Inner Eurasia is defined not just by geography, but by its unique ecology. Stretching from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Hinggan Mountains in the east, this region is characterized by the "Great Steppe." Unlike Outer Eurasia (the settled agricultural zones of Europe, India, and China), Inner Eurasia’s history was driven by the interplay between the harsh, arid environment and the resilient pastoral societies that mastered it. Prehistory: The Birth of Pastoralism
The rise of the Xiongnu confederation in modern Mongolia (c. 200 BCE) is a turning point. Christian uses the Xiongnu to introduce a recurring theme: state formation via external threat. To face the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu created a centralized military apparatus. That apparatus, in turn, pushed other tribes westward, creating the domino effect that eventually sent the Huns crashing into Roman Europe. Christian is careful to note that the "Huns" of Attila were a product of both Inner Eurasian dynamics and Roman collapse.