to protect themselves, but the nomadic women were also default auxiliary cavalry reserve in times of war. Therefore, all nomadic children, boys and girls, were trained and proficient in handing the Five Weapons (Bes Qaru), the nomadic martial arts system which included weapons such as bow and arrows, lances and spears, sabers and swords, clubs, warhammers and battle axes, and daggers and knives. All of these Five Weapons were used both on horseback and on foot.
European knighthood takes its roots from the EN tradition of the Great Steppe’s knights called Batyrs (bahadurs, baatars). It is a well-known fact among the Eurasian nomadologists. The Batyrs were the elite tribal warriors who rose to their ranks only due to their military accomplishments. The Batyrs were noble by the nomadic standards, extraordinary warriors and military strategists, also were well-educated, accomplished in arts, poetry, and music. The status of Batyr was not passable to their children and could only be earned in battles. Sometimes even Khan’s were given the status of Batyr. In some respects, the title of Batyr was higher than the status of Khan.
Leadership
The decision-making process in EN society was also unique. The family heads (Aul-Bas) would elect the clan head (Ru-Bas), and the assembly of the Ru-bases would elect their tribal leader (Taipa-Kósem). The Taipa-Kósems would form constituent assemblies of tribal confederations. These assemblies were to hold democratic leadership meetings called Qurultai, where they would discuss the ongoing matters, such as coordinate their seasonal migration routes, solve any possible disputes, and etc. Each of the Taipa-Kósems had a voice and the decisions were made by voice count.
In times of war or famine, the Qurultai could have decided to appoint a marshal or even elect a Khan. At this, in order to elect a Khan, the circumstances must be extraordinary, such as long war with an adversary state or another nomadic tribal confederation, because the nomads never liked the idea of concentrating too much power in one hand. The marshals would usually be appointed from the ranks of the most experienced and accomplished Batyrs. Sometimes, the Qurultai could even combine both roles and elect a Khan with marshal’s privileges.
For the most part of history, nomadic Khans had limited powers. First of all, the elected Khan would have to give out all of his cattle (main wealth) to the tribes that elected him. So overnight a Khan and his family became poor, fully dependent on his subjects. A Khan was allowed only a small personal guard and enough cattle to sustain his family. This was a symbol of his surrender to his peoples’ interests and an insurance against his greed and corruption.
Now the newly elected Khan had to earn his peoples’ trust and find new wealth by taxations, or in war or by trade. Nomadic taxation system was called yasak/yasaq/jasaq (tribute), and it was rather simple: each tribal unit had to annually supply Khan with a certain amount of livestock or other goods, such as felt, leather, furs, ropes, tools, and etc.
A war-time marshal or Khan could request the tribes to provide their militia when needed. Each tribe would supply the requested amount of battle-ready warriors, fully equipped and armed. Each military unit consisted of kin warriors with their own elected leaders, and could act independently or as a part of a large unit. Under the martial law, all warriors were obliged to abide the marshal’s orders, and refusal to comply could be punished by death.
At the same time, the relatives of an executed warrior could openly complain after the martial law was lifted and question the marshal’s decision. If the marshal was found to exceed his powers, he would either pay the compensation fee per generally accepted rate, or could even be reelected. If the insulted party wasn’t happy with the ruling, they could take upon themselves to carry on bloody vendetta and seek to kill the said Khan or marshal, often successfully. The life of a nomadic Khan was dangerous.
In case of successful military raids or campaigns, the spoils of war were divided among the nomads honestly and democratically. The Khan would receive the biggest part, since he carried the most risks in case of a failure and because he had to feed his own guardsmen and their families. The tribal militia would receive parts of the spoils proportional to their quantitative input. Ideally, all of the participants would get their fair share, even if they didn’t play a decisive part in the overall success. But the honor and glory would go to those who did, and this is why everybody tried hard.
Judicial system
Courts didn’t exist in nomadic society in the same form as they did in SC nations. Instead, the nomads had arbitrary judges, who were among the most honorable and distinguished members of EN society. In order to become a judge, one must have had a life-long impeccable record of honest behavior and good judgement. If one didn’t meet these requirements, he simply would never see any clients, as they would choose to go to somebody with a better reputation.
If there was a dispute between two parties related to murder, theft, or pastures, and they couldn’t come to an agreement on their own, they could come to a judge they trusted, and he or she for a percentage of the settlement amount would listen to both sides, counsel them, and offer a solution to their dispute. If both parties were satisfied, the judge’s reputation grew, and he would find more clients.
But judges’ role wasn’t just to be arbiters for disputes. Best judges were so influential because of their practical wisdom that they became advisors to tribal leaders or even Khans. Some judges even were asked to take over the leadership of entire tribes or tribal confederations, which almost equaled them to the status of Khans. A status of a judge wasn’t passable to their children, it could only be earned by a person’s own merits and deeds. No wonder Ancient Greeks called the EN «the most decent of men».
In traditional ENC law, the criminal penalties never contained long-term imprisonment. In traditional society there were only two ways of dealing with criminals: material penalty and death. For each type of the crimes there was a universally agreed fee. Injuring a person cost a certain amount of cattle or money, killing a person would cost much more, and etc. And if, on rare occasions, the affected party didn’t accept the penalty for their killed member for some reason, they could choose «death for death» penalty instead. The execution of this sentence was up to the affected party, who would try hunting down and killing the violator.
Healthcare, education, and pensions
Of course, no society could exist without some form of healthcare system. The nomads never had hospitals, clinic, or medical schools. Instead, every nomads since the childhood was taught basic medical literacy. The parents were the doctors in their family, capable of curing most of the common ailments by themselves, using homemade remedies, such as sheep far, herbs, warms, horse milk, and etc.
In case if the disease was serious, they could visit or invite a tribal medicine man or a woman, who was a person of particular aptitude and knowledge in curing people. There were a few types of these nomadic «doctors», some specializing in herbal medicine, others in injuries and surgeons, some could fix broken bones and dislocations, and correct skeletal problems, and some could even cure the non-physical and mental illnesses, similar to shamans. These skills could be passed from generation to generation.
It must be noted that historically the EN were very healthy, comparing to the SC nations, as it was noted by European and Russian travelers in Modern Era who visited the nomadic tribes of Kazakhstan and Mongolia. They reported that the nomads don’t have any diseases, except for those caused by traumas, poisonous bites, infections, or age. Therefore, the traditional EN medicine was mostly geared towards treating these conditions.
The EN did not have formal education institutions
