35. Life on the Steppe Produced A Deep Pool of Tough Warriors
Another advantage enjoyed by Mongols and their Steppe kin arose from the disadvantage of living in the Steppe: a harsh existence, much of it spent on horseback, that created a deep pool of hardy warriors. In the settled lands, only a minority could be mobilized as fighters because the majority were needed in the fields and workshops. The Steppe nomads had no fields and little manufacture, while their food source, their animal flocks and herds, could be cared for by children and women. That left nearly the entire adult male population of fighting age available as warriors.