Note 3 — CHAPTER 1

According to Herodotus, the Scythic sakae enumerated eight races with the epithet of royal, and Strabo mentions one of the tribes of the Thyssagetae as boasting the title of Basilii. [Herodotus (iv. 22) speaks of the Thyssagetae, possibly meaning ‘lesser,’ Getae, as contrasted with the Massagetae or ‘greater’ Getae, but he does not call them ‘royal’; and, in any case, they have no connexion with the Rājputs (see Rawlinson, Herodotus, 3rd ed. iii. 209).] The Rajputs assert that in ancient times they only enumerated eight royal sakham or branches, namely, Surya, Soma, Haya or Aswa (qu. Asi?) Nima, and the four tribes of Agnivansa, namely, Pramara, Parihara, Solanki, and Chauhan. Abulghazi states that the Tatars or Scythians were divided into six grand families. The Rajputs have maintained these ideas, originally brought from the Oxus.