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Which ancient nomadic peoples were the ancestors of the Ossetes?

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Snow-covered peaks and ridges of the Caucasus Mountains in Russia stretch across the landscape under a pale sky. — Caucasus Caucasus Mountains in Russia.

The Ossetes are considered the direct descendants of the Alani, an ancient nomadic people of Iranian stock who roamed the southern Western Steppe.123

The historical lineage of the Ossetes is traced through a succession of eastern Iranian nomadic groups that dominated the region from the 7th century BCE until the 4th century CE, when they were largely displaced by the Huns. These ancestral groups were known successively as:42

Scythians42
Sarmatians42
Alans42

While many Alani fled westward following the Hunnic invasion in 370 CE, those who remained in the Caucasus region are identified as the ancestors of the modern Ossetes. Consequently, the Ossetic language is recognized as a modern descendant of the language spoken by the ancient Alani and the medieval As.13