"In the end, the Timurids were swept away by the Uzbeks and Safavids in the beginning of the 16th century. Their dynasty had grown soft with urban life, its members incapable of organizing and leading armies as their steppe barbarian ancestors had. Their weak state similarly prevented the raising of professional armies which could have also enabled them to endure."
Oh hey, encomiendas. I'm from the Philippines, so that's one thing I'm very aware of.
In our history abuse of encomiendas and the religious version (the name escapes me right now, and I'm away from my books) happened a lot earlier, and justice was never served. We never really learned Spanish to the same level as Latin America too.
I'm told it's because we got the dregs of the colonizers, the ones who couldn't break contract and jump the boat at Acapulco. Joy.
Also, how does technology play into this? Because of its more sophisticated organizational capabilities and ability to marshal specialists, the sedentary bureaucratic state has the advantage here, at least over the longer term.
Technology is very important. Mass adoption of firearms tilted the balance in the favor of the settled and their infantry. The steppe(Central Asia) is largely irrelevant nowadays.
Great story, Peter....
"In the end, the Timurids were swept away by the Uzbeks and Safavids in the beginning of the 16th century. Their dynasty had grown soft with urban life, its members incapable of organizing and leading armies as their steppe barbarian ancestors had. Their weak state similarly prevented the raising of professional armies which could have also enabled them to endure."
How ominous to our time in this great cycle......
Oh hey, encomiendas. I'm from the Philippines, so that's one thing I'm very aware of.
In our history abuse of encomiendas and the religious version (the name escapes me right now, and I'm away from my books) happened a lot earlier, and justice was never served. We never really learned Spanish to the same level as Latin America too.
I'm told it's because we got the dregs of the colonizers, the ones who couldn't break contract and jump the boat at Acapulco. Joy.
Also, how does technology play into this? Because of its more sophisticated organizational capabilities and ability to marshal specialists, the sedentary bureaucratic state has the advantage here, at least over the longer term.
Technology is very important. Mass adoption of firearms tilted the balance in the favor of the settled and their infantry. The steppe(Central Asia) is largely irrelevant nowadays.
Underscoring that there is a time to hold 'em, and also a time to fold 'em.
Bravo, another exquisite exposition. Will be pondering these questions for a long time.