![Eurasian steppe belt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Eurasian_steppe_belt.jpg)
This article summarizes the History of the western steppe, which is the western third of the
Eurasian steppe
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 biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistri ...
, that is, the grasslands of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
southern Russia
Southern Russia or the South of Russia (russian: Юг России, ''Yug Rossii'') is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal ...
. It is intended as a summary and an index to the more-detailed linked articles. It is a companion to
History of the central steppe
This is a short History of the central steppe, an area roughly equivalent to modern Kazakhstan. Because the history is complex it is mainly an outline and index to the more detailed articles given in the links. It is a companion to History of ...
and
History of the eastern steppe
This article summarizes the History of the eastern steppe, the eastern third of the Eurasian Steppe, that is, the grasslands of Mongolia and northern China. It is a companion to History of the central steppe and History of the western steppe. Mos ...
. All dates are approximate since there are few exact starting and ending dates. This summary article does not list the uncertainties, which are many. For these, see the linked articles.
Geography
The area is approximately triangular. The line between forest and steppe began near the mouth of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
on the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
and ran northeast toward
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
and then turned south along the western side of the
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
. This was not a sharp line but rather a broad band of often deciduous
forest-steppe
A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest.
Locations
Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...
. Its nature and location is hard to establish since most of it has now been cleared for agriculture. The southern boundary runs northeast and then east-southeast along the shore of the Black Sea, continues in the same direction along the north side of 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 ...
, meets 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 Asia ...
and follows its western shore north. Between the north end of the Caspian to the Urals is open grassland that connects the area to the central steppe. The
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...
projects northeast, turning the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe into a kind of peninsula. The western part is sometimes called the
Kuban
Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...
region from the
Kuban River
The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucas ...
that drains the Caucasus northwest. 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 ...
extends into the Black Sea and was a link from the steppe to the Byzantine and Turkish empires. In the far west, the
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 grassland separated from the main steppe by the mountains of Transylvania. Most of the area is suitable for agriculture except for the semi-desert west and north of the Caspian. North-south trade routes were along the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
and
Dnieper River
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
. Between them the
Don River
The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire.
Its ...
was a minor route.
General observations
For unknown reasons, almost all movements on the steppe have been from east to west. For unknown reasons, from about 500 AD the original Iranian languages were replaced by Turkic languages. Unlike the central and eastern steppe, the western steppe has now been converted to agriculture. Steppe history must be reconstructed from scattered reports from neighboring literate societies, with some help from archeology. The numerous peoples mentioned were usually some clan or tribe that gained control over its neighbors and became politically significant. A few may have been ethnically homogenous and a few movements may have been genuine folk migrations. In most cases we do not know. Boundaries fluctuated and are not well-documented.
Before recorded history
According to
the most common theory the Indo-European languages originated on the western steppe. Before perhaps 1000 BC Iranian languages were established all over the western and central steppe. The origin of steppe
pastoral nomadism
Nomadic pastoralism is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance, where seasonal pastures are fix ...
is poorly understood.
Horse-borne raiding is first reported with the Cimerians about 700 BC. Archeologists have identified a
Tripolye culture
Trypillia ( ua , Трипiлля) is a selo in Obukhiv Raion (district) of Kyiv Oblast in central Ukraine, with 2,800 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2005). It belongs to Ukrainka urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Trypillia lies abou ...
(c. 4000 BC) at the western edge of the steppe, a
Sredny Stog culture
The Sredny Stog culture (, romanized: ''Serednʹostohivsʹka kulʹtura'') is a pre-Kurgan archaeological culture from the 5th millennium BC. It is named after the Russian term for the Dnieper river islet of today's Seredny Stih, Ukraine, where i ...
at about the same time on the Dnieper, a
Yamna culture
The Yamnaya culture or the Yamna culture (russian: Ямная культура, ua, Ямна культура lit. 'culture of pits'), also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, was a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archa ...
(c. 3000 BC, Indo-European?), a
Srubna culture
The Srubnaya culture (russian: Срубная культура, Srubnaya kul'tura, ua, Зрубна культура, Zrubna kul'tura), also known as Timber-grave culture, was a Late Bronze Age 1850–1450 BC cultureParpola, Asko, (2012)"Format ...
(c. 1500 BC) linked eastward to the possibly Indo-Iranian
Andronovo culture
The Andronovo culture (russian: Андроновская культура, translit=Andronovskaya kul'tura) is a collection of similar local Late Bronze Age cultures that flourished 2000–1450 BC,Grigoriev, Stanislav, (2021)"Andronovo ...
, and others.
Iranian period (c. 700 BC-450 AD)
![Hunnenwanderung](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Hunnenwanderung.png)
*Scythians broadly (c. 700 BC - ???): The Greeks called most of the people north of the Black Sea "
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...
". The Persians called the people of the central steppe
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 ...
s, the two words meaning about the same thing. Both spoke
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are grouped ...
.
*Greeks (c. 650 BC-370 AD): From the seventh century BC the Greeks founded colonies around the Black Sea. They exported grain and slaves to Byzantium and beyond – a pattern that continued in various forms until the eighteenth century AD. Many became organized as the
Bosporian Kingdom
The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...
which was later a Roman client.
*The
Maeotians
The Maeotians (; grc, Μαιῶται, translit=Maiōtai; la, Maeōtae) were an ancient people dwelling along the Sea of Azov, which was known in antiquity as the "Maeotian marshes" or "Lake Maeotis".James, Edward Boucher"Maeotae" and "Maeotis ...
lived around the Sea of Azov and practiced some agriculture. It is not clear whether the term is ethnic, political or merely geographic.
*Cimerians (c. 700BC): According to Herotodus, writing 250 years later, the
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...
drove the
Cimerians across the Caucasus where they lived by raiding. The Scythians pursued and defeated them and ruled south of the Caucasus for 28 years before returning north. Assyrian texts report ''Gimirri'' (c. 714 BC) and ''Ishkuzai'' (Scythians? c. 679 BC) fighting to their north.
*The
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...
proper (c. 650-300 BC) may have started in the Kuban region around 650 BC and moved northwest about 550. About 513
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
invaded Scythia, could not catch the Scythians and withdrew. The "
Royal Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
" ruled the "nomad Scythians" and groups of "farmer Scythians" who probably sold grain to the Greek cities. After their defeat remnant Scythians had a
kingdom in the Crimea (c. 170 BC-62 AD).
*Sarmatians (c. 300 BC-375 AD): The
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
took over from the Scythians and ruled the steppe until they were defeated by the Huns. They originally lived east of the Scythians, separated by the Don. Their language was close to Scythian. They used
heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...
as opposed to the Scythian's light cavalry and seem to have had female warriors which gave rise to Greek stories of the
Amazons
In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
.
**The Sarmatians had a number of subdivisions with distinct histories, the most important being the
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 ...
. Many were involved in the break-up of the Roman Empire. Sauromatae was either an older name for the Sarmatians or an earlier phase of that people. The
Iazyges
The Iazyges (), singular Ἰάζυξ. were an ancient Sarmatian tribe that traveled westward in BC from Central Asia to the steppes of modern Ukraine. In BC, they moved into modern-day Hungary and Serbia near the Dacian steppe between th ...
were the westernmost Sarmatians. They moved west and ended up in Hungary. The
Roxolani
The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( grc, Ροξολανοι , ; la, Rhoxolānī) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), a ...
started between the Don and Dnieper, followed the Iazyges west and fought the Romans. The
Siraces
The Siraces ( gr, Sirakoi, lat, Siraci, also ''Siraceni'' and ''Seraci'' ) were a hellenized Sarmatian tribe that inhabited Sarmatia Asiatica; the coast of Achardeus at the Black Sea north of the Caucasus Mountains, Siracena is mentioned by Taci ...
lived east of the Sea of Azov and interacted with the Greek colonies. The
Aorsi
The Aorsi, known in Greek sources as the Aorsoi (Ἄορσοι), were an ancient Iranian people of the Sarmatian group, who played a major role in the events of the Pontic Steppe from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD.
They are often rega ...
lived along the Don between Rostov and Stalingrad and were fairly powerful. The
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 ...
seem to have originated on the Syr Darya River where they were
noticed by the Chinese. They moved west, absorbed the Aorsi, continued west, joined the Germanic tribes attacking the Roman Empire and ended up in France, Spain and North Africa. Remnant Alans sought refuge in the Caucasus and became the modern
Ossetians
The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the no ...
. The
Saii lived around the Dnieper bend and were not very important. The ill-documented Royal Sarmatians lived north of the Saii.
*Goths (c. 250-375 AD): The
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
crossed what is now Poland and occupied the western half of the western Steppe. After their defeat
a few Goths continued to live in Crimea.
*Huns (c. 350-454 AD): The non-European
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
arose somewhere in central Asia, crossed the Volga and Don, absorbed the Alans, drove the Goths into the Roman Empire, raided the Roman Empire and broke up. Fragments of their confederation reappeared under other names.
*c. 450-550: The next hundred years does not appear to be well-documented.
Turkic period (c. 450-1775)
*Early Turks (c. 450-550): The change from Iranian to Turkic languages does not appear to have changed daily life. After the Turks arrived there are few reports of
Iranian remnants, which is hard to explain. The
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
probably originated in the forest-steppe along the northern edge of Mongolia. Many of the early peoples mentioned in the
history of the eastern steppe
This article summarizes the History of the eastern steppe, the eastern third of the Eurasian Steppe, that is, the grasslands of Mongolia and northern China. It is a companion to History of the central steppe and History of the western steppe. Mos ...
may have been partly Turkic or proto-Turkic. Turkic sub-families reached the west in this order: Oghur (most went north and disappeared), Oghuz (most went southwest to Turkmenistan and Turkey) and Kipchak (remained on the western and central steppe). In the first centuries AD Turkic-speaking groups seem to have crossed the central steppe along with the Huns and others. The possibly Turkic
Akatziri
The Akatziri or Akatzirs ( gr, Άκατίροι, Άκατζίροι, ''Akatiroi'', ''Akatziroi''; la, Acatziri) were a tribe that lived north of the Black Sea, though the Crimean city of Cherson seemed to be under their control in the sixth centu ...
(c. 447 AD) fought with the Huns. The
Saraguri, who attacked the Akatziri, and
Onogurs
The Onoğurs or Oğurs (Ὀνόγουροι, Οὔρωγοι, Οὔγωροι; Onογurs, Ογurs; "ten tribes", "tribes"), were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between 5th and 7th cen ...
(both c. 463) were driven west by the Sabirs. The kindred
Kutrigurs
Kutrigurs were Turkic Eurasian nomads, nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byza ...
(west) and
Utigurs
Utigurs were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. They possibly were closely related to the Kutrigurs and Bulgars.
Etymology
The name ''Ut(r)igur'', recorded as , and , is generally con ...
(east) (both c. 551) were probably Turkic. All of these peoples may have been part of the Hunnic confederation and were absorbed by the Bulgars and Khazars.
*Sabirs (c. 463-582): The Turkic
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 ...
were driven west by another group, drove the early Turks westward and occupied the Black-Sea-Caspian region. They fought for and against the Greeks and Persians and were absorbed by the Bulgars and Khazars.
![Khazarfall1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Khazarfall1.png)
*Avars (c. 557-796): The
Pannonian Avars
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
may have been partly related the
Rouran
The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizati ...
who were driven out of Mongolia by the Gokturks in 555. They crossed the western steppe, absorbing the early Turks, Sabirs and Alans, and founded the
Avar Khaganate
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
(c. 568-796) in Hungary which was conquered by Charlemagne. Based in Hungary, they seem to have lost control of the steppe, the area being taken by the
Western Turkic Kaganate
The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate ( otk, 𐰆𐰣:𐰸:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, On oq budun, Ten arrow people) was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after t ...
which was based in the central steppe.
*Bulgars (c. 632-668): The Oghur Turkic
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 ...
founded
Old Great Bulgaria
Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Medieval Greek: Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία, ''Palaiá Megálē Voulgaría''), also often known by the Latin names ''Magna Bulgaria'' and ''Patria Onoguria'' (" Onogur land"), was a 7th- ...
north of the Sea of Azov which was conquered by the Khazars from the east in 668. In 679 some Bulgars went to the Balkans, adopted the local Slavic language and gave their name to Bulgaria. Another group went up the Volga to near Kazan and founded
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...
which adopted Islam in 922 and lasted until the Mongol conquest. The
Chuvash people
The Chuvash people ( , ; cv, чӑваш ; russian: чуваши ) are a Turkic ethnic group, a branch of Oghurs, native to an area stretching from the Volga-Ural region to Siberia. Most of them live in Chuvashia and the surrounding areas, a ...
may be a remnant of the Volga Bulgars.
*Hungarians (c. 800-900): The
linguistic ancestors of the Uralic-speaking Hungarians or Magyars arose somewhere in the Urals. By c. 800 they had abandoned the forest and become steppe nomads partly subject to the Khazars. Around 900 they conquered Hungary and after 1000 became a Christian European kingdom.
*Khazars (c. 626-960): The Turkic
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
formed a state around and east of the Sea of Azov, adopted Judaism and were broken up by the Rus' and Pechenegs. Their state was large and fairly well-organized and was a useful ally of Byzantium. Their fall was linked with a shift of the Rus' trade from the Volga to the Pecheneg-controlled Dnieper.
*Alans again (c. 700-1239): A group of
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
remnants re-emerged north of the Caucasus (
Alania
Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (proto-Ossetians) that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania, from its independence from th ...
). After their destruction by the Mongols some sought refuge in the mountains and became the
Ossets.
*Kievan Rus (c. 862-1240): Vikings subdued and organized the forest tribes north of the steppe, adopted the local Slavic language and founded the state of
Kievan Rus
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
. They opened trade routes to Persia and Byzantium, raided both countries, adopted Greek Christianity in 988 and were conquered by the Mongols.
*Pechenegs (c. 800-1091). The
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 ...
were Oghuz Turks who were driven west by other Oghuz, reached the Ural-Volga area, moved west of the Khazars, pushed the Magyars into Hungary, fought all their neighbors and were destroyed by the Cumans and Byzantines in 1091.
**
Chorni Klobuky
Chorni Klobuky or Chornye Klobuki, meaning "black hats" (from russian: Чёрные клобуки, Chërnyye klobuki and uk, Чорні клобуки, Chorni klobuky) was a generic name[Torkil
Torks (Cyrillic: торки, literally "Turkic peoples, Turks", also known as Torkils) were a Medieval Turkic peoples, Turkic tribe of Oghuz Turks, Oghuz and/or Kipchaks, Kipchak origins. The Torks, alongsides Kipchaks (e.g. Berendei), and other tr ...]
s were a sub-group.
**Oghuz in general: Oghuz was one of the main branches of the Turkic languages. It is not certain that they had anything in common other than their language family. The Oghuz Pechenegs entered the western steppe and broke up. The main body went southwest to Turkmenistan, became the Seljuks and Ottomans and established their language in Turkey.
*Cumans (c. 1000-1241): The
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
(called Polovtsi by the Russians) were the western branch of the Kipchak Turks who extended far into the central steppe. The Kipchaks were independent tribes with no state or even confederation. They appeared on the western steppe circa 1000, reached the Danube area around 1070 and ruled the steppe until they were conquered by the Mongols in 1241. Some remnants fled to Hungary and were Magyarized, but retained a
certain legal status until 1876. Their Kipchak language group remained the steppe language for about 800 years until it was replaced by Russian.
*Mongols (c. 1222-1260): About 1223 the Mongols made a devastating raid into the western steppe and Russia. In 1236–1240 they conquered both places.
*Golden Horde (c. 1260-1500): The
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
split into four parts, the western part becoming the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
. The rulers adopted the Kipchak language of their subjects and at some point became Muslims. From its language it was also known as the Kipchak Khanate.
*Baskkirs (c. 840-): The
Bashkirs
, native_name_lang = bak
, flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg
, flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress
, image =
, caption =
, population = approx. 2 million
, popplace ...
are Kipchak-speakers who live roughly between the Volga and Urals. Their presence is connected with the Volga trade route.
*Byzantines: The
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
interacted with the steppe peoples mainly when the steppe peoples invaded the Balkans, something that is too complex to be summarized here. They sometimes used the steppe peoples to attack the Persians. After they were replaced by the Ottomans in 1453 there were few invasions from the steppe.
*Nogais (c. 1500-1775): When the Golden Horde broke up the steppe peoples became the
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...
.
*Kalmyks (c. 1630-1771): The
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, w ...
were Buddhist Mongols. They crossed the central steppe from
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, 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" ...
and settled on the north shore of the Caspian. In 1771 the majority returned to Dzungaria, leaving a remnant west of the Caspian.
The plow conquers the steppe (c. 1500-1900)
![Rzeczpospolita2nar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Rzeczpospolita2nar.png)
Parts of the Golden Horde broke off as follows: 1438:
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
on the upper Volga, 1449:
Khanate of Crimea
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
on the Black Sea, 1466:
Astrakhan Khanate
The Khanate of Astrakhan, also referred to as the Xacitarxan Khanate, was a Tatar state that arose during the break-up of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, a ...
on the lower Volga.
Russia regained its independence around 1480. The Golden Horde was abolished and the steppe peoples became the
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...
. Those north of Crimea were nominally subject to the Crimean Khan who in turn was a vassal or ally of the Ottoman Empire.
By the Mongol period the forest and forest-steppe south of the
Oka River
The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...
was largely depopulated. The area was kept clear of peasants by
Nogai slave raids which extended as far northwest as
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
. The captives were sold through Crimea to the Ottoman Empire. From around 1525 Russia
began expanding south, filling the area with tax-paying peasants, until it annexed Crimea in 1783. In the same period peasant agriculture expanded east from the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. During the
Khmelnitsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising,; in Ukraine known as Khmelʹnychchyna or uk, повстання Богдана Хмельницького; lt, Chmelnickio sukilimas; Belarusian: Паўстанне Багдана Хмяльніцкага; russian: ...
(1648) Polish power on the steppe was broken.
When things settled down the steppe was partitioned between Russia and Poland along the Dnieper. The Polish steppe was
annexed by Russia in 1772–1795. Some areas in the southwest were taken from Turkey. In the nineteenth century the steppe between the Caspian and Black Sea was colonized. By 1900 steppe nomadism had almost completely disappeared in the western steppe, although it continued further east.
See also
*
History of the central steppe
This is a short History of the central steppe, an area roughly equivalent to modern Kazakhstan. Because the history is complex it is mainly an outline and index to the more detailed articles given in the links. It is a companion to History of ...
*
History of the eastern steppe
This article summarizes the History of the eastern steppe, the eastern third of the Eurasian Steppe, that is, the grasslands of Mongolia and northern China. It is a companion to History of the central steppe and History of the western steppe. Mos ...
*
Bibliography of Ukrainian history
This is a select bibliography of English-language books (including translations) and journal articles about the history of Ukraine. Book entries have references to journal reviews about them when helpful and available. Additional bibl ...
References
*Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes, 1970
*Denis Sinor (editor), The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, 1990
*Cristoph Baumer, The History of Central Asia, 2012--, 3 volumes
*Sources in the linked articles
{{Scythia
*
Ancient peoples of Russia
Scythia
Ancient history of Ukraine
History of the Turkic peoples