What was life like for a steppe nomad I know that they kept herds of sheep as their largest income source but what more did they generally do ?
Rode the across the plains with their hair in the wind
Invade urban civilizations when they felt like it.
killed civilized people. if not available, each other.
Trade with urban centres, then raid them when they refuse to trade becuase you're a poor nomad who has no other way to survive
After successfully raiding your neighbours, become your neighbours
>They make a booth by fixing in the ground three sticks inclined towards one another, and stretching around them woollen felts, which they arrange so as to fit as close as possible: inside the booth a dish is placed upon the ground, into which they put a number of red-hot stones, and then add some hemp-seed. … The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy, and this vapour serves them instead of a water-bath; for they never by any chance wash their bodies with water.
>>470458
Trade
Fun fact: the Nomad's largest income did not come from their livestock: but from their horseherds. Nomadshit horses are in high demand in Persia/Russia/China.
For example: everyone has heard of the Silk Route, but a lesser known route that stops with the Nomads came out of China, the "Tea and Horse Road."
The Chinese had little grazing land for horses. Most of it is for farming. Therefore Western Nomad tribes were a valuable source of horsies.
In turn, Nomads are addicted to tea. Besides Arrakh and fermented goat milk, its the only other safe liquid drink. Also its caffeine. The nomads were willing to part with huge numbers of their herds for chests of tea leaves.
And so a trade route developed between Western Nomads and the Chinese. It was quite important so much so as the cunt in charge of trading tea was a military post, as the tea horse road was an important source of cavalry horses.
>>470458
ftfy
>>470817
Tea was so important to them that it was actually used as a currency among Turko-Mongols (and most of East Asia), much like metals, shells and skins are used in other parts of the world.
The Chinese were really fond of shells and pearls by the way, which apparently preceded the use of metallic money.
>>470469
And falcons at their wrists.
>>470458
>gokturk
>with islamic symbol on his wrist
nice try, ahmed araboglu
>>471054
>Tea was so important to them that it was actually used as a currency among Turko-Mongols
Didn't know this. Sauce?
>>471654
I don't have a specific sauce, but try these:
http://www.charm.ru/coins/misc/teamoney.shtml
"In Siberia, Mongolia, Tibet and Chinese-Asian marts, cakes of compressed tea resembling mud-bricks circulate as money. This "money" which is manufactured in Southern China, is made of leaves and stalks of the tea plant, aromatic herbs and ox blood. It is sometimes bound together with yak dung.
"Tea is compressed into bricks of various sizes and stamped with a value that varies depending upon the quality of the tea. It usually increases as the bricks circulate farther from the tea producing country. The natives of Siberia prefer tea-money to metallic coins because of lung diseases prevalent in their severe climate, and they regard brick tea not only as a refreshing beverage but also as a medicine against coughs and colds."
Invade insane empires and burn them down
>>471672
That is nice. I wonder if you half the value of tea by breaking its brick.
It was a difficult life. But honestly better than a Chinese peasant. Better nutrition and you aren't fixed in one place where the lord can fuck you over. And as always winter was always a gamble if you survived.
>>471647
The cresent moon is a turkic symbol which got adapted by the arabs and also it would be ahmet not ahmed.
>>470458
>What was life like for a steppe nomad
Year is divided into two parts: "summer time" and "winter time".
Each time had it's own territory, "summer place" (jazdyk) and "winter place" (kystyk).
When it's time to move between two camps entire village packs their shit (one of the most interesting possessions nomads had were Zinger sewing machines -- big iron things with powered by a pedal), mobile houses (yurts) on top of camels and move out.
>>473315
>"summer place" (jazdyk) and "winter place" (kystyk)
What language is this?
