Arms of the Sakas and other Tribes of the Central Asian Steppes

Eurasia was dominated for thousands of years by the dualism of nomadic people and the settled communities of the agrarian civilization. China, Europe, the Middle East, Iran and India were under constant pressure of the riding hordes – invaders like Sakas, the Scythes, the Alans, the Sarmatians, the Hsiung-nu, Huns or Hunas, the Turkish tribes, the Mongols and others. These raids went on from the prehistoric times till the eighth century A.D. From the neolithic and paleolithic age down to the times of Timur, Chingez Khan and Babur, after which the west started their domination of the world with the advent of the gun. This book is about the arms used by these nomads. Arms such as the bow and the arrow, spear, knives, celts, swords and daggers as also the armours that they wore for defence. Based on archaeological finds and profusely illustrated this book should be useful to the students and researchers of archaeology, anthropology, ancient history and culture as also the general readers.