The tribes of Israel were now on the move under a variety of new and different names. The Scythians later displaced the Cimmerians taking over many areas they once controlled. It’s clear they had little memory of their earlier history as some of their encounters were fairly brutal. History shows the exiled tribes were now cultivating distinctive and independent identities, so it makes sense that over the course of their wanderings isolated groups would lose touch with branches of the wider family. In the end, they became scattered to such a degree they lost all but a memory of their distant past. They had been told this would happen. Not only were they removed from our sight, they were made blind to their ancestry. (Romans 11:25)
The Euphrates Gorge leads to the Caucasus Mountains where the first wave entered by way of the Dariel Pass, previously known as the Gate of Israel. They later moved into areas adjoining the Black Sea. During the reign of Sargon the 2nd an Assyrian intelligence report sent word that the Gimira were living west of the Upper Euphrates and north of the Taurus Mountains, while others were in Media to the east confirming the observations of Ezra. The Gimiri were later defeated in a skirmish with the armies of Esar-haddon and fled further west. Being pushed by the pursuing Assyrians they escaped north, as far as Sinope on the Black Sea, where their descendants heard the Gospel from Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew in 47-AD.
They are believed responsible for the overthrow of King Midas of Phrygia c.695-BC, and said to have captured Sardis, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, part of the Persian Empire. It was in these same areas, Paul later established the Churches of Asia-Minor. Many moved into the Crimea where ancient Hebrew headstones have been found. Their later expansion had them between the Danube and the Dnieper, which courses from modern Russia to the Black Sea. Around 600BC, King Alyattes of Lydia drove them out of the area. Some went on to Miletus (Malta) where many survivors had gone after the Trojan War.
Josephus records that only a handful of Judah returned to Palestine after their time in Babylon and stated the bulk of Israel and Judah as ‘still beyond the Euphrates at that time.’ The advancing group followed the Danube into Central Europe and were known as the Cimbri. It is significant that after the reign of Sargon II (721-705 BC) the Khumri (Cimbri/Gimiri) are no longer mentioned in Assyrian records, evidently now outside the Assyrian sphere of influence. They were the first to leave, soon after followed by the Scythians. We will follow the Cimbri and Scythians; meet the Celts, Gauls and Saxons, as we track a people being pushed far and wide by the horns of Ephraim.
His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17)
Cimmerians
The Cimbri made their first settlement on the Danube. From earliest times this great river had been the main route into the heart of Europe. It is not surprising an enterprising people should use this natural artery to open up new lands away from their oppressors. A sub branch, which kept the name Cimbri migrated northwest eventually settling in Jutland, now Northwest Germany and Friesland. But, the bulk became known as the Cimmerians. Some pushed into Southern Germany then on to where Switzerland and Northern Italy are today. They had travelled through Romania, Hungary and Austria and by 500-BC were in central and northern Europe.
Others elected to stay in the area, having found workable lands and a comfortable climate, but the more determined continued west. By the time they reached Southern Germany, they were known as the Gauls; derived from the Romans who knew them as Galliae, though the Greeks called them Celts. (Diodorus 1st Century BC) By the early 5th Century BC, groups of Celts and Gauls had settled in Bohemia and Bavaria. Evidence of their presence is found in simple graves uncovered in Upper Austria. Their leaders were entered in more substantial wooden chambers (tumuli) covered with earth later identified with the Hallstadt Culture. Documented by the Greeks and Romans, Celts invaded Northern Italy early in the 4th Century BC. Less than a century later, they were throughout Europe from Northern Italy to Northwest France.
The Gauls founded Milan, Bressanone, Verona, and continued to be a nuisance to Rome for another 200 years. Under their new names, the Celts and Gauls eventually arrived at the Western seaboard of Europe. Many crossed into Britain. Of the early arrivals the Welsh are the most visible, and still refer to themselves as Cymru. A number of Gauls later returned to Asia Minor c.280-BC, where they established the colony of Galatia, it was to their descendants Paul wrote his Epistle.
The Celts were never subdued by the Romans. Their ancient language still survives in some of the more isolated parts of the Gaelic-Celtic world, with many words strikingly similar to ancient Aramaic and Hebrew. Of the Scots, Moray McLaren writes: …it is the oldest living language in Scotland, and is amongst the oldest in Europe. It is characteristic of the enthusiastic veneration in which the Gaelic speakers hold their ancient speech that some of them describe it as, the language talked by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. (The Scots: McLaren: Pelican: 1951)
In Welsh we find a similarity of syntax and words, which are unmistakably linked to their ancestors. While much of Celtic culture has dissolved into history, it is notable the Welsh have retained so large a part of their language, the origins of which can be found in the birthplace of Abraham.
The Celts and Gauls contributed greatly to the fall of the Romans, as did their Scythian brethren who later became successfully entangled with the empire. Under this multiplicity of names; Celt, Gaul, Cimbri, Cimmerian and Scythian, and with new and independent cultures, the scattered tribes were gradually being pushed to the very corners of the Earth. To see the flow of history in this context provides an answer to much of western history; the origins of peoples and prophesy. And while this may be lost on some, a new light on this history is beginning to dawn.
Scythians
The Scythians had a reputation as superb warriors and horsemen. They assailed the ancient fortress, Karmir Blur in 625-BC in the region of Urartu (modern Armenia) where three edged arrow heads, typical of Scythians have been unearthed. They later came under pressure from the Medes, moving west they followed the Cimmerians into new territories in Southern Russia and Crimea, established by many Scythian burial sites found in the region; inscriptions in Hebrew plainly stating their origin. The earliest graves date from around 580-BC confirmed by Greek items buried with the dead and found nearby.
When the Scythians arrived, there were many bloody skirmishes, which drove the Cimmerians into the lands of modern Romania. While Scythians stayed in the region for several centuries, some went deeper into Russia; archaeologists have unearthed Scythian objects as far north as Kiev. They were in a region of the Carpathian Mountains where Darius and the Medes met them in 512-BC.
Scythian arrowheads have been uncovered at Jerusalem dating from the Babylonian assault on the city. It would seem Israelite mercenaries were employed even at that early date. Their archers were famous for their skill many hired out their talent. They were successful over Macedonia in 291-BC when they defeated Cassander, taking him prisoner. In 9-AD, under the leadership of Arminius they routed the Romans pushing them back across the River Rhine. The Scythians successfully defended several assaults in 70-AD; the year of the Roman siege of Masada. The Jews were still in the region of Palestine when the first of the former tribes of Israel were well into Western Europe.
In the mid 3rd Century, Scythians pressed deep into Saxony and Scandinavia pushing the Vandals, Goths and Lombards out of the area, south into France and Italy. Odin, their king, later deified along with his compatriots as ancient heroes of Norse mythology is recorded dying in Sweden. The Danish City of Odense retains a remembrance to his name. His capital was Asgard on the Dnieper River. Soon after his death, the Sacasene/Saxons rose to power becoming the major force as they continued west, absorbing many Scythians into their ranks.
Eastern Celts and Scythians
Some appear to have gone east. Well-preserved remains have been found in North-West China of a people with surprisingly Celtic traits in physiology, adornments and clothing; many with designs similar to modern Scottish plaids. These have been identified as Indo-Scythians, also traced to the Benares region of India. New information has recently come to light about these ancient explorers. The following is from, The Independent.
Solid as a warrior of the Caledonii tribe, the man’s hair is reddish brown flecked with grey, framing high cheekbones, a long nose, full lips and a ginger beard. When he lived three thousand years ago, he stood six feet tall, and was buried wearing a red twill tunic and tartan leggings.
He looks like a Bronze Age European. In fact, he’s every inch a Celt. Even his DNA says so. But this is no early Celt from central Scotland. This is the mummified corpse of Cherchen Man, unearthed from the scorched sands of the Taklamakan Desert in the far-flung region of Xinjiang in western China, and now housed in a new museum in the provincial capital of Urumqi.
At their peak, around 300BC, the influence of the Celts stretched from Ireland in the west to the south of Spain and across to Italy’s Po Valley, and probably extended to parts of Poland and the Ukraine and the central plain of Turkey in the east. These mummies seem to suggest, however, that the Celts penetrated well into central Asia, nearly making it as far as Tibet. (Clifford Coonan: the Independent, August 2006)
After breaking free from captivity, the Israelites went North, West, East and South. The Cimmerians, Scythians, Celts, Gauls have a common ancestry. The Greeks called them Celts; the Romans called them Gauls, Anthropologists call them and sub-groups by a variety of tribal names. But, as most who ventured West came via the Caucasus Mountains they can all be identified as, Caucasians.
Documents to first mention Scythians were Babylonian, which referred to Scythian mercenaries sent into Media to collect tribute from the Gimiri and Iskuzi. In other words some Israelites were tasked by Babylon to sort out some other Israelites causing them trouble; isn’t history full of surprises. The historian, Strabo wrote that the Sacae were living in Bactriana and Armenia (earlier called, Urartu) and were known as the Sacasene; they later became the Saxons.
The Sacasene quit the region around 620-BC; confirmed by discarded arrowheads, horse gear, and bronze bowls, found in the area of Urartu dated to the period. Most of this group travelled west. It also highlights the variety of names used by scholars to describe diverse groups that are in fact the same people, sprung from a common ancestry.
Germans
After moving south from the region of the Black Sea into Central Europe, the Scythians were given a new name by the Romans. This was due to confusion that arose between the real Scythians and the Sarmatians, who had also arrived in the area. The Latin word for genuine is, Germanus used to tell between the genuine Scythians and the new arrivals, even though they were different in appearance. Elements of both groups settled in the region, which later became modern Germany. It is from the blond Israelite-Scythians; Rosenberg and Hitler took their tainted Herrenvolk theory.
Some of these new Germans went north to the Baltic coast, which was only lightly populated prior to their arrival. Tombs found in the area establish this migration to be around 100 years after similar evidence had them to the south, in the region of Poland and Belarus.
The Goths, earlier known as the Getae, also settled parts of modern Germany. They were of the same stock as the Scythians; unluckily they gained a poor reputation being tied to the Vandals. The Goths were distinct from the Vandals having originally come from south of the Caspian. The name of Goth was probably transferred from Palestine to the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea, where the Getae and the Sacae, the Goths and Saxons, are historically found together. (The Lost Tribes and the Saxons of the East and the West: Dr. George Moore)
Scots
In the Declaration of Arbroath, (1316-AD) which was essentially a letter telling the Roman Church to stop bothering them, the Scots claimed their ancestors were Scythian. Territories later occupied by the Scots had been earlier invaded by Scythians and may have given rise this claim. The Scots came from Ireland displacing the Picts (Latin for ‘painted’) who were widespread throughout the Isles. They also absorbed Saxons who had settled in the south and east.
The country of Scotland takes its name from Irish invaders and settlers called the Scots, who came to the northern end of Britain and its Western Isles in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries…having supplanted the Picts the Irish Scots proceeded to overcome, control and absorb into their rule the Saxons who had come from the South invaded the Eastern portions of what they looked upon as their territory. They succeeded in doing this as far as the River Tweed, thus roughly, and for the first time (if we discount the Roman wall) establishing the border line between modern Scotland and England, in 1018. (McLaren: The Scots)
Angels and Saxons
Ptolemy and Tacitus, both mention settlements of Angles and Saxons in areas of the Baltic and Jutland, which the Romans deemed part of their Germany. The Angles and Saxons came to Britain displacing the indigenous peoples and the first Israelites to arrive (the Cymru) which they pushed farther west. The Saxons had assimilated many Scythians, in the same way Scythians had absorbed Cimmerians as they moved west. Angels and Saxons can be positively traced to the Sacae identified as the tribes of the northern captivity earlier taken into Assyria.
The Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Lowland Scots, Normans, Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Dutch, Belgians, Lombards and Franks, have all sprung from that great fountain of the human race, which we have distinguished by the terms Scythian, German or Gothic. (Historian, Sharon Turner)
Each tribe had a distinctive identification found in the blessings of Jacob and Moses. The lion is the symbol for Judah; Benjamin the wolf; Dan the snake or serpent; Zebulun a ship, and Manasseh the eagle and an olive branch. Today, the symbols of all twelve tribes are in plain view all over the world. The name Anglo is from engl, Hebrew for ox or bull, the tribal emblem of Ephraim. And, we know from Scripture (Deut 33:16-17) that Ephraim was to push his people to the ends of the Earth. From the 16th Century other countries referred to below, includes migrations to America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Southern Africa, and Asia and the Pacific.
A careful perusal of the Eddas and Sagas will enable with the help of the ancient Greek and Latin writers, and without any serious break in the chain of events, to make out a fairly continuous history which throws considerable light on the progenitors of the English-speaking peoples, their migrations northward from their old home on the shores of the Black Sea, their religion, and the settlement of Scandinavia, of England, and of other countries. (M. Du Challu: The Viking Age)
The last of the tribes to arrive in the British Isles were the Normans; Vikings or Northmen from Scandinavia. They had moved south into France, adopted the language and customs of the Franks, later crossing the channel to England in 1066. They added no new racial element to Britain. Tribe after tribe, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Frisians, poured across the sea to make new homes in the Isle of Britain, a nation formed by the union of various tribes of the same stock. The Dane hardly needed assimilation, as he was another kindred tribe, coming later than the others. Even the Norman was a kinsman. (Freeman: Origin of the English Nation)
Once in Britain, it took many centuries for their differences to be settled; some engagements were long and bloody affairs. In the end they became one nation, observing the same laws. By protracted, arduous and hidden means, the Lord pushed His People to the far flung places of the Earth. Blind to their origin, they were led into Europe, Britain, the Americas, and the Isles of the Sea. Referred to earlier; the following Scripture shows why most are not aware of this history. And, the fullness of the nations mentioned by Paul is upon us.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations be come in. (Rom 11:25)
End of Part 4