WI/AHC: Sami Genghis Khan

I recently visited the land of the Sami, the colorfully clad nomadic indigenous people of Arctic Scandinavia. I came away with great love and respect for and fascination with their culture, which has endured more than its share of hard knocks. OTL, the Sami were largely peaceful reindeer herders, scattered and disunited, who were, over the course of centuries, gradually conquered and subjected to the degradation of imperialism by the more warlike Norse of Norway and Sweden (and to an extent the Russians of Novgorod). But what if, sometime after the start of the Viking age (POD ~800 at the earliest; the later it happens, the better and more fun), a brilliant, ruthless leader arose who, through diplomacy and war, united the fractured Sami tribes?

There are some major challenges going forward. A united Sapmi could likely have conducted a successful guerrilla war if they put their minds to it, resisting and perhaps even reversing colonization efforts; I do wonder, however, how feasible it is for this Sami state to hold together after the founder's death. The best case scenario for staying on the defensive is probably something like Lithuania, where a tribal kingdom eventually grew into a feudal state; however, with lower population, a stubbornly nomadic lifestyle (to this day many Sami are nomads), and a vast land area, this state's durability seems questionable.

Going on the offensive, meanwhile, also presents challenges. In open battle, even a united Sami state might have a difficult time facing a stronger, better-armed feudal kingdom; reindeer cavalry, much as I'd love it, probably isn't super feasible (though the Sami did have a significant archery culture, something that historically seems to have come in handy in ambushes against the more melee-oriented Norse, and might likewise lead to success in open battle if employed en masse). The best bet would be to give the Sami the good luck to unify at a time of weakness for the southerners. One idea I had is perhaps attacking Norway when it is weakened from the black plague; OTL Norway never truly demographically recovered from said plague and eventually lost its independence at least partially as a result. The victorious Sami, akin to the Mongols, might eventually adopt the feudal lifestyle of their subjects while continuing to rule over them and, unlike the Mongols, eventually gain demographic supremacy (perhaps conquest of better land results in at least some degree of Sami migration away from the harsh Arctic and into the conquered territory). Alternatively they might continue in nomadism, eventually losing their conquests but remaining in a much stronger position for future survival.

This, then, is the challenge: have the Sami at least survive through to the modern era as a unified nation. Preferably, have them attack and at least temporarily take a major chunk out of (or even outright conquer) Norway, Sweden/Finland, Novgorod, or, if you're feeling bold, all the above. Bonus points for keeping the Sami pagan as long as possible, and for getting as many unique Sami traditions as possible (such as their style of wordless singing, the joik, which OTL was banned for many years as "pagan devilry") to survive the probably inevitable conversion. Additional bonus points for later PODs; the later one goes, the harder this gets.
 
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Do you wish to produce something legitimately similar to the steppe hordes of nearby Eurasia?

If so, there might need to be a more aggressive expansion of the peoples in the south toward the Sami, similar to how China or the Achaemenid empire expanded into the steppe, causing the rise of powerful nomadic empires that due to loss of nomadic lands, more men become employed full-time in martial affairs. So, we should induce this trend within the Sami, that more men in said tribes are involved in war, conquest and the taking of loot/booty. Once said situation is achieved, it is just a matter of a few decades before the Sami form into powerful nomadic conglomerates that may be able to defend to inflict some defeats on the Nordic peoples to its south and gather some sort of tribute taking scheme or general conquests.
 
Due to lower population density, the Sami Empire would have to be more willing to recruit sedentary peoples than the Mongols were in order to have a large enough army. It would effectively turn into a Scandinavian-Baltic empire with a Sami ruling class. The Mongols in western Eurasia assimilated and became Turks and Tatars, so the Sami would become Finns, Swedes and Balts in the long run.
 
A major problem is that the Sami doesn’t really have anything going for them military, the Mongols was great horse archers, because they rode their horses around the great steppes with their herd and hunted wild animal with how and arrow. The Saami rode reindeer, not really a useful war animal, yes they used bow and arrows, but no better or worse than their Finnish or Norse neighbors.

They need some umpf to become a military power, maybe if they domesticated moose’s it could give them the necessary edge over their neighbors and then Saami moose riders could serve as a elite units, with the Norse serving as the main military force.
 
A major problem is that the Sami doesn’t really have anything going for them military, the Mongols was great horse archers, because they rode their horses around the great steppes with their herd and hunted wild animal with how and arrow. The Saami rode reindeer, not really a useful war animal, yes they used bow and arrows, but no better or worse than their Finnish or Norse neighbors.

They need some umpf to become a military power, maybe if they domesticated moose’s it could give them the necessary edge over their neighbors and then Saami moose riders could serve as a elite units, with the Norse serving as the main military force.

The Mongols did not use bows any better than their major enemies though. The Kwarezmshahs, Quman-Qipchaq and the Liao all had comparable composite bows to the Mongols. The necessary situation for the Sami is the formation into some sort of grouping of peoples who due to less space to graze, more men are involved in martial activities like the Mongols and other steppe folk. Once they do this, their bows become better as their archers are more proficient and they have despite low population, could have more warriors than neighbors due to the less number needed for subsistence.
 
The Mongols did not use bows any better than their major enemies though. The Kwarezmshahs, Quman-Qipchaq and the Liao all had comparable composite bows to the Mongols. The necessary situation for the Sami is the formation into some sort of grouping of peoples who due to less space to graze, more men are involved in martial activities like the Mongols and other steppe folk. Once they do this, their bows become better as their archers are more proficient and they have despite low population, could have more warriors than neighbors due to the less number needed for subsistence.

The problem is that skill at bow use doesn't do it on their own. The Mongols mixed high mobility, with excellent archery and great militay logistic. The Samii lack the mobility advantage and they never really warred with their Norse and Finnish neighbours, because the Norse and Finns border on Saami was simply the border, where agriculture was possible, the Norse and Finns expanded into Saami territory when the climate was hot and retreated from it when the climate was cold letting the Saami expand, the Saami lacked the population to beat back their agricultural neighbours. It wasn't a harmonic relationship, the Norse didn't treat the Saami well according to the Sagas, but it was a stable relationship, and as the Norse became centralised kingdom, they began to tax the Saami, which the Saami accepted, because the Norse gave them access to exotic goods.
 
OTL, the Sami were largely peaceful reindeer herders...

It should be noted that this is relatively recent phenomenon and there are great regional differences when reindeer herding took off. Among Sami in Finland, raindeer herding started to become more common in the 17th century and took until the 19th century until large-scale raindeer herding had spread to all areas of Finnish Lapland. For most Sami hunting and fishing was a much more important part of their daily lives than reindeer herding.

The Samii lack the mobility advantage and they never really warred with their Norse and Finnish neighbours, because the Norse and Finns border on Saami was simply the border, where agriculture was possible, the Norse and Finns expanded into Saami territory when the climate was hot and retreated from it when the climate was cold letting the Saami expand, the Saami lacked the population to beat back their agricultural neighbours.

In the case of Finland, there doesn't really seem to have existed a clear border between Finns and Sami. There is some evidence that some Sami groups lived in southern parts of the country as late as 16th century based on Swedish tax records, oral traditions and place names. The division seems to have been mostly between those who farmed and those who didn't. It is also likely that Sami who picked up agriculture (which seems to have been relatively common) also switched the language in the process. In addition, further you go up north (and you don't even have to go that far) even agricultural Finns seem to become semi-hunter gatherers, as farming just didn't produce enough to eat, somewhat muddling the difference between two groups' way of life.
 
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It is possible, but the Sapmi aren’t as used to warfare as the Mongols and I don’t think that will change in a span of only decades.
 
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