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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@texmexexpress Every look at history of my country is overshadowed, by more than usual amount of political bias, to one side or another. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying there can somehow be any real objective history, as in every perspective comes with it's own sets of factors. Basically modern 'academic history' in the middle east is imho, still developing. Easiest example, usually you'll some some implied bias for pro or anti monarchism, rarely you get to see more nuanced look at it. Also a lot of times a kind of western centric lens that almost exclusdes any agency as simply a psudo colonial victim. Some parts being inaccuarate is the least of my worries in something like this as much as the spirit of the story if you will. Another example of bias you can easily find, as a subgenre of what I just mentioned, look up 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire as an event. If you wanna see how bias comes into play look at any source that talks about how it was an expensive waste. Let me put it in easier terms, we were an oil exporting nation during 70s, even a large scale fyre festival shouldn't really faze us financially, but everytime you hear about the cost of it... If I told you US population revolted because 2030 US olympics went horribly bad and it cost too much and shit would you think that was actually a cause or rather there was some other major issues, economic or otherwise and they all had culminated in that event or would you think because the literal monetary cost of an olympic broke the US public at the waste of money? In fact the very reason this myth persists might very well tell you something about what were the concerns that one could get the public's attention at the time, regardless of whether they were true or not. You see, Iranian revolution had a rather interesting way of spreading in terms of message, clergy as a network, imagine priests of a spiritually united religion acting as political missionaries if you will and not just them before social media you needed to somehow spread the message of whatever you were selling. In fact for a modern idea look at the idea of Ukrainian military aid costing too much on american taxpayers when in reality, it's not really that much money as much as a whole lot of it reserved equipment, but the message that "they're giving away your money to X" just rhymes well among many different groups of people who might harbor dissent for different reasons, rightfully so or otherwise. ps. just want to be clear I'm not making that argument as an apologia for the iranian monarchy, it had it's own problems and blaming every external factor on it is... disingenuous at best. Rather, idolization and demonization is bolder let's say in the historical narrartive of my nation. My theory is that it will happen when we experience a period of relative freedom and economic boom enough so that we can have a more honest sense of self reflection as a nation rather than looking through funny mirrors of superior and inferiority complex and I mean that as an entire country in a cultural sense.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
@@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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
@@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.
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 👍
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
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 ?
Thank you so much for this. I had a wonderful friend in college, who became a friend of our family. He introduced the Iranian culture and language to us. I developed a lifelong interest in this country and its people. Farsi is a beautiful language.
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 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. ❤
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’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!
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
Great video. Thank you for doing such a great primer. It makes it super easy to delve into more specific parts of Iranian history, which isn't taught very well here in the West (USA).
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.
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.
@@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
Dear sir... what a thoroughly enjoyable video and listen... so very succinct yet full of information for further investigation... i would love to suggest that perhaps you take each 'block' or period of Persian/Iranian history and further explicate on nuanced details... that i think... would enthrall me. Thank you very much for your effort. Cheers n peace n have a good day n days... Kelly Churchill from New Zealand.
I would love to see more content that goes deep into the weeds of any topic you are interested in historically. I'm a little biased as a lover of learning from those who breathe their special knowledge domains but if you discussed just academic papers or specialized books, I'd be there for the ride. It takes talent to be able to communicate otherwise obtuse academic research, and I think you have it in spades. Thank you for your work!
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! 👏
Thankyou Sir, for explaining history in a simplified form. Would like to watch more such videos on these basic informations about all countries around the world.
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
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.
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.
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!
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. 😊
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.
23:00 just a quick correction: the Persians and Chinese went through cultural exchange long before the Mongols. For example when the Rashida caliphate took over most of iran, the ruler of sassanid empire (and many of his important retainers) took refuge in the royal court of the Tang dynasty (the ruling dynasty of china). The tang emperor even promised to help the sassanid emperor take back iran from the rashiduns. Though due to certain circumstances, the promise wasn't full filled.
True - while there was exchange prior, was his point that Chinese influence/markers in culture was not as marked until there were foreign rulers facilitating culture from the top down? Akin to western influence in Japanese culture during Edo vs Meiji
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.
2 місяці тому
This is a really weird assumption to have in the first place. Like almost every populated region in the world has a lot of history, but especially in the mesopotamian region
This was great, I would actually welcome a video about any of these periods. I read about the Pahlevis and the revolution from Ryszard Kapuściński 's diaries of the revolution. It's very easy reading and I found it very informative.
Mike, where were you when I had to take history in school?!!! These are really fascinating history videos. Thanks for producing them. You an natural teacher!
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
Thank you for this video, i actually appreciated that it was a summary. I am a christian who supports Israel and wanted to be more educated as to the origins o and journey of Iran. This was very helpful.
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!
Ah yes, the video that I wanted as a teenager 25 years ago. Here it is! Thank you so much, good sir. I've watched a number of your videos so far, and I have to say I very much appreciate your approach to history. You seem to have a fascination and enjoyment of history with a sort of purity, untainted by bitterness and anger which can so easily sneak in when studying things like kings and religions and other emotional topics, as history always does.
This is such a great and informative video, thank you very much! I'm curious to learn more about the Pahlavis and the events that led to the 1979 revolution, and the coup of 1953. It would be great if you'd consider making a video on that. Thank you!
You know one knows about Iran -- for real -- when he/or she get the pronunciations right. This gentleman's pronunciations as good as an Iranian native. Bravo, and definitely not a fake.
Great video! I wished you would have touched on the 1953 CIA-led coup and Iran's extremely brief foray into social democracy. But I get you were trying to fit a lot into a little. Would love more Iran content.
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.
You should make a video about the safavids. I remember being very unhappy about the Safavid part of this video the first time I watched it but since then I learned that you're actually a very knowledgeable and educated man. Please share your erudition about medieval and early modern persia without the constraints of a "primer" format.
Absolutely amazing content, your work is much appreciated. As an Iranian, I’d like to attract your attention to the depth of our culture in which no matter how big, different or frequent the invasions, not only it doesn’t get abolished but also Iranianize the invader. It makes me feel proud. And also the last king of Iran wasn’t an oppressor, quite the contrary, a caring father to the nation. Getting back to his trajectory is what we are trying to do these days with a counter-revolution. (Woman-Life-Freedom)
Thank you for your kind words. I knew I was getting into controversial territory toward the end. As you may imagine, many Iranians who live in the West feel the way you do about the previous regime.
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.
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.
Your "gross oversimplification" is greatly appreciated. The best primer ever. Thank you.
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.
True
Same !
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.
@@FPoP1911He wasn't accueate at some parts.
@@texmexexpress Every look at history of my country is overshadowed, by more than usual amount of political bias, to one side or another. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying there can somehow be any real objective history, as in every perspective comes with it's own sets of factors. Basically modern 'academic history' in the middle east is imho, still developing. Easiest example, usually you'll some some implied bias for pro or anti monarchism, rarely you get to see more nuanced look at it. Also a lot of times a kind of western centric lens that almost exclusdes any agency as simply a psudo colonial victim. Some parts being inaccuarate is the least of my worries in something like this as much as the spirit of the story if you will.
Another example of bias you can easily find, as a subgenre of what I just mentioned, look up 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire as an event. If you wanna see how bias comes into play look at any source that talks about how it was an expensive waste. Let me put it in easier terms, we were an oil exporting nation during 70s, even a large scale fyre festival shouldn't really faze us financially, but everytime you hear about the cost of it... If I told you US population revolted because 2030 US olympics went horribly bad and it cost too much and shit would you think that was actually a cause or rather there was some other major issues, economic or otherwise and they all had culminated in that event or would you think because the literal monetary cost of an olympic broke the US public at the waste of money? In fact the very reason this myth persists might very well tell you something about what were the concerns that one could get the public's attention at the time, regardless of whether they were true or not. You see, Iranian revolution had a rather interesting way of spreading in terms of message, clergy as a network, imagine priests of a spiritually united religion acting as political missionaries if you will and not just them before social media you needed to somehow spread the message of whatever you were selling. In fact for a modern idea look at the idea of Ukrainian military aid costing too much on american taxpayers when in reality, it's not really that much money as much as a whole lot of it reserved equipment, but the message that "they're giving away your money to X" just rhymes well among many different groups of people who might harbor dissent for different reasons, rightfully so or otherwise.
ps. just want to be clear I'm not making that argument as an apologia for the iranian monarchy, it had it's own problems and blaming every external factor on it is... disingenuous at best. Rather, idolization and demonization is bolder let's say in the historical narrartive of my nation. My theory is that it will happen when we experience a period of relative freedom and economic boom enough so that we can have a more honest sense of self reflection as a nation rather than looking through funny mirrors of superior and inferiority complex and I mean that as an entire country in a cultural sense.
@@texmexexpress which part
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.
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.
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.
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.
This video is simply wonderful! Thank you
I think everyone would love a more detailed series
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.
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
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!
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.
Thank you for your information; you cleared a lot of questions that I had about Iran 👍🇦🇺
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.
Mr. professor, you voice comforts me deeply. You are so great!
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
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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.
@@Charlie-Em Thanks, that means a lot!
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 👍
It was quick and easy to follow but I’m sure many details will come with it ❤
I'm so happy to have found this channel! Keep up the good work!
Great video, well explained and presented, I enjoyed watching and learning.
❤❤❤❤❤🎉😊
Great video, unbiased history, good job
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
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 ?
Thank you so much for this. I had a wonderful friend in college, who became a friend of our family. He introduced the Iranian culture and language to us. I developed a lifelong interest in this country and its people. Farsi is a beautiful language.
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.
Very good Quikview! Keep doing that with another ancient and medieval empires!
U did a good job of summarizing the history of iran.
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. ❤
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’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!
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
I’m two years late to the party but my goodness I love this channel. Thanks for making amazing videos!!
This episode has been amazing! Please do a more detailed series on the Persian history!
Sources you like on Manichaeism would be awesome! Great video, found your channel a few days ago and have binged most of them!
Fantastic- Thank you so much. Persia/Iran has always been a mystery to me. Looking forward to more.
Great video. Thank you for doing such a great primer. It makes it super easy to delve into more specific parts of Iranian history, which isn't taught very well here in the West (USA).
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.
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.
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
@@Amleto.ap world history
Did you not go to college? Because this is basically just a standard style lecture for any world civ 101 course
Dear sir... what a thoroughly enjoyable video and listen... so very succinct yet full of information for further investigation... i would love to suggest that perhaps you take each 'block' or period of Persian/Iranian history and further explicate on nuanced details... that i think... would enthrall me.
Thank you very much for your effort.
Cheers n peace n have a good day n days...
Kelly Churchill
from New Zealand.
Amazing video! Persian history is fascinating - we should learn more about it in the West.
I would love to see more content that goes deep into the weeds of any topic you are interested in historically. I'm a little biased as a lover of learning from those who breathe their special knowledge domains but if you discussed just academic papers or specialized books, I'd be there for the ride. It takes talent to be able to communicate otherwise obtuse academic research, and I think you have it in spades. Thank you for your work!
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! 👏
Thankyou Sir, for explaining history in a simplified form.
Would like to watch more such videos on these basic informations about all countries around the world.
This was really informative and incredibly easy to understand!
Great video i wish you did spend some time in the modern era especially with mossadegh
I'm loving this channel
Your channel is amazing
Definitely helpful! Persian history can be a bit overwhelming at first. Thanx in making it more accessible!
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
Thankyou. You are a very good speaker. You depth of knowledge seems unfathomable
Totally agree
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.
This was a great primer especially with current affairs involving Iran. Thanks as always
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!
Very helpful as an introduction to the empire.
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. 😊
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.
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
Great overview, thanks for the big picture. No-one can get from Zoroaster to now in 40 minutes.
23:00 just a quick correction: the Persians and Chinese went through cultural exchange long before the Mongols. For example when the Rashida caliphate took over most of iran, the ruler of sassanid empire (and many of his important retainers) took refuge in the royal court of the Tang dynasty (the ruling dynasty of china). The tang emperor even promised to help the sassanid emperor take back iran from the rashiduns. Though due to certain circumstances, the promise wasn't full filled.
True - while there was exchange prior, was his point that Chinese influence/markers in culture was not as marked until there were foreign rulers facilitating culture from the top down? Akin to western influence in Japanese culture during Edo vs Meiji
^Maybe better example re: shift in cultural exchange would be Norman influence post 1066?
@@Bronte6497 The Sassanid also willingly gave half of Persia to the Tang Dynasty for 50+ years.
thank you for mentioning that.
In fact the word “China” is a Persian word :)
Loved your show very knowledgeable! Thank you for your service! Great job!
Dear Sir it was wonderfully
new favourite channel. thank you so much.
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.
This is a really weird assumption to have in the first place. Like almost every populated region in the world has a lot of history, but especially in the mesopotamian region
This was great, I would actually welcome a video about any of these periods. I read about the Pahlevis and the revolution from Ryszard Kapuściński 's diaries of the revolution. It's very easy reading and I found it very informative.
Mike, where were you when I had to take history in school?!!! These are really fascinating history videos. Thanks for producing them. You an natural teacher!
He is a teacher. He is a professor.
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
This is the great video. Please make more videos including more details.
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".
Thank you for this video, i actually appreciated that it was a summary. I am a christian who supports Israel and wanted to be more educated as to the origins o and journey of Iran. This was very helpful.
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!
Ah yes, the video that I wanted as a teenager 25 years ago. Here it is!
Thank you so much, good sir. I've watched a number of your videos so far, and I have to say I very much appreciate your approach to history. You seem to have a fascination and enjoyment of history with a sort of purity, untainted by bitterness and anger which can so easily sneak in when studying things like kings and religions and other emotional topics, as history always does.
Please make another video more in depth if you can! This was so enjoyable 🌸 متشکرم
This was great! Very informative and easily digestible. Thank you!
Majority of the inventions from the Islamic golden age were all made by Iranians.
this is gem of a video
Thank you professor.
This is such a great and informative video, thank you very much! I'm curious to learn more about the Pahlavis and the events that led to the 1979 revolution, and the coup of 1953. It would be great if you'd consider making a video on that. Thank you!
You know one knows about Iran -- for real -- when he/or she get the pronunciations right. This gentleman's pronunciations as good as an Iranian native. Bravo, and definitely not a fake.
Guy has the most generic persian face I've seen.
I am impressed by your precise pronunciation of Persian words 💯💯💯👏👏👏
Great video! I wished you would have touched on the 1953 CIA-led coup and Iran's extremely brief foray into social democracy. But I get you were trying to fit a lot into a little. Would love more Iran content.
Thanks! There will definitely be more videos about Iran.
I came here to say the same! Mohammed mosaddegh's treatment once he nationalized Iran's oil is the epitome of the Western-influenced era.
@@e5205it was so sad.
Love this! Would love if you could make videos of other regions across the world
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
@@عليياسر-ف4ن9كWhen nonsense has melted your brain.
the cadence of your voice is like every great professor i’ve ever had, combined with excellent content!
Thank you for providing a historical primer emphasizing documented research and objective analysis while not resorting to hyper-nationalistic rhetoric
You should make a video about the safavids. I remember being very unhappy about the Safavid part of this video the first time I watched it but since then I learned that you're actually a very knowledgeable and educated man. Please share your erudition about medieval and early modern persia without the constraints of a "primer" format.
Absolutely amazing content, your work is much appreciated. As an Iranian, I’d like to attract your attention to the depth of our culture in which no matter how big, different or frequent the invasions, not only it doesn’t get abolished but also Iranianize the invader. It makes me feel proud. And also the last king of Iran wasn’t an oppressor, quite the contrary, a caring father to the nation. Getting back to his trajectory is what we are trying to do these days with a counter-revolution. (Woman-Life-Freedom)
Thank you for your kind words. I knew I was getting into controversial territory toward the end. As you may imagine, many Iranians who live in the West feel the way you do about the previous regime.
Well done! The fragments of my knowledge put in order.
New Iranian history just dropped
Although as you say it was very brief, but very informative and clear.