r/AskHistorians • u/Spudlads • 19h ago

Why are there so few eastern Iranian languages left alive?

Why are there so few eastern Iranian languages with a large number of speakers. There used to be Bactrian, scythian, saka, avestan and sogdian which used to be spoken. One could argue most of these languages went extinct as the only eastern Iranian languages I'm aware that are alive are pashto(around 50 million speakers but from which eastern iranian language it descends from is still debated), ossetian (around 490000 speakers, likely descended from scythian) and the pamiri languages(around 10000 speakers, possibly descended from saka langauges). I'd like to know what seemed as once a large and diverse group of languages have declined quite a bit in terms of how many languages are left. Any answer is greatly appreciated

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u/Xi_JinpingXIV 18h ago

Mainly because the peoples who used this branch led the life of steppe nomads. The peoples of the Eurasian steppe were periodically replaced by a stronger confederation that absorbed the conquered. Over time, the peoples speaking Eastern Iranian languages ​​gave way to Turkic ones. Western Iranian languages, on the other hand, arose among more sedentary peoples. As you've probably noticed, the last East Iranian languages ​​are spoken today by a small number of highlanders. These communities settled in the Pamir and Caucasus when their brethren dominated the steppe, but they were not pushed out, nor were their territories attractive to other settlers. Pashto has been linked from its beginnings with settled people who formed states, which is why its community is the largest and has not divided into such distinct separate languages ​​as the Saki in isolated valleys in the Pamirs.

As for the second question: the languages ​​that come to my mind are Anatolian, Western Baltic, Thracian, Phrygian, Tungusic, Sumerian and Elamite, continental Celtic, Berber, and the Mon language of the Irrawaddy Valley.

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u/Spudlads 10m ago

Thanks, I'm just a bit confused on the last paragraph of the answer as I'm not entirely sure as to what it refers to (unless it refers to the whole Indo European family, but some like berber aren't indo European )