either human or animal. Unfortunately a lot of Sarmatian and Alan dogs like the aluant are now extinct but the molosser along with some Central Asian mastiffs seem to be the closest relatives to these dogs.
http://molosserdogs.com/m/articles/view/...an-mastiff :-)
[attachment=12377]roxolani.jpg[/attachment]
The Alans never gave up the bow but the Sarmatians in general relegated it to a secondary weapon to the lance. I think the Romans boosted their long range archery capabilities on the Hungarian front by bringing in auxiliary archer units after the defeat of the Iazyges in 175AD so they must have realised that they were lacking in long range weapons capability against the Iazyges, who had the bow and even though Cassius Dio made no mention of them using bows it seems that they did some damage to the Romans in the early part of the Marcomannic wars for them to fix this deficiency.
As to falconry Evan is correct in saying that the Alans and Huns being excellent horsemen and hunters made falconry popular in Europe. The Alans probably spread it amongst the later Romans and it seems the Huns spread falconry amongst the various Germanic groups who they had contact with. Paulinus of Pella recalled in 459AD his wish to possess, besides a horse with fine trappings, a swift dog and a splendid hawk and he had close contact with Alans at times that he even helped an unnamed Alan king to switch allegiance from Athaulf of the Visigoths to Rome Even Sidonius Apollinaris wrote a letter to Ecdicius recalling their youth when they played with a ball, dice, a hawk, a dog, a horse and a bow. We know falconry was popular amongst the Germans by the numbers of laws amongst the various groups like the Ripaurian Franks, the Lombards etc. where fines are mentioned for the theft of falcons and hawks scaled as to how well trained the hawk or falcon was that was stolen.
As to dogs, they would have been essential to nomadic groups for herding, guarding, hunting and killing predatory animals like wolves and foxes. They would have been used to flush birds out of the tall reeds prominent in the wetlands of the major river systems they frequented from the Don to the Danube. So like their horses I think dog breeding would be very profitable for Sarmatian tribes as a good dog would be worth its weight in gold and would be prized at markets. However I think they used a variety of dogs large or small and not just the aluant. Originally the spoilt looking poodle was bred in Germany as a working dog to retrieve birds from rivers and lakes that were shot down by hunters and a pack of Afghan hounds could chase down and kill a lone wolf in no time. The Aluant would have been used as a herding dog who could guard the herds from various predators and alert the occupants of an encampment of approaching danger, either human or animal. Unfortunately a lot of Sarmatian and Alan dogs like the aluant are now extinct but the molosser along with some Central Asian mastiffs seem to be the closest relatives to these dogs.
http://molosserdogs.com/m/articles/view/...an-mastiff :-)
Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
