Steppe rich

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Steppe empire or nomad empire is the modern name for a form of rule that was formative for the Eurasian steppe from antiquity to the early modern period and was operated by various equestrian peoples . A steppe empire combined characteristics of nomadic and sedentary cultures and interacted in particular with the neighboring sedentary cultures and domains.

Rulers formed by equestrian peoples were often tribal federations , the supporting tribes of which sometimes separated from one another very quickly. On the other hand, steppe empires could also become quite permanent empires, but their internal structure was often very loosely structured. Steppe peoples knew central locations, but their own rulers were usually only slightly urbanized. However, this could change through conquests if these areas were urbanized and materially significant. With the increasing duration of the rule and the transition to a (partial) settlement even some new cities emerged in the steppe, such as Karabalgasun and Karakorum (both in today'sMongolia ). Some steppe empires therefore included not only nomadic, but also sedentary, sometimes even urban population groups.

The Eurasian steppe zone encompasses a huge area, but the great distances for several groups from the steppe area, which were often ethnically heterogeneous, were not an insurmountable obstacle. In ancient and medieval reports, differently extensive advances by warrior groups from the steppe area are described, some of which advanced far to the west. In some cases , these were migrations of various sizes , in which environmental-historical factors could play a role. Often, however, they were campaigns to conquer land and / or achieve material gain.

Particularly since late antiquity , conflicts between these mobile and (semi) nomadic groups with the neighboring empires have been well documented, such as various steppe peoples with the Roman Empire (or Eastern Current / Byzantium ), the Sassanid Empire and China . Byzantium in particular concluded short-term alliances with one group against another group from the steppe region in order to play them off against one another, as evidenced by the alliance with the Utigurs against the Kutrigurs 559 or the Khazars around 700. In the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period there were also conflicts again and again, this time with ancient Russian principalities or Russia ( Mongolian invasion of Rus ), Islamic empires in Central Asia and the Empire of China as opponents of various steppe peoples. The superiority of the settled societies in terms of weapons technology increased more and more in the early modern period, so that they gained the upper hand militarily over the steppe peoples.

The securing of rule of many steppe empires was based primarily on the military power of the imperial elite and their obedience to the ruler or the top group. The ruler, in turn, was absolutely dependent on material gains, with which he tied his followers to himself and thus legitimized his position of rule. These could be profits from military campaigns or tribute payments from the neighboring realms of settled societies. Just as the western Huns demanded payments from the Romans at the time of Attila , the Xiongnu in the east had already done so against China (see also heqin ). In this respect, the riches of other empires (especially China) contributed not insignificantly to the formation of nomadic steppe empires.

The internal structure of the steppe realms was quite different, although often little information was available (as in the case of the Iranian Huns ). The Kök Turks , Uyghurs and Mongols apparently had certain internal administrative structures: the Sogdians played a central role among the Kök Turks and Uyghurs, while the Mongolian Yuan dynasty in China was based on the Chinese state administration, but also set Turks among others and Persians in important positions. But even a Mongolian khagan in China was not to be equated with the Chinese emperor, because there were significant differences not only in administration, but also in ideology, political action and succession planning. The Yuan emperors separated much politically and culturally from the traditional Chinese idea of ​​emperors. The Hun Empire of Attila, on the other hand, only had a small royal chancellery and was otherwise based on personal ties that ceased to exist with Attila's death in 453. The Golden Horde in Russia often left princes to rule and only used agents ( baskaki ) to raise troops, demand tributes and keep an eye on the local situation.

Based on the sources, the relationships between the steppe peoples and China with its cultural and economic development and a differentiated political structure have been well researched. This often resulted in "confederations" of equestrian peoples who had organized themselves rudimentary under a leadership group and now raided the Chinese border zone in order to contractually force tributes and trading rights from the Chinese emperor. However, due to their generally very loose structure and limited objectives, such associations only had a limited lifespan. The Mongols were the only group in the central steppe zone who managed to conquer the Chinese heartland, making them an exception and not the rule.

Examples

Steppe empires emerged along the entire Eurasian steppe zone, some further west (like the Huns), others with a focus in Central Asia or on the northern border of China. This included many khanates and khaghanates .

Examples include:

literature

  • Christoph Baumer : The History of Central Asia. 4 volumes. IB Tauris, London 2012–2018.
  • Thomas Barfield: Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China. Blackwell, Cambridge (MA) / Oxford 1989 (ND 1992).
  • Nicola Di Cosmo, Michael Maas (Eds.): Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity. Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca. 250–750. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2018.
  • René Grousset : The steppe peoples. Munich 1970.
  • Jürgen Paul : Central Asia. Frankfurt am Main 2012 (= New Fischer World History , Volume 10).

Remarks

  1. ↑ On her historical role see, for example, Anatoly M. Khazanov: The Eurasian Steppe Nomads in World Military History. In: Jürgen Paul (Ed.): Nomad Aristocrats in a World of Empires. Wiesbaden 2013, pp. 187-207; Nikolay Kradin: Ancient Steppe Nomad Societies. In: Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History (2018), article preview .
  2. ↑ See also the articles in Nicola Di Cosmo, Michael Maas (Ed.): Empires and Exchanges in Eurasian Late Antiquity. Rome, China, Iran, and the Steppe, ca. 250–750. Cambridge 2018.
  3. ↑ See also Walter Pohl : The Avars. A steppe people in Central Europe 567–822 AD 3rd edition with an updated foreword. Munich 2015, p. 21ff.
  4. ↑ More material, but no longer entirely up-to-date overview in René Grousset: Die Steppevölker. Munich 1970.
  5. ↑ See Anatoly M. Khazanov: The Eurasian Steppe Nomads in World Military History. In: Jürgen Paul (Ed.): Nomad Aristocrats in a World of Empires. Wiesbaden 2013, pp. 187–207, here pp. 202f.
  6. ↑ See Timo Stickler: The Huns. Munich 2007, p. 14ff.
  7. ↑ Etienne de la Vaissière: Sogdian Traders. A history. Leiden / Boston 2005.
  8. ^ Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer : China. Multi-ethnic and unitary state. Munich 1997, pp. 170-172.
  9. ↑ See Timothy Brook: The Troubled Empire. China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Cambridge (Mass.) 2010, pp. 79ff.
  10. ↑ Klaus Rosen : Attila. The horror of the world. Munich 2016; about the office: ibid., p. 127f.
  11. ^ Charles J. Halperin: Russia and the Golden Horde. The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. Bloomington 1985, pp. 33ff.
  12. ↑ See Thomas Barfield: Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China. Cambridge (MA) / Oxford 1989, p. 8ff.
  13. ^ Thomas Barfield: Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China. Cambridge (MA) / Oxford 1989, pp. 187ff.