Tomyris: Queen of the Massagetae

By Peta Oakes (Gaelic Mac Dubhdara)

Tomyris: Queen of the Massagetae explores the confrontation between the Massagetae and Cyrus the Great of Persia in the sixth century BCE.

Across the open grasslands and river corridors of the Eurasian steppe, Tomyris ruled a mobile confederation whose authority depended upon kinship, martial legitimacy, movement, and control of vital territory. Her encounter with Cyrus brought two very different systems of power into direct conflict: an expanding territorial empire and a steppe society organised beyond the structures of settled monarchy.

Drawing primarily upon Herodotus, together with archaeological research and studies of ancient frontiers, this volume examines the campaign through geography, strategy, cultural difference, and imperial ambition. It considers both the limitations of the surviving narrative and the political realities that may stand behind its legendary elements.

Tomyris emerges not as an isolated curiosity, but as a ruler situated within the complex history of Eurasian peoples who resisted imperial expansion.

Part of the Powerful Female Rulers of Antiquity series, this volume examines a woman whose life shaped the political and cultural world of antiquity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1764367502
• ISBN13: 9781764367509
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Peta Oakes
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"