Imagine a people, an entire ethnos, with a population of over 77,000 officially disappearing in just 33 years, reduced on paper to a mere 85 individuals. This isn't a dystopian novel; it's the modern history of the Talysh people, an ancient Iranian ethnos whose homeland is split between Azerbaijan and Iran along the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. Their story is one of staggering resilience against a backdrop of state-sponsored manipulation and forced assimilation. How does a culture survive when its very existence is denied in official records?In this episode of The Levant Files Deep Dive, we unravel this extraordinary story of endurance. We trace the Talysh identity back to antiquity, exploring their potential links to the legendary Cadusii people mentioned in classical texts, a connection that lives on in their collective memory and language. We’ll uncover how their unique language, rich with ancient echoes, preserves this history in its very sounds and place names, acting as a living archive of their past.Then, we journey into the heart of their culture—the sacred ironwood forests, the spiritual beliefs that blend folk Islam with pre-Islamic figures like the Black Shepherd, and the intricate material culture of their world-renowned carpets. These are the anchors that have helped them weather the storm. But we also confront the darkest chapter: the systematic Soviet policies designed to erase them from the map through language suppression, brutal deportations, and the statistical sleight-of-hand that nearly wiped them from history.Finally, we’ll see how in the 21st century, the Talysh have forged a new sanctuary in the digital world, creating a vibrant online ethnosphere to reclaim their heritage and connect a scattered people. Join us as we explore how a nation can be erased from a census but not from history, and how an identity rooted in mountains and myths found a new way to endure in the modern age.

Photo: The flag of Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic (Talysh: Tolışə pərçəm) was adopted on August 7, 1993 as the state flag of the unrecognized Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic.[

Welcome to The Deep Dive, a podcast from The Levant Files.

When the world’s headlines turn to Sudan, the story is often reduced to a simple, brutal equation: two generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the official army and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, or ‘Hemeti’, of the paramilitary RSF, locked in a devastating struggle for power. But this framing, while convenient, misses almost everything that truly matters. The roots of today’s war are not shallow; they run deep through centuries of history, shaped by powerful empires, colonial manipulation, and a uniquely dangerous political economy.

In this episode, we connect the dots from an ancient past, when Sudanese pharaohs ruled Egypt, to the modern catastrophe. We explore how the British colonial strategy of ‘divide and rule’ cemented deep-seated tensions between the country’s center and its vast peripheries. We trace the post-independence cycle of military coups that entrenched the army’s power, and the desperate ‘coup-proofing’ strategy of former dictator Omar al-Bashir, who deliberately created rival security forces to protect his own rule.

Crucially, we uncover the story of how the loss of oil revenue with South Sudan's secession gave birth to a parallel warlord economy. This new system, built on the country's vast gold reserves, transformed Hemeti’s militias from a brutal counter-insurgency force into an independent military and economic empire. The current war is the inevitable collision of these two forces—the old state and the new shadow state—in a fight not just for political control, but for the very resources that sustain them. Join us as we unravel the complex history that made Sudan’s war almost inevitable.

Some academic works used for the needs of this podcast:

Berridge, Willow, Justin Lynch, Raga Makawi, and Alex de Waal. Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy: The Promise and Betrayal of a People’s Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.

Cockett, Richard. Sudan: The Failure and Division of an African State. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.

Federal Research Division. Sudan: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 2015.

Holt, P. M., and M. W. Daly. A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day. 6th ed. London: Routledge, 2011.

Johnson, Douglas H. The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars: Old Wars and New Wars. Expanded 3rd ed. Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey, 2016.

Jok, Jok Madut. Sudan: Race, Religion and Violence. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2007.

Photo: Gemini AI

In late 1944, Greece stood at a crossroads. The Nazi occupiers were gone, leaving behind a power vacuum dominated by the colossal Communist-led resistance, EAM-ELAS. With three-quarters of a million members and a powerful army, they seemed poised for victory. Yet, within a year, their movement was politically shattered and militarily defeated, setting the stage for a brutal civil war. How could such a dominant force be so completely vanquished?

This is the central question explored in today's debate, revealing two powerful and conflicting narratives. Was this a story of geopolitical betrayal? Evidence points to the secret "Percentages Agreement" where Churchill and Stalin placed Greece firmly in the Western sphere, effectively sacrificing the Greek communists on the altar of Great Power politics. This was brutally enforced by Britain, first through political manipulation and then with tanks and aircraft during the bloody "Dekemvriana" in Athens. From this perspective, the resistance was an outmatched pawn on a global chessboard.

Or was it a tragedy of internal failure? This argument holds the KKE leadership accountable for a series of catastrophic errors. Paralyzed by caution and adherence to Moscow's line, they delayed forming their own alternative government—unlike the successful Tito in Yugoslavia—and made fatal concessions by joining a unity government without securing real power. They agreed to a disarmament process that left their enemies armed while neutralizing their own forces. This strategic indecisiveness, it is argued, handed their powerful external and internal foes the very tools needed to orchestrate their destruction. Understanding this pivotal moment requires grappling with both the crushing weight of foreign intervention and the critical, squandered opportunities of the resistance itself.

Source: Nikolaos Stelya, Sintrofoi: Yunanistan’da Komünizm Rüyası: Yunanistan Komünist Partisi (KKE) Tarihi (1918-1949) (Comrades: The Dream of Communism in Greece: History of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) (1918-1949)) (Istanbul: Kalkedon Yayınları, 2025).