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.