Steppe Out into New Horizons Part 3

The Age of the Silk Road Nomadic Empires

This is part of a post series. Check out the previous posts linked below

Before we dive in today, I wanted to pause before we get into the weeds, and weedy it will get. Though I have tried to approach a narrative that is as simple as possible it is not without its challenges. This unfolding story has been more twisty and complex than any George R.R. Martin novel. Though I have always enjoyed history there is something of late that has really captured my imagination about reaching to the past. Maybe it is the state we find ourselves in, still learning to live a new normal with a viral villain on the loose. When somedays you feel like the world just looks like a rolling dumpster fire, I have attempted to find hope in our future by finding solace in our past.  As I reach into the past, I have come to realize it has always been a rolling dumpster fire. And somehow that horrifying confession gives me hope. With that let’s dive into the third installment of the steppe series and maybe you too will find some tidbits of fascination. In my quest to understand the context and history of Mandugai Khatun and the Mongols I became enthralled by the history of the steppes. But it expanded to include Eurasia because of the roles and influence nomadic peoples had over what we have called the great civilizations from China through Europe. I could not help but see a broader more inclusive narrative to Eurasian history. That these nomads were not only prominent players in the rise of human civilizations but were left out of the western narrative. That narrative cannot be told without the famed Silk Road. And it sounds like I am starting in the middle because from a western perspective the Silk Road comes in much later in history. But the Silk Road is neither one road nor is it the age we are taught it is.

When I first learned about the Silk Road as a child, I tried to envision a highway of sorts but instead of cars, it was caravans of people. But every time I imagined it the image would change. Sometimes it was wagons pulled by horse or mule. Sometimes it was people on camelback traversing difficult terrain alone. Other times it was large groups of people traveling together. These revolving images would emerge because I really had no concept of what it looked like, and my imagination would try to complete the image. But no one explained what it was or what it was like. Which is strange because it’s not as if we didn’t have any accounts, remember Marco Polo? Yes, that guy whose name we had to learn in history class. In western culture, he is celebrated as bringing knowledge from the East. We learn he made the journey; a book was written though it was not given much attention until later when the European Age of Exploration began. This is what we are taught. He is viewed as some unique character having spent many years of his life in a land foreign to his own. Even with that said are any of us ever taught excerpts of this book. Can the average westerner tell you one thing that was written in that book aside from the fact that he went to China and came back 25 years later? Do we even know of other records of the Silk Road? The answer to the latter is of course yes, there are many surviving records of the Silk Road, yet we are never taught from any of them. The fact is that in western culture the Silk Road is taught in a vacuum. It is taught through a perspective as if only sedentary peoples were contributors and benefactors. It is used as a steppingstone to the western narrative that it was what propelled Europeans into the age of exploration and by consequence the discovery of North and South America. While that is true it is not the complete story.

More than just Silk

Firstly, let’s begin with what the Silk Road was and was not. The term Silk Road wasn’t even applied until long after the usage of these routes declined by one Ferdinand von Richthofen, a German geographer. Secondly, it was not a singular route but a vast network of trade routes that included not only land but sea routes from China and India to the Middle East. What people called these routes contemporaneously varied but it was not the Silk Road. While the most valuable commodity was silk, through surviving logbooks of marketplaces, we can fill in the picture of what people found valuable on each end of the routes. We can start to fill in the gaps of the world of these ancient forebearers and the past shockingly looks very much like ours today. Maybe the details have changed, the technology, but not the overall story of an interconnected global community. The sedentary civilizations in ancient times were just as connected as today and were driven by the same motivations. One of those motivations is the consumption of each other’s products. Yes, silks, but also teas, porcelains, spices, perfumes, and gunpowder were found in western and near eastern civilizations from China and India. Likewise in China and India, you could find grapevines, wine, honey, and glassware from the west.  These two endpoints are not the whole story though, what of the large swath of lands in between? To dispel the very narrowed view we learned about the Silk Road I want to add that it wasn’t just a linear movement of east to west and vice versa. It was all-encompassing. From all directions, traders would converge at known points of exchange in the central Asian corridor connecting north and south between the Caspian Sea and the Altai Mountains. This corridor along with the routes leading to and from it was established and controlled predominantly by nomadic peoples before sedentary civilizations credited themselves with its foundation. And here is the crux of the matter, the nomads. I now understand the piecemeal approach to teaching the Silk Road—again it’s all about perspective and the narrative that’s being told. Because to truly learn about the Silk Road, we need to break the narrative that the dominant force behind these routes were the sedentary people. To tell a more inclusive historical account we must also teach of the other dominating and imposing presence—the nomads. 

The Silk Road was not only a thoroughfare between the sedentary civilizations but also, and some might argue to a greater extent, an exchange point between these sedentary civilizations with nomadic ones. When those same market logbooks are examined, we see other commonly exchanged goods that came from neither end yet were found throughout sedentary civilizations. These were horses and saddles from the central Asian steppes into the east, west, and south. Hides, wool, falcons, soaps, and rugs, from the steppes and marginal areas. Walrus tusks that were used to make knife and sword handles along with furs, animal oils from the lands north of the steppes. Even the slave trade thrived in the Silk Roads— which from antiquity through the Middle Ages consisted mostly of people enslaved from Slavic lands in northeastern Europe. These are just a few of the commodities exchanged between nomads and merchants of sedentary civilizations.

Setting the Record Straight

The Ancient World

Let’s set the stage, it is the late 2^nd century BCE. What did the Eurasian world look like? In the west, the Roman Republic is coming into itself, about to make their expansionary entry into the Anatolian peninsula. The near and middle east are a series of states— the remains of the once Macedonian empire amassed by Alexander the Great. In the middle east, the Parthian empire of nomadic peoples ruled over modern-day Iran. To the east, a unified China has entered the Han Dynasty. It is at this moment when Emperor Wudi from China opens trade to the west that is commonly referred to as the beginning of the Silk Road in conventional history records. The years from approximately 130 BCE through 1453 CE are referred to as the age of the Silk Road. This Silk Road or exchange routes— which is what I would like to refer to them as— really existed for hundreds of years before Emperor Wudi took control of the route they called the Jade Gate. We know they already existed because of silk. Silk was inarguably a product of the east. Though Europeans coveted the fabric they were not aware of how it was made for hundreds of years yet archaeological evidence shows that silks in the west predate their first exports through the Jade Gate in the 2^nd century BCE. There are two prevailing hypotheses on how these silks came to be. Either they were imported from the Indus Valley that had their own sericulture dating back well over a thousand years before the introduction of Chinese silks, or they were traded by the Xiongnu into western civilizations. I think it was most likely a combination of the two and not either-or. Either way, the question then arises— who were these Xiongnu?

On the eastern steppes, ancient history is dominated by the Xiongnu nomadic tribes. Their true name is unknown, but they are recorded as Xiongnu in Chinese text. Since they left no written record, it is through the writings of their contemporaries that we know of them. They emerged as a dominating force, as a tribal confederation of nomads, coming to full force in the 4th century BCE, becoming an empire on its own right in the 2^nd century BCE. The Xiongnu were the barbarians the Chinese constantly battled in antiquity for access to the trade routes. They held the lands that would allow China to trade into the rest of interior Asia and beyond. In other words, they were the ones that held the keys to the west. Earlier in their history, the borderlands between China and Xiongnu were points of exchange. Horses and gemstones, especially jade, were among the most valuable goods that entered China whose source were the nomads. As the sedentary states became larger, they fought along the borderlands. From the perspective of the Chinese empire, the Xiongnu were raiders that continuously harassed settlements. From the Xiongnu perspective, the constant colonization by the Chinese of their traditional territory and seasonal encampments was an encroachment onto their lands.

At a time when there were 5 states in ancient China warring, one became the dominant state. The Ch’in state started expanding into territory that was used by the nomads. As the Ch’in gain more power and consolidated the remaining 5 states it culminated with the creation of the first unified Chinese empire. The nomadic tribes saw a threat to their lands and sovereignty. As a result, the Xiongnu resorted to what had been and would continue to be a formula for nomadic peoples throughout the steppes. In times of crisis and threat, they banded together to create a larger state. Often these confederations were built on tribes that shared a language and culture. In the case of the Xiongnu, they were Altaic speaking nomads, meaning they spoke either a form of proto-Turk or Mongolic language. For those that just have just been taken aback by the mention of Turkic language, I was too. My initial reaction was when I came upon this was…Turkish? as in Turkey Turkish? Hold tight there will be more on this later, one bite at a time.

The relationship of exchange that once existed between the two peoples turned to open hostility as this new unified China spread into Xiongnu territory. However, the cavalry tactics and unification of these tribes became a challenge for the state of Ch’in. The city walls that once stood guard between the states were unified to guard and defend against the Xiongnu attacks. This was the first iteration of what we now call the Great Wall, though the present one is much younger and built by later dynasties. It was this constant struggle between the two different types of empires that established the importance of Chinese unity that became a nationality and has endured for more than two millennia. That constant struggle was not just about national identity and sovereignty, but trade rights. The Xiongnu had already become the dominant force of trade in the eastern steppes having pushed the Yuezhi, another nomadic people west into central Asia. For the 300 years that the Xiongnu dominated as a confederation, the history of China was in a part, a story of driving further inland to control the route passage. Their complex history included open warfare, attempts to amass alliances with other nomadic peoples like the Yuezhi to break the confederation. It also included peace treaties reinforced by marriages and bribing. Bribing through tribute became a common solution for sedentary states when nomads proved too formidable or costly in battle. When war proved too costly the Chinese empire would pay tribute to the Xiongnu in the form of among other things rice, silks, and Chinese brides from the noble family. The rice fed the Xiongnu. The brides were meant to serve as diplomats for their people’s interests and as spies. The silks were a product the nomads not only personally used but also traded and profited from. The Xiongnu however had a schism within the confederation which the Han emperor used to his advantage. The fracturing of the confederations left one group making an alliance with the Chinese Emperor becoming vassals to the Chinese state. With this, the Han dynasty did away with their policy of bribing and instead opted for control of the routes with their vassals acting as a buffer to the other faction of Xiongnu. The Chinese Empire continued to drive into interior Asia taking control of already established caravan trade cities. These areas that at one point were within Xiongnu-dominated lands would continue to be fought over for control between sedentary and nomadic powers. Not only for trade routes but for the wealth of resources within this area. Today it is an ethnically diverse region reflecting its complex history as a nexus of exchange. And while it is in present times within Chinese borders it continues to be an area of conflict for its mineral wealth and struggle for autonomy. This is the region today called Xinjiang which has been a topic of global criticism for a few years. The repercussions of these two civilizations, Chinese and Xiongnu, clashing over trade rights in this region not only set off the overarching story of this region through history. It also cascaded on to the rest of Eurasia contemporaneously. As the Xiongnu moved the regional instability created power struggles, new alliances, and enemies.

The Ancient West World

On the other end of the steppes, there was another saga unfolding with another large nomadic empire. These were the Scythians, who predate the Xiongnu and outlasted many ancient western sedentary civilizations. Many have heard of the Scythians even if they don’t realize it. Because of their contact with sedentary civilizations that left a large written record we have learned of them by second and third-hand accounts. Unfortunately, it is with so many second and third-hand references that it is difficult to discern fact from the many myths that have been attributed to the Scythians. One of these myths is the Amazons, which some scholars have tried to link with tribes within the Scythians that had female warriors. Their name itself is through the lens of the sedentary civilizations that wrote of them. They have been referred to as Sacae, Saka, and Sarmatian. Though arguments have been made that they were the same and possibly a succession of tribes that took over control of the confederation. What we do know is that these nomads like the Xiongnu were a confederated empire of tribes with strong cultural ties and language. In their case, the shared language was Iranian, though not the modern Persian spoken today.

The Scythians existed in what was the common social structure for many nomadic steppe empires that came before and after them. The confederation had a hierarchical structure of ruling, inner, and outer tribes. The inner tribes were the most closely aligned to the ruling tribe through familial and marriage connections. They held the most power and a ruling tribe(s) had to serve the greater purpose of the inner tribes if they wanted to maintain unity. That was followed down the rung with the outer tribes that shared culture and/or allegiance. Their allegiance provided them with an umbrella of protection. These outer tribes were not always nomadic but served a purpose to the larger whole of the empire. For the Scythians, the inner tribes were strictly nomadic, and the outer tribes were semi-nomadic and lived closer to a sedentary agrarian life. The Scythians also governed over colonies of sedentary peoples. They dominated the west and central steppes for a period of approximately 500 to 600 years. They controlled vast sections of land, approximately 2500 miles wide or 4000 km. Visualize not only the vastness but the depth of their control. North of the Greeks, Thracians, and Macedonians —Scythians. North of the Anatolian peninsula— Scythians. North of the lands and coastlines between the Black and Caspian seas all the way east to what is now Afghanistan—you guessed it Scythians. Not only their size but their endurance made them formidable. They persisted through the ancient Greek civilization, the first Persian empire, the Macedonian empire amassed by Alexander the Great, the empires that sprung from the remnants of Alex’s conquest, and the Roman Republic. Their size may not have always been the same, but they were the barbarians to the north of all the ancient civilizations we are taught to exalt. These civilizations traded, allied, and warred with them.

When sedentary civilizations were at war with each other Scythians provided mercenaries for sale, especially calvary, influencing outcomes that would benefit them most. They could choose a side and give cavalry to one and not the other. They could play both sides by supplying both with cavalry. Their power came not only from their well-trained cavalry but also in their adeptness in navigating the rivers that crossed through the western steppes. They controlled the travel on the rivers that connected north and south Eurasia. The inner tribes of the Scythians known as the Royal Scythians were masters of trade and used their large territory to move goods by horse and ship. Trade with Scythians was essential to ancient life. The Greeks which had many interactions with them were supplied grain grown by the outer Scythian tribes along the Black Sea and river valleys. They also supplied timber and slaves from the Baltic regions. And during the height of the Athenian city-state, Scythian warriors served as city police.

This formidable empire to the north might have been a reason why the sedentary empires grew as they did. Have you ever noticed these ancient empires tended to expand east to west? The Mediterranean and middle eastern states duked it out in the ancient world to control the corridor of trade because up and around into Scythian land never ended well for the sedentary folks. So Mediterranean states —Greeks, Macedonians, and Romans— drove east to have a piece of the routes and the places that held resources they imported. I wonder how disappointed these empires felt the farther they drove east into central Asia only to find even more nomadic peoples, many a part of the Scythian confederation. Essentially finding more of the same challenge they had north at home. One of the lucky people to experience this was Alexander the Great.

In the western tradition we highlight Alexander the Great’s accomplishments in the 13 years he ruled. We remember him because our dear Alex, like a tagger, left his mark where he went by naming a city after his humble self. In total, more than 20 cities were named after him during his conquest. And yes, I understand that his true legacy was ushering the Hellenistic period spreading Greek culture far into central Asia and northern India. But his time was brief and the nomads in central Asia were never truly conquered by Alexander the Great. Instead, the best Alex could do was an agreement with the people in central Asia. Nomadic and pastoralist tribes continued their seasonal route migrations. Merchants were kept safe to travel and trade. This agreement the tribes and merchants understood because it was no different than a tribe confederation’s agreement. If Alex provided the stability and safety to their lands, they were willing to live under his governance. After the fall of the Macedonian empire following Alex’s death, the empire fractured among his generals giving rise to another nomadic empire— The Parthians. They were an interesting state that melded both worlds—nomad and sedentary. Their social structure was one where the rulers and inner tribes were nomadic—a splintered group from the Scythians. The outer tribes were the sedentary civilizations they ruled over which included modern-day Iraq, Iran, and parts of Afghanistan. For 400 years they ruled a large swath of the middle east and trade flourished for both nomadic and sedentary peoples.

This was the world from the Mediterranean to China when emperor Wudi established the Silk Road. The opening of the Jade Gate was simply the opening of yet another route in the vast network of trade that had already been around for hundreds of years. They [sedentary peoples] didn’t invent these routes, just appropriated them. If anything, what we should say is that the opening of the Jade Gate was the entry of sedentary peoples as a trade power into a world long dominated by nomads. A world that had already been driven by trade and whose points of intersection became hubs of exchange establishing long-standing sedentary cities of commerce. These cities persisted and outlived the empires that would claim domination over them because they were founded on mutual exchange, not on nationality.

These three nomadic empires I highlighted were not all but it’s a good start to expand the narrative. The events that unfolded at the borders between China and the Xiongnu caused migrations and resettlements of tribal strongholds throughout the rest of Asia. Though the Xiongnu not allied with China disbanded their confederation they didn’t just disappear. The Northern Xiongnu, as they were called after the initial schism, persisted through the first century CE in modern-day Mongolia— nearly 200 years after Emperor Wudi established the Silk Road. Eventually, these tribes moved west and arrived at the Kazakh steppe in what is modern-day northern Kazakhstan. There they splintered again. One group moved south and settled in Bactria— modern-day Turkmenistan and Afghanistan— an area with multiple intersections of the exchange ways. The other moved west over the steppes encountering the Sarmatians who had already moved west and had superseded the Scythians. The Scythians in turn had splintered with a group establishing the Parthian Empire. All was the domino effect of the power struggle between China and Xiongnu in the east. As the smaller northern Xiongnu group moved west they made new alliances and built a new confederation that will rise later in the western steppes and become a thorn on the side of the Roman Empire. Western cultures will eventually record them as Huns. The Huns will use the same tactics of tribute and bribing employed against the Chinese emperors towards the Romans.

More than just Goods

Goods were not the only function of the routes. While this concept is taught, again not to its full extent. When we are taught about the silk road it is pointed out that a byproduct of the Silk Road was the inevitable exchange of ideas and diffusion of many religions. The exchange of ideas is a fact, but I would like to argue that it was not a by-product, an incident, but deliberate. Along the exchange routes, there were outposts built with services not meant for transporting goods but to facilitate the movement of information via messengers. These outposts were meant for speedy stay with the ability to change horses or to relay your information to the next messenger that would pick up the next leg of the journey. The real story of the Silk Road is the creation of a shared community that while diverse had a common history. This is seen in the similarities of ancient stories and myths across Eurasia. It is also seen in Eurasian language evolution, technology, and disease transmission. The latter also points to why Eurasian people shared immunities; because they shared the same diseases. Think of how North and South American indigenous populations suffered from disease after exposure to Europeans vs when these same Europeans went to the Far East. When this more inclusive narrative is told then we see the real impact of the Silk Road network on the development of today’s world. It was not some advent that came about because of the rise of sedentary civilizations. Rather the Silk Road tells a complex and weaving tale of the rise and fall of civilizations, sedentary and nomadic. One can even say that empire-building could have been a by-product of these routes as nomads and sedentary people’s enmity was rooted in who controlled these lucrative areas.  Control of these routes and the cities that became trading hubs is more pertinent to the rise and fall of civilizations in Eurasia than I originally imagined. And this was just the beginning, the debunking of the establishment of the routes. Even larger empires founded by nomads will be created and have a longer-lasting impact in today’s world. That is of the empires of the Turks and the Mongols.

For those that are not fans of history or think that what once happened somewhere far away long ago couldn’t impact their world, I would like to add the following thought experiment. From the perspective of someone in North America, where what happened in Eurasia was always the foundation of history here, I thought it pertinent to revise our perspective on nomadic civilizations and our understanding of barbarians. It makes me wonder if one of the reasons nomadic civilizations are not highlighted in U.S. history is because of our own narrative that history started here once the Europeans arrived. We ignore that there were highly sophisticated civilizations, many nomadic, already existing here as well. They too were labeled barbaric.  So, I can’t help but wonder if the omission of one set of barbarians is related to the omission of the other. Because to give the Eurasian barbarians credibility would also require us to give the indigenous peoples of North and South America credibility. Our own curation of history serves the narrative our current society wants to tell. Just something to think about.