Nomadic Empires

An exploration of 2000 years of military history and geopolitics. The Mongol Empire of Genghis-Khan and his heirs, as is well-known, was the greatest empire in world history. From the fifth century BC to the 15th century AD, the steppe areas of Asia, from the borders of Manchuria to the Black Sea, were a "zone of turbulence", threatening settled peoples from China to Russia and Hungary, including Iran, India, the Byzantine Empire, and even Syria. It was a true world stage that was affected by these destructive nomads. This volume examines these nomadic people, variously called Indo-Europeans, Turkic peoples, or Mongols. They did not belong to a sole nation or language, but shared a strategic culture born in the steppes: a highly mobile cavalry which did not require sophisticated logistics, and an indirect mode of combat based on surprise, mobility and harassment. They used bows and arrows and, when they were united under the authority of a strong leader, were able to become a deadly threat to their sedentary neighbours. Gerard Chaliand addresses the subject from four perspectives. First, he examines the early nomadic populations of Eurasia, and the impact of these nomads and their complex relationships with settled peoples. Then he describes military fronts of the Altaic Nomads, detailing events from the fourth century BC through to the 12th century AD, from the early Chinese front to the Indo-Iranian front, the Byzantine front, and the Russian front. Next he covers the undertakings of the great nomad conquerors that brought about the Ottoman Empire. Finally, he describes what he calls "the revenge of the sedentary peoples", exploring Russia and China in the aftermath of the Mongols. There is a chronology and an annotated bibliography.