People

• Although several groups eventually settled, the people of the Steppes were originally nomadic and included such diverse groups as the Mongols, Huns, Sauromatians, Sarmatians, Turks, Persians and Aryans. Although culture varied between groups, they often shared traits such as herding livestock, mobility, tribal organization and mixed economics. Many of these traits can still be found in the 30 to 40 million nomads who still exist today.
  
  

Features

• The nomads of the Steppes domesticated the horse and developed much of the technology associated with riding such as the bridle, stirrup and bit. They also created military innovations such as chariots, horse archery and cavalry. Many of the settled people of China, Anatolia and Europe first encountered these nomads as fearsome invaders.
  
  

Influence

• Early encounters with nomads from the Steppes may have influenced several myths and legends. For example, according to "Archaeology" magazine, evidence such as women buried with weapons suggests that the Greek myth of the Amazons may have its basis in encounters with warrior women from nomadic groups similar to the Sauromatians. Historian Janos Makkay argues that the similarity between Sarmatian culture and the legends of King Arthur suggest a link to Sarmatian cavalry posted in Britain by the Romans (It is worth noting that their most famous commander was Lucius Artorius Castus).
  
  

Significance

• The people of the Steppes shaped history in many ways. The conquest of India by the Aryans led to the creation of Hinduism. The German tribes who sacked Rome just before the fall of the Empire were driven from their homeland by the arrival of the Huns. The Mongols, under Genghis Khan, created one of the largest empires ever known. It was the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks that sparked the the quest for alternate routes to Asia that eventually led to European settlement in the Americas.