East Iran in Antiquity: Silk Road and Central Asia outside the Paradigm of Eurasian Trade

[@paulacarazo6259]

This is amazing! It is so EXTREMELY hard to find documentaries and easy-to-digest information about this area and time periods. Learning about Central Asian ancient history has been a recent obsessive hobby, so thank you :)

[@zulfiqarhashim1376]

Mine too ! esp preislamic central asian history and religious views which shaped later sufism please share with me any other documentries or documents that you have found in your research I would really appreciate it , thank you

[@sanramondublin]

same here. in fact i am calling Uzbekistan embassy today for visa greetings from California

[@philpaine3068]

In the 1980's, I began reading whatever I could find about ancient Central Asia. There was precious little to be found in the libraries I frequented, but what immediately struck me was the estimated sizes of cities like Bokhara, Merv, Samarkand and Kashgar during the Middle Ages. My reaction was exactly the same as Mr. Rezakhani's: "Hey, wait a second! These cities are bigger than the European cities of the same time periods! Why do all the historians talk about them as if they were little dots on an empty plain, as if they were the equivalent of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan or North Platte, Nebraska when they were obviously the equivalent of Chicago or Toronto?" At the time of the early Timurids, Samarkand had twice the population of London, and was nearly as large as Paris, then the biggest metropolis in Europe. No doubt the Chinese writers, from whom we get most of our information, thought they were small places compared to Hangzhou, then the largest city in the world.... but nobody can logically consider Central Asia to have been a non-urban wilderness at the time. The image of the "nomad" ---- never more than a specialized minority in the region ---- so much overwhelmed the European historians that it clearly distorted their judgment. I went on to keep that altered perspective in any reading that I did after that, so that I today find almost every point Rezakhani makes to be just plain common sense. I love the way he used his cross-America road trip to enlighten the audience!

[@enn_arh_jeh186]

Can you help me i want to do a seminar on history of central asia

[@byzantinegold]

Dr. Rezakhani is brilliant

[@MelissaBrownapt215]

I didn't know the geeky guy behind him was the speaker...losing patches of that beautiful hair, still smiling and eating his heart out. Love the absence of vanity, just being brilliant and WORLDLY.

[@MBEG89]

Im from samarkand originally and have recently gotten into the history of the region, this video has been very helpful for that, thank you.

[@tubesher]

At 56:30 it’s interesting that the question comes up about where the gold is coming from, and the discussion leads to one of the western historians in the audience pushing a theory that it’s not from India but from Rome (west to east). Remember that’s just a hunch that says “I’d have though it comes from Rome…” not based on any fact. But it’s mentioned when the lecturer shares his theory founded on his own research and logical assumption. But wealth coming from India seems to be something unpalatable to this Princeton history audience suggesting a slight tinge of western superiority complex perhaps colouring their professional objectivity. Then when the host finally ends that discussion saying the Kushans seem to not issue gold coin until after they’ve come across the Hindukush (I.e into India) that more or less rests the point. But he’s having to say “that’s his assumption” simply to assuage his audience. Such hostility to Indian contributions to economic and cultural wealth in history (or perhaps the more likely incentive to push the narrative of western historical dominance over all others) is professionally deplorable, and I hope Princeton historians grow out of it. Maybe the next generation will.

[@tubesher]

Ps. Even a subsequent audience member is trying to push the agenda of western gold landing in the coast of India and then making its way up the river to the Kushans. Such obsession with Roman centrality over the world is completely deplorable.

[@billpay3672]

What else would you expect from the western 'scholars'? Ignorance is bold and knowledge is reserved. And theirs is not even ignorance but plain dishonesty and unscrupulousness wearing the garb of scholarship. Isn't the world only 6000 years old per Christianity?

[@tubesher]

@lappelap tamalate my point precisely is that the inheritors of any one civilisation don’t have the monopoly over setting the narrative that all resources and wealth flowed from their ancestors to others. The Kushans didn’t rule over all of India, and the scholar who is speaking here pointed out that it was after the Kushan’s conquest over North west India that gold coinage came into circulation in the empire. So wherever the gold in India may have previously come from - or whatever trade networks it was flowing in from during the conquest, the fact appears that ruling (parts of) India made the difference. The problem is with the western scholars who are trying to bring their Roman “source of wealth” perspective and theory into an area where they had little to no influence at the time. The gold in India may have come through trade networks from Africa… or from elsewhere. Why just the focus on Rome? That’s the western centralism I called out - which leads to biased views of history. Secondly, for you to generalise and stereotype that “Indians suffer” from anything I’ve said shows the low level of discourse you’re comfortable with. I choose to make my points addressing the specific western scholarly audience in that lecture, and not brandish all “Western People” even hoping that the next generation of scholars will see better. Whereas you have chosen otherwise to brandish an entire people. Gone are the days when Indians will shut up and lap up such bigotry. Or accept any theory where narrative pushes self serving ideas at the expense of India or other eastern /southern cultures. Indians are also human beings and can think for themselves, perhaps you may think we all suffer from mental disease from time to time, but we know for centuries that we’ve traded things the world wants for gold and treasure, and sometimes just good will. You are even likely to have in your body a vaccine that India produced, just one of its latest exports that leads to inflow of modern day gold.

[@parsaghasemi9967]

Thanks Khodadad Reza Khani, Best wishes with your studies.

[@Numischannel]

06:22: Baghdad did not even exist in the 2nd century BC, it was founded about 900 years later!

[@maryb6074]

Baghdad existed 1400 years ago when Arab invaded Iran and name is originally Iranian name.

[@sahhaf1234]

what I wonder is the agriculture of khorasan.. when one looks at the maps, the region seems to be arid. how do they generate the agricultural surplus that went in to feed the cities? yes, I know the qanats etc but a more detailed analysis with maps would be nice.

[@reviewsfromasocialjusticel8558]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@luismiguel174]

And scythian Warriors

[@maryb6074]

Gold came from Sistan or Zabolestan as there are nowadays.

[@omarsharifi5663]

Why did they call it East Iran? Afghanistan and Central Asia are the names of the region. The people do speak persian and Turkish languages, but they are not part of iran as we know it. This misnomer is a problem. It ignores the indigenous people of the region .

[@anderabi]

East of great iran 🇮🇷 ❤

[@iamq74]

Ain’t Princeton the college Carlton went to on fresh prince bel air

[@eaglesworld5972]

Impressive indeed.

[@womenfemale1849]

👏🌷💕

[@IdelUralState]

52:55 The faces on the coins and murals look rather Turkic. The rulers are generally known as Turk Shahis. Titles such as "Tegin," King of Khorasan can be confirmingly added. The Turk Shahi Tamgas from Kabul also confirm close relatedness to modern Kipchak- and Siberian-speaking peoples such as Karachay-Balkars, Tatars or Altaians.

[@sacredsoma]

:) Only the beardless faces on Alchon hun coins look Turkic, the Turk Shahis come much later in 7th century

[@HM-jl6ut]

It was Iranic, not everything is Turkic, as you Pan-Turks want others to belive.

[@mikebob5528]

Pan Turkish has a problem that is luck of history knowledge, this lecture belongs to end parthian empire and connection of Tocharian khoushan not un civilized Turkic people please obeying the law and order of history don't make something none sense Mongol ideology.

[@bota02i]

this guy has no idea what he's talking abt , Kushan is founded by Xiongnu's enemy the Yuezhi, Xiongnu is believed to be the ancient ancestor of today's Mongol

[@mikebob5528]

Who said,I think you are in civilized Mongol ,but khoushan was a tribe of eastern Iranian like Scythian and civilized people, don't be fool.

[@maryb6074]

The unity is Persian / Iranian deep culture that regardless of the different languages, unites the people of this region as the greater Iran people together.

[@mahmoodtajar9937]

Iran Greatttttttttttttttttt!

[@barbalaulan4967]

The Han Chinese built the Great Wall to against the Xiong Nu, Xiong Nu in English is Hun.

[@ericastier1646]

I believe the Han Chinese copied all their ancient art from the east. I know there was silk in Iran before China. Of course later the Chinese turned the production of silk into a big industry and became the main source, but i am searching for the proof that Iran invented the processing of the wilkworm cocoon into fabric.

[@chefkholuff5376]

thumbs up for sandwich 😅

[@matthewmann8969]

Iran pre Islam was way more tolerant

[@webeskimo]

no it wasn't and that is very well documented. People are absolutely more tolerant now anywhere than they were ever lol

[@الغريبفيهذاالزمن]

Lier

[@thecrimsondragon9744]

And hopefully Iran post-Islam will be even more tolerant.

[@user-k4d-e59mo28oc]

@@webeskimo Before Muhammud (Peace Be Upon Him), Umar ibn al-Khattab, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas . . . Rashidun Caliphate...Umayyad Caliphate...Abbasid Caliphate . . . Central Asia had Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, Shamanism . . . Now, it's all Muhammads, Abdullas, Mustafas, Fatmas . . . .

[@user-k4d-e59mo28oc]

@@webeskimo *Qur'an 9:29* "Fight against those who do not believe in Allāh or in the Last Day." *Qur'an 8:12* "I shall cast t____r into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike them upon the necks" *Qur'an 3:151* “We will cast t_____r into the hearts of those who have denied the Truth" *Qur'an 9:111* “Allah has indeed purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah and k__ or be k____.” *Qur'an 9:123* “Believers! Fight against the disbelievers who are near to you; and let them find harshness in you. Know that Allah is with the God-fearing. O ye who believe!” *Qur'an 47:4* “So when you meet those who disbelieve, strike their necks until, when you have inflicted slau _______ upon them, then secure their bonds, and either confer favor afterwards or ransom them until the war lays down its burdens. That is the command. And those who are k______ in the cause of Allah . . . never will He waste their deeds.”

[@barbalaulan4967]

Xiong nu is not Han CHINESE!

[@daisybrain9423]

You misheard him. He said the Xiongnu were steppe nomads and might have been the Huns.

[@suchaipiset6484]

It,s Huns not Hans.

[@kj-my7se]

Yummy!