Chris Trottier on Nostr: Europeans tell on themselves when they claim to know about the Scythians, Sarmations, ...

Europeans tell on themselves when they claim to know about the Scythians, Sarmations, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Magyars, Mongols, and Turks – and then say that they didn’t have a big impact on the history and culture of Europe.

The Scythians and Sarmatians were as impactful to the early history of Europe as the ancient Greeks.

The Huns were probably the biggest driving force involved with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

In the 7th century, the Avar Khaganate was the second largest polity in Europe after the Byzantine Empire.

The Bulgars were amongst the ancestors of – who else? – Bulgarians, but also the modern Tatars as well.

Magyars are the ancestors of Hungarians.

Anyone who doesn’t understand that Mongols significantly altered European history knows very little about European. But here’s just one significant fact about the Mongols: they destroyed Kyivan Rus’.

As far as the Turks go, well, I don’t know what to tell you if you don’t think the Ottoman Empire was important. Suleiman the Magnificent alone had a bigger impact on Europe’s history and culture than Napoleon.