@@bjelleras8196 "civilization" and "social groups of a species" are two different things imho. To call a social structure "civilization" we need social hierarchy, art, literature, commerce, civic foundings like complex architecture and more. If we do not have any proof yet, we would not call the pre ice age human populations were a civilization.
I wish we had more information about the early Mesopotamian period. You can almost picture the Sumerian equivalents of Pericles, Cleombrotus and Epaminondas battling it out in the scattered wars between the city states for prestige, territory and wealth. There is SO much more to come in this series, stay tuned fellas.
@ The Biblical Noah is a remake of Utnapishtim, who plays a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The video mentions the deluge created by Enlil against those loud humans; one god, Ea, didn't agree. He had sworn an oath not to tell any humans of the plan, though, along with the rest of the gods. So he chose Utnapishtim as being the most sensible guy, went to his house and started talking to the walls: "Oh walls, if only I hadn't sworn not to tell any humans, I could have told Utnapishtim about this coming flood. But I did swear the oath, so I can only talk to you walls, oh woe, oh sorrow!" Utnapishtim heard that in his dream of course, so he built his ark. And he didn't only rescue his own family and the animals, he also rescued all the best craftsmen of his city. And he didn't get into a fight with his son over his own drunken behaviour either. Throughout the Book of Genesis, in fact, one can find ripoffs of Sumerian lore, but the symbolism has been altered. Instead of a forbidden fruit there is the flower of immortality, snatched away by a snake. That snake isn't the symbol of evil, but of eternal youth, shedding its skin. Gilgamesh himself is after wisdom, not after ways to control the (sexual) morals of his subjects. The video states the historical Gilgamesh was probably from the early Dynastic period. Be that as it may, the Epic is likely a lot older, seeing as how the symbolism found in it can be seen in the religious systems of ancient cultures all across Eurasia. Back to Noah / Utnapishtim: the existence of those stories makes perfect sense. Imagine an ancient sheepherder, living in Nature among the gods (flood, lightning, storms, earthquakes - without our scientific knowledge, those things seem like manifestations of gods - living beings who are incomprehensible and larger than life). Once upon a time he finds the fossilized skeleton of a fish on a mountain. Nowadays we'd conclude that through tectonic movements, the former bottom of the ocean had risen up, bringing the fossil to where it was found. With the knowledge of those days, that explanation would have sounded like utter madness, heresy even. But they knew of floods. So what gigantic flood must there have been, to have enveloped that mountain! Only the gods could have done that. But there are still humans and land animals around, so someone must have built a huge vessel to keep all of these from drowning. And that could only have been a man, with help from a god (again: the logical conclusion in the given historical period). But then that same god must have led this sheepherder up the mountain to find evidence of this divine work! It was his destiny, and no one else's, to find it! So he must be a direct descendant of the hero, and his family must be enjoying a special favour from this god! Religious ecstacy! A rock-solid story, to be passed along for the greater glory of this man, his family and their god! That's the explanation I got from A.V. Atayan, a.k.a. Master HORA, and so far it's the only one I've read that's plausible both from a geological and from a psychological point of view. ;)
Amazing video. Life is so short, it seems almost absurd how many generations came and went. To think that somebody in 2000BC would look at ruins from 4000BC the way we now look at Roman ruins from 20AD is absolutely mind boggling.
@@liamleonard9120 There's a line from the Assassins Creed video games that consistently blows my tiny little mind. 'Cleopatra of Egypt was born, lived and died, nearer in time to the development of the iPhone, than the construction of the Pyramids.'
@@liamleonard9120 One thing that the three most recent games have done, that has endeared me to Ubisoft immensely, Was to add a guided tour mode. You can walk around recreations of Egypt Greece and the British Isles with no combat encounters and prompts to learn about everything from day to day activities to monuments to the Great People of the time. It's quite literally an interactive museum and I love it.
I’m originally from the Sumerian marshes and there is people still making breed houses as same as Sumerians. It’s astonishing that you can feel the history
Etruscans* were not arabs. First of all, they Etruscans who founded rome were " powerful and wealthy civilization of ancient Italy" whom hade their own religion. The Etruscans, who lived in Etruria, were known as Tyrrhenians by the Greeks, Came from modern day turkey.But myths also say that Romulus and Remus created Rome.
Iraq, the first civilization in recorded history, Ancient Sumer. Then Akkadian, then the Invaders from the East Sargon the Great. Warfare has been a part of the human race from the very beginning. Stronger societies attack and absorb weaker ones from Ancient Mesopotamia up until the late 20th Century using either overwhelming military, or religious philosophies to intimate others. People say it was the Spanish Invasions of the Western Hemisphere that led to the end of many Natives. But many natives used human sacrifices to there Gods long before the Spanish arrived. What's the worse of 2 evils?
Hi , I recognise you from Fall of Civilizations Channel comments section for The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities video. I loved your comment, " the old Ziggurat of Ur looking at me from afar horizon " (1.2k likes) I actually felt like I was standing right next to you enjoying the vista.
Kings and Generals is without a doubt the best documentary / history channel on UA-cam. Simply amazing level of detail and interest in the seemingly most obscure of subject masters (not this particular one of course), only to realize how significant each of these stories are to our broader human civilization. Fantastic, I’ve learned so much from this channel.
@@yakovlev7470 the best I've seen is Montemayor. He doesn't have alot of videos but damn, his midway 3 videos are by far the best documentary I've ever seen.
kings & generals history marche / hoc est bellum historia civilis Invicta house of history (recently watched charles martel) aditu laudis heroes and legends documentary channel histocrat David and history for the ages Chronicle- medieval history documents history war vintage files History Hit _Battle guide _Real time history Slice History RealLifeLore *UA-cam is so f***** amazing
@@irov5884 Sumerian religion has very little to do with the Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic religion is just mutated Canaanite belief with Ilu as the only God.
@@HoundofOdin Abram was sumerian, he was born in the city of Ur in Sumer devoted to the god Nannar (a moon god, 'Sin' in Akkadian). His father was a high priest of Nannar. Abram moved from Ur to Haran because of the wars between Elamites and Amorites and because the city of Haran worshipped the same god (Sin), then this god told him to move where he will show him. Genesis 11:31 "And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there." Genesis 12:1 "The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you." " Genesis 12:5 " *And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan* ." *Ab Ram/Abram, later Abraham brought the sumerian belief to Canaan, but he chose to worship only one god of the Sumerian belief and that's how the Abrahamic religions got created* .
First time I heard of Sumer I was visiting my family in Khuzestan, Iran. The local dialect of Persian there is called Dezfuli/Shuhstari (Shusha means Susa, and Shushtar literally means better Susa 😂). When I'd ask my uncle about the war between Iraq and Iran he'd always start off with a long winded history lesson, about settlers, farming, and trade. It made me fall in love with the history of the middle east and the ancient world. Looking back, I think his point was two-fold - 1. That civilizations come and go, different cultures, people, come together only to drift apart, and 2. We are but a hiccup (at most) on a land that has seen millions over thousands of years come and go. Once you start to grasp this, such as eating a dish that predates your own language, culture... its a humbling experience.
my familys pretty hardcore celt i was raised on myths and legends many of which have alot of truth to them a cultural memory reaching back through millennias. we celt have not changed much in 3,000 plus years even the pre celtic peoples 50000yrs ago had had our legal system if folklore is correct . its that question of truly ancient forgotten times that make me intrested in Sumer older then even my people. we founded europe we are enduring we are eternal but we are far from the first thus the first is of interest il lil intrest in muslim jewish eras as they dont gel with celtic distrust of authority. but i do realy wish we in the '"west" would leave our islamic brothers and sisters to run there own lands i dont hate modren middle easterns its just not as cool as it once was imho.
@@ammarsaleh1627 indeed it was its enemy, but it didn't start off as that. They started off by trading with Elam, followed by periods of war and peace. Even my family before the war would go back and forth between Basra and Dezful.
@@HoormazdKia From the start they were enemies more than 20 wars between then Kudia rule of Lagash in Sumer described this in his records about how Elamate attacked his border and how many times he push them back
@@ammarsaleh1627 Yes they warred frequently, I believe the first war ever recorded was between Elam and Sumer where King Kish conquered Susa (feel free to correct me on that). Both Elam and Sumer ruled over parts of each other with the Sumerians conquered Susa several times. Susa and Anshan were the most important cities to Elam, and (Susa) incredibly so to ancient Sumerians. I'd argue that you Really cant separate Susa from either, but trade was also very common in the city state systems, and even if one neighboring state was ruled over by a rival trade still existed.
You get the same impression from Xenophon's 'ghost cities' section. His army viewing the walls of an unknown ruined city (We know it was Nineveh) with massive walls and gateways, that they simply could not comprehend.
@@blockmasterscottAudiobook of Xenophon's Anabasis: ua-cam.com/video/w4q90x4XVQY/v-deo.html See also the 627 AD battle at the ruins of Nineveh: www.romeacrosseurope.com/?p=3649 And the ancient Greek's belief that the Mycenaean walls, built with enormous stones, were built by giants: www.wallswithstories.com/uncategorized/mycenaean-architecture-characterized-by-massive-stone-structures-that-the-ancient-greeks-believed-were-built-by-the-one-eyed-giants-cyclopes.html Check out this too, Medieval Europeans' view of Roman ruins: www.quora.com/What-did-people-in-the-Middle-Ages-think-of-Roman-infrastructure-When-a-farmer-or-shepherd-in-the-X-century-stumbled-across-the-old-majestic-ruins-of-amphiteaters-and-aqueducts-what-did-they-say-to-each-other-about-it
There's not enough information about the armies of the time. We don't know about their tactics or technology. Metal armor wasn't common at all so it would have been worn by kings at most. Most of the units in that game would probably be spear wielding pajama guys. Only a few cavalry units would be in the game and those would be pajama warriors too. Skirmishers? Pajama warriors with javelins. If they released it as dlc for rome 2 I would be accepting of it. A whole new game isn't necessary.
Very good topic to pick. Mesopotamia really had a colossal effect on the civilization. I recommend doing a video on the theories of creation of agriculture. It is very close to this topic and has a deep effect on the European civilization, too. Fun fact, the word "Iraq" comes from the word "Uruk". Very different from "Iran" which comes from the word "Arya". Unfortunately, the people especially English-speaking ones always think "Iran" and "Iraq" are related. Not even close as you can see.
That is actually pretty neat. The Iraqis have basically been calling themselves the same name for all of recorded human history. Now that's something no one else can say
@Syed Ahmed that is absolutely false. That is the narrative that muslims and clergy in Islam have been spreading, and also Europeans for their interest keep mentioning this golden age. The fact of the matter is that science and art does not come from vacuum. Islam in 7th century AD was being spread by Arabs of arabian peninsula who were nomadic, did not even have real significant urban centers, they lived in their tents, were culturally and scientifically far behind mesopotamian cultures, certainly behind Persia and Byzantine. Those people could not be responsible for the so called golden age. The progress you see in the region amidst the chaos of Islamic invasion was done not because of islam, but in spite of it.
Well, you wouldn't probably guess it. But there towns and streets here in Iraq with names and they're modernized for sure, however you still get wonderful atmosphere from it
In Georgia we have word Nanna which means mother some Summerian words still exist in Georgian Language for example we have river Enguri.. Engur is god of River in Summer
Sumer is coming, also note that the City State of Uruk was called Erech in Aramaic and possibly Middle Persian Eraq thus giving the name to the Modern Country Al-Iraq.
There there everyone stop fighting, URUK, UR are all Tamil words and sumerian civilization is Tamil civilization, cuz no knows it's origin but Tamils do
Thank you for this! Sumer often gets swept under the rug in favor of Egypt despite the countless contributions they made to civilization and humanity as a whole. If you havent already, I'd love to see a video on the Harappans as well!
@@otgunz wonderful work. Truely. You helped bring this era to life when for many of us it's simply hard to picture what life was like. But we do know it was not unlike following cultures. And as such we have some good examples to draw from. PS: impressed that humanity was making quality clothes, and elaborate costumes many millennia ago. We always assume they were incapable of that level of craftsmanship. In my own research in the period, I realized the further back you go you realize there is so much more going on, even many thousands of years before the rise of Uruk. I fear that there is no way to go dig that far back and get a sense of what it was like before the invention of writing. I guess I'll have to wait for a commercial time machine.
@@Kelmorcellus Thanks for yıur beautiful words and detailed information. It is so strange that even in undeveloped/lessdeveloped civilisations, the understanding in art advanced so high so early. Like the clothing mode, decorations and abstract depiction styles. Even African tribes that just started settling has a great understanding on artistic aspects of visuals, music and such. I did not researched this fact but imho it must be connected to the imaginative thinking we all homo-spaienses share. Just wanted to add my view point on the fact that ancient cultures had significantly complex and rich cultural products and environment compared to their overall primitive (not yet developed to grasp modern concepts) civilisations. Good day to you. 👋
Thank you Kings and Generals!This video inspired me to read and investigate more about Sumerian and Akkadian Civilization and I am fascinated! So much so that I am building the whole Mesopotamian world at the time of the formation of the Akkadian Empire in Minecraft. Thank you for inspiring the general public to become interested in history.
Absolutely amazing. I love how you guys focus on less known history rather than famous and very well known battles and events. These videos could replace or complement some history lessons taught in school for sure.
This is simply fantastic. Maybe you could do a clip about the Sumerian Phalanx, first recorded battle formation in History (as in the Stele of The Vultures in Lagash). It´s also worth mentioning that a ceremonial knife (possibly from Abydos), the Gebel el-Arak knife, made in Sumerian style, may depict an actual Sumerian invasion of Egypt c. 3450 BC.
Wow, I did not expect this video to be this brilliant! I am finishing my PhD in Sumerology and used to bad and largely incorrect videos regarding the topic, but THIS.... No mistakes, beautifully animated, and wonderfully complete, demonstrating the complexity and beauty of the earliest human civilisation. You even included the Ubaid and Habuba Kabira and the Umma-Lagaš conflict 💓💓💓 *ecstatic* I fully approve! You brightened my day, thank you very much!! Thank you, and to say it in Sumerian: silim-ma hé-men "may you be well" 🖖 Subbed.
Skeleton Rowdie Never ask someone about their almost-finished-PhD unless you are in for largely gibberish and enthusiastic panting! ;) Basically, I am working on Sumero-Babylonian hermeneutics of the Old Babylonian period and earlier. Working on a hitherto untranslated bilingual (Sumerian and Akkadian) ancient encyclopedia, I am able to show that the underlying structure of the text is not a "primitive" list (where you simply have one entry after the other without any deeper meaning), but that the underlying structures are actually more akin to large networks, established on different levels (sign-shape, pronunciation, meaning, and context). It is fucking amazing and I am still continuously surprised by the ingenuity of the scribes back then! In addition to that, it looks like the text I am working on uses techniques of *ars memoria*, the famous "Greek" idea of using memory palaces (like Hannibal Lecter!) to remember stuff. The aim of my PhD research is to show that the people back then weren't so different from us as people generally tend to believe. The ancient Mesopotamians were not a simple people, held in thrall by religion and unable to think logically or do science (which is the commonly held view, unfortunately) -- they were just like us, curious and inventive and with a silly sense of humor (I discovered what appears to be the first ever recorded titties-joke). Yeah, I love my topic... XD _______ Edit: I hope that makes some semblance of sense... >
Nyar 23 Hey, I really want to get into Assyriology so your success is inspiring. Do you know if academic success in the field hinges on ending up at one of those particularly high-end schools with its own oriental department and whatnot? Are there geographical considerations (ex. I know the most well-known oriental studies departments are in the US, UK, France, and Germany)? Appreciate any answers/advice you can give! :) Nice work on the PhD, sounds genuinely fascinating!
You guys are really the best for diving as far as Sumer. I'm positively impress by how far this channel has come from the already good beginnings. The portraits are also awesome. Congratz ;
Sargon who made pillaging a legal way to feed the first known standing army - hence, “Shock and awe,” and other tactics used today by ruling class Masonic occultists who are at the top calling the shots.
@@sumitg-gl5zd advanced cultures have existed in the fertile crescent for 38,000 years, and in the Indus river valley for only 8,600 years. the first ancient embryonic civilization to show up in the fertile crescent showed up 7,500 years ago, with Sumer becoming an advanced civilization about 4,900 years ago. the Indus river valley civilization became an advanced civilization about 100 years after that, so it’s very close but Sumer was first
@@nrwdope7047 i think you might be referring to the Aurignacian? or maybe the Gravettian? or Karanovo? those were all advanced cultures but as far as i know, Sumer was the first embryonic civilization
Yep the Sargon's story will be epic when done by these guys I have no doubt. The guys at History Time also did a good job of telling his life story and the impact he had.
That very last part gave me so many goosebumps. Still want to see a historical TV series about Sargon growing up and eventually overthrowing Lugal. Would be a really cool thing to watch!
Great job. Love the little bits of added historical details added to the people and civilizations you cover. Details not necessarily about warfare. It fleshes out the culture (to understand how and why warfare is started in the first place).
Great new series. The animation style is beautiful and you always seem to pick great topics in History that haven't been done to death. In particular you strike a great balance between the academic and historically scholarly information, yet still make it accessible / interesting for popular audiences. Can't wait for the next episode and to watch more on the Akkadian Empire, Sargon and successors!
I think what you guys are doing is amazing because you highlight and tell stories that are based on some really underrated periods in history. A profusion of thanks to you all! Happy Ides of March everyone! 🌍 ✌🏾
Love this video! Going to use it for review with my students. Your channel is so useful because you talk in a measured voice and have great visuals! Keep it up!
Holy shit, this is an amazing mini-doc on the topic. I've been really obsessed with this period for the past year and this is probably the best video I've seen on Sumer anywhere. The only place I've found more detail were books written by the experts, so really really well done guys! Thanks a bunch.
Very interesting. I never knew of the city state concept of Mesopotamia like the Greek city states. Thank you for the video and look forward to seeing more in this series. Cheers! 👍🏼
I guess it will be difficult for them to get information on IVC...the excavations are going on, new and older sites are coming out and progress is super slow...the subcontinent is densely populated and has tons of problems, lack of interest in its own history and lack of funding....actual extent of IVC is yet to be uncovered, the dating was pushed back 3000 yrs only a few years ago.....I feel it is not a good idea to make any conclusive video on an ongoing project...it will only spread misinformation.
Dola Banerjee That would be a bit difficult. We know very little about the Indus Valley civilization. We dont know what gods they worshipped, the heroes of their stories, or the deeds of their kings. We know that existed and that’s about it. Other than that it’s all speculative.
The information regarding the indus valley civ will only be reacheable once the IVC script has been decoded similar to the cuneiform of Mesopotamia. Also most of the speculated region where the IVC was active is in Pakistan today which is in itself a massive setback
@@billmiller4972 it is true that there written records are miniscule but considering what they wrote were records of commerce, unfornately we will never know enough to make like a historically accurate movie or such. To know just what their lifestyle and trade was like is enough for us to get an idea about their civilisation though.
I just received my sweater from kings and generals shop yesterday and I couldn't be happier with it. It's soft and comfortable so I just wanted to mention this to anyone who might want to show support for this channel the same way I did but wonder about the quality. I love this channel and hope this may help some other viewer's out there.
I am from Mesopotamia, specifically an indigenous population, and my lineage returns to this region that contains oil and agriculture, wheat and barley. Thank you for studying our land, the source of Islamic, Arab and global civilization.
@@jormungandr2376 Yes, but most of the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula are Arabs whose origins go back to Yemen, but among the oldest ancient civilizations that inhabited this land are the Assyrians and Sumerians, while the Arabs used to depend on the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. As for the Arabian Peninsula, it is an arid desert that no one inhabits. Thank you.
@@haideral-musawi551 I know, but that's why i 'm saying you're wrong when you say that Iraq is the source of Arabic/Islamic civilzation, because before the conquest of Iraq by the Arabs, it wasn't Islamic,, but it was semetic. You people gradually accepted Islam over courses of centuries, but it was a slow process.
@Zach Savage And almost everything in the Bible is inspired from the Sumerian texts, the creation of humans at the image of the gods (Genesis 1:26: "And God said: Let *us* make man in *our* image."), the Eden, the serpent (Enki) who gave the knowledge fruit to humans, the flood where a god told a man to build an ark with the fruit of every species on earth, etc. The Sumerians text say many gods went from the sky and a war between themself started, one side who wanted power on humanity (with Anu, Enlil..), the other who wanted free will for humanity (with Enki). The only difference with the Bible is that the side who wanted power won and banned the side of Enki (fallen angels in the Bible) and Enlil told the humans like Abraham to whorship only him if he wanted a whole country for his descendants and described Enki as the worst being who ever existed, the devil, Satan (which means "Truth" in sanskrit btw). The Abrahamic religions are a joke, and the Sumerians texts are the proof the 3 religions just copied and modified the Sumerians stories.
Historical records show that these ppl considered sex as tribute or prayer to their God's. They used to have priestesses who were either pretty women enslaved from a defeated kingdom or chosen from local population. When a rich noble wanted his prayers answered he would pay the priests for an offering and then do her in front of their God's stone statue.
@@irov5884 everything you wrote is false, Sumerian culture and religion was inspired by the older First Nations founded by the descendants of Noah. If you’re going to try to spread misinformation, you might want to put some effort into it.
@@dmeads5663 Your statement is backed up by... the Bible. Mine is backed up by archeology. Sumerians were polytheist, everyone knows that, that's not "misinformation". Go read the epic of gilgamesh, the first book written in history. I just resumed this book, the sumerian belief.
FINALLY: my favorite UA-cam channel covering my favorite period of history, Uruk to the fall of Nineveh. Cannot wait until you cover Tigleth Pilesar III and Sargon of Akkad. Not sure if this is a question for here for for Malay Archer, but is there a mod where I can field the Sumerian armies in Rome 2 pictured in this video, because I’ve been dying to bronze age up any TW game for decades now.
So if Meso-potamia means land between the rivers, I guess meso-america means the land between the Americas? Another great episode K&G! And beautiful art style and music. As I said in your Pyrrhus video, I'm really glad you are making more videos about more ancient history.
great content....thank you for lifting the lid on these civilizations. the civilizations that where truly the pioneers of human development into a civilized community, I'm truly amazed that most westerners think that before Greece there was nothing.
Thanks very much for the series from Mesopotamia, Iraq . I am from the same region as Uruk , my grandfathers were living there in the marshes for thousands of years . I think next episode is about how Lugal Zagizi is gonna mess with the wrong man hehehe .
Perhaps a video on the history of Elam? Despite its role in history, especially with Puzur Inshishinak forming the largest empire of his time, it isn’t that well known
It’s fascinates next that we gloss over centuries when talking about history. From 3000 bc to 2300 bc, as an example. I like to go into the idea. To think about how much life was in those periods. Stories, gods, countries, heroes, all come and gone. Intricate lives and dreams fulfilled and lost. Love, adventure, and so so much more. No different than you and I today. Our lives are so important to us and yet invariably our time will be a blip on a timeline in an animation someday. Our gods and kings mostly forgotten. History is rad.
Would you please make another playlist for this content only. I mean, only for history of mesopotamia. i will be very happy if you do that. Nice video btw ! Thanks !
*Cue all mongrel/zashu references* "Zashu, you have passably described the great city of Uruk, yet still you fail to capture its true splendor as the greatest city in the world!" - Gilgamesh, King of Heroes
@@scorpiusjoecrux2039 wasnt there a large time gap, wouldnt it be embarrasing to not have a king for a kings life and just replace hisrule with a thousand year earlier guy
Next is Sargon of Akkad, the son of a gardener, the cupbearer who fell in love with a princess and started a rebellion, the first Emperor. And we know all of this because of his daughter Eneduana who wrote his biography.
Actually the story relates enlil.and enki to have been the father's of modern humanity and destroyed the world with a flood.(sound.familiar.noahs ark)but in reality enki managed to convince his brother to give humanity another chance.
@@Red1Napoleon I thought the same as you, my friend. Abraham was from Sumer, correct? In the land of Ur. If Sumerians were more advanced in knowledge and technology, why didn't YHWH choose them as their people?
You said that all the events of Sumer happened after the ice age. But what was happening BEFORE that ice age? And what happened as Haplogroup C migrated before and after the ice age. The progression of the migration of Haplogroup C while Sumer events were happening interests me too.
You should check out the Varna necropolis with the oldest gold treasure in the world, it was dated even before the rise of Sumer. Also the region around the Black Sea, especially the lands of modern day Bulgaria are the unknown cradle of our civilization.
This is good stuff. For one, THANK YOU for not doing that obnoxious jump-cut spazzy “funny” style of educational video. This is really well-done, and a great topic. Not nearly enough attention is given to the Sumerians. Subscribed.
Some corrections/notes: its actually the name of the Tigris that means rapid/rushing, the Euphrates/Buranan has an uncertain etymology perhaps derived from a substrate language or from Sumerian words that already looked quite different when the language entered its written form. With Enlil being related to wind and storms: actually if you look at the epithets of Enlil the most common by far is "great mountain" and the depictions of him are generally just of a mighty god, not one specifically of weather. The wind interpretation comes from the reading of the signs in his name as "lord" and "wind" however the one place we have a clear phonetic explanation of Enlil in ancient lexicons is an entry from tell Ebla that phonetically renders Enlil as "il-lil". To put this in context, Sumerian is full of Semitic loanwords and in archaic Semitic speak of these times "il illim" would literally mean "God of Gods." The -im at the end is a Semitic grammatical suffix that was typically omitted in loanwords into Sumerian. To explain why the sign is EN instead of IL the EN sign functions as a logogram qualifying things that are lord-ish. Next, where do you get the idea that the lugals were elected democratically? Seems highly interpretive unless Im missing some key evidence. Next, the horses in that recreation video should be donkeys. While discussing the Early Dynastic period it would probably be worth talking about Kish, as it seems to have established hegemony, and especially since you mentioned Gilgamesh and its link to him. It would also negate the need to speculate about Egypt inspiring unity as Kish had already done it. Overall excellent video though and I was especially impressed that you went into details on the early "pre-historic" era that typically gets left out.
I think you ought to add a disclaimer - "this video reflects the current state of consensus scholarship. If its contents do not accord with your religious beliefs, cultural bias or the 'History' Channel, please write to Oxford or Harvard and complain there instead."
The Gods were real and built all the great structures and cities found around the world with their MINDS! Legends tell us this, why do we not believe them? Matthew 17:20 And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. Krishna, Mithra, and many others all said the same.
@Zu Perhaps those who reach the point of Enlightenment can be whatever they want, so Jesus COULD be an alien, or a bird headed God, or ANYTHING, and anywhere and at any time. Reality is weirder than the unenlightened can ever know.
Hey guys, 1$ on patreon gives you access to our discord and early access to our videos: www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals
I can give you my soul ;)
Kings and Generals please put arabic subtitle 😔
1$, but i allready give you 6(ish) every month
Please do a video on the Indus Valley Civilization.
@@bjelleras8196 "civilization" and "social groups of a species" are two different things imho. To call a social structure "civilization" we need social hierarchy, art, literature, commerce, civic foundings like complex architecture and more. If we do not have any proof yet, we would not call the pre ice age human populations were a civilization.
I wish we had more information about the early Mesopotamian period. You can almost picture the Sumerian equivalents of Pericles, Cleombrotus and Epaminondas battling it out in the scattered wars between the city states for prestige, territory and wealth.
There is SO much more to come in this series, stay tuned fellas.
noah himself lived in south of iraq btw
Time travel, practical application.
The Bible has a lot reliable info about this.
I wish we had more information about everything.
@ The Biblical Noah is a remake of Utnapishtim, who plays a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The video mentions the deluge created by Enlil against those loud humans; one god, Ea, didn't agree. He had sworn an oath not to tell any humans of the plan, though, along with the rest of the gods. So he chose Utnapishtim as being the most sensible guy, went to his house and started talking to the walls: "Oh walls, if only I hadn't sworn not to tell any humans, I could have told Utnapishtim about this coming flood. But I did swear the oath, so I can only talk to you walls, oh woe, oh sorrow!" Utnapishtim heard that in his dream of course, so he built his ark. And he didn't only rescue his own family and the animals, he also rescued all the best craftsmen of his city. And he didn't get into a fight with his son over his own drunken behaviour either.
Throughout the Book of Genesis, in fact, one can find ripoffs of Sumerian lore, but the symbolism has been altered. Instead of a forbidden fruit there is the flower of immortality, snatched away by a snake. That snake isn't the symbol of evil, but of eternal youth, shedding its skin. Gilgamesh himself is after wisdom, not after ways to control the (sexual) morals of his subjects.
The video states the historical Gilgamesh was probably from the early Dynastic period. Be that as it may, the Epic is likely a lot older, seeing as how the symbolism found in it can be seen in the religious systems of ancient cultures all across Eurasia.
Back to Noah / Utnapishtim: the existence of those stories makes perfect sense. Imagine an ancient sheepherder, living in Nature among the gods (flood, lightning, storms, earthquakes - without our scientific knowledge, those things seem like manifestations of gods - living beings who are incomprehensible and larger than life). Once upon a time he finds the fossilized skeleton of a fish on a mountain. Nowadays we'd conclude that through tectonic movements, the former bottom of the ocean had risen up, bringing the fossil to where it was found. With the knowledge of those days, that explanation would have sounded like utter madness, heresy even. But they knew of floods. So what gigantic flood must there have been, to have enveloped that mountain! Only the gods could have done that. But there are still humans and land animals around, so someone must have built a huge vessel to keep all of these from drowning. And that could only have been a man, with help from a god (again: the logical conclusion in the given historical period). But then that same god must have led this sheepherder up the mountain to find evidence of this divine work! It was his destiny, and no one else's, to find it! So he must be a direct descendant of the hero, and his family must be enjoying a special favour from this god! Religious ecstacy! A rock-solid story, to be passed along for the greater glory of this man, his family and their god!
That's the explanation I got from A.V. Atayan, a.k.a. Master HORA, and so far it's the only one I've read that's plausible both from a geological and from a psychological point of view. ;)
Amazing video. Life is so short, it seems almost absurd how many generations came and went. To think that somebody in 2000BC would look at ruins from 4000BC the way we now look at Roman ruins from 20AD is absolutely mind boggling.
Thanks for watching!
whoa...
@@liamleonard9120 There's a line from the Assassins Creed video games that consistently blows my tiny little mind.
'Cleopatra of Egypt was born, lived and died, nearer in time to the development of the iPhone, than the construction of the Pyramids.'
@@liamleonard9120 One thing that the three most recent games have done, that has endeared me to Ubisoft immensely, Was to add a guided tour mode. You can walk around recreations of Egypt Greece and the British Isles with no combat encounters and prompts to learn about everything from day to day activities to monuments to the Great People of the time. It's quite literally an interactive museum and I love it.
@@Anthony_Cika wow !
I’m originally from the Sumerian marshes and there is people still making breed houses as same as Sumerians. It’s astonishing that you can feel the history
Why where the Sumerians called "The Black Headed People"? Do you know?
@@JoseGonzalez-yq4gw no
Black Headed or black haired.
@@JoseGonzalez-yq4gw black in arabic sometimes mean more fertility of land so i think it's refers how there land produce a lot of food in short time
@@JoseGonzalez-yq4gw because they where black men. White asian didn’t exist. Mutations of Blacks. Truth hurts.
YES! Ancient Mesopotamia is awesome! Thank you for this.
@Yousef Ghaneemah I'll raise you one "Palestine doesnt exist. Jerusalem is for the Israelites"
@@Athos1776 Mesopotemia was much more developed and prosper than most of the world until the end of the first world war by the way, if you don't know.
Nah, not until the first World war, dumb fuck. Rome was WAAAAY more civilized then mesopotemia
@Yousef Ghaneemah how could we be Palestinians if Palestine isn't real lul
Etruscans* were not arabs. First of all, they Etruscans who founded rome were " powerful and wealthy civilization of ancient Italy" whom hade their own religion. The Etruscans, who lived in Etruria, were known as Tyrrhenians by the Greeks, Came from modern day turkey.But myths also say that Romulus and Remus created Rome.
A long waited series, as an Iraqi, I thank you so much for such efforts.
Thanks for watching!
thanks alot, made in joy and respect 👍
Iraq, the first civilization in recorded history, Ancient Sumer. Then Akkadian, then the Invaders from the East Sargon the Great. Warfare has been a part of the human race from the very beginning. Stronger societies attack and absorb weaker ones from Ancient Mesopotamia up until the late 20th Century using either overwhelming military, or religious philosophies to intimate others. People say it was the Spanish Invasions of the Western Hemisphere that led to the end of many Natives. But many natives used human sacrifices to there Gods long before the Spanish arrived. What's the worse of 2 evils?
Hi , I recognise you from Fall of Civilizations Channel comments section for The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities video. I loved your comment,
" the old Ziggurat of Ur looking at me from afar horizon " (1.2k likes)
I actually felt like I was standing right next to you enjoying the vista.
@@ianrobson9601 Thank you so much, I'm so happy that you like it, and hope one day you can visit and see that sight .
Kings and Generals is without a doubt the best documentary / history channel on UA-cam. Simply amazing level of detail and interest in the seemingly most obscure of subject masters (not this particular one of course), only to realize how significant each of these stories are to our broader human civilization. Fantastic, I’ve learned so much from this channel.
Its up there but there's a few better than so not without a doubt
@@TheCrazierz could i get the names of those channels? i love learning about history :)
@@yakovlev7470 the best I've seen is Montemayor. He doesn't have alot of videos but damn, his midway 3 videos are by far the best documentary I've ever seen.
kings & generals
history marche / hoc est bellum
historia civilis
Invicta
house of history (recently watched charles martel)
aditu laudis
heroes and legends documentary channel
histocrat
David and history for the ages
Chronicle- medieval history documents
history war
vintage files
History Hit
_Battle guide
_Real time history
Slice History
RealLifeLore
*UA-cam is so f***** amazing
This is why I wish I was immortal... I would love to see with my own eyes the rise and off all civilizations throw history...
César Afonso true!
Fala aí!
fuck no shit is boring
@@GAMEOVER-my8pt Already had it, dipshit
That would be really boring.....I would chose K&G instead
Finally, actual information on the Sumerians that ISN'T garbage conspiracy theory about aliens or Atlantis. Thank you for this!
Thanks for watching :-)
There is no conspiracy theories, only sumerian beliefs which prove that the prophets of the abrahamic religions just copied the Sumerian beliefs.
@@irov5884 Sumerian religion has very little to do with the Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic religion is just mutated Canaanite belief with Ilu as the only God.
@@HoundofOdin Abram was sumerian, he was born in the city of Ur in Sumer devoted to the god Nannar (a moon god,
'Sin' in Akkadian). His father was a high priest of Nannar.
Abram moved from Ur to Haran because of the wars between
Elamites and Amorites and because the city of Haran worshipped the same god (Sin), then this god told him to move where he will show him.
Genesis 11:31 "And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there."
Genesis 12:1 "The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you." "
Genesis 12:5 " *And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan* ."
*Ab Ram/Abram, later Abraham brought the sumerian belief to Canaan, but he chose to worship only one god of the Sumerian belief and that's how the Abrahamic religions got created* .
@@irov5884 Lol, you conspiracy theorist always have some kind of garbage to spout, now don't you?
It is enough to be proud that I am a Sumerian, an Arab, and now I live in the Iraqi city of Sumer, southern Iraq, Nasiriyah♥️🇮🇶♥️🇮🇶
@@assyrianmfcry
Love to you from the UK, I hope one day to visit if I am able ✡️🇬🇧❤️
@@ezrafriesner8370 اقوم بأستقبالك بكل رحابة صدر، انا من هذه المدينة أيضاً ♥️
My citizenship is in Heaven ☝️😇
@@thomasespinosa6709 it sounds like your citizenship is a bloated ego
First time I heard of Sumer I was visiting my family in Khuzestan, Iran. The local dialect of Persian there is called Dezfuli/Shuhstari (Shusha means Susa, and Shushtar literally means better Susa 😂). When I'd ask my uncle about the war between Iraq and Iran he'd always start off with a long winded history lesson, about settlers, farming, and trade. It made me fall in love with the history of the middle east and the ancient world. Looking back, I think his point was two-fold - 1. That civilizations come and go, different cultures, people, come together only to drift apart, and 2. We are but a hiccup (at most) on a land that has seen millions over thousands of years come and go.
Once you start to grasp this, such as eating a dish that predates your own language, culture... its a humbling experience.
my familys pretty hardcore celt i was raised on myths and legends many of which have alot of truth to them a cultural memory reaching back through millennias. we celt have not changed much in 3,000 plus years even the pre celtic peoples 50000yrs ago had had our legal system if folklore is correct . its that question of truly ancient forgotten times that make me intrested in Sumer older then even my people. we founded europe we are enduring we are eternal but we are far from the first thus the first is of interest il lil intrest in muslim jewish eras as they dont gel with celtic distrust of authority. but i do realy wish we in the '"west" would leave our islamic brothers and sisters to run there own lands i dont hate modren middle easterns its just not as cool as it once was imho.
Sumer in Iraq. Khuzestah was Elam the enemy of Sumer
@@ammarsaleh1627 indeed it was its enemy, but it didn't start off as that. They started off by trading with Elam, followed by periods of war and peace. Even my family before the war would go back and forth between Basra and Dezful.
@@HoormazdKia From the start they were enemies more than 20 wars between then Kudia rule of Lagash in Sumer described this in his records about how Elamate attacked his border and how many times he push them back
@@ammarsaleh1627 Yes they warred frequently, I believe the first war ever recorded was between Elam and Sumer where King Kish conquered Susa (feel free to correct me on that). Both Elam and Sumer ruled over parts of each other with the Sumerians conquered Susa several times. Susa and Anshan were the most important cities to Elam, and (Susa) incredibly so to ancient Sumerians. I'd argue that you Really cant separate Susa from either, but trade was also very common in the city state systems, and even if one neighboring state was ruled over by a rival trade still existed.
I can just imagine those raiding and hunter groups just looking at the walls of Uruk, and not being able to comprehend what they were seeing lol.
You get the same impression from Xenophon's 'ghost cities' section. His army viewing the walls of an unknown ruined city (We know it was Nineveh) with massive walls and gateways, that they simply could not comprehend.
Matthew Hollis that sounds interesting! Is that also by Kings and Generals?
@@blockmasterscottAudiobook of Xenophon's Anabasis: ua-cam.com/video/w4q90x4XVQY/v-deo.html
See also the 627 AD battle at the ruins of Nineveh: www.romeacrosseurope.com/?p=3649
And the ancient Greek's belief that the Mycenaean walls, built with enormous stones, were built by giants: www.wallswithstories.com/uncategorized/mycenaean-architecture-characterized-by-massive-stone-structures-that-the-ancient-greeks-believed-were-built-by-the-one-eyed-giants-cyclopes.html
Check out this too, Medieval Europeans' view of Roman ruins: www.quora.com/What-did-people-in-the-Middle-Ages-think-of-Roman-infrastructure-When-a-farmer-or-shepherd-in-the-X-century-stumbled-across-the-old-majestic-ruins-of-amphiteaters-and-aqueducts-what-did-they-say-to-each-other-about-it
@@blockmasterscott not yet, but we will no doubt cover it in the future :')
Chaos Dwarf wow, thanks for those links!
Still waiting for Total War: Mesopotamia.
Light infantry only and chariots, what a great game
There's not enough information about the armies of the time. We don't know about their tactics or technology. Metal armor wasn't common at all so it would have been worn by kings at most. Most of the units in that game would probably be spear wielding pajama guys. Only a few cavalry units would be in the game and those would be pajama warriors too. Skirmishers? Pajama warriors with javelins.
If they released it as dlc for rome 2 I would be accepting of it. A whole new game isn't necessary.
Write them an email, I am serious
Absolutely! That or Total War: Ancient Egypt. That would be amazing...
mount & blade: mesopotamia you mean
Petition for a playlist where all videos, old and new, are organized in chronological order
Johnnie Walker13 lol
Check his videos, organize by upload date and you have it
@@freespiritable i think he means chronological in terms of the date of the events in the video. that would be awesome!
@@2ears1mouth786 oh i see what you mean there
@@AnIdiotOnline Oh hell nah you do it
Very good topic to pick. Mesopotamia really had a colossal effect on the civilization. I recommend doing a video on the theories of creation of agriculture. It is very close to this topic and has a deep effect on the European civilization, too.
Fun fact, the word "Iraq" comes from the word "Uruk". Very different from "Iran" which comes from the word "Arya". Unfortunately, the people especially English-speaking ones always think "Iran" and "Iraq" are related. Not even close as you can see.
I don't think most people confuse Iran & Iraq for one another.
That is actually pretty neat. The Iraqis have basically been calling themselves the same name for all of recorded human history. Now that's something no one else can say
@@notadoc9697 Oh! Believe me they are. Don't look at yourself.
@Data Science My Adventure you can thank islam for that..
@Syed Ahmed that is absolutely false. That is the narrative that muslims and clergy in Islam have been spreading, and also Europeans for their interest keep mentioning this golden age. The fact of the matter is that science and art does not come from vacuum. Islam in 7th century AD was being spread by Arabs of arabian peninsula who were nomadic, did not even have real significant urban centers, they lived in their tents, were culturally and scientifically far behind mesopotamian cultures, certainly behind Persia and Byzantine. Those people could not be responsible for the so called golden age. The progress you see in the region amidst the chaos of Islamic invasion was done not because of islam, but in spite of it.
I just love how primaeval Sumerian names are, like Ur, Uruk and Nanna. It's like some half-forgotten genetic memory from deep in the mists of time
Well, you wouldn't probably guess it. But there towns and streets here in Iraq with names and they're modernized for sure, however you still get wonderful atmosphere from it
@@mesopotamiansenpai9091 , we can read, we can write, we are the educated dream and the accomplishment of thousands of years
and we know addition and subtraction
@@LukeTEvans We can now predict the behaviour of celestial objects millions of light years away, using mathematics alone.
In Georgia we have word Nanna which means mother some Summerian words still exist in Georgian Language for example we have river Enguri.. Engur is god of River in Summer
Sumer is coming, also note that the City State of Uruk was called Erech in Aramaic and possibly Middle Persian Eraq thus giving the name to the Modern Country Al-Iraq.
*AMERICA WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION*
@@12345678900987659101 (OIL CRAVING INTENSIFIES)
its not Persian dick its derived from URUK
ammar saleh what kind of dick is it then?
There there everyone stop fighting, URUK, UR are all Tamil words and sumerian civilization is Tamil civilization, cuz no knows it's origin but Tamils do
I'm a simple man. When I see a Kings and General notification, I stop my work and watch.
I feel you, brother! :))
Every time I see these comments, I think this; how are you working if you're on UA-cam?
@@kanyekubrick5391 headphones
Yup same
@@kanyekubrick5391 you know, there's a magical hour called ''lunch break'' :))
You're a legend for uploading this.
Thank you for this! Sumer often gets swept under the rug in favor of Egypt despite the countless contributions they made to civilization and humanity as a whole. If you havent already, I'd love to see a video on the Harappans as well!
I really like the art style!
Thanks alot! I enjoy working for K&G!
@@otgunz wonderful work. Truely. You helped bring this era to life when for many of us it's simply hard to picture what life was like. But we do know it was not unlike following cultures. And as such we have some good examples to draw from.
PS: impressed that humanity was making quality clothes, and elaborate costumes many millennia ago. We always assume they were incapable of that level of craftsmanship.
In my own research in the period, I realized the further back you go you realize there is so much more going on, even many thousands of years before the rise of Uruk. I fear that there is no way to go dig that far back and get a sense of what it was like before the invention of writing. I guess I'll have to wait for a commercial time machine.
@@Kelmorcellus Thanks for yıur beautiful words and detailed information. It is so strange that even in undeveloped/lessdeveloped civilisations, the understanding in art advanced so high so early. Like the clothing mode, decorations and abstract depiction styles. Even African tribes that just started settling has a great understanding on artistic aspects of visuals, music and such. I did not researched this fact but imho it must be connected to the imaginative thinking we all homo-spaienses share.
Just wanted to add my view point on the fact that ancient cultures had significantly complex and rich cultural products and environment compared to their overall primitive (not yet developed to grasp modern concepts) civilisations.
Good day to you. 👋
Thank you Kings and Generals!This video inspired me to read and investigate more about Sumerian and Akkadian Civilization and I am fascinated! So much so that I am building the whole Mesopotamian world at the time of the formation of the Akkadian Empire in Minecraft. Thank you for inspiring the general public to become interested in history.
Cool! What is the progress?
@@jaideepshekhar4621 Abandoned project due to work and other responsibilities. I don’t play games anymore, absolute waste of time.
Absolutely amazing. I love how you guys focus on less known history rather than famous and very well known battles and events.
These videos could replace or complement some history lessons taught in school for sure.
This is simply fantastic. Maybe you could do a clip about the Sumerian Phalanx, first recorded battle formation in History (as in the Stele of The Vultures in Lagash). It´s also worth mentioning that a ceremonial knife (possibly from Abydos), the Gebel el-Arak knife, made in Sumerian style, may depict an actual Sumerian invasion of Egypt c. 3450 BC.
THE word Iraq, came from the old city of Uruk
ْ
"Word"
@@icared4338 iknow thanks
☀😁
@@kurdistankocher8487 ها خير شكو ها انشالله سومرين أكراد 😒
20 Seconds in and already have goosebumps. So good.
Thanks!
Wow, I did not expect this video to be this brilliant! I am finishing my PhD in Sumerology and used to bad and largely incorrect videos regarding the topic, but THIS....
No mistakes, beautifully animated, and wonderfully complete, demonstrating the complexity and beauty of the earliest human civilisation. You even included the Ubaid and Habuba Kabira and the Umma-Lagaš conflict 💓💓💓 *ecstatic*
I fully approve! You brightened my day, thank you very much!! Thank you, and to say it in Sumerian: silim-ma hé-men "may you be well" 🖖
Subbed.
Thanks alot for watching!
Sorry for some detail typos here and there.
Made with enjoyment and respect for the great Sumerian civilization!
would you share your phd? would be really cool!
Skeleton Rowdie Never ask someone about their almost-finished-PhD unless you are in for largely gibberish and enthusiastic panting! ;)
Basically, I am working on Sumero-Babylonian hermeneutics of the Old Babylonian period and earlier. Working on a hitherto untranslated bilingual (Sumerian and Akkadian) ancient encyclopedia, I am able to show that the underlying structure of the text is not a "primitive" list (where you simply have one entry after the other without any deeper meaning), but that the underlying structures are actually more akin to large networks, established on different levels (sign-shape, pronunciation, meaning, and context). It is fucking amazing and I am still continuously surprised by the ingenuity of the scribes back then!
In addition to that, it looks like the text I am working on uses techniques of *ars memoria*, the famous "Greek" idea of using memory palaces (like Hannibal Lecter!) to remember stuff.
The aim of my PhD research is to show that the people back then weren't so different from us as people generally tend to believe. The ancient Mesopotamians were not a simple people, held in thrall by religion and unable to think logically or do science (which is the commonly held view, unfortunately) -- they were just like us, curious and inventive and with a silly sense of humor (I discovered what appears to be the first ever recorded titties-joke).
Yeah, I love my topic... XD
_______
Edit: I hope that makes some semblance of sense... >
Nyar 23 Hey, I really want to get into Assyriology so your success is inspiring. Do you know if academic success in the field hinges on ending up at one of those particularly high-end schools with its own oriental department and whatnot? Are there geographical considerations (ex. I know the most well-known oriental studies departments are in the US, UK, France, and Germany)? Appreciate any answers/advice you can give! :)
Nice work on the PhD, sounds genuinely fascinating!
Nyar 23 they DID make 1 mistake though. On 9:30 they show Lagash near Umma (correct), but on 11:11 Lagash is replaced with Larsa
One of the best videos on youtube. Such a short video helps explain many concepts of being human.
You guys are really the best for diving as far as Sumer. I'm positively impress by how far this channel has come from the already good beginnings. The portraits are also awesome. Congratz ;
That foreshadowing of Sargon at the end.
raised the hairs at the back of my neck
The king of the kings.
@Ryan Borganson Carl of Swindon's Applebees
Sargon who made pillaging a legal way to feed the first known standing army - hence, “Shock and awe,” and other tactics used today by ruling class Masonic occultists who are at the top calling the shots.
Milkshakes in Sumer
my ancient Mediterranean history class just started so I'm binge watching since I'm more of a visual learner, thanks for the great vids!
For a long time, I knew of Sumeria as the "First Civilization" but little else. What a treat to have it brought to life like this.
They have found remains much older than mesopotamia about 10k years in modern day Bulgariab
What abt Indua vallet civilization...isn it older
@@sumitg-gl5zd advanced cultures have existed in the fertile crescent for 38,000 years, and in the Indus river valley for only 8,600 years. the first ancient embryonic civilization to show up in the fertile crescent showed up 7,500 years ago, with Sumer becoming an advanced civilization about 4,900 years ago. the Indus river valley civilization became an advanced civilization about 100 years after that, so it’s very close but Sumer was first
@@nrwdope7047 i think you might be referring to the Aurignacian? or maybe the Gravettian? or Karanovo? those were all advanced cultures but as far as i know, Sumer was the first embryonic civilization
And thus Sargon laughed
And conquered all.
The first emperor to rise
And never fall.
Yep the Sargon's story will be epic when done by these guys I have no doubt. The guys at History Time also did a good job of telling his life story and the impact he had.
@@barbiquearea yup. I had seen that video on History Time. Sargon is one of my favourite men in history.
@@sayakchakraborty4206 Same here. His life and triumphs are worthy of that of Alexander and Caesar. Truly one of the world's first great rulers.
Yes, he set the wheels of conquest in motion.
Just wait for the next episode ;)
That very last part gave me so many goosebumps. Still want to see a historical TV series about Sargon growing up and eventually overthrowing Lugal. Would be a really cool thing to watch!
Thank you all for this great video. I hope you continue to cover early civilizations.
Great job. Love the little bits of added historical details added to the people and civilizations you cover. Details not necessarily about warfare. It fleshes out the culture (to understand how and why warfare is started in the first place).
Great new series. The animation style is beautiful and you always seem to pick great topics in History that haven't been done to death. In particular you strike a great balance between the academic and historically scholarly information, yet still make it accessible / interesting for popular audiences. Can't wait for the next episode and to watch more on the Akkadian Empire, Sargon and successors!
I think what you guys are doing is amazing because you highlight and tell stories that are based on some really underrated periods in history. A profusion of thanks to you all! Happy Ides of March everyone! 🌍 ✌🏾
15th March is a National Day in Hungary (Revolution of 1848 started then)
The artwork is fantastic!
This series on the ancient empires will be so awesome. Keep at it my dudes and dudetts xD
Damn there’s so much amazing history content on UA-cam from youtubers like yourself and others. I’m so excited for this series.
Thanks!
I just love this channel!!! So much knowledge and interesting story telling for "free"! Much love!
Best videos on ancient civilizations ,thank you for your work.
Love this video! Going to use it for review with my students. Your channel is so useful because you talk in a measured voice and have great visuals! Keep it up!
Thank you very much! We will!
Holy shit, this is an amazing mini-doc on the topic. I've been really obsessed with this period for the past year and this is probably the best video I've seen on Sumer anywhere. The only place I've found more detail were books written by the experts, so really really well done guys! Thanks a bunch.
I love how professional, yet entertaining this channel is. Nice job!
nice
ive been waiting for such a video for a while now
Awesome Video!
Please Make a Video On The Indus Valley Civilization!
Very interesting. I never knew of the city state concept of Mesopotamia like the Greek city states. Thank you for the video and look forward to seeing more in this series. Cheers! 👍🏼
I really, really enjoy the production value of y’all’s videos. Keep up the good work.
Excellent summary of the rise of Sumer a.k.a the birth of civilization. I love your channel!
Please do a video on the Indus Valley Civilization.
I guess it will be difficult for them to get information on IVC...the excavations are going on, new and older sites are coming out and progress is super slow...the subcontinent is densely populated and has tons of problems, lack of interest in its own history and lack of funding....actual extent of IVC is yet to be uncovered, the dating was pushed back 3000 yrs only a few years ago.....I feel it is not a good idea to make any conclusive video on an ongoing project...it will only spread misinformation.
Dola Banerjee That would be a bit difficult. We know very little about the Indus Valley civilization. We dont know what gods they worshipped, the heroes of their stories, or the deeds of their kings. We know that existed and that’s about it. Other than that it’s all speculative.
The information regarding the indus valley civ will only be reacheable once the IVC script has been decoded similar to the cuneiform of Mesopotamia. Also most of the speculated region where the IVC was active is in Pakistan today which is in itself a massive setback
@@billmiller4972 it is true that there written records are miniscule but considering what they wrote were records of commerce, unfornately we will never know enough to make like a historically accurate movie or such. To know just what their lifestyle and trade was like is enough for us to get an idea about their civilisation though.
I just received my sweater from kings and generals shop yesterday and I couldn't be happier with it. It's soft and comfortable so I just wanted to mention this to anyone who might want to show support for this channel the same way I did but wonder about the quality. I love this channel and hope this may help some other viewer's out there.
Thanks! I am wearing mine right now. Warm and soft. :-)
I'm studying for my midterms with these videos and it has helped me a lot to understand my prof better, thank you!!
So happy you updated your art style and are trying new periods.
thanks alot. It is a team effort and different artists make different videos. This one's art is done by me. Thanks for watching
Absolutely loved the animation style on this one, keep up the good work guys.
We will, thank you!
thanks alot made in enjoyment and respect!
I am from Mesopotamia, specifically an indigenous population, and my lineage returns to this region that contains oil and agriculture, wheat and barley. Thank you for studying our land, the source of Islamic, Arab and global civilization.
Source of Global civilzation indeed, but not of Islamic or Arab civilization, that belongs to the Arabian peninsula.
@@jormungandr2376 Yes, but most of the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula are Arabs whose origins go back to Yemen, but among the oldest ancient civilizations that inhabited this land are the Assyrians and Sumerians, while the Arabs used to depend on the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. As for the Arabian Peninsula, it is an arid desert that no one inhabits. Thank you.
@@haideral-musawi551 I know, but that's why i 'm saying you're wrong when you say that Iraq is the source of Arabic/Islamic civilzation, because before the conquest of Iraq by the Arabs, it wasn't Islamic,, but it was semetic. You people gradually accepted Islam over courses of centuries, but it was a slow process.
@@jormungandr2376 the golden age of islam was in baghdad the center of iraq/Mesopotamia
@Retarded man your name says it all
Kings and Generals ? Sumer ? New video ! ... Hell yeah i'm down for that
Good!
Wish we had more myths and legends from this period. I wish we could learn more about the earliest of man's civilizations.
Desertfox Oh, but there are! Check out the 'Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature' at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk and enjoy :)
@Zach Savage And almost everything in the Bible is inspired from the Sumerian texts, the creation of humans at the image of the gods (Genesis 1:26: "And God said: Let *us* make man in *our* image."), the Eden, the serpent (Enki) who gave the knowledge fruit to humans, the flood where a god told a man to build an ark with the fruit of every species on earth, etc.
The Sumerians text say many gods went from the sky and a war between themself started, one side who wanted power on humanity (with Anu, Enlil..), the other who wanted free will for humanity (with Enki). The only difference with the Bible is that the side who wanted power won and banned the side of Enki (fallen angels in the Bible) and Enlil told the humans like Abraham to whorship only him if he wanted a whole country for his descendants and described Enki as the worst being who ever existed, the devil, Satan (which means "Truth" in sanskrit btw).
The Abrahamic religions are a joke, and the Sumerians texts are the proof the 3 religions just copied and modified the Sumerians stories.
Historical records show that these ppl considered sex as tribute or prayer to their God's. They used to have priestesses who were either pretty women enslaved from a defeated kingdom or chosen from local population. When a rich noble wanted his prayers answered he would pay the priests for an offering and then do her in front of their God's stone statue.
@@irov5884 everything you wrote is false, Sumerian culture and religion was inspired by the older First Nations founded by the descendants of Noah. If you’re going to try to spread misinformation, you might want to put some effort into it.
@@dmeads5663 Your statement is backed up by... the Bible.
Mine is backed up by archeology.
Sumerians were polytheist, everyone knows that, that's not "misinformation". Go read the epic of gilgamesh, the first book written in history. I just resumed this book, the sumerian belief.
I am Assyrian from Syria but my grandparents were from Iraq. Thank you, nice documentary, can you do about the Assyrian history, please thank you
FINALLY: my favorite UA-cam channel covering my favorite period of history, Uruk to the fall of Nineveh. Cannot wait until you cover Tigleth Pilesar III and Sargon of Akkad.
Not sure if this is a question for here for for Malay Archer, but is there a mod where I can field the Sumerian armies in Rome 2 pictured in this video, because I’ve been dying to bronze age up any TW game for decades now.
Proud to be Assyrian. Thank you for making this video.
Hated history when I was in school but now I'm 30 I can't get enough... How things change..
So if Meso-potamia means land between the rivers, I guess meso-america means the land between the Americas?
Another great episode K&G! And beautiful art style and music. As I said in your Pyrrhus video, I'm really glad you are making more videos about more ancient history.
Thank you, my friend!
Meso means middle potamiam means of rivers so meso america means middle america which actually refers to mid aged america
@@aiyhamhassan7978 Meso-American is a name for a geographical location (Mexico), not a time period.
Μέσο just means "middle". It can refer to both geography or time.
'BILBO' 'BAGGINS' it’s also refers to a time period go google it
great content....thank you for lifting the lid on these civilizations.
the civilizations that where truly the pioneers of human development into a civilized community, I'm truly amazed that most westerners think that before Greece there was nothing.
I've never met a westerner who thinks that.
Excellent! What a concise and thoughtful production.
thanks for watching
Thanks very much for the series from Mesopotamia, Iraq . I am from the same region as Uruk , my grandfathers were living there in the marshes for thousands of years .
I think next episode is about how Lugal Zagizi is gonna mess with the wrong man hehehe .
@dahaka kingi Yes.
@dahaka kingi i am, but you seem like one of those kids whose grandfathers got enslaved by my grandfathers, thats why i keep up with you, looks fun.
Awesome video ! Looking forward to more Mesopotamian history.
More on the way!
@@KingsandGenerals May Enlil guide you
As an archaeologist I must say that your channel f_=/ing rocks!!!
Check the other 2 Mesopotamia episodes on the playlist of the channel! 👍
WOW, I am Iraqi and I didn't know all these info, thank you very much for this video I am Excited to see the next video about Assyria
made in enjoyment and respect! Thanks for watching!
i literally love everything about this, damn the production looks so nice and love the subject.
Thank you :-)
I applaud your objective, factual account of history.
It's all fun and games until they rush you with war carts.
Vernon Gibbs yes , or say that we are treacherous as ishtar for not giving them some iron
This is why I always play as Gilgamesh
Marvelous video! 10 out of 10 on the animation!
thanks alot my friend!
Man I love this channel.
We appreciate it!
Perhaps a video on the history of Elam? Despite its role in history, especially with Puzur Inshishinak forming the largest empire of his time, it isn’t that well known
It’s fascinates next that we gloss over centuries when talking about history. From 3000 bc to 2300 bc, as an example. I like to go into the idea. To think about how much life was in those periods. Stories, gods, countries, heroes, all come and gone. Intricate lives and dreams fulfilled and lost. Love, adventure, and so so much more. No different than you and I today. Our lives are so important to us and yet invariably our time will be a blip on a timeline in an animation someday. Our gods and kings mostly forgotten. History is rad.
Trump will be forgotten, and Epstein will be a rumored villain in American mythology.
Really enjoyed this
When in doubt, bronze it up.
In Anunnaki We Trust...
Shut the fuck up
when in doubt wip it out
um, most of this video covers time before the bronze age, they build their cities states out of stone, wood, mud brick and a teeny bit of copper.
@@Duality-Mode Poor reply. 👎
Would you please make another playlist for this content only. I mean, only for history of mesopotamia. i will be very happy if you do that. Nice video btw ! Thanks !
Your channel is quickly becoming my absolute favorite. I am not sure what I would like to see next. Maybe the Spanish American War?
Fascinating stuff, thanks for covering this!
Thanks for watching!
@@KingsandGenerals Thanks for the response!!! :D
*Cue all mongrel/zashu references*
"Zashu, you have passably described the great city of Uruk, yet still you fail to capture its true splendor as the greatest city in the world!" - Gilgamesh, King of Heroes
Gautam Sarathy Too bad Gilgamesh gets eaten by Angra Mainyu.
@@whathell6t He just got cocky. Also, I refer to Babylonia Gilgamesh, who was serious from the beginning.
I can help but think Gilgamesh and Nebukadnessar are one and the same.
@@scorpiusjoecrux2039 wasnt there a large time gap, wouldnt it be embarrasing to not have a king for a kings life and just replace hisrule with a thousand year earlier guy
@@LukeTEvans maybe
A charming video to watch. Nice job. My compliments to whoever made this video a reality.
This one may well be one of your best videos
Thank you!
Cool! Gutians, Kassites and Assyrians will soon be mentioned. I always liked these guys.
A single 13 minute episode is not enough for history of Mesopotamia.
Next is Sargon of Akkad, the son of a gardener, the cupbearer who fell in love with a princess and started a rebellion, the first Emperor. And we know all of this because of his daughter Eneduana who wrote his biography.
He's like the Ragnar Lothbrok of ancient Mesopotamia
I loved this video, still waiting for the next chapter of babilonia
Daaamn, that's a nice cliff hanger at the end😉😉 awesome video guys
Ninlil: Sooo..why did you destroy humanity?
Enlil: For the last time, I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!!!
That s nt so true actually. You can read the story
Actually the story relates enlil.and enki to have been the father's of modern humanity and destroyed the world with a flood.(sound.familiar.noahs ark)but in reality enki managed to convince his brother to give humanity another chance.
@@Red1Napoleon Yet the book never tells you why were we created.
@@Red1Napoleon The Bible. I was a Christian, then recently exited the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, but now I'm questionable about the Bible.
@@Red1Napoleon I thought the same as you, my friend. Abraham was from Sumer, correct? In the land of Ur. If Sumerians were more advanced in knowledge and technology, why didn't YHWH choose them as their people?
You said that all the events of Sumer happened after the ice age. But what was happening BEFORE that ice age? And what happened as Haplogroup C migrated before and after the ice age. The progression of the migration of Haplogroup C while Sumer events were happening interests me too.
You should check out the Varna necropolis with the oldest gold treasure in the world, it was dated even before the rise of Sumer. Also the region around the Black Sea, especially the lands of modern day Bulgaria are the unknown cradle of our civilization.
From an Iraqi thanks for the video much appreciated to learn about the countries history!
Amazing. Really well done and such a great part of history to bring to life. Take as long as you want with this series! Keep up the fantastic work.
Hard to find decent ancient history specially 10000 BC thank you so much love what you do BIG FAN 👍👍👍 thank you so much again
Thanks for watching!
This is good stuff. For one, THANK YOU for not doing that obnoxious jump-cut spazzy “funny” style of educational video. This is really well-done, and a great topic. Not nearly enough attention is given to the Sumerians. Subscribed.
thanks for watching more Mesopotamia stuff coming soon 👍
Some corrections/notes: its actually the name of the Tigris that means rapid/rushing, the Euphrates/Buranan has an uncertain etymology perhaps derived from a substrate language or from Sumerian words that already looked quite different when the language entered its written form. With Enlil being related to wind and storms: actually if you look at the epithets of Enlil the most common by far is "great mountain" and the depictions of him are generally just of a mighty god, not one specifically of weather. The wind interpretation comes from the reading of the signs in his name as "lord" and "wind" however the one place we have a clear phonetic explanation of Enlil in ancient lexicons is an entry from tell Ebla that phonetically renders Enlil as "il-lil". To put this in context, Sumerian is full of Semitic loanwords and in archaic Semitic speak of these times "il illim" would literally mean "God of Gods." The -im at the end is a Semitic grammatical suffix that was typically omitted in loanwords into Sumerian. To explain why the sign is EN instead of IL the EN sign functions as a logogram qualifying things that are lord-ish. Next, where do you get the idea that the lugals were elected democratically? Seems highly interpretive unless Im missing some key evidence. Next, the horses in that recreation video should be donkeys. While discussing the Early Dynastic period it would probably be worth talking about Kish, as it seems to have established hegemony, and especially since you mentioned Gilgamesh and its link to him. It would also negate the need to speculate about Egypt inspiring unity as Kish had already done it. Overall excellent video though and I was especially impressed that you went into details on the early "pre-historic" era that typically gets left out.
May I suggest: Enlil = Saturn, Marduk =Jupiter, Gugulanna = Mars, Inanna = Venus, Enki = Mercury.
I think you ought to add a disclaimer - "this video reflects the current state of consensus scholarship. If its contents do not accord with your religious beliefs, cultural bias or the 'History' Channel, please write to Oxford or Harvard and complain there instead."
The Gods were real and built all the great structures and cities found around the world with their MINDS! Legends tell us this, why do we not believe them?
Matthew 17:20
And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
Krishna, Mithra, and many others all said the same.
@Zu Perhaps those who reach the point of Enlightenment can be whatever they want, so Jesus COULD be an alien, or a bird headed God, or ANYTHING, and anywhere and at any time. Reality is weirder than the unenlightened can ever know.
During this quarantine time nothing better than binge history from kings and general.
Totally hyped for a video on Sargon, akkad is an awesome part of Mesopotamian history