Eldest son of Japheth (Genesis 10). His tribe, the Cimmerians, an Aryan people who inhabited the Crimea and the adjoining districts of southern Russia, came into western Asia through the Caucasus in the 7th century B.C. They attacked the northern frontier of the Assyrian empire, besieged Sardis, invaded Lydia and Phrygia, and conquered Cappadocia. They were finally crushed by Ardys (655-625) and the Assyrians in Cilicia.