Zarina

Zarinaea also referred to as Zarinaia or Zarinsea (Saka: ; ; ) or Zarina was a queen of one of the Saka tribes or of the Dahae of the 7th century BCE who is mentioned by the Greek author Diodorus Siculus.

Name The name is the Latin form of the Greek name , which is itself the Hellenisation of the Saka name , meaning "the golden one." is a hypocoristic name formed out of the Old Iranian term , meaning "golden," and the suffix .

Historicity According to the Iranologist Rüdiger Schmitt, Zarinaia was a legendary figure, while the historian Adrienne Mayor suggests that she was a historical figure.

Life Zarinaia was the sister and wife of the Saka king Cydraeus, but after he died while she was still young, she became the ruling queen of her tribe, among whom the women would fight alongside the men. Zarinaia was a strikingly beautiful woman whose beauty surpassed that of other Saka women, and she distinguished herself both as a warrior and a ruler, being considered a hero for defeating enemy tribes, and she reputedly founded multiple cities.

Legacy Several versions of the name, including Zarina, Zareena, or Zareen, are common in South Asia, Western Asia, and Eastern Europe.

The name of Zarinaia has also been artificially revived among Ossetians in the form .