The Asiatic Steppes have over the past 10000 years radiated an amazing number of people who have influenced the fate of much of Asia and some of Europe. These people of different ethnic backgrounds can be classified based on the language family which their speech belongs to.
1) Indo-European speakers-
-The
Turfanians
-The
Sarmatians
-The
Tocharians
-The
Shakas
-The
Kushanas
-The
Parthians
These represent the last
waves of Indo-European people emanting from the steppes. The earlier such
migrations established the settled Aryan civilizations of India, Iran and
the Middle East and other Indo-European cultures of the West. Some of these
later migrants founded kingdoms in central Asia and Northern China. They
invaded northern India too and founded some dynasties there such as prominently
the Kushan dynasty. The Shakas commonly known to Europeans as Scythians
exploded into the Indian and Iranian scenes with the power vacuum created
by the fall of the Mauryan principalities and destruction of the Achaemenid
empire by Alexander of Macedon. They were eventually displaced by the incoming
steppe people the Parthians and Kushanas and ousted by the Shatavahanas
and the Guptas. The Parthians destroyed the Seleucid power in the East.
Parthians the Kushanas established 2 large kingdoms in India and thankfully
curbed the expansion of the Roman and Chinese empires. They eventually
settled down and were ruined by factional troubles in their vast empire.
2) The Uralo- Altaic Speakers-
The Uralic and the Altaic families are only distantly related. However, mythological evidence may suggest a common origin for these streams.
--------The Mongolic
-The
Hsiung nu
-The
Juan-Juan
-The
Huns
-The
Kitans
-The
Mongols
-The
Oirats
The most well studied of
all the steppe people include the Mongolic people. The Hsiung nu representing
the first records of them were quite localized in their actions mainly
invading the Han Chinese and to some extant the Parthians. They destroyed
the Tocharian power in Central Asia and North China. Finally a political
move between the Chinese and the Parthians resulted in a simultaneous attack
on them from East and West ending their empire. The Juan-Juan kaghanate
then rose in Mongolia and invaded the Chinese lands resulting the fall
of the Han empire. The Juan-Juan was destroyed by the Black- Turkic Khans.
This in turn catalyzed the origins of the Huns who invaded Europe and India.
The destruction of the German peoples damage of the Roman forces under
Uldin, Bleda and Attila are well known. The Kitans invaded northern China
and established the so called Liao dynasty there. The Tungoosid Jurchen
destroyed their kingdom subsequently. The Mongols were brought to the centre
stage by Khan Chingiz who destroyed the Khwarezm empire and moved on to
destroy the Tangut and the Kin in North China. His sons Ogodai and Tolui
conquered much of China even as his grandson Batu and general Subedai destroyed
the Russian and invaded Europe. Khans Mangu and Kublai sons of Tolui completed
the conquest of China and Indo-China and the Yuan Dynasty was established
by Kublai. Khan Hulegu the another son of Tolui destroyed the Assassins
and then moved on to conquer Baghdad and end the Caliphate. The Mongols
ended in intercine conflict and rebellions throughtout their conqured lands.
The Oirats were the last Mongolic people to attain any military significance.
-----------The Turkic
-The
Black turks
-The
Hephalites
-The
Bulgars
-The
Khazars
-The
Uighurs
-The
Khirgiz
-The
Pechenegs
-The
Seljuqs
-The
Qara-Khanids
-The
Ghaznavids
-The
Timurids
-The
Osmans
-The
Khazak
The Turkic People first became prominent in their continous cycles of power struggle with one an other, other Uralic people and the settled people with the invasion of the Juan-Juan territory of Mongolia and its subjucation. Subsequently the Turkic Khaganate expanded till they splite into the eastern and western Khaganates. The hephalites rising in the western Khaganate defeated the Iranian and Indian ruling dynasties after a long power struggle. In India they established a couple of dynasties which were ended by the campaigns of Yashovarman and Baladitya. The hephalites in all likely hood reorganized as the Avars and invaded Europe. The Western Turkic Khaganate also gave rise to the Khazar Khaganate who founded a substantial empire in the Russian steppes and were subsequently destroyed by the Russians. In the East the Turks initially expanded at the expense of the Chinese but they were eventually defeated by the advancing Chinese hegemony. Primary Turkic empire was destroyed by another Turkic people the Uighurs who founded a remarkable turkic empire which was in turn over run by the Khirgiz and displaced to Turfan. The Khirgiz were eventually over run the Mongol Kitans. Most of the Eastern Turkic powere were absorbed by the Mongolian expansion of the 13th century. With the advent of Islam a large number of the western Turks were islamized and gave rise to several Turkic powers. The prominent amongst which were the ghaznavids who under Mahmud ravaged India repeatedly. The early Turko-Mongol dynasties arose in the interface with the Kitans and these included the Ghurids who also caused considerable damage to India. The Seljuqs who ended the Ghaznavid empire moved onto annex much of the Byzantine territories. The Seljuqs collapsed under internal pressure including the rise of the Assasins and were subsequently replaced by the short lived Khawrezm empire. With the demolition of the Khawrezm power by the Mongols some of the Turks flee to Anatolia and this eventually results in the Osman empire which was the most dramatic of Turkish empires. The Turkic influence on the Mongols increased and resulted in the rise of the turkified mongol emir- Timur - i -leng who hurled a reign of terror in the west defeating the Mamlukes the Osmans and other Middle Eastern powers. He also invaded India and destroyed the turkish Sultanate of Delhi amidst much slaughter of Hindus. In the East Turkic presence and influence decreased with the last turkic horde the Khazaks establishing a kingdom in the central Asian steppes.
3)The
Tungoosids-
-The
Jurchens
-The
Manchus
The Tungoosid people who appear to be related to the Mongolian people and are predominant in Siberia gave rise to Chinese dynasties. Intially sweeping into China in the 12th century, the jurchens were repulsed by the Mongols and in part absorbed into them. In the 1600 they began a dramatic expansion under Nurahachi and Abahai to rule all of China , Mongolia and the lands beyonds.