Steppe Religion and Moral Consequences

Rudyard Lynch explains shamanism, absence of Axial-age religions, and the nomads' brutal view of farmers.

Play episode from 14:04

chevron_right

Transcript

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

Beyond the Big Four Eurasian civilizations (Europe, India, Middle East, China) that dominated 90% of humanity, there existed a fifth major player—not a civilization, but its opposite. The Steppe produced history's greatest conquerors despite having 1/100th the population and no cities or formal religions. These nomadic warriors influenced world history as much as any civilization, creating an anti-civilization power that repeatedly brought empires to their knees. The ultimate historical paradox: how could Mongolia conquer China with 1% of its population?

SPONSORS:

NetSuite:

More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102

Shopify:

Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive

Go to https://ground.news/whatif to stay fully informed on every side of every story. Save 50% on unlimited access with their Vantage Plan through my link. It's their biggest sale of the year!

LINKS:

Link to my second podcast on world history and interviews: / @history102-qg5oj

Link to my Twitter-https://twitter.com/whatifalthist?ref...

Link to my Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/rudyardwlyn...

Bibliography:

A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia by David Christian

The Invention of Yesterday by Tamim Ansary

Europe's Steppe Frontier 1500-1800 by McNeil

Plagues and Peoples by McNeil

Rise of the West by McNeil

Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world by Jack Weatherford

The Khan Trilogy by Khan Iggulden (fiction but is the best intro to Mongol history for lay people since the author does the research really well)