I decided to change things up and listen to something different. The book Empires of the Steppes by Kenneth W. Harl was an excellent history book about the nomadic warriors of the Eurasian steppes. If you are into history, and want to learn about some of the great barbarians who conquered parts of the world, this is a book for you!
The great thing about the book is that it is not just a dry history of the region. Granted, he starts from prehistoric days and the first settlers of the steppes. He then delves into the way the different tribes split and how the languages evolved from the region. He then connects Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, and Tamerlane, and all of the different tribes and rulers in between those three. The cool thing is that Harl does not just focus on the nomads interactions with Europe and the western world, but he also provides the tale from the Arab & Chinese perspectives. He tosses in the Indian subcontinent to give us a complete picture of how these peoples helped shape the world as we know it.
One of my favorite parts of the book discusses how Tamerlane conquered some city, and he ordered his soldiers to each bring him two heads. I just picture some dude waking up, and being like “oh shit, those are due today??? I thought we had until the end of the week. I killed a bunch of people, but I didn’t snag any heads, I assumed I had time. Where am I going to find some heads now?” I am weird, I know.
