From powerful people with mysterious origins,
to talented iron age artists, here are 10 civilizations that were almost lost to history…. 10. The Etruscans The ancient Etruscans were a powerful and
wealthy civilization that lived in modern day central and northern Italy. The Etruscan civilization lasted from the
8th century BC, to somewhere between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, but even though they
were around for awhile, they were considered one of the greatest enigmas of antiquity! They had their own language which has never
been properly deciphered and scientists and historians debated about their origins since
they were completely different from others in classical Italy. They learned how to mine metals, such as copper
and iron, and this gave them an edge that brought huge wealth to the people. They developed strong trading relations and
built walled towns high on the hilltops that can still be seen today in Umbria and Tuscany. At their peak, the Etruscans covered a large
area of Italy. They had city-states far to the North and
South of the country, and early Rome was heavily influenced by their culture. There is also ongoing debate as to how much
the Etruscans influenced the Roman civilization. Rome’s early kings were believed to be Etruscan. Like I mentioned, the Etruscan language was
unique to them, and they borrowed heavily from the Greeks in the formation of their
alphabet which, in turn, formed the basis of the one used by the Romans. They were polytheistic, just like the Romans
and the Greeks, and their artworks, of which a number have survived, focus heavily on their
religion. Ultimately, though, the Etruscan civilization
fell because of increased threats from all around. The Greek city-states in Sicily and southern
Italy weakened the Etruscan influence there, they were thrown out of a number of cities,
such as Rome, which declared its independence, and Gallic tribes destroyed a number of northern
cities. In their stronghold, they resisted the emerging
power of the Roman empire for as long as they could, but eventually surrendered after a
prolonged period of fighting. 9. The Nok The Nok is believed to have been the first
complex civilization to develop in West Africa and were dominant in regions of modern day
Nigeria between 900 BC and 200 AD. All evidence of the Nok had been lost, though,
until a group of tin miners happened to dig up a large collection of terracotta artifacts
in 1928. Their terracotta statues and sculptures ranged
in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and demonstrate extraordinary talent. The source of their clay is still unkown. Since then, we've learned a lot about this
forward-thinking civilization from the iron age. They had an extremely advanced judicial system,
where courts were used to settle cases. They believed that crimes attracted curses
that could destroy whole families, so it was vital to find the perpetrator to avoid the
consequences. They also created intricate life-size terracotta
statues, which are thought to have depicted a revered leader, or maybe in tribute to higher
powers to receive favorable weather and crop yields. In the end, the Nok civilization suddenly
disappeared in a short period of time. The lack of records from the time means that
we don't really know why this happened, but there have been suggestions that it could
have been because the people overexploited the natural resources and soon ran out, or
maybe there could have been an invasion, changing climate, or even a pandemic. 8. The Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization existed in modern
day Pakistan and northern India and reached its peak between 2500 and 2000 BC. They were a bronze age society that was based
around the Indus river and had a number of cities- each of which was meticulously planned,
with brick houses, underground drainage systems, and communal structures. Pretty impressive for thousands of years ago,
right?? Most of what we know about the Indus comes
from the excavation of two cities- Mohenjo-Daro, and Harappa, which were home to as many as
60,000 people each. Existing at the same time as the ancient Egyptians,
there were a number of similarities in the way they lived- but the Indus civilizations
covered a much larger area, with the central part covering a 930 mile stretch of the river. Interestingly enough, they didn't have one
single ruler- instead, they were a collection of city-states that had their own system of
governance and worked in tandem with each other. They were also technologically advanced for
the time, with a great understanding of measurements, metallurgy, and construction. A number of artifacts have been found at dig
sites that show there was an artistic side to Indus life, too, with various sculptures,
terracotta statues, gold jewelry and games having been found! See, they knew how to have fun too!! 7. The Kingdom of Kush Focussed around the city of Meroe, the Kingdom
of Kush originally formed at the end of the bronze age, and ruled the lands of modern-day
Sudan until the 4th century… particularly flourishing from 1069 BC through to the end. In a similar way to the Egyptians, the leaders
were buried in pyramid-shaped structures, first at the city of Napata, and then in Meroe
when the capital moved there in 300 BC. The kingdom shared a border with the Egyptian
empire, and had frequent skirmishes with them… even invading Egypt in the 8th century BC,
where the Kushite kings were also the pharaohs of the twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. The Kush region was a vital source of gold
for the Egyptians, too, so the two civilizations were intertwined with one another. One of the main reasons we know the kingdom
of Kush existed is because of Egyptian writings that mention them and, in particular, their
powerful archers. Ultimately, though, despite the vast power
of the Kingdom of Kush, the capital city was invaded by the Aksumites around the year 330,
and this led to the fall of the civilization within 20 years. 6. The Kingdom of Yam Very little is known about the ancient African
Kingdom of Yam, apart from a few Egyptian texts from the Old Kingdom. Most information comes from the Autobiography
of Harkhuf, a series of writings that were found buried in a tomb, and detail the experiences
of a governor of Upper Egypt during the 6th Dynasty about 4300 years ago. According to this account, Harkhuf traveled
south to the kingdom of Yam a number of times to trade with them and returned with a variety
of gifts for the Egyptian empire. During one trip, he came back with a group
of warriors of Yam who, according to other texts, assisted the Pharaoh in the war against
the Asiatic sand-dwellers, and impressed all those that they served under. Despite knowing that the kingdom existed,
it's not clear where this kingdom was based, what they were like, or what happened to them. For all we know, there could be the ruins
of another great African civilization just waiting to be found- But for a few mentions
in ancient writings, the Kingdom of Yam would have been completely lost to history. 5. The Silla Kingdom Believed to have been founded by Hyokkose
in 57 BC, Silla was one of the three kingdoms of ancient Korea and brought the country together
under the Unified Silla dynasty in the year 668. They originally held territory in the central
and southern regions of the peninsula and were ruled by the ‘Kim’ clan for 586 years,
the ‘Bak’ clan for 232 years, and the Seok clan for 172 years. During this almost 1000 year period, Silla
conquered the other two main kingdoms of the time, the Baekje and Goguryeo, and took control
of virtually the entire peninsula before eventually falling apart and having to hand over power
in the year 935. The Silla used an advanced system of law and
governance, based on a ruling monarchy that was held to account by a strong aristocracy. Due to their frequent wars, they had a well-established
military, with local garrisons stationed in each district. It's rare that a civilization has ruled the
lands for almost a millennia… and even more surprising that very few people have ever
heard of them! 4. Yuezhi The Yuezhi, also known as the Indo-Scyth,
were a nomadic people who ruled in India and the ancient country Bactria between about
128 BC and 450 AD. The first mention of the Yuezhi comes from
Chinese records, which say that they started in what is now the Gansu province of northwestern
China, and began moving westward after their king was killed by the ruler of a competing
civilization, the Xiongnu. As they traveled through Sogdiana and Bactria,
they fought all of those along the way, and ended Greek rule in the region in around 30
BC before extending south into India and north into central Asia. They became a powerful force, and it’s believed
that the missionaries from the Yuezhi empire were instrumental in bringing Buddhism to
China. 100 years after their conquest of Bactria,
the unified Yuezhi state, after extending their borders into the surrounding regions,
became the Kushan empire which, itself lasted into the mid 5th century. 3. The Sanxingdui The Sanxingdui culture was a major Bronze
age civilization in the region of what is now Sichuan, in China. They had all but been forgotten until a worker
who was repairing a sewage ditch found a series of jade and stone artifacts in 1929. It was only in 1986, though, that researchers
realized how important a civilization they were, with the discovery of two large pits
of treasures- which contained jades, around 100 elephant tusks, and bronze sculptures
that were 8 feet tall. This intricacy of these works proved that
the Sanxingdui had a far more advanced technical ability than any other known people in the
world at the time!!! The walled city, also called Sanxingdui, stood
proud on the banks of the Minjiang river. For some reason, though, at some point between
3000 and 2800 years ago, the culture moved away from the area, with evidence at a second
site called Jinsha, near Chengdu, suggesting they had moved there. It had long been a mystery why they would
suddenly re-locate themselves, but recently answers have come to light. It's now thought that an earthquake in the
region may have caused massive changes to the landscape and diverted their main water
source. When this happened, they would have had no
choice but to move closer to the new river flow, and abandon their stronghold. Instead of taking everything with them, they
dismantled and buried many of their treasures in the pits that were discovered. Why their culture didn't re-emerge and flourish
at the new site is still not clear, and researchers are now looking for any more evidence that
explains what happened to this once powerful civilization. 2. The Mitanni Kingdom Mitanni was a Hurrian speaking state that
thrived between the 16th and 13th century BC around the Tigris-Euphrates river basin…
in what is now northern Iraq, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. The Mitanni became incredibly powerful…
perhaps even to the same level as ancient Egypt and Babylonia. At its peak, the civilization reached as far
as the Mediterranean coast to the west, and Mesopotamia to the southeast. It's thought that the decline of the Old Babylonian
Empire gave the opportunity to the Mitanni kingdom to expand so much, and they soon found
themselves in regular conflict with the Egyptians who coveted some of the same lands. Eventually, the Mitanni and Egyptians formed
an alliance, but this soon fell apart. With Egyptian support for one candidate for
king, Mitanni entered a period of in-fighting, which weakened them so much that they were
overrun by the Assyrians. The Assyrians went on to destroy vast swathes
of records and cultural objects of the Mitanni, and it's only because of their mention in
Egyptian texts and the occasional artifact that we know they ever existed. 1. Tuwana Tuwana was a powerful Iron Age city-state
that rose to prominence during the 8th and 9th centuries BC, but they were virtually
eradicated from history until the remains of their capital city were found in Cappadocia,
Turkey. Tuwana emerged from the collapse of the Hittite
empire and took advantage of the power vacuum that was left behind. Controlling a vital route to the Mediterranean,
known as the Cilician Gates, they controlled trade between the Phrygian and Assyrian empires,
which enabled them to accumulate huge wealth… and allowed them to quickly develop in cultural
and political ways. It's not clear exactly when Tuwana fell, as
there are no records, but it seems to have been around the same time as when the Cimmerians
invaded the Phrygian kingdom and the kingdom of Urartu to the east. Hundreds of years later, it re-emerged as
a Greek city, and then a part of the Roman empire. Excavations on the site today are particularly
interesting because while there's still evidence of the original civilization that once lived
there, there are artifacts of all the others since. There are remains of a Roman aqueduct and
Greek structures, which makes this an incredibly valuable archaeological site. Thanks for watching! I wish I had learned more about these civilizations
in history class, don’t you?? Remember to subscribe and I’ll see you soon!! Byeeee!!
