Editing History of East Asia (section)

===Nomads on the Mongolian Steppe===
The territories of modern-day [[Mongolia]] and [[Inner Mongolia]] in ancient times was inhabited by nomadic tribes. The cultures and languages in these areas were fluid and changed frequently. The use of horses to herd and move started during the Iron Age. A large area of Mongolia was under the influence of [[Turkic peoples]], while the southwestern part of Mongolia was mostly under the influence of [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European peoples]] such as the [[Tocharians]] and [[Scythians|Scythian]] tribes. In antiquity, the eastern portions of both [[Mongolia]] and [[Inner Mongolia]] were inhabited by Mongolic peoples descended from the [[Donghu people]] and numerous other tribes These were [[Tengrism|Tengriist]] horse-riding pastoralist kingdoms that had close contact with the agrarian Chinese. As a nomadic confederation composed of various clans the Donghu were prosperous in the 4th century BC, forcing surrounding tribes to pay tribute and constantly harassing the Chinese [[Zhao (state)|State of Zhao]] (325 BC, during the early years of the reign of [[King Wuling of Zhao|Wuling]]). To appease the nomads local Chinese rulers often gave important hostages and arranged marriages. In 208 BC Xiongnu emperor [[Modu Chanyu]], in his first major military campaign, defeated the [[Donghu people|Donghu]], who split into the new tribes [[Xianbei]] and [[Wuhuan]]. The [[Xiongnu]] were the largest nomadic enemies of the Han dynasty fighting [[Han–Xiongnu War|wars]] for over three centuries with the Han dynasty before dissolving. Afterwards the Xianbei returned to rule the Steppe north of the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]. The titles of Khangan and [[Khan (title)|Khan]] originated from the [[Xianbei]].