One of the most frustrating aspects of learning about European history is that, while the conquest of Asia by European powers is celebrated, the conquest of Europe by Asian powers is so glossed over that most people don’t even know it happened many times.

Where were the Scythians from? The northern Middle East and Caucasus.

Where were the Sarmatians from? The Ural Mountains in modern Russia and Kazakhstan.

Where were the Huns from? East Asia, where they were known as the Xiongnu by the Chinese.

Where did the Avars come from? The Pontic-Caspian steppe in Asia.

Where were the Bulgars from? Central Asia, in what is now Kazakhstan.

Where did the Magyars come from? Western Siberia, also near the Ural Mountains.

Where were the Mongols from? Obviously, Mongolia—but people don’t realize the Mongols conquered a huge chunk of Europe.

Where were the Turks originally from? Central Asia—where several Turkic peoples—including the Uighurs, who live in China—live today.

These aren’t the only examples of Asian peoples conquering Europe. It happened over and over again through multiple millennia. But for some reason, most Europeans are completely unaware of this history.

When Europeans do know about this, they dismiss these Asian peoples as “barbarians”. But that can’t be further from the truth. In the so-called “Dark Ages”, the most prosperous and learned parts of Europe were under the control of Asian conquerors.

A good example is Khazaria, which was a bustling hub of culture during the 7th century.

Of course, the Arab influence on southern Europe is also notable. Not enough people know that Spain, Malta, and Sicily were once conquered by Arabs. And many European intellectuals, such as Averroës and Maimonides, spoke Arabic.

Europe, and European culture, has always been influenced by Asian peoples.