The Diminishing of Nomadic Power and Importance of Economic Development
From the time human society has divided the labor and agrarian societies emerged, the type of relationships between nomadic and sedentary societies can be characterized as hostile, warlike and suspicious. There might be a number of prerequisites for such kind of relations. Firstly, nomads’ economies were not entirely self-sufficient. The fact that their sources of food (mostly meat and milk) and clothing (wool and leather) were not diverse enough pushed them to continuous interactions with and dependence on sedentary societies’ goods. Therefore, incursions were common part of the relations. However, trading markets were also used in order to perform the exchange of nomadic products to sedentary. Secondly, nomads needed to expand their lands to have enough space to pasture livestock, which was their primary source of food, clothing and could be used in warfare. At the beginning of the nomadic – sedentary relationships, nomads were obviously more developed in military way, while sedentary societies were in the low level of military preparedness. Ancient sources, like Herodotus’, prove that nomads were “invincible and unapproachable” stating “They have so devised that none who attacks them can escape, and none can catch them if they desire not to be caught”. However, the change in the dominance occurred with time. In the long run sedentary societies managed to accumulate wealth and achieve economic stability through trade and various governmental taxes. This allowed them to hire warriors and defend themselves from nomadic raids. In addition, science was developing dynamically in the cities, what encouraged invention of many technological advances, later successf...
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...o raid sedentary societies what was actually done by nomads. The perspective of easy life attracted nomads from different ethnic groups and gathered them under the rule of one leader. Sedentary societies, on the other hand, understood the threat emerging from nomads and tried to use their advantage and make them dependant, often by using deceitful tricks. Sedentary societies also developed in other areas as trade and farming. Having observed military collisions between the states and foreign policy decisions they made, it is obvious that relationships were hostile and warlike. The change in dominance can also be observed as societies developed and new forms of making war occurred like China fomented conflicts between the Turks. This fact made nomad’s military power diminish when they faced the enemy not in the open battle, but in economic and political encounter.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Lizot, J. (1977). Population, Resources and Warfare Among the Yanomami. Man, Vol. 12, (¾), pp. 497-517.
There are many cultures throughout the world, which may be far apart and yet still have similarities. Two of those such cultures, the Basseri, that live in Iran, and the Nuer, whom live in Sudan, have their differences, but also have some similarities. Many of the differences and similarities come from their subsistence strategies and the social and political organization of their societies. With the regions of the world, both the Basseri and the Nuer live in, they’ve had to adapt to the environment they live in along with the limitations imposed by that environment.
Upshur, Jiu-Hwa, Janice J. Terry, Jim Holoka, Richard D. Goff, and George H. Cassar. Thomson advantage Books World History. Compact 4th edition ed. Vol. Comprehensive volume. Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth, 2005. 107-109. Print.
The weather turned these nomads into very tough, rugged people as well. Having to deal with such cold temperatures most times of the year would turn anyone into a very stalwart person. The constantly changing storms also helped to mold the Mongolian nomads into very stout people. The heavy snows and ice on the steppe made these people into the unyielding warriors we imagine when reading about the Mongols. Drought ...
According to Jared Diamond’s thesis, global inequity is not determined by cultural differences, or race, but instead, attributed to geography. The conclusion to be drawn from this thesis is, why do specific tactics only work in specific places? Furthermore, how come Western civilization tactics were effective in the Western countries such as Europe, but not effective in countries such as Egypt? All in all, the reason for this is due to the natural geographic disadvantages Egypt had dealt with in comparison to Europe. These two countries differ in plant and animal domestication, and also size as well as population. In addition to that, the terrain and environment of different regions throughout the world have a major impact on the success of civilizations.
War was a way of life for these people, they fought throughout their history and basically their empires died without it. They were always expanding the empires through war and when they could no longer do this they fought with themselves within their own empires. When this happened they rapidly declined and where easy prey for the Europeans when they arrived.
Farming also became a steady source of food for the early civilization. With established dwellings, communities were able to create crude irrigation systems to support their crops in the very dry dessert like climate. Domestication of animals also became a possibility as well with the more permanent living situation the early civilization h...
Nomadic tribes of herders, the Mongols were excellent horsemen and archers capable of shooting an arrow in any direction while riding a horse. As a military they were incredibly nimble, they were incredibly fast and they were incredibly brutal. Despite this they were also incredibly adaptable as they conquered more and more people, learning from them
Over the years there have been many great nomadic groups, such as the Vikings and the Kievan, but no nomadic group has been more successful than the Mongols. The Mongols have had many lasting influences on Russia, China, and even Europe. The Mongols have left a mark on the European trading systems in technologies as well as in their trading systems trade routes. One thing that stayed the same throughout Europe was their many religion.
Kishlansky, Mark, Patrick Geary and Patricia O'Brien. Civilization in the West, Combind Volume, Seventh Edition. New York: Longman, 2008.
...eir homes) and erosion. In a cultural and political context there was a competition between kings and nobles as to who led the civilization through war and other events that required military forces.
The Mongol and the Mali Empires differ in their rise with the use of certain methods towards conquering. Geographic locations play an enormous role in the rise of both these magnificent empires. In the Mali empire, Islam was prevalent unlike the Mongol Empire where everyone was allowed to practice their own religion. Another difference would be the methods by which they arose. Although warfare existed within the Mali empire, Mali arose by peaceful methods. However, the Mongol empire attacked states which were already established. If people ...
The blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of “blessing” and “curse” from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of “negative” and “positive”. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolithic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human society began to emerge in the Neolithic Period or the New Stone Age. This new age began around 9,000 B.C.E. by the development of agriculture in the region surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is commonly referred to as “The Fertile Crescent” located in West Asia.1 The very development of agriculture had benefited humans by no longer having to move about in search of wild game and plants. Unencumbered by nomadic life humans found little need to limit family size and possessions and settled in a single location for many years. One negative aspect of this settling is that the population increased so much so that wild food sources were no longer sufficient to support large groups. Forced to survive by any means necessary they discovered using seeds of the most productive plants and clearing weeds enhanced their yield.2 This also lead humans to develop a wider array of tools far superior to the tools previously used in the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age. The spread of the Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Period also cultivated positive aspects by creating connections with other cultures and societies. Through these connections they exchanged knowledge, goods, and ideas on herding and farming.3 Another major positive aspec...
... nations of the time saw their expansion and imperialism as a profoundly nobly pursuit. The native people of Asia and Africa were considered to be savages and uncultured. The influence of European ideals and ways of life would, in the minds of their conquerors, help these people achieve better lives and a lead them to a better existence.