THE INFAMOUS TEN THOUSAND IMMORTALS
- Heru
- May 11
- 4 min read
The famed 'Immortal' soldiers of the Achaemenid Empire, immortalized in Herodotus’s Histories and dramatized in modern films such as 300, were an elite force of 10,000 troops who served as both imperial guards and shock troops during the height of Persian expansion in the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. Contrary to popular portrayals that often whitewash their appearance, historical and archaeological evidence indicates that they had a dark melanated skin complexion and thick wooly. These soldiers hailed from Elam, an ancient civilization centered in what is now southwestern Iran. The Elamites, whose civilization flourished from around 2700 BCE to 539 BCE, played a pivotal role in shaping the early political landscape of the ancient Near East and were integral to the foundation of the Achaemenid military structure. Their homeland, with its capital at Susa, stood as a major rival and occasional ally to the Sumerians and Akkadians to the west.
The Elamites maintained their distinct culture, language, and artistic traditions for over two millennia, even as waves of Semitic and Indo-European peoples entered the region. They were closely linked, culturally, linguistically, and through trade—to other early civilizations such as the Sumerians and the Dravidians who were the founders of the Harappan culture which extended from the Indus Valley through northeastern Afghanistan, on into Turkestan. These ancient regions were home to many indigenous Black populations long before the immigration of Indo-European populations into these regions. Despite their influence, modern depictions often neglect their true appearance and heritage, contributing to a broader historical oversight that downplays the diverse and interconnected roots of Mesopotamian civilization.
The Near East, in times of antiquity, was populated by various nation-states and ethnic groups, all of which battled for supremacy. Sumer lay at the cultural and geographic intersection of Africa, Asia, and Europe, and the progenitors of Sumerian civilization were a Black population, similar in complexion to the Black Dravidians of the Harappan Valley Civilization to the east and the Kushite/Ethiopian civilization to the west. Sumer was the earliest sophisticated civilization of West Asia and laid the religious, political, and artistic foundation for later empires such as Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea. It ruled the southern portion of the fertile Tigris–Euphrates River Valley.
The Sumerians, also known as the Chaldeans of Babylon, flourished between 4100–1750 BC. They are credited with many of the most fundamental innovations and concepts that form the basis of modern civilization. In the biblical Book of Genesis, Sumer is referred to as Shinar. Described by historians as a “non-Semitic, non-Indo-European” people, the Sumerians called themselves Sag-giga, or “The Black-Headed People.” In cuneiform, they referred to their homeland simply as “the Land of the Black-Headed People.” While Sumer was not homogenous, the Sag-giga were politically and culturally dominant.
According to John D. Baldwin, author of Prehistoric Nations and a proponent of early African diffusionism:
“It is now admitted that a people of the Cushite or Ethiopian race, sometimes called Hamites, were the first civilizers and builders throughout Western Asia, and they are traced, by the remains of their language, their architecture, and the influence of their civilization, on both shores of the Mediterranean, in eastern Africa and the Nile Valley, in Hindustan, and in the islands of the Indian Seas.”
The Sumerian language, now extinct, is classified as a language isolate, meaning it has no known linguistic relatives. Though no longer spoken, it was later heavily influenced by Akkadian, a Semitic language that belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. Of the six recognized branches of this family—Semitic, Berber, Egyptian, Cushitic, Omotic, and Chadic—five originated in Africa. The exception, Semitic, is believed to have developed in the Levant and is considered an offshoot of earlier African languages.
The Elamites:
The Proto-Elamite Period, from roughly 3200 to 2700 BC, marks the earliest stage of civilization in Elam. The Elamites spoke Susian, a language isolate long hypothesized to be related to the Tamil language family, which originated with the Black Dravidians of the Indus Valley. Situated near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Elam was part of the early wave of urbanization that gave rise to some of the world’s most ancient cities, including Sumer and Ur.
Often recognized in popular media through depictions of the 10,000 Immortals—such as in the film 300—the Elamites shared physical and cultural traits with the Sag-giga (the Black Headed People). Susa, their capital, later became a key administrative center under the Achaemenid Empire.
The French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero described the Elamites as: "...a well-knit figure with brown skin, black hair and eyes, who belonged to the Negritic race which inhabited a considerable part of Asia in prehistoric times." (History of Egypt, Vol. 4, 1903)
Marcel Dieulafoy, an early French archaeologist who excavated at Susa, referred to Elam as being ruled by an "Ethiopian" dynasty—using the term in the historical context of dark-skinned peoples (L'Acropole de Susa, 1893). During the Neo-Elamite period, waves of Indo-European migration reshaped the region, bringing in various Indo-Aryan groups such as the, Medes and the Hittites. These groups over the centuries would eventually dominate many parts of the Near East, but not before the profound cultural and political contributions of the Elamites had taken root.
Cush/Kush and Nimrod:
Nimrod, the Biblical king of Shinar and son of Cush, is often identified with Sargon of Akkad—regarded as the world’s first empire-builder and the founder of the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century BC. He conquered numerous Sumerian city-states and unified them under a centralized government. His rule extended across Mesopotamia, into the Levant, and even into Hurrian and Elamite territories, with Akkad as his capital.
The term Cush is thought to derive from Kash, the Kemetic (Egyptian) name of Upper Kush and the later Nubian kingdom of Napata. In biblical tradition, Cush represents the African roots of civilization and empire. The Jewish historian Josephus writes:
“For of the four sons of Ham, time has not at all hurt the name of Cush; for the Ethiopians, over whom he reigned, are even at this day, both by themselves and by all men in Asia, called Cushites.”
SOURCES:
Ten Thousand Immortals:
Persian depiction of Sumerian Sphinx:
Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Elamite: https://www.academia.edu/1392400/Cyrus_the_Persian_and_Darius_the_Elamite_a_Case_of_Mistaken_Identity
Egyptian Stele of an Assyrian Mercenary:
Indus Valley Africans: https://www.scirp.org/html/24584.html
"I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds." ~35th & 36th Principals of Ma'at
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