1.
Nomadic empire
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They are the most prominent example of non-sedentary polities. Some nomadic empires operated by establishing a city inside a conquered sedentary state. As the pattern is repeated, the originally nomadic dynasty becomes culturally assimilated to the culture of the nation before it is ultimately overthrown. Ibn Khaldun described a cycle on a smaller scale in his Asabiyyah theory. A term used for these polities in the medieval period is khanate. Linguistically they are regarded as Iranian, or possibly Thracian with an Iranian ruling class. The Pontic-Caspian steppe, southern Russia and Ukraine until 7th century BCE, the northern Caucasus area, including Georgia and modern day Azerbaijan Central, East and North Anatolia 714–626 BCE. The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia to all the lands north-east of Europe, the Scythians – the Greeks name for this initially nomadic people – inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BC to the 2nd century AD. The Sarmatians were a confederation of Iranian people during classical antiquity. They spoke Scythian, an Indo-European language from the Eastern Iranian family, the Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with a ruling class of unknown origin and other subjugated tribes. The Xiongnu was the first unified empire of nomadic peoples, relations between early Chinese dynasties and the Xiongnu were complicated and included military conflict, exchanges of tribute and trade, and marriage treaties. They were considered so dangerous and disruptive that the Qin Dynasty ordered the construction of the Great Wall to protect China from Xiongnu attacks, the Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire, formed by Yuezhi, in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. Like most ancient peoples known through Chinese historiography, the makeup of the Xianbei is unclear. The Xianbei were a branch of the earlier Donghu and it is likely at least some were proto-Mongols. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes from the Steppes of Central Asia and their appearance in Europe brought with it great ethnic and political upheaval and may have stimulated the Great Migration. The empire reached its largest size under Attila between 447 and 453, the Rouran, Juan Juan, or Ruru were a confederation of Mongolic speaking nomadic tribes on the northern borders of China from the late 4th century until the late 6th century. They controlled the area of Mongolia from the Manchurian border to Turpan and, perhaps, the east coast of Lake Balkhash, the Göktürks or Kök-Türks were a Turkic people of ancient North and Central Asia and northwestern China. Under the leadership of Bumin Khan and his sons established the first known Turkic state around 546
2.
Orkhon River
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The Orkhon River is a river in Mongolia. It rises in the Khangai Mountains in the Tsenkher sum of Arkhangai aimag at the foot of the Suvraga Khairkhan mountain, from there it crosses the border into Övörkhangai aimag and follows the upper Orkhon valley in eastern direction until it reaches Kharkhorin. On this stretch, very close to the Orkhon the Ulaan Tsutgalan river features a waterfall, ten meters wide, the waterfall is a popular destination for tourists. From Kharkhorin it flows northwards until it reaches Bulgan aimag, and then north-east to join the Selenge River next to Sükhbaatar city in the Selenge aimag, the Selenge then flows further north into Russia and Lake Baikal. With 1,124 km, the Orkhon is longer than the Selenge, major tributaries of the Orkhon river are the Tuul River and Tamir River. There are two sets of ancient ruins along the valley, Khar Balgas, the ancient capital of the Uyghur Kingdom and Karakorum. Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov excavated several Xiongnu Imperial tombs in the area of the river valley, fish in the Orkhon river include pike, carp, perch, taimen and catfish. UNESCO lists the Orkhon Valley as a World Heritage Site, khöshöö Tsaidam Monuments List of rivers of Mongolia H. Barthel, Mongolei-Land zwischen Taiga und Wüste, Gotha 1990, p. 34f
3.
Xianbei
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The Xianbei were proto-Mongols residing in what became todays eastern Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeast China. Along with the Xiongnu, they were one of the nomadic groups in northern China during the Han Dynasty. They eventually established their own dynasties, including the Northern Wei founded in the 4th century AD by the Tuoba clan. It is generally accepted that the Xianbei spoke a related to the Mongolic languages. Claus Schönig writes, The Xianbei derived from the context of the Donghu, Later branches and descendants of the Xianbei include the Tabghach and Khitan, who seem to have been linguistically Para-Mongolic. Opinions differ widely as to what the impact of the Xianbei period was. Chinese historical texts unequivocally state that the Xianbei were descendants of the Donghu, the Xianbei were a northern or northeastern Asian population according to modern Chinese and Russian anthropologists. After the Donghu were defeated by Modu Chanyu around 208 BCE, the Book of the Later Han says that “the language and culture of the Xianbei are the same as the Wuhuan”. The Records of the Three Kingdoms say, Tanshihuai of the Xianbei divided his territory into three sections, the eastern, the middle and the western, from the You Beiping to the Liao River, connecting the Fuyu and Mo to the east, it was the eastern section. There were more than twenty counties, the darens were called Mijia, Queji, Suli and Huaitou. From the You Beiping to Shanggu to the west, it was the middle section, there were more than ten counties. The darens of this section were called Kezui, Queju, Murong, from Shanggu to Dunhuang, connecting the Wusun to the west, it was the western section. There were more than twenty counties, the darens were called Zhijian Luoluo, Rilü Tuiyan, Yanliyou, et al. These chiefs were all subordinate to Tanshihuai, … Refined metals and wrought iron have come into the possession of the rebels. Han deserters also seek refuge and serve as their advisers and their weapons are sharper and their horses are faster than those of the Xiong-nu. But in so doing they are bent on gaining precious Chinese goods. As soon as they all they possibly can, they turn in their tracks to start wreaking damage. Around A. D.155, the northern Xiongnu were crushed and subjugated by the Xianbei and their chief, known by the Chinese as Tan-shih-huai, then advanced upon and defeated the Wusun of the Ili by A. D.166
4.
Shamanism
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The word shaman probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia. The term was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552, Mircea Eliade writes, A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be, shamanism = technique of religious ecstasy. Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between the world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments/illness by mending the soul, alleviating traumas affecting the soul/spirit restores the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. The shaman also enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community, Shamans may visit other worlds/dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of the human soul caused by foreign elements. The shaman operates primarily within the world, which in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance results in the elimination of the ailment, hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. The word shaman probably originates from the Evenki word šamán, most likely from the dialect spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples. The Tungusic term was adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in Siberia. It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum, adam Brand, a merchant from Lübeck, published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China, a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word shaman to English speakers. The etymology of the Evenki word is sometimes connected to a Tungus root ša- to know, other scholars assert that the word comes directly from the Manchu language, and as such would be the only commonly used English word that is a loan from this language. This proposal has been thoroughly critiqued since 1917, ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen regards it as an anachronism and an impossibility that is nothing more than a far-fetched etymology. Ethnolinguists did not develop as a discipline nor achieve contact with these communities until the late 19th century, there is no single agreed-upon definition for the word shamanism among anthropologists. The English historian Ronald Hutton noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, the first of these uses the term to refer to anybody who contacts a spirit world while in an altered state of consciousness. The second definition limits the term to refer to those who contact a spirit world while in a state of consciousness at the behest of others. Problematically, scholars advocating the third view have failed to agree on what the defining technique should be, the fourth definition identified by Hutton uses shamanism to refer to the indigenous religions of Siberia and neighboring parts of Asia. According to the Golomt Center for Shamanic Studies, a Mongolian organisation of shamans, Shamans are normally called by dreams or signs which require lengthy training. However, shamanic powers may be inherited, turner and colleagues mention a phenomenon called shamanistic initiatory crisis, a rite of passage for shamans-to-be, commonly involving physical illness and/or psychological crisis
5.
Tengrism
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Tengrism, also known as Tengriism or Tengrianism, is a Central Asian religion characterized by shamanism, animism, totemism, poly- and monotheism and ancestor worship. In Irk Bitig, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi, Tengrism has been advocated in intellectual circles of the Turkic nations of Central Asia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union during the 1990s. Still practiced, it is undergoing a revival in Sakha, Khakassia, Tuva. Burkhanism, a movement similar to Tengrism, is concentrated in Altay, Khukh tengri means blue sky in Mongolian, Mongolians still pray to Munkh Khukh Tengri and Mongolia is sometimes poetically called the Land of Eternal Blue Sky by its inhabitants. In modern Turkey, Tengrism is known as the Göktanrı dini, according to Hungarian archaeological research, the religion of the Hungarians until the end of the 10th century was Tengrism. Tengrists view their existence as sustained by the blue sky, the fertile mother-earth spirit. Heaven, earth, spirits of nature and ancestors provide for every need, by living an upright, respectful life, a human will keep his world in balance and perfect his personal. The Huns of the northern Caucasus reportedly believed in two gods, Tangri Han, considered identical to the Persian Aspandiat and for horses were sacrificed. Tengrism is practised in Sakha, Buryatia, Tuva and Mongolia in parallel with Tibetan Buddhism and Burkhanism, Kyrgyz means we are forty in the Kyrgyz language, and Kyrgyzstans flag has 40 uniformly-spaced rays. Tengrist Khazars aided Heraclius by reportedly sending 40,000 soldiers during a joint Byzantine-Göktürk operation against the Persians, several Kyrgyz politicians are advocating Tengrism to fill a perceived ideological void. Dastan Sarygulov, secretary of state and former chair of the Kyrgyz state gold-mining company, established the Tengir Ordo, Sarygulov also heads a Tengrist society in Bishkek claiming nearly 500,000 followers and an international scientific center of Tengrist studies. Articles on Tengrism have been published in journals in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev and former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev have called Tengrism the national, natural religion of the Turkic peoples, Turkish worship of Tengri was mocked by the Muslim Turk Mahmud al-Kashgari, who wrote, The infidels - may God destroy them. It lost importance when the Uighuric kagans proclaimed Manichaeism the state religion in the eighth century, Tengrism also played a large role in the religion of the Gok-Turk and Mongol Empires. Genghis Khan and several generations of his followers were Tengrian believers until his descendant, Uzbeg Khan. The original Mongol khans, followers of Tengri, were known for their tolerance of other religions. Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, said, We believe that there is only one God, by whom we live and by whom we die, and for whom we have an upright heart. But as God gives us the different fingers of the hand, a revival of Tengrism has played a role in Central Asian Turkic nationalism since the 1990s
6.
Monarchy
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The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
7.
Ancient history
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Ancient history is the aggregate of past events from the beginning of recorded human history and extending as far as the Early Middle Ages or the Postclassical Era. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the term classical antiquity is often used to refer to history in the Old World from the beginning of recorded Greek history in 776 BC. This roughly coincides with the date of the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the beginning of the history of ancient Rome. In India, ancient history includes the period of the Middle Kingdoms, and, in China. Historians have two major avenues which they take to better understand the ancient world, archaeology and the study of source texts, primary sources are those sources closest to the origin of the information or idea under study. Primary sources have been distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on. Archaeology is the excavation and study of artefacts in an effort to interpret, archaeologists excavate the ruins of ancient cities looking for clues as to how the people of the time period lived. The study of the ancient cities of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, the city of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption of a volcano in AD79. Its state of preservation is so great that it is a window into Roman culture and provided insight into the cultures of the Etruscans. The Terracotta Army, the mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in ancient China, the discovery of Knossos by Minos Kalokairinos and Sir Arthur Evans. The discovery of Troy by Heinrich Schliemann, most of what is known of the ancient world comes from the accounts of antiquitys own historians. Although it is important to take account the bias of each ancient author. Some of the more notable ancient writers include Herodotus, Thucydides, Arrian, Plutarch, Polybius, Sima Qian, Sallust, Livy, Josephus, Suetonius, furthermore, the reliability of the information obtained from these surviving records must be considered. Few people were capable of writing histories, as literacy was not widespread in almost any culture until long after the end of ancient history, the earliest known systematic historical thought emerged in ancient Greece, beginning with Herodotus of Halicarnassus. He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, the Roman Empire was one of the ancient worlds most literate cultures, but many works by its most widely read historians are lost. Indeed, only a minority of the work of any major Roman historian has survived, prehistory is the period before written history. The early human migrations in the Lower Paleolithic saw Homo erectus spread across Eurasia 1.8 million years ago, the controlled use of fire occurred 800,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. 250,000 years ago, Homo sapiens emerged in Africa, 60–70,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa along a coastal route to South and Southeast Asia and reached Australia
8.
Xiongnu
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The Xiongnu, were a confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Asian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Chinese sources report that Modu Chanyu, the leader after 209 BC. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of Siberia, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and their relations with adjacent Chinese dynasties to the south east were complex, with repeated periods of conflict and intrigue, alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties. Attempts to identify the Xiongnu with later groups of the western Eurasian Steppe remain controversial, Scythians and Sarmatians were concurrently to the west. The identity of the core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles. The name Xiongnu may be cognate with that of the Huns and/or the Huna, other linguistic links – all of them also controversial – proposed by scholars include Iranian, Mongolic, Turkic, Uralic Yeniseian, or multi-ethnic. Ancient China often came in contact with the Xianyun and the Xirong nomadic peoples, in later Chinese historiography, some groups of these peoples were believed to be the possible progenitors of the Xiongnu people. These nomadic people often had repeated confrontations with the Shang and especially the Zhou. During the Warring States period, the armies from the Qin, Zhao, qins campaign against the Xiongnu expanded the Qin dynastys territory at the expense of the Xiongnu. In 215 BCE, Qin Shi Huang sent General Meng Tian to conquer the Xiongnu and drive them from the Ordos Loop, after the catastrophic defeat at the hands of General Meng Tian, the Xiongnu leader Touman was forced to flee far into the Mongolian Plateau. The Qin empire became a threat to the Xiongnu, which led to the reorganization of the many tribes into a confederacy. Chubei Huyan Lan Luandi Qiulin Suibu In 209 BCE, three years before the founding of Han China, the Xiongnu were brought together in a confederation under a new chanyu. This new political unity transformed them into a formidable state by enabling formation of larger armies. The Xiongnu adopted many of the Chinese agriculture techniques such as labor for heavy labor, wore silk like the Chinese. The reason for creating the confederation remains unclear, to the north he conquered a number of nomadic peoples, including the Dingling of southern Siberia. He crushed the power of the Donghu people of eastern Mongolia and Manchuria as well as the Yuezhi in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu, Modu also reoccupied all the lands previously taken by the Qin general Meng Tian. Under Modus leadership, the Xiongnu threatened the Han Dynasty, almost causing Emperor Gaozu, the first Han emperor, to lose his throne in 200 BCE. By the time of Modus death in 174 BCE, the Xiongnu had driven the Yuezhi from the Hexi Corridor, killing the Yuezhi king in the process and asserting their presence in the Western Regions
9.
Scythia
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The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia to all the lands north-east of Europe and the northern coast of the Black Sea. The Scythians – the Greeks name for this nomadic people – inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Its location and extent varied over time but usually extended farther to the west than is indicated on the map opposite, Scythia was a loose state that originated as early as 8th century BC. Little is known of them and their rulers, the most detailed western description is by Herodotus, though it is uncertain he ever went to Scythia. He says the Scythians own name for themselves was Scoloti, the Scythians became increasingly settled and wealthy on their western frontier with Greco-Roman civilization. It is possible that the dynasty ruled in Scythia during most of its history. The name of Koloksai, a founder of a royal dynasty, is mentioned by Alcman in the 7th century BC. Prototi and Madis, Scythian kings in the Near Eastern period of their history, Herodotus lists five generations of a royal clan that probably reigned at the end of the 7th to 6th centuries BC, prince Anacharsis, Saulius, Idanthyrsus, Gnurus, Lycus, and Spargapithes. After being defeated and driven from the Near East, in the first half of the 6th century BCE, in the second half of that century, Scythians succeeded in dominating the agricultural tribes of the forest-steppe and placed them under tribute. As a result, their state was reconstructed with the appearance of the Second Scythian Kingdom which reached its zenith in the 4th century BC, aggressive external policy intensified exploitation of dependent populations and progressed the stratification among the nomadic rulers. Trading with Greeks also stimulated sedentarization processes, accordingly, the trade became a stimulus for capture of slaves as war spoils in numerous wars. The Scythian state reached its greatest extent in the 4th century BC during the reign of Ateas, isocrates believed that Scythians, and also Thracians and Persians, are the most able to power, and are the peoples with the greatest might. In the 4th century BC, under king Ateas, the structure of the state was eliminated. The later sources do not mention three basileuses any more, strabo tells that Ateas ruled over the majority of the North Pontic barbarians. Written sources tell that expansion of the Scythian state before the 4th century BC was mainly to the west, in this respect Ateas continued the policy of his predecessors in the 5th century BC. During western expansion, Ateas fought the Triballi, an area of Thrace was subjugated and levied with severe duties. During the 90 year life of Ateas, the Scythians settled firmly in Thrace, at the same time, both the nomadic and agricultural Scythian populations increased along the Dniester river. A war with the Bosporian Kingdom increased Scythian pressure on the Greek cities along the North Pontic littoral, materials from the site near Kamianka-Dniprovska, purportedly the capital of the Ateas’ state, show that metallurgists were free members of the society, even if burdened with imposed obligations
10.
Rouran Khaganate
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The Rouran Khaganate, Ruru, or Tantan was the name of a state established by proto-Mongols, from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century. Rouran is a Classical Chinese transcription of the endonym of the confederacy, ruanruan and Ruru remained in usage despite being derogatory. They derived from orders given by the Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei, according to René Grousset, Ju-juan – an alternate Chinese name for the Rouran – was a disparaging pun derived from Juan-Juan, unpleasantly wriggling insects. The power of the Rouran was broken in 555 by an alliance of Göktürks, the states of Northern Qi and Northern Zhou, and tribes in Central Asia. The Rouran were a confederation led by Xianbei people who remained in the Mongolian steppes after most Xianbei migrated south to Northern China and they considered the Tuoba and Rourans to be descended from common ancestors. Also some contemporary historians studying the history of Northern Wei, like Kwok Kin Poon and they were first noted as having defeated the Tiele and establishing an empire extending all the way to the Hulun, an alliance in eastern Inner Mongolia. During the reign of Yujiulü Shelun, Rouran became a powerful empire, to the west of the Rouran Khaganate was the Hephthalite Empire, which was a vassal of the Rouran until the beginning of the 5th century. The Hephthalites and Rouran had close contact, although they had different languages and cultures, in particular, the title “Khan“, which according to McGovern was original to the Rouran, was borrowed by the Hephthalite rulers. The reason for the migration of the Hephthalites southeast was to pressure from the Rouran. Further, the Hephthalites defeated the Yuezhi in Bactria and their leader Kidara led the Yuezhi to the south. The Rouran controlled the area of Mongolia from the Manchurian border to Turpan and, perhaps, the east coast of Lake Balkhash and their ancestor Mugulu is said to have been originally a slave of the Tuoba tribes, situated at the north banks of Yellow River Bend. Mugulus descendant Yujiulü Shelun is said to be the first chieftain who was able to unify the Rouran tribes and to found the power of the Rouran by defeating the Tiele and Xianbei. Shelun was also the first of the peoples to adopt the title of khagan in 402. The Rouran Khaganate arranged for one of their princesses, Khagan Yujiulü Anaguis daughter Princess Ruru, the Rouran and the Hephthalites had a falling out and problems within their confederation were encouraged by Chinese agents. In 508, the Tiele defeated the Rouran in battle, in 516, the Rouran defeated the Tiele. Within the Rouran confederation was a Turkic tribe noted in Chinese annals as the Göktürks, after a marriage proposal to the Rouran was rebuffed, the Göktürks joined the Western Wei, successor state of the Northern Wei, and revolted against the Rouran. In 555, they beheaded 3,000 Rouran, a better date for their defeat may be 552. Some scholars claim that the Rouran then fled west across the steppes and became the Avars, the remainder of the Rouran fled into China, were absorbed into the border guards, and disappeared forever as an entity
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