The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes

The Mongol sack on Baghdad in 1258 is often seen as the epitome of the clash between barbarian peoples of the steppes and the people of the civilized world; exploring this notion and a detailed account of the destruction; life on the steppes.

Learning about the earliest known nomads of the Pontic-Caspian steppes; innovations include the raising of livestock, the domestication of the horse and the invention of the spoked wheel; transforming steppe life and leading to migrations.

Learning about Indo-Europeans in Mongolia; examining how Iranian and Tocharian nomads come into contact with China; their interaction; the repercussions this contact has across the central and western steppes; the bordering civilizations.

The Xiongnu are promised Chinese brides, among other humiliating and unacceptable gifts; looking closely at the relationship between the Han Empire of China and the nomadic confederacy of the Xiongnu; Han tries to eliminate the Xiongnu threat.

Moving to the western and central steppes; Iranian-speaking nomads with great military prowess establish a symbiotic relationship with the Greeks based on trade; attempts to conquer the Scythians by the Persians and, later, Alexander the Great.

Looking at the rise to power and achievements of the nomadic steppe peoples known as the Parthians; despite clashes with the Romans, they rule Iran and the wider Middle East from horseback for 400 years; the first nomadic empire in the Near East.