Nomads and Empires

On this special First of April, we cover the nomadic peoples of the world of Godherja: the Öltenic.

Please check this great mod for Crusader Kings 3! You can download the mod on its Steam page linked here or on ModDB here. Many appreciations to the Godherja team for providing me with feedback and corrections as well!

Corrections:

• At around 13:17, I state that the Hyartan Mountains are the highest on the continent. The largest mountains are actually the Worldspine (where the Mayikrata is built on).
• During the discussion of the Bayyuralar in around 47:00, I should have clarified that the event did not just target the Astilik Empire. Other, unrelated states were also targeted by Baytor and his vassals.
• At about 50:50, I use the term "Imperial Legate" when the correct term to denote an Aversarian general is Legon or Legan.
• This point was made unclear in the episode, but it should be noted that during the period of Imperial domination by Aversaria, the Öltenic peoples were considered nominal "citizens" of the empire.

Social Media

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
• Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

On this episode, we explore the titanic clash between Cyrus of the Persians and Tomyris of the Massagetae.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

Relevant Books:

• Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
• David Greene (trans.), The History of Herodotus
• Ilya Gershevitch, The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 2

Another chapter ends, somewhat. Today, the Scythians will be pushed back to the Pontic steppe and will face those they had left behind.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

Relevant Books:

• Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
• Denis Sinor, The Cambridge History of Inner Asia, Volume 1
• Esther Jacobson, The Art of the Scythians: The Interpenetration of Cultures at the Edge of the Hellenic World
• Hyun Jin Kim, et al., Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages:
  Contact and Exchange between the Graeco-Roman World, Inner Asia and China
• Iver B. Neumann and Einar Wigen, The Steppe Tradition in International Relations: Russians, Turks, and European State Building 4000 BCE-2018 BCE

The Scythians move through the north and south Caucasus, pushing to the borders of the ancient Near East.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

Relevant Books:

• Antonio Sagona, The Archaeology of the Caucasus: From Earliest Settlements to the Iron Age
• Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
• John Boardman, et al., The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 3, Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries BC, 2nd edition

We continue the narrative by assessing the mythological and historical origins of the Scythians.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

Relevant Books:

• Barry Cunliffe, The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe
• Claudia Chang, Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia: Shepherds, Farmers, and Nomads
• Renate Rolle, The World of the Scythians
• Yulia Ustanova, The Supreme God of the Bosporan Kingdom: Celestial Aphrodite and the Most High God

We analyze the artistic and material culture of the Scythians, and put a critical eye on the term "Scytho-Siberian Culture."

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NomadsandEmpires
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

In this episode, we broadly examine the different Scythian groups from the grasses of Ukraine to the highlands of the Sayan-Altai. We meet peoples like the Pazyryk, the Massagetae, and the Saka.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

Today, we introduce the Scythians. This episode provides a brief overview and dives a little into the historiographical development of Scythian studies.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NomadEmpiresPod
Substack: https://nomadsandempirespodcast.substack.com/

In this side episode, part of the Tales from the Steppe bonus episodes, we dive into the tale of Boktu-Kirish, a story that derives from the Tuvan people. Come listen as we hear about the exploits of a young woman on a quest to bring her dead brother back to life.

Today, we explore the years 720-714 BCE as the Near Eastern states of Assyria and Urartu duke it out in a grand geopolitical struggle. All the while, the Kimmerians are making their way further and further into the region.