The barbarian empires of the Steppes, DVD / Kenneth W. Harl.

"Course no. 3830"--Container.

Compact discs.

Course guidebook includes bibliographical references.

Steppes and peoples -- The rise of the Steppe Nomads -- Early Nomads and China -- The Han Emperors and Xiongnu at war -- Scythians, Greeks, and Persians -- The Parthians -- Kushans, Sacae, and the Silk Road -- Rome and the Sarmatians -- Trade across the Tarim Basin -- Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Christianity -- Rome and the Huns -- Attila the Hun, scourge of God -- Sasaanid Shahs and the Hephthalites -- The Turks, transformation of the Steppes -- Turkmen Khagans and Tang Emperors -- Avars, Bulgars, and Constantinople -- Khazar Khagans -- Pechengegs, Magyars, and Cumans -- Islam and the Caliphate -- The clash between Turks and the Caliphate -- Muslim merchants and mystics in Central Asia -- The rise of the Seljuk Turks -- Turks in Anatolia and India -- The Sultans of Rūm -- The Sultans of Delhi -- Manchurian warlords and Song emperors -- The Mongols -- Conquests of Genghis Khan -- Western Mongol expansion -- Mongol invasion of the Islamic world -- Conquest of Song China -- Pax Mongolica and cultural exchange -- Conversion and assimilation -- Tamerlane, prince of destruction -- Bābur and Mughal India -- Legacy of the Steppes.

Lecturer: Professor Kenneth W. Harl, Tulane University

This course addresses three broad chronological spans. The first third of the course covers the nomadic steppe peoples from antiquity to 550 A.D., from their domestication of the horse through their interactions with the civilizations of China, the Near East, the Greeks, and Imperial Rome. The second third of the course deals with the early Middle Ages, a period of time that was dominated by the spread of the Turkish language across the steppe zones. The third component deals with the impact of the Mongols, which began in the 12th century and is still being felt today.