Eurasian nomads

The generic designation encompasses the varied ethnic groups who have at times inhabited steppe regions of present-day Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Uyghuristan, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine.

They developed the chariot,[5] the wagon,[6]cavalry, and horse archery, and introduced innovations such as the bridle, bit, stirrup,[7] and saddle.

Scythia was a loose state or federation covering most of the steppe, that originated as early as the 8th century BCE, composed mainly of people speaking Scythian languages and usually regarded as the first of the nomad empires.

[8] The Scythians were Iranic pastoralist tribes who dwelled the Eurasian Steppes from the Tarim Basin and Western Mongolia in Asia to as far as Sarmatia in modern day Ukraine and Russia.

They were dislocated by the Yuezhi people and were forced to assimilate into them, and many of these Eastern Scythians (Saka) moved and settled in the Parthian Empire in the region later named as Sakastan.

[14] An early theory proposed by Owen Lattimore suggesting that the nomadic tribes could have been self-sufficient was criticized by later scholars, who questioned whether their raids may have been motivated by necessity rather than greed.

In the 6th century the Göktürk Khaganate consolidated their dominance over the northern steppe region through a series of military victories against the Shiwei, Khitan, Rouran, Tuyuhun, Karakhoja and Yada.

By the end of the 6th century, following the Göktürk civil war, the short-lived empire had split into the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, before it was conquered by the Tang in 630 and 657, respectively.

[15] Nomadism persists in the steppe lands, though it has generally been disapproved of by modern regimes, who have often discouraged it with varying degrees of coercion.

[16] Eurasian steppe nomads shared common Earth-rooted cosmological beliefs based on the themes of sky worship.

The Enaree were described by a Greek historian as males with feminine characteristics, who wore female clothing and adopted women's mannerisms.

[21] The transgender features of the Enaree may have arisen accidentally through excessive horseback riding, or they may have consumed fermented mare urine, which could have altered their hormonal profiles and facilitated the transition to a feminine gender.