Who are the nomads history 5. Economy, life and social system of the early nomads. Nomads Information About

This section contains books about nomads. The main economic activity of the nomads was extensive cattle breeding. In search of new pastures, nomadic tribes regularly moved to new places. Nomads are distinguished by a special material culture and worldview of steppe societies.

Scythians

The Scythians are one of the most powerful nomadic peoples of antiquity. There are many versions of the origin of this union of tribes, many ancient historians seriously connected the origin of the Scythians with the Greek gods. The Scythians themselves considered the children and grandchildren of Zeus to be their ancestors. During their reign, golden tools of labor fell to earth from heaven: a yoke, a plow, an ax and a bowl. The one of the men who managed to take objects in his hands and not get burned became the founder of a new kingdom.

Rise of the Kingdom

The heyday of the Scythian kingdom falls on the 5th-4th centuries. BC. At first it was just a union of several tribes, but soon the hierarchy began to resemble an early state formation, which had its own capital and signs of the emergence of social classes. During its heyday, the Scythian kingdom occupied a vast territory. Starting from the Danube Delta, all the steppes and forest-steppes down to the lower reaches of the Don belonged to this people. During the reign of the most famous Scythian king Atey, the capital of the state was located in the Lower Dnieper region, more precisely in the Kamensky Settlement. This is the largest settlement, which was both a city and a nomadic camp. Earthen barricades and other fortifications could shelter tens of thousands of slave artisans and shepherds from enemies. Where necessary, shelter was also provided to livestock.
Scythian culture is very closely intertwined with Greek. Representatives of this people liked to decorate weapons with images of real and mythical animals. Their own traditions of inventive and applied arts were very rich, however, the ruling kings and representatives of the nobility massively ordered weapons, jewelry and utensils from the masters of Panticapaeum and Olbia. Great attention was also paid to the study of the Greek language and writing. The architectural style of Scythian Naples and its fortifications is permeated through and through with the Greek spirit. This is felt even when it comes to the labyrinths of huts and dugouts where the poor Scythians lived.

Religion

The religious views of the Scythians were limited to the worship of the elements. The goddess of fire - Vesta was given leadership in pronouncing oaths, ceremonies of communion and anointing the leaders of the people. Clay figurines depicting this goddess have survived to this day. Archaeologists designate the place of finds of such artifacts as the territory between the Ural Mountains and the Dnieper River. There were such finds in the Crimea. The Scythians depicted Vesta with a baby in her arms, because for them she personified motherhood. There are artifacts on which Vesta is depicted as a snake woman. The cult of Vesta was also widespread in Greece, but the Greeks considered her the patroness of sailors.
In addition to the dominant deity, the Scythians worshiped Jupiter, Apollo, Venus, Neptune. Every hundredth prisoner was sacrificed to these gods. Nevertheless, certain place The Scythians did not have religious rites. Instead of shrines and temples, they lavished reverence on the graves of their loved ones. Of course, their care and vigilance could not stop the robbers who desecrated the burial mounds after the funeral. There is hardly a grave like this left untouched.

Hierarchy
The structure of the tribal association of the Scythians was multi-level. At the top of such a pyramid were the Sayi - the Royal Scythians, they controlled other relatives. Starting from the 7th century BC. Steppe Crimea fell under the influence of the Scythians. The local people submitted to the conquerors. Scythia was so powerful that no one, even the Persian king Darius, could prevent the establishment of new Greek colonies on their lands. But the benefits of such a neighborhood were obvious. Olbia and the cities of the Bosporan kingdom were actively trading with the Scythians, and, apparently, they levied tribute and could influence the political situation. This fact was confirmed by the Kul-Oba mound of the 4th century BC. BC, which was excavated near Kerch in 1830. For some unknown reason, the warrior buried under this mound was not taken to the burial place of the Scythian nobility, while it is obvious that the entire Panticapaeum took part in the funeral procession.

Migrations and wars
The territory of the South-Western Crimea at first was of little interest to the Scythians. The Chersonese state was just beginning to emerge when the Scythians began to be gradually crowded out by the Sarmatians, Macedonians and Thracians. They advanced from the east and west, forcing the Scythian kingdom to "shrink". Soon, only the lands of the Steppe Crimea and the Lower Dnieper region remained under the rule of the Scythian kings. The capital of the kingdom was moved to a new city - Scythian Naples. Since then, the authority of the Scythians has been lost. They were forced to coexist with new neighbors.
Over time, the Crimean Scythians, who settled in the foothills, began to make the transition from nomadic to settled life. Cattle breeding has been replaced by agriculture. The excellent Crimean wheat was in demand on the world market, so the rulers of Scythia in every possible way encouraged and forced their people to popularize agriculture. The neighbors of the Scythians, the kings of the Bosporus, received large profits from the sale of exported grain grown by Scythian labor. The kings of Scythia also wanted to receive their share of the income, but for this they needed their own ports and new lands. After several unsuccessful attempts to fight against the powerful people of the Bosporus of the 6th-5th centuries. BC, the Scythians turned their gaze in the opposite direction, to where Chersonesus grew and flourished. However, the development of new territory did not save the Scythians from defeat. The Sarmatians dealt a fatal blow to the weakened kingdom. These events date back to the period 300 BC. Under the onslaught of the conquerors, the Scythian kingdom fell.

Sarmatians

Scientists believe that the Sarmatians descended from the descendants of two cultures, Srubnaya and Andronovo. The beginning of our era and the first millennium BC was marked by the widespread settlement of the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes across the Great Steppe. They belonged to the northern Iranian peoples, along with the Asian Saks and the European Scythians. In antiquity, it was believed that the Sarmatians descended from the Amazons, whose husbands were Scythian men. However, for these women, the language of the Scythians was difficult, and they could not master it, and the language of the Sarmatians is a distorted Scythian. In particular, such was the opinion of Herodotus.

In the 3rd century BC, Scythian power weakened, and the Sarmatians occupied the leading position in the Black Sea region. A large period of the history of our country is associated with them.
Zabelin believed that the peoples whom the Greeks and Romans called Sarmatians were in reality Slavs. In the territories of the Northern Black Sea region, the Sarmatians were engaged in cattle breeding, their way of life was nomadic, they wandered closed along a specific route during the year, choosing places with good pastures. Their farm included sheep, small horses, and cattle. They also hunted, and along with women who were not inferior to their men in horseback riding and archery.
They lived in felt tents, which were mounted on carts, and their main food was milk, cheese, meat, and millet porridge. The Sarmatians dressed almost the same as the Scythians. The women's clothes were long, with a belt and long trousers. A cap pointed at the end served as their headdress.

Religion of the Sarmatians

In the religious and cult representation of the Sarmatians, images of animals, in particular, a ram, occupied a special place. The image of a ram was often applied to the handles of swords or drinking vessels. The image of a ram was personified with "heavenly grace", was a symbol of many peoples of antiquity. And also the Sarmatians had a very strong cult of their ancestors.
The religious syncretism of the Greco-Iranian tribes found its embodiment in Aphrodite-Aputara, or the deceiver, this is the cult of the goddess of the ancient Greco-Sarmatians. She was considered the goddess of fertility and was the patroness of horses. The sanctuary of this goddess was on Taman, there is a place of Aputara there, but whether it was in Panticapaeum is not known for sure. The cult of the goddess Astarte, revered in Asia, has much in common, almost related, with the cult of Aphrodite-Aputara. The Sarmatians worshiped the cult of fire and the sun, the guardians of this cult were the chosen priestesses.

The subject of the cult of the Sarmatians was the sword, it personified the god of war. According to historians, the sword was stuck into the ground and worshiped with reverence.
From the Sarmatians, for the entire thousand-year stay, there were few reminders, monuments, huge mounds up to 5-7 meters in height. Sarmatian and Sauromatian mounds usually form groups where the terrain is quite high. As a rule, on high hills, they offer an immense steppe panorama. They are visible from afar and attract treasure hunters and robbers of all stripes.
These tribes did not disappear without a trace for the South of Russia. They left the names of rivers, such as the Dniester, Dnieper, Don. The names of these rivers and numerous small streams are translations from the Sarmatian language.

social organization

Among the Sarmatians, household items were quite diverse, and this only indicates that their crafts were well developed. They cast bronze items, were engaged in blacksmithing, tanning and woodworking were also developed. Sarmatians moved to the west, and for this they had to conquer territories.
Since the Sarmatians were constantly at war, the power of the leader, or "king", increased, since he was the center of the grouping of the military squad. However, the tribal system, jealously guarded by them, prevented the creation of a single, integral state.
The main difference between the social system of the Sarmatians was the remnants of matriarchy, this is especially noticeable in the early stages of the development of the Sarmatian society. Some ancient authors considered the Sarmatians to be female-controlled, since women participated in wars on an equal basis with men.

The art has been developed. Things were artistically decorated with semi-precious stones, glass, enamel, then framed with a filigree pattern.
When the Sarmatians came to the Crimea, they changed the composition of the indigenous population, brought their ethnic group there. They also entered the ruling dynasties of the Bosporus, while ancient culture became Sarmatized. Their influence on public life, economy, clothing, they spread their weapons, taught the local population new methods of war.

Warfare

The war was the main occupation of the Sarmatians, however, like other barbarian tribes. Large cavalry detachments of Sarmatian warriors terrified and feared the neighboring states and the peoples inhabiting them. The riders were well armed and protected, they already had armor and chain mail, iron long swords, bows, they wore bows and their arrows were poisoned with snake venom. Their heads were protected by helmets made of ox-skin, armor made of twigs.
Their sword, up to 110 cm long, became a popular weapon, as its advantage in battle was obvious. The Sarmatians practically did not fight on foot, it was they who created the heavy cavalry. They fought with two horses, to give one a rest, they changed to the second. Sometimes they took three horses with them.
Their military art was at a very high stage of development for that time, since almost from birth they learned horseback riding, trained constantly and worshiped the sword.
They were extremely serious opponents, very dexterous warriors, they tried to avoid open war, throwing arrows as well, but they robbed superbly.

Migrations

The population of the Sarmatians grew, the number of livestock increased, in connection with this, the movements of the Sarmatians expanded. Not too much time passed, and they occupied and settled a vast territory between the Dnieper and Tobol, to the North Caucasus in the south. The Huns and other tribes began to push them from the East, and in the 4th century the Sarmatians went west, where they reached the Roman Empire, the Iberian Peninsula and crossed over to North Africa. There they assimilated with other peoples.
No matter how large the territory they inhabited, the South Ural and North Kazakhstan steppes were best inhabited by them. Only on the banks of one river, Ilek, and in its lower and middle reaches, more than one hundred and fifty mounds were found.
The Sarmatians came to the lower reaches of the Manych River, began to spread across the Kuban, where their influence was strong. At the end of the 4th century, the settlement of the Sarmatians in Stavropol intensified, they partially exterminated the local population, partially ousted them. As a result, the military potential of the indigenous population was lost.
The Sarmatians have always migrated very aggressively, capturing new territories at the same time. They were able to reach Eastern Europe, settling on the territory of the Middle Danube. They also penetrated into North Ossetia, there are numerous monuments of their culture, and the origin of the Ossetians is associated precisely with the Sarmatians, they are considered their descendants.
Although the Sarmatians lagged behind the Scythians in the development of their society, they went through the decomposition of the tribal system. And the leaders of the tribes, who were supported by the military squad, represented by the nobility, became the heads of the tribes.

Huns

The Huns are an Iranian-speaking group of peoples formed in the 2nd century. According to scientists, their tribes led a nomadic lifestyle. They became famous for their military actions and it was they who invented one of the best weapons that time. The brightest events in the life of this union of tribes took place from the 2nd to the 5th centuries.
There are many white spots in the life history of such a people as the Huns. Historians of those times and modern times described the life and military exploits of the Huns. However, their historical accounts are often unreliable because they do not have scientific evidence. Moreover, these data are highly contradictory.
An Iranian-speaking people was formed by mixing Eurasian tribes, the peoples of the Volga and Ural regions. The Huns began their nomadic path from the Chinese borders and gradually moved to European territories. There is a version that the roots of these tribes must be sought in Northern China. They slowly, sweeping away everything in their path, kept a course to the northeast.

Lifestyle

Nomadic tribes, having no permanent housing, moved across the vast steppe territories, carrying all their belongings in wagons. They drove the cattle behind them. Their main activity is raiding and cattle breeding.
Sleeping in the open air and eating fried or raw meat, they eventually became strong and hardened. They kept raw meat under the saddle during the campaign to soften it. Roots and berries collected in the steppes or in the forest were often eaten. Wives with children and old people moved in wagons along with the whole tribe. WITH early childhood boys were taught martial arts and horseback riding. By reaching adolescence, the guys became real warriors.
The clothing of a representative of these peoples was the skin of an animal, in which a slit was torn, after which it was put on over the head around the neck and worn until it was torn to shreds and flew off. There was usually a fur hat on the head, and the legs were wrapped in animal skins, more often goat skins.

Uncomfortable impromptu shoes fettered walking, so the Huns practically did not move on foot, and it was generally impossible for them to fight on foot. But they were fluent in riding skills and therefore spent all the time in the saddle. They even conducted negotiations and trade deals without getting off the horse.
They did not build any housing, even primitive huts. Only very rich and influential members of the tribe had beautiful wooden houses.
Capturing territories, enslaving and imposing tribute on local peoples, the Huns made significant changes in culture, language and traditions.
When a boy was born into the family of the Huns, immediately after birth, cuts were made on his face so that hair would not grow later. Therefore, even in old age they are beardless. The men walked stooping. They allowed themselves to have several wives.
The Huns worshiped the moon and the sun. And every spring they made sacrifices to the spirits of their ancestors. They also believed in the afterlife and believed that their stay on earth is just a part of immortal life.

From China to Europe

Originating in northern China, the barbarian tribes of the Huns set off to conquer new territories in the northeast. They were not interested in fertile lands, since they had never been engaged in agriculture, they were not interested in territories for the construction of new cities, they were only interested in mining.
Raiding the settlements of the Scythian tribes, they took away food, clothing, livestock, jewelry. Scythian women were brutally raped and men were brutally killed.
By the 5th century, the Huns had firmly settled in European territories; their main occupation was raids and wars. Their weapons, made of bones, terrified those around them. They invented the most powerful bows at that time and fired whistling bullets. The famous long-range bow, which terrified enemies, was more than one and a half meters long. Components formidable weapons were the horns and bones of animals.
They rushed into battle with fearlessness and with a terrible cry that frightened everyone. The army marched in the form of a wedge, but at the right moment, on command, everyone could reorganize.

The best period for the union of tribes, which included the Huns, Bulgars and Germanic and Slavic tribes conquered by the Huns, fell on the reign of Attila. This was a leader who was feared by both the enemies and the Huns themselves. To gain power, he treacherously killed his own brother. In European states, he was nicknamed "The Scourge of God."
He was a wise leader and was able to win battles with the Romans. He managed to force the Byzantine Empire to pay tribute. The Huns entered into a military alliance with the Romans and helped them seize territories belonging to the Germanic tribes.
Later, Attila's army entered into battle with the Roman army. Historians called this battle "a duel of light and darkness." A bloody battle lasted for seven days, as a result of which 165,000 soldiers died. The Huns' army was defeated, but a year later Attila gathered and led a new army to Italy.
According to one version, Attila was killed during his next wedding. He was killed by a young wife, the daughter of one of the German leaders. Thus, she avenged her tribe. He was found after a feast, bleeding.
The legendary leader was buried at the bottom of the Tisza River. He was buried in a triple coffin of gold, silver and iron. According to tradition, his weapons and jewelry were placed in the coffin. The leader was buried at night in order to keep the place of burial a secret. All those who participated in the funeral process were also later killed. The burial place of the formidable warrior is still unknown.
After the death of Attila, the Hun military leaders began to quarrel among themselves and could no longer hold power over other tribes. At that moment, the powerful union of tribes began to disintegrate, which later led to the extinction of the Huns as a people. Those who remained from the representatives of the tribe mixed with other nomadic peoples.
Later, the term "Huns" was used to refer to all the barbarians found on the territory of European states.
Until today, it remains a mystery where the treasures looted by the Huns over such a long period of time have gone. According to legend, they are at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a mysterious place called Bibion. Scuba divers and archaeologists conducted expeditions and research, they found various interesting finds, but nothing indicates that they belonged to the Huns. Bibion ​​himself has not been found either.
The period of history associated with the tribes of the Huns contains many mysteries, legends, and legends. Uneducated nomads kept states from China to Italy at bay. Entire settlements of civilians suffered at their hands. They terrified even the brave warriors of the Roman Empire. But with the death of Attila, the era of barbarian attacks by the Huns was over.

Tatars

Tatars are the second largest ethnic group in Russia and the most numerous people of Muslim culture in the country. Tatar peoples have very ancient history, which is closely connected with the history of the peoples of the Ural-Volga region. And, at the same time, there is not much documented and truthful information on the history of the emergence of this people. Events in the distant 5th-13th centuries are so intertwined that it is very difficult to separate the history of the Tatar peoples from the history of the Turkic tribes, with whom they lived together for a long time on the territory of the Mongolian steppe.

The ethnonym "Tatars" has been known since about the 5th century. In Chinese, this name sounded “ta-ta” or “da-da”. Tatar tribes lived in those days in the north-eastern part of Mongolia and in some territories of Manchuria. For the Chinese, the name of these nationalities meant "dirty", "barbarian". The Tatars themselves called themselves, most likely, "pleasant people." The most famous tribal union of the ancient Tatars is considered to be “Otuz-Tatars” - “Thirty Tatars”, which later became the union “Tokuz Tatars” - “Nine Tatars”. These names are mentioned in the Turkic chronicle of the Second Turkic Khaganate (mid-8th century). Tatar tribes, like the Turkic ones, quite successfully settled in Siberia. And in the 11th century, the famous Turkic researcher Mahmud of Kashgar called the large territory between the Northern regions of China and Eastern Turkestan nothing but the "Tatar steppe". In subsequent works, scientists of that time indicate the following Tatar tribes: Dorben-Tatars, Oboe Tatars, Airiud-Buyruud. And by the middle of the XII century, the Tatars become one of the most powerful tribal formations in Mongolia. In the 70s of the XII century, the Tatar association defeats the Mongol army and after that the Chinese call "da-dan" (that is, Tatars) all nomads, regardless of their ethnicity.

Wars and migrations

The life of the Tatar tribes has never been calm and has always been accompanied by military battles. The Chinese feared the Tatars and took all sorts of preventive measures. According to some chronicles, they sought to reduce the number of adult Tatars, for which, once every three years, the Chinese waged war against the Tatar tribes. In addition, internecine clashes broke out periodically, as well as local wars between the Tatars and the Mongols. A great role in the history of the Tatars, as well as all the peoples of this region, was played by the creation of the Great Turkic Khaganate. This powerful formation controlled a vast territory from Altai to the Crimea. But at the beginning of the 7th century it broke up into two parts - Western and Eastern, and in the middle of the 8th century it completely collapsed. It is known that in some battles the Turkic troops also included numerous Tatar detachments. After the fall of the Eastern Khaganate, some Tatar tribes submitted to the Uighurs and subsequently entered into an alliance with the Turkic Khitans, part of the tribe went west to the Irtysh region and took a leading role in the formation of the Kimak Khaganate, on the basis of which the Kazakhs and Siberian Tatars later developed.

The history of these khaganates was also not long. The Uighur Khaganate was defeated by the Kirghiz in 842, and after some time the Tatars created many states and tribal associations in the southeastern regions of Siberia and in the territory of Northern China east of East Turkestan, which allowed Muslim historians to call this region Dasht-i Tatars or " Tatar steppe. These were powerful associations that controlled part of the Great Silk Road and pursued an active foreign policy in Central Asia. But in the thirties, numerous Tatar principalities were conquered by the state of Karakitaev (western Khitans). Thirty years later, the Tatar troops completely defeated the Mongols, and at the end of the century they went to war with China. The Chinese were much stronger, and the defeated remnants of the Tatar tribes were forced to move away from the Chinese borders. The second misfortune for the Tatars was the rule of Genghis Khan, who in 1196 defeated their army, in 1202, after the Tatar uprising, destroyed the entire adult Tatar population as punishment.

The Kimak Khaganate existed in the territories of Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia until the thirties of the XII century. The forces of the Khaganate seized more and more lands, displacing local tribes in different directions, which caused a large migration of Tatar tribes across the territory of Eurasia. After the fall of the Kimaks, power passed to the unification of the Kipchaks, who began to move further west. The Tatar tribes went along with them.

Government system

Like many Turkic peoples, the Tatars had an institution of electiveness of the supreme ruler (tenrikot). There were many demands on him. He had to be smart, fair, brave and honest. The chosen leader had to resemble the supreme Turkic deity - Tenri (god of heaven). It was not thought that this leader would enrich himself at the expense of his people. On the contrary, it was assumed that he should be a fair representative of the interests of all sections of the population, including the conquered peoples. The doctrine of power in Tatar society was conditioned by the Mandate of Heaven, and the ruler had to deserve this mandate every time with his virtue. If the environment of the ruler understood that he was no longer virtuous enough, he could be re-elected. As a rule, a successful assassination attempt has always been the most successful way of re-election.

In subsequent formations (khaganates), power began to be inherited, and the khagans received the right to specific ownership of lands. Also, specific lands were owned by other high-ranking people in the Khaganates. They were obliged to put up a certain number of soldiers for battles and monitor the implementation of laws in the subject territory. As in most Turkic tribes, the fundamental principle of the social and state structure of the Tatars was a strict hierarchy of clans and tribes. In addition, the use of the labor of slaves (more often slaves) in the household was widely practiced. The captured captives participated in grazing, fodder and other work. If a man was captured, he was most likely sold to China.
The classification of the social structure of the Central Asian states of that time is carried out by historians in different ways. This is a military democracy, and a tribal state, and a patriarchal-feudal state formation. The last kaganates (for example, Kimak) are already called the early feudal society. The main type of economy of all these associations was nomadic cattle breeding. The settled tribes were already engaged in agriculture - they grew barley, wheat, in some places rice. The nationalities also developed a craft - leatherwork, metallurgy, construction technologies, jewelry art.

Religious canons

Since ancient times, Tengrianism has been extremely widespread in the Turkic environment - the doctrine of the God of Heaven, who ruled over everyone. Pagan beliefs about totems were widely known - animals that stood at the source of the Tatar peoples and were their patrons. The resulting associations - kaganates (and later the Golden Horde), were multi-confessional states, where no one was forced to change their faith. But the Tatar tribes, in contact with other peoples, inevitably came to a change in beliefs. Thus, the Uighurs (and the Tatars living in the territory of their principalities) adopted Islam from Khorezm. The Tatars of East Turkestan partly adopted Buddhism, partly Manichaeism and Islam. A great reformer in this area was Genghis Khan, who separated the state from religion and removed the chief shaman from power, proclaiming equal rights for all creeds. And in the XIV century, Uzbek Khan recognized in Islam the main state ideology, which many historians recognize as the reason for the collapse of the Golden Horde. Now the traditional religion of the Tatars is Sunni Islam.

Mongols

The homeland of the Mongols is considered to be a territory located northwest and north of China, in a region called Central Asia. These cold, arid plateaus, cut by weathered, eroded mountain ranges north of the Siberian taiga and along the Chinese frontier, are a barren bare steppe and desert where the Mongols were born.

Birth of the Mongolian nation

The foundation of the future Mongolian state was laid at the beginning of the 12th century, during this period several tribes were consolidated by the leader Kaidu. Subsequently, his grandson Kabul established relations with the leadership of Northern China, which first developed on the basis of vassalage, and after the end of a short war, as a recipient of insignificant tribute. However, his successor Ambakai was handed over by the Tatars to the Chinese, who did not fail to deal with him, after which the reins of government passed to Kutula, who suffered a defeat from the Chinese in 1161 and entered into an alliance with the Tatars. The Tatars, a few years later, killed Yesugai, the father of Temuchin, who gathered all the Mongols around him and conquered the world under the name of Genghis Khan. It was these events that became the catalyst for the consolidation of several nomadic tribes into one nation called the Mongols, from the mere mention of which the rulers of the medieval world were in awe.

The social structure of the Mongols

Until the beginning of the 13th century, which was marked by the great conquests of the Mongols led by Genghis Khan, the Mongolian nomads in the steppes were engaged in grazing sheep, cows, goats and ever-increasing herds of horses. In arid areas, the Mongols bred camels, but on the lands located closer to the Siberian taiga, there were tribes who lived in forests and hunted. The taiga tribes treated shamans with special trepidation, who occupied a central and key place in their social structure.
The Mongolian tribes were characterized by a structured social hierarchy, headed by the nobility, who bore the titles of noyons, princes, bakhadurs. They were subject to not so well-born nobility, followed by ordinary nomads, individual captives, as well as subjugated tribes who were in the service of the winners. Estates were subdivided into clans that were part of a looser tribal structure. The affairs of clans and tribes were discussed at kurultais, where the nobility elected the khan. He was elected for a limited period and had to solve certain strategic tasks, for example, plan the conduct of the war. His power was limited, while the nobility really controlled everything, this state of affairs contributed to the formation of short-lived confederations, this led to constant anarchy in the ranks of the Mongols, which only Genghis Khan managed to cope with.

Religious beliefs of the Mongols

The religion of the Mongols belonged to the shamanic type. Shamanism was widespread among northern nomads and other peoples of North Asia. They did not have a developed philosophy, dogmatics and theology, in connection with which, Muslims, Christians and Jews did not recognize shamanism. To get the right to exist, shamanism had to adapt to the most superstitious forms of manifestation of Christianity, such as Nestorianism, widespread in Central Asia. In the Mongolian language, the shaman was called a kam, he was a sorcerer, healer and soothsayer, according to the beliefs of the Mongols, he was an intermediary between the world of the living and the dead, people and spirits. The Mongols sincerely believed in the nature of countless spirits, which included their ancestors. For each natural object and phenomenon, they had their own spirit, this concerned the spirits of the earth, water, plants, sky, it was these spirits, according to their beliefs, that determined human life.

The spirits in the Mongolian religion had a strict hierarchy, the heavenly spirit Tengri was considered the supreme among them, it was with him that the supreme leaders who served him faithfully were related. According to the beliefs of the Mongols, Tengri and other spirits expressed their will in prophetic dreams, during rituals and in visions. If necessary, they revealed their will directly to the ruler.

Despite the fact that Tengri punished and thanked his followers, in Everyday life ordinary Mongols did not perform any special rituals dedicated to him. A little later, when the Chinese influence became tangible, the Mongols began to decorate the tablets, which had his name, fumigating them with incense. Much closer to the people and their daily affairs was the goddess Nachigai, also called Etugen. She was the mistress of grass, herds and crops, it was with her image that all dwellings were decorated and prayers were addressed for good weather, a large harvest, an increase in herds and the prosperity of the family. Mongols addressed all prayers to ongons, they were original idols made by women from silk, felt and other materials.

Mongol wars before the era of Genghis Khan
Until the 13th century, little was known about the Mongol tribes, they were mainly mentioned in Chinese chronicles, in which they were called Men-wu. It was about nomads eating sour milk and meat and allowing themselves to raid the Celestial Empire, which at that time were absolutely unsuccessful. At the beginning of the 12th century, the second emperor Tatszun conquered most of Mongolia, his followers limited themselves to defensive wars with this people.

After the formation of the Mongolian state by Khabul Khan, who was the ancestor of Genghis Khan, all the Mongolian tribes were united. Initially, they were considered vassals of Emperor Xizong, but soon entered into fighting. As a result of this war, a peace treaty was concluded, the Chinese sent an observer to the camp of Khabul Khan, but he was killed, which was the reason for the start of another war. This time, the Jin rulers sent Tatars to fight the Mongols, Khabul Khan could not withstand another exhausting campaign. He died before reaching his destination. Ambagai took power into his own hands.
However, at the time of the truce, he was treacherously captured by the Tatars and handed over to the Chinese authorities. The next Khan Kutula, united with the Manchu rebels, again attacked the Celestial Empire, as a result, the Chinese lost the fortifications north of Kerulen, control over which was lost after the death of Kurulai of his four brothers in an internecine war. All these actions became the prerequisite for the battle near Lake Buir-nur in 1161, where the Mongols lost to the combined forces of the Chinese and Tatars. This led to the restoration of Jin power in Mongolian territory.

Migration of the Mongols

Initially, the Mongolian tribes were not nomads, they were engaged in hunting and gathering in the region of Altai and Dzungaria, as well as on the plains south and north of the Gobi. Coming into contact with the nomadic tribes of Western Asia, they adopted their culture and gradually migrated to the steppe regions, where they took up cattle breeding and turned into the nation that we know today.

Turks

History of occurrence

Studies of the origin of the Turkic peoples, ethnic group, their cultural traditions, unfortunately, are still the most problematic for academic science.
The first historical mention of the Turks is found in the Chinese acts on the exchange of goods of the great empire. Documents were kept with the established at that time the formation of a confederation of nomads in the VI century AD. e. Stretching along the entire Great Wall and reaching the Black Sea in the west, the empire is known to the Chinese as T "u Küe and to the Turks themselves as Gek Türk, which meant the Top of Heaven.

Separate tribes roamed to hunt and fight raids with sedentary neighbors. It is believed that Mongolia is the progenitor of both the Turks and the Mongols. These groups, completely different, at first glance, peoples, in the process of the development of civilization, mixed and intertwined. In an endless history of events, battles, wars, the rise and stagnation of powers, nations converged and diverged, which is still manifested in the similarity of their language groups.
Türk, as a term, was first recorded by chronicle sources in the second half of the 6th century, consolidated and later widely used.
Ancient authors and medieval researchers - Herodotus, Pliny, Ptolemy, the author of Armenian geography of the 7th century Shirakatsi and many others left their notes about the Turkic tribes and peoples.
The processes of assimilation and separation of individual nationalities and language groups took place constantly and always. The territory of Mongolia is an ideal starting point for the advancement of nomadic tribes in search of fresh pastures and for expanding their horizons in exploring uncharted territories with more severe nature and predatory fauna. To do this, the first Turks had to go through a long line of endless plains and fields, open steppes, stretching all the way to Europe. Naturally, the riders could move much faster across the steppes. In the places of their usual stops, to the south of such a nomadic road, entire settlements of kindred tribes settled down and began to live in rich communities. They formed strong communities among themselves.

The arrival of the Turks from the territory of the modern Mongolian plains is a very long process according to the historical scale. This time period has not yet been fully explored. Each subsequent successive wave of raids or invasions marks its appearance in historical chronicles only when Turkic tribes or famous warriors seize power in various regions that are completely uncharacteristic of them. This could happen in conjunction with the Khazars, Seljuks, or with one of the many, for that time, nomadic groups.
Certain evidence of the discoveries of scientists gives material to the assumptions to consider the Volga-Ural interfluve as the ancestral home of the Turkic people. This includes the regions of Altai, Southern Siberia and the Baikal region. Perhaps it was their second ancestral home, from where they began their movement to Europe and Western Asia.
The ethnogenesis of the entire Turkic community is reduced to the fact that the main ancestors of the Turks in the first ten centuries of our era began their existence in the east, in the territory between modern Altai and Baikal.
Historically, the Turks are not one single ethnic group. They consist of kindred and assimilated peoples of Eurasia. Although the entire diverse community, nevertheless, is a single ethno-cultural whole of the Turkic people.

Data by religion

Before the adoption of the main world religions - Islam, Buddhism and partially Christianity, the Turkic peoples had and still have the first religious basis - the worship of Heaven - Tengri, the Creator. In everyday life, Tengri is synonymous with Allah.
This ancient original religion, Tengrianism, is recorded in the Manchu breviaries and Chinese chronicles, Arabic, Iranian sources, in fragments of the preserved ancient Turkic runic monuments of the 6th-10th centuries. This is a completely original creed, has a complete conceptual form with the doctrine of a single deity, the concept of three worlds, mythology and demonology. The Turkic religion has many religious rites.
Tengrianism, as a fully formed religion, through a system of spiritual values ​​and codes, cultivated certain stable ethnic concepts of nomadic peoples.
Islam determines the entire worldview of the Turks, which recreates the history of their ancestors and the richness of Muslim culture. However, Islam received a certain Turkic interpretation based on the application of all the cultural traditions of Tengrism. This is expressed in the peculiarities of the ethnic worldview and perception of the world by a person, as the acceptance of the factor of its coexistence with spiritualized nature.
One of the most important forms of Turkic art, besides painting and poetry, is the narration of epics in a falsetto voice, accompanied by a string instrument topshur (topshur), similar to a lute. The lyrics were usually proclaimed in a low bass register.
These stories were very popular among the inhabitants of the steppe. One of the legendary storytellers, Delhi, knew 77 of them by heart. And the longest story took seven days and nights.
The history of the Turkic ethnos and the development of the language group begins with the Orkhon-Yenisei monument, which is still considered the most ancient monument of all Turkic languages ​​and dialects.
The latest data of science say that the Scythian ethnoculture of the animal style, with its sources and roots, is closely intertwined with the Turkic-speaking peoples of Siberia and Altai.

social organization

The accelerated development of the processes of social and territorial consolidation led to the creation by the Turkic-speaking peoples and tribes of a number of state formations - kaganates in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium. This form of political creation of the structure of society marked the process of formation of classes among the nomads.
The constant migration of the population led to a peculiar socio-political structure of society - the Western Turkic Khaganate - this is a single system based on nomadic and semi-nomadic farming and settled agricultural management.
On the lands conquered by the Turks, the governorship of the kagan, the supreme person, was established. He controlled the collection of taxes and the transfer of tribute to the kagan's capital. In the Khaganate, the process of formation of classes and feudal social relations of the early period was constantly going on. The military-political resources of the power of the Western Turkic Khaganate were not strong enough to hold different peoples and tribes in constant obedience. Continuous civil strife, quick and frequent changes of rulers - a constant process in society, which was accompanied by the inevitable weakening of public power and the fall of the kaganate in the VIII century.

Wars of the Turks with other peoples

The history of the Turkic people is the history of wars, migrations and resettlements. The social structure of society directly depended on the success of the battles and the outcome of the battles. The long and cruel wars of the Turks with various nomadic tribes and settled peoples contributed to the formation of new nationalities and the formation of states.
Having enlisted the support of the rulers, the Turks established diplomatic relations with various northern Chinese states and large tribes. Creating and assembling large armies in the Danube valley, under the leadership of the ruler of the kaganate, the Turks devastated the countries of Europe more than once.
During the period of the greatest territorial expansion, the Turkic Khaganate extended from Manchuria to the Kerch Strait, and from the Yenisei to the Amu Darya. The Great Chinese Empire, in constant wars for territory, divided the Khaganate into two main parts, which subsequently led to its complete collapse.

Migrations

According to anthropological outward signs it is possible to distinguish the Turks of the Caucasoid race and the Mongoloid. But the most common type is transitional, which belongs to the Turanian or South Siberian race.
The Turkic peoples were hunters and nomadic shepherds taking care of sheep, horses and sometimes camels. In an extremely interesting culture that has survived, there are core characteristics that were laid down from the early beginnings and have been fully maintained to the present day.
The Volga-Ural region had all the favorable natural conditions for the rapid development of the ethnic group inhabiting it, especially the steppe and forest-steppe zones. Expanses of excellent pastures for livestock, forests, rivers and lakes, mineral deposits.
This region was one of the possible ones, where people, starting from the 3rd millennium BC, began to domesticate wild animals for the first time. The geographical location of the region at the crossroads of Europe and Asia also contributed to the accelerated development of the Volga-Ural Territory. Numerous tribes passed through it in all directions. It was here that various ethnic groups mixed up, which were the distant ancestors of the Turkic, Finnish, Ugric and other peoples. The area was densely populated during the Mesolithic and Neolithic. The whole cultural mosaic was formed in it, various traditions were intertwined and consolidated. The region itself was a zone of contacts of various cultural currents. According to archaeologists, the development of civilization and the return migrations of tribes from this area were of no small importance. Based on the size of the settlements, it can be concluded that the settlers survived by a mobile, nomadic life. They lived in huts, caves or small insulated semi-dugouts, which vaguely resemble later yurts.

Huge spaces contributed to large movements-migrations of large groups of pastoralists, which facilitated the process of mixing and assimilation with the ancient tribes. In addition, such a nomadic image made it possible to quickly spread the economic and cultural achievements of pastoral tribes, nationalities and ordinary people from other areas with which they interacted. And that is why the separation of the first Turkic people also marked the stage of large-scale development of the steppe spaces, the development and spread of productive forms of the economy on it - livestock breeding and the development of nomadic forms of farming.
On such a vast territory, the social culture of the nomadic Turks could not remain unshakable and uniform; it changed according to migration, mutually enriching itself with the achievements of foreign tribal groups.
These first settlements of the Turks were soon followed by a mysterious and powerful wave of conquest, which, according to researchers, was Turkic in its origin - the empire of the Khazars, which occupied the entire western part of the territory of Gök Türk. The Khazars surprise their contemporaries and chroniclers with stories of amazing political intrigues that were transformed en masse into Judaism in the 8th century.

νομάδες , nomades- nomads) - a special type of economic activity and the sociocultural characteristics associated with it, in which the majority of the population is engaged in extensive nomadic pastoralism. In some cases, nomads refer to all those who lead a mobile lifestyle (wandering hunter-gatherers, a number of slash-and-burn farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migratory populations such as gypsies, and even modern residents of metropolitan areas with a long distance from home to work and etc.).

Definition

Not all pastoralists are nomads. It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive cattle breeding as the main type of economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of the steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-mountain regions, where cattle breeding is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2%, in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13%, etc.) . The main food of the nomads was different kinds dairy products, less often animal meat, hunting prey, agricultural and gathering products. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence overnight. To counter natural disasters, pastoralists developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals were constantly in need of new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwellings among nomads were various options collapsible, easily portable structures, covered, as a rule, with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). The household utensils of the nomads were not numerous, and the dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and shoes were sewn, as a rule, from leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "horsemanship" (i.e., the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural products and handicrafts. Nomads are characterized by a special mentality, which involves a specific perception of space and time, hospitality customs, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of war cults among ancient and medieval nomads, a warrior-rider, heroized ancestors, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral art ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), a cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence for nomads. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that there are few so-called "pure" nomads (permanently nomads) (some of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, the Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet had an unambiguous interpretation. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, now more popular point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a manufacturing economy was forced out. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view. No less debatable is the question of the time of the formation of nomadism. Some researchers tend to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BC. Some even tend to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th–8th millennium BC. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, IV millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (II millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scientists, the transition to nomadism took place not earlier than the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There is a large number various classifications nomadism. The most common schemes are based on the identification of the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• transhumance (when part of the population lives roaming with cattle),
• yaylagnoe (from the Turks. "yaylag" - a summer pasture in the mountains).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains, plains) and
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridional, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called "five types of livestock" are bred (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel), but the most important animal is the horse (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. the Middle East, where nomads breed small cattle and use horses, camels and donkeys (Bakhtiyars, Basseri, Pashtuns, etc.) as transport;
3. the Arabian Desert and the Sahara, where camel breeders (Bedouins, Tuareg, etc.) predominate;
4. East Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, inhabited by peoples who breed cattle (Nuer, Dinka, Masai, etc.);
5. high mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding animals such as yak, llama, alpaca, etc.;
6. northern, mainly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Saami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

Rise of nomadism

The heyday of nomadism is associated with the period of the emergence of "nomadic empires" or "imperial confederations" (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-2nd millennium AD). These empires arose in the neighborhood of established agricultural civilizations and depended on the products coming from there. In some cases, nomads extorted gifts and tribute at a distance (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, etc.). In others, they subjugated farmers and levied tribute (Golden Horde). Thirdly, they conquered farmers and moved to its territory, merging with the local population (Avars, Bulgarians, etc.). Several large migrations of the so-called "pastoral" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists are known (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Cumans, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.). During the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played a particularly important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. It was as a result of these processes that gunpowder, compass and book printing came to Western Europe. In some works, this period is called "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The appearance of repeating firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the public organization, painful acculturation processes began. In the twentieth century in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedenterization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system in many countries there was a nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with a market economy, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, rising unemployment and poverty. Currently, approximately 35 40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic pastoralism (Northern, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, pastoral nomads make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the point of view prevails that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range various forms contacts between the settled and steppe worlds, from military confrontation and conquests to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of little habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomad societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, having a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive impact on the historical process; as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but the nomadic way of life is gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly compete with settled neighbors. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but the nomadic way of life is gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly compete with settled neighbors.

Nomadic peoples today include:

Historical nomadic peoples:

Literature

• Andrianov B.V. The unsettled population of the world. M.: "Nauka", 1985.
• Gaudio A. Civilizations of the Sahara. (Translated from French) M .: "Nauka", 1977.
• Kradin N.N. nomadic societies. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 1992.240 p.
• Kradin N.N. Hunnu Empire. 2nd ed. revised and additional Moscow: Logos, 2001/2002. 312 p.
• Kradin N.N. , Skrynnikova T.D. Empire of Genghis Khan. M.: Eastern Literature, 2006. 557 p. ISBN 5-02-018521-3
• Kradin N.N. Nomads of Eurasia. Almaty: Dyk-Press, 2007. 416 p.
• Markov G.E. Nomads of Asia. Moscow: Publishing House of Moscow University, 1976.
• Masanov N.E. Nomadic civilization of the Kazakhs. M. - Almaty: Horizon; Sotsinvest, 1995.319 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Social history of the Scythians. M.: Nauka, 1975.343 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Nomads and the outside world. 3rd ed. Almaty: Dyk-Press, 2000. 604 p.
• Barfield T. The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China, 221 BC to AD 1757. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 325 p.
• Humphrey C., Sneath D. The End of Nomadism? Durham: The White Horse Press, 1999. 355 p.
• Khazanov A.M. Nomads and the Outside World. 2nd ed. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. 1994.
• Lattimore O. Inner Asian Frontiers of China. New York, 1940.
• Scholz F. Nomadismus. Theorie und Wandel einer sozio-ökonimischen Kulturweise. Stuttgart, 1995.
• Esenberlin, Ilyas Nomads.

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See what "Nomadic tribes" are in other dictionaries:

Nomadic tribes of Northeast and Central Asia- In a vast area from the Great Wall of China and the borders of Korea in the east to the Altai Mountains and the steppes of present-day Kazakhstan in the west, from the outskirts of the forest belt of Transbaikalia and Southern Siberia in the north to the Tibetan Plateau in the south, they have long lived ... ...

Torks, Guzes, Uzes, nomadic Turkic-speaking tribes, separated from the tribal union of the Oguzes. K ser. 11th c. The T. ousted the Pechenegs and settled in the southern Russian steppes. In 985, as allies of the Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, they participated in ... ... Big soviet encyclopedia

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The list of Arabian tribes and clans includes a list of tribes and clans (both already disappeared and still living) of the Arabian Peninsula inhabiting the territories of the modern states of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab ... ... Wikipedia

Tribes of Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia- To the north and northeast of the Massagets and Sakas, in the steppes and forests of Northern Kazakhstan and Southern Siberia, lived other nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral, as well as sedentary agricultural tribes, already known almost exclusively from the data ... ... The World History. Encyclopedia

Nomadic, wandering tribes, pastoralists; opposed to the tribes of hunters, settled, agricultural. On the transitional steps are savage trappers, breeding domestic animals in a small number or doing a little farming, and ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Sauromates- nomadic tribes that lived in the 7th-4th centuries. BC. in the Volga-Ural steppes. In origin, culture, and language, the S. were very close to the Scythians and Saks. Greek writers (Herodotus, Pseudo Hippocrates, Pseudo Skylak, Eudoxus, Efor) underline. ... ... Ancient world. encyclopedic Dictionary

Nomadic tribes that separated from the union of dong hu tribes after its defeat in the 3rd c. BC e. Xiongnu and got their name from the mountains where they temporarily settled. By this time they roamed the territory. modern Autonomous R on Int. Mongolia and S. V. China. ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

Cattleman or warrior? What trace did the nomadic peoples leave in history? You will find answers to these questions in the article.

Etymology of the word

Thousands of years ago, Eurasia was not covered by megacities. Its wide steppes were home to many peoples and tribes who moved from time to time in search of more fertile lands suitable for both agriculture and cattle breeding. Over time, many tribes settled near the rivers and began to lead. But other peoples who did not have time to occupy fertile areas in time were forced to roam, that is, constantly move from place to place. So who is a nomad? Translated from the Turkic language, this word means "aul (yurt) on the road, on the way", which reflects the nature of the life of such tribes.

The Chinese dynasties and the Mongol khans were all nomads in the past.

All the time on the road

The nomads changed their camp every season. The purpose of the movement was to find more suitable places to live, to improve the well-being of the people. Basically, these tribes were engaged in cattle breeding, crafts and trade. But these studies do not provide an exhaustive explanation of what a nomad is. Often they attacked peaceful farmers, conquering their favorite plots of land from the natives. As a rule, nomads, forced to survive in harsh conditions, were stronger and won. Therefore, they were not always peaceful pastoralists and merchants trying to feed their families. Mongols, Scythians, Sarmatians, Cimmerians, Aryans - they were all skillful and brave warriors. The Scythians and Sarmatians acquired the loudest glory of the conquerors.

historical significance

Getting acquainted at history lessons with who a nomad is, schoolchildren always learn such names as Genghis Khan and Attila. These outstanding warriors were able to create an invincible army and unite many small peoples and tribes under their command.

Attila is the ruler of the nomadic people of the Huns. In almost 20 years of his reign (from 434 to 453), he united the Germanic, Turkic and other tribes, created a state whose borders stretched from the Rhine to the banks of the Volga.

Genghis Khan is the first khan of the Great Mongolian state. He organized trips to the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, China and Central Asia. He founded the largest empire in the history of all mankind with an area of ​​​​almost 38 million square meters. km! It stretched from Novgorod to Southeast Asia and from the Danube to the Sea of ​​Japan.

Their actions caused fear and respect among peaceful tribes. They defined the basic concept of who a nomad is. This is not just a cattle breeder, craftsman and merchant living in a yurt in the steppe, but above all - a skilled, strong and courageous warrior.

Now you know the meaning of the word "nomads".

All about nomads

A nomad (from Greek: νομάς, nomas, pl. νομάδες, nomades, which means: one who wanders in search of pastures and belongs to a tribe of shepherds) is a member of a community of people who live in different territories, moving from place to place . Depending on the attitude to the environment, the following types of nomads are distinguished: hunter-gatherers, nomadic pastoralists who raise cattle, as well as "modern" wanderer nomads. As of 1995, there were 30-40 million nomads in the world.

Wildlife hunting and gathering seasonal plants are the oldest means of human survival. Nomadic pastoralists bred cattle, driving them, and/or moving with them in order to avoid the irreversible depletion of pastures.

The nomadic lifestyle is also most suitable for the inhabitants of the tundra, steppes, sandy or ice-covered regions, where constant movement is the most effective strategy for using limited natural resources. For example, many settlements in the tundra consist of reindeer herders who lead a semi-nomadic lifestyle in search of food for animals. These nomads sometimes resort to the use of high technology, such as solar panels to reduce its dependence on diesel fuel.

"Nomadic" is also sometimes referred to as various wandering peoples who migrate through densely populated areas, not in search of natural resources, but by providing services (crafts and trade) to the permanent population. These groups are known as "wandering nomads".

Who are nomads?

A nomad is a person who does not have a permanent home. A nomad moves from place to place in search of food, grazing for livestock, or otherwise earning a living. The word Nomadd comes from a Greek word that means a person wandering in search of pasture. The movements and settlements of most groups of nomads have a certain seasonal or annual character. Nomadic peoples usually travel by animal, canoe or on foot. Nowadays, some nomads use motorized vehicles. Most nomads live in tents or other mobile dwellings.

Nomads continue to move for various reasons. Nomadic foragers move in search of game, edible plants and water. Australian Aborigines, Southeast Asian Negritos and African Bushmen, for example, move from camp to camp to hunt and gather wild plants. Some tribes in North and South America also led this way of life. Pastoral nomads make a living by raising animals such as camels, cattle, goats, horses, sheep and yaks. These nomads travel through the deserts of Arabia and North Africa in search of camels, goats and sheep. Members of the Fulani tribe travel with their cattle through the grasslands along the Niger River in West Africa. Some nomads, especially pastoralists, may also move around to raid settled communities or avoid enemies. Nomadic artisans and traders travel to find clients and provide services. These include representatives of the tribe of Indian blacksmiths Lohar, gypsy traders and Irish "travelers".

nomadic lifestyle

Most nomads travel in groups or tribes that are made up of families. These groups are based on kinship and marriage ties or formal cooperation agreements. The adult men's council makes most of the decisions, although some tribes are led by chiefs.

In the case of Mongolian nomads, the family moves twice a year. These migrations usually take place during the summer and winter periods. In winter, they are located in mountain valleys, where most families have permanent winter camps, on the territory of which pens for animals are equipped. Other families do not use these sites in the absence of the owners. In summer, nomads move to more open areas to graze animals. Most nomads usually move within the same region without going too far. In this way, communities and families belonging to the same group are formed, as a rule, members of the community approximately know the whereabouts of neighboring groups. More often than not, one family does not have enough resources to migrate from one area to another, unless they leave the area permanently. An individual family can move by itself or together with others, and even if families move alone, the distance between their settlements is no more than a couple of kilometers. To date, the Mongols do not have the concept of a tribe and decisions are made at family councils, although the opinion of the elders is also listened to. Families settle close to each other for the purpose of mutual support. The number of communities of nomadic pastoralists is usually not large. On the basis of one of these Mongol communities, the largest land empire in history arose. Initially, the Mongolian people consisted of a number of loosely organized nomadic tribes from Mongolia, Manchuria and Siberia. At the end of the 12th century, Genghis Khan united them with other nomadic tribes to establish the Mongol Empire, whose power eventually spread throughout Asia.

The nomadic lifestyle is becoming increasingly rare. Many governments have a negative attitude towards nomads, as it is difficult to control their movements and collect taxes from them. Many countries have turned pastures into farmland and forced nomadic peoples to leave their permanent settlements.

hunter-gatherers

"Nomadic" hunter-gatherers (also known as foragers) move from camp to camp in search of wild animals, fruits and vegetables. Hunting and gathering are the oldest means by which man provided for his livelihood and all modern people belonged to hunter-gatherers until about 10,000 years ago.

Following the development of agriculture, most hunter-gatherers were eventually either forced out or turned into groups of farmers or pastoralists. Only a few modern societies are classified as hunter-gatherers, and some combine, sometimes quite actively, the activities of foragers with agriculture and/or animal breeding.

nomadic pastoralists

Pastoral nomads are nomads who move between pastures. There are three stages in the development of nomadic pastoralism, which accompanied the growth of the population and the complication of the social structure of society. Karim Sadr suggested the following steps:

• Cattle breeding: a mixed type of economy with intra-family symbiosis.
• Agro-livestock: defined as a symbiosis between segments or clans within an ethnic group.

True nomadism: is a symbiosis at the regional level, usually between nomadic and agricultural populations.

Pastoralists are territorially bound as they move between permanent spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures for livestock. Nomads moves depending on the availability of resources.

How and why did nomads appear?

The development of pastoral nomadism is considered part of the by-products revolution proposed by Andrew Sherratt. In the course of this revolution, the early cultures of the pre-pottery Neolithic, for which animals were living meat ("slaughtered") also began to use them for secondary products, for example, milk, dairy products, wool, hides, manure for fuel and fertilizer, and also in as a driving force.

The first pastoral nomads appeared in the period from 8,500-6,500 BC. in the southern Levant region. There, during a period of increasing drought, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) culture in Sinai was replaced by a nomadic pottery-pastoral culture that merged with the Mesolithic people who arrived from Egypt (the Harifian culture) and adapted a nomadic hunting lifestyle to animal husbandry.

This way of life quickly developed into what Juris Zarins called a nomadic pastoral complex in Arabia, and what is possibly associated with the emergence of Semitic languages ​​in the ancient Near East. The rapid spread of nomadic pastoralism was characteristic of such late formations as the Yamnaya culture, nomadic pastoralists of the Eurasian steppes, as well as the Mongols in the late Middle Ages.

Beginning in the 17th century, nomadism spread among the Trekboers in southern Africa.

Nomadic pastoralism in Central Asia

One of the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent political independence, as well as the economic decline of the Central Asian republics that were part of it, was the revival of nomadic pastoralism. A striking example is the Kyrgyz people, whose nomadism was the center of economic life until the Russian colonization at the turn of the 20th century, as a result of which they were forced to settle and farm in the villages. The post-World War II period saw an intense urbanization of the population, but some people continued to move their horse and cow herds to the high mountain pastures (jailoo) every summer, following the pattern of transhumance.

As a result of the contraction of the money economy since the 1990s, unemployed relatives have returned to family farms. Thus, the significance of this form of nomadism has increased significantly. Nomadic symbols, in particular the crown in the form of a gray felt tent known as a yurt, appear on the national flag, highlighting the centrality of the nomadic lifestyle in the modern life of the people of Kyrgyzstan.

Nomadic pastoralism in Iran

In 1920, nomadic pastoral tribes made up more than a quarter of Iran's population. During the 1960s, pastures belonging to the tribes were nationalized. According to the National Commission of UNESCO, the population of Iran in 1963 was 21 million people, of which two million (9.5%) were nomads. Despite the fact that the number of nomadic population in the 20th century declined sharply, Iran still occupies one of the leading positions in terms of the number of nomadic population in the world. About 1.5 million nomads live in a country with a population of 70 million people.

Nomadic pastoralism in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, where nomadic pastoralism was the basis of agricultural activity, the process of forced collectivization under the leadership of Joseph Stalin was met with massive resistance, which led to large losses and confiscation of livestock. The number of large horned animals in Kazakhstan decreased from 7 million heads to 1.6 million, and out of 22 million sheep, 1.7 million remained. As a result, about 1.5 million people died from the famine of 1931-1934, which is more than 40 % of the total Kazakh population at that time.

Transition from nomadic to sedentary lifestyle

In the 1950s and 60s, as a result of shrinking territory and population growth, a large number of Bedouins from all over the Middle East began to abandon their traditional nomadic lifestyle and settle in cities. Government policies in Egypt and Israel, oil production in Libya and the Persian Gulf, and a desire to improve living standards have led to the fact that most of the Bedouins have become settled citizens. different countries leaving nomadic pastoralism. A century later, nomadic Bedouins still accounted for about 10% of the Arab population. Today, this figure has dropped to 1% of the total population.

At the time of independence in 1960, Mauritania was a nomadic society. The great Sahelian drought of the early 1970s caused widespread problems in a country where pastoral nomads made up 85% of the population. To date, only 15% remain nomads.

In the period before the Soviet invasion, as many as 2 million nomads moved through Afghanistan. Experts say that by 2000 their number had dropped sharply, probably by half. In some regions, severe drought has wiped out up to 80% of livestock.

In Niger, in 2005, irregular rainfall and desert locust infestations caused a severe food crisis. The nomadic Tuareg and Fulbe ethnic groups, who make up about 20% of Niger's 12.9 million population, have been hit so hard by the food crisis that their already precarious lifestyles are at risk. The crisis also affected the life of the nomadic peoples of Mali.

Nomadic minorities

"Itinerant Minorities" are mobile groups of people moving among the settled population, offering craft services or engaging in trade.

Every community in existence is largely endogamous, traditionally surviving through trade and/or the provision of services. Previously, all or most of their members led a nomadic lifestyle, which continues to this day. Migration, in our time, as a rule, occurs within the political boundaries of one state.

Each of the mobile communities is multilingual; the members of the group speak one or more of the languages ​​spoken by the local sedentary people, and in addition there is a separate dialect or language within each group. The latter are either of Indian or Iranian origin, and many of them are slang or secret language, the vocabulary of which is derived from various languages. There is evidence that in northern Iran, at least one community speaks the Romani language, which is also used by some groups in Turkey.

What do nomads do?

In Afghanistan, the Nausars worked as shoemakers and traded animals. The men of the humpback tribe were engaged in the manufacture of sieves, drums, bird cages, and their women traded these products, as well as other items. household and personal use; they also acted as usurers for rural women. Men and women of other ethnic groups such as Jalali, Pikrai, Shadibaz, Noristani and Wangawala also traded various goods. Representatives of the Wangawala and Pikrai groups traded animals. Some men among the Shadibaza and Wangawala entertained the audience by showing off trained monkeys or bears while conjuring snakes. There were musicians and dancers among men and women from the Baloch group, Baloch women also engaged in prostitution. The men and women of the yoga people practiced different types activities such as breeding and selling horses, harvesting, divination, bloodletting and begging.

In Iran, the Asheks from Azerbaijan, the Hallis from Balochistan, the Luti from Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Lorestan, the Mekhtars from the Mamasani region, the Sazandehs from Band Amir and Marv Dasht, and the Toshmals from the pastoral groups of the Bakhtiaris worked as professional musicians. Men from the Kuvli group worked as shoemakers, blacksmiths, musicians, and trainers of monkeys and bears; they also made baskets, sieves, brooms and traded donkeys. Their women earned by trading, begging and fortune-telling.

Humpbacks from the Basseri tribe worked as blacksmiths and shoemakers, traded pack animals, made sieves, reed mats and small wooden tools. It was reported that representatives of the kvarbalbandy, cooli and luli groups from the Fars region worked as blacksmiths, made baskets and sieves; they also traded pack animals, and their women traded various goods among the nomadic pastoralists. In the same region, changi and luti were musicians and ballad singers, children were taught these professions from the age of 7 or 8.

Representatives of nomadic ethnic groups in Turkey make and sell cradles, trade animals and play musical instruments. Men from settled groups work in the cities as scavengers and executioners; moonlighting as fishermen, blacksmiths, singers and weaving baskets; their women dance at feasts and divination. The men of the Abdal ("bards") group make money by playing musical instruments, making sieves, brooms and wooden spoons. Tahtacı ("woodcutters") are traditionally engaged in timber processing; as a result of the greater spread of the sedentary way of life, some also turned to agriculture and gardening.

Little is known for sure about the past of these communities, the history of each of the groups is contained almost entirely in their oral tradition. Although some groups, such as the Wangawala, are of Indian origin, some, such as the Noristani, are most likely of local origin, while others are believed to be the result of migration from neighboring areas. The humpback and shadibaz groups originally came from Iran and Multan, respectively, while the traditional homeland of the Tahtacı ("woodcutters") group is traditionally believed to be Baghdad or Khorasan. The Baloch claim that they treated the Jemshedis as servants after they fled Balochistan due to civil strife.

Yuryuk nomads

Yuriuks are nomads who live in Turkey. Some groups such as the Sarıkeçililer still lead a nomadic life between the coastal cities of the Mediterranean and the Taurus mountains, although most of them were forced to settle during the late Ottoman and Turkish Republics.

Nomads Mongolian nomads in the transition to the northern camp

Nomads- people temporarily or permanently leading a nomadic lifestyle, people without a fixed place of residence. Nomads can get their livelihood from a variety of sources - nomadic pastoralism, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various arts (music, theater), hired labor, or even robbery or military conquest. If we consider long periods of time, then each family and people in one way or another move from place to place, lead a nomadic lifestyle, that is, they can be classified as nomads.

IN modern world, in connection with significant changes in the economy and the life of society, the concept of neo-nomads appeared and is quite often used, that is, modern, successful people leading a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle in modern conditions. By occupation, many of them are programmers, salesmen, managers, teachers, scientists, politicians, athletes, artists, showmen, seasonal workers, etc. See also freelancers.

Typical workplace of modern nomads

nomadic peoples

Nomadic peoples are migratory peoples living off pastoralism. Some nomadic peoples also engage in hunting or, like some sea nomads in southeast Asia, fishing. Term nomad camp used in the Slavic translation of the Bible in relation to the villages of the Ishmaelites (Gen.)

Definition

Not all pastoralists are nomads. It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive cattle breeding (Pastoralism) as the main type of economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of the steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts or high-mountain regions, where cattle breeding is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2%, in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13%, etc.) . The main food of the nomads was various types of dairy products, less often animal meat, hunting prey, products of agriculture and gathering. Drought, snowstorm (jute), epidemics (epizootics) could deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence overnight. To counter natural disasters, pastoralists developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals were constantly in need of new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwelling among nomads were various types of collapsible, easily portable structures, usually covered with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Nomads had few household utensils, and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and shoes were sewn, as a rule, from leather, wool and fur. The phenomenon of "horsemanship" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads never existed in isolation from the agricultural world. They needed agricultural products and handicrafts. Nomads are characterized by a special mentality, which involves a specific perception of space and time, hospitality customs, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of war cults among ancient and medieval nomads, a warrior-rider, heroized ancestors, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral art ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), a cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence for nomads. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that there are few so-called “pure” nomads (permanently nomads) (some of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, the Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet had an unambiguous interpretation. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, now more popular point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a manufacturing economy was forced out. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view. No less debatable is the question of the time of the formation of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Some even tend to note the traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennium BC. e. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (Ukraine, IV millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (II millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scientists, the transition to nomadism took place no earlier than the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There are many different classifications of nomadism. The most common schemes are based on the identification of the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic and semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• transhumance (when part of the population lives roaming with cattle),
• yaylagnoye (from the Turks. "yaylag" - a summer pasture in the mountains).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains, plains) and
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridional, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called “five types of livestock” are bred (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel), but the most important animal is the horse (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. the Middle East, where nomads breed small cattle and use horses, camels and donkeys (Bakhtiyars, Basseri, Pashtuns, etc.) as transport;
3. the Arabian Desert and the Sahara, where camel breeders (Bedouins, Tuareg, etc.) predominate;
4. East Africa, savannahs south of the Sahara, inhabited by peoples who breed cattle (Nuer, Dinka, Masai, etc.);
5. high mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding such animals as yak (Asia), llama, alpaca (South America), etc.;
6. northern, mainly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Saami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

Rise of nomadism

more nomadic state

The heyday of nomadism is associated with the period of the emergence of "nomadic empires" or "imperial confederations" (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-2nd millennium AD). These empires arose in the neighborhood of the established agricultural civilizations and depended on the products coming from there. In some cases, nomads extorted gifts and tribute at a distance (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, etc.). In others, they subjugated farmers and levied tribute (Golden Horde). In the third, they conquered farmers and moved to their territory, merging with the local population (Avars, Bulgars, etc.). In addition, along the routes of the Silk Road, which also passed through the lands of nomads, stationary settlements with caravanserais arose. There are several large migrations of the so-called "pastoral" peoples and later nomadic pastoralists (Indo-Europeans, Huns, Avars, Turks, Khitan and Cumans, Mongols, Kalmyks, etc.).

During the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played a particularly important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. Apparently, as a result of these processes, gunpowder, the compass, and book printing came to Western Europe. In some works, this period is called "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The appearance of repeating firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the social organization was deformed, and painful acculturation processes began. In the twentieth century in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedenterization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system in many countries there was a nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with a market economy, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, rising unemployment and poverty. Currently, approximately 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic pastoralism (Northern, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, pastoral nomads make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the point of view prevails that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range of different forms of contacts between the settled and the steppe world, from military confrontation and conquest to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of little habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomad societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, having a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive impact on the historical process; as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but the nomadic way of life is gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly compete with settled neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary lifestyle

Labor productivity under pastoralism is much higher than in early agrarian societies. This allowed the majority of the male population to be freed from the need to spend time searching for food and, in the absence of other alternatives (such as monasticism, for example), allowed them to be sent to military operations. High labor productivity, however, is achieved by low-intensity (extensive) use of pastures and requires more and more land to be reclaimed from neighbors. The huge armies of nomads who were assembled from men who were unnecessary in the daily household are much more combat-ready than the mobilized peasants who did not have military skills. Therefore, despite the primitive social structure of the nomads, they posed a great threat to early civilizations with which they were often in antagonistic relations. An example of the huge efforts that were directed at the struggle of settled peoples with nomads is the great wall of China, which, as you know, was not an effective barrier against invasions of nomadic peoples into China. However, a settled way of life certainly has its advantages over a nomadic one, and the emergence of cities - fortresses and other cultural centers over time made it possible for settled peoples to successfully resist the raids of nomads who could never completely destroy the settled peoples. However, nomad raids sometimes led to the collapse or significant weakening of highly developed civilizations, for example, the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which fell under the onslaught of "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples." However, despite constant losses from nomadic raids, early civilizations, which were constantly forced to find new ways to protect themselves from the constant threat of annihilation, also received an incentive to develop statehood, which gave Eurasian civilizations a significant advantage over pre-Columbian American civilizations, where independent pastoralism did not exist (or rather semi-nomadic mountain tribes who bred small animals from the camelid family did not have such a military potential as the Eurasian horse breeders). The empires of the Incas and Atzeks, being at the level of the copper age, were much more primitive and fragile than the European states and were subjugated without significant difficulties by small detachments of European adventurers.

The nomadic peoples are

• Today:

Historical nomadic peoples:

Notes

Literature

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Fiction

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