The Legend of Tomiris (2019)

The film is based on the story of Herodotus about the death of the Persian king Cyrus the Great (Ghassan Massoud) during the war with the Massagetae, which was commanded by the queen Tomyris (Almira Tursyn). At around 941 BC, Cyrus has already conquered half the known world, except Egypt and the Northern Lands.

The northern lands are inhabited by the Saka tribes, from the Caspian Sea to the Altai mountains. The Massagetae are one of those tribes. The story begins with a short biography of Tomyris's father, king Spargapeithes, who is involved in the war between the clans of the Saka-Massagetae. Spargapeithes tries to unite the steppe tribes with his eloquence and sword, but to no avail. Influential leaders, among whom cunning Kavaz (Azamat Satybaldy) and Kurtun (Berik Aitzhanov) stand out, hesitate to unite under a single power defending their own interests. During this time, Spargapeithes's daughter, Tomyris, is born, while her mother, Bopay, whom Spargapeithes loves very much, dies in childbirth. Spargapeithes wanted a boy to take his clan and his tribe forward. Bopay dies disappointed that she could not give Spargapeithes a son. Spargapeithes remarries with time, but he looks after his daughter personally and teaches her how to properly use a sword and ride a horse, as well as other nomadic skills. Tomyris is raised as a proper warrior. Tomyris also learns the hardships of camp life. Spargapeithes conducts frequent raids on Khwarazmians territory, as they have ample food due to their warmer climate. Khwarazmians want Sparga out of their way. Sometime later, Kavaz and Kurtun go into a secret deal with the hostile Khwarazmians and assassinate king Spargapeithes, killing the royal family overnight, with only Tomyris surviving the massacre. She takes refuge in the forest with men who were loyal to Sparga and vows to avenge the death of her father. In the forest, Tomyris learns to use patience as a tool to observe the prey. Tomyris grows up, but one day Kavaz's spy finds them collecting salt in the plains. Tomyris was away from the forest when Kavaz's forces attacked and killed everyone they could find. Tomyris returned the next day to find everyone dead. She finds the attackers in the forest and massacres them. Tomyris is injured and roams on the horse for several days, before being picked up by a tribe's hunting party and bring brought to their village. Tomyris is recognized to be from a royal family due to her father's ring on her finger and is nursed back to health. She was saved by Sardana (Aizhan Lighg) daughter of the Savromats chief. The Savromat chief reveals that he was good friends with Sparga. The women of the Savromat tribe home Tomyris's fighting skills as she regains her strength. Sardana helps induct Tomyris into the Savromat tribe as they start raiding other tribes. In one of the raids, Tomyris picks up an orphan boy named Tiras. Tomyris and Sardana travel with the Savromat royal family to a gathering of all tribes. Kavaz and Kurtun are also in attendance. At the chief's meeting, Kavaz and Kurtun threaten Savromat chief to hand over his son as retribution for Savromat attacks on the Khwarazmians. Savromat chief conspires with the Dahae chief Saprash and tells him the Tomyris is the daughter of Sparga. Together they decide to attack Kavaz and free the Massagetae tribe. At the battlefield, Tomyris identifies herself as the daughter of Sparga and many warriors in Kavaz and Kurtun army decide to withdraw from the battle. In front of the entire armies, Tomiris kills both Kavaz and Kurtun and prevents any battle from taking place. Tomyris returns to her homeland where she is proclaimed a queen. Her first action is to lure the Khwarazmians into battle where she uses her superior battle tactics to defeat them. She feigns defeat and appears to retreat, only to get the Khwarazmians to break lines and pursue her army. Then she turns back and brings in additional forces from the flanks to trap the Khwarazmians. She marries the son Argun (Adil Akhmetov) of a neighboring Dahae tribal chief, who is her ally. Tomyris gives birth to many kids. She named her first born son Sparga, in honor of her father. Years later, Persian king Cyrus the Great tricks Tomyris's husband and one of her sons into his capital city Babylon, inviting them to discuss political issues that arose between his Achaemenid Empire and the Massagetae. Cyrus sends Argun expensive gifts and lures him to Babylon to discuss a peace and trade treaty. Cyrus wanted to subdue the Massagetae and turn them into his vassals. But Argun refuses the offer and threatens to fight to protect the freedom of his people. Cyrus decides to eliminate Argun as he feels it would be easier to negotiate with a widow. Cyrus wanted the nomad army of horsemen to conquer Egypt. Tomyris's husband and son are killed in Cyrus's palace by the latter's order. Tomyris learns this through her adopted son Tiras, who secretly followed the Massagetae to the Persian capital. Persians offer the Massagetae a treaty of peace via the marriage of Cyrus to Tomyris. Tomyris turns down the offer, and warns Cyrus against any intrusion, but Cyrus marches towards Jaxartes at the head of his army. Tomyris unties all the steppe tribes in the face on Cyrus's onslaught. She argues that none of the tribes will survive on their own. She puts the tribes to work to produce iron weapons and sends the women and livestock away for their protection. All wells on Cyrus's path are filled with sand, and the tribes conduct night raids on Cyrus's camps so that his army does not get to sleep. Tomyris makes a plan to attack from the flanks to draw Cyrus's army out to the side, thus exposing the center. Then 100 of her best warriors will attack right down the center and go for Cyrus himself. She reckons if Cyrus dies in battle, the war will be over. In the ensuing war the Massagetae defeat the Persians, inflicting heavy losses, with Cyrus also killed in the final battle.