The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes

464 Pages·2014·1.951 MB·English

by  Kenneth W. Harl

SSubtopic
Topic Civilization
History & Culture
The Barbarian Empires
of the Steppes
Courrse GGuuideebbook
Professor Kenneth W. Harl
Tulaane Univversiittttyy
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Kenneth W. Harl, Ph.D.
Professor of Classical and Byzantine History
Tulane University
P
rofessor Kenneth W. Harl is Professor of
Classical and Byzantine History at Tulane
University, where he has taught since 1978.
He earned his B.A. from Trinity College and his
M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University.
Professor Harl teaches courses in Greek, Roman,
Byzantine, and Crusader history from freshman to graduate levels. A
recognized scholar of coins and classical Anatolia, he also takes students
to Turkey on excursions and as assistants on excavations of Hellenistic and
Roman sites.
Professor Harl has published numerous articles and is the author of Civic
Coins and Civic Politics in the Roman East, A.D. 180–275 and Coinage
in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. His current work includes
publishing the coin discoveries from the excavation of Gordion, Turkey, and
a new book on Rome and its Iranian foes. Professor Harl also serves on the
editorial board of the American Journal of Archaeology and is a fellow and
trustee of the American Numismatic Society.
Professor Harl has twice received Tulane’s coveted Sheldon Hackney Award
for Excellence in Teaching (voted on by both faculty and students) and has
received the Student Body Award for Excellence in Teaching on multiple
occasions. He was also the recipient of Baylor University’s nationwide
Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. In 2007, he was the Lewis
P. Jones Visiting Professor in History at Wofford College.
Professor Harl’s other Great Courses include Alexander the Great and the
Macedonian Empire, The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval
Christianity, The Era of the Crusades, Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations,
The World of Byzantium, Great Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor, Rome
and the Barbarians, The Peloponnesian War, and The Vikings. (cid:374)
i
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Professor Biography ............................................................................i
Course Scope .....................................................................................1
LECTURE GUIDES
LECTURE 1
Steppes and Peoples .........................................................................3
LECTURE 2
The Rise of the Steppe Nomads ......................................................13
LECTURE 3
Early Nomads and China..................................................................22
LECTURE 4
The Han Emperors and Xiongnu at War ..........................................32
LECTURE 5
Scythians, Greeks, and Persians .....................................................41
LECTURE 6
The Parthians ...................................................................................50
LECTURE 7
Kushans, Sacae, and the Silk Road .................................................59
LECTURE 8
Rome and the Sarmatians ................................................................68
LECTURE 9
Trade across the Tarim Basin ...........................................................76
LECTURE 10
Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Christianity........................................84
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Table of Contents
LECTURE 11
Rome and the Huns .........................................................................93
LECTURE 12
Attila the Hun—Scourge of God .....................................................102
LECTURE 13
Sassanid Shahs and the Hephthalites............................................111
LECTURE 14
The Turks—Transformation of the Steppes ....................................119
LECTURE 15
Turkmen Khagans and Tang Emperors ..........................................127
LECTURE 16
Avars, Bulgars, and Constantinople ...............................................134
LECTURE 17
Khazar Khagans .............................................................................143
LECTURE 18
Pechenegs, Magyars, and Cumans ...............................................151
LECTURE 19
Islam and the Caliphate ..................................................................159
LECTURE 20
The Clash between Turks and the Caliphate..................................168
LECTURE 21
Muslim Merchants and Mystics in Central Asia ..............................176
LECTURE 22
The Rise of the Seljuk Turks...........................................................184
LECTURE 23
Turks in Anatolia and India .............................................................193
iii
Table of Contents
LECTURE 24
(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:54)(cid:88)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:53)(cid:460)(cid:80) ........................................................................201
LECTURE 25
The Sultans of Delhi .......................................................................209
LECTURE 26
Manchurian Warlords and Song Emperors ....................................217
LECTURE 27
The Mongols ...................................................................................226
LECTURE 28
Conquests of Genghis Khan...........................................................235
LECTURE 29
Western Mongol Expansion ............................................................243
LECTURE 30
Mongol Invasion of the Islamic World .............................................252
LECTURE 31
Conquest of Song China ................................................................261
LECTURE 32
Pax Mongolica and Cultural Exchange...........................................269
LECTURE 33
Conversion and Assimilation ..........................................................277
LECTURE 34
Tamerlane, Prince of Destruction ...................................................286
LECTURE 35
(cid:37)(cid:407)(cid:69)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:48)(cid:88)(cid:74)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:68) .................................................................294
LECTURE 36
Legacy of the Steppes ....................................................................302
iv
Table of Contents
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
Maps ...............................................................................................310
Timeline ..........................................................................................312
Glossary .........................................................................................379
Biographical Notes .........................................................................398
Bibliography ....................................................................................443
v
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The Barbarian Empires of the Steppes
Scope:
O
ur study begins with a description of the sack of Baghdad by the
Mongols under Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, in 1258. The
Mongols ended the Abbasid Caliphate—a major shock to the Islamic
world. To this day, Muslims regard this event as a catastrophe and a turning
point in their history. The incident sums up popular images and stereotypes
(cid:68)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:91)(cid:68)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:83)(cid:3)
of the barbarians of the Eurasian steppes with the sedentary civilizations of
Europe, the Middle East, India, and China.
Lecture 2 starts with the peopling of the steppes in the Bronze Age, the
domestication of the horse and camel, the invention of wheeled vehicles,
and the spread of Indo-European speakers (Iranian and Tocharians) over
(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:178)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:68)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:77)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)
movement on the steppes, and it went from west to east.
Then, we begin to explore the steppe nomads and their interaction with the
urban civilizations and each other from about 600 B.C. to 600 A.D. We
start with the eastern steppes, discussing Han China and the nomads. Wars
(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:76)(cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:70)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:86)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:15)(cid:3)
(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:192)(cid:88)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)
migrations were the Huns and Hephthalites, the foes of Rome and Sassanid
Iran, respectively. These nomads helped to bring a close to antiquity.
Lectures 14 to 25 deal with the steppes in the early Middle Ages, from about
600 to 1200 A.D., that is, before the Mongols. Again, we start in the east,
with Tang China and the Turks who emerged on the eastern steppes and
spread dramatically across Eurasia, displacing and assimilating Tocharian
and Iranian speakers. The Turks apparently devised the stirrup and the
composite bow to become dreaded horse archers. We will also deal with the
Turkish nomads and Constantinople; these khaganates anticipated the later
Golden Horde and played a decisive role with Byzantium and the caliphate.
1
In Lectures 19 to 25, we concentrate on the relationship between the
Turkish-speaking nomads, or Turkmen, and Islam. Once the Turks embraced
Islam and entered the Middle East, they assumed the dominant military role
ever after and carved out new Islamic worlds in Anatolia and India. In time,
Turkish dialects won out over other languages in the cities of Transoxiana.
The Battle of Talas in 751 was pivotal, bringing together the Turkmen, Tang
China, and the Abbasid caliphate. The Turks, who henceforth dominated the
(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:11)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:48)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:12)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:68)(cid:90)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:86)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:80)(cid:3)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:3)
China as the most powerful civilization—a major change.
Lectures 26 to 35 explore the impact of the Mongols. We start with the Chin
Dynasty in northern China (the typical Manchurian-Chinese frontier state)
and Sung China, scrupulously posing as the heir to Confucian traditions
and the Han Empire. This division was exploited by Genghis Khan, who
rapidly expanded across the whole of the steppes, and his heirs, notably, his
grandsons Khubilai Khan and Batu, who subjected the urban civilizations of
Christian Russia, Muslim Iran and Transoxiana, and Sung China. This Pax
Mongolica had a major cultural and technological impact. Ironically, it led
(cid:87)(cid:82)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:83)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:74)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:83)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:71)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:88)(cid:70)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:3)
(cid:191)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:80)(cid:86)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:75)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:73)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:38)(cid:75)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:3)
out of business.
The Russians, starting with Ivan the Terrible, expanded across the steppes
and ended the power of nomadic armies. But in the Islamic world, the Ilkhans
converted to Islam, and the heirs of Genghis Khan, notably the conquerors
Tamerlane and Baybur, ruled two of the great Muslim empires of the early
modern age.
We close our course with the end of steppe power after 1500, notably with
Ming China, Safavid Iran, and czarist Russia. Yet today, the steppes have
again emerged as strategic, especially as the Soviet Union has fragmented
(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:86)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:82)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:59)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:77)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:374)
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