History

Empire of Horses: The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China

Empire of Horses: The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-03-28 11:11:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：John Man
  • ISBN：1643136917
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Summary

An authoritative and rich history of the remarkable Xiongnu culture—a lost empire which preceded the Mongols and even China itself。

The author of landmark histories such as Genghis Khan， Attila， and Xanadu invites us to discover a fertile period in Asian history that prefigured so much of the world that followed。

The people of the first nomadic empire left no written records， but from 200 bc they dominated the heart of Asia for four centuries， and changed the world in the process。 The Mongols， today’s descendants of Genghis Khan， see these people as ancestors。 Their rise cemented Chinese identity and inspired the first Great Wall。 Their descendants helped destroy the Roman Empire under the leadership of Attila the Hun。

We don’t know what language they spoke， but they became known as Xiongnu， or Hunnu， a term passed down the centuries and surviving today as “Hun，” and Man uncovers new evidence that will transform our understanding of the profound mark they left on half the globe， from Europe to Central Asia and deep into China。

Based on meticulous research and new archaeological evidence， Empire of Horses traces this civilization’s epic story and shows how this nomadic cultures of the steppes gave birth to an empire with the wealth and power to threaten the order of the ancient world。

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Reviews

Joey ，

3。75/5An incredibly well-researched examination of the Xiongnu， but one that often meanders， dives into tangents， and plays with time in a way that’s less interesting than the author thinks。

Rebecca Freitag ，

I read this book with the intention of learning more about Asian history。 What I learned is that there is so much more that I am unaware of。 This book made me realize that the words "The more you know， the more you know nothing at all" couldn't ring more true。 There is always more to learn， and I'm eager to do so。 I read this book with the intention of learning more about Asian history。 What I learned is that there is so much more that I am unaware of。 This book made me realize that the words "The more you know， the more you know nothing at all" couldn't ring more true。 There is always more to learn， and I'm eager to do so。 。。。more

Shrike58 ，

File under something is better than nothing， as the author pulls together what is known about the Xiongnu， the first great nomadic adversaries of the Chinese state， and the possible ultimate ancestors of the Huns。 My basic problem is that， at a certain point， Man feels like he's filling pages with anecdotes from the Chinese historical classics of varying degrees of relevance just to fill space。 However， Man at least knows where he wants to get to， and has historical problems that he's examining， File under something is better than nothing， as the author pulls together what is known about the Xiongnu， the first great nomadic adversaries of the Chinese state， and the possible ultimate ancestors of the Huns。 My basic problem is that， at a certain point， Man feels like he's filling pages with anecdotes from the Chinese historical classics of varying degrees of relevance just to fill space。 However， Man at least knows where he wants to get to， and has historical problems that he's examining， which is a plus over some of the narrative histories I've read of late。 。。。more

James ，

For one of the few accessible works about the Xiongnu in English， this is such a frustrating book。 The first few chapters set the scene and introduce the Xiongnu， their culture， and their unique rise to prominence on the steppes of Central Asia: this is Man’s best writing on display as he draws the conclusion that the unification of the Chinese polities during the Warring States period precipitated a similar coalescing among the nomadic peoples to the north。 However， his tone is too chatty， too For one of the few accessible works about the Xiongnu in English， this is such a frustrating book。 The first few chapters set the scene and introduce the Xiongnu， their culture， and their unique rise to prominence on the steppes of Central Asia: this is Man’s best writing on display as he draws the conclusion that the unification of the Chinese polities during the Warring States period precipitated a similar coalescing among the nomadic peoples to the north。 However， his tone is too chatty， too prone to digressions and asides。 So much of the middle of the book is taken up by minute military campaigns and extended detours， losing the book’s momentum and my interest。 It isn’t until the end that Man tries to recapture the point of his writing but by then， it was already too late。 There was so much wasted potential – the Xiongnu are a fascinating people and their rise to challenge the early Chinese imperial state raises important questions about China’s expansion into western Asia， but Man spends too long bogged down in the weeds， so to speak， talking about roads， tribute missions， and quoting Sima Qian at length to answer them。 。。。more

Arminius ，

From research it was found that the Xiongnu tribe competed with the Chin tribe for the country of China。 The Xiongnu caused the Great Wall to be built。 The Chin emperor Wu's determination had finally defeated Xiognu and the Chin dynasty took control and thus became China。 From research it was found that the Xiongnu tribe competed with the Chin tribe for the country of China。 The Xiongnu caused the Great Wall to be built。 The Chin emperor Wu's determination had finally defeated Xiognu and the Chin dynasty took control and thus became China。 。。。more

Nathan Albright ，

There has long been a fascinating connection between the various nomadic realms of the steppes to the north and west of China and China itself， and how it is that increasing centralization within China had consequences around it。 This is true not only in the area spoken of in this book， namely with the Xiongnu （Hunnu）， the main subject of this book， but with other areas like China， Burma， Thailand， Korea， and Japan as well。 Similar to the process by which edge induced cohesion works along other There has long been a fascinating connection between the various nomadic realms of the steppes to the north and west of China and China itself， and how it is that increasing centralization within China had consequences around it。 This is true not only in the area spoken of in this book， namely with the Xiongnu （Hunnu）， the main subject of this book， but with other areas like China， Burma， Thailand， Korea， and Japan as well。 Similar to the process by which edge induced cohesion works along other imperial frontiers， where empires were brought into existence first on one side of a boundary and then on another， the author explores the Quin and Han dynasties and their behaviors and the way that this influenced the Xiongnu， and how it was that China eventually outflanked the Xiongnu and thus gained greater strength， thus presaging the common solution of China to dealing with threats to its north by expanding to its west， a strategy that exists to this day and accounts for the troubled Chinese rule over Tibet and East Turkistan to this day。 The author does not examine too many of the possible implications but the discussion here is certainly enough for the reader to advance such matters。This book is almost 300 pages long and is divided into thirteen chapters with various other materials。 The book begins with a list of Chanyus， a timeline， maps， and an introduction to the rise of the Qin and what that meant for Chinese relationships with the "barbarians" across the Great Wall。 After that the author explores the rise of the Xiongnu （I）， including how they gained mastery of the steppes （1）， their move into Ordos （2）， the growing threat a unified China under the Qin dynasty provided for them （3）， and the efforts of Meng Tian to build a straight road as the Qin faced disaster （4）。 The author then explores the peak of the Xiongnu during the early part of the Han dynasty （II）， with a discussion of their first empire of the steppes （5）， the hidden agenda of China's grand historian （6）， the phony peace and phony war that held for decades （7）， and the eventual successful Chinese strategy to disrupt Xiongnu power by ruling over the oasis cities of Turkistan （8）。 The book then explores the collapse of the Xiongnu （III）， by looking at the decline and fall of their state （9）， the Chinese policy of princesses for peace （10）， the shock of surrender when the Xiongnu first gave in to China （11）， the division and eventual destruction of the Xiongnu （12）， and the possible connection between the Xiongnu and the Huns （13）， after which the book ends with an epilogue on the lasting legacy of the Xiongnu， a bibliography， acknowledgements， picture credits， and an index。By and large this book is deeply entertaining as it explores the problems that China faced vis-a-vis various nomadic groups in terms of attempting to buy their peacefulness， leading to a protection racket which allowed the nomadic groups to maintain power through control of the spoils in a way that did not corrupt them for long periods of time sometimes extending to centuries。 Similar to the American means of arming our next enemies， the Chinese did the same thing with regards to the various barbarians at their northern boundary， opening up trade that allowed nomads to upgrade their weapons and gain the necessary goods that allowed them to prosper while engaging in tense periods of truces marked by raiding along the boundary regions of the Ordos that， even to this day， are boundaries between settled agriculture and less settled nomadic herding。 The author explores what is needed in terms of leadership to take advantage of the opportunities provided by being next door neighbor to a centralized empire， which allows for fascinating dynamics by which people seek to appeal to others and deceive themselves as to what they are about， and sometimes to change their behavior drastically as a means of proving that they are still powerful when they are no longer so， alas， as happens here on both the Chinese side and the Xiongnu side。 。。。more

Chris Jaffe ，

This pop history is at times engaging and at times wearying。It's about the Xiongnu， the first major empire on the central Asian steppe that China dealt with。 Also， some believe them to be the Huns （or at least the forerunners of the Huns）。 Man traces their history - or what we know of it， which is spotty since all our records of them come from the outside looking in， most obviously China。 Because we don't know much about them directly， Man tells a lot of stories along the side， such as the rise This pop history is at times engaging and at times wearying。It's about the Xiongnu， the first major empire on the central Asian steppe that China dealt with。 Also， some believe them to be the Huns （or at least the forerunners of the Huns）。 Man traces their history - or what we know of it， which is spotty since all our records of them come from the outside looking in， most obviously China。 Because we don't know much about them directly， Man tells a lot of stories along the side， such as the rise of the Qin Dynasty in China or about the Battle of Adrianople where the Goths destroyed a Roman army。 The early parts were the most engaging。 Man argues that the rise of the Xiongnu was directly tied to the rise of a unified China。 The new and improved China made a juicy target for Xiongnu raids， and to forestall that， China paid them off。 That money gave the steppe empire the ability to keep going。 Thus it's not a coincidence that they rose up with the unification of China。But the book loses me as it goes along， spending too much time on a series of military campaigns between the two sides。 Some chapters felt like he was filling out the book's length。 The book picks up later on， but I couldn't never get fully invested in it again。 Short version: the Xiongnu fell into internal discord， which China used to press an advantage over them， making them essentially a vassal state。 Later， they were dispersed to the west。 So - were they the Hun？ No one really knows。 In China， it's taken as a given that they were。 But the archeological evidence can be read either way。 The Hun themselves had no stories of China in their origin。 （But that just might mean they were so embarrassed by being driven out that they negated that from their cultural memory）。 If nothing else， some Xiongnu probably joined up with what became the Hun。 Ethnic/group identities could be pretty fluid back then。 （Those last two sentences are from me， not the book）。 I'd give it 3。5 stars， but it feels right to round down to 3 than to round up to 4 stars。 。。。more

Christopher ，

Nice to see a Xiongnu-centered English language history。 Though the author does do a lot of that 'now lets have a diversion while I talk about something in the present' that I usually cannot stand， he actually does it much better than most and its usually on topic in the end。 Nice to see a Xiongnu-centered English language history。 Though the author does do a lot of that 'now lets have a diversion while I talk about something in the present' that I usually cannot stand， he actually does it much better than most and its usually on topic in the end。 。。。more

Ernest Spoon ，

Delightful chatty little book on the powerful yet obscure Xiongnu empire， from its rise in the mid-Second Century BCE to its demise in the early Second Century CE。 Obscure because as a nomadic culture the Xiongnu had no written language of their own。 So everything that comes down to the present day is either through Han Dynasty written sources and the archaeological record。 In some respects the Xiongnu bring to mind the two North American horse based empires of the 19th Century， the Comanche and Delightful chatty little book on the powerful yet obscure Xiongnu empire， from its rise in the mid-Second Century BCE to its demise in the early Second Century CE。 Obscure because as a nomadic culture the Xiongnu had no written language of their own。 So everything that comes down to the present day is either through Han Dynasty written sources and the archaeological record。 In some respects the Xiongnu bring to mind the two North American horse based empires of the 19th Century， the Comanche and Lakota Sioux。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Empire of Horses: The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Empire of Horses: The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Empire of Horses: The First Nomadic Civilization and the Making of China&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0