On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads

Warriors of the Steppe: A Military History of Central Asia 500 BC to 1700 AD (New

“Hutsuls don’t fear death. But we must prepare to meet God, and for that it is expected you will be dressed in your best outfit.”

I understood it now: to dispossess a nomad, you take away his horse and plow up his land. Horseless and coaxed into a life between four walls, the once brave warrior becomes toothless and redundant in the space of a generation.

“It is dangerous to rest a horse too long, or a man, for they will soon relax and become weak, lazy, and disobedient.”

“To be honest, life, as far as I can remember, has always been hard, no matter who had the reins, Moscow or Astana.”

The Secret History of the Mongols,

Solo, I reasoned, I would be able to render myself more vulnerable, and therefore pledge a much greater trust in the humanity of strangers. With no familiar companion or culture to lean on, I would be forced to appeal to the better side of human beings no matter who they were. Doing so would offer me the kind of immersion—in the landscape and in th

“To the mounted nomads who rode and resided along the Equestrian Equator [Eurasian steppe], possessions were for using, not hoarding. Life to them was a bridge; one should cross over it, not build a house on it.”

Free of fences and private land ownership, the natural lay of the earth was unhindered, defined only by mountains, rivers, deserts, and the natural ebb and flow of the seasons.