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The age of the earlier Nomads
During the first millenium B.C. on the territory of the Central Asia, the Middle East and the Near East the states of Assyria and Midis were formed. In the VI century B.C. the state of the Akhamenides comes to replace the declining Midian power. Between 530 and 522 B.C. state of the Akhamenides incorporated the nations of Parthia, Khoresm, Baktria, Sogdiana, Saka.
According to ancient written sources, the vast steppes of Kazakhstan were inhabited by the nomadic "aurochs-men on fast horses". The "aurochs-men" in Persian written sources were named as "Saki" which stands for "powerful people". In some works of Greek authors they were called " Scythians".
Through the history the Saki were known as belligerent tribes and made a part of the Persian army of Darius I who managed to subjugate them. They participated in the Persian campaigns in Egypt, Greece, excelled in the battles near Thermopylae. One of the bright pages in the Saki history was connected with suspending the proliferation of the great conqueror Alexander Magnus' (or Alexander the Macedonian's) army eastwards.
Agglomerations of Saki's burial grounds including those of the Saki kings have been discovered on the banks of the Talas, Shu, Ili rivers on the foothills of the Kirghiz, Trans-Ili, Jungar mountain ranges, in the mountain valleys of Kegen and Narynkol. One of the outstanding monuments of the Saki culture in Semirechie is the burial mound of Issyk located 50 kilometers eastwards from Almaty.
The cultural integrity of the Saki tribes can be traced by burial structures and rites, types of ceramic wares, domestic articles, art, ideology, weapons, harness etc.
Saki tribes were mainly engaged in stock-breeding and were on the edge of passing to nomadic way of life (so called epoch of the earlier nomads).
The tribes of the Ussuni who inherited the lands of the Tehrahaud Saki tribes came to Semirechie from the depths of the Central Asia. In the 2nd century B.C. the Ussuni subjugated the Saki tribes and founded an empire governed by its head who bore the title of giung-mo (or kiungbag which stands for "prince of prices".
Chinese written sources call the Ussuni state Ussuni-go (the State of Ussuni). Their major territories covered the Ili river valley. Western borders on the state of Kangiui ran along the rivers of Shu and Talas. In the East the Ussuni had a common border line with Khunnu, in the South their estate possessions spreaded to the edges of Fergana (Hawanyu). Usuni's capital city called Chigucheng (or the City of the Red Valley) was situated on the shore of the Issyk-Kul lake.
One of the major social formations on the territory of Kazakhstan that left a noticeable trace in the history was the state of Kangiui. First written mentioning of Kangiui refers to the 2nd century B.C. According to the written sources the state of Kangiui was located in the South of Kazakhstan and had its center in the mid flow of the Syrdaria river.
Kangiui's policies over the entire period of their existence were focused on retaining their control over the sections of the Silk Road, namely the strip of the trade path along the Syrdarya river connecting Fergana to the Aral Sea-adjacent territories.
The name of Huns is well-known in he the history. The name of this vanished nation is often associated with belligerence, brutality and barbarity.
Less known are the Asian tribes of the Huns who inhabited in Central Asia including some territories of the modern Kazakhstan. Chronologically, their life and actions are limited by the last centuries B.C. and first few centuries A.D. In historical literature Asian and Kazakhstani Huns are known under the name of "Hunnu" or "Siunnu".
Migration of Hunnu began in the year of 93 B.C. They made their way westwards by conquering some tribes or carrying along the others. Thus they reached Syrdaria, the Aral Sea, Central and Western Kazakhstan. In IV century A.D. Hunnu and other nomadic tribes involved by them reached southern steppes of modern Russia, reached Danube and settled in Hungary where they were known as Huns.
Huns were proto-Turkic tribes and the beginning of Turkization of the East-Iranian tribes of Kangiui is connected with penetration of Hunnu into Kazakhstan. Emerging among Huns private ownership of land and life-stock, formation of a primitive bureaucracy, introduction of taxation as a form of exploitation, dissemination of written language was a mark of their transition to a class-diverse society and a state organization.
On the edge of our era Kazakhstan was a home place for various Iranian and Turkic tribes.
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