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Eurasian Steppe

The Eurasian Steppe, also 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, Ukraine, southern Russia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia and Manchuria, with one major exclave, the Pannonian steppe, located mostly in Hungary.[1]

Eurasian steppe belt (turquoise)

Since the Paleolithic age, the Steppe Route has been the main overland route between Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, East Asia and South Asia economically, politically, and culturally. The Steppe route is a predecessor not only of the Silk Road, which developed during antiquity and the Middle Ages, but also of the Eurasian Land Bridge in the modern era. It has been home to nomadic empires and many large tribal confederations and ancient states throughout history, such as the Xiongnu, Scythia, Cimmeria, Sarmatia, Hunnic Empire, Sogdia, Xianbei, Mongol Empire and Göktürk Khaganate.

Geography edit

 
Biomes classified by vegetation.

Divisions edit

The Eurasian Steppe extends for 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) from near the mouth of the Danube in Romania to the western edge of Manchuria. It is bounded on the north by the forests of European Russia and Asian Russia or Siberia. 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) edit

The Pannonian Steppe is a western exclave of the Eurasian Steppe, separated from the main steppe by the Carpathian Mountains. It is found in modern-day Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

Pontic–Caspian Steppe (Western Steppe) edit

The Pontic–Caspian Steppe is the main European end of the Eurasian Steppe and begins near the mouth of the Danube, stretching 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 to the Caucasus Mountains. In the west, 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 has some interior steppe and ports on the south coast which link the steppe to the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin.

Ural–Caspian Narrowing edit

The steppe narrows around the southern end of the Ural Mountains, about 650 km (400 mi) northeast of the Caspian Sea, forming the Ural-Caspian Narrowing, that joins the Pontic-Caspian Steppe in Europe with the Kazakh Steppe in Central Asia.

Kazakh Steppe (Central Steppe) edit

The Kazakh Steppe makes up most of the Eurasian Steppe in Central Asia. It extends from the Urals to Dzungaria. To the south, it grades off into semi-desert and desert which is interrupted by two great rivers, the Amu Darya (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 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), while in the north, the Kazakh Steppe proper was relatively isolated from the main currents of written history.

Dzungarian Narrowing edit

On the east side of the former Sino-Soviet border, mountains extend north almost to the forest zone separating the Dzungarian Narrowing from the Central Asian steppe, leaving only limited grassland in Dzungaria. This discontinuous section of the Eurasian steppe connects the great steppes of Central Asia and East Asia.

The east-west Tian Shan Mountains divide the steppe into Dzungaria in the north and the Tarim Basin to the south. Dzungaria is bounded by the Tarbagatai Mountains on the west and the Mongolian Altai Mountains 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's arid conditions make it unsuitable for sustaining a nomadic population. However, along its periphery, rivers descend from the mountains, creating a circle of cities that thrived on irrigation agriculture and engaged in 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. 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.

Mongolian-Manchurian Steppe (Eastern Steppe) edit

The Mongolian-Manchurian Steppe is the main part of the Eurasian Steppe in East Asia. It covers large parts of 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, a belt of moderately dense population that connects China proper with the Tarim Basin. The Hexi Corridor 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.

South of the Khingan Mountains and north of the Taihang Mountains, 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.

Fauna edit

Big mammals of the Eurasian steppe were the Przewalski's horse, the saiga antelope, the Mongolian gazelle, the goitered gazelle, the wild Bactrian camel and the onager.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The gray wolf, corsac fox, Pallas's cat and occasionally the brown bear are predators roaming the steppe.[8][9][10][11] Smaller mammal species are the Mongolian gerbil, the little souslik and the bobak marmot.[12][13][14]

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 great bustard, the pale-back pigeon and the white-throated bushchat.[15]

The primary domesticated animals raised were sheep and goats with fewer cattle than one might expect. Camels were used in the drier areas for transport as far west as Astrakhan. There were some yaks 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, Composite bow, Domestication of the horse and related articles).

Ecoregions edit

The World Wide Fund for Nature divides the Eurasian steppe's temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands into a number of ecoregions, distinguished by elevation, climate, rainfall, and other characteristics and home to distinct animal and plant communities and species and distinct habitat ecosystems.

Human activities edit

 
The site of Por-Bazhyn
 
Mongolian yurt

Trade habits edit

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 as a separate region. All these regions are connected directly or indirectly 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 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 edit

 
Plowing with tractor on the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld), Hungary
 
Steppe fire in the Kostanay Region, Kazakhstan

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 edit

According to the most widely held hypothesis of the origin of the Indo-European languages, the Kurgan hypothesis, 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 language family, who previously lived in the steppe in what is now Southern Russia, settled in the Carpathian basin in year 895. Mongolic languages are in Mongolia. In Manchuria one finds Tungusic languages and some others.

Religion edit

Tengrism was introduced by Turko-Mongol nomads. Nestorianism and Manichaeism spread to the Tarim Basin and into China, but they never became established majority religions. Buddhism spread from the east of India to the Tarim Basin and found a new home in China. By about 1400 AD, the entire steppe west of Dzungaria had adopted Islam.[citation needed] By about 1600 AD, Islam was established in the Tarim Basin while Dzungaria and Mongolia had adopted Tibetan Buddhism.

History edit

Warfare edit

Raids between tribes were prevalent throughout the region's history.[citation needed] 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[clarification needed] since the steppe could not easily support a land army. If the Chinese sent an army into Mongolia, the nomads 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.[citation needed]

Relations with neighbors edit

 
Hungarian invasions of Europe in the 9–10th centuries

Along the northern fringe of the Eurasian steppe, nomads would collect tribute from and blend with the forest tribes (see Khanate of Sibir, Buryats).[citation needed] Russia paid tribute (compare yasak) to the Golden Horde[17] from about 1240 to 1480.[18] 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.[citation needed] 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?] when both Chinese and Mongols were weak.[original research?]

Legacy of the Eurasian steppe's nomads edit

The steppe culture of Russia was shaped in Russia through cross-cultural contact mostly by Slavic, Tatar-Turkic, Mongolian and Iranian people.[19][20][need quotation to verify] Rus' rulers would ally themselves by marriage with fellow-steppe peoples.[21] In addition to ethnicity, also instruments such as the domra,[22] traditional costumes such as the kaftan. Russian Cossack and tea culture were strongly influenced by the culture of Asian nomadic peoples.[23] 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.[24][25][26]

Historical peoples and nations edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Scott, Geoffrey A. J. (1995-01-10). Canada's vegetation: a world perspective – Geoffrey A. J. Scott – Google Knihy. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. ISBN 9780773565098. from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
  2. ^ King, S.R.B.; Boyd, L.; Zimmermann, W. & Kendall, B.E. (2016) [errata version of 2015 assessment]. "Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T7961A97205530. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T7961A45172099.en. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  3. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2023). "Saiga tatarica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T19832A233712210. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T19832A233712210.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Procapra gutturosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T18232A115142812. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T18232A50193126.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017). "Gazella subgutturosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T8976A50187422. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T8976A50187422.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  6. ^ Hare, J. (2008). "Camelus ferus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T63543A12689285. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T63543A12689285.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. ^ Kaczensky, P.; Lkhagvasuren, B.; Pereladova, O.; Hemami, M.; Bouskila, A. (2020). "Equus hemionus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T7951A166520460. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T7951A166520460.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. ^ Boitani, L.; Phillips, M.; Jhala, Y. (2023) [amended version of 2018 assessment]. "Canis lupus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T3746A247624660. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T3746A247624660.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ^ Murdoch, J.D. (2014). "Vulpes corsac". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T23051A59049446. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-2.RLTS.T23051A59049446.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  10. ^ Gutleb, Bernhard; Ziaie, Hooshang (1999). "On the distribution and status of the Brown Bear,Ursus arctos, and the Asiatic Black Bear, U. thibetanus, in Iran". Zoology in the Middle East. 18: 5–8. doi:10.1080/09397140.1999.10637777.
  11. ^ Lorestani, Niloufar; Hemami, Mahmoud-Reza; Rezvani, Azita; Ahmadi, Mohsen (December 2022). "Ecological niche models reveal divergent habitat use of Pallas's cat in the Eurasian cold steppes". Ecology and Evolution. 12: 3. doi:10.1002/ece3.9624. PMC 9750817. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  12. ^ Batsaikhan, N.; Tsytsulina, K. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Meriones unguiculatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T13171A115110851. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T13171A22432999.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  13. ^ Cassola, F. (2017). "Spermophilus pygmaeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T20490A22264478. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T20490A22264478.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  14. ^ Tsytsulina, K.; Zagorodnyuk, I.; Formozov, N.; Sheftel, B. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Marmota bobak". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T12830A115106780. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T12830A22258375.en. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-05-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ Természettudományi Múzeum (Hungary) (1969). Annales historico-naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici.
  17. ^ Halperin, Charles J. (1985). "Economic and Demographic Consequences". Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. History Russian studies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press (published 1987). p. 78. ISBN 9780253204455. Retrieved 17 May 2021. The Russian peasantry felt the Tatars' economic oppression much more than the Russian aristocracy and indeed the Russian princes profited from the exploitation of their people. The grand princes were in charge of collecting tribute for the Mongols, and this proved so profitable that the throne was more than worth the large bribes the khan required before awarding it.
  18. ^ Uspensky, Gleb (1993). The Insider's Guide to Russia. Insiders' Guide Travel Series. Hunter Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781556505584. Retrieved 17 May 2021. [...] Russia [...] in 1480, stopped paying tribute to the now-shaky and fragmented Golden Horde.
  19. ^ Neumann, Iver B. (2018-07-19). The steppe tradition in international relations : Russians, Turks and European state-building 4000 BCE-2018 CE. Wigen, Einar, 1981- (First ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom. pp. 198–250. ISBN 9781108420792. OCLC 1053859731.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  20. ^ Blench, Roger; Spriggs, Matthew (2003-09-02). Archaeology and Language I: Theoretical and Methodological Orientations. Routledge. ISBN 9781134828777.
  21. ^ Histoire Russe. University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh. 1992. p. 11. Retrieved 17 May 2021. The marriages of Rus' princes to the daughters of the Polovtsy khans [...].
  22. ^ Sultanova, Razia; Rancier, Megan (2018-01-19). Turkic Soundscapes: From Shamanic Voices to Hip-Hop. Routledge. ISBN 9781351665957.
  23. ^ Hellie, Richard. (1999). The economy and material culture of Russia, 1600-1725. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 352–353. ISBN 0226326497. OCLC 39655294.
  24. ^ Алексей Мочалов ღ романса трепетные звуки (2013-12-18), Степь да степь кругом /русская народная песня/ Russian folk song/ Steppe all around, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2019-06-11
  25. ^ NIK KIRIN (2013-04-08), , archived from the original on 2014-11-04, retrieved 2019-06-11
  26. ^ Олег Семёнов (2019-03-30). "Пелагея и Кубанский казачий хор – Любо, братцы, любо! (2019 HD)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  27. ^ . Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2014.

Bibliography edit

  • Barthold, W. (1992). Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion. Translated by Minorsky, T. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.
  • Christian, David (1998). A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia. Vol. 1: Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire. Blackwell Publishing.
  • Fletcher, Joseph F. (1995). "The Mongols: ecological and social perspectives". In Forbes Manz, Beatrice (ed.). Studies on Chinese and Islamic Inner Asia. Aldershot, Hampshire: Variorum.
  • Grousset, René (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Translated by Walford, Naomi. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • John of Plano Carpini (2005). "History of the Mongols". In Dawson, Christopher (ed.). Mission to Asia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 3–76.
  • Krader, Lawrence (1955). "Ecology of Central Asian Pastoralism". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 11 (4): 301–326. doi:10.1086/soutjanth.11.4.3628907. S2CID 130062187.
  • Lattimore, Owen (1962). "The Geographical Factor in Mongol History". In Lattimore, Owen (ed.). Studies in Frontier History: Collected Papers 1928–1958. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 241–258.
  • Sinor, Denis (1997). "The Inner Asian Warrior". In Sinor, Denis (ed.). Studies in Medieval Inner Asia. Collected Studies Series. Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-86078-632-0.
  • Sinor, Denis (1977). "Horse and Pasture in Inner Asian History". In Sinor, Denis (ed.). Inner Asia and its Contacts with Medieval Europe. Collected Studies Series. London: Variorum.

External links edit

  • "The importance of the Eurasian steppe to the study of international relations" in Journal of International Relations and Development

eurasian, steppe, also, called, great, steppe, steppes, vast, steppe, ecoregion, eurasia, temperate, grasslands, savannas, shrublands, biome, stretches, through, hungary, bulgaria, romania, moldova, ukraine, southern, russia, kazakhstan, xinjiang, mongolia, ma. The Eurasian Steppe also 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 Ukraine southern Russia Kazakhstan Xinjiang Mongolia and Manchuria with one major exclave the Pannonian steppe located mostly in Hungary 1 Eurasian steppe belt turquoise Since the Paleolithic age the Steppe Route has been the main overland route between Europe Western Asia Central Asia East Asia and South Asia economically politically and culturally The Steppe route is a predecessor not only of the Silk Road which developed during antiquity and the Middle Ages but also of the Eurasian Land Bridge in the modern era It has been home to nomadic empires and many large tribal confederations and ancient states throughout history such as the Xiongnu Scythia Cimmeria Sarmatia Hunnic Empire Sogdia Xianbei Mongol Empire and Gokturk Khaganate Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Divisions 1 1 1 Pannonian Steppe exclave 1 1 2 Pontic Caspian Steppe Western Steppe 1 1 3 Ural Caspian Narrowing 1 1 4 Kazakh Steppe Central Steppe 1 1 5 Dzungarian Narrowing 1 1 6 Mongolian Manchurian Steppe Eastern Steppe 1 2 Fauna 1 3 Ecoregions 2 Human activities 2 1 Trade habits 2 2 Agriculture 2 3 Language 2 4 Religion 3 History 3 1 Warfare 3 2 Relations with neighbors 3 3 Legacy of the Eurasian steppe s nomads 4 Historical peoples and nations 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 External linksGeography edit nbsp The Koppen climate classification nbsp Biomes classified by vegetation nbsp Humid continental climate worldwide utilizing the Koppen climate classification nbsp Cold steppe climate worldwide utilizing the Koppen climate classification Divisions edit The Eurasian Steppe extends for 8 000 kilometres 5 000 miles from near the mouth of the Danube in Romania to the western edge of Manchuria It is bounded on the north by the forests of European Russia and Asian Russia or Siberia 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 edit The Pannonian Steppe is a western exclave of the Eurasian Steppe separated from the main steppe by the Carpathian Mountains It is found in modern day Austria Hungary Romania Serbia and Slovakia nbsp Devinska Kobyla Bratislava Slovakia nbsp The Pannonian steppe in Seewinkel Austria nbsp The Pannonian steppe in Devinska Kobyla Bratislava Slovakia nbsp Danube Auen National Park Austria Pontic Caspian Steppe Western Steppe edit The Pontic Caspian Steppe is the main European end of the Eurasian Steppe and begins near the mouth of the Danube stretching 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 to the Caucasus Mountains In the west 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 has some interior steppe and ports on the south coast which link the steppe to the civilizations of the Mediterranean basin nbsp The Pontic Caspian steppe near Krynychne Ukraine nbsp The Pontic Caspian steppe in Henichesk Ukraine nbsp Steppes in Gagauzia Moldova nbsp Steppes in Gagauzia Dezghingea Moldova Ural Caspian Narrowing edit The steppe narrows around the southern end of the Ural Mountains about 650 km 400 mi northeast of the Caspian Sea forming the Ural Caspian Narrowing that joins the Pontic Caspian Steppe in Europe with the Kazakh Steppe in Central Asia nbsp Wooded Ural Mountains of Beloretsky District Russia nbsp Bashkiriya National Park southern end of the Ural Mountains Russia nbsp Bashkiriya National Park Ural Mountains Russia Kazakh Steppe Central Steppe edit The Kazakh Steppe makes up most of the Eurasian Steppe in Central Asia It extends from the Urals to Dzungaria To the south it grades off into semi desert and desert which is interrupted by two great rivers the Amu Darya 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 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 while in the north the Kazakh Steppe proper was relatively isolated from the main currents of written history nbsp The steppe in Akmola Region Kazakhstan nbsp The steppes in Akmola Province Kazakhstan nbsp The Kazakh Steppe in the Ayagoz District Kazakhstan nbsp The Kazakh Steppe in the early spring Dzungarian Narrowing edit On the east side of the former Sino Soviet border mountains extend north almost to the forest zone separating the Dzungarian Narrowing from the Central Asian steppe leaving only limited grassland in Dzungaria This discontinuous section of the Eurasian steppe connects the great steppes of Central Asia and East Asia The east west Tian Shan Mountains divide the steppe into Dzungaria in the north and the Tarim Basin to the south Dzungaria is bounded by the Tarbagatai Mountains on the west and the Mongolian Altai Mountains 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 s arid conditions make it unsuitable for sustaining a nomadic population However along its periphery rivers descend from the mountains creating a circle of cities that thrived on irrigation agriculture and engaged in 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 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 nbsp Uvs Lake Basin Tuva Republic Russia nbsp Dus Khol lake Tuva Republic Russia nbsp The grassland in Tuva Republic Russia nbsp Dus Khol lake Tandinsky District Tuva Republic Russia Mongolian Manchurian Steppe Eastern Steppe edit The Mongolian Manchurian Steppe is the main part of the Eurasian Steppe in East Asia It covers large parts of 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 a belt of moderately dense population that connects China proper with the Tarim Basin The Hexi Corridor 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 South of the Khingan Mountains and north of the Taihang Mountains 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 nbsp The Daurian forest steppe nbsp The Mongolian Manchurian grassland in the Khovsgol Province Mongolia nbsp Grass steppe in the Khovsgol Province Mongolia nbsp Daursky Nature Reserve in the southern part of the Zabaykalsky Krai in Siberia Russia close to the border with Mongolia nbsp The Mongolian Manchurian grassland in Inner Mongolia China Fauna edit Big mammals of the Eurasian steppe were the Przewalski s horse the saiga antelope the Mongolian gazelle the goitered gazelle the wild Bactrian camel and the onager 2 3 4 5 6 7 The gray wolf corsac fox Pallas s cat and occasionally the brown bear are predators roaming the steppe 8 9 10 11 Smaller mammal species are the Mongolian gerbil the little souslik and the bobak marmot 12 13 14 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 great bustard the pale back pigeon and the white throated bushchat 15 nbsp Przewalski horse nbsp Corsac fox nbsp Saiga antelope nbsp Onager The primary domesticated animals raised were sheep and goats with fewer cattle than one might expect Camels were used in the drier areas for transport as far west as Astrakhan There were some yaks 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 Composite bow Domestication of the horse and related articles Ecoregions edit The World Wide Fund for Nature divides the Eurasian steppe s temperate grasslands savannas and shrublands into a number of ecoregions distinguished by elevation climate rainfall and other characteristics and home to distinct animal and plant communities and species and distinct habitat ecosystems Alai Western Tian Shan steppe Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Altai steppe and semi desert Kazakhstan Baraba steppe Russia Daurian forest steppe China Mongolia Russia Emin Valley steppe China Kazakhstan Kazakh forest steppe Kazakhstan Russia Kazakh Steppe Kazakhstan Russia Kazakh Uplands 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 Russia Tian Shan foothill arid steppe China Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Pannonian Steppe 16 Hungary Romania Serbia Croatia Slovakia Austria Slovenia Human activities editSee also Nomad studies nbsp The site of Por Bazhyn nbsp Mongolian yurt Trade habits edit 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 as a separate region All these regions are connected directly or indirectly 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 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 edit nbsp Plowing with tractor on the Great Hungarian Plain Alfold Hungary nbsp Steppe fire in the Kostanay Region Kazakhstan 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 edit According to the most widely held hypothesis of the origin of the Indo European languages the Kurgan hypothesis 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 language family who previously lived in the steppe in what is now Southern Russia settled in the Carpathian basin in year 895 Mongolic languages are in Mongolia In Manchuria one finds Tungusic languages and some others Religion edit Tengrism was introduced by Turko Mongol nomads Nestorianism and Manichaeism spread to the Tarim Basin and into China but they never became established majority religions Buddhism spread from the east of India to the Tarim Basin and found a new home in China By about 1400 AD the entire steppe west of Dzungaria had adopted Islam citation needed By about 1600 AD Islam was established in the Tarim Basin while Dzungaria and Mongolia had adopted Tibetan Buddhism History editFurther information History of the eastern steppe History of the central steppe and History of the western steppe This section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed September 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message Warfare edit See also Mongol invasions and conquests and Mongol military tactics and organization Raids between tribes were prevalent throughout the region s history citation needed 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 clarification needed since the steppe could not easily support a land army If the Chinese sent an army into Mongolia the nomads 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 citation needed Relations with neighbors edit See also Han Xiongnu War Hungarian invasions of Europe List of Mongol and Tatar attacks in Europe Tatar slave raids in East Slavic lands and Kazakh Dzungar Wars nbsp Hungarian invasions of Europe in the 9 10th centuries Along the northern fringe of the Eurasian steppe nomads would collect tribute from and blend with the forest tribes see Khanate of Sibir Buryats citation needed Russia paid tribute compare yasak to the Golden Horde 17 from about 1240 to 1480 18 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 citation needed 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 when both Chinese and Mongols were weak original research Legacy of the Eurasian steppe s nomads edit The steppe culture of Russia was shaped in Russia through cross cultural contact mostly by Slavic Tatar Turkic Mongolian and Iranian people 19 20 need quotation to verify Rus rulers would ally themselves by marriage with fellow steppe peoples 21 In addition to ethnicity also instruments such as the domra 22 traditional costumes such as the kaftan Russian Cossack and tea culture were strongly influenced by the culture of Asian nomadic peoples 23 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 24 25 26 Historical peoples and nations editThracians 15th 3rd centuries BC Chorasmia 13th 3rd centuries BC Cimmerians 12th 7th centuries BC Magyars 11th century BC 8th century AD Scythians 8th 4th centuries BC Sogdiana 8th 4th centuries BC Issedones 7th 1st century BC Massagetae 7th 1st century BC Thyssagetae 7th 3rd century BC Donghu 7th 2nd century BC Dahae 7th BC 5th century AD Saka 6th 1st centuries BC Sarmatians 5th century BC 5th century AD Bulgars 7th century BC 7th century AD 27 Transoxiana 4th century BC 14th century AD Xiongnu 3rd century BC 2nd century AD Iazyges 3rd century BC 5th century AD Yuezhi 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 3rd 5th centuries Franks 3rd 8th centuries Huns 4th 8th centuries Ostrogoths 4th 8th centuries Early Slavs 5th 10th centuries Alans 5th 11th centuries Avars 5th 9th centuries Hepthalites 5th 7th centuries Eurasian Avars 6th 8th centuries Gokturks 6th 8th centuries Sabirs 6th 8th centuries Khazars 7th 11th centuries Onogurs 8th century Pechenegs 8th 11th centuries Bashkirs 10th century present day Kipchaks and Cumans 11th 13th centuries Crimean Goths Mongol Empire 13th 14th centuries Chagatai Khanate 13th 15th centuries Golden Horde 13th 15th centuries Kazakh Khanate 15th 19th centuries Cossacks Kalmyks Crimean Khanate Volga Tatars Nogais and other Turkic states and tribes 15th 18th centuries Russian Empire 16th 20th centuries Soviet Union 20th century Gagauzia Kazakhstan Russian Federation Ukraine Xinjiang 20th 21st centuriesSee also edit nbsp Asia portal nbsp Europe portal Eurasian nomads Great Hungarian Plain Izyum Trail Little Hungarian Plain Steppe RouteReferences edit Scott Geoffrey A J 1995 01 10 Canada s vegetation a world perspective Geoffrey A J Scott Google Knihy McGill Queen s Press MQUP ISBN 9780773565098 Archived from the original on 2013 10 29 Retrieved 2012 02 09 King S R B Boyd L Zimmermann W amp Kendall B E 2016 errata version of 2015 assessment Equus ferus ssp przewalskii IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015 e T7961A97205530 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2015 2 RLTS T7961A45172099 en Retrieved 29 October 2018 IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2023 Saiga tatarica IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023 e T19832A233712210 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2023 1 RLTS T19832A233712210 en Retrieved 29 December 2023 IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2017 errata version of 2016 assessment Procapra gutturosa IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T18232A115142812 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T18232A50193126 en Retrieved 29 December 2023 IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2017 Gazella subgutturosa IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017 e T8976A50187422 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2017 2 RLTS T8976A50187422 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Hare J 2008 Camelus ferus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008 e T63543A12689285 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2008 RLTS T63543A12689285 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Kaczensky P Lkhagvasuren B Pereladova O Hemami M Bouskila A 2020 Equus hemionus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020 e T7951A166520460 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2020 1 RLTS T7951A166520460 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Boitani L Phillips M Jhala Y 2023 amended version of 2018 assessment Canis lupus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2023 e T3746A247624660 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2023 1 RLTS T3746A247624660 en Retrieved 29 December 2023 Murdoch J D 2014 Vulpes corsac IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014 e T23051A59049446 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2014 2 RLTS T23051A59049446 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Gutleb Bernhard Ziaie Hooshang 1999 On the distribution and status of the Brown Bear Ursus arctos and the Asiatic Black Bear U thibetanus in Iran Zoology in the Middle East 18 5 8 doi 10 1080 09397140 1999 10637777 Lorestani Niloufar Hemami Mahmoud Reza Rezvani Azita Ahmadi Mohsen December 2022 Ecological niche models reveal divergent habitat use of Pallas s cat in the Eurasian cold steppes Ecology and Evolution 12 3 doi 10 1002 ece3 9624 PMC 9750817 Retrieved 27 March 2024 Batsaikhan N Tsytsulina K 2017 errata version of 2016 assessment Meriones unguiculatus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T13171A115110851 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T13171A22432999 en Retrieved 29 December 2023 Cassola F 2017 Spermophilus pygmaeus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017 e T20490A22264478 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2017 2 RLTS T20490A22264478 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Tsytsulina K Zagorodnyuk I Formozov N Sheftel B 2017 errata version of 2016 assessment Marmota bobak IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T12830A115106780 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T12830A22258375 en Retrieved 29 December 2023 Archived copy PDF Archived PDF from the original on 2017 08 08 Retrieved 2017 05 26 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum Hungary 1969 Annales historico naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici Halperin Charles J 1985 Economic and Demographic Consequences Russia and the Golden Horde The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History History Russian studies Bloomington Indiana University Press published 1987 p 78 ISBN 9780253204455 Retrieved 17 May 2021 The Russian peasantry felt the Tatars economic oppression much more than the Russian aristocracy and indeed the Russian princes profited from the exploitation of their people The grand princes were in charge of collecting tribute for the Mongols and this proved so profitable that the throne was more than worth the large bribes the khan required before awarding it Uspensky Gleb 1993 The Insider s Guide to Russia Insiders Guide Travel Series Hunter Publishing p 44 ISBN 9781556505584 Retrieved 17 May 2021 Russia in 1480 stopped paying tribute to the now shaky and fragmented Golden Horde Neumann Iver B 2018 07 19 The steppe tradition in international relations Russians Turks and European state building 4000 BCE 2018 CE Wigen Einar 1981 First ed Cambridge United Kingdom pp 198 250 ISBN 9781108420792 OCLC 1053859731 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Blench Roger Spriggs Matthew 2003 09 02 Archaeology and Language I Theoretical and Methodological Orientations Routledge ISBN 9781134828777 Histoire Russe University Center for International Studies University of Pittsburgh 1992 p 11 Retrieved 17 May 2021 The marriages of Rus princes to the daughters of the Polovtsy khans Sultanova Razia Rancier Megan 2018 01 19 Turkic Soundscapes From Shamanic Voices to Hip Hop Routledge ISBN 9781351665957 Hellie Richard 1999 The economy and material culture of Russia 1600 1725 Chicago University of Chicago Press pp 352 353 ISBN 0226326497 OCLC 39655294 Aleksej Mochalov ღ romansa trepetnye zvuki 2013 12 18 Step da step krugom russkaya narodnaya pesnya Russian folk song Steppe all around archived from the original on 2021 12 13 retrieved 2019 06 11 NIK KIRIN 2013 04 08 Ah ty step shirokaya HD archived from the original on 2014 11 04 retrieved 2019 06 11 Oleg Semyonov 2019 03 30 Pelageya i Kubanskij kazachij hor Lyubo bratcy lyubo 2019 HD YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 13 Retrieved 2019 06 11 The Proto Turkic Urheimat and the Early Migrations of Turkic Peoples Archived from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved April 20 2014 Bibliography editBarthold W 1992 Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion Translated by Minorsky T New Delhi Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Christian David 1998 A History of Russia Central Asia and Mongolia Vol 1 Inner Eurasia from Prehistory to the Mongol Empire Blackwell Publishing Fletcher Joseph F 1995 The Mongols ecological and social perspectives In Forbes Manz Beatrice ed Studies on Chinese and Islamic Inner Asia Aldershot Hampshire Variorum Grousset Rene 1970 The Empire of the Steppes A History of Central Asia Translated by Walford Naomi New Brunswick NJ Rutgers University Press John of Plano Carpini 2005 History of the Mongols In Dawson Christopher ed Mission to Asia Toronto University of Toronto Press pp 3 76 Krader Lawrence 1955 Ecology of Central Asian Pastoralism Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 11 4 301 326 doi 10 1086 soutjanth 11 4 3628907 S2CID 130062187 Lattimore Owen 1962 The Geographical Factor in Mongol History In Lattimore Owen ed Studies in Frontier History Collected Papers 1928 1958 London Oxford University Press pp 241 258 Sinor Denis 1997 The Inner Asian Warrior In Sinor Denis ed Studies in Medieval Inner Asia Collected Studies Series Aldershot Hampshire Ashgate ISBN 978 0 86078 632 0 Sinor Denis 1977 Horse and Pasture in Inner Asian History In Sinor Denis ed Inner Asia and its Contacts with Medieval Europe Collected Studies Series London Variorum External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eurasian Steppe The importance of the Eurasian steppe to the study of international relations in Journal of International Relations and Development Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eurasian Steppe amp oldid 1220970704, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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