Chapter 18
Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration
THE CHAPTER IN PERSPECTIVE
Nomadic tribes played a dominant role in Eurasia between the eleventh and fifteenth
centuries. Persia, Anatolia, and India were transformed after conquests by Turkish tribes. The
Mongols created the largest empire of all time, stretching from China to Russia, during the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Even after the collapse of the Mongol empire in the fifteenth
century, a resurgence of Turkish power continued the influence of these nomadic tribes. The
Turkish and Mongol conquests inspired closer connections between the Eurasian lands by
facilitating cross-cultural communication and exchange, with increased trade being the best
example.
OVERVIEW
Turkish Migrations and Imperial Expansion
The Turkish peoples formed a collection of loosely structured heterogeneous tribes with
the emphasis on clan or tribal loyalty. Although the tribes spoke related languages, they were
nomadic and never approached true centralized rule. The central Asian environment and
resulting Turkish nomadic lifestyle made large-scale agriculture or craft manufacturing
impossible. However, the Turkish tribes made perfect trading partners for settled communities,
and they played a key role in the long-distance trade networks. Turkish nomadic society
remained both simple and fluid, with passage between noble and commoner status possible.
Shamanism dominated early Turkish religion. The Turks would later be influenced by Buddhist,
Nestorian Christian, Manichaean, and Islamic thought.
Military expansion became possible when the Turkish tribes began to unify into
confederations. The Khan, or leader of the confederations, ruled indirectly over increasingly
large groups. Their equestrian and archery skills made the Turks substantial military threats.
The Saljuq Turks were originally drawn to the Abbasid empire because of trading opportunities.
By 1055 the Abbasid caliph accepted the Saljuq Turk leader Tughril Beg as sultan, or “chieftain.”
The Saljuq Turks continued to expand and eventually reduced the Abbasid caliphs to mere
puppet rulers. In the north other Saljuq Turks turned their attention to the riches of the
Byzantine empire, inflicting a painful defeat at Manzikert in 1071. The defeat left Anatolia in
Saljuq control, and the Byzantine empire never recovered. Further east the Ghaznavid Turks,
under the control of Mahmud of Ghazni, pushed into northern India. Mahmud’s main goal was
plunder, and he wrought tremendous destruction, especially with his plundering of Hindu and
Buddhist temples. Later Turks would establish more permanent rule with the creation of the
Delhi Sultanate.
The Mongol Empires
Turkish expansion was interrupted by the rise of the powerful Mongol empires. From
the wilds of the high steppe lands of east central Asia the Mongols roared across Eurasia to create
the largest empire of all time. Temujin, better known as Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”),
united the Mongol tribes in 1206. He was a brilliant general as well as a master of steppe
diplomacy, a complex mixture of courage, loyalty, and deceit. By breaking down tribal
affiliations and promoting officials based on talent and loyalty, Chinggis Khan created a
powerful Mongol fighting force, even though his army never numbered more than around
125,000. Like the Turks, the Mongol forces depended on surprising speed and legendary archery
skills.
From his capital at Karakorum Chinggis Khan began to expand. By 1215 he had pushed
into northern China and defeated the Jurchen, who had dominated the later Song period. The
renamed Khanbaliq (“city of the khan”), the former Jurchen capital, served as the Mongol capital
in China. At the same time, Chinggis Khan drove into Persia. In 1219 his forces slaughtered
hundreds of thousands in Persia in revenge for a slight from the Khwarzam shah. Despite the
extraordinary military success, Chinggis Khan was no administrator and didn’t attempt to create
a truly centralized empire. After Chinggis Khan’s death in 1227 his empire split into four
regional states: the great khans in China, the Chaghatai khans in central Asia, the ilkhans in
Persia, and the khans of the Golden Horde in Russia.
The wealthiest region was, not surprisingly, China, under the control of Chinggis Khan’s
grandson Khubilai Khan. Besides being a fierce warrior, Khubilai Khan also supported his
subjects culturally and religiously. By 1279 he had conquered southern China and proclaimed
the Yuan dynasty. His attempts to conquer Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, Japan, and Java were
less successful. Russia was dominated, although not occupied, by the Golden Horde from the
thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Hülegü, Khubilai Khan’s brother, defeated the Abbasids and
devastated Persia during the thirteenth century. There were several key differences between the
Mongol rule in Persia and in China. The ilkhans made use of the brilliant Persian bureaucracy
whereas the great khans in China preferred foreign administrators. Islam became the favored
religion of the ilkhans whereas the Mongols in central Asia and China were drawn to the Lamaist
school of Buddhism. Through a combination of trade, diplomatic missions, and the resettlement
of skilled conquered peoples, the Mongols facilitated greater integration in Eurasia. Internal
rebellions, disease, and crippling inflation helped to bring an end to the brief reigns of the
Mongols in Persia and China. The Chaghatai khanate remained a threat until the eighteenth
century.
After the Mongols
Turkish expansion continued after the Mongol collapse. Timur the Lame, better known
in English as Tamerlane, took Chinggis Khan as a model and launched a massive period of
conquest in the late fourteenth century. Within the space of a few years Tamerlane dominated
the Chaghatai khanate; weakened the Golden Horde; sacked Delhi; carried out campaigns in
Asia; in Anatolia, and along the Ganges; and launched an invasion of China. Only Tamerlane’s
unexpected death in 1405 stopped his expansion. As with the earlier Turks and Mongols,
Tamerlane was a conqueror and not an administrator. His empire fell apart shortly after his
death, although his legacy would be felt in the later rise of the Islamic Mughal, Safavid, and
Ottoman empires. The Ottomans, founded by Osman in the late thirteenth century, proved to be
the most powerful of these empires, and they profoundly influenced history through their
conquest of Constantinople in 1453.