ABSTRACT
The time period, 1500–700 BCE, in the ancient world history was significant on several counts including collapse of several Mediterranean and Near-Eastern Bronze Age civilisations, displacement of tribes and their invasions on the settled societies, and the advent of iron which had long-term implications for human material progress. The geographical area considered for the description of the nomadic groups includes Central Asia (covering modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan) and West Asia (incorporating Anatolia, Levant, Mesopotamia, Iran, and highlands of Armenian mountains). The time span considered is the Late Bronze Age till the advent of iron in these regions.
The chapter will begin with a broad definition of Pastoral Nomads and then go on to evaluate the very concept of pastoral nomadism which has witnessed a paradigm shift in the historiographies of the past few decades. This will involve a discussion of pastoral nomadism as a specialised economic activity and the integration of nomads within settled societies and its impact on the former.
Developments in Central Asia will be analysed to cover a longer period encapsulating the Bronze Age (3000–1500 BCE) and Late Bronze and Iron Age (1500–700 BCE). Within this time frame, the focus will be on the late bronze period, which saw significant political, social, and cultural changes in this region due to immigration of several steppe nomads into Central Asia and their interaction with the settled societies. The prominent late Bronze Age settlements/cultures such as Bactrian-Margiana Archaeological Complex and Andronovo will be particularly described along with several political developments and the process of cultural integration of nomadic tribes with the settled societies in this region and changes that were brought about in the early Iron Age. Analysis of nomadic pastoralism in West Asia will cover a period 2000–800 BCE, taking into account development and progress under prominent late Bronze Age civilisations such as Hatti and Hittites (Anatolia); Kassites and Assyrian (Mesopotamia); and the Mitanni and Canaanites (Syria and Palestine). The Iron Age in West Asia will be described in the backdrop of decline of great civilisations like that of Hittite and Assyrians and development of settlements of the nomadic groups.
The last section of the chapter will be devoted to a detailed description of the advent of iron and its implications for humanity at large. The discussion will incorporate the present historiographical debate on the origin of iron technology, the complex process involving production of pure iron (steel), and the dispersal of iron technology in different parts of the world. The chapter will end with the impact of iron technology on human progress under different head-non-military (agriculture, tools, craft technology, and metallurgy in general) and military (changes in the nature of warfare and rise of powerful states like that of the Assyrians).
