The military art that prevailed during the ancient and medieval periods among the nomadic tribes of Eurasia was based on the combat skills developed by the ancient inhabitants of Central Asia. There are numerous facts indicating the inventions of the nomadic world that contributed to the advancement of global military art. For example, the ancient Turkic tribe of Tele is considered the inventor of the wheel and the cart. It is possible that the ancient Turkic cart served as a model for the invention of one of the most powerful weapons of antiquity—the chariot. In any case, images of chariots in the territory of Kyrgyzstan date back to the Bronze Age (Saymaly Tash). Stirrups and saddles, which significantly facilitated the use of horses in warfare, were invented by the nomads of the Central Asian region.
In the 5th-4th centuries BC, the Saka cavalry saw the emergence of units of heavily armed warriors protected by plate armor and metal helmets. The army of the Sakas during this period represented a formidable force. In 530 BC, the Persian (Iranian) king Cyrus II led a massive army of 200,000 to conquer the Saka Tigrahauda. The Saka army was led by Queen Tomyris. Despite the numerical superiority, the Persians suffered defeat, and the power-hungry Cyrus II was beheaded.
Another Persian ruler from the Achaemenid dynasty, Darius I, fought more successfully against the Sakas. In 519-518 BC, he defeated the Sakas and imposed tribute on them. Nevertheless, the Persians could not extend their power north of the Syr Darya River. The Sakas living in the northern part of Kyrgyzstan did not allow the Iranian conquerors onto their land. Later, the Sakas established political and military ties with the Persians and fought on the side of the Achaemenids in the Greco-Persian Wars (500-449 BC) and in Persia's wars with Egypt. According to written sources, there were camps in the cities of Egypt and Babylon filled with elite Saka warriors. Later, the Sakas fought heroically against the army of Alexander the Great. The Greeks, having conquered Sogdiana in 329 BC, despite their numerical superiority, could not advance deep into the territories occupied by the Sakas north of the Syr Darya. The conquerors managed to reach only the river Kojo-Bakyrgan-Sai, which flows through the Leilek region. In the mid-2nd century BC, the remaining Sakas in the Tian Shan were conquered by the Usuns.
Usuns had a strong army, sometimes numbering more than 600,000 warriors. "The city of Chigu, where the ruler of the Usuns—the supreme Kunbi—resides, is 8900 li from Changan. The population is 120,000 households, 630,000 people; the army is 188,800 men," reported a Chinese source. Therefore, both Han China and even the ruling Xiongnu in Central Asia had to reckon with the Usuns.
The foreign policy strategy of the state of Dawan was based on the principle of defense. According to Chinese chronicles, the army of the Dawan people numbered about 60,000 men. The warriors were distinguished by discipline and training: they were excellent horsemen, capable of accurately hitting a target with a bow while galloping at full speed. To enhance the combat effectiveness of their main weapon—the bow—warriors reinforced it with bone and made arrowheads from bronze and iron (including triangular arrowheads).