Scythians is a generic term which refers to a group of people originated in Central Asia who migrated towards south and west. They consisted of various clans who were scattered in different groups in Eurasia. The name “Scythian” came from ‘skutalai’ who is believed to be their founder king. The word ‘skutalai’ probably got corrupted by Greeks into Scythian. The word “scythes” means archer or shooter. However, the people of the clans called themselves as “Saka”.

Indo – Scythians or Indo – Sakas were a branch of Scythians who settled in north-western India and Central Asia. Due to the westward movements of Da Yuezhi clan from China they had to migrate southwards and settled in North – West Indian Territory (today’s Afghanistan and North Pakistan). They further expanded towards Indus Valley and Western India. The dynasty founded by them is known as Indo-Scythian.

Placing Indo-Scythian rulers on a definite timeline is difficult, as no concrete evidence mentioning their ruling period is available. Whatever information is acquired is relative and is acquired through few inscriptions and a varied range of coins.

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