Nomadic empires, sometimes also calledsteppe empires,Central orInner Asian empires, were theempires erected by thebow-wielding,horse-riding,nomadic people in theEurasian Steppe, fromclassical antiquity (Scythia) to theearly modern era (Dzungars). They are the most prominent example of non-sedentarypolities.

Some nomadic empires consolidated by establishing acapital city inside a conquered sedentary state and then exploiting the existing bureaucrats and commercial resources of that non-nomadic society. In such a scenario, the originally nomadic dynasty may becomeculturally assimilated to the culture of the occupied nation before it is ultimately overthrown.^[2]Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) described a similar cycle on a smaller scale in 1377 in hisAsabiyyah theory.

Historians of the early medieval period may refer to these polities as "khanates" (afterkhan, the title of their rulers). After theMongol conquests of the 13th century the termorda ("horde") also came into use – as in "Golden Horde".

In thehistory of China,Central Plain polities relied onhorses to resist nomadic incursions into their territories, but were only able to purchase the needed horses from thenomads. Trading in horses actually gave these nomadic groups the means to acquire goods by commercial means and reduced the number of attacks and raids into the territories of Central Plain regimes.

Nomads were generally unable to hold onto conquered territories for long without reducing the size of theircavalry forces because of the limitations of pasture in a settled lifestyle. Therefore, settled civilizations usually became reliant on nomadic ones to provide the supply of horses as needed—because they did not have resources to maintain these numbers of horses themselves.^[3]

Camel-orientedBedouin societies in Arabia have functioned as desert-based analogues of Central-Asian horse-oriented nomadic empires.^[4]

TheCimmerians were an ancient Indo-European people living north of theCaucasus and theSea of Azov as early as 1300 BCE until they were driven southward by the Scythians intoAnatolia during the 8th century BCE. Linguistically they are usually regarded as Iranian, or possibly Thracian with an Iranian ruling class.

• ThePontic–Caspian steppe:southern Russia andUkraine until 7th century BCE.
• The northernCaucasus area, including modern territories ofGeorgia andAzerbaijan
• Central, East and NorthAnatolia 714–626 BCE.

Scythia (/ˈsɪθiə/;Ancient Greek:Σκυθική) was a region ofCentral Eurasia inclassical antiquity, occupied by theEasternIranianScythians,^[5][6] encompassing parts ofEastern Europe east of theVistula River andCentral Asia, with the eastern edges of the region vaguely defined by the Greeks.^{[citation needed]} The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia (or Great Scythia) to all the lands north-east of Europe and the northern coast of theBlack Sea.^[7] The Scythians—the Greeks' name for this initially nomadic people—inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BCE to the 2nd century CE.^[8]

TheSarmatians (Latin:Sarmatæ orSauromatæ;Ancient Greek:Σαρμάται, Σαυρομάται) were a largeconfederation^[9] ofIranian people duringclassical antiquity,^[10][11] flourishing from about the 6th century BCE to the 4th century CE.^[12] They spokeScythian, anIndo-European language from theEastern Iranian family. According to authors Arrowsmith, Fellowes and Graves Hansard^{[dubious –discuss]} in their bookA Grammar of Ancient Geography published in 1832, Sarmatia had two parts, Sarmatia Europea^[13]: 9 and Sarmatia Asiatica^[13]: 15 covering a combined area of 503,000 sq mi or 1,300,000 km².Sarmatians were basically Scythian veterans (Saka,Iazyges, Skolotoi,Parthians, etc.) returning to thePontic–Caspian steppe after the siege ofNineveh. Many noble families of PolishSzlachta claimed a direct descent from Sarmatians as a part ofSarmatism.

The Xiongnu, a confederation of nomadic tribes from northernChina andInner Asia and other subjugated tribes, had a ruling class of unknown origin. They lived on theMongolian Plateau between the 3rd century BCE and the 460s CE, their territories including parts of present-day northern China, ofMongolia, and of southernSiberia. The Xiongnu established the first unified empire of nomadic peoples. Relations between earlyCentral Plain dynasties and the Xiongnu were complicated and involved military conflict, exchanges oftribute,trade, andmarriage alliances. When the Chinese EmperorQin Shi Huang (r. 221 BCE – 210 BCE) drove the Xiongnu away from south of theYellow River, he built among the first stages of theGreat Wall to prevent them from returning.

The Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire, formed by theYuezhi who originally hailed from the modern-day Chinese province ofGansu under the pressure of theXiongnu, in theBactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of modern-dayAfghanistan,^[14] and then the northern parts of theIndian subcontinent at least as far asSaketa andSarnath nearVaranasi (Benares), where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan emperorKanishka the Great.^[15]

The Xianbei state or Xianbei confederation was a nomadic empire which existed in modern-dayInner Mongolia, northernXinjiang,Northeast China,Gansu,Mongolia,Buryatia,Zabaykalsky Krai,Irkutsk Oblast,Tuva,Altai Republic and easternKazakhstan from 156 to 234 CE. Like most ancient peoples known throughChinese historiography, the ethnic makeup of theXianbei is unclear.^[16] The Xianbei were a northern branch of the earlierDonghu and it is likely at least some wereproto-Mongols. After it collapsed, the tribe immigrated into theCentral Plain and founded theNorthern Wei dynasty.^[17]

TheHephthalites,Ephthalites,Ye-tai,White Huns, or, inSanskrit, theSveta Huna, were a confederation ofnomadic and settled^[18] people inCentral Asia who expanded their domain westward in the 5th century.^[19] At the height of its power in the first half of the 6th century, the Hephthalite Empire controlled territory in present-dayAfghanistan,Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan,Tajikistan,Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan,Pakistan,India andChina.^[20][21]

TheHuns were a confederation ofEurasian tribes from the Steppes ofCentral Asia. Appearing from beyond theVolga River some years after the middle of the 4th century, they conquered all of eastern Europe, ending up at the border of theRoman Empire in the south, and advancing far into modern dayGermany in the north. Their appearance in Europe brought with it great ethnic and political upheaval and may have stimulated theGreat Migration. The empire reached its largest size underAttila between 447 and 453.

The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari,^[22] Proto-Bulgarians^[23]) wereTurkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in thePontic–Caspian steppe and theVolga region during the 7th century. Emerging asnomadic equestrians in theVolga-Ural region, according to some researchers their roots can be traced toCentral Asia.^[24] During their westward migration across theEurasian steppe the Bulgars absorbed other ethnic groups and cultural influences, includingHunnic and Indo-European peoples.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30]} Modern genetic research on Central Asian Turkic people and ethnic groups related to the Bulgars points to an affiliation with Western Eurasian populations.^[30][31] The Bulgars spoke aTurkic language, i.e.Bulgar language ofOghuric branch.^[32] They preserved the military titles, organization and customs of Eurasian steppes,^[33] as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deityTangra.^[34]

AfterDengizich's death, theHuns seem to have been absorbed by other ethnic groups such as theBulgars.^[35] Kim, however, argues that the Huns continued under Ernak, becoming theKutrigur andUtigur Hunno-Bulgars.^[36] This conclusion is still subject to some controversy. Some scholars also argue that another group identified in ancient sources as Huns, theNorth Caucasian Huns, were genuine Huns.^[37] The rulers of various post-Hunnic steppe peoples are known to have claimed descent from Attila in order to legitimize their right to the power, and various steppe peoples were also called "Huns" by Western and Byzantine sources from the fourth century onward.^[38]

The first clear mention and evidence of the Bulgars was in 480, when they served as the allies of the Byzantine EmperorZeno (474–491) against theOstrogoths.^[39] Anachronistic references about them can also be found in the 7th-century geography workAshkharatsuyts byAnania Shirakatsi, where theKup'i Bulgar,Duč'i Bulkar,Olxontor Błkar and immigrantČ'dar Bulkar tribes are mentioned as being in the North Caucasian-Kuban steppes.^[40] An obscure reference toZiezi ex quo Vulgares, withZiezi being an offspring of BiblicalShem, is in theChronography of 354.^[40][41]

The Bulgars becamesemi-sedentary during the 7th century in thePontic-Caspian steppe, establishing the polity ofOld Great Bulgaria c. 635, which was absorbed by theKhazar Empire in 668 CE.

In c. 679, KhanAsparukh conqueredScythia Minor, opening access toMoesia, and established theFirst Bulgarian Empire, where the Bulgars became a political and military elite. They merged subsequently with establishedByzantine populations,^[42][43] as well as with previously settledSlavic tribes, and were eventuallySlavicized, thus forming the ancestors of modernBulgarians.^[44]

The Rouran (柔然), Ruanruan (蠕蠕), or Ruru (茹茹) were a confederation ofMongolic-speaking^[45] nomadic tribes in northernChina from the late 4th century until the late 6th century. They controlled an area corresponding to modern-day northern China,Mongolia, and southernSiberia.

The Göktürks or Kök-Türks were aTurkic people of inhabiting much of northernChina andInner Asia. Under the leadership ofBumin Khan and his sons they established theFirst Turkic Khaganate around 546, taking the place of the earlierXiongnu as the main power in the region. They were the first Turkic tribe to use the nameTürk as a political name. The empire was split into awestern and aneastern part around 600, and both divisions were eventually conquered by theTang dynasty. In 680, the Göktürks established theSecond Turkic Khaganate which later declined after 734 following the establishment of theUyghur Khaganate.

TheYenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate was a Turkic-led empire occupying the territories of modern-day northernChina,Mongolia, and southernSiberia around theYenisei River. The khaganate was founded in 693 byBars Bek, and in 695, after a confrontation with theSecond Turkic Khaganate, was recognised byQapagan. In 710–711, as a result of the war with the Göktürks, the Kyrgyz Khaganate fell, and the descendants of Bars Bek remained vassals of the Second Turkic Khaganate until its fall in 744. After that, the Kyrgyz tribes became part of the ascendantUyghur Khaganate. In 820, war broke out between the Kyrgyz and the Uyghur Khaganate, which continued with varying success for 20 years. In 840, the Uyghur Khaganate fell, and the Kyrgyz Khaganate was restored on its territory. It reached its peak of power at the end of the 9th century, but had little geopolitical influence thereafter. Eventually, the Kyrgyz Khaganate was finally dissolved in 1207 after becoming part of theMongol Empire.

The Uyghur Khaganate was an empire that existed in present-day northernChina,Mongolia, southernSiberia, and surrounding areas for about a century between the mid 8th and 9th centuries. It was a tribal confederation under theOrkhon Uyghur nobility. It was established byKutlug I Bilge Khagan in 744, taking advantage of the power vacuum in the region after the fall of the Gökturk Empire. It collapsed after aKyrgyz invasion in 840.

The Liao dynasty was ruled by theYelü clan of the Khitan people in northern China. It was founded byYelü Abaoji (Emperor Taizu of Liao) around the time of the collapse of theTang dynasty and was the first state to control all ofManchuria.^[46] After the Liao dynasty fell to theJin dynasty in the 12th century, remnants of the Liao imperial clan led byYelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong of Western Liao) fled west and established theWestern Liao dynasty.

The founder of the Seljuk dynasty was anOghuz Turkic chieftain Seljuk that had served under Khazar army. Ancestors of Seljuk remained unclarified except for his father, Dukak. Dukak was a competent man in Oghuz Yabgu State, and like him Seljuk also gained a seat the court of the Oghuz Yabgu. Afterwards Seljuk fell into disfavor in the court, and he decided to move into Jend with his clan in 961. Rumor has it that he converted to İslam in order to gain the power from İslamic countries. The Oghuz Turks sought a proper homeland that includes vast pastures for their herdes, and consistently fought againstKara-Khanid Khanate,Ghaznavids andEastern Roman Empire. They followed changeable policies among contiguous states due to tending to keep the balance of power. The grandsons of Seljuk,Tughril andChagri Begs decisively defeated Ghaznavids inthe Battle of Dandanaqan, gained the power in the Khorasan. Tughril Beg sent Chagri Beg intoEastern Anatolia to seek proper pastures, so the conflicts between Oghuz Turks and Byzantine Empire began.^[47] During Tughril's reign, the life styles of nomadic Oghuz tribes changed as they conquered lands of Persia.^[48]

The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire in history at its peak, with an estimated population of over 100 million people. The Mongol Empire was founded byGenghis Khan in 1206, and at its height, it encompassed the majority of the territories fromEast Asia toEastern Europe.

After unifying theTurco-Mongol tribes, the Empire expanded through conquests throughout continentalEurasia. During its existence, thePax Mongolica facilitated cultural exchange and trade on theSilk Route between theEast,West, and theMiddle East in the period of the 13th and 14th centuries. It had significantly easedcommunication andcommerce acrossAsia during its height.^[49][50]

After the death ofMöngke Khan in 1259, the empire split into four parts (Yuan dynasty,Ilkhanate,Chagatai Khanate andGolden Horde), each of which was ruled by its own monarch, although the emperors of the Yuan dynasty had nominal title of Khagan. After the disintegration of the western khanates and thefall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368, the empire finally broke up.

TheTimurids, self-designated Gurkānī, were aTurko-Mongol dynasty, established by the warlordTimur in 1370 and lasting until 1506. At its zenith, the Timurid Empire included the whole ofCentral Asia,Iran and modernAfghanistan, as well as large parts ofMesopotamia and theCaucasus.

Later Mongol-led khanates such as theNorthern Yuan dynasty and theDzungar Khanate were also nomadic empires. After the fall of theYuan dynasty in 1368, theMing dynasty rebuilt theGreat Wall, which had been begun many hundreds of years earlier to keep the northern nomads out of theCentral Plain. During the subsequent centuries, the Northern Yuan dynasty tended to continue theirnomadic way of life.^{[51][full citation needed]} On the other hand, theDzungars were a confederation of severalOirat tribes who formed and maintained the last horse archer empire from the early 17th century to the middle 18th century. They emerged in the early 17th century to fight theAltan Khan of the Khalkha, theJasaghtu Khan and theirManchu patrons for dominion and control over the Mongol tribes. In 1756, this last nomadic power was dissolved due to the Oirat princes' succession struggle and costly war with theQing dynasty.

TheQing dynasty is mistakenly confused as a nomadic empire by people who wrongly think that theManchus were a nomadic people,^[52] when in fact they were not nomads,^[53][54] but instead were a sedentary agricultural people who lived in fixed villages, farmed crops, and practiced hunting and mounted archery.

TheSushen used flint-headed wooden arrows, farmed, hunted, and fished and lived in caves and trees.^[55] The cognates Sushen or Jichen (稷真) again appear in theShan Hai Jing andBook of Wei during the dynastic era referring toTungusicMohe tribes of the far northeast.^[56] The Mohe enjoyed eating pork, practiced pig farming extensively, and were mainly sedentary,^[57] and also used both pig and dog skins for coats. They were predominantly farmers and grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, in addition to engaging in hunting.^[58]

TheJurchens were sedentary,^[59] settled farmers with advanced agriculture. They farmed grain and millet as their cereal crops, grew flax, and raised oxen, pigs, sheep, and horses.^[60] Their farming way of life was very different from the pastoral nomadism of the Mongols and the Khitan on the steppes.^[61][62] "At the most", the Jurchen could only be described as "semi-nomadic" while the majority of them were sedentary.^[63]

The Manchu way of life (economy) was described as agricultural, with farming crops andraising animals on farms.^[64] Manchus practicedslash-and-burn agriculture in the areas north ofShenyang.^[65] TheHaixi Jurchens were "semi-agricultural, the Jianzhou Jurchens and Maolian (毛怜) Jurchens were sedentary, and hunting and fishing was the way of life of the "Wild Jurchens".^[66] Han Chinese society resembled that of the sedentary Jianzhou and Maolian, who were farmers.^[67] Hunting, archery on horseback, horsemanship, livestock raising, and sedentary agriculture were all practiced by the Jianzhou Jurchens as part of their culture.^[68] In spite of the fact that the Manchus practiced archery on horseback and equestrianism, the Manchu's immediate progenitors practiced sedentary agriculture.^[69] Although the Manchus also partook in hunting, they were sedentary.^[70] Their primary mode of production was farming, and they lived in villages, forts, and towns surrounded by walls. Farming was practiced by their Jurchen Jin predecessors.^[71][72]

For political reasons, the Jurchen leaderNurhaci chose variously to emphasize either differences or similarities in lifestyles with other peoples like the Mongols.^[75]Nurhaci said to the Mongols, "The languages of the Chinese and Koreans are different, but their clothing and way of life is the same. It is the same with us Manchus (Jušen) and Mongols. Our languages are different, but our clothing and way of life is the same." Later, Nurhaci indicated that the bond with the Mongols was not based in any real shared culture. It was for pragmatic reasons of "mutual opportunism" since Nurhaci said to the Mongols, "You Mongols raise livestock, eat meat and wear pelts. My people till the fields and live on grain. We two are not one country and we have different languages."^[76]

Only the Mongols and the northern "wild" Jurchen were semi-nomadic, unlike the mainstream Jiahnzhou Jurchens descended from theJin dynasty who were farmers that foraged, hunted, herded and harvested crops in the Liao and Yalu river basins. They gathered ginseng root, pine nuts, hunted for came pels in the uplands and forests, raised horses in their stables, and farmed millet and wheat in their fallow fields. They engaged in dances, wrestling and drinking strong liquor as noted during midwinter by the Korean Sin Chung-il when it was very cold. These Jurchens who lived in the north-east's harsh cold climate sometimes half sunk their houses in the ground which they constructed of brick or timber and surrounded their fortified villages with stone foundations on which they built wattle and mud walls to defend against attack. Village clusters were ruled by beile, hereditary leaders. They fought each other and dispensed weapons, wives, slaves, and lands to their followers in them. The Jurchens who founded the Qing lived and their ancestors lived in such a way before the Jin. Alongside Mongols and Jurchen clans there were migrants from Liaodong provinces of theMing dynasty andJoseon living among those Jurchens in a cosmopolitan manner. Nurhaci who was hosting Sin Chung-il was uniting all of them into his own army, having them adopt the Jurchen hairstyle of a long queue and a shaved fore=crown and wearing leather tunics. His armies had black, blue, red, white, and yellow flags. They became the Eight Banners, which was initially capped to 4 and then grew to 8 with three different types of ethnic banners as Han, Mongol and Jurchen were recruited into Nurhaci's forces. Jurchens like Nurhaci spoke both their native Tungusic language and Chinese and adopted the Mongol script for their own language unlike the Jin Jurchen's script, which was derived from Khitan. They adopted Confucian values and practiced their shamanist traditions.^[77]

The Qing stationed "New Manchu" Warka foragers in Ningguta and attempted to turn them into normal agricultural farmers like normal Old Manchus, but the Warka just reverted to hunter gathering and requested money to buy cattle for beef broth. The Qing wanted the Warka to become soldier-farmers and imposed that on them, but the Warka simply left their garrison at Ningguta and went back to the Sungari River to their homes to herd, fish, and hunt. The Qing accused them of desertion.^[78]

Similarly, theIndo-European dominions, like the Cimmerian, Scythian, Sarmatian or Kushan ones, were not strictly nomadic or strictly empires. They were organized in smallKšatrapies/Voivodeships that sometimes united into a biggermandala to repel surrounding despotic empires trying to annex their homelands. Only the pastoral part of the population and military troops migrated frequently, but most of the population lived in organized agricultural and industrial small scale townships, which are called in Europegords. Examples are the oases ofSogdia andSparia along theSilk Road (Śaka,Tokarians/Tokharians etc.) and around theTarim Basin (Tarim mummies,Kingdom of Khotan) or the rural areas ofEurope (Sarmatia,Pannonia,Vysperia,Spyrgowa/Spirgovia,Boioaria/Boghoaria...) andIndian subcontinent (Kaśperia,Pandžab etc.). Since the 2nd century BCE, the growing number ofTurkic nomads and invaders among them, who adopted their horse-riding, metallurgy, technologies, clothing, and customs caused them to be also often confused with the latter, which mostly occurred in the case of theScythians (Śaka,Sarmatians, Skolotoi,Iazyges, etc.). InIndia, theŚaka, although known earlier asŚakya orKambojas, formed now theKushan Empire but were confused with theXionites invading them and were calledMleccha. The Turkic invaders exploited the subdued sedentary Indo-Europeans in agriculture, industry, and warfare (Mamluk,Janissaries).^{[citation needed]}

• Conquest dynasty
• Eurasian nomads
• History of Central Asia
• Inner Asia
• List of conflicts in Europe during Turco-Mongol rule
• List of Kiyad-Borjigin dynasties
• List of Mongol states
• Scytho-Siberian world
• Thalassocracy

• Waldman, Carl; Mason, Catherine (2006).Encyclopedia of European Peoples.Infobase Publishing.ISBN 978-1438129181. Retrieved16 January 2015.

• Amitai, Reuven;Biran, Michal (editors).Mongols, Turks, and others: Eurasian nomads and the sedentary world (Brill's Inner Asian Library, 11). Leiden:Brill, 2005 (ISBN 90-04-14096-4).
• Drews, Robert.Early riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe. NY:Routledge, 2004 (ISBN 0-415-32624-9).
• Grousset, Rene.The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia, Naomi Walford, (tr.), New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1970.
• Haines, Spencer (2017). "The 'Military Revolution' Arrives on the Central Eurasian Steppe: The Unique Case of the Zunghar (1676 - 1745)".Mongolica: An International Journal of Mongolian Studies.51. International Association of Mongolists:170–185.
• Hildinger, Erik.Warriors of the steppe: A military history of Central Asia, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1700. New York: Sarpedon Publishers, 1997 (hardcover,ISBN 1-885119-43-7); Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2001 (paperback,ISBN 0-306-81065-4).
• Kradin, Nikolay. Nomadic Empires: Origins, Rise, Decline. InNomadic Pathways in Social Evolution. Ed. by N.N. Kradin,Dmitri Bondarenko, and T. Barfield (pp. 73–87). Moscow: Center for Civilizational Studies,Russian Academy of Sciences, 2003.
• Kradin, Nikolay. Nomads of Inner Asia in Transition. Moscow: URSS, 2014 (ISBN 978-5-396-00632-4).

• Nomadic empires
• Former empires
• Nomadic groups in Eurasia
• History of Central Asia
• Inner Asia
• Iranian nomads
• Empires
• Nomadic confederacies

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