Would you like to learn closely what the pain of a child can make a mother do? Here is the story of Tomris Hatun, the first female ruler of Turkish History.
A mother with these striking words and the first Turkish female ruler known in history. Tomris Hatun‘Stop. She is known as the granddaughter of Alp Er Tunga, the great ruler of the Saka State, and became the female leader of the Saka Turks upon the loss of her husband. He led many wars against the Persian Empire, the greatest enemy of the Saka. Most of the army of this girl, who is smart and adept at using weapons, consists of women.
The Emperor of the Persians, Cyrus the Great, caught the son of Tomris Hatun, the leader of the jokes, by surprise and murdered him with a treacherous plan. This sovereign mother, devastated by the event but not giving up on her struggle, swears to avenge her son. If you are wondering about this powerful female ruler and her son’s revenge, let’s get to know them together in this article.
Who is Tomris Hatun?
Tomris literally means “iron” in the old Turkish language. Tomris Hatun, who has a personality as strong as iron, is the queen of the Sovereignty, which is thought to have lived in the 6th century BC, or the Scythians in the literature. Saka State was established in Central Asia, east of Europe and north of the Black Sea.
Known as the granddaughter of the great ruler Alp Er Tunga, this woman is a female figure who knows how to use horses since her childhood and is a master of swords and archery. After losing her husband, Tomris Hatun could not escape her fate and became the first female ruler of Saka State.
Under the leadership of this name, who left a mark on world history, the Persian army was defeated and the Saka lands were preserved. This woman, who went through difficult times, lost her son in the war, but she did not give up on her cause. who managed to bring the end of the Persian Empire has been a force.
The first female ruler in Turkish history; Tomris Hatun
According to Herodotus, after the Persian army captured Babylon, he went on a campaign on Saka lands to gain new lands. Although Tomris Hatun followed a peaceful policy, the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great raided non-stop, but in return they got nothing but burnt fields and poisoned water wells and had to return his soldiers.
This move, which is seen as an intimidation tactic of the Saka, makes the Persians very tired and those who want to try another way. Big Cyrus confronts Tomris with a cunning idea.. Promising that there will be no more wars if she marries him, Kiros can’t fool the very smart Tomris chick.
The Persian emperor, who could not sit comfortably after the rejection of his offer, could not subdue the Sakas by deceit, revealing his true intentions and bringing his armies over the Aras river. This greedy emperor, who did not even hesitate to build a bridge to cross the river, also did not hesitate to use an interesting weapon.
This weapon is trained dogs and places them in battle positions. After a while, Tomris chick, Cyrus the GreatHe sends a messenger to ‘ and tells him to stop attacking them. If he does not give up, Saka does not hesitate to tell his army to continue on his way.
Thinking that the intimidation tactic will not yield any results by retreating this time, Tomris chick chooses a big position and waits for the army to come.
Cyrus, who placed a party tent between two enemy armies, left the weak soldiers of the Persian army at this feast and placed beautiful women, food and wine in it.
The Saka, who attacked this tent, kill some Persians and continue their fun. Cyrus succeeds in his tactic and kills Tomris Hatun’s son Spargapises, who was in that tent, by surprise.
“Bloodthirsty Cyrus the Great!”
Tomris Hatun, who was devastated by the news of her son’s death but continued to struggle, says the following; “Bloodthirsty Cyrus the Great! You killed my son not with valor, but with the wine that you made him drink. I swear to the sun I will feed you with blood!”.
When Cyrus did not listen to this threat, war preparations began by the Sakas. This female ruler, whose hatred of the Persians, who also murdered her uncle, got stronger with the murder of her son, enters a fierce war the next day.
The first female ruler of the Saka Turks, Tomris, stood in front of his soldiers, who would ride their horses to their deaths, and said with a heart-rending voice, “We are the only ones left behind. The people and the army, many of whom are women, women just as valiant as the man”.
Determined not to fall under the captivity of the Persians, Tomris Hatun and Saka army they all swore at the same time, shouting with enthusiasm.
Listen to those moments from Herodotus
The screams of heroic women were echoing everywhere, and Tomris girl in the front and her brave warriors in the back were heading towards the battle. “The earth had never before seen such a death-wishful riding nation,” says Herodotus.
Saka army of 13 thousand soldiers, including 9 thousand women, on one side, and the Persian army of 100 thousand soldiers on the other.
Both enemy armies could not gain superiority over each other for a long time. Against the Immortals, the Persians’ most agile military unit, the Saka’s skilful archery skills defeat them.
In various sources, as the war tactics peculiar to Sakas, wolf game and crescent tactic Victory is achieved with the steppe war strategies called steppe warfare.
Among the dead is the Persian king Cyrus the Great. Tomris chick walking around with a sack full of blood in her hand, finds the lifeless body of Cyrus on the battlefield, cuts off her head and puts it inside, then says the following; “I came out of the war safe and victorious, but you cheated on my son. Now I keep my promise to you. You have never had enough to drink blood in your life, now you are full of blood at my hand”.