"Nomadic Empires" sheds new light on 2,000 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.
For 2,000 from the fifth century b.c. to the fifteenth century
a.d., 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 cogent,
well-written 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 neighbors.
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 b.c. through the twelfth
century a.d., 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. And finally, he describes what he calls "the
revenge of the sedentary peoples, exploring Russia and China in the
aftermath of the Mongols. The volume includes a chronology and an
annotated bibliography.
Now in paperback, this cogent, well-written 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 that 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 neighbors.
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