7 Ancient Civilizations You’ve Never Heard Of

Just like regular people, civilizations sometimes aren’t all that memorable. We’ve all heard of the Mayans, the Aztecs, the ancient Egyptians and we can all pretty much understand why they were important to our history. Some civilizations however are far more obscure because, well, they haven’t really done anything important. Or at least nothing that seemed important at the time.

Let’s take a look at some lesser known, lesser successful ancient civilizations you’ve probably never heard of. It’s like a trip down memory lane, but you’re taking the wrong path on purpose. Sounds fun!

Kush
Despite this northeastern African civilization being almost 10 000 years old, we barely know anything about them. We don’t know why they suddenly ceased to exist, nor can we make any sense of their language.

Tuwana
Located in Turkey, Tuwana was a very small state that actually helped serve as a trade bridge between the western and eastern civilization of that time.

The Silla
This Korean civilization lasted for almost a millennium and rose about half a century before Jesus did. There is evidence indicating that this civilization (or at least a significant portion of it) was quite wealthy, with loads of jewelry and luxury materials found.

Yuezhi
The Yuezhi had a fairly short lifespan, from about 130 BC to 450 AD. They were nomadic in nature and mostly settled around the northwestern parts of China.

Aksum
Sounds like somebody sneezed, doesn’t it? This civilization hails from the northern part of what we now know as Ethiopia. I actually had quite an economic impact in the third till sixth centuries, but was eventually overthrown by the Arabs and Persians.

Mauryan Empire
This empire rose in 320 BC in ancient India. Despite it being the first empire to span the entirety of India, it was crushed in 185 BC as the Greeks invaded and took over India.

The Mitanni
This ancient civilization was quite influential about 3500 years ago. Despite the Assyrians having destroyed pretty much most of the evidence that the Mitanni existed, we do know they were closely allied with Egypt, which was no small feat at the time.