Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus told how in 329 Alexander the Great harassed the people of Scythia, and they replied frostily that a supposed god should be bountiful, not rapacious, and a mortal man should not forget what he is. As for Scythia, there was little plunder there for the robber, but their geographical position made them neighbours worth having.

A conqueror, the Scythians told Alexander, does not gain the friendship of the conquered, because he always thinks them his inferiors. Better to let Scythia be his ally — not with oaths and pompous words like the Greeks, but with real deeds — and judge for himself whether or not he would rather have a people like that for an enemy.

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