The History of Iran: A Primer
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- čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
- I summarize all the major dynasties of Persian history from Antiquity to the present day. Watch this video if you want to get an introduction to Iranian history, or if you've already done some reading but want to get an overview to see the whole picture.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:58 Elam
3:50 Achaemenids
6:14 Alexander the Great
7:12 Seleucids
8:37 Arsacids (Parthians)
10:04 Sasanians
12:24 Arab conquest
13:07 Umayyads
14:52 Abbasids
17:56 Ghaznavids
18:54 Seljuks
20:09 Mongols
23:09 Ilkhanate
24:07 Timur
25:28 Safavids
28:45 Nader Shah
29:22 Qajars
33:57 Pahlavis
35:57 Islamic Republic
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I would love a Mike Duncan “History of Rome” style history of Iran podcast from you. You have a great voice, your writing is approachable but your rigor and research is obviously quality.
Thanks! I'll have to consider that.
@@premodernist_history If you made a podcast, I'd listen to every single one for real. I love your videos.
@@premodernist_history Oh, yeah! *Do* consider that. But (having listened to all of Duncan's Rome and Revolutions podcasts) don't feel like you have to follow his model. What you do here is absolutely great, and you are second to none.
@@premodernist_history
I'd be supremely interested in something like that as well.
I keep thinking on this comment and I just have to add my comment to the pile saying I would love such a podcast. I enjoy your approach to history so much that I would love to have a whole podcast's worth.
Hi, greetings from Iran. Love the video. Very hard to find good historical video that isn't seem like a retrospective with modern sociopolitical veneer on top of it. Also some of the moments in our history you pointed to cleared up certain vagueness of some periods of time for me.
Hard to find a channel that combines rigorous history with a great communication style. You are certainly one of the best; easy sub
But this guy is dishonest. At around 14.00 he says Iranians did not convert to Islam by force but by choice, this is far from the truth. The death and destruction that followed by the Arab invasion did not leave Persians any other option than embrace Islam. All those invaders were fighting for Izlam and they would leave Iranians to follow their own religion. Only a shite historian can say so.
He's doing a better job than all the history teachers I've had.
The people who say stuff like paid zero attention in school. This is all standard curriculum.
@@crisgale8098I’m curious to know which western school has Iranian history as “standard curriculum”. The only times Iran gets mentioned in western schools is during the Achaemenid period and briefly the Qajar and modern period, maybe some brief mentions of the Parthians relating to Roman history. You’ll never hear a history teacher mention the Safavids or the Ilkhanate lol
I think you definitely did a great job in trying to cover 2500 years of Iranian/Persian history in a 30 min overview exposition. And you qualified that more than enough. Much of even this summary is novel for most viewers in todays Western World especially America.
Wow, i loved this. Everytime you said "I'm glossing over this period because it's too complicated and this is meant to be a short overview" i would LOVE it if you made a video about that skipped topic. There's so much more I'd love to learn, and you have a gift from bringing history alive.
I remember being a history major up at the University of Pitt taking a class dedicated to the history of Iran. I always loved learning about the history of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires.
I am so happy that I found your channel, your content is amazing.
I just found this channel yesterday also and what a good find it is!
I totally agree. I've been binging the content for the past few days.
Iranian culture is like "aqua regia" . It dissolves the invading cultures such that after a century or less the invaders become more Persian than the local Persians.
Didnt know Perssians were muslims
Iranians are still Muslims to this day though.
One small detail I really appreciate about your videos is that you have pictures or statues of the various people you talk about. Its good to be reminded that these were real people and not just names.
This was extraordinarily helpful in putting the pieces together of a vast stretch of history as well as how it coalesced or impacted other histories. As a person who is aware of some of the pieces but not necessarily how they lock together both time and geography-wise, I will definitely be following your videos.
Your bit on Esfahan (where my mom's family is from) reminded me of the old saying (which I think comes from the Safavid era): "Esfahan nesf-e jahan" or "Esfahan is half the world."
Also, I remember in my "world history" class in high school, Persian history was basically relegated to a brief mention in party of one day's class--except for some quick mentions when they fought with Romans or Greeks. Obviously there's a lot to cover in the world but it's a shame this history is overlooked so much by some in the west.
Just found your channel yesterday through the Genghis Khan video and I am loving it! History has always been a frequent dinner-table topic for my family (yes, I know we are nerds) and I love that there is always more to learn. I especially appreciate your acknowledgement of the biases that we project onto historical events, Eurocentrism in particular, as this seems to be absent in so many takes on history. You present with passion, logical flow, expertise, and approachability. Please know that what you are doing is very, very valuable in promoting knowledge and dispelling biases - and making one amateur history lover very happy!
Thank you so much!
Any tips on how to retain anything you read in a book?
@@antoniohernandez7171 That's a big topic, and different people learn differently. One method, which might or might not work for you, is to flag pages with things you want to remember, and then once you're finished with the book, go back and look at those pages and if the information still seems worth remembering, write it down in a notebook. Also, making a timeline on a piece of paper as you go through the book can help keep things straight.
@@premodernist_history I really appreciate your response!
Those are both, in my opinion, excellent practices.
I re-watch videos with as much detail as this, if I want to make sure I *know*.
For example, I just watched the whole thing and I'm going to re-watch to make sure I understand what makes them Shiite
My Origins lay in Persia/Iran so i wanted to learn about the History of Iran/the Persians and your video gave me much interresting information about the subject. Thank you for the effort and detailed and simple explantion in this video 🙏
I have ADHD & And I am first generation American/Iranian and I have watched a lot of videos regarding Persian history over the last 5 years and you make it very easy to absorb the information for me like a good teacher so I got your video this morning from the algorithm and I subscribed and liked it halfway through because the history of the entire region is so long and confusing and takes quite a while to get a good grasp of it but thanks to you my grasp is a little better now. 😊
I'd love a video on modern Iranian history from the 20th century. This was definitely a good first step for me. Thank you.
that would be very hard right now because it is in middle of a very big event and is probably going to change in some form. it is to unstable to make anything out of. if you are intressent i would recommend the bigger event news from time to time that sums up the major things that has happened in like last 2 mouths or so and keep up with that every 3 mouths or so.
Thank you for your information; you cleared a lot of questions that I had about Iran 👍🇦🇺
This video is simply wonderful! Thank you
I think everyone would love a more detailed series
Amazing video! I wish u included the Medes there too. My ancestors on my dads side go back thousands of years to a very old Iranian city called Hamadan (old name is ekbatana or hecmatane) which was the capital of the Medes back then
EXCELLENT presentation!!!
Majority of the inventions from the Islamic golden age were all made by Iranians.
There's one criticism of this video.
"There's always been a bias among westerners, Europeans,..."
While this is true "There's always been a bias among humans" would have been far more accurate. The only reason why there appears to be more bias from Europeans (and north Americans) generally and English in particular, is because most books, of all genres, have been written by Europeans in general and English speakers in particular.
This can be verified by looking back to before the Anglo Saxons could read or write, most literature was Roman, Greek, Persian, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, and whatever languages were writen further east. They had biases based on their own culture. It's a human trait rather than a specific European trait.
But I don't want my comment to been seen as a criticism of any other aspect of this video. I agree with all the other positive comments people gave.
this is very well made. please keep making more content like this for other great civilizations of the world. the way you combine quality research yet digestible writing is second to none. i like that this is casual yet informative.
I love the way you explain history; so simple and clear. Also, the fact that you present history without an agenda. Just stating facts as they are. Thank you.
Thanks for this vid. This has to be one of the best high-level overview history videos I've ever seen. Would love to see you cover other topics in this same style.
Wow was born and raised in Iran, Fars. I didn’t know my own country history as detailed as he explained it. From Pahlavi up to present Iranian didn’t have normal lifestyle due to Dictatorship being imposed to them from current and previous regime and western sanctions specifically USA regime. Iranians deserve their sovereignty and their rich culture and art free from East and West and Arab influences
I’ve found out about your channel very recently and I AM LOVING IT! As a former student and teacher of Western Colonization, your videos and your style reminds me of my classes. Anyway, because you are open to suggestions for new topics, here are my suggestions of new topics:
1-Westernization of Ottomans (Turks, Egypt and Iran. A comparative video would be awesome.
2-A primer of history of India, one like this one on Iran.
3-History of colonization of Americas, with emphasis on North America.
Last but not least, you are an amazing history teacher. God bless you!
This was excellent, thanks! Long ago I did an MA in Classics and started a PhD, and have kept reading about ancient civilizations, and I've been catching up on filling in the history of Persia and the Byzantines. I collect ancient coins, mostly Roman, Byzantine, and Greek but I have Achaemenid, Arsacid/Parthian, and Sasanian coins as well and have added a couple recently so I've been learning more about them. I keep the coins in binders and print pages to accompany them with maps, timelines, ruler lists, and other things that help to contextualize. I use the coins as touchpoints in history to learn more about whatever ancient culture that produced each in its time, added a few notes on the Arsacids based on this so thanks again!
I will definitely watch your videos as fast as you can make them. I've always been a big fan of European history but I've been a little reluctant to branch out to other parts because it feels like an impenetrable wave of new information. These videos just feel like catching a history professor out in the wild-- over drinks or something. Very approachable
Thanks for this overview. It is so useful. It helps the basic orientation in Asia, which is so difficult. I am really excited by the approach of your channel. Please, keep adding other videos 👍
You mention how we know very little about the Parthians compared to the other empires. I would be very interested in a more in depth video collating what is known about them.
On the opposite end of the sectrum, a similar broad primer video about the history of the Mongol empire would be great. I'd love to know more about what happened to each section of the empire after it was divded up. Might be harder to make a video trying to follow multiple threads about multiple smaller empires at the same time, though.
They didn’t write down their history unfortunately. The video would be very short if he were to do one. But maybe he could read what the Greeks said about them ?
I'm so happy to have found this channel! Keep up the good work!
Hot tip: The Dollop podcast recently did a 2- parter on Ajax, and it's trickling into the news now (recent AP release about same) so it might be smart algorhitmically to pin/repost/highlight your Iran-related material. And if you have any more on the backburner... Keep up the good work!
Sources you like on Manichaeism would be awesome! Great video, found your channel a few days ago and have binged most of them!
New Iranian history just dropped
Thank you very much, you are the one of the significant youtube channels dont lie about the origins of seljuks, safavids, afsharids and qajars. All of these dynasties are turkic not persian/farsi
This is definitely a very informative video on Iranian history. I am not a history student nor any background . The complete timeline of various dynasties given have made things clear . Keep it up.
Mr. professor, you voice comforts me deeply. You are so great!
Great Primer! Thank you. One note, the Islamic revolution actually is more of a cultural revolution (less political revolution) to eradicate the Western influence from Iran and revive the Persian culture. However, by adapting the idea of "republic", a Western idea, one might think the Western influence hasn't been eradicated completely. In today's world, with the advent of communication, no ruler can act like king anymore so republic is the way to go in any case.
This was fantastic. I just subscribed based on this as i was struggling to comprehend a couple of Iran history books. If you had time i would to see you cover in more detail the 20th century in Iran: the Pahlavis and the origins and meaning of the Revolution and the origins and meanings of Islamic fundamentalism. Thank you!
This GREAT, what more can I ask for? Yes, I will learn much more from searching from this beautiful person with knowledge I have not heard of before. ❤
This episode has been amazing! Please do a more detailed series on the Persian history!
U did a good job of summarizing the history of iran.
The Ilhkhanate reminds me of somebody from my hood using the word "ill" to mean cool so in my head it's the "cool khanate".
Definitely helpful! Persian history can be a bit overwhelming at first. Thanx in making it more accessible!
Fantastic- Thank you so much. Persia/Iran has always been a mystery to me. Looking forward to more.
Dear Sir it was wonderfully
This was really informative and incredibly easy to understand!
Ugh this was the last video I hadn't seen!! Can't wait for more!!!
Wow, you watched all my videos?
@@premodernist_history bro I couldn't help myself. I was doing dishes and housework and by the time I come to this was the last video. You got really good stuff, I can't say it enough. And I saw a guy who had like three videos of the crappiest content and he had like 6000 subscribers. Once one of your videos goes viral you'll be adding on people, don't get discouraged.
@@charliem5254 Thanks, that means a lot!
I love your channel and videos. While I am no longer able to attend classes or be a part of academia, you help introduce me to a variety of topics I would otherwise not be exposed to in a compelling, rigorous, and simultaneously entertaining manner. Kudos to you 🎉
I like ur videos because they have no music and seem very unscripted. thanks for making these i hope you stick to this style. i hope you make more stuff on medieval europe and south asia. this really cool especially the artwork. i never gave much thought to iran and its history and this was enlightening and gave me more perspective. i love the artworks and statuettes
I'm binging your channel since the time travel video popped off and it's just BANGER after BANGER thanks for making my walks nice
Great video, unbiased history, good job
It was quick and easy to follow but I’m sure many details will come with it ❤
Very good Quikview! Keep doing that with another ancient and medieval empires!
Thank you professor.
Well done! The fragments of my knowledge put in order.
This was fantastic, thank you so much for making this! I've been looking for a good overview to tie what I know of Iranian history together, and this was exactly what I'd been hoping for!
This was an awesome video! My girlfriend’s Irani, and I’ve been trying to learn more about its history so this was a great flyover view of the region. A follow-up would be amazing🤩
I am sorry that your girlfriend doesn’t teach you the history of Iran I am sure there are other means of learning this subject than watching the videos of one unqualified self appointed historian with PHD. You better read some of the real Iranian comments, and so far over 95% think he is a fraud and has no idea what he is talking about regardless of his PHD.
I'm trying, now. Thanks for saying.
A lot are showing the sort of appreciation I'm inclined toward - not knowing the history
Like the point 17 minutes in, where "Arab math" actually "was originating in India" it's very important to watch a few videos of these sort, before you can ever actually consider yourself well informed.
He also acknowledges in the video and title, what a simplification a 40 minute video on 3000+ years of a region must be
lmao, cucked people.
Brilliant, thousand years of civilization was explained in a non-biased political view, and in chronological order with such clarity is somebody needs depth and breath in history, in a structured rational manner, introduce the hidden root of conflicts in this part of the world! 👏
Your channel is amazing
Loved your show very knowledgeable! Thank you for your service! Great job!
Thankyou. You are a very good speaker. You depth of knowledge seems unfathomable
Totally agree
Great video i wish you did spend some time in the modern era especially with mossadegh
A small aside about the Mongols: Genghis was a 'pagan', but Kublai was a "Tibetan" Buddhist, and for almost fifty years, Persia was technically Buddhist-ruled.
Ahmed Ibn Hulagu: Not while I am present
The best 30 minutes wbole history of Iran awesome
This was great! Very informative and easily digestible. Thank you!
Another great video! Especially enjoyed that for every period of history there was a little takeaway, like the Mongols arriving as pagans before converting, or how the Qajars were the gateway for European influence in the region.
Question: Towards the end of this video and the last video, you emphasized the importance of industrialization in human history, maybe that could be a next video?
Also I am traveling to Europe this summer, beginning in England. To make it more than just vacationing, I want to make a series of short videos (~4 minutes) explaining places and processes important to industrialization, on location. So like sitting in a moor and explaining how a lack of trees necessitated coal extraction as a source of energy. Then a coal mine, explaining how the many rivers of England enabled its transport, along with how the earliest steam engines were incredibly inefficient, but being since they were so close to water and fuel they became effective.
There's plenty of more opportunities, like explaining how English homes were heated and why they needed heat, early factories, trains, ships, ecological damage and healing, and so much more. Let me know what you think!
That's an excellent idea of making some videos while you're in England. I'd love to see history videos that go on location. It seems like not too many of them do that. It'd make it easier to visualize things. Most people use stock footage, which is fine since it's all most people can do, but getting firsthand footage would be really nice.
The Industrial Revolution is really underrated in terms of how much attention it gets. It made a bigger impact on us than any war did. People like to speculate about alternate endings of World War II or the American Civil War, but there isn't as much speculation about what the world would be like if the Industrial Revolution had started somewhere else instead of Britain.
Good idea about me doing a video about industrialization. I'll think about how I could approach it. I've been trying to learn Blender in my spare time so I can incorporate short animations in my videos -- just simple stuff like animating diagrams. Industrialization is definitely the kind of topic that that sort of thing would lend itself to.
@@premodernist_history Can you rank all the Dynasties/Empires ( at their peak ) that controlled the region of modern day Iran starting from the most powerful to the least ( as compared to other powers of the world at the time ) ?
In my opinion :
1 Achaemenid
2 Mongol
3 Median
4 Alexandrian
5 Sassanian
6 Seleucid
7 Timurid
8 Parthian
9 Ghurid
10 Ilkhanate
11 Saffarid
12 Seljuk
13 Tahirid
14 Samanid
15 Buyid
16 Ghaznavid
17 Kwarezmian
18 Afsharid
19 Safavid
20 Zand
21 Hotak
22 Qajar
23 Pahlavi
@@joerogue231 This is a great list. Very interesting putting the Achaemenids first. My instinct would have been to put the Mongols first, but after seeing your list I'm not sure. In the period of the Achaemenids, the next biggest countries were (I'm guessing) some of the Warring States in China (Chu? Yue?), Magadha in India and the Carthaginians in the Mediterranean. A case could possibly be made for the Persians being far beyond them in power. A case could also be made for ranking Alexander's empire first or second. The trouble with ancient dynasties is we usually have so little economic and military data to go on.
Where would you put the Umayyads and Abbasids? I'd probably put them near the top, around 4th or 5th place.
I'd rank the Buyids and Samanids lower than you have them. Last place should be the Hotak, I think, and then Zand maybe next to last. Or the other way around.
The Pahlavi should be higher. I think their military was considered the largest in the Middle East at the time, and with lots of American hardware. I'd probably rank them somewhere between 15 and 20. Now, if you changed the parameters and just compare the power of each dynasty directly with each other, then the Pahlavi would be on top by far because their tanks and fighter jets could blow away every other dynasty's military. The Achaemenids wouldn't stand a chance.
I don't think I could actually pull off a proper ranking though. I'd second guess myself too much. Do the Kwarezmians go above or below the Seljuks? That sort of thing. I'd just keep rearranging them forever. That said, after some thought I think the top of the list would be (1) Mongols, (2) Alexander, (3) Achaemenids, (4) Abbasids, (5) Umayyads, (6) Sasanians. (The Parthians could maybe be in the top 6, but we know so little about them.) After that it gets hard to choose.
Please make another video more in depth if you can! This was so enjoyable 🌸 متشکرم
That was really well done. I knew very little about Iran and I assumed it was a backwater poor middle eastern country until I did a quick wiki search and found out it has a long rich history while being quote a powerful modern country in the Middle East as well.
I love your channel I’m new to history I never really did it properly in school I’m really enjoying your videos thank you
I've seen iranian content creators say that iran and persia are not synonymous. Iran was a name also used for centuries and persians were a group of people within iran, definitely the most visable group but a singular group non the less. All persians are iranian but not all iranians are persians
I’m two years late to the party but my goodness I love this channel. Thanks for making amazing videos!!
Amazing content 👍🏽thank you 🙏🏼
Very helpful as an introduction to the empire.
I'm loving this channel
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Subbed to see more.
Excellent presentation thank you
Amazing video! Persian history is fascinating - we should learn more about it in the West.
Great video, well explained and presented, I enjoyed watching and learning.
❤❤❤❤❤🎉😊
Yes, you expand the lecture of the history of Iran for 3 hours to really understand the shah and England political manipulation in the area.
Underrated channel
Glad I found you, good videos :)
I would love a series or videos about the largest ethnic groups without an internationally recognized state! Like the Kurds, the Uyghurs, the Palestinians, the Yazidis and so many more.
Love your channel!
This took forever to watch. Because I had to stop so often to click another screenshot! 😊
It would be interesting to the see you devote a separate video to all of the key players in each chapter of this primer. That way you could do a deep dive into all of the things that you had to paraphrase here.
wow very interesting and well done. Thank You
Thank you, that was an interesting and helpful birds-eye view. I approached the Persian empire from the perspective of art and literature, starting with ancient Mesopotamia. While the art studies necessarily gave some historical context, it was rather bare.
Would love a more in-dept video on the topic, especially of the last 100 years. Not so much on the wars of Iran (which are somehow more covered, albeit still not much), but on how the culture and society of Iran was affected by the revolution(s) and the profound changes in the Country. It is such a fascinating and under-explored topic. Ancient Persia is much more covered than Iran
As an Iranian, I verify that this recap of Iranian history was proper and unbiased to the best of my experience and knowledge. The Iranian history, and history in its generality, are not dead but living stories that should always be restudied, and new insights should be achieved at every reconsideration. One striking thing about the Iranian people and, by extension, their culture and history is the diversity of forms, orientations, and experiences observed in their long-lasting attempt to live as one nation.
It was the only islamic nation to not be ever captured by the Europeans. 🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤
except by Alexander, and later by the British and Russians during WW2 and then again (arguably) by the MI6 and CIA in 1953
Thank you but just because you’re Iranian, doesn’t mean you are qualified to verify what is accurate Iranian history. I am Iranian too and trust me, a lot of us do not know our history well enough, at all (very sad). Your qualification should come from your education and experience and the sources you have encountered.
this is gem of a video
Just one word for this video, perfect 👌
Really great. Thank you
Although as you say it was very brief, but very informative and clear.
Thank you
This is so great
So amazing!
Excellent. I do think that a mention of the Kurds specifically and/or the presence of ethnic groups generally spanning dynasties, geographical areas, and nations would help illuminate the complexities of this history.
Make more videos ❤ you’re a good speaker.
This is a very well balanced run down of a very long stretch of time, lol. I really like how you categorized the different general epochs of Iranian history. Between Iranians there's a common idea of an Iran before and after the invasion & occupation of the Caliphates, but the political or cultural influence of the Mongol invasion and the era of Turko-Mongol influence isn't as present in ppl's minds, even though by all rights it was significant enough to warrant its own unique epoch. It hadn't really dawned on me until now