Introduction to the Oxus Civilization / Bactria-Margiana Complex (BMAC)

This program takes a look at the exciting and ancient world of the Oxus Civilization, also known as the Bactria-Margiana Complex, or BMAC for short. It's called by some the 5th great river civilization after those of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China. The BMAC also has some of the most exquisite artwork from the Bronze Age.
Sources and Suggested Reading ► bit.ly/3EzdR8x
Machinima made with Total War: Rome 2 Age of Bronze mod
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#bmac #ancienthistory #bronzeage

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

I am but a humble barbarian. I see "Bronze Age", I click and I like.

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha thank you! The Bronze Age rules!

[@error5202]

Conan! What is the best in life?

[@Actual_Neanderthal]

Ug simple man, Ug see Ug click.

[@jamesmasonaltair1062]

@@error5202 "To crush your enemies, to see dem driven before you, and to hear da lamentations of da women."

[@integratedalchemist]

Oh I hear that it's pointy and blunt objects for me!

[@allonzehe9135]

I'm subbed to a lot of ancient history channels, so I see videos about Rome and Greece and Egypt and Mesopotamia every day, and I love those, they're great, but this channel gives me so much more, things I never hear of on any other channel. Thank you Cy, the world is a smarter place for having you and your videos.

[@HistorywithCy]

You know, comments like this make my day... or night as it's 10 PM where I'm at. Thanks, I'm so glad you are enjoying these and that you're learning something new. Actually, I have more vids on Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece in the near future, but I'll sprinkle in more, lesser known civs like this as well. Thanks so much for watching, really appreciate it! Stay safe!

[@LudosErgoSum]

I remember when Cy was just a tiny settlement on the river, but has now grown into a strong and prosperous city state! I think we're entering the period of empire building for the channel, one we will all look back at as the golden age of ancient civilization content on KZbin.

[@brianalice]

I can’t say I’m looking forward to the fracture and collapse of Cy. And the resurgent, vigorous Neo Cy makes me a bit uncomfortable.

[@muriloleite7194]

@@brianalice But probably in Neo Cy times there will be greater developments in writting and great books might emerge. It's all part of a process!

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha yes my friends, I will do my best to maintain and expand this video empire and keep it strong so that it doesn't rapidly collapse like so many others of the past. This video is one of the early campaigns into Central Asia - planning more in the near future along with southeastern Europe, the America's and beyond! Thanks so much for watching all of these... now, let's continue to explore new lands and civilizations!

[@mercurywoodrose]

Cy the Great!

[@Ishkur23]

It's all fun and games until the Kings & Generals Empire invades your channel with a mighty army.

[@Dragons_Armory]

Love it. What a unique civilization! Honestly seeing these lesser-known civilizations with totally unique aesthetics refreshs one's day. We are so used to the endless coverage of Rome or "The Last Last Last True Last Roman 3:0 Aetius Bellisarius Majorian no for real" etc that seeing something totally unique and not covered much on YT is a gem.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed this! I have a few of such civs on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@petrruzicka9815]

TZEENTCH - The Architect of Fate & Changer of Ways - Warhammer 9:00 🐦

[@Dragons_Armory]

@@petrruzicka9815 Ha! Kairos spotted

[@TheRepain]

check out Brian Foerster

[@thetruthhurts6652]

That’s because Rome dwarfed some of these other civilizations in both longevity and size.

[@Aceo_0]

Thanks for coveting our history.🙏 From Bactria🇦🇫

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure and more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@learnmore9485]

@@HistorywithCywith all respect your prospective on Bactria was very limited & influenced by today’s Iranians 😅😊. Bactria, I don’t know how can you call it part or Persia lol. Just because some Persian ruled this are it doesn’t mean it was theirs, the bactrians ruled persia for many years. Real Iran is today Afghanistan and Tajikistan and partly Uzbekistan this is the 80% of real Iran.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

A video from Cy on a Monday? And about an obscure culture too? This channel is criminally under rated. Thanks for all you do Cy!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks! Lots more on the way, perhaps again this Monday if I can finish editing this latest video by then (it's on Dynasty IV of Egypt). Thanks for watching and stay tuned for more!

[@Bigfatfrog83]

The further back the civilization goes the more interesting even if there’s less known about it

[@HistorywithCy]

Yeah, I often feel the same way, though I also enjoy learning about the more recent ones too. Thanks for watching, more on the way!

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@HistorywithCy could this be the birthpalce of all north indians?

[@genek2384]

@ajith sidhu: I don’t know if we can discern the ancestry of Indians, until we know what happened to the Indus Valley Civilization. Where did they go after their civilization collapsed? I wish archeologists could find a Rosetta Stone for the Indus Vallry script. It’d do wonders to transform our understanding of Indian, BMAC/Oxus, and Persian civilizations that existed concurrently with ancient Egypt, and Mesopotamian civilizations:

[@DebanjanBasu]

@@ajithsidhu7183 there would be no present north indians without the layers of Austroasiatic, Dravidian, Farsi, Turkcic/Uzbek, and yes the British. There are no clear categories in a syncretic culture like ours. According to Asko Parpola's book, and this is a hypothesis that can be consistent with what is known... The pastoral nomads who took over the mittani empire encountered the later fortifications of the Oxus empire and this is the first occurrence of the myth of indra defeating the asura vrtta.

[@AndreLuis-gw5ox]

I know a lot of people holds "videos that I watch while eating" in high regard. Your videos, however, I hold to a even higher importance: the videos I hear while I work. Looking foward to this one!

[@torbjornlekberg7756]

I have never heard about this civilization before, so this was really interesting. Keep up the good work.

[@clarenceonyekwere5428]

Happy to learn about another civilization that was a contemporary to the 3 river valley civilizations I know from the Bronze Age. Great work as always.

[@ericconnor8251]

I share the same sentiment but …Three? Not four? I count four aside from Oxus: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley Civilization, and China, although the latter was late to the party relative to the first ones mentioned considering the Shang dynasty was founded only around the time the Mycenaean Greek civilization was forming.

[@tranquil_dude]

@@ericconnor8251 Before the Shang dynasty, there was the Erlitou culture, which had the features of a state-like society, plus what appear to be a form of writing. However, what archaeology has uncovered so far about this writing is still scarce and as-yet undeciphered, so Erlitou is basically in the same status as the Minoan or Indus civilizations. Chronologically & geographically, Erlitou corresponds to the Xia dynasty (which was said to precede the Shang in ancient Chinese historical accounts). In contrast, the Shang dynasty left behind a lot more writing, which has been deciphered & understood by modern scholars. Hence, archaeologists are able to discuss "Shang history" with much more confidence and detail, which has led to the (mistaken but popular) impression that Chinese civilization began with the Shang.

[@ericconnor8251]

@@tranquil_dude The symbols used by the Erlitou are considered more as proto writing rather than a formal writing system, from what I remember of scholarly consensus. Although not as fully formed as the Bronzeware script of the Western Zhou that followed it, the Shang dynasty era Oracle Bone script was at least a full fledged system of writing. In contrast to Erlitou symbols, the Minoan Linear A script was a fully developed script, which we cannot decipher even though Linear B of the Mycenaean Greeks is based on it (we also have no way of classifying the Minoan language). I suppose the Erlitou did have one thing that suggests a hypothetical link to the legendary Xia dynasty, and that is the fact that they did build rudimentary palaces as we can see from their rammed earth foundations in archaeology. They were not as urbanized as the subsequent Shang, though, or as widespread throughout the Yellow River Valley, and there's no evidence they had a unified kingdom of any sort rather than a collection of petty cheifdoms belonging to a similar culture.

[@evanrudibaugh8772]

One important thing I think you should've mentioned is that many words in Indo-Iranian languages are thought to come from the BMAC, most famously "naan" (the BMAC source conjectured as *nagna) and *átʰarwā (a kind of priest). It's not directly provable due to the lack of written language of the BMAC, but there are ~50 words that are shared in the Indo-Iranian languages that do not seem to have Indo-European roots. (Search, for example, for Vedic BMAC substratum.) This would line up with those people passing through the BMAC (interactions with Harappan and Dravidian languages should be peculiar to Indo-Aryan languages). The other reason for this conjecture is that the words deal with agriculture and urban ideas that were likely foreign to PIE people. Lastly, some peculiarities of Indo-Iranian religion not seen in other IE peoples are sometimes thought of as coming from the BMAC, in particular the soma/haoma plant, which was of sacred importance in the Vedas and Yasna texts. Soma/haoma likely does not grow in either Iran or India as the actual identity of the plant has been lost to both peoples. (As a quick note: Iranic h- corresponds regularly to Sanskrit s-.)

[@owithani]

this theory is one of many other reasons that made me want to learn more about it

[@alsima7742]

Ninda is Sumerian word for bread.There must be o connection between these people.

[@brianalice]

My son and I both love your videos on ancient civilizations. Thank you for covering so many of the less well-known civilizations.

[@anselmdanker9519]

Thank you for covering the Oxus civilisation. Great work .

[@stollinroned5090]

Love this channel!Never heard of this civilization before.Very experienced metalworking for the time and different aesthetic.

[@ReliableDragon]

Fantastic video!! The Oxus civilizations are a favorite of mine, but it's so hard to find good content about them. Thanks for making this video!

[@jandkproject]

I really appreciate your work man, im really into ancient civilizations and I've never even heard of this one. So much of our History is lost so i love to study what we do know.

[@michaellewis7959]

Wow CY! 100K subs! Congratulations! Loved this episode on the Oxus. Definitely an overlooked civilization.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks! I know you were there when I had less than 1000 subs so the fact that you're still here at 100k means a lot! I'll see if I can do a follow up to this one. Again, thanks for the continued support!

[@Mathotato]

I absolutely love learning about these more unknown civilizations

[@HistorywithCy]

Great because there's more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@alun7006]

Fascinating. Thanks for the synopsis, Cy!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@buttercxpdraws8101]

So fascinating. Love learning new things from this channel 💕💕💕

[@gdk7704]

Bro, you deserve at least a million subs! I'm sure you'll get there soon!

[@user-eh6th9wj5k]

Congratulations on 100k. Well deserved! Keep it going!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, but it's all due to viewers like you, so thank YOU!

[@samwill7259]

Sometimes I just wish I had like...a window that allowed me to look in on any time and place. There's almost no modern cultural frame of reference for a civilization like this, they wouldn't resemble ANYTHING we're familiar with and I just want to know what that would actually look like, ground level, yknow?

[@HistorywithCy]

Yup, I know the feeling! Thanks for watching and more on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@suehuppenthal2226]

Thanks for this excellent video! I have wanted to know about Bactria since I read a Catullus poem mentioning "far-flung Bactria."

[@HistorywithCy]

@@suehuppenthal2226 You're welcome! There's more history on Bactria I'll do in future, especially on the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, one of my favorite kingdoms of ancient history.

[@GLeibniz1716]

Archeology had a fine article about this unknown civilization in their jan/Feb 2021 issue. Great episode Cy stay safe!

[@Vintage_Recreations]

I love this! Such beautiful art, yet this is the first time I ever heard of them.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks and so happen you enjoyed this... I'll do more on BMAC in the near future, stay tuned!

[@Onezero675]

Thanks man, maybe I would never knew about this civ without you! Appreciate!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure and thank YOU for watching!

[@Eumenis]

I'm so happy to watch your videos almost from the beginning and see the channel growing bigger and bigger! Another great video dear Cy! Sarigiannidis deserves a video on his own. It was fortunate to bring to light whole cities and cultures. One of the most important archaeologists of modern times, certainly in terms of finds. This scholar was doing excavations in Afghanistan while bombs and bullets were literally falling around him!

[@chipoo]

Hoyaaaaa Cy dropping a new vid the highlight of my week

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks my friend, glad you enjoyed it! More on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@shaolin1derpalm]

Wow. Great video. I somehow missed this a year ago. Very very fascinating. I'm interested in learning more about jiroft, oxus and Elam since they are so underrepresented.

[@robertwalker-smith2739]

I've been watching a lot of videos about the PIE-speaking steppe nomads. This was a fascinating glimpse into what was also going on in that part of the world.

[@pattywolford]

I love the Bactrian Princess sculptures. Thanks for the excellent report.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks for watching, really appreciate it!

[@hermescarraro3393]

Hey! I have heard about them once. I found them randomly while browsing the internet and looking for random civilization of the early bronze age Trully a fascinating culture. And a fascinating video. 👍

[@WanaxTV]

Great video! Very educative. The Hellenistic kingdom of Bactria much be on the list for future!

[@JulianDuke14]

Yo Cy thanks for the info I love this vid! I love that your channel has visuals and migrating movement maps that some history channels don’t have Visuals do help a lot. Also tell these fools that think Etruscans were related to Romans, latins, and Greek which they aren’t.

[@shooud123]

The Dasas who were Proto-Iranians or Proto-Irano-Aryans ruled Bactria-Margiana. They also ruled the Indus Civilization, late period, and utilised Proto-Dravidian as the language of administration. Asko Parpola has wrote about this.

[@sjorsvanhens]

Ancient history is fascinating.

[@HistorywithCy]

Agreed!

[@robbabcock_]

Great stuff, Cy! Thanks.👍

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks man, glad you found it interesting and thanks for watching!

[@manichaean1888]

OK, the next one is Jiroft, please. And may be Helmend, as well. We need to fill up all those blank spots on the Bronze Age map between Mesopotamia and Indus Valley.

[@BenSHammonds]

the early time settlements along ancient water ways are a fascinating study

[@geraldmeehan8942]

Thank you for another wonderful video. Ans special thanks for focusing on cultures we here little about

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thank you for watching!

[@Bobbias]

Oh wow, you were right when you mentioned you had some great stuff coming up.

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha yes... I think you're going to really like what's in store for 2022! Thanks for watching, stay tuned and safe!

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

Interesting. I knew nothing at all about this civilization, so it's really a fascinating discovery. This culture reminds me of the Indus Valley civilization. Both seem to have popped out from nothing, building cities in a relatively short time, and both disappeared mysteriously. Maybe their collapses were connected and, like the Bronze Age kingdoms of the Middle East, they were part of a commercial and cultural web so tight that the fall of one culture led to that of another. It's a pity that we know so little, and I hope that more will be found in the future. Next time you could make something about the Pre-Classic Maya civilization, or about Southeast Asia.

[@manichaean1888]

Looks so, they collapsed more or less at the same time. It seems that Helmend civilization in Afghanistan collapsed earlier though.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

@@manichaean1888 maybe the process started in Afghanistan, and the other cultures followed like dominos.

[@manichaean1888]

@@alessandrodelogu7931 No, the Oxus and Indus civilizations reached their top after collapse of Helmend. They even coexisted for some time. Some scientists speculate that remains of Helmend people might move to Oxus and Indus. But both existed for long time before, in more archaic form. It seems that declines of Helmend and BMAC are unrelated.

[@alani3992]

Bronze age collapse & arrival of Iron-Age tribes.

[@user-ol2fb9fo7r]

Maybe the Aryans invaded their civilizations so left towards safer regions.

[@AirikrStrife]

Very nice video! I love it when less known civilizations are explored, as it's also more difficult for amateurs to research themselves. One question which has been on my mind for some time though, which civilization were operating the Lapiz Lazuli mines of Badahkshan? BMAC is the closest I know of but no source I came across explicity make that connection

[@mercurywoodrose]

what the hell. this does sound like it could have been another major early river valley civilization. why have i never heard of it before? thank you so much for this revolutionary glimpse into our complex past.

[@royschmidt675]

Excellent video ! Much appreciated. Peace & Love ❤️🌸🙏

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it and more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@Artur_M.]

This is absolutely fascinating and should be far better known.

[@HistorywithCy]

For sure... there's some more info I'd have like to have added but didn't due to time but I think I'll do a follow up to this soon...thanks for watching!

[@frank327]

Great video, perfect introduction to the topic

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you! More on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@PoliticalFuturism]

Awesome video Cy! I was wondering when you might get to this subject

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks! Glad you liked it... will maybe do a follow up to this in the next month or so, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@volodymyrcuza9994]

Thanks a lot for another very interesting video!

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thanks for watching!

[@TheRedneckPreppy]

A lovely and unexpected surprise for the beginning of the week. Thank you Cy! Quite interesting, can't say I heard much about BMAC before my thanks for covering this.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks! Yeah I'd often heard references to the Oxus/BMAC but couldn't find good sources in English until recently - most of the published stuff is in Russian but I found some good sources on Amazon and another in the Uni library close by. There's so much more that I wanted to add so maybe I'll visit this topic again. As always, thanks so much for watching, stay tuned and safe!

[@mohankumarc2767]

Or could it be that the people of Oxus were none other than the steppe nomads,who might have stayed back in ths area for a few generations en route to the east and south as indian and Iranian branches redpectively.,after laying the oral framework for the Avesta and Rgveda?

[@brixcosmo6849]

Great Info/Video! Best Regards from Portugal! ❤🇵🇹

[@HistorywithCy]

Valeu meu amigo! Espero que voce esteja muito bem!

[@Emcee_Squared]

Probably the most comprehensive video on the BMAC I've seen thus far. Their influence is still felt today. There are some non-indo-european farsi words which have been traced to this culture, such as "khar"/donkey, and "kabutar"/pigeon to name a few and they must have greatly influenced the indo-iranian religion as well, which evolved from having deyus-pater (sky father) as it's chief deity, to more of something similar to a proto-zoroastrian/early iranian religion. Excavations at Goner Depe appear to show ritual fire altars and traces of what may have been Soma/Haoma, a hallucinogenic plant or elixir spoken of in the Rig Veda and something similar in the Avesta. The indo-iranian Sintashta people, who had perfected the domestication of the horse and invented the chariot, underwent BMACization, and this led to the genesis of the persians, medes, and parthians, as well as the aryans who entered the Harappan civilization.

[@ogrejd]

Congratulations on 100k subs. :)

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks my friend, really appreciate it, but it's all due to viewers like you... so thank YOU!

[@AdilMinocherhomjee]

i’ve been deep diving so much that I finally landed here. I know this guy. Personally. He is effing brilliant, so glad this content exists.

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha great to see you on here! Glad that you found this useful and thanks so much the kind words! I hope to do a follow up on this sometime soon... thanks for watching!

[@ellen4956]

The figurine at 10:58 looks a lot like the so-callled snake goddess figurine from Crete. I also noticed a skirt on one figure looks a lot like some in carvings from Crete; it looks like leaves or feathers.

[@billmiller4972]

More of those documentaries about Oxus Civilisation!

[@HistorywithCy]

I hope so too... looking into one about how the people of the BMAC interacted with other civs around them, such as the Indus River/Harappan. Stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@pattywolford]

Excellent. Thank you.. new subscribed. Love the figurines.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, really appreciate it! More on the way, stay tuned!

[@Golshanim]

Excellent as usual. The art looks similar to those of Jiroft as you say.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed this... will do a follow up soon and hope to find more connections with civs of the Iranian plateau. Stay tuned and safe!

[@melvinjones3895]

Thanks again for the info

[@HistorywithCy]

My pleasure, thank you for watching!

[@xHASSUNAx]

You should talk about their genetics in future videos

[@nicholasburgess7317]

Incredible!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@jayakrishnan26]

Really informative..thanks a lot

[@HistorywithCy]

Glad this was helpful! More on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@allones3078]

I would love to see you do a video on the Mississippian culture .

[@HistorywithCy]

I hope to one day when I get to the Americas... thanks for watching, appreciate it!

[@gamerk1625]

Darius Is very easy to pronounce properly . Not DUH - RYE - US . In farsi It's pronounced.. DAR - YOOSH. Love your work. Keep it up brother . Bravo

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you liked the video...more on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@mitch7235]

Yes!! More about Inner Asian history!🤟🏻!

[@HistorywithCy]

For sure, have plans for more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@dvuono1]

Thanks, Frank.

[@intuitmusicgroup]

Thanks!

[@archenema6792]

7:25 Are the archeologists certain that these carts were drawn by bulls and not oxen? Bulls are very difficult to control, and prone to sudden emotional responses to environmental stimuli, whether anger or fear or "desire", which would limit their usefulness as draught animals or locomotion for war chariots. Once castrated into oxen, they become quite manageable, but perhaps lacking the aggressiveness and speed wanted for battle maneuvers. It's a dilemma or a tradeoff no matter how you analyze it. I would be very interested and grateful if you could provide a reference to those who researched this specific issue.

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi, thanks for the comment and the info. I understand what you're saying... the source is the book "Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilization of Central Asia" by Massimo Vidale. On page 57 it says "pulled by bulls" but who knows, they could have been oxen. It's described by the author as a ceremonial scene (not a battle or depiction of farming) so maybe the bull had some special significance, like the Apis bul in Egypt. Anyway, thanks for the comment, more on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@archenema6792]

@@HistorywithCy Thanks for the reply. It seems more likely transport than war wagon. See you on the next one.

[@willbass2869]

@@archenema6792 that was a REAL piss ant question. Seriously dude, you're questioning whether Bos was castrated or not 4000 years ago? Get outta here!

[@archenema6792]

@@willbass2869 Pardon? Who are you? Have you ever handled cattle? Are you a historian? When did your parents abandon you?

[@archenema6792]

@Janitor Queen Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I'm a wild homesteader with a degree in History, and I grew up on a charity summer camp, so the more practical questions of the reasons for historical activities and behaviors is an approach that I have found is often overlooked by historians whose backgrounds offered fewer opportunities to experience life on a more technologically primitive level. Living in constant contact with Nature, and learning how to eake a survival from it, gives you a different perspective on the difficulties and challenges that ancient people had to face, and the reasons for the solutions they divised. Too many people today assume that illiterate means stupid. They were still incredibly clever humans, and we should respect the fact that they made the best decisions they could given their knowledge and the possibilities allowed by their cultural understanding of the world in which they lived. I hope to see you soon the next time one of us comments on a Cy video.👍

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

It’s like opening a treasure trove, all the wonderful archaeology that scientists studied in the Soviet era that has been revealed to the West over the last 30 years. It takes time for all the reports to be translated and more information is always coming.

[@RatzoMcFatso]

Great video!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@thejmoneyshow]

Great, keep it up!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, will do!

[@LDrosophila]

Thanks for going beyond

[@HistorywithCy]

You're welcome!

[@jonathancummings6400]

This is awesome, by the way. You are informing people that there was more going on in the Ancient world than is taught in school, even at the college level!

[@ruthanneseven]

Climates changed in many areas. Perhaps people could learn to understand that this happens. Really wonderful video!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed this. Yes, you're correct... parts the near east and the Mediterranean also had similar issues around the same time. Thanks for watching, stay safe!

[@willbass2869]

Yeah those ox cart were really wood burners that increased atmospheric CO2. Who would've thought anthropomorphic climate disaster 4000 yrs ago brought about rainfall pattern disruptions?

[@_robustus_]

Why is this so unknown in the west? I remember when I first discovered it. It felt like finding gold.

[@DemonixGamer]

Xenophobia mostly

[@goldsteinman]

jews will scared that white people know about how white race can made civilization

[@helenamcginty4920]

I would like to see more about the ancient cultures and more recent pre European ones in Africa. I saw one on Kenya recently but have read only about the great empire of Mali and the commercial centre of Great Zimbabwe. I learned about the Benin bronzes years ago. But was made aware of Nigeria and Biafra for all the wrong reasons back in the late 1960s.

[@mikkopenttila7604]

Couldn't click fast enough! I haven't seen this civilization covered much elsewhere.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks and glad you're interested in this stuff... more of such civilizations in 2022, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@anitapollard1627]

Thank you!

[@HistorywithCy]

You're welcome!

[@anitapollard1627]

@@HistorywithCy i'm rewatching all your utube videos 😁

[@decimusausoniusmagnus5719]

Ah the good days of yore. Great video, good man.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks my friend, glad you enjoyed it! More on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@joeshmoe8345]

Thanks that was great

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@obamabiden]

Bactria-Margiana complex? i found this video quite simple to understand personally. jokes aside, what beautiful sculpture!

[@lhadzyan7300]

the Oxus civilization, alongside the Jiroft culture of the Iranian plateau and the Indus Valley Civilization seems to be part of the same complex of earliest original agriculture native civilizations following the same pattern as earlier ones in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Near East, Anatolian plateau and Elamite-Persian Gulf coast also did before on their own respective areas. However at some time around the first half of second millenia B.C. something unknown happened which changed much of the history of those areas - some lasted more as in Egypt, Elam, Near East and Mesopotamia, but the other areas which appeared later as the Oxus valley or Jiroft were gone then (Indus Valley too eventhough that was an earlier civilization than the others dissapearing at the same time), but probably involves those early Indoeuropean invasions after all.

[@Wakobear.]

Fascinating. There's far too little content on the history of central Asia. Especially it's ancient history. Can't wait for more.

[@merketarif126]

X is pronunced as GH in some languages like kurdish (an indo-iranian language)...So the oxus river can also pronounced as oghus river.

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi, thanks for stopping by, appreciate it. Perhaps, but Oxus is the Greek and later Latin name of the river. The old name in both Avesta and later Old Persian is actually Yakhsha. Today, it's the Amu Darya...thanks again!

[@apoorvaditya3048]

@@HistorywithCy yaksha is also a term for semi devine people in Sanskrit.

[@suikzaxa9593]

@@HistorywithCy vakhsh not yakhsha. This term Is still used for the vakhsh river in Tajikistan

[@toneydavis9802]

I cant get over how much I dont know until I know it.

[@HistorywithCy]

I know how you feel! Thanks for watching, appreciate it!

[@vazak11]

Intriguing!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, more on the way!

[@iaw7406]

This was interesting

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed this! More on the way, stay tuned!

[@zejalt8608]

It's so amazing to see that all those artifacts from Central Asia ended up in a museum in Paris. The french are famous for mysteriously earning treasures from other nations...

[@dickybannister5192]

nice video. weirest thing tho. I watched a BBC video on Persia yesterday, the Art of Persia with Samira Ahmed (first 1 of 3). the "man with scar", but a different version of the figure was on that. what is that all about? looks like he carries something under his arm which is large in circular cross-section , so cylindrical (but not a spear?) has armour but wears a kilt of some sort. also I think I've seen another one somewhere too. the scar must mean it depicts a particular person, or heroic legend.

[@MyMomSaysImKeen]

100k Subs. Cys all grown up now

[@HistorywithCy]

Haha thank you!

[@tiata23]

maybe just my opinion, but 7:13 looks to me like a man in a full suit of scale mail. I know it's too early to fit into expected time frame for having that, but the texture of the body is the same as his "beard" and the suit cuts off around his face and hands. The slash across his face clearly depicts him as a warrior. Also if you look at other warriors from that area in later depictions you'll see their armor is the same style. a full body suit of scale mail like the one in this figure. Imagine if they have full suits of scale made of bronze or if their metallurgy was even more advanced than we though. that would be a huge find. As far as them not having horses, seems obserd to me too, since the sacred horses who sweat blood famous around the world as being the best horses of the time come from Fargana, modern Uzbekestan/Kyrgystan which is right next door.

[@henkstersmacro-world]

👍👍👍As always!!😁

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks my friend!

[@yesid17]

curious as to what your native language is-i get ibex isn't a common word but it was a trip hearing you pronounce it like that after you pronounced Darius like that lol anyway great video as always keep it up!!

[@HistorywithCy]

Hey, thanks for watching and glad you liked the video! Actually I'm born in the US and my native language is English but I've lived abroad in Brazil and India for several years. The pronunciation of Darius is how Parsi-Zoroastrians pronounce it, which is what I learned so I don't know any other way. Haha as for ibex... hmmm, I did my best with that... I didn't know it was pronounced another way. Thanks for watching, really appreciate it! More on the way, stay tuned and safe!

[@yesid17]

@@HistorywithCy fun haha thank you for sharing!

[@frosty6960]

11:11 .. with such glitchy horses they stand no chance against time :D

[@morriganmhor5078]

Good work as always, Cy. Never heard about this particular civilization. But, concerning what could have caused its end I highly recommend the book by Russian author prof. Lev Gumilev "

[@jonathancummings6400]

Interestingly, Oxus and Indus began their decline around the same time. Perhaps it WAS either an environmental factor, or the Aryans were actually mighty enough to overpower both realms weakened by the adverse environment factors.

[@apoorvaditya3048]

The DNA of these two civilizations also matched and so some of the cultural aspects .

[@hassanbassim4007]

@@apoorvaditya3048 there are no dna tests on them…

[@jonathancummings6400]

@ABHRA TALUKDER Yes. They probably came down upon them in their powerful Chariots and took them by 2,000 B.C.. Then they grew stronger there, then the Indus realm didn't stand a chance when the climate turned against them. The powerful Aryans probably powered right through them and didn't stop until they reached the still moist Ganges region deeper into India. That would fit with earlier theories of the migration of the Aryans undoing the Indus Civilization. They might have been correct after all, BMAC might have been the critical conquest that amplified the power of the horde the Indus realm faced, as BMAC survivors would have been a part of it adding to the military strength.

[@jonathancummings6400]

@ABHRA TALUKDER Well, it almost certainly happened, there was a wave of Chariot riding powerful warriors that influenced the world from Europe to beyond India. War, is what destroys strong Civilizations, not environmental problems. Healthy, strong Civilizations, can adapt to such. Environmental problems weaken them enough that opportunistic enemies come in and finish them off. Peaceful migrations and friendly negotiations don't actually create major historical shifts like this. Violent upheavals do. Egypt was transformed into a unified state by Narmer and his predecessors coming from Nekhen and first unifying upper Egypt, then marching North with a good army and conquered Lower Egypt, the Delta region. Then he wore the battle crown of the Chieftain of the Delta alliance, and the crown of his fathers, thus he created a unified country. The Sumerians apparently did something similar a couple of centuries earlier, unifying Southern Mesopotamia, even when the land was also full of Semitic Akkadians. They were fighting a perpetual war apparently with the Elamites to their Southeast.

[@avik4343]

Theres no mention of anything like that in the Vedas, the earliest books of the aryas , which the Indians were known as. In the Vedas it is mentioned that there center of power was the indus - Saraswati valley. The Aryas were there even when the Saraswati river ( far largers than Indus) was at its mightiest form. Most of the ivsc cities are located on the banks of Saraswati river not of the Indus.when the Saraswati river dryed out ( before 2000 bce) they completely shifted from that region to other deeper parts of India, well there are many evidences that the indus Saraswati valley civilization was already present in states like up, Maharashtra etc.

[@jannmikoingelrabagogamingc6012]

Out of all the great early river civilizations mentioned in history classes, the Oxus civilization (BMAC) is the least talked about and mentioned of the five, really. I haven't heard of them - although I heard of the name "Bactria" before already - until today.

[@helmandkhan]

Bacteria (Bakhtar): ancient region in central Asia, modern day Afghanistan

[@Artur_M.]

I wonder, are there any bits in the Mesopotamian or Elamite written sources that could be interpreted as possible mentions of this civilization?

[@HistorywithCy]

Yes, there are a few, but they're quite speculative, everything from it being a place that Gilgamesh may have visited to the land of Arata. Might be something to put in a follow up video...I'll look into it.

[@Artur_M.]

@@HistorywithCy Thanks for the reply!

[@extratropicalcyclone8567]

@@Artur_M. They are mentioned in the rigveda as dasyu ,they built fortified palaces which according to the rigveda held up all the waters of the world. The word dasyu was also used to refer to the people of the late Indus valley civilization.

[@johngreen9564]

what is the name of the music used in the video? (2:18) i wanna chill to its with my boys Gilgamesh and Enkidu