Skunkha, king of 'wearing pointed caps' Sakae
Rock relief at Behistun



Skunkha, king of the Sakâ tigrakhaudâ.
The Sakâ tigrakhaudâ ("Sacae with pointed hats") were defeated in 520/519 BCE by the Persian king Darius I the Great, who gave this tribe a new leader. One of the earlier leaders was killed, the other, named Skunkha, was taken captive and is visible on the relief at Behistun. (It is possible that Darius created a new tribe from several earlier tribes.) Herodotus calls the Sakâ tigrakhaudâ the Orthocorybantians ("pointed hat men"), and informs us that they lived in the same tax district as the Medes. This suggests that the Sakâ tigrakhaudâ lived on the ancient lower reaches of the Amudar'ya, which used to have a mouth in the Caspian Sea south of Krasnovodsk.
Source: livius.org

The Behistun Inscription, carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius' conquests. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance. Kermanshah Province, Iran.




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