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In this video, I explore the historical evolution of country names in Asia, focusing on Iran (formerly Persia and Parthia), Lebanon (once Phoenicia), Vietnam (previously Champa), Thailand (formerly Siam), Sri Lanka (known as Ceylon), Myanmar (formerly Burma), Taiwan (once called Formosa), Yemen (including the Aden Protectorate), Iraq (historically Mesopotamia), and Jordan (formerly Transjordan). I discuss the meanings behind these old names, the reasons for their changes, and how they transformed into the modern names we use today.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Historical Country Names Can Be Complicated
00:15 Intro
00:40 Parthia to Persia to Iran
02:47 Phoenicia to Lebanon
04:36 Champa / Dai Viet to Vietnam
06:27 Siam to Thailand
07:46 Ceylon to Sri Lanka
08:52 Burma to Myanmar
09:45 Formosa to Taiwan
10:44 Aden to Yemen
11:37 Mesopotamia to Iraq
12:51 Transjordan to Jordan
13:45 Overview
14:07 Patreon Credits
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Iran is the same as Persia, which were the Achaemenids, but then they became Parsha
0:05
also known as the Arsasid Empire, which was then replaced by the Sassanids
0:10
which were kind of Persians again. Historical names can be confusing. Since you guys liked the video about European old country names
0:28
Here is the same thing but for Asia, understanding which names old Asian countries used to have
0:34
how they got them, what they meant and why they ended up changing. Let's jump straight into them
0:40
Starting with the one on the thumbnail, we have the country that we today know as Iran
0:45
which was once called Persia and even longer ago, Parthia. Parthia was a historical region located in northeastern Iran
0:54
corresponding roughly to the modern region of Qarasan. It belonged to many empires throughout history, the Median Empire, Alexander the Great's Empire, the Selucid Empire, until it broke away from the latter and became its own Persian kingdom and then empire as well
1:12
Also known as the Arsacid Empire, after one of its rulers and ruling dynasty
1:18
And this one stretched over the area we today call Iran, from 247 BC to 224 AD
1:25
The name Parthia is derived from the old Persian word, Parthava, which was in the Parthian language
1:32
self-designator, signifying of the Parthians and Iranian people. The Parthian empire fell in 224 AD
1:39
when it was replaced by the Sassanid empire, leading to the decline of the use of the name
1:45
Parthia. And so Persia began being used a little more in comparison. It is a term that originates
1:51
from the ancient region of Persis, also known as Parsa, located in southwestern Iran
1:58
The name Persia is actually potentially older than Parthia, it just wasn't used for the
2:03
region for a while and it comes from the Greek term Persish, which in turn is derived from
2:08
the old Persian Parsa. The region was the homeland of the Persians, an Iranian people who actually established
2:15
the even older Achaemenid Empire, also named after a ruler in the 6th century BC
2:21
The name Persia then began being used by Western countries to refer to the Iranian plateau
2:27
and its many empires throughout the centuries. Iran is the modern name of the country, formerly known as Persia, with the change happening
2:36
at their own request in 1935. But it had been used for centuries by their own people
2:42
It's derived from the word Arianam, meaning land of the Aryans in Middle Persian
2:47
Now, let's take a look at another example and understand how this part of Asia went from being known as Phoenicia to Lebanon
2:56
Phoenicia was an ancient civilization located along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea
3:02
primarily in the region of modern-day Lebanon, although it stretched a little bit into its modern neighbors too
3:07
especially along the Mediterranean coast. They also colonize basically all of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Greece
3:16
southern Italy, among others, being renowned seafarers and traders. And in fact, remnants of their colonies and trading outposts can still be found in all
3:26
of these places that I just mentioned. The name Phoenicia is derived from the Greek word phoenike, which means land of purple
3:33
a reference to the famous purple dye produced by the Phoenicians from the mudex snail
3:39
which, by the way, I didn't know was until very recently the only way that we could make the color purple
3:45
The civilization declined after the conquests by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC leading to the gradual disappearance of the name Phoenicia Lebanon is the modern name for the region that was once inhabited by the Phoenicians
3:59
The name originates from the name of a local mountain, from a Phoenician root
4:03
liben, meaning white, apparently for its snow-capped peaks. Its name is mentioned in many Bronze Age texts, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and even the Hebrew Bible
4:13
It became a general term for the region when the Ottoman Empire conquered it and underwent a territorial administration reform in 1861, choosing the name fort
4:24
The modern state of Lebanon was kind of created in 1920 as a French puppet state
4:29
It then gained independence later on in 1943 and they kept this same name of Lebanon
4:35
Next, we travel to Southeast Asia to understand how what is today Vietnam, or at least part
4:41
of it, was once called Champa. Champa wasn't the same as the modern Vietnam country, in fact it wasn't really a country
4:49
proper, but it occupied almost precisely the same region as southern Vietnam does today
4:55
and it was known as such for a while. Champa was a collection of independent polities that extended across the coast of what is today
5:03
central and southern Vietnam, from approximately the 2nd century AD until very very late, 1832
5:11
that's over 1500 years of existence. The name Chompa is derived from the Sanskrit word
5:17
Khampa which refers to a type of flowering tree, the Chom people were known for their maritime trade
5:23
in a similar way to the Phoenicians actually. The decline of Chompa began in the 15th century due
5:28
to its continuous wars with the Vietnamese Dai Viet Kingdom, another predecessor and maybe a more
5:34
accurate predecessor for Vietnam as a whole, leading to its eventual annexation and assimilation
5:39
of its people. Vietnam is the modern name of the country that now encompasses the territory once
5:44
held by Champa. The name Vietnam is a variation of Nam Viet, which was the name of another ancient
5:50
Kingdom that existed from 204 to 111 BC. Viet is the name of an ethnic group and Nam means south so
5:59
Vietnam can be translated as the southern land of the Viet or land of the southern Viet. The name
6:06
was officially adopted in 1804 by Emperor Jia Long to emphasize the continuity with the ancient
6:12
kingdom and to assert independence from Chinese influence. So here we understand how multiple
6:17
names were used up to the point where the modern one was implemented while some of the
6:22
old ones were related and impacted the choice of the modern one
6:28
Moving to a more recent change we have the switch from Siam to Thailand
6:33
By the way the Kingdom of Siam had one of the coolest flags ever with this sort of set
6:38
of frames in red white and blue and the really cool white elephant in gold
6:43
They changed it because they wanted to look more westernized, I think
6:48
Pretty big mistake in my opinion. But anyway, the names. A similar situation happened here when compared to the Iran-Persia one
6:55
Siam was the name used by westerners to refer to the kingdom, located in the area of present-day Thailand
7:02
Interestingly, Siam was also one of the very few native kingdoms in Asia and the world
7:06
to avoid European colonization, welcome European settlements, trade, influence, but never having
7:12
to let go of their full sovereignty. The name Siam is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit
7:17
word Siamma, meaning dark or brown, possibly referring to the skin color of the native people
7:23
The term was used by foreigners while the locals referred to their country as Muawang Thai. In 1939
7:30
as part of a patriotic movement, the government officially changed the country's name to Thailand
7:35
which means land of the Thai people to reflect their independence and native heritage if you will moving away from the way that they were known by outsiders And understanding how the switch very often
7:48
happens when locals want to change the name from what they were known by Europeans or by
7:54
colonizers to what they always used on their own is important to understand the next example
7:59
of Sri Lanka, which was known to Europeans as Ceylon. The name Ceylon is derived from the
8:05
Portuguese Ceylon, which in turn comes from the old Persian Ceylan, ultimately from the native
8:11
Sanskrit Simhala. The Portuguese adopted this name during their colonial presence in the 16th
8:16
century, and it was subsequently used by the Dutch and British during their respective periods of
8:21
control over the island. The British formalized Ceylon as the official name during their colonial
8:27
rule. After gaining independence in 1941, the country retained the name at first. However
8:33
in 1972, when the nation became a republic, it officially changed its name to Sri Lanka
8:38
to move away from its colonial past. Sri is a Sanskrit honorific, meaning resplendent
8:45
and Lanka is the traditional name of the island, so Sri Lanka would translate to
8:50
resplendent island. Then we arrive at Myanmar, or as you may still know it, Burma. The name Burma
8:58
is derived from the Burmese word Bhamar, which refers to the majority ethnic group in the country
9:03
The British adopted this term during their colonial rule, which began in the 19th century
9:07
and it remained the official name of the country when they gained independence in 1948
9:12
However, in 1989, when the military took over, they changed the country's official English
9:17
name to Myanmar, which is a more formal version of Bhamar in the Burmese language
9:23
This change aimed to better represent the country's ethnic diversity and move away
9:28
from colonial era nomenclature. It seems that Burma referred more to a specific ethnic group and Myanmar is a way of uniting all of them
9:37
However, some countries and political groups continue to use Burma, often as a form of political statement and their dislike of the modern regime
9:45
Going back to the Portuguese influence in the old name of Sri Lanka, which was Ceylon
9:49
we have another example with the name of Taiwan, which used to be Formosa
9:54
Formosa was the name given to the island of Taiwan by the Portuguese sailors that arrived in the 16th century
10:00
A point citing the island, they named it Ilha Formosa, meaning beautiful island
10:05
And the name was used by Westerners during periods of European contact and influence
10:10
However, the indigenous people already referred to the island as Taiwan, which evolved into Taiwan
10:16
Bringing us a similarity, once again, to Iran's case, and showing us how often recent name changes are simply going back to a pre-colonial name
10:25
After the Qing dynasty annexed the island in the late 17th century, Taiwan became the official name
10:31
The name Formosa fell into disuse after World War II when Japan ceded control of the island
10:36
and Taiwan just became the internationally recognized name, but when you look at some old maps, it is still there
10:44
Going back west, we have an interesting case with Yemen. Before unifying in the late 20th century, Yemen was a series of local kingdoms and colonial protectorates
10:52
One of them was the Aden Protectorate, which was one of the old names there
10:56
Aden is a port city in present-day Yemen. It is of an ancient origin, possibly derived from the Akkadian word Edinu, meaning plain or paradise
11:06
The British established the Aden colony in 1937, which included the city and its immediate surroundings
11:12
and so they chose that name for the protectorate as a whole. In 1967, following a prolonged anti-colonial struggle, the British withdrew
11:20
and the area became known as the People's Republic of South Yemen, then uniting with the North and
11:26
just becoming Yemen Yemen itself the word comes from the Arabic term yum meaning blessed or fortunate something the region really hasn been in the recent years And another old name nearby that you probably learned in middle
11:41
or high school is Mesopotamia. While the ancient entity of Mesopotamia existed across many areas
11:48
of the Middle East, being a cradle of civilization, it mostly coincides with today's modern borders
11:53
of Iraq. Mesopotamia is a historical region situated between the Tigris and Euphrates River
11:59
corresponding to modern-day Iraq and also parts of Syria, Turkey and a couple more around them
12:05
The name comes from that exact same term in ancient Greek, Mesopotamia, which means between
12:10
rivers. The term was used by the Greeks and Romans but fell out of use with the rise of
12:16
Islamic empires in the 7th century, with other, more local terms being used together to refer to
12:21
these regions within the vast empires they belong to, one after another. The modern nation state of
12:28
Iraq was established only in 1920 under British mandate, following the dissolution of the Ottoman
12:33
Empire. The name Iraq is believed to be derived from the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk, Erek
12:40
in the Bible, reflecting the region's deep historical roots. I don't think the term was
12:44
widely used before the 20th century, but as we can tell from the origin, the origin itself is
12:50
pretty historical. And nearby was another change, a small one but still significant, that of Transjordan
12:57
which became just Jordan. Transjordan referred to the territory east of the Jordan River, administered
13:04
by the British after World War I. The name comes from the Latin trans meaning across and Jordan
13:09
referring to the river, so across the Jordan River. In 1921, the Emirate of Transjordan was established
13:16
under British oversight, not being independent but sort of a halfway step towards it
13:21
and they kept the name. But upon gaining full independence in 1946
13:25
they were renamed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, simplifying the name but still emphasizing its connection
13:32
to the historic and culturally significant River Jordan. Maybe they changed it to distinguish themselves from the colonial past as well a little bit
13:41
but I think the point here was just to simplify the country name. And so those are old names of about 10 Asian countries, what they were, how they were implemented and what they meant and how they came to change to the modern versions that we know these countries as today, as well as the meanings and etymology of those names too
14:01
Are there any other old names that you know about, either in Asia or any other continent? Let me know in the comments
14:07
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14:37
Today I am using this new Moomin Cup of the..
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I think he's like the misunderstood hedgehog villain, like evil guy, but he's not evil
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Even though he does seem to be stealing all of the bowling pins
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Are they bowling pins? maybe they're bottles I don't know I cut my hair because again I was looking a
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little bit like a like someone who was lost at sea and so this is the short hair
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version it's a little shorter than I wanted it to be but it grows very fast so
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it's okay
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