Scythians, or Sakas as they were called in the eastern regions where they spread, lived between the 8th century BC and the 3rd century AD in the east of Europe (Crimea and Pontic Steppes) and Central Asia, in the regions including the Tian Shan Mountains and Fergana Valley, and lived in Tuva and They are a heterogeneous nomadic people of (Altaic-Sayan) origin, assumed to contain Eastern Eurasian-Western Eurasian cultural and genetic[a] components.
Throughout history, the terms Skuthēs (Σκύθης) have been used for the Scythians in Greek sources, Ashguzai in Assyrian sources, Sakā in Persian sources, and Sai in Chinese sources.

The Scythians replaced the Cimmerians as the dominant power in the Pontic Steppes in the 8th century BC. During this period, the Scythians and related groups completely took control of the Eurasian Steppes, from the Carpathians in the west to the Ordos Plateau in the east.
This has led people to call it the first Central Asian steppe empire.
The Scythians who lived in the Ukraine and Southern Russia region called themselves Scoloti, and in this region they were ruled by a nomadic warrior aristocracy called the Royal Scythians.