I don't have a particular citation or anything for this. But a general point I've gathered from learning history is prior to the age of gun powder, there's alwa

I don't have a particular citation or anything for this. But a general point I've gathered from learning history is prior to the age of gun powder, there's always been this tension between nomadic pastoralist societies and farming societies. Pastoralist societies lived in environments that conditioned them better for war (and a zero-sum mindset) but bad at setting up long lasting institutions. They often had better nutrition, didn't need to rely on supply trains, they often lived a significant portion of their life on horseback, etc.,. Huns, Tamerlane, Ghengis Khan, Cossacks, Golden Horde, Turks, Magyars, Avars, Khazars, Cumans, etc., some of them settled down. Kingdoms had to deal with these groups in different ways than they did their conventional rivals, but most of the time they were small and unorganized enough to where they were only a threat for small groups they can easily pick off.