What is Iyrcae?
The '''Iyrcae''' ({{lang-grc|Ἱύρκαι}}) were an ancient nation on the north-east trade route described by [[Herodotus]] beyond the [[Thyssagetae]].<ref>{{harvnb|Minns|1911}} cites Herodotus, iv. 22</ref> They were distinguished by their mode of hunting, climbing a tree to survey their game, and then pursuing it with trained horses and dogs. Possibly as a result of false correction,<ref>{{harvnb|Minns|1911}} cites [[Pliny the Elder]], N.H. vi. 19; [[:en:Pomponius Mela|Pomponius Mela]], i. 116</ref> they are mentioned during the first century CE, [[:en:Pomponius Mela|Pomponius Mela]] refers to the Τυρκαι (''Turcae'') in the forests north of the [[Sea of Azov]], and [[Pliny the Elder]] lists the ''Tyrcae'' among the people of the same area.<ref>Pliny, ''Natural History'' – Harvard University Press, vol. II (Libri III-VII); reprinted 1961, p. 351</ref><ref>Pomponius Mela's Description of the World, Pomponius Mela, University of Michigan Press, 1998, p. 67</ref><ref>Prof. Dr. Ercümend Kuran, Türk Adı ve Türklük Kavramı, Türk Kültürü Dergisi, Yıl, XV, S. 174, Nisan 1977. s. 18–20.</ref> The ethnonym Iyrcae was also hypothesized to be connected to the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz Turkic]] tribe of the [[Anatolia|Anatolian]] [[Yörüks]].<ref>[https://iksadyayinevi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/KASGARLI-MAHMUD-ANISINA-TURKIYE-VE-TURK-DUNYASI-ARASTIRMALARI-VII.pdf KÂŞGARLI MAHMUD ANISINA TÜRKİYE VE TÜRK DÜNYASI ARAŞTIRMALARI-VII]. Editor: Dr. Yunus Emre TANSÜ, Ankara 2020</ref> Some historians, however, include them among the Sarmatian tribes, since the accounts of Herodotus are consistent with later records of the [[Sarmatians]] culture, and the archaeological finds from the area at that time are also identical with the Sarmatians.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Quellenstudien zu den Skythika des Herodot|last=Harmatta|first=János|pages=8-19}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Other websites== *{{EB1911 |first=Ellis Hovell |last=Minns |wstitle=Iyrcae|volume=15}} {{multistub|history|Asia|Europe}} [[Category:History of Russia]] [[Categ