The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast
steppe ecoregion of
Eurasia in the
temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The predominant vegetation in this biome consists of grass and/or shrubs. The climate is temperate and ranges from semi-arid to semi ...
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
. It stretches through
Hungary,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
,
Romania,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
and
Transnistria,
Ukraine,
Western Russia
European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the co ...
,
Siberia,
Kazakhstan,
Xinjiang,
Mongolia and
Manchuria, with one major
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
, the
Pannonian steppe or
Puszta
The Hungarian Puszta () is a temperate grassland biome of the Alföld or Great Hungarian Plain. It is an exclave of the Eurasian Steppe, and lies mainly around the River Tisza in the eastern part of Hungary, as well as in the western part of ...
, located mostly in
Hungary.
Since the
Paleolithic age
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
, the
Steppe Route has connected
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ar ...
,
Eastern Europe,
Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
,
Central Asia,
East Asia and
South Asia economically, politically and culturally through overland trade routes. The Steppe route is a predecessor not only of the
Silk Road which developed during
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
and the
Middle Ages, but also of the
Eurasian Land Bridge
The Eurasian Land Bridge (), sometimes called the New Silk Road (, ), is the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland between Pacific seaports in the Russian Far East and China and seaports in Europe. The route, a transco ...
in the modern era. It has been home to
nomadic empires and many large
tribal confederations
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
and ancient states throughout history, such as the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209& ...
,
Scythia,
Cimmeria,
Sarmatia
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
,
Hunnic Empire,
Chorasmia
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
,
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
,
Sogdia,
Xianbei,
Mongol Empire and
Göktürk Khaganate
The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of Bumi ...
.
Geography
Divisions
The Eurasian Steppe extends for 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from near the mouth of the
Danube almost to the
Pacific Ocean. It is bounded on the north by the forests of
European Russia,
Siberia and
Asian Russia
North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains: ...
. There is no clear southern boundary although the land becomes increasingly dry as one moves south. The steppe narrows at two points, dividing it into three major parts.
Pannonian steppe (exclave)
The
Pannonian steppe is an
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of the Eurasian Steppe belt. It is found in modern-day
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
,
Hungary,
Romania,
Serbia and
Slovakia.
File:DNV Devinska Kobyla.jpg, Devínska Kobyla
Devínska Kobyla (; hu, Dévényi-tető; german: Thebener Kogel) is the highest peak in the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, and the highest point of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located between the ...
, Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
, Slovakia
Image:Puszta Seewinkel.JPG, The Pannonian steppe in Seewinkel, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
File:Thebner Kogel sl14.jpg, The Pannonian steppe in Devínska Kobyla
Devínska Kobyla (; hu, Dévényi-tető; german: Thebener Kogel) is the highest peak in the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, and the highest point of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located between the ...
, Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
, Slovakia
File:Pferde halten das Gras kurz für die Störche.jpg, Danube-Auen National Park
Donau-Auen National Park (german: Nationalpark Donau-Auen) covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe.
The German word ''Aue'' (variant ''Au'') means ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
Pontic–Caspian steppe (Western Steppe)
The
Pontic–Caspian steppe begins near the mouth of the
Danube and extends northeast almost to
Kazan and then southeast to the southern tip of the
Ural Mountains. Its northern edge was a broad band of
forest steppe which has now been obliterated by the conversion of the whole area to agricultural land. In the southeast the Black Sea–Caspian Steppe extends between the
Black Sea and
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asi ...
to the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
. In the west, the
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
is an island of steppe separated from the main steppe by the mountains of
Transylvania. On the north shore of the Black Sea, the
Crimean Peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
has some interior steppe and ports on the south coast which link the steppe to the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin.
File:Філія ЛПЗ НАНУ "Стрільцівський степ" Stipa tirsa (ЧКУ).jpg, The Pontic–Caspian steppe near Krynychne, Ukraine.
File:Обитатели Азово-Сивашского заповедника на Бирючем острове.jpg, The Pontic–Caspian steppe in Henichesk
Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centr ...
, Ukraine.
File:MD.GE.Bugeac - sector de stepă în nordul Bugeacului (I) - apr 2018.jpg, Steppes in Gagauzia, Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
.
File:MD.GE.Dezghingea - sector de stepă în nordul Bugeacului (II) - apr 2018.jpg, Steppes in Gagauzia, Dezghingea, Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
.
Ural–Caspian Narrowing
The
Ural Mountains extend south to a point about 650 km (400 mi) northeast of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asi ...
.
File:Уральские горы - panoramio (1).jpg, Wooded Ural Mountains of Beloretsky District
Beloretsky District (russian: Белоре́цкий район; ba, Белорет районы) is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Article 64 and municipalLaw #126-z district (raion), one of the fifty-four ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:The Valley of the Belaya River.jpg, The Bashkiriya National Park is situated in the southern end of the Ural Mountains, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:Bashkiria's mountains.jpg, The Bashkiriya National Park, Ural Mountains, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:Гуси на Нугушском водохранилище.jpg, The Bashkiriya National Park, Ural Mountains, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
Kazakh Steppe (Central Steppe)
The
Kazakh Steppe extends from the
Urals to
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the Al ...
. To the south, it grades off into semi-desert and desert which is interrupted by two great rivers, the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central As ...
(Oxus) and
Syr Darya (Jaxartes), which flow northwest into the
Aral Sea and provide irrigation for agriculture. In the southeast is the densely populated
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
and west of it the great oasis cities of
Tashkent,
Samarkand and
Bukhara along the
Zeravshan River. The southern area has a complex history (see
Central Asia and
Greater Iran
Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Iranian culture and Iranian languages have had a si ...
), while in the north, the Kazakh Steppe proper was relatively isolated from the main currents of
written history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
.
File:Astana-steppe-7748.jpg, The steppe in Akmola Region
Akmola Region ( kz, Ақмола облысы, translit=Aqmola oblysy; russian: Акмолинская область, Akmolinskaya oblast) is a centrally located region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kokshetau. The national capital, Astana, is en ...
, Kazakhstan.
File:Step.JPG, The steppes in Akmola Province, Kazakhstan.
File:Вторичная ковылковая степь на залежи на террасе Аягоза вблизи Аягоза в Восточно-Казахстанской области.JPG, The Kazakh Steppe in the Ayagoz District
Ayagoz ( kk, Аякөз ауданы, ; اياكٶز اۋدانى) is a district of Abai Region in eastern Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and part ...
, Kazakhstan.
File:Steppe of western Kazakhstan in the early spring.jpg, The Kazakh Steppe in the early spring.
Dzungarian Narrowing
On the east side of the former
Sino-Soviet border, mountains extend north almost to the forest zone with only limited grassland in
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the Al ...
.
The east-west
Tian Shan Mountains
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
divide the steppe into Dzungaria in the north and the Tarim Basin to the south. ''
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the Al ...
'' is bounded by the
Tarbagatai Mountains
The Tarbagatai Mountains ( mn, , , translit. ''Tarvagatai nuruu'', literally: "range with marmots"; ; kk, Тарбағатай жотасы, ''Tarbağatai jotasy'') are a range of mountains located in the north-western parts of Xinjiang, China, ...
on the west and the
Mongolian Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the ...
on the east, neither of which is a significant barrier. Dzungaria has good grassland around the edges and a central desert. It often behaved as a westward extension of Mongolia and connected Mongolia to the Kazakh Steppe. To the north of Dzungaria are mountains and the Siberian forest. To the south and west of Dzungaria, and separated from it by the
Tian Shan mountains, is an area about twice the size of Dzungaria, the oval
Tarim Basin. The Tarim Basin is too dry to support even a nomadic population, but around its edges rivers flow down from the mountains giving rise to a ring of cities which lived by irrigation agriculture and east-west trade. The Tarim Basin formed an island of near civilization in the center of the steppe. The
Northern Silk Road went along the north and south sides of the Tarim Basin and then crossed the mountains west to the
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
. At the west end of the basin the
Pamir Mountains connect the Tian Shan Mountains to the
Himalayas. To the south, the
Kunlun Mountains separate the Tarim Basin from the thinly peopled
Tibetan Plateau.
File:Тувинские просторы.jpg, Uvs Lake Basin
Uvs Lake Basin (also Uvs Nuur Basin or Ubs Nuur Basin; mn, Увс нуурын хотгор, Uws nuuriin hotgor) is an endorheic basin located on the territorial border of Mongolia and Tuva, a republic of the Russian Federation. The basin is part ...
, Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:Летний день на озере Дус-Холь.jpg, Dus-Khol lake, Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:Dus-Khol lake outskirts.jpg, The grassland in Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
File:Dus-Khol lake 3.jpg, Dus-Khol Lake, Tandinsky District, Tuva Republic
Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
, Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
.
Mongolian-Manchurian steppe (Eastern Steppe)
The Mongol Steppe includes both
Mongolia and the Chinese province of
Inner Mongolia. The two are separated by a relatively dry area marked by the
Gobi Desert. South of the Mongol Steppe is the high and thinly peopled
Tibetan Plateau. The northern edge of the plateau is the
Gansu or
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
, a belt of moderately dense population that connects
China proper
China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...
with the
Tarim Basin. The
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and rela ...
was the main route of the
Silk Road. In the southeast the Silk Road led over some hills to the east-flowing
Wei River valley which led to the
North China Plain
The North China Plain or Huang-Huai-Hai Plain () is a large-scale downfaulted rift basin formed in the late Paleogene and Neogene and then modified by the deposits of the Yellow River. It is the largest alluvial plain of China. The plain is border ...
.
South of the Khingan Mountains and north of the
Taihang Mountains
The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...
, the
Mongolian-Manchurian steppe extends east into Manchuria as the Liao Xi steppe. In Manchuria, the steppe grades off into forest and mountains without reaching the Pacific. The central area of forest-steppe was inhabited by pastoral and agricultural peoples, while to the north and east was a thin population of hunting tribes of the Siberian type.
File:Участок Адон-Челон.JPG, The Daurian forest steppe
File:Khövsgöl Aimag17.JPG, The Mongolian-Manchurian grassland in the Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
File:Khövsgöl Aimag12.JPG, Grass steppe in the Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
File:Сопки на севере озера Зун-Торей.jpg, Daursky Nature Reserve
The Daurian Nature Reserve (Даурский заповедник ''Daurskiy zapavyednik'') is a Russian ' zapovednik' (strict nature reserve) situated in the southern part of the Zabaykalsky Krai in Siberia, Russia, close to the border with Mongo ...
in the southern part of the Zabaykalsky Krai in Siberia, Russia, close to the border with Mongolia.
File:Grasslands-menggu.JPG, The Mongolian-Manchurian grassland in Inner Mongolia, China.
Fauna
Big mammals of the Eurasian steppe were the
Przewalski's horse
Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of ...
, the
saiga antelope, the
Mongolian gazelle
The Mongolian gazelle (''Procapra gutturosa''), or dzeren (russian: Дзерэн), is a medium-sized antelope native to the semiarid Central Asian steppes of Mongolia, as well as some parts of Siberia and China. The name ''dzeren'' is Russian ...
, the
goitered gazelle, the
wild Bactrian camel
The wild Bactrian camel (''Camelus ferus'') is a critically endangered species of camel living in parts of northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia. It is closely related to the Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''). Both are large, doubl ...
and the
onager. The
gray wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
and the
corsac fox
The corsac fox (''Vulpes corsac''), also known simply as a corsac, is a medium-sized fox found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004, it has been classified as ''least c ...
and occasionally the
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kn ...
are predators roaming the steppe. Smaller mammal species are the
Mongolian gerbil
The Mongolian gerbil or Mongolian jird (''Meriones unguiculatus'') is a small rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically , with a tail, and body weight , with adult males larger than females. The animal is use ...
, the
little souslik and the
bobak marmot
The bobak marmot (''Marmota bobak''), also known as the steppe marmot, is a species of marmot that inhabits the steppes of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It is a social animal and inhabits steppe grassland, including cultivated field borders. ...
.
Furthermore, the Eurasian steppe is home to a great variety of bird species. Threatened bird species living there are for example the
imperial eagle, the
lesser kestrel
The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to Indi ...
, the
great bustard
The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European p ...
, the
pale-back pigeon and the
white-throated bushchat.
File:Przewalski mongolie.jpg, Przewalski horse
Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of Ce ...
File:Yawning corsac fox.jpg, Corsac fox
The corsac fox (''Vulpes corsac''), also known simply as a corsac, is a medium-sized fox found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004, it has been classified as ''least c ...
File:Saiga tartarica.jpg, Saiga antelope
File:Asiatic Wild ass.jpg, Onager
The primary domesticated animals raised were sheep and goats with fewer cattle than one might expect.
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
s were used in the drier areas for transport as far west as
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the C ...
. There were some
yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin Sta ...
s along the edge of
Tibet. The horse was used for transportation and warfare.
The horse was first domesticated on the Pontic–Caspian or Kazakh steppe sometime before 3000 BC, but it took a long time for
mounted archery to develop and the process is not fully understood. The
stirrup does not seem to have been completely developed until 300 AD (see
Stirrup,
Saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...
,
Composite bow
A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stre ...
,
Domestication of the horse
A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat.
How and when hor ...
and related articles).
Ecoregions
The
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
divides the Eurasian steppe's temperate
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natu ...
s,
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s and
shrublands into a number of
ecoregions, distinguished by elevation, climate, rainfall, and other characteristics and home to distinct animal and
plant communities
A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...
and species and distinct
habitat ecosystems.
*
Alai–Western Tian Shan steppe (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan)
*
Altai steppe and semi-desert
The Altai steppe and semi-desert ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0802), as its name indicates, sits in a transition zine between steppe and semi-desert, supporting sparse grass and shrublands. The area is relatively undeveloped, with agriculture mostly rep ...
(Kazakhstan)
*
Baraba steppe
The Baraba steppe or Baraba Lowland (), is a plain in western Siberia.
The Baraba Lowland is an important Russian agricultural region.
Geography
It stretches for across the Omsk and Novosibirsk oblasts between the Irtysh and the Ob Rivers.
G ...
(Russia)
*
Daurian forest steppe (China, Mongolia, Russia)
*
Emin Valley steppe
The Emin Valley () is located on the China–Kazakhstan border, in Central Asia. It has an area of about . Its main waterway is the Emil River.
Administratively, the Emin Valley occupies areas of Tacheng Prefecture in the Xinjiang Region of n ...
(China, Kazakhstan)
*
Kazakh forest steppe (Kazakhstan, Russia)
*
Kazakh Steppe (Kazakhstan, Russia)
*
Kazakh Uplands
The Kazakh Uplands ( kk, Сарыарқа, ''Saryarqa'' - "Yellow Ridge", russian: Казахский мелкосопочник, Kazakhskiy Melkosopochnik), also known as the Kazakh Hummocks, is a large peneplain formation extending throughout th ...
(Kazakhstan)
*
Mongolian-Manchurian grassland (China, Mongolia, Russia)
*
Pontic–Caspian steppe (Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine)
*
Sayan Intermontane steppe (Russia)
*
Selenge–Orkhon forest steppe (Mongolia, Russia)
*
South Siberian forest steppe
The South Siberian forest steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0817) is a patchwork of grasslands and forests in the low-lying areas of south central Siberia. The region is one of high biodiversity as a transition zone between the West Siberian taiga to ...
(Russia)
*
Tian Shan foothill arid steppe
The Tian Shan foothill arid steppe ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0818) covers the northern and western approaches to the Tian Shan mountains, centered on Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. This region receives more moisture from Central Asia, thereby support ...
(China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)
*
Pannonian Steppe (Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia)
Human activities
Trade habits
The major centers of population and high culture in Eurasia are Europe, the Middle East, India and China. For some purposes it is useful to treat
Greater Iran
Greater Iran ( fa, ایران بزرگ, translit=Irān-e Bozorg) refers to a region covering parts of Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Xinjiang, and the Caucasus, where both Iranian culture and Iranian languages have had a si ...
as a separate region. All these regions are connected by the Eurasian
Steppe route which was an active predecessor of the
Silk Road. The latter started in the
Guanzhong region of China and ran west along the Hexi Corridor to the Tarim Basin. From there it went southwest to Greater Iran and turned southeast to India or west to the Middle East and Europe. A minor branch went northwest along the great rivers and north of the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. When faced with a rich caravan the
steppe nomads
The Eurasian nomads were a large group of nomadic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe, who often appear in history as invaders of Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and South Asia.
A nomad is a member of people having no permanent a ...
could either rob it, or tax it, or hire themselves out as guards. Economically these three forms of taxation or parasitism amounted to the same thing. Trade was usually most vigorous when a strong empire controlled the steppe and reduced the number of petty chieftains preying on trade. The silk road first became significant and Chinese silk began reaching the Roman Empire about the time that the
Emperor of Han pushed Chinese power west to the Tarim Basin.
Agriculture
The nomads would occasionally tolerate colonies of peasants on the steppe in the few areas where farming was possible. These were often captives who grew grain for their nomadic masters. Along the fringes there were areas that could be used for either plowland or grassland. These alternated between one and the other depending on the relative strength of the nomadic and agrarian heartlands. Over the last few hundred years, the Russian steppe and much of Inner Mongolia has been cultivated. The fact that most of the Russian steppe is not irrigated implies that it was maintained as grasslands as a result of the military strength of the nomads.
Language
According to the most widely held hypothesis of the origin of the
Indo-European languages, the
Kurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis (also known as the Kurgan theory, Kurgan model, or steppe theory) is the most widely accepted proposal to identify the Proto-Indo-European homeland from which the Indo-European languages spread out throughout Europe and par ...
, their common ancestor is thought to have originated on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The
Tocharians were an early Indo-European branch in the
Tarim Basin. At the beginning of written history the entire steppe population west of Dzungaria spoke
Iranian languages. From about 500 AD the
Turkic languages replaced the
Iranian languages first on the steppe, and later in the oases north of
Iran. Additionally,
Hungarian speakers, a branch of the
Uralic
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian lan ...
language family, who previously lived in the steppe in what is now Southern Russia, settled in the
Carpathian basin
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...
in year 895.
Mongolic languages are in Mongolia. In Manchuria one finds
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages (also known as Manchu-Tungus and Tungus) form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered. There are approximately 75,000 native speakers of the do ...
and some others.
Religion
Tengrism
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. T ...
was introduced by
Turko-Mongol
The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually ...
nomads.
Nestorianism and
Manichaeism spread to the Tarim Basin and into China, but they never became established majority religions.
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
spread from the north of India to the Tarim Basin and found a new home in China. By about 1400 AD, the entire steppe west of
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang". Bounded by the Al ...
had adopted
Islam. By about 1600 AD,
Islam was established in the Tarim Basin while Dzungaria and Mongolia had adopted
Tibetan Buddhism.
History
Warfare
Raids between tribes were prevalent throughout the region's history. This relates to the ease with which a defeated enemy's flocks and herds can be driven away, making raiding profitable. In terms of warfare and raiding, in relation to sedentary societies, the horse gave the nomads an advantage of mobility. Horsemen could raid a village and retreat with their loot before an
infantry-based army could be mustered and deployed. When confronted with superior infantry, horsemen could simply ride away, retreat and regroup. Outside of Europe and parts of the Middle East, agrarian societies had difficulty raising a sufficient supply of
war horses and often had to enlist cavalry from their nomadic enemies (as
mercenaries). Nomads could not easily be pursued onto the steppe since the steppe could not easily support a land army. If the Chinese sent an army into Mongolia, the
nomads
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the pop ...
would flee and come back when the Chinese ran out of supplies. But the steppe nomads were relatively few and their rulers had difficulty holding together enough clans and tribes to field a large army. If steppe nomads conquered an agricultural area they often lacked the skills to administer it. If they tried to hold agrarian land they gradually absorbed the civilization of their subjects, lost their nomadic skills and were either assimilated or driven out.
Relations with neighbors
Along the northern fringe of the Eurasian steppe, nomads would collect tribute from and blend with the forest tribes (see
Khanate of Sibir,
Buryats
The Buryats ( bua, Буряад, Buryaad; mn, Буриад, Buriad) are a Mongolic peoples, Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the oth ...
). Russia paid
tribute (compare ''
yasak
''Yasak'' or ''yasaq'', sometimes ''iasak'', (russian: ясак; akin to Yassa) is a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
Origin
The origins of yasak ...
'') to the
Golden Horde
from about 1240 to 1480.
South of the Kazakh steppe the nomads blended with the sedentary population, partly because the Middle East has significant areas of steppe (taken by force in past invasions) and pastoralism. There was a sharp cultural divide between Mongolia and China and almost constant warfare from the dawn of history until the
Qing conquest of Dzungaria in 1757. The nomads collected large amounts of tribute from the Chinese and several Chinese dynasties were of steppe origin. Perhaps because of the mixture of agriculture and pastoralism in Manchuria its inhabitants, the
Manchu, knew how to deal with both nomads and the settled populations and therefore were able to conquer much of northern China when both Chinese and Mongols were weak.
Legacy of the Eurasian steppe's nomads
Russian culture and people were much influenced by the Asian nomads in the Russian steppe and the adjoining steppes and deserts. The steppe culture of Russia was shaped in Russia through cross-cultural contact mostly by Slavic, Tatar-Turkic, Mongolian and Iranian people.
Rus' rulers would ally themselves by marriage with fellow-steppe peoples.
In addition to ethnicity, also instruments such as the
domra
The ''domra'' (Cyrillic: до́мра, ) is a long-necked Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian folk string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings.
History
The first known mention of domra is in ''Admon ...
, traditional costumes such as the
kaftan and the
sarafan, Ukrainian
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
and
tea culture
Tea culture is defined by the way tea is made and consumed, by the way the people interact with tea, and by the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking.
Tea plays an important role in some countries. It is commonly consumed at social events, and ...
were strongly influenced by the culture of Asian nomadic peoples. The Eurasian steppes play a major role in Eastern Europe history and the steppes are a subject of many Slavic as well as Russian
folk-songs.
Historical peoples and nations
*
Thracians 15th-3rd centuries BC
*
Chorasmia
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
13th–3rd centuries BC
*
Cimmerians
The Cimmerians ( Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into Wes ...
12th–7th centuries BC
*
Magyars 11th century BC – 8th century AD
*
Scythians 8th–4th centuries BC
*
Sogdiana
Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Emp ...
8th–4th centuries BC
*
Issedones 7th–1st century BC
*
Massagetae 7th–1st century BC
*
Thyssagetae
The Thyssagetae ( grc, Θυσσαγέται) were an ancient tribe described by Herodotus as occupying a district to the north-east of Scythia, separated from the Budini by a "desert" that took seven days to cross.Herodotus. ''Histories'', 4.22.1: ...
7th–3rd century BC
*
Donghu 7th – 2nd century BC
*
Dahae
The Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: , , , ; Latin: ; Chinese: ; Persian: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Central Asia.
Identi ...
7th BC-5th century AD
*
Saka
The Saka (Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae ( Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
6th–1st centuries BC
*
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
5th century BC – 5th century AD
*
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
7th century BC–7th century AD
*
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
4th century BC – 14th century AD
*
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209& ...
3rd century BC – 2nd century AD
*
Iazyges 3rd century BC – 5th century AD
*
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi (;) were an ancient people first described in Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defeat at ...
2nd century BC – 1st century AD
*
Tauri
*
Wusun 1st century BC – 6th century AD
*
Xianbei 1st–3rd centuries
*
Goths 3rd–6th centuries
*
Vandals 2nd–5th centuries
*
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
3rd–5th centuries
*
Franks 3rd–8th centuries
*
Huns 4th–8th centuries
*
Ostrogoths 4th–8th centuries
*
Early Slavs 5th-10th centuries
*
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
5th–11th centuries
*
Avars 5th–9th centuries
*
Hepthalite
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
s 5th–7th centuries
*
Eurasian Avars Eurasian Avars may refer to:
* Avars (Caucasus), a people from the North East Caucasus
** Avar Khanate, Caucasus
* Pannonian Avars, a nomadic people who lived on the Eurasian Steppes, before settling in Central Europe
** Avar Khaganate, Central Eur ...
6th–8th centuries
*
Göktürks 6th–8th centuries
*
Sabirs
The Sabirs (Savirs, Suars, Sawar, Sawirk among others; el, Σάβιροι) were nomadic people who lived in the north of the Caucasus beginning in the late-5th -7th century, on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in the Kuban area, and possibly ...
6th–8th centuries
*
Khazars 7th–11th centuries
*
Onogurs 8th century
*
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...
8th–11th centuries
*
Bashkirs 10th century-present day
*
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Sec ...
and
Cumans 11th–13th centuries
*
Crimean Goths
The Crimean Goths were Greuthungi- Gothic tribes who remained in the lands around the Black Sea, especially in Crimea. They were the longest-lasting of the Gothic communities. Their existence is well attested through the ages, though the exact p ...
*
Mongol Empire 13th–14th centuries
*
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kh ...
13th–15th centuries
*
Golden Horde 13th–15th centuries
*
Kazakh Khanate 15th–19th centuries
*
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
,
Kalmyks
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, ...
,
Crimean Khanate,
Volga Tatars,
Nogais and other
Turkic states and tribes 15th–18th centuries
*
Russian Empire 18th–20th centuries
*
Soviet Union 20th century
*
Gagauzia,
Kazakhstan,
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
,
Ukraine,
Xinjiang 20th–21st centuries
See also
*
Eurasian nomads
The Eurasian nomads were a large group of nomadic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe, who often appear in history as invaders of Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and South Asia.
A nomad is a member of people having no permanent ...
*
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain (also known as Alföld or Great Alföld, hu, Alföld or ) is a plain occupying the majority of the modern territory of Hungary. It is the largest part of the wider Pannonian Plain. (However, the Great Hungarian plain ...
*
Izyum Trail
Izyum Trail or Izyum Warpath ( uk, Ізюмський шлях, Russian: Изюмский шлях) is a historic route used by the Crimean Nogays in the 16th and 17th centuries to penetrate into Sloboda Ukraine and then invade Muscovite Russia ...
*
Little Hungarian Plain
The Little Hungarian Plain or Little Alföld ( Hungarian: ''Kisalföld'', Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'', German: ''Kleine Ungarische Tiefebene'') is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km² in northwestern Hungary, south ...
*
Steppe Route
References
Bibliography
* John of Plano Carpini, "History of the Mongols," in Christopher Dawson, (ed.), Mission to Asia, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005, pp. 3–76.
* Barthold, W., Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion, T. Minorsky, (tr.), New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1992.
* Christian, David, A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia, Volume 1: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire’, Malden MA, Oxford, UK, Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishing 1998.
* Fletcher, Joseph F., Studies on Chinese and Islamic Inner Asia, Beatrice Forbes Manz, (ed.), Aldershot, Hampshire: Variorum, 1995, IX.
*
Grousset, René, The Empire of the Steppes: a History of Central Asia, Naomi Walford, (tr.), New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press
Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University.
History
Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in New B ...
, 1970.
* Krader, Lawrence, "Ecology of Central Asian Pastoralism," Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 11, No. 4, (1955), pp. 301–326.
*
Lattimore, Owen, "The Geographical Factor in Mongol History," in Owen Lattimore, (ed.), Studies in Frontier History: Collected Papers 1928–1958, London: Oxford University Press, 1962, pp. 241–258.
*
Sinor, Denis, "The Inner Asian Warrior," in Denis Sinor, (Collected Studies Series), Studies in Medieval Inner Asia, Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate, Variorum, 1997, XIII.
* Sinor, Denis, "Horse and Pasture in Inner Asian History," in Denis Sinor, (Collected Studies Series), Inner Asia and its Contacts with Medieval Europe, London: Variorum, 1977, II.
External links
The importance of the Eurasian steppe to the study of international relationsin ''Journal of International Relations and Development''
{{coord missing, Russia
Grasslands of Asia
Grasslands of Europe
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Ecoregions of Asia
Ecoregions of Europe
Geography of Central Asia
Geography of East Asia
Geography of Siberia
Geography of Eastern Europe
Grasslands of Russia
History of Pakistan
Social history of India
Central Asia
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