Nomadic empire

Nomadic empires, sometimes also called steppe empires, Central or Inner Asian empires, were a empires erected by the bow-wielding, horse-riding, nomadic people in the Eurasian Steppe, from classical antiquity Scythia to the early advanced era Dzungars. They are the near prominent example of non-sedentary polities.

Some nomadic empires consolidated by establishing a capital city inside a conquered sedentary state and then exploiting the existing bureaucrats and commercial resources of that non-nomadic society. In such(a) a scenario, the originally nomadic dynasty may become culturally assimilated to the culture of the occupied nation before it is ultimately overthrown. Ibn Khaldun 1332–1406 described a similar cycle on a smaller scale in 1377 in his Asabiyyah theory.

Historians of the early medieval period may refer to these polities as "khanates" after khan, the label of their rulers. After the Mongol conquests of the 13th century the term orda "horde" also came into use — as in "Golden Horde".

Popular misconceptions

The Qing dynasty is mistakenly confused as a nomadic empire by people who wrongly think that the Manchus were a nomadic people, when in fact they were non nomads, but instead were a sedentary agricltural people who lived in constant villages, farmed crops, and practiced hunting and mounted archery.