Fülszöveg
This is the first book to examine the nomads
of Asia from a purely military perspective,
from the ancient Scythians to the Manchu
conquest of China. Across these two thou-
sand years, the horse archer armies of the
steppe—considered here as a unified phe-
nomenon, linked by their reliance on mass
cavalry tactics and the composite bow—
resembled an unstoppable "force of nature"
which sedentary people, except in rare
instances, were unable to resist.
With terrific powers of description and
engrossing analysis based on primary
sources, Erik Hildinger examines the tactics
and weaponry of the steppe warriors, appre-
ciating both their strengths and weaknesses.
Their opponents, whether Romans,
Crusaders, Chinese or medieval Russians,
faced similar problems in combat against
the nomads, who were often led by comman-
ders of legendary prowess such as Attila,
Chinggis Khan and Timur Lenk.
Hildinger s previous book is a translation
from Latin of Carpini's The Story of...
Tovább
Fülszöveg
This is the first book to examine the nomads
of Asia from a purely military perspective,
from the ancient Scythians to the Manchu
conquest of China. Across these two thou-
sand years, the horse archer armies of the
steppe—considered here as a unified phe-
nomenon, linked by their reliance on mass
cavalry tactics and the composite bow—
resembled an unstoppable "force of nature"
which sedentary people, except in rare
instances, were unable to resist.
With terrific powers of description and
engrossing analysis based on primary
sources, Erik Hildinger examines the tactics
and weaponry of the steppe warriors, appre-
ciating both their strengths and weaknesses.
Their opponents, whether Romans,
Crusaders, Chinese or medieval Russians,
faced similar problems in combat against
the nomads, who were often led by comman-
ders of legendary prowess such as Attila,
Chinggis Khan and Timur Lenk.
Hildinger s previous book is a translation
from Latin of Carpini's The Story of the Mon-
gols Whom We Call the Tartars. A lawyer by
profession, he has also written on medieval
and military history for a variety of publica-
tions. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Front cover: "Knight at the Crossroads" by Victor
Nasnetsov; back cover: "The Apotheosis of War" by
Vasily Vereshchagin.
Cover design by Elizabeth Van Itallie.
Vissza