Storming the British Museum, it’s Game of Thrones’ fiercest tribe
MOST schoolchildren are taught the basic history of the Greek, Roman and Egyptian civilisations, but mention the Scythians, a fierce, tattooed, horse-riding, nomadic tribe who held sway over a swathe of territory from the Black Sea to the borders of China for hundreds of years, and there may be blank looks all round.
The British Museum now hopes to rectify this historical blind-spot with a blockbuster new exhibition, and an online guide helpfully explaining it through the medium of Game of Thrones.
The British Museum blog has published an explainer on the Scythians comparing them directly with the Dothraki, the fictional riders of the Game of Thrones novels and bigbudget television series.
The Dothraki, known to fans of the series for main characters including Khal Drogo and Daenerys, are “so far, so Scythian”, it says.
Published on the museum’s website, it is designed to lure a new generation of visitors into its galleries for the exhibition, making it accessible via the vision of Thrones author George R R Martin and capitalising on the new series of the fantasy drama beginning this week.
“If you’re excited about another fantastical series of Game of Thrones, you’re not alone,” the blog says. “But George R R Martin’s vivid world has many reallife parallels. Here, take a closer look at the inspiration behind the bloodthirsty, horseriding nomadic warriors, the Dothraki…” Offering the caveat that there is “no evidence of dragons and ice zombies” in the archaeological digs around the Scythian empire, it claimed that Martin and his HBO showrunners have drawn directly on real history for the Game of Thrones worlds. Historians have previously made other links between Game of Thrones and real events: the battle of north v south in the series with the Wars of the Roses; the show’s Wall with Hadrian’s Wall, built to keep out the barbarians; and the drama’s gruesome Red Wedding was said to have striking similarities with the massacres of Glencoe and the Black Dinner of Scottish history. The roots of the Dothraki, the museum says, has been less well-explored, noting some parallels with the Mongols and the Huns. But, it claims, there are “several similarities” with the Scythians too.
Describing them as “fearsome, nomadic warriors who loved their horses”, it said: “The terrifying Dothraki take their lead from the equally terrifying Scythians.”
Both real and fictional tribes fought on horseback and are “excellent archers”, the museum blog points out, and both used curved bows to maximise the range of their arrows.
“Part of their fearsome reputation comes from the perception among outsiders
‘Take a closer look at the inspiration behind the bloodthirsty, horse-riding warriors, the Dothraki’
that the Dothraki and the Scythians are barbarians – [the character] Daenerys’s brother, who comes to a rather unpleasant end, regularly criticises Dothraki culture as being ‘savage’,” it states. “Similarly the ancient Greeks perceived the Scythians as both terrifying and barbarous, while at the same time holding some respect for their brutal ways.
“The Dothraki and Scythians each chose lightweight clothes instead of armour and wore trousers, unlike other civilisations and tribes BC. While Scythians grew their hair long and cut it only for the death of a king, Dothraki chop theirs on screen to signify defeat. Both were nomads, living in tents and owning only the things they could pack.
The British Museum exhibition will be the first to explore the Scythians at a major UK institution in 40 years, relying on loans of up to 250 objects from overseas museums including the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
The exhibition, Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia, opens at the British Museum on Sept 14.