The Off Topic Topic

[Duque de Bragança]

Which marauding barbarian horde are you?
http://www.medievalists.net/2015/01/01/marauding-barbarian-horde/

The Mongol Horde

The infamous Mongol Empire began with a poor nomad named Temujin - remembered by history as Genghis Khan. He united the warring Mongol tribes and conquered great civilizations in northern China and Iran.

His descendants continued his empire-building, until their borders stretched from Korea and Vietnam to Ukraine and Iraq. Gradually the Mongols fragmented, with Genghis's descendants ruling powerful empires of their own.

The Mongols were more than mere barbarians. Genghis was quick to realize they had technological backwardness and they happily learned from the people they conquered - everything from writing and farming, to catapults and the distilling of alcohol.

They did, however, have a penchant for boiling their enemies alive. Genghis also practiced what has since been called "urbicide" - wiping out an entire city, but leaving just one survivor to tell the dreadful tale to the next (hopefully less foolhardy) target.

Genghis sought immortality from the religions of conquered people throughout his life. At first his death was kept secret to maintain stability, and his tomb remains one of history's great mysteries.

Pretty easy to orientate your answers with some knowledge of "classic" barbarians.
No Suevi or Franks option since they were not steppe barbarians of the marauding kind, even in the beginning

[The Brain]

The Timurids

The Timurid's were the last, most dramatic, and possibly most fleeting of all barbarian hordes. Their founder was a poor cattle-rustler from Central Asia known as Timur - or Tamerlane in English. During one sheep raid he allegedly got two arrows in the leg, giving him a limp.

But Timur would prove to be one of the most efficient conquerors in history. His armies sacked Baghdad, brought the Ottoman Empire to its knees (tormenting the sultan Bayezid in a golden cage), and plundered deep into India.

Entitling himself "Sword of Islam", Timur built spectacular mosques at his citadels in modern Uzbekistan. The irony was that the majority of Timur's wars were against fellow Muslims. A famous act of brutality occurred at Isfahan (in modern Iran) when Timur slayed the city's population and built as many as 28 towers out of their heads.

The great conqueror died aged almost 70, still planning to attack China. His empire soon disintegrated as his sons went to war.

[garbon]

Which marauding barbarian horde are you?
http://www.medievalists.net/2015/01/01/marauding-barbarian-horde/

The Huns

The Huns were the most terrifying barbarians the Romans ever faced. They swept other tribes before them as they expanded westwards from 370 AD, forcing peoples like the Alans and Goths to flee into the heart of the Empire.

The most famous Hun was Attila. He inherited the throne with his brother Bleda, who mysteriously died while out on a hunting trip. The Romans were so terrified of the Huns that they paid Attila to leave them alone. But if the payments dried up, Attila would attack.

In 451 Attila invaded Gaul, but was defeated. Two years later he died - most probably from internal bleeding after too much wine and an overly vigorous night with his new Gothic bride. His sons quickly squabbled and lost his empire.

Me too!

[Archy]

Which marauding barbarian horde are you?
http://www.medievalists.net/2015/01/01/marauding-barbarian-horde/

The Timurids

The Timurid's were the last, most dramatic, and possibly most fleeting of all barbarian hordes. Their founder was a poor cattle-rustler from Central Asia known as Timur - or Tamerlane in English. During one sheep raid he allegedly got two arrows in the leg, giving him a limp.

But Timur would prove to be one of the most efficient conquerors in history. His armies sacked Baghdad, brought the Ottoman Empire to its knees (tormenting the sultan Bayezid in a golden cage), and plundered deep into India.

Entitling himself "Sword of Islam", Timur built spectacular mosques at his citadels in modern Uzbekistan. The irony was that the majority of Timur's wars were against fellow Muslims. A famous act of brutality occurred at Isfahan (in modern Iran) when Timur slayed the city's population and built as many as 28 towers out of their heads.

The great conqueror died aged almost 70, still planning to attack China. His empire soon disintegrated as his sons went to war.

[The Larch]

The Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was formed from the territory that Genghis Khan left his son Jochi, in what is now western Russia. The people of the horde were of Mongol and Turkic origin, and had great success against the local Russians - at one point sacking Kiev.

The Horde quickly became less nomadic, building great trading cities of up to 600,000 people. More gradually they also adopted Turkic culture and eventually Islam.

The Black Death in the 1340's marked the beginning of the end for the Golden Horde, which broke apart in the 15th century.

[Admiral Yi]

Boner got Hitler.

[Valmy]

My favorite one was how will our name go down in history.

The poor Goths.

[Ed Anger]

Boner got Hitler.

Correct

[Syt]

Asterix and the Goths taught me to read old German print:



:pickelhaube:

[The Brain]

Boner got Hitler.

Correct

Did someone at least save his brain?

[Tonitrus]

Boner got Hitler.

Correct

Could the Nazis count as a 20th century marauding barbarian horde? (semi-serious question)

[Malthus]

Heh, my brother linked me to this Ames, Iowa promo video of positively ferocious lameness - hurray for the City of Ames!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84108618/

'Come to our city, we have potable water'. 

[Valmy]

Well Iowa is the positive ferocious lameness state.

[Malthus]

Well Iowa is the positive ferocious lameness state.

Check out the vid - it's an embodyment of that spirit. 

[Syt]

Heh, my brother linked me to this Ames, Iowa promo video of positively ferocious lameness - hurray for the City of Ames!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84108618/

'Come to our city, we have potable water'. 

It's actually worse than the "1000 Years of Leipzig" song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLKc938wlw8