Procopius of Caesarea and “Massagets”

Article is devoted to the analysis of an ethnonym “Massagets” which is used by Procopius of Caesarea - the famous Byzantine historian of the 4th century. It is concluded that “Massagets” of Prokopius is a terminus technicus for designation of nomads in the Byzantine army or the nomads who make the war against the Byzantine Empire. Procopius as the intelligence officer of the field army of Belisarius, no doubt, personally encountered the Hephthalites, imagined their way of life and ethnic composition of their powers. According to most experts the Hephthalites conquered the part of Saki (Chionites) and East of the Sarmatian (Yueh-Chih) people, capturing the territory of Bactria and Sogdiana. True they are the descendants of Tomiris and her fellow just disappeared in the mountains of the Iranian peoples of the Western Turan. If you consider the fact that Procopius called the Hephthalites “white Huns”, it is not surprising that he combined all the known nomadic tribes to the name “Huns”, borrowed from Prisca. Thus, Procopius as a participant of two Persian campaigns, apparently, singled out the most capable of nomads in a separate group very deliberately, and gave them an ancient and glorious ethnonym belonging to the legendary tribesmen, Tomiris, the victorious Cyrus the Great