The nomads in Rise of Nations resemble the bloodthirsty warriors of the Steppes. They were usually Tartars, Mongols, Turkoman and Merkids. They carried a variety of weapons inlcuding short bows and swords. Mongols specifically used two types of bows, one for short target and another for long target. Their amazing riding skills combined with their archery skills made them invulnerable to the medieval knight in full armor, the ones feared by the other barbarians such as Prussians, and Maygars.