Nomads

• Emperor Theodosius raised taxes

  To enforce tax collection, Constantine tied coloni (tenant farmers) and artisans to specific locations and occupations → To avoid taxes and harassment by imperial officials, small freeholders sought protection under the local large landowners, thereby becoming dependent as well → Together with the location-bound coloni, a new subjected class emerged, obligated to provide agricultural services
• • Theodosius the Great divided the empire between his two sons in 395 AD
  • In the Roman Empire, the decline of the economy and trade did not affect all regions equally: In the western part of the empire, this phenomenon was more pronounced, while in the eastern territories, it had less impact
  • The West increasingly lagged behind the already developed East
  • Following this, Emperor Constantine, instead of Rome, had a new capital built for himself at the gateway of the East, on the shores of the Bosporus, on the site of the Greek-founded Byzantium, which he named Constantinople
  • The growing size of the military and the construction of the new capital required substantial funds, leading the emperor to raise taxes
  • To enforce tax collection, Constantine tied coloni (tenant farmers) and artisans to specific locations and occupations → To avoid taxes and harassment by imperial officials, small freeholders sought protection under the local large landowners, thereby becoming dependent as well → Together with the location-bound coloni, a new subjected class emerged, obligated to provide agricultural services
  • Emperor Theodosius reached a settlement with the Goths, recognizing them as allies = they could settle within the borders of the empire, living almost independently under their own king, effectively forming a state within the state
  • To enhance defense capabilities, in 395 AD, Theodosius sanctioned the de facto separation of the Eastern and Western provinces, dividing the empire between his two sons
  • The two new states, often competing against each other, attempted to weather the storms of the migrations
  • With the Gothic settlement, a wave of Germanic tribes began, primarily targeting the territories of the Western Empire
  • The eastern regions did not fall into the main direction of migration → due to a more developed economy and stronger state authority, the Eastern Roman Empire proved more resistant than the West
  • The gold of the Eastern Roman emperors and skillful diplomacy had their impact: the attackers turned their attention westward
  • The Goths were unleashed to the west
  • Steppes peoples mainly lived in the western territories, Vandals in Africa, Germans in Hispania and Italy
  • In 410, the Goths plundered Rome, the Vandals looted it in 455, the Britons and Saxons occupied the British Isles after the Roman withdrawal
• Onset of the migration

  1. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the Germanic tribes gradually shifted eastward, intermittently raiding into the Roman Empire → Rome was able to repel these attacks during this period

  2. Around 375 AD, significant events unfolded far beyond the limes, in the region of the Volga → the Eastern Goths, migrating eastward (a Germanic tribe), encountered the advancing Huns and suffered defeat → the fleeing Goths initiated the mass migration

  3. The nomadic pastoral tribes of the Huns came from the steppes of Inner Asia → unable to penetrate into China and likely facing setbacks, they moved westward along the route of the grassy plains, through the steppe zone, driving ahead a series of nomadic peoples
• The Nomads

  • The vast grassy plain, the steppe zone, stretched from the countries of predominantly agricultural cultures, northward from Eurasia through China to the Carpathian Basin
  • To the south, high mountains and warmer climates bordered the region, while to the north, vast forests surrounded it
  • The communities living here were mainly engaged in large-scale animal husbandry, focusing on horses and cattle
  • They led a nomadic way of life, constantly moving their animals from pasture to pasture
  • The migration of herds, including cattle and horse herds, was followed by the entire population in wagons, including the elderly, women, and children → it was regular and occurred according to a set schedule each year
  • The nomadic pastoralism based on the regular rotation of grazing areas is referred to as nomadism
  • The dominance of large-scale animal husbandry did not preclude other activities, as the regular rotation of pasture areas also allowed for agriculture
  • The economy based on mobility was highly vulnerable because droughts or epidemics that occasionally thinned the animal population could threaten complete social collapse
  • Nomads were dependent on the settled societies practicing a sedentary lifestyle in the vicinity
  • At the same time, the settled countries and empires were occasionally dependent on nomads → they were disciplined and skilled warriors who could be hired as mercenaries (effectively dealing with both internal and external enemies)
  • The ancient Hsiung-nu (Asian Huns) had a form of statehood: a centralized power united the population of a territory, independent of other states and capable of achieving its own political objectives