The Scythians had a highly developed metallurgy, and in their social structure the agriculturalists (aroteres), who grew wheat for sale, constituted a class of their own. The quality of Scythian art, characterized by a highly sophisticated style depicting animals both real and mythical, remained unsurpassed in Central Asia. Although the Scythians had no script, it has been established, nevertheless, that they spoke an Iranian language.
The Scythians appear as Shakas in the Old Iranian rock inscriptions, where three distinct groups are identified, and it is by the latter name that they appear in the history of northwestern India, which they penetrated during the 1st century bce. On the steppes of Central Asia they were gradually subsumed into the Kushan empire (see below), while on the southern Russian steppes they were absorbed by the Sarmatians, another Iranian nomad people whose hegemony lasted until the 4th century ce. Early eastern peoples
From its earliest history China had to contend with barbarian pressures on its borders. The group of barbarians called the Hu played a considerable role in early Chinese history, leading to the introduction of cavalry and the adoption of foreign clothing, more suitable than its traditional Chinese counterpart for new types of warfare. About 200 bce a new and powerful barbarian people emerged on China’s western borders, the Xiongnu. Little is known of Touman, founder of this empire, beyond the fact that he was killed by his son Maodun, under whose long reign (c. 209–174 bce) the Xiongnu became a major power and a serious menace to China. In many respects the Xiongnu are the eastern counterpart of the Scythians. The Chinese historian Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 87 bce) described the nomadic tactics and strategy used by the Xiongnu in terms almost identical with those applied by Herodotus to the Scythians: the Xiongnu
move about in search of water and pasture and have no walled cities or fixed dwellings, nor do they engage in any kind of agriculture.
The centre of the Xiongnu empire was Mongolia, but it is impossible even to approximate the western limits of the territory under its direct control. For more than two centuries the Xiongnu, more or less constantly warring with China, remained the major force in the eastern regions of Central Asia.
In 48 ce the Xiongnu empire, long plagued by internecine struggles, dissolved. Some of the tribes, known as the southern Xiongnu, recognized Chinese suzerainty and settled in the Ordos region. The other remaining tribes, the northern Xiongnu, maintained themselves in Mongolia until the middle of the 2nd century, when they finally succumbed to the Xianbei, their neighbours. Another group, led by Zhizhi, brother and rival of the northern Xiongnu ruler, moved westward. With the death of Zhizhi in 36 ce, this group disappears from the records, but according to one theory the Huns, who first appeared on the southern Russian steppes about 370 ce, were descendants of these fugitive tribes.
Meanwhile, in the second half of the 2nd century bce the Xiongnu, at the height of their power, had expelled from their homeland in western Gansu (China) a people probably of Iranian stock, known to the Chinese as the Yuezhi and called Tokharians in Greek sources. While a part of the Yuezhi confederacy, known as the Asi (Asiani), moved as far west as the Caucasus region, the remainder occupied the region between the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya before overrunning Bactria between 141 and 128 bce. After penetrating Sīstān and the Kābul River valley, they crossed the Indus and established the Kushan empire in northwestern India. In its heyday, under Kujula Kadphises (Qiu Juique) during the 1st century ce, this empire extended from the vicinity of the Aral Sea to Varanasi in the Gangetic Plain and southward as far as Nashik, near modern Mumbai. The Kushan were thus able to control the growing transcontinental caravan trade linking the Chinese empire with that of Rome. The Middle Ages
During the last decades of the 4th century ce, a new, powerful empire emerged in Mongolia, the political heartland of Central Asia. The Juan-juan (Rouran) had stepped into the place vacated by the Xiongnu. Chinese descriptions barely distinguish them from their predecessors. Their history is an incessant series of campaigns against their neighbours, especially the Chinese.
Central Asia in the Middle Ages.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The Turks
In 552 the Juan-juan empire was destroyed by a revolution of considerable consequences for world history. The tribe of the Turks (Tujue in Chinese transcription), living within the Juan-juan empire and apparently specializing in metallurgy, revolted and seized power. It established an empire that for about two centuries remained a dominant force in Asia. The Turks are the first people in history known to have spoken a Turkic language and the first Central Asian people to have left a written record. Inscribed funerary stelae still standing in Mongolia, mostly near the Orhon River, are invaluable from both a linguistic and a historical point of view. These Orhon inscriptions provide insights into the internal stresses of a pastoral nomad state that, at the height of its power, stretched from the borders of China to those of Byzantium. Division of the empire
The founder of the Turk empire, Bumin—who bore the title of khagan, or great khan—died shortly after his victory. Soon afterward the empire split into two halves. The eastern part, ruled by Bumin’s son Muhan (ruled 553–572), was centred on Mongolia. The seat of the western part, ruled by Bumin’s brother Ishtemi (553–573?), lay in Ektagh, an unidentified place, possibly in either the Ili or Chu river valley.
In alliance with the Sāsānians, the Turks attacked and destroyed the Hephthalite empire (560), thereby gaining control over an important portion of the Silk Road leading from China to Byzantium. Under Ishtemi’s successor, Tardu (573–603), the western Turk empire continued to thrive and, in its westward expansion, reached the borders of Byzantium. By that time the eastern Turk empire was facing grave difficulties caused partly by internal strife and partly by the vigorous Central Asian policies of the Chinese Sui dynasty. While the weakening of the eastern Turks gave preponderance to the western Turks, basic solidarity between the two parts of the Turk empire apparently was maintained. They both fell victim to Chinese attacks. In 630 the Tang emperor Taizong occupied Mongolia, and in 659 Chinese forces under Gaozong, penetrating as far west as Bukhara and Samarkand, subdued the western Turks. Reunification
In 683 the Turks revolted. The Turk empire was reborn and reunified under the khagan Elterish (683–692). Temporary setbacks notwithstanding, the Turk empire was now centred on Mongolia, and it prospered under the rule of Kapghan (Mochuo; c. 692–716) and Bilge (Pijia; 716–734) but disintegrated soon afterward. In spite of the relatively short duration of their state, the historical role of the Turks is considerable. They linked China, Iran, India, and Byzantium and gave their name to all the Turkic-speaking peoples. The solidarity that exists between these peoples to this day goes back to the Turks. The Uighurs
The replacement of the Turks by the Uighurs in 744 was little else than a coup d’état. There was virtually no difference between the Turk and Uighur languages, and the bulk of the Turks, although no longer the ruling stratum, probably remained within the boundaries of the newly formed Uighur state. The Uighur empire