Sun Tzu was active as a general and strategist, serving King Helü of Wu beginning around 512 BCE. Sun Tzu's victories then inspired him to write The Art of War.
King Darius the Great of Persia attacked the Scythians in the tenth year of his reign. He allegedly penetrated into their land after crossing the Danube. Herodotus relates that the nomad Scythians succeeded in frustrating the designs of the Persian army by letting it march through the entire country without an engagement. According to Herodotus, Darius in this manner came as far as the Volga river.