Barbarians at the gates

In this episode, we consider some aspects of nomadic identity and social organization. Why? Because at the end of the day, the peoples in human history who have been most influential on the direction that world history has taken have been nomads: wandering humans. From the Yamnaya, Scythians, and Huns to Arabs and Mongols in Eurasia, the classical nomads have been the ones facilitating trade and putting pressure on empires. Aside from these classical nomads, we may also think of the colonizing Europeans and contemporary migrants as nomads: people who move through the world in search of pastures, places to live and grow. At the end of the day, we are all a product of nomads, and the idea of a settled country is an illusion. It is therefore important that we listen to our nomad ancestors and consider what nomad identity is.