The Sagartians
were an ancient Iranian

Ancient Iranian peoples

Iranian peoples first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BCE. In Classical Antiquity they were found primarily in Scythia and Persia...

  tribe, dwelling in the Iranian plateau

Iranian plateau

The Iranian plateau, or Iranic plateau, is a geological formation in Southwest Asia. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north, the Hormuz Strait and Persian...

. Their exact location is unknown; they were probably neighbors of the Parthians in northeastern Iran. According to Herodotus (1.125, 7.85) they were related to the Persians (Southwestern Iranian), but they may also have entered a political union with the Medians (Northwestern Iranian) at some point (J. van Wesendonk in ZII 9, 1933, pp. 23f.). Ptolemy (6.2.6) locates them in Media, while Stephanus of Byzantium

Stephanus of Byzantium

Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...

 claims that there was a peninsula in the Caspian Sea called Sagartía. They were nomadic pastoralists, their main weapon being the lasso

Lasso

A lasso , also referred to as a lariat, riata, or reata , is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the American cowboy. The word is also a verb; to lasso is to successfully throw the loop of rope around something...

  (Herodotus 7.85).

It is unclear whether they are identical to the Zikirti

Zikirti

Zikirti or Zikirtu, was an ancient land in northern Zagros, which comprised the easternmost part of Greater Mannae. Geographically it corresponds with the modern counties of Takab and Shahindej in northwestern Iran.The people of Zikirti are usually identified with ancient Iranian Sagartians,...

mentioned by Sargon II

Sargon II

Sargon II was an Assyrian king. Sargon II became co-regent with Shalmaneser V in 722 BC, and became the sole ruler of the kingdom of Assyria in 722 BC after the death of Shalmaneser V. It is not clear whether he was the son of Tiglath-Pileser III or a usurper unrelated to the royal family...

 as inhabitants of northern Zagros in the late 8th century BC. They may have been granted the district of Arbela

Arbela

Arbela may refer to:*An important city in ancient Jordan, located on the site of modern Irbid, Jordan*The ancient name of the city of Arbil in northern Iraq*Ancient Jewish settlement in Galilee, near the modern moshav Arbel, Israel....

 by Median

Median

In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...

 king Cyaxares

Cyaxares

Cyaxares, Cyaxares the Great or Hvakhshathra , the son of King Phraortes, was the first king of Media. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares, grandson of Deioces, had a far greater military reputation than his father or grandfather, therefore he is often being described as the first official Median...

 as a reward for their aid in the capture of Niniveh.

According to Herodotus (3.93), the Sagartians belonged to the 14th Satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire

Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...

. A Sagartian delegation appears among the tribute bearers on the Apadana

Apadana

The Apadāna is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pāli Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE...

relief.