Empires of the Steppes : The Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilisation

An epic and enthralling narrative history of how Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan and the so-called 'barbarians of the steppes' shaped the modern world

The barbarian nomads of the Eurasian steppes have played a decisive role in world history, but their impact has gone largely unnoticed. These nomadic tribes have produced some of the world's greatest conquerors: Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, among others. And their deeds still resonate today.

Indeed, these nomads built long-lasting empires, facilitated the first global trade of the Silk Road and disseminated religions, technology, knowledge and goods of every description that enriched and changed the lives of so many across Europe, China and the Middle East. From a single region emerged a great many peoples - the Huns, the Mongols, the Magyars, the Turks, the Xiongnu, the Scythians, the Goths - all of whom went on to profoundly and irrevocably shape the modern world.

Kenneth W. Harl draws on a lifetime of scholarship to vividly recreate the lives and world of these often-forgotten peoples from their beginnings to the early modern age.

From Attila to Genghis Khan via Prester John, and from the terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang to the walls that Alexander built to hold back the hosts of Gog and Magog, this is a history of epic scope. Bringing together the empires of the steppe land with the caravan cities of the Silk Road and imperial China, Kenneth W. Harl's encyclopedic account spans two thousand years of Eurasian history. It is a reminder that what happens in Central Asia seldom stays there but can have consequences that turn the tide of human affairs. - Martyn Rady, author of 'The Habsburgs'