GEOGRAPHY

The Turco-Mongol nomadic tribes pastured their flocks over a vast area that is commonly referred to as the Eurasian steppes. The Eurasian steppes cover a wide zone stretching from Eastern Europe to Manchuria and passing through the south Russian steppe, Kazakhstan, Zungharia, Tsinghai province and Mongolia. The immense centra! Asian plateau, lying at between 900 and 1,500 meters above sea level and bounded by the Altai and Tian Shan mountain ranges in the west and by the Great Khinghan heights in the east, was the home of the Mongol tribes. South of this region the steppe transforms into desert, a vast arid zone punctuated with islands of urban and sedentary settlements. In contrast, the prairies, grasslands, and gentle mountain slopes of the steppes were devoid of farming settlements or towns. Those who would dwell on the steppe were

The vast Lake Sayram high in the Tian Shan mountains, the Chaghataid heartlands. Courtesy of Xinjiang Qinshan Culture PuhlLshing

Pastoral nomads and hunters, and life necessitated their seasonal migration in constant search of water and grass. Though the nomads generally renounced fixed settlements and fixed dwellings, their migration routes were often rigid. As a result, cultivation on a limited scale was practiced by these steppe migrants who would sow suitable crops that they would then be able to harvest later, on their return migration. Constantly on the move, constantly alert to the environmental, climatic, and human changes around them, and constantly prepared for danger and threats, the pastoral nomads were a natural martial force, and war was everyone's business. Every herdsman doubled as a fighter and raider, and the culture of the steppe resounded with tales and songs of their warrior heroes. These nomads were pastoral armies.