Why were so many nomadic peoples so successful?

[Jayburner]

they take the shit jobs we dont want.

[sarahtasher]

BTW ''strong agrarian people beats city dwellers'' is a trope. It was used constantly in Roman litterature, and whatever truth it have offuscate much more grounded arguments.

For instance, until cannon became widespread (and pretty much royal as even a modest siege corps was well outside the means of feudal lords) taking any town that invested in it's defence without starving it or storming it by surprise was a tricky proposition for European armies

[Deleted]

they take the shit jobs we dont want.

I guess even your greatest ancestor was that guy who sat drunk in the village when a giant army moved in :P

[Deleted]

They weren't better societies or greater people. They were just the best at killing people. They destroyed many successful civilizations and it was a net loss for humanity.

Well not necessarily, aside from the Mongolians and few others, they didnt exactly destroy those civs, they just assimilated them.

[Yunru]

They used a zerg tactic. Suprise rush.

If you dont know where enemy is coming from, you cant form a good defense. And also, if they spoted a position like this, they just pass it. (and go for villiges to get the defenders out of the walls)

[ashblond]

When you are a nomad living in a harsh land and climate, there is really nothing to lose when going to war.

Rich agricultural civilizations have too much to lose.

[Revik]

There was a huge incentive when you got to keep what you killed.

[Shadowferal]

That's actually a myth. The Church was just the continuity of the Roman administrative structure. Civilization didn't stopped during the early medieval ages, Charlemagne is the main example of it. The problem was the regionalization of the Roman Empire, opening the way for the creation of new groups, and the collapse of the commerce.

*nods* That's part of it I think.
I'm looking at Tamerlane (Timur), and how he terrorized Christian armies and all of India for a time. He had armies that were fast, mobile, and disciplined, and enured to such harsh ways. I recall one battle where he laid siege to one castle that was protected by the Knights Hospitaller, the knights were holding out for a relief that was coming by ships nearby. Tamerlane spotted the ships and catapulted the heads of Christians at the ships. The ships turned back and the castle was taken.
As savage as these type of conquerors were (pyramids of skulls..an object lesson made by Timur. And Genghis Khan used women and children as living screens for many of his attacks), they were for the most part regarded as highly educated, spoke more than a few languages, knowledgeable of various cultures, and patronized the aesthetic arts.