 In rabbinic literature, the kingdom of Ashkenaz was first associated with the Scythian region, then later with the Slavic territories, and, from the 11th century onwards, with Germany and northern Europe.His name is related to the Assyrian "Aškūza" ("Aškuzai, Iškuzai"), a people who expelled the Cimmerians from the Armenian highland of the Upper Euphrates area.Medieval Jews associated the term with the geographical area centered on the Rhineland of Western Germany.