
The Cimmerians were an ancient Eastern Iranic equestrian nomadic people who originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe before migrating into Anatolia. Related to the Scythians, the Cimmerians lived on the northern and western shores of the Caspian Sea and along the Araxes River, which formed their eastern border with the Scythians. The Cimmerians were the first large nomadic confederation to inhabit the Ciscaucasian steppe, and the Cimmerians were displaced in 750 BC after the Massagetae migrated westwards and pushed the Scythians into Cimmerian territory. The Cimmerians migrated into West Asia, crossing the Caucasus and becoming active in the Iranian plateau and Anatolia. The Cimmerians took advantage of the rivalries of the great powers of West Asia (Phrygia, Lydia, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and Elam) to seek wealth and opportunities, vacillating between supporting either the Neo-Assyrian Empire or other local powers. During the 720s BC, the Cimerians helped the Colchians defeat attacks by Urartu, weakening the latter enough to enable the Assyrian conquest of that kingdom. Cimmerian detachments came to serve as mercenaries in the Assyrian army, and others moved into Anatolia during the reign of Esarhaddon (681-669 BC). The Cimmerians and Scythians later harried the Assyrian Empire's borders, allying with the Medes. In 675 BC, the Cimmerians twice invaded and destroyed Phrygia, forcing their king Midas to commit suicide after sacking his capital of Gordion. By the 660s BC, the Cimmerians became the masters of Anatolia, controlling a large territory between Lydia, Pgrygia, Cilicia, and Urartu. The Cimmerians of Anatolia also destroyed the Greek colonies of Sinope and Cyzicus during the 7th century BC, and they also attacked Lydia and forced King Gyges to seek Assyrian help. By the 650s BC, the Cimmerians conquered parts of the Levant, and they helped weaken Assyria. During hte 640s BC, they invaded Ionia and Aeolia, destroying Ephesus and Magnesia. During the 630s BC, a new wave of Scythians drove the Cimmerians out of Urartu, and, after 638 BC, the remnants of the Cimmerians were assimilated by the populations of Anatolia.