Somewhat prompted by Swamp Rat’s “Horse Bows” thread of a few days ago…this might seem like a bit of a tangent, but it really does tie back to traditional archery – historical recurves in particular. I’ve been becoming more and more fascinated by the histories of the Steppe culture – Scythians, Huns, Mongols, etc. Truly amazing horse people, archers, and tough as hell.
Right now I’m reading “The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in History: How Genghis Khan’s Mongols Almost Conquered the World” by Thomas J. Craughwell. Pretty good read so far, but I’m hungry for more – anyone have any good sources on the subject they could suggest? Both on these cultures in general, and/or on historical recurves?
And if you’re curious about the subject, but don’t want to dive into a whole book about it, I’d suggest starting with an interesting podcast from the “Hardcore History” series called “Steppe Stories” that gives a good overview of the history of the region, including some incredible accounts of their archery skills and warfare. It’s about an hour long, and available as a $1.99 download here.
