216 CHAPTER 4
for the emergence of the nomadic economy.206 On the threshold between
the second and the first millennium BC, the balance between the elements
of the traditional mixed stock-breeding and agricultural economy in some
mountain-steppe regions was disrupted and various communities were forced
into nomadism. They abandoned agriculture since it could no longer sustain
them and moved on to extensive pastoralism that proved to be more favorable
for them.207
Pastoralism prevailed in the steppe zone due to the limited opportunities
for the development of agriculture. Irrigation systems could only by afforded
by financially stable states. Therefore, the nomads most often settled down in
regions that were suitable for the development of agriculture.208 It is impor-
tant to bear in mind that dry climate can cause both a transition from agricul-
ture to pastoralism and vice versa, due to the reduction of pasture lands.209 It
is therefore worth wondering whether the significant expansion of agricultural
territories in the steppe zone of Eastern Europe after the second half of the
seventh century was related to climate change.
Climate warming during the sixth and seventh centuries led to the growth
of cultivable lands in Western Europe.210 In the mid-seventh century, a long
period of drought that had begun during the first century AD reached its peak.
According to I. Baranov, there is a direct relation between the settlement of the
nomads and that lengthy drought, which caused a reduction of pasture lands.211
Agriculture continued to grow in the steppe zone of Eastern Europe until the
next climatic changes occurred during the tenth century.
Historical climatology is still not quite accurate as a science. Nevertheless,
based on observations of changes that have occurred in the development of
Alpine glaciers, as well as some other data, it is possible to indicate periods
of climate warming and dry spells. It can thus be postulated that the climate
warmed in the period between 750 and 1150. Between the ninth and the elev-
enth centuries, the warmer climate triggered a drought. It is, however, not clear
how climate changes affected the various regions of Europe, since the impact
of climate warming and droughts on the economy can be both positive and
negative, depending on the geographical environment. Moreover, the differ-
ence in the average annual temperature during the period of climate warming
206 Khazanov 1994, 95.
207 Markov 1976, 278.
208 Khazanov 1994, 200; Markov 1976, 279.
209 Khazanov 1994, 200.
210 Favier 2002, 63.
211 Baranov 1990, 17.