Pages: 149-170

The urbanization processes on the Inner Asia during periods of the nomadic empires were studied. Xiongnu had rural settlements and towns, populated mostly by farmers. The Uighur Khaganate had a few fortresses and one imperial trading mega-city. The Liao Empire opened a new stage in the steppe urbanization. The annexation of a growing number of significant agricultural territories to the empire required creation of a more sophisticated mechanism of government. The Khitans built large cities with gorgeous temples and palaces to house the imperial court and the emperor’s officials. There were about fifty known Khitan towns. The excavations of towns show that their population was international. In the beginning of Genghis Khan nomadic empire, the Mongols quite soon felt the deficit of trained specialists in various trades. During the first decades of the existence of their empire, they organized a large scale mobilization of human resources. By means of the forced relocation of large masses of people, or through involving into this process a vast number of adventurers, profiteers and gentlemen of fortune, the Mongols set up the conditions for an unprecedented intercultural exchange and integration of cultures, religions and civilizations. Thus, the Mongol imperial cities appeared.

Keywords: Inner Asia, nomadism, urbanization, nomadic empires, Xiongnu, Uighurs, Khitans, Mongols

Information about author:

Nikolay Kradin (Vladivostok, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Pushkinskaya St., 89, Vladivostok, 690001, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]