History glossary
nomadic
describing communities that moved with herds, seasons or resources rather than living permanently in one settlement.
- Category
- Social organisation
- Region
- Global
- Date range
- Varies
What it means
Nomadic societies moved across landscapes with animals, seasons, trade routes or resources. In Qin and Han frontier history, the term often refers to mobile steppe peoples north of China whose cavalry, raids and diplomacy shaped imperial defence policy.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Celtic World Before Rome
Celtic tribes spanned Europe, shaping culture, conflict, and a lasting legacy.
Kievan Rus
The founding of the Rus’ state in the north.
The Soviets
From revolution to superpower, the Soviet Union rose, struggled internally, and collapsed in 1991.
The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval Europe
From the arrival of Gothic peoples at the Danube to the crowning of Charlemagne, this story traces how the Western Roman Empire fragmented into successor kingdoms and how a new medieval world took shape.
The Persian Empire
From Cyrus the Great to Alexander's conquest, the Achaemenid Persian Empire turned regional kingship into a vast realm held together by conquest, roads, tribute, local cooperation, and royal power.
The Mongol Empire
From scattered steppe tribes to the largest contiguous empire in history, the Mongols reshaped Eurasia through conquest, terror, and trade.
Early China
From Neolithic farming villages to the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Early China built the writing, bronze culture, and political doctrines that gave Chinese civilisation its enduring character.
The Ottoman Empire
From a small frontier principality in Anatolia, the Ottomans built a multiethnic empire across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa before reform, nationalism, and world war ended imperial rule.
