The Enigma of Ancient Elam - Part I: The Proto-Elamite and Old Elamite Periods (3500-1500 BC)

[@fanzy1338]

This video is by far the most researched and detailed presentation of the Elamite civilization. Great job 👏

[@muslim2k]

You've seen all such videos available on KZbin?

[@fanzy1338]

@@muslim2k Yes

[@aspenrebel]

Never heard of them before, until this.

[@Manic-Main]

Hell yeh. 1 hour program on Elam. Let’s goooooo

[@Doomsquad99]

Fr fr

[@webb-cat7397]

Ye boi

[@alexanderyagiela1724]

Ahmen

[@KrutchesRDH]

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@حسنالطائي-ف2ظ]

Elam are the origin of the Arabs

[@Shaymuhs]

I already know this is gonna be a wonderful video, I hope you know how much this kind of free high quality education means to us! Thank you for all of your work.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, that's my goal, to hopefully give you all some good stuff to learn about and ponder over. Thanks so much for watching, this channel would be nothing without viewers like you!

[@حسنالطائي-ف2ظ]

​@@HistorywithCy Elam are the origin of the Arabs

[@IranTalk]

Excellent work, Cy! Content like this is what makes your channel standout compared to others.

[@JustGrowingUp84]

Indeed!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks man, appreciate the kind words... more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@scoringbox2176]

Been binge watching your work for the past several months now. Please keep making awesome content like this!

[@HistorywithCy]

Will do my best, thank you for watching all of these, means a lot that you're enjoying and learning from the content!

[@fgkuv5232]

​@@HistorywithCyAshurbanipal did nothing wrong ;)

[@BoomaRanga72]

One of the only things I wanted more than the next episode of Egyptian Dynasties Keep up the great work mate, much love from Australia.

[@HistorywithCy]

It's on the way! Finishing up the script right now and hope to have the video out sometime next month along with Elam Part II. Thanks for watching these, really appreciate it!

[@aimeemorgado8715]

I came home hot and tired. Sat down and here is just what I needed to improve my mood, knowledge, and perspective! Thank you!!! Love your work.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad this will help to make the day better. Thanks so much for watching, really appreciate it!

[@WanaxTV]

I was waiting for this one! Congrats Cy, great video!

[@spacebunny4335]

Love your channel, you and Cy are the best sources for Bronze Age history here on KZbin.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks buddy, appreciate the kind words and hope you enjoy it!

[@HistorywithCy]

@@spacebunny4335 Thanks my friend, glad you're finding the videos useful! Thanks for watching!

[@florinvoinea5203]

I folow you both. Congratulations for your content.❤

[@cariboux2]

Thank you, Cy. You're performing a great service. The more we understand about societies that preceded ours, the better able we will be to make choices for our own. I'm doing some independent research on belief systems and social stability (I have no idea if anything will ever come from it 😅), and your channel is great at expanding my scope and pointing me in new directions. Thanks once again. Great production!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, really appreciate the feedback and glad you enjoyed it...good luck on your research!

[@hairyjohnson2597]

I have a 2 hour drive to work this morning, I woke up and saw a 1 hour video on elam. Going to be a great day! Thanks Cy!

[@spacebunny4335]

I love the Elamites. Great video so far it’s going to take a while to watch and I’m all for it.

[@HistorywithCy]

No worries, take your time and thanks for watching!

[@bistokidsfan]

History with Cy. My afternoon is complete! 👍🏻😉

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, appreciate the kind words...and thanks for watching!

[@pikmin4743]

woo! I had a feeling yesterday that something Cy would be dropping soon. Thank you!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@thotherospdx]

Thanks!

[@iexist3919]

I can’t wait to watch when I find the time. I hope to visit Iran and see the sights of these ancient civilizations once again. Thank you again Cy!

[@HistorywithCy]

No worries my friend, take your time! Me too... there are so many ancient sites around the world I want to see. Thanks for always tuning in and watching these, really appreciate it!

[@EdrickBluebeard]

I really appreciate these videos, Sir. Thank you for putting them together. I especially appreciate seeing examples of artwork and goods from the region/eras discussed.

[@Numba003]

Ooh I've been interested in a good in depth video on Elam! Thank you so much for this. I'm looking forward to part two! God be with you out there everybody. ✝️ :)

[@oriffel]

omg thank you! everyone talks about Elam, but they always talkin shit, rather than ever talkin about them. I've been waitin for a video like this for a very long time.

[@ancientsitesgirl]

Another excellent Bronze Age episode to watch ❤️ Greetings Cy✌️

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi there! Yes, I can't get enough of the Bronze Age... hope you enjoy it and thanks for watching!

[@BiggestCorvid]

Hey hey it's gonna be a great sunday evening.

[@Richardbutticus]

Yes! Happy to get this notification.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, hope you enjoy it and thanks for watching!

[@taraahmadi8353]

I’m grateful for this video and all the wonderful job you did for Elam. I’m Iranian and I am proud to watch this video

[@TypicalidiotGuy]

This is fantastic! Elam has fascinated me since I heard of it a few years back... Thank you!!

[@sanny8716]

Wow, with how few mentions this civilization gets, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much we actually do know about it Thank you for this in depth video, and the second part that I'm about to start watching Definitely glad I subscribed to this channel

[@alimasoud4041]

thank you Cy. like all your videos, this is well researched and well executed. i always can’t wait to see new materials from you

[@anasevi9456]

I've long heard of Elam and Susa, but this documentary truly pieced how it came together in a way I can see the entity forming.. At least a loose groundwork of what the the Medes and Achaemenids would spring off of. Thank you!

[@Angayasse]

This is so important, thank you for creating this video! All of the history-related groups, chats and other communities I am in, make the Elamites the villains. They should all check this video out:)

[@patrickotis3884]

Thank you again Cy!

[@HistorywithCy]

Pleasure's all mine, thank YOU for watching!

[@michellejnickel]

Yasssssss new video! I'm sick so this really helped cheer me up a bit

[@davidbrislin1126]

Awesome. Well done, Cy. This is so cool and interesting.

[@richardbrook4545]

Great effort Cy, the Elamites are often overloocked and they are extremely interesting! thanks I have learnt alot

[@johne6944]

I’ve been wanting to learn more of Elam for awhile thank you cy I love the long form videos you did great with this one

[@raminsadeghi7358]

wow Finally Thanks for keeping your word

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha this is not the end... there will be more on Elam and Susa in the not-too-distant future, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@geraldmeehan8942]

Thank you Cy for yet another top notch presentation. Keep up the good work!

[@TrackTownDasher]

I've been waiting for history docs to level up since the end of pandemic 😭 so much history left unchecked

[@theresawilliams4296]

My husband and I absolutely love your work cy. You make two genuine Aussies history lovers happy mate. Keep up the good work.

[@srenette82]

Good work! I just need to point out that an article from 2022 by F. Desset et al. in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie demonstrates the initial decipherment of Linear Elamite (PDF of the article is available online). New work is now ongoing to gain additional insights into the ancient Elamite world and its neighbors from these texts.

[@Amadis691]

How do other scholars see that decipherment? That seems so exciting!

[@johnericjohn67mcvicker70]

My new favorite channel. Definitely gonna buy some stuff from your shop!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks so much for your kind words and support, I'm thrilled you're enjoying the content! More on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@michaellewis7959]

Wow CY! This is an hour of exceptional, thank you!

[@ObjectiveEthics]

Cy your videos are head and shoulders above so many others in your genre. Your narration is very articulate and clear. The graphics you edit into your videos really add to the content. Very impressive brother. Happy holidays 🎄

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks for the feedback and glad you enjoyed this video...there's a part II for Elam also that you might be interested in. More on the way including one hopefully on just Susa... stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@karldergrosse-333]

Thank you so much. You provide great insight into the ancient near East!

[@skibidiseether1221]

This one was very worth the wait! An interesting thing about this is that the first verified sumerian king enmebaragesi, is known for attacking elam, and the end of sumerian is when cyrus the great, from Anshan, conquers them

[@shutruk-nahunte3309]

No end of sumer was the fall of third dynasty they never had an empire since at Cyrus's era sumerians didn't exist

[@pedigreeann]

@@shutruk-nahunte3309 Some new folks had moved into the area of highland Elam (capital at Anshan) in the 10-8th Century BCE; they were called the Persians by the Greeks and were Indo-Europeans, speaking an Indo-European language. In the 6th Century BCE, they began their expansion into the Persian Empire by taking the rest of the old Elamite territory. No doubt the native Elamites still had descendants in the Persian heartland (probably peasants and slaves; that is what happened to the defeated), but the language and culture of the land had been changed by the invaders.

[@DCC1134]

This is amazing stuff Cy. Keep up the good work. A lot of Americans have not heard of Elam because they don't teach it in achool. Thank tou for give the world more culture and history

[@RelivingHistory1]

another excellent video, keep it up Cy!

[@JonnoPlays]

I like the video game footage you used. It sure what game it is but I'm guessing Civilization? A lot of these games are very accurate in their portrayal of historical details and I think the footage is good quality. Nice work on that. I used to play this game called Pharaoh that was recently redone and released on stream. Might be able to find some good footage from that game too. If you thought it was relevant and needed some specific footage I would be willing to produce it and deliver it to you. I'm doubting you'll actually want or need to use any but just wanted to mention that I enjoyed that use of footage mostly.

[@HistorywithCy]

Yeah that's Total War with the Age of Bronze mod. I've heard of Pharaoh and think I've even seen it streamed some time back. I'll check it out again. There's a new Total War game called Pharaoh coming out too this October. Thanks again for watching, really appreciate it!

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

A very fine episode Cy. As always, you have my appreciation for all of your hard work on these videos.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks my friend, as always, you have my appreciate for your support and watching these... truly appreciate it!

[@SamtheIrishexan]

Great video full with good information and insightful commentary. Plus like someone else said 1hr of Elam, yes pls!

[@Zenmyster]

I had always heard, if at all, of Elam as an outlier. I've often wondered just how important it may have been as a bridge between Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant and the Indus cities.

[@حسنالطائي-ف2ظ]

Elam are the origin of the Arabs

[@porothashawarma2339]

I strongly believe there was a lot of genetic admixture from these early Elamites to the Indus culture before the aryan tribes migrated into the sun-continent . These Elamites probably migrated southward and again mixed with aboriginal hunter gatherers of southern India and formed the Dravidian peoples there .

[@riteshyeddu]

@@porothashawarma2339 I think I've seen you on reddit lol

[@JeffM---]

This is amazing work you have done here. Thank you very much, really enjoyed it.

[@Sarke2]

Fascinating civilization we sadly dont know much about, and your analysis is in depth, i enjoyed every second of it, will watch part II and part III for sure. In my opinion early Elamites were closest to Sumerians, they influenced each other, both languages were language isolated, definetely for sure they were different from semitic Akkadians and later Amorites. Hope we will learn even more in the future about this great civilization. And yes about the kingdom of Murhashi in the east i think they were related to Jiroft culture?

[@bettylaselli2048]

Wow great work! Thanks for sharing!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@waseemshahzad6512]

Elam, one of the world's oldest civilizations, thrived in what is now southwestern Iran. It dates back to around 2700 BCE, even before the rise of powerful Mesopotamian cities. A fascinating aspect is that Elam was often at odds with the neighboring Sumerians and Babylonians, but despite the conflicts, they maintained their unique culture and language for centuries. In a history documentary, the Elamite kingdom could be brought to life through its capital, Susa, and its impressive ziggurats (temple complexes), offering a glimpse into a lesser-known yet crucial chapter of ancient Middle Eastern history.

[@freedomslunch]

In biblical Scripture they are judged but promised redemption.

[@cthulu8mytoast]

This is really interesting. I look forward to part two!

[@831ACH]

I haven't seen this covered elsewhere on KZbin in nearly the depth. Respect.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks and hope you enjoyed it!

[@Junier-Hussein]

I think I've said it previously but I really love your channel & appreciate the work you put into your videos. I'm just going to watch part 2 now 😊 It's like a journey going back in time 🙂 As a British born Pakistani I'm intrigued with the Indus valley civilization/Harappan civilization I will binge watch them videos next. I visited Mohenjo-daro a couple of years ago it was a great experience. I'm going back next year but this time to India to a place called Rakhi Garhi.

[@LostSatelitBroadcast]

Excellent explanation about the subject: CONGRATULATIONS!

[@quintonbroster2994]

Thank you for your hard work and very informative films

[@ronniemann9014]

This guy Cy is a pretty cool dude. Great job, man. Thnx for the content.

[@ryankasch5561]

The idea of proto Elamite being not Elamite makes a lot of sense to me, just thinking of the length "Elamite" existed when we have other situations in history where a group continues calling their neighbors the same thing despite the neighbors changing, like with the Greeks and the "Scythians", and it sometimes going in reverse by calling a past group what the current group is called

[@andersschmich8600]

That is a great point! Anna Kommenus even called French Crusaders Celts.

[@HistorywithCy]

Interesting point, thanks for sharing and watching the video. More on the way, stay tuned!

[@Mr713mexican]

More info please on this… how is Elamite “long” and what other names of those eastern neighbors of Sumer could it be

[@حسنالطائي-ف2ظ]

​@@HistorywithCy Elam are the origin of the Arabs

[@dougcortes6567]

@@حسنالطائي-ف2ظElamites are more closely related to what became Iran.

[@BenSHammonds]

very interesting episode

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, and thanks for watching!

[@BenSHammonds]

@@HistorywithCy it is sure my pleasure, hello from east Texas :)

[@JonnoPlays]

Your merch is incredible! I bought two shirts today. The book of the dead on Grey and the Beatles one on maroon. Please enable all colors on all merch in the spring store. The color choices are not consistent and the colors I wanted were not offered because you selected the default colors. Go back in and edit the product and add every color available. This will help sales. I usually buy purple shirts and you didn't have any except in women sizes.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, that's really the work of one of my friends whose helped me with the designs...his name is announced at the end of each video - Pastrafrola! The credit goes to him! Haha from your icon I can see that you indeed like purple. I'll look into the color issue and try to fix it. Thanks for watching the video and buying the merch, hope you like it when it arrives!

[@HistorywithCy]

@JonnoPlays so it looks like TeeSpring is only allowing up to five colors, but purple has now been added to some of them. Any particular ones you're interested so that purple or any other color can be added? Let me know and thanks!

[@Strattios]

Love your work. I've learned more about these cultures from you than anywhere else.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, so glad these are useful... and thanks for watching!

[@Sempermortis84]

I love elamite content! Good job man.

[@Old_8_gauge]

Great info. Very well researched.👏

[@vazak11]

Amazing work!

[@joeshmoe8345]

Awesome. Thanks a bunch Cy Guy

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@masoudgolshani6364]

So impressed by your pronunciations

[@calamitycalls]

im new to your channel and i gotta say that they are very good and helpful as i got interested to ancient mesopotamia thanks to your videos.

[@HistorywithCy]

Welcome and so glad these videos have sparked your interest in this fascinating era of history. Thanks so much for watching, really appreciate it!

[@GreasusGoldtooth]

Yes, a video on the Elamites!

[@AnnapoornaPosaniKalakruti]

Very good work

[@bogdantoda6748]

It's thru your videos I discovered the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Myceneans.and others. Thank you for this heftier video on Elam. Great content!

[@HistorywithCy]

I love comments like this because they motivate me to put out more. I wasn't sure if there was that much interest in Elam but I guess I was wrong...thanks for watching all of these, really appreciate it and glad to help with learning new stuff!

[@bogdantoda6748]

@@HistorywithCyIt's too bad their writing system (Elam) is not yet fully deciphered because they are a civilization of great merit and deserve their place in History!

[@AngelRoseAngel1980]

Thank you 😊

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thank you for watching!

[@terryhughes7349]

Great documentary!!!!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! There is a Part II to it also if you're interested. Thanks for watching, really appreciate it!

[@madderhat5852]

Brilliant and engaging.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@LuisAldamiz]

I'm not linguist nor have studied the issue in any depth but when in prehistory and anthropology informed circles you raise the issue of Elamo-Dravidian, nobody ever objects. It's not just a valid linguistic theory, it fits well with the prehistorical pattern of expansion of Neolithic eastwards from what was later known historically as Elam. As I see it, Neolithic West Asia was a mosaic of languages and some gave birth to widespread linguistic families, most of those of West Eurasia and India surely (maybe even some in Africa too, hard to say). Just as the Anatolian Neolithic spread westwards to most of Europe and carried with it the Vasconic languages (now only represented by Basque but 6000 years ago spoken in most of Europe), proto-Elamite Neolithic spread eastwards to South Asia (in the same timeline as European Neolithic first) and carried with it the Elamo-Dravidian family of languages, which eventually spread to South India, where it survives to this very day. If you're familiar with population genetics that would be the biggest part of the so called ANI (Ancient North Indian) component, while the ASI (Ancient South Indian) one is surely from the pre-Neolithic aboriginals instead.

[@LeftistUprising]

I first heard this on the linguistics newsgroups back in the late '90s, and now I believe it ardently. It's only a matter of time when the IVC script will be deciphered and proved to be related to Tulu or Malayalam.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@LeftistUprising - Unless new corpus is unearthed, IVC script will never be deciphered because there's too little to work on, AFAIK only short texts ("brands", jati or guild names?) in seals. However the case of the genetic identity between Brahuis and Balochs, as well as the general scatter of North Dravidian in North India is strong evidence for IVC language being Dravidian (Northern branch probably, Southern branches probably coalesced only when Dravidian Neolithic reached the area, which was delayed until Tropical crops were developed in Africa mostly).

[@bwhotwing411]

I’d love to see more about Iranian and Bactrian or Oxian history. It’d fill in some gaps in world history for me. It’s interesting to see if any of these cultures had any influence or origins on ancient Harrapan civilization or vice versa

[@shutruk-nahunte3309]

Oxians were not irainian they were elamite nomadic tribe

[@bwhotwing411]

@@shutruk-nahunte3309 I never said they were. I was referring to civilizations in the Oxus mountain region. They must’ve been important because they were near all of the deposits of Lapis Lazuli that was traded all the way to Egypt. And must’ve traded with the Indus Valley civilization too.

[@shutruk-nahunte3309]

@@bwhotwing411 ok

[@robertclarke71]

Love your work mate.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, appreciate it and thanks for watching!

[@YadinZedek777]

Great video, can't wait to see a video on the bronze age collapse of all the surrounding people's and empires.

[@mattjones741]

love to learn about Elam and the world around and outside Mesopotamia

[@HistorywithCy]

Awesome, I hope that you enjoy this video and part II coming up! Thanks for watching!

[@danti55]

This is wonderful thank you!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@berserk046]

great work, thank you

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you for watching!

[@kaarlimakela3413]

Perfect timing, and great even if it wasn't perfect timing!

[@hhunstad2011]

Fantastic

[@LeftyScaevola]

Good Video. Big subject, with relatively little original source material available compared to Mesopotamia of the same periods. Questions: The Jiroft culture? Part of Elam,Rival, Subject? Part of Marahashi? Something else? Elam trade with the Oxus civilization? Relations between Elam and the Gutians: Allies, rivals, enemies?

[@bradm.3775]

I Love this information about Sumeria and Mesopotamia

[@theoorval5140]

Regarding your map at 17:34-- Did Sargon I not reach the Mediterranean?

[@young_dieg0301]

What is the name of the song or songs used?

[@jamescapstick7990]

I find the maps a bit confusing. On 42:39 there are three rivers going into the Persian Gulf and Susa is on the river farthest to the east. On 44:39 there’s just one and and Susa is directly north of the end of the Gulf. Is that deliberate? Did they shift around?

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi! Good observation...they're actually made from two different source maps. The first one is more of a close up while the second comes from a more region map and able to display a wider section. You are correct though that the rivers did shift over the centuries. but I don't think that's why they're necessarily different in the maps. The truth is it's hard to determine the exact course or river bed from Bronze Age times. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!

[@samnatt9812]

It used to be called the Arabian gulf in the time of Herodotus

[@firstnamelastname-kr8dv]

That tablet script around 12:00 looks like stuff we find over in South America

[@Iambrendanjames]

The Elamite's seem to show how broad, and pivotal to civilization the act of trading was as well as agriculture. Trading between people is probably a much older act than planting food, but agriculture might be much less conducive to fostering civilization if we didn't trade goods between different groups..

[@Larsanator]

@37:51 Region of what again?

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha yes, you heard that right! Thanks for watching!

[@Alec.40]

Awesome

[@lizzyogidiagba8092]

Love it

[@fatemea6552]

We need more content about elamids !

[@noahlogue]

History with Cy video!!

[@LeftyScaevola]

Looking forward to the part about the Neo Elamite period, and its end. We all know what happened to the western end of Elam and Susa when their disrespected my Bro Evil Overlord, Ashurbanipal, but how the Eastern end around the other capital Anshan, diminished and evaporated quietly, and then just became Persian is a mystery to me.

[@maryblushes7189]

ProtoElamite looks like numbers (to track commodites, fish, grain, etc.)

[@sladewilson4543]

regarding linear elamite, a proposed deciphering has been proposed in 2022 by Desset et al.

[@Robespierre-lI]

Interesting development.

[@johnssmith4005]

I would really love a video on the Black sea civilizations and their relation with Asia Minor and Greece

[@Zaphodox]

Hi, one question - why is there so much date uncertainty on the older archaeological find? Like on your Ubaid period some of the artifact dates are +\- 900 years!!