Mardiler

Mardians (Mards / Amardians) are a people associated with the Kurds in ancient and classical sources, distinguished by their warrior spirit and a lifestyle tied to mountainous geography. In sources, they are occasionally mentioned in connection with different geographies such as the Hyrcania region, the borders of the Media and Armenia mountains, and the interior of Armenia.

First Records in Sources

The first source to mention the people along with a specific geography is Strabo. Strabo describes this group, called Mards/Amardians, as a Persian tribe and first associates them with the Hyrcania region along with the Anariacae (11.6.1-2); in the continuation of the same section, he mentions the Amardians living on the borders of the Media and Armenia mountains together with peoples such as the Gelae, Cadusii, Vitii, and Anariake (11.6.4-7) (Volume 1, p. 31). Diodorus, on the other hand, mentions the Mardians and Cossaeans in the Hyrcania region; in Bibliotheke Historike, he states that the Mardi people were settled in the south and southwest of the region, and that they harbored hostility towards the Macedonians/Alexander the Great's army along with the Cossaeans. Diodorus also states that the Mardians and Cossaeans, who stood out for their courage and warrior spirit compared to other local elements, gained superiority in a clash against the Macedonians (17.59.1-5); he writes that Alexander the Great's army, encountering Mardi units serving in the army of the Persian king Darius III, drove them towards the remote parts of the mountains (Volume 1, p. 29).

In Persian and Roman Armies

The presence of the Mards in the Persian army is also seen in other sources. Curtius records that the Persian army included Persians, Mards, and Sogdians led by two commanders (4.12.7) and writes that Alexander the Great attacked the Mards after advancing into the interior of Persia. Curtius also provides important details about the daily life of the Mards: the Mards had a completely different culture from the Persians, lived in artificial caves in the mountains for shelter, fed mostly on meat, and their women walked with their hair uncovered (Volume 1, p. 46). Mardi warriors took part not only on the Persian side but also in armies fighting against Rome; it is reported that in Tigranes' army, which crossed the Murat River (Arsania) and fought the Roman army, Mardi archers were deployed alongside an Iberian spear unit (31.5) (Volume 1, p. 33).

Mountains and Banditry

A distinctive feature of the Mardians in sources is their use of mountains as refuge and their association with banditry. Arrianus, like Diodorus, states that the Mardians lived near the Persians; he writes that after the enemy threat disappeared, they returned to their normal lives and subsisted on banditry (Ind. 40.5) (Volume 1, p. 34). Tacitus also paints a similar picture in Annales: in 59 AD, while Roman general Corbulo seized regions like Artaxata and Tigranokert in Armenia and used violence against local elements that stood in his way, the local population evacuated their villages and took refuge in the high parts of the mountains and in caves, and the Roman army set these caves on fire. The Mardians, who engaged in "banditry" in Tacitus' words, also suffered a similar fate; according to the narrative, the Mardi people controlled some areas in Armenia (14.23.3) (Volume 1, p. 48).