10 introduction
In sharp contrast to the sixteenth-century discovery of America
by Europeans, a case of absolute alterity produced by the contact
between radically different civilizations with no previous contact with
each other,^15 nomads from the Eurasian steppe lands had long been
acquainted with the sedentary Other and had established an accept-
able modus vivendi long before the sixth century.^16 Responsible for this
long tradition of contact was trade (such as that between the ancient
Greeks and the Scythians or that between the Xiongnu and the Chi-
nese), as well as the desire of the nomads, ever since Antiquity, to
establish equivalent relations with sedentary societies. As Nicola di
Cosmo has shown,^17 the symbiosis between those different ecologi-
cal, economic, political, and cultural systems was relatively often dis-
turbed by nomadic raids aimed at booty or obtaining payments of
tribute and favorable trade relations from rulers of sedentary societies
(A. Khazanov’s famous “trade vs. raid” pattern of nomadic-sedentary
relations^18 ). Such familiar contact-mechanisms and strategies-of-contact
(which sometimes turned into dialogue strategies as well) between rep-
resentatives of the nomadic and sedentary societies, required also the
existence of comparatively sustainable notions of the Outside Other.
These notions are clichés similar to those about nomads (mainly
Turkic-speaking peoples) in existence among sedentary communities.
Most typical for the attitude and established stereotypes about nomads
is a quote from Al-Jahiz from Basra (ca. 778–869), which deals with
the Turk steppe empire and its significance for the neighboring sed-
entary civilizations:
So the Turks are nomads living in the wilderness and they have [dif-
ferent] cattle... their interest is [directed] to raids and invasions and
in hunting and horse riding... as well as in... conquering the states....
Accordingly, they have in the warcraft the place which the Greeks have(^15) See details in, Todorov 1992. This book was originally published as “La conquête
de l’Amerique.” La question de l’autre’. Editions du Seuil, 1982. 16
Khazanov 1994b, 172, correctly points out that the steppe Eurasian nomads had
been confronted for almost 3 millennia with different sedentary societies that were
well-organized in stable and mighty states. 17
di Cosmo 1994, 1092–1126. Also see, di Cosmo 2002, who stresses that China
began the construction of walls in Central Asia for both offensive as well as defensive
purposes. 18
Khazanov 1994b. The model ‘trading-and/or-raiding’ can be also found in: Ori-
gins of the State 1978; State and Society 1988.