From powerful people with mysterious origins, to talented iron age artists, here are 10
civilizations that were almost lost to history….
10.
The Etruscans
The ancient Etruscans were a powerful and wealthy civilization that lived in modern
day central and northern Italy.
The Etruscan civilization lasted from the 8th century BC, to somewhere between the 3rd
and 2nd centuries BC, but even though they were around for awhile, they were considered
one of the greatest enigmas of antiquity!
They had their own language which has never been properly deciphered and scientists and
historians debated about their origins since they were completely different from others
in classical Italy.
They learned how to mine metals, such as copper and iron, and this gave them an edge that
brought huge wealth to the people.
They developed strong trading relations and built walled towns high on the hilltops that
can still be seen today in Umbria and Tuscany.
At their peak, the Etruscans covered a large area of Italy.
They had city-states far to the North and South of the country, and early Rome was heavily
influenced by their culture.
There is also ongoing debate as to how much the Etruscans influenced the Roman civilization.
Rome’s early kings were believed to be Etruscan.
Like I mentioned, the Etruscan language was unique to them, and they borrowed heavily
from the Greeks in the formation of their alphabet which, in turn, formed the basis
of the one used by the Romans.
They were polytheistic, just like the Romans and the Greeks, and their artworks, of which
a number have survived, focus heavily on their religion.
Ultimately, though, the Etruscan civilization fell because of increased threats from all
around.
The Greek city-states in Sicily and southern Italy weakened the Etruscan influence there,
they were thrown out of a number of cities, such as Rome, which declared its independence,
and Gallic tribes destroyed a number of northern cities.
In their stronghold, they resisted the emerging power of the Roman empire for as long as they
could, but eventually surrendered after a prolonged period of fighting.
9.
The Nok
The Nok is believed to have been the first complex civilization to develop in West Africa
and were dominant in regions of modern day Nigeria between 900 BC and 200 AD.
All evidence of the Nok had been lost, though, until a group of tin miners happened to dig
up a large collection of terracotta artifacts in 1928.
Their terracotta statues and sculptures ranged in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and demonstrate
extraordinary talent.
The source of their clay is still unkown.
Since then, we've learned a lot about this forward-thinking civilization from the iron
age.
They had an extremely advanced judicial system, where courts were used to settle cases.
They believed that crimes attracted curses that could destroy whole families, so it was
vital to find the perpetrator to avoid the consequences.
They also created intricate life-size terracotta statues, which are thought to have depicted
a revered leader, or maybe in tribute to higher powers to receive favorable weather and crop
yields.
In the end, the Nok civilization suddenly disappeared in a short period of time.
The lack of records from the time means that we don't really know why this happened, but
there have been suggestions that it could have been because the people overexploited
the natural resources and soon ran out, or maybe there could have been an invasion, changing
climate, or even a pandemic.
8.
The Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization existed in modern day Pakistan and northern India and reached
its peak between 2500 and 2000 BC.
They were a bronze age society that was based around the Indus river and had a number of
cities- each of which was meticulously planned, with brick houses, underground drainage systems,
and communal structures.
Pretty impressive for thousands of years ago, right??
Most of what we know about the Indus comes from the excavation of two cities- Mohenjo-Daro,
and Harappa, which were home to as many as 60,000 people each.
Existing at the same time as the ancient Egyptians, there were a number of similarities in the
way they lived- but the Indus civilizations covered a much larger area, with the central
part covering a 930 mile stretch of the river.
Interestingly enough, they didn't have one single ruler- instead, they were a collection
of city-states that had their own system of governance and worked in tandem with each
other.
They were also technologically advanced for the time, with a great understanding of measurements,
metallurgy, and construction.
A number of artifacts have been found at dig sites that show there was an artistic side
to Indus life, too, with various sculptures, terracotta statues, gold jewelry and games
having been found!
See, they knew how to have fun too!!
7.
The Kingdom of Kush
Focussed around the city of Meroe, the Kingdom of Kush originally formed at the end of the
bronze age, and ruled the lands of modern-day Sudan until the 4th century… particularly
flourishing from 1069 BC through to the end.
In a similar way to the Egyptians, the leaders were buried in pyramid-shaped structures,
first at the city of Napata, and then in Meroe when the capital moved there in 300 BC.
The kingdom shared a border with the Egyptian empire, and had frequent skirmishes with them…
even invading Egypt in the 8th century BC, where the Kushite kings were also the pharaohs
of the twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt.
The Kush region was a vital source of gold for the Egyptians, too, so the two civilizations
were intertwined with one another.
One of the main reasons we know the kingdom of Kush existed is because of Egyptian writings
that mention them and, in particular, their powerful archers.
Ultimately, though, despite the vast power of the Kingdom of Kush, the capital city was
invaded by the Aksumites around the year 330, and this led to the fall of the civilization
within 20 years.
6.
The Kingdom of Yam
Very little is known about the ancient African Kingdom of Yam, apart from a few Egyptian
texts from the Old Kingdom.
Most information comes from the Autobiography of Harkhuf, a series of writings that were
found buried in a tomb, and detail the experiences of a governor of Upper Egypt during the 6th
Dynasty about 4300 years ago.
According to this account, Harkhuf traveled south to the kingdom of Yam a number of times
to trade with them and returned with a variety of gifts for the Egyptian empire.
During one trip, he came back with a group of warriors of Yam who, according to other
texts, assisted the Pharaoh in the war against the Asiatic sand-dwellers, and impressed all
those that they served under.
Despite knowing that the kingdom existed, it's not clear where this kingdom was based,
what they were like, or what happened to them.
For all we know, there could be the ruins of another great African civilization just
waiting to be found- But for a few mentions in ancient writings, the Kingdom of Yam would
have been completely lost to history.
5.
The Silla Kingdom
Believed to have been founded by Hyokkose in 57 BC, Silla was one of the three kingdoms
of ancient Korea and brought the country together under the Unified Silla dynasty in the year
668.
They originally held territory in the central and southern regions of the peninsula and
were ruled by the ‘Kim’ clan for 586 years, the ‘Bak’ clan for 232 years, and the
Seok clan for 172 years.
During this almost 1000 year period, Silla conquered the other two main kingdoms of the
time, the Baekje and Goguryeo, and took control of virtually the entire peninsula before eventually
falling apart and having to hand over power in the year 935.
The Silla used an advanced system of law and governance, based on a ruling monarchy that
was held to account by a strong aristocracy.
Due to their frequent wars, they had a well-established military, with local garrisons stationed in
each district.
It's rare that a civilization has ruled the lands for almost a millennia… and even more
surprising that very few people have ever heard of them!
4.
Yuezhi
The Yuezhi, also known as the Indo-Scyth, were a nomadic people who ruled in India and
the ancient country Bactria between about 128 BC and 450 AD.
The first mention of the Yuezhi comes from Chinese records, which say that they started
in what is now the Gansu province of northwestern China, and began moving westward after their
king was killed by the ruler of a competing civilization, the Xiongnu.
As they traveled through Sogdiana and Bactria, they fought all of those along the way, and
ended Greek rule in the region in around 30 BC before extending south into India and north
into central Asia.
They became a powerful force, and it’s believed that the missionaries from the Yuezhi empire
were instrumental in bringing Buddhism to China.
100 years after their conquest of Bactria, the unified Yuezhi state, after extending
their borders into the surrounding regions, became the Kushan empire which, itself lasted
into the mid 5th century.
3.
The Sanxingdui
The Sanxingdui culture was a major Bronze age civilization in the region of what is
now Sichuan, in China.
They had all but been forgotten until a worker who was repairing a sewage ditch found a series
of jade and stone artifacts in 1929.
It was only in 1986, though, that researchers realized how important a civilization they
were, with the discovery of two large pits of treasures- which contained jades, around
100 elephant tusks, and bronze sculptures that were 8 feet tall.
This intricacy of these works proved that the Sanxingdui had a far more advanced technical
ability than any other known people in the world at the time!!!
The walled city, also called Sanxingdui, stood proud on the banks of the Minjiang river.
For some reason, though, at some point between 3000 and 2800 years ago, the culture moved
away from the area, with evidence at a second site called Jinsha, near Chengdu, suggesting
they had moved there.
It had long been a mystery why they would suddenly re-locate themselves, but recently
answers have come to light.
It's now thought that an earthquake in the region may have caused massive changes to
the landscape and diverted their main water source.
When this happened, they would have had no choice but to move closer to the new river
flow, and abandon their stronghold.
Instead of taking everything with them, they dismantled and buried many of their treasures
in the pits that were discovered.
Why their culture didn't re-emerge and flourish at the new site is still not clear, and researchers
are now looking for any more evidence that explains what happened to this once powerful
civilization.
2.
The Mitanni Kingdom
Mitanni was a Hurrian speaking state that thrived between the 16th and 13th century
BC around the Tigris-Euphrates river basin… in what is now northern Iraq, Syria, and southeastern
Turkey.
The Mitanni became incredibly powerful… perhaps even to the same level as ancient
Egypt and Babylonia.
At its peak, the civilization reached as far as the Mediterranean coast to the west, and
Mesopotamia to the southeast.
It's thought that the decline of the Old Babylonian Empire gave the opportunity to the Mitanni
kingdom to expand so much, and they soon found themselves in regular conflict with the Egyptians
who coveted some of the same lands.
Eventually, the Mitanni and Egyptians formed an alliance, but this soon fell apart.
With Egyptian support for one candidate for king, Mitanni entered a period of in-fighting,
which weakened them so much that they were overrun by the Assyrians.
The Assyrians went on to destroy vast swathes of records and cultural objects of the Mitanni,
and it's only because of their mention in Egyptian texts and the occasional artifact
that we know they ever existed.
1.
Tuwana
Tuwana was a powerful Iron Age city-state that rose to prominence during the 8th and
9th centuries BC, but they were virtually eradicated from history until the remains
of their capital city were found in Cappadocia, Turkey.
Tuwana emerged from the collapse of the Hittite empire and took advantage of the power vacuum
that was left behind.
Controlling a vital route to the Mediterranean, known as the Cilician Gates, they controlled
trade between the Phrygian and Assyrian empires, which enabled them to accumulate huge wealth…
and allowed them to quickly develop in cultural and political ways.
It's not clear exactly when Tuwana fell, as there are no records, but it seems to have
been around the same time as when the Cimmerians invaded the Phrygian kingdom and the kingdom
of Urartu to the east.
Hundreds of years later, it re-emerged as a Greek city, and then a part of the Roman
empire.
Excavations on the site today are particularly interesting because while there's still evidence
of the original civilization that once lived there, there are artifacts of all the others
since.
There are remains of a Roman aqueduct and Greek structures, which makes this an incredibly
valuable archaeological site.
Thanks for watching!
I wish I had learned more about these civilizations in history class, don’t you??
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Byeeee!!