We hope you enjoy the latest episode in our Belisarius series! This one tells the story of the Roman Empire's reconquest of Rome in 536, and the epic siege that followed. Thanks to Legendarian for Total War: Attila gameplay footage, and to series consultant Prof. David Parnell. Don't forget you can get ad-free early access to all our videos by supporting the channel on Patreon from as little as $1 per video: www.patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV
New oversimplified and Epic History within a few weeks of each other? Christmas came early this year for the History community on UA-cam! Amazing work as always to everyone involved behind the scenes! ❤️
“But it is not my custom to choose the short course over the best course” -Belisarius, while under siege in Rome “The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue” - Napoleon
@Don’t worry Chill right. It's like the stars have to aline. And always weak men come before and after their presences dooming us to wait for our next leader.
@Don’t worry Chill For Napoleon the Revolution did away with much of the old order and meritocracy had more of a place in selecting leaders, something Napoleon would strongly continue as Emperor.
“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” - Julius Caesar. He would be so proud of Belisarius.
@@perineo2231 They were barbarians occupying italy, he'd be proud the barbarians were beaten back. Also the Punic wars and Ceasars civil wars devastated italy
@@dillonblair6491 the Ostrogoth were willing to accept Roman culture actually, and to abandon their barbarians traditions. Belisario conquest was useless cause few years later the longobards, that were worse than the Ostrogoth imo, wiped them out from the newly conquested lands. That campaign just impoverished utterly the already exhausted people who lived there
@@perineo2231 1st. No, the barbarians segregated themselves from romans and eventually started aggressively encroaching on romans to enforce germanic customs on them. 2nd. Also nobody cares even if they had taken roman customs as they conquered italy. This hasn't been the case of any group in history and knowing the absolute bloodlust of the romans against barbarians and fighting to the bloody end, I doubt they'd be an exception.
@@tallenta6071 Yeah, Belisarius' strength seems to have been using the mobility of his Bucelarii to turn the tide of battle, disrupt enemy supply lines and to scout/raid enemy camps. Large armies are slow, require stable supply lines and tend to need skilled junior officers to function smoothly. Belisarius seemed to lack the compitant subordinates that Julius Caesar benefitted from in Gaul.
@@ThiccboiSalmon there's much more to it than that. He is likely one of the most brilliant tacticians in history. The only comparable one would be Alexander the great. However, he didn't have to deal with sophisticated enemies and overwhelming odds favoring the other side that Belusarius did.
Oh, Belisarius! A general so great, so crafty, so feared, that he nearly stopped the course of history itself! He fought the future and nearly undid the mistakes of so many that led to the fall of the West. One man CAN summon the future. Or nearly so. But for the Plague, would have there been a Visigothic (or Frankish) king brought to kiss Justinian's feet? More battles won in Hispania, or Gaul, and another province returned to the Empire? But for the flea! Wonderful episode, Toby!
With the strong tax base Justinian inherited, and his long reign, but for the plague he could have absolutely liberated the West. While it is true that Barbarians of the West were mighty, they were also quite divided and jealous of one another. No doubt the Byzantines would have continued to play the various kingdoms against one another until one was left. And then overwhelm it.
@@i.r.s9494 The thing is, even if Justinian were successful in reconquering and holding let's say Italy, Spain and Gaul, it would still take massive economic refurbishment to make it worth it and the imperial coffers were already strained by the conquest of Italy alone as f ar as I know.. Also taking into consideration the constant threat that were the sassanids under Khosrow, maybe the idea of restoring the western empire was a bit premature but hindsight is 2020.
I think the reconquest of Gaul would have sapped too much of his resources, but Spain, Africa and Italy would have been firmly held and lead to prosperity if not for the plague, then again the plague also harmed all others around the Roman Empire.
Again given it wasn't even Belisarius who completed the conquest of Italy, and in fact that his own mistakes led it to take so long, I don't get this idea that he would've restored the West and won mamy more battles if not for the plague
@@Killerbee_McTitties I would imagine it would be a long-term thing. One would have to hold Africa and Italy and consolidate and allow those areas to rebuild. Probably at least 10 years before the taxes outweigh the costs. But that is the notional advantage Justinian had: a great administrative apparatus, a good eye for generals and a long, stable reign (after the Nika Riots). But for the plague, the Empire most certainly would have been able to digest Africa and Italy and start making them pay their own way.
Ah the Empire strikes back! Excellently done episode as ever. Although I was surprised that you didn't mention Belisarius's coup de grace at the end of the siege. Basically what happened is that when Ostrogothic army was retreating across the Milvian bridge, Belisarius saw an excellent opportunity to destroy much of it. He waited for half of the enemy army to cross the bridge and then launched a swift attack with his cavalry against the half that was still waiting to cross. The result: absolute carnage of the Ostrogoths. At that bridge where Constantine the Great won one of the most important victories in history and established Christianity as the Empire's religion, now much of that half Ostrogothic army was wiped out. Thus any remaining hope for Vitiges that he could mount a successful resistance up north was gone. Truly, a masterful move, as is to be expected from Belisarius.
Constantine never established Christianity as the Roman Empire's official religion. He gave it lots of preferential treatment, to be sure, but it wasn't until Theodosius I that Christianity was officially made the state religion, with his Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD.
@@olefredrikskjegstad5972 I know, edict of Milan proclaimed only equality of all religions, including Christianity, but it was de facto meaning that Emperors from there onwards were Christians. In fact, laws against pagans were began to be issued already during the reign of Constantine's sons, most notably by Constantius II. By the time of Theodosius I Christianity was so deeply rooted in the imperial system that his Edict of Thessaloniki was just official proclamation of the already existing situation.
The iron channel strikes again. From humble beginnings exploring castles as a young lad, to a promising career in the history channel, toby groom strikes for his next episode on the path to glory 💪🤴👍🤝
@@skyhappy Looks like this is just a nice comment from a friend of the channel, I doubt anyone cringed while reading it Maybe get outside and talk to some humans and less stuff will seem “cringe”🤥
In the excellent book "Count Belisarius" the author wrote in very great detail the many incidents regarding the siege of Rome. He writes about how Belisarius's Moorish soldiers who he hired from North Africa would conduct hunts at night to kill Goths that wandered off from their camps. Hiding near latrines or ditches and surprising small groups of Goths. The Goths became so terrified of the Moors that they didnt dare wander off from their camps at night. The book also details a few individual incidents during the many cavalry raids that Belisarius conducted against the Gothic siege lines. A few excerpts; ".....Belisarius conducts a brief skirmish at one of the gates, his Houshold Regiment was heavily engaged and on their return that evening, two of the cuirassiers presented an extraordinary sight. One of them, Arzes, a Persian formerly belonging to the Immortals, came riding back with an arrow sunk to his face close to the nose; and another, a Thracian named Cutilas, came back with a javeline sticking in his head and waving about like a plume. Neither of them paid the least bit attention to these wounds but had continued to fight indefatigably, to the horror and alarm of the Goths who cried "these are not men but demons". The javeline was afterwards removed from Cutilas's head by a surgeon but the wound grew inflamed and he died two days later. Arzes however was examined by the same surgeon who pressed the back of his neck and asked; "does this pressure hurt"? Yes, replied Arzes. Then the surgeon opened the skin at the back of his neck, found the point and began to draw the arrow through, barb and all. Arzes fainted from the pain but his blood was healthy, the wound healed up without any suppuration. He led the next sally and survived the war." on another occasion "upon receiving 1,600 reinforcemets Belisarius did not wish the new arrivals to feel cooped up in the city like prisoners. He staged a demonstration for their benefit. He sent out in broad daylight from the Salarian Gate 200 of his Houshold cuirassiers under an Illyrian named Trajan, a troop commander and a wonderfully cool fellow. These men galloped to a little hill near the walls and formed a ring. Out rushed the indignant Goths from the nearest camp. Snatching up weapons and horses in eagerness to attack them. In short time Trajan's men had shot 4,000 arrows into their disorderly column and killed or wounded 800 horsemen. As soon as the Gothic infantry got near, Trajans men galloped off shooting from the saddle. They accounted for 200 more Goths before they returned without a single casualty. The Goth horsemen were only armed with lance and sword and their archers wore no armor and would go nowhere without the protection of mail clad spearmen which were very slow of foot. Its no wonder Trajans men had it all their way. The following days more of these raids were conducted. In these skirmishes the Goths lost 4,000 men yet the Goth king Wittich did not draw the conclusion as to their inferior equipment believing the Romans success was merely due to daring. He ordered 500 of his own Royal Lancers to make a similar demonstration on a hill near the Asinarian Gate. In response, Belisarius sent out a thousand Thracian cavalry under Bessas. The Goths were shot to pieces hardly a hundred escaped back to their camp." "On another occassion, Trajan, the troop commander whos exploits i have already mentioned, was pierced close above the right eye and above the nose by a long barbed head of an arrow. The shaft had been insecurely fastened to it and fell off at the moment of impact. Trajan continued fighting. For days and months after his comrades expected him to drop dead at any moment. But he lived on and suffered no pain or inconvenience, though the barbed head remained imbedded in his flesh. Five years later it began to slowly emerge again. Twelve years more and he was able to pluck it out like a thorn".
The thracians were the best fighters Rome had. They also put up quite a fight against Roman invasion as well before they were subjugated.. Belisarius himself was most likely of thracian stock coming from that land.
i remember it was mentioned that Belisarius was of slavonic stock so probably around that region. And his name is Romanized from "Beli Tsar" meaning white prince.
@@stuka80 modern day Sapareva Banya the name is still in popular use in bulgaria. It's likely the original one without the romanized -US suffix. It's Velizariy
@@stuka80 Pretty sure that's a folk etymology. The Slavs didn't arrive in the region until the seventh century (and the word caesar hadn't turned into tsar yet). It's much more likely to stem from Greek, arrow of Ares.
If only events like the Plague or war with the Persians didn't happen at this time Belisarius might have been able to restore all of the Western Roman provinces not just Africa,Illyria and Italy. Regardless he is no doubt one of the greatest military generals of late antiquity.
Nah. Not really. It is no coincidence that the Persians struck when they did. The whole campaign in Italy was a massive mistake. It was imperial overstretch and it completely drained the empire of money and resources and the Persians knew it. All it produced were temporary gains and a devastated italy. It thereby ruined the stability of both Italy and of the Byzantine empire itself. There was no chance that Belisarius could have taken on the Franks.
@@Ardunafeth No, what really ruined the economy was the plague. Yes, they spent the money in reserve, but they would have gotten it back if not for the plague.
Well no, they ultimately lost the opportunity to take the Western provinces due to the same reason why Justinian was so successful, his speed. Justinian overstretched his empire to such a point that he was unable to complete the reunification of the empire. Had Justinian waited just a couple more years to consolidate his gains, the conquest of Italy would've been completed in just under a year without a single hitch. Then he could've conquered the Visigoths with little effort, considering how little stability they had, the Franks were already vassals. With Italy's vast resources not destroyed by two decades of near constant warfare, he could've not only fortified it, like the Normans and England or Sicily, to keep out invaders and maintain power, but also build up his empire back to it's former glory.
The romans also took back part of hispania. Also given that it was Narses and not Belisarius who actually ends up finally defeating the Ostrogoths it seems unlikely that anything more would've been added by Belisarius
*Belisarius is a much better general than me. If I told my troops to guard a bridge and they RAN, forcing me to fight a delaying action BY MYSELF, and then, to top it all off, when I pull back and try to enter the city, THEY KEEP THE GATE CLOSED. "Oh boy". Heads would roll buddy. Belisarius is one cool customer.*
@@muhammadabdullahy9281 not emperor but empress it was theodora who did that also he wasebt sent to jail he was stripped of his position and he went to become a farmer and live a peacefull life
I have always wondered what goes inside the mind of someone with so many great military strategies, the way they think, the ability of having so many plans from A to Z and beyond is just extraordinary
Belisarius had the benefit of being familiar with the tactics of the Germanic tribes and the Sassanids thanks to the Romans' prior experience of dealing with these enemies. Also at this point the ERE has nothing to lose and a lot to gain by reconquering the West
I must say it, I'm so appreciative that there are history channels such as yours that are so dedicated to history and its many details. You are among the greats such as Kings and Generals, History Marche, and Invicta
Some of your best work, thank you!! My fav part might be around 13:43, the awesome music, writing and artwork really make the romans struggle to protect their old capital even more epic
@@TheChuckfuc the celebre envy of emperors against their best generals ...even recently, Stalin was envy against Zhukov, winning for USSR the WW2 , but he don't killed him , just exiled him in Siberia giving him a small office in a far away military garrison...until he got pension
The mistrust wasn't entirely unjustified when one looks back at Roman history. The empire had massive problems when it came to successfull generals who used their fame to dictate politics. So Justinian played better safe than sorry
And what's crazy to think about is that the roman emperors that had the best military successes trusted their generals and rewarded them handsomely. Augustus and Agrippa being the cutest of the general/emperor couples.
"Because of him, the city of Romulus and the Caesers, once more belongs to the Roman empire." Gave me chills. Imagine what this must have meant to them.
This man did incredible things as a general. I can't remember anyone else who had so many victories with so few soldiers and so many times with lack of all kind of products.
In modern times, only Rommel and Robert E. Lee come to mind. And also in WWI, General Von Lettow-Vorbeck in Southeast Africa Campaign. He once used African honey bees to defend the beach against a British landing. And it worked.
It's the 3rd or 4rth time I am watching these videos with Belisarius! Very well done... love em! The music, the narration, the pictures so good, everything is perfect! I know they are difficult to make but please more!
Belisarius entire story is extremely fascinating he managed to defeat the Vandalic kingdoms the Persians, Conquered Rome and he's finial conquest against the Bulgars! Thank you Epic history for covering him
He defeated Persians at Dara heavily but never defeated them as in the sense of winning war over them and on the battlefield he mostly suffered defeats from their hands.
@@denatov Not really.Defeat in similarly large battle at Callinicum(this time it was Belisarius who had numerical advantage)shortly afterwards rendered victory at Dara no longer that important and Persians quited peace talks again.It was only when old king Kavad I died soon after that his successor Khosrow I needed to stabilize his position in Persia and was therefore not interrested in continuing the war and,for the time being, he settled for Justinian's generous bribe for peace.
Amazing video as always EHTV… I love the dynamics of Justinian and Belisarius. Honestly one of my favourite periods of history. Keep up the great work!!
He was a good general sure, but given he isn't even definitively the best general in the empire at the time, He certainly isn't up there with Hannibal, Alexander or Napoleon
@@yuhyuh5674 not at all, his luck was great not only his enemies like Darius literally fled from the battle just after it began or death of Mennon who had a fantastic strategy to easily cut off Alexander from Greece but he died just before starting it.
Listening to this channel always gives me a reminiscent feeling about the History Channel in it's earlier years until it fell apart due to its alien abduction obsession stories and other ridiculous stories of aliens.Love this channel.
The first time I think Epic History Tv has posted 2 videos consecutively and both of great topics :- The Crusade and Restoration of Rome : Belisarius. Also can't wait for videos 2nd , 3rd and 4th Crusade to come... 😀 Great Masterpiece... 😎😎
I really love this series, and I know you probably want to finish off with Napoleon, however I think it would be very cool if you'd make a Video of Ranking Napoleons most worthy and smartest military Enemies. Keep up the good work!
As an enemy of napoleon number one spot is taken by 1# wellington: A cactus on napoleons empire in spain 2# Archduke Charles: very experienced commander at massenas level and even defeated napoleon at aspern and almost won at wagram if not for archdukes john 3# Blucher: his aggressiveness isnt good but he helped contribute defeats to marshals in german campaign and stopped napoleons advanced to berlin 4# Barclay de tolly: Scorch earth tactics which is the caused of napoleons campaign in russia to ruin 5# karl von Schwarzenberg: allied commander and responsible for Napoleons defeat at leipzig with other alied commanders
Wow this is pure artistry. You guys are consistent when it comes to quality and I think I speak for everyone when I say it's truly amazing. Keep up the spectacular work!
This summer i was on a boat cruising Lake Bolsena ( a stunning place on the border between modern Latium and Tuscany) and our guide pointed to a small ruined castle on a island in the middle of the lake, telling us that it was the place were a barbarian princess had been killed in the early middle ages. I thought that story was some kind of legend and instead it was the casus belli of the eastern Romans invasion. Truly fascinating.
What an episode in History After so long Romans finally take their ancestral Home back and defend it with everything they can. We can only imagine how it must have felt for a roman soldier to retake and defend that sacred place where everything started, the city of Caesar and Augustus. Belisarius deserves the highest honors history can grant someone. What an figure
Belisarius was the last military genius that the world saw for many centuries. What a shame. Loved this video. You have a great series on your hands Epic History TV.
The Gothic war was the final ruin of Rome, even worse than the visigoth, vandal and ostrogoth invasions. It destroyed the comerce and the infrastructure of the cities, caused the Senate, the old patrician families and the intelligentsia to disband, destroyed all the remaining roman culture and civil institutions and opened the Italian peninsula to the Lombard invasion. The plague and Islamic invasion made imperial restoration impossible, turned Italy into a conglomerate of sub-entities open to french and german invasions and made Rome as depopulated and ruinous as Detroit and its monuments turned into quarries. If only Justinian had known the colossal mistake he was making ...
Thank you for making history fun and interesting! I cant help but wonder what we could've accomplished by now if we weren't so busy fighting eachother all the time. That being said, conquests across multiple continents like this are still an impressive display of determination and capability. To cover all that ground in a lifetime using ships, horses, wagons and boots is hard to imagine now, with or without all the battles!
Absolutely incredible series. The artwork is fantastic. Love the depiction of Justinian though it's different from what I'm used to (in a good way). He looks like a proper Roman. And the characters standing in front of the Pantheon is so damn cool. Damn fine work Epic History!!
On December 9 2021, Epic History TV was about to be crowned emperor of all history channels. History has never seen such a rapid and dramatic rise to power at 1.21 million subscribers!
Dr. Parnell is such a good professor and I have had the privilege to have him be my professor for several of my History major courses. Good work on this series it definitely helped me visualize this important time-period better!
OK, just can't let that one go. The reason Belisarius had so few troops wasn't because of the emperor's supreme confidence in him, it was because Justinian was paranoid and was afraid Belisarius' renown would grow so great that he'd make a grab to be emperor himself, and hence Justinian denied him enough troops to make such a bid. He showered Narses with troops because Narses was a eunuch and hence was ineligible for the throne.
Seeing a resurgent empire is so inspiring to see. A great emperor, a legendary commander, a diverse lineup of troops, a formidable economy and the patriotic people of Italy finally fighting to help the Romans reclaim their empire. Things were shaping up so well but the damn plague had to hit. This whole story feels like a spin-off story that was never meant to be
If only Justinian fully trusted Belisarius as Augustus trusted Agrippa. But then the slow decline of the Roman Empire was not due to any mighty rival but infighting. The key that the barbarian tribes used to open the doors to the Empire.
That's what defines great emperor from ok. Justinian was one of the best emperor Eastern Rome had, but it doesnt say much. Most of them were really incompetent. Augustus was on another level entirely.
To be fair, it's understandable why Justinian didn't fully trust Belisarius, he probably feared that if Belisarius got too powerful he would rebel. And this has happened throughout Roman history. Ricimer who had served alongside Majorian under Aetius was a close friend of Majorian but even he betrayed him in the end. Justinian probably felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
And there's the plague which devastated the empire, the consequences of that epidemic meant Justinian couldn't send more troops west even if he wanted to as he had lost so much manpower and the cost of raising troops would be too high after the devastation caused by the plague and he had to deal with the Persians, who at the moment were lead by one of the greatest Sassanids to have existed Khosrow I "The Immortal".
We hope you enjoy the latest episode in our Belisarius series! This one tells the story of the Roman Empire's reconquest of Rome in 536, and the epic siege that followed. Thanks to Legendarian for Total War: Attila gameplay footage, and to series consultant Prof. David Parnell. Don't forget you can get ad-free early access to all our videos by supporting the channel on Patreon from as little as $1 per video: www.patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV
Another masterpiece sir!
New oversimplified and Epic History within a few weeks of each other? Christmas came early this year for the History community on UA-cam! Amazing work as always to everyone involved behind the scenes! ❤️
Will be continued?
No Dislikes after 3 hours of upload, speaks well of your audience.
One correction so far:
Salona is not the modern city of Split, but the modern city of Solin. The Latin name for Split was Spalatum.
“But it is not my custom to choose the short course over the best course”
-Belisarius, while under siege in Rome
“The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue”
- Napoleon
@Don’t worry Chill right. It's like the stars have to aline. And always weak men come before and after their presences dooming us to wait for our next leader.
Lol
Wow
@Don’t worry Chill is there a joke here that I’m missing here -_-
@Don’t worry Chill For Napoleon the Revolution did away with much of the old order and meritocracy had more of a place in selecting leaders, something Napoleon would strongly continue as Emperor.
“It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” - Julius Caesar. He would be so proud of Belisarius.
Rome 2 quotes teaches you a lot
Well I'm pretty sure that Julius Caesar would be ashamed of Eastern Roman empire and its reconquest campaign, they just made things worse
@@perineo2231
They were barbarians occupying italy, he'd be proud the barbarians were beaten back. Also the Punic wars and Ceasars civil wars devastated italy
@@dillonblair6491 the Ostrogoth were willing to accept Roman culture actually, and to abandon their barbarians traditions. Belisario conquest was useless cause few years later the longobards, that were worse than the Ostrogoth imo, wiped them out from the newly conquested lands. That campaign just impoverished utterly the already exhausted people who lived there
@@perineo2231
1st. No, the barbarians segregated themselves from romans and eventually started aggressively encroaching on romans to enforce germanic customs on them.
2nd. Also nobody cares even if they had taken roman customs as they conquered italy. This hasn't been the case of any group in history and knowing the absolute bloodlust of the romans against barbarians and fighting to the bloody end, I doubt they'd be an exception.
It's interesting to imagine what Belisarius could've done with a large army.
Sometimes general that good in small army don't do good with large army and vice versa
@@tallenta6071 Yeah, Belisarius' strength seems to have been using the mobility of his Bucelarii to turn the tide of battle, disrupt enemy supply lines and to scout/raid enemy camps. Large armies are slow, require stable supply lines and tend to need skilled junior officers to function smoothly. Belisarius seemed to lack the compitant subordinates that Julius Caesar benefitted from in Gaul.
Caesar reincarnate
@@ThiccboiSalmon Alexander's army is quite large, though outnumbered by the Persians and Porus he still managed it very well.
@@ThiccboiSalmon there's much more to it than that. He is likely one of the most brilliant tacticians in history. The only comparable one would be Alexander the great. However, he didn't have to deal with sophisticated enemies and overwhelming odds favoring the other side that Belusarius did.
Oh, Belisarius! A general so great, so crafty, so feared, that he nearly stopped the course of history itself! He fought the future and nearly undid the mistakes of so many that led to the fall of the West. One man CAN summon the future. Or nearly so. But for the Plague, would have there been a Visigothic (or Frankish) king brought to kiss Justinian's feet? More battles won in Hispania, or Gaul, and another province returned to the Empire? But for the flea!
Wonderful episode, Toby!
With the strong tax base Justinian inherited, and his long reign, but for the plague he could have absolutely liberated the West. While it is true that Barbarians of the West were mighty, they were also quite divided and jealous of one another. No doubt the Byzantines would have continued to play the various kingdoms against one another until one was left. And then overwhelm it.
@@i.r.s9494 The thing is, even if Justinian were successful in reconquering and holding let's say Italy, Spain and Gaul, it would still take massive economic refurbishment to make it worth it and the imperial coffers were already strained by the conquest of Italy alone as f ar as I know.. Also taking into consideration the constant threat that were the sassanids under Khosrow, maybe the idea of restoring the western empire was a bit premature but hindsight is 2020.
I think the reconquest of Gaul would have sapped too much of his resources, but Spain, Africa and Italy would have been firmly held and lead to prosperity if not for the plague, then again the plague also harmed all others around the Roman Empire.
Again given it wasn't even Belisarius who completed the conquest of Italy, and in fact that his own mistakes led it to take so long, I don't get this idea that he would've restored the West and won mamy more battles if not for the plague
@@Killerbee_McTitties I would imagine it would be a long-term thing. One would have to hold Africa and Italy and consolidate and allow those areas to rebuild. Probably at least 10 years before the taxes outweigh the costs. But that is the notional advantage Justinian had: a great administrative apparatus, a good eye for generals and a long, stable reign (after the Nika Riots). But for the plague, the Empire most certainly would have been able to digest Africa and Italy and start making them pay their own way.
Most defenders in a siege: I'm in danger
Belisarius: *You're in danger*
Caesar: I am the danger
@@louiswain9139Chinghis Khan and Attila:WERE THE SCOURGE OF GOD!!!!!!
Ah the Empire strikes back! Excellently done episode as ever. Although I was surprised that you didn't mention Belisarius's coup de grace at the end of the siege. Basically what happened is that when Ostrogothic army was retreating across the Milvian bridge, Belisarius saw an excellent opportunity to destroy much of it. He waited for half of the enemy army to cross the bridge and then launched a swift attack with his cavalry against the half that was still waiting to cross. The result: absolute carnage of the Ostrogoths. At that bridge where Constantine the Great won one of the most important victories in history and established Christianity as the Empire's religion, now much of that half Ostrogothic army was wiped out. Thus any remaining hope for Vitiges that he could mount a successful resistance up north was gone. Truly, a masterful move, as is to be expected from Belisarius.
Truly a great man Belisarius is
A reverse Stamford Bridge, eh? Masterful!
Constantine never established Christianity as the Roman Empire's official religion. He gave it lots of preferential treatment, to be sure, but it wasn't until Theodosius I that Christianity was officially made the state religion, with his Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD.
@@olefredrikskjegstad5972 I know, edict of Milan proclaimed only equality of all religions, including Christianity, but it was de facto meaning that Emperors from there onwards were Christians. In fact, laws against pagans were began to be issued already during the reign of Constantine's sons, most notably by Constantius II. By the time of Theodosius I Christianity was so deeply rooted in the imperial system that his Edict of Thessaloniki was just official proclamation of the already existing situation.
@@justinian-the-great I love you, you damnable fool. shoulda been more patient
The iron channel strikes again. From humble beginnings exploring castles as a young lad, to a promising career in the history channel, toby groom strikes for his next episode on the path to glory 💪🤴👍🤝
Good message but the emojis are cringe, leave them at instagram
@@skyhappy such a nerd
@@skyhappy Looks like this is just a nice comment from a friend of the channel, I doubt anyone cringed while reading it
Maybe get outside and talk to some humans and less stuff will seem “cringe”🤥
@@Bsliggs be quiet weirdo
@@skyhappy no u
In the excellent book "Count Belisarius" the author wrote in very great detail the many incidents regarding the siege of Rome. He writes about how Belisarius's Moorish soldiers who he hired from North Africa would conduct hunts at night to kill Goths that wandered off from their camps. Hiding near latrines or ditches and surprising small groups of Goths. The Goths became so terrified of the Moors that they didnt dare wander off from their camps at night.
The book also details a few individual incidents during the many cavalry raids that Belisarius conducted against the Gothic siege lines. A few excerpts;
".....Belisarius conducts a brief skirmish at one of the gates, his Houshold Regiment was heavily engaged and on their return that evening, two of the cuirassiers presented an extraordinary sight. One of them, Arzes, a Persian formerly belonging to the Immortals, came riding back with an arrow sunk to his face close to the nose; and another, a Thracian named Cutilas, came back with a javeline sticking in his head and waving about like a plume. Neither of them paid the least bit attention to these wounds but had continued to fight indefatigably, to the horror and alarm of the Goths who cried "these are not men but demons". The javeline was afterwards removed from Cutilas's head by a surgeon but the wound grew inflamed and he died two days later. Arzes however was examined by the same surgeon who pressed the back of his neck and asked; "does this pressure hurt"? Yes, replied Arzes. Then the surgeon opened the skin at the back of his neck, found the point and began to draw the arrow through, barb and all. Arzes fainted from the pain but his blood was healthy, the wound healed up without any suppuration. He led the next sally and survived the war."
on another occasion "upon receiving 1,600 reinforcemets Belisarius did not wish the new arrivals to feel cooped up in the city like prisoners. He staged a demonstration for their benefit. He sent out in broad daylight from the Salarian Gate 200 of his Houshold cuirassiers under an Illyrian named Trajan, a troop commander and a wonderfully cool fellow. These men galloped to a little hill near the walls and formed a ring. Out rushed the indignant Goths from the nearest camp. Snatching up weapons and horses in eagerness to attack them. In short time Trajan's men had shot 4,000 arrows into their disorderly column and killed or wounded 800 horsemen. As soon as the Gothic infantry got near, Trajans men galloped off shooting from the saddle. They accounted for 200 more Goths before they returned without a single casualty. The Goth horsemen were only armed with lance and sword and their archers wore no armor and would go nowhere without the protection of mail clad spearmen which were very slow of foot. Its no wonder Trajans men had it all their way. The following days more of these raids were conducted. In these skirmishes the Goths lost 4,000 men yet the Goth king Wittich did not draw the conclusion as to their inferior equipment believing the Romans success was merely due to daring. He ordered 500 of his own Royal Lancers to make a similar demonstration on a hill near the Asinarian Gate. In response, Belisarius sent out a thousand Thracian cavalry under Bessas. The Goths were shot to pieces hardly a hundred escaped back to their camp."
"On another occassion, Trajan, the troop commander whos exploits i have already mentioned, was pierced close above the right eye and above the nose by a long barbed head of an arrow. The shaft had been insecurely fastened to it and fell off at the moment of impact. Trajan continued fighting. For days and months after his comrades expected him to drop dead at any moment. But he lived on and suffered no pain or inconvenience, though the barbed head remained imbedded in his flesh. Five years later it began to slowly emerge again. Twelve years more and he was able to pluck it out like a thorn".
The thracians were the best fighters Rome had. They also put up quite a fight against Roman invasion as well before they were subjugated.. Belisarius himself was most likely of thracian stock coming from that land.
i remember it was mentioned that Belisarius was of slavonic stock so probably around that region. And his name is Romanized from "Beli Tsar" meaning white prince.
@@stuka80 modern day Sapareva Banya the name is still in popular use in bulgaria. It's likely the original one without the romanized -US suffix. It's Velizariy
@@stuka80 Pretty sure that's a folk etymology. The Slavs didn't arrive in the region until the seventh century (and the word caesar hadn't turned into tsar yet). It's much more likely to stem from Greek, arrow of Ares.
@@weirdofromhalo you may be right, name etymology isn't really my thing and i just read about it.
If only events like the Plague or war with the Persians didn't happen at this time Belisarius might have been able to restore all of the Western Roman provinces not just Africa,Illyria and Italy. Regardless he is no doubt one of the greatest military generals of late antiquity.
Nah. Not really. It is no coincidence that the Persians struck when they did. The whole campaign in Italy was a massive mistake. It was imperial overstretch and it completely drained the empire of money and resources and the Persians knew it. All it produced were temporary gains and a devastated italy. It thereby ruined the stability of both Italy and of the Byzantine empire itself. There was no chance that Belisarius could have taken on the Franks.
@@Ardunafeth No, what really ruined the economy was the plague. Yes, they spent the money in reserve, but they would have gotten it back if not for the plague.
@@weirdofromhalo exactly, the Plague killed most of Eastern Empire's Tax base.
Well no, they ultimately lost the opportunity to take the Western provinces due to the same reason why Justinian was so successful, his speed. Justinian overstretched his empire to such a point that he was unable to complete the reunification of the empire. Had Justinian waited just a couple more years to consolidate his gains, the conquest of Italy would've been completed in just under a year without a single hitch. Then he could've conquered the Visigoths with little effort, considering how little stability they had, the Franks were already vassals. With Italy's vast resources not destroyed by two decades of near constant warfare, he could've not only fortified it, like the Normans and England or Sicily, to keep out invaders and maintain power, but also build up his empire back to it's former glory.
The romans also took back part of hispania. Also given that it was Narses and not Belisarius who actually ends up finally defeating the Ostrogoths it seems unlikely that anything more would've been added by Belisarius
I was thinking that the siege of Rome deserved a movie, but you actually did it🙂
I think theres one, made in the 1960s if I remember
*Belisarius is a much better general than me. If I told my troops to guard a bridge and they RAN, forcing me to fight a delaying action BY MYSELF, and then, to top it all off, when I pull back and try to enter the city, THEY KEEP THE GATE CLOSED. "Oh boy". Heads would roll buddy. Belisarius is one cool customer.*
Total war generals in a nutshell
Been looking forward to this all week!
One of the most underrated general of all time.
Belisarius is such a legend, i doubt many other generals would have been able to achieve what he did
But emperor imprisoned Belisarius
@@muhammadabdullahy9281 he was pardoned by justinian
@@kool-aidman2797 yea but stripped from his position and honor
@@muhammadabdullahy9281 not emperor but empress it was theodora who did that also he wasebt sent to jail he was stripped of his position and he went to become a farmer and live a peacefull life
@@satanwithinternet2753 from greatest general to poor farmer 😂. But Belisarius recalled when barbarian came to Constantinople
Belusarius makes me tear up how can you be so amazing!
I have always wondered what goes inside the mind of someone with so many great military strategies, the way they think, the ability of having so many plans from A to Z and beyond is just extraordinary
I think its the same that goes in the head of a chess player, but more dynamically
Belisarius had the benefit of being familiar with the tactics of the Germanic tribes and the Sassanids thanks to the Romans' prior experience of dealing with these enemies. Also at this point the ERE has nothing to lose and a lot to gain by reconquering the West
I must say it, I'm so appreciative that there are history channels such as yours that are so dedicated to history and its many details. You are among the greats such as Kings and Generals, History Marche, and Invicta
The most epic narrator for the most epic history channel on youtube, another great video, thanks!
I was guided through Napoleon's reign by the sweet sweet tones of this narrator's voice. It lives rent free in my head.
Some of your best work, thank you!! My fav part might be around 13:43, the awesome music, writing and artwork really make the romans struggle to protect their old capital even more epic
Poor belisarius, he was a loyal general but was suspected of disloyalty for taking Italy back
Which would start a long Byzantine tradition of screwing over their best generals.
@@TheChuckfuc the celebre envy of emperors against their best generals ...even recently, Stalin was envy against Zhukov, winning for USSR the WW2 , but he don't killed him , just exiled him in Siberia giving him a small office in a far away military garrison...until he got pension
The mistrust wasn't entirely unjustified when one looks back at Roman history. The empire had massive problems when it came to successfull generals who used their fame to dictate politics. So Justinian played better safe than sorry
And what's crazy to think about is that the roman emperors that had the best military successes trusted their generals and rewarded them handsomely. Augustus and Agrippa being the cutest of the general/emperor couples.
@@Waeweas Agrippa is a horribly underrated general. Augustus wouldn't be Augustus without him.
Belisarius is vastly underrated as a general.
...by people who had no idea of him prior seening videos like this perhaps.
"after 60 years of barbarian occupation, Rome belongs again to the Romans" holy shit that made me shiver
"Because of him, the city of Romulus and the Caesers, once more belongs to the Roman empire."
Gave me chills. Imagine what this must have meant to them.
It honestly moved me to imagine this situation
Same.
This man did incredible things as a general. I can't remember anyone else who had so many victories with so few soldiers and so many times with lack of all kind of products.
In modern times, only Rommel and Robert E. Lee come to mind. And also in WWI, General Von Lettow-Vorbeck in Southeast Africa Campaign. He once used African honey bees to defend the beach against a British landing. And it worked.
Admiral William Brown comes to mind. Nowhere near the same scale, of course.
@@i.r.s9494 the bee thing is hilarious. Germs should have done that on D Day lol
@@onetwothreefourfive12345 It is a funny story. Look up the Battle of Tanga.
@@i.r.s9494 i will! thanks
It's the 3rd or 4rth time I am watching these videos with Belisarius! Very well done... love em! The music, the narration, the pictures so good, everything is perfect! I know they are difficult to make but please more!
You just can't go wrong with this channel. Literally every video is a classic already.
Belisarius is such an awe-inspiring person. I cant believe i hadn't heard of him before!
Thanks for all your work, one of the best history channel on UA-cam
Well done. I always tried to find a documentary video series about general Belisarius. I look forward to see the next parts.
the fireceness of that calvary charge was devastating, it freaked out the Ostrogoths at the gates of Rome...and they panicked...Brilliant!
You sound like your gonna copy the move lmao
Belisarius entire story is extremely fascinating he managed to defeat the Vandalic kingdoms the Persians, Conquered Rome and he's finial conquest against the Bulgars! Thank you Epic history for covering him
He defeated Persians at Dara heavily but never defeated them as in the sense of winning war over them and on the battlefield he mostly suffered defeats from their hands.
@@paprskomet He defeated them at Dara and managed to keep them at bay from the Roman empire, that's a win for the Romans.
@@denatov Not really.Defeat in similarly large battle at Callinicum(this time it was Belisarius who had numerical advantage)shortly afterwards rendered victory at Dara no longer that important and Persians quited peace talks again.It was only when old king Kavad I died soon after that his successor Khosrow I needed to stabilize his position in Persia and was therefore not interrested in continuing the war and,for the time being, he settled for Justinian's generous bribe for peace.
Amazing video as always EHTV… I love the dynamics of Justinian and Belisarius. Honestly one of my favourite periods of history. Keep up the great work!!
Belisarius is certainly a man of supreme military acumen and worthy of mention among the greatest of its field such as Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar
He was a good general sure, but given he isn't even definitively the best general in the empire at the time, He certainly isn't up there with Hannibal, Alexander or Napoleon
@@AKeane-pi2kw gotta be honest, Alexander is in a league of his own considering he never lost a battle
@@yuhyuh5674 I mean who would wanna turn and flee when their king himself would gladly charge headfirst into the enemy
@@miniatureben3558 let alone the army rallying behind him. Some armies are badly organized so it causes mass desertion
@@yuhyuh5674 not at all, his luck was great not only his enemies like Darius literally fled from the battle just after it began or death of Mennon who had a fantastic strategy to easily cut off Alexander from Greece but he died just before starting it.
Listening to this channel always gives me a reminiscent feeling about the History Channel in it's earlier years until it fell apart due to its alien abduction obsession stories and other ridiculous stories of aliens.Love this channel.
Is it possible, that Bellasarius was actually…An alien? Ancient Astronaut theorists say YES
Belisarius deserves a Historical HBO Show in the tradition of Game of Throne or Rome. He was a character of Truly Epic proportions.
The first time I think Epic History Tv has posted 2 videos consecutively and both of great topics :- The Crusade and Restoration of Rome : Belisarius.
Also can't wait for videos 2nd , 3rd and 4th Crusade to come... 😀
Great Masterpiece... 😎😎
I really love this series, and I know you probably want to finish off with Napoleon, however I think it would be very cool if you'd make a Video of Ranking Napoleons most worthy and smartest military Enemies. Keep up the good work!
archduke charles
As an enemy of napoleon number one spot is taken by
1# wellington: A cactus on napoleons empire in spain
2# Archduke Charles:
very experienced commander at massenas level and even defeated napoleon at aspern and almost won at wagram if not for archdukes john
3# Blucher:
his aggressiveness isnt good but he helped contribute defeats to marshals in german campaign and stopped napoleons advanced to berlin
4# Barclay de tolly:
Scorch earth tactics which is the caused of napoleons campaign in russia to ruin
5# karl von Schwarzenberg:
allied commander and responsible for Napoleons defeat at leipzig with other alied commanders
@@mint8648 Wellington number one won the Peninsular War
@@othernerd3841 Blucher was one serious badass. He'd even cuss out Frederick the Great in his youth.
@@Waeweas
damn...
Wow this is pure artistry. You guys are consistent when it comes to quality and I think I speak for everyone when I say it's truly amazing. Keep up the spectacular work!
This summer i was on a boat cruising Lake Bolsena ( a stunning place on the border between modern Latium and Tuscany) and our guide pointed to a small ruined castle on a island in the middle of the lake, telling us that it was the place were a barbarian princess had been killed in the early middle ages. I thought that story was some kind of legend and instead it was the casus belli of the eastern Romans invasion. Truly fascinating.
The illustrations on these series are amazing.
underrated and underappreciated roman general and history channel. Great job guys! I wish your channel will acquire much more success! cheers
Completely fascinated throughout these first three episodes, and left wanting more. Very well done, thank you.
I’ve been a huge fan of your work for the past two years. Your videos got me through the first lockdown.
Oooh, leaving us on a cliff hangar with none other than the immortal soul, Khosrow.
The soundtrack, voice-work, and artwork are captivating.
Belisarius series is perfect. Thank you Epic History TV.
Would someone show this video to Ridley Scott so he'll make a movie about it? Belisarius deserves a major movie.
No thanks, Hollywood has bastardized enough history already.
@@soapmaker2263 Eh. As long as its epic and enjoyable and somewhat accurate Ill be happy. I just wanna see this story told.
@@waltonsmith7210 You can cut out the accurate part. Better to have no movie then Hollywood accurate movies Ridley Scott included
@@waltonsmith7210 Ridley has not made any good movies since Gladiator. Ok, Kingdom of Heaven but it needs all those deleted scenes tp be watchable
Hell no they would butcher his story
What an episode in History
After so long Romans finally take their ancestral Home back and defend it with everything they can. We can only imagine how it must have felt for a roman soldier to retake and defend that sacred place where everything started, the city of Caesar and Augustus.
Belisarius deserves the highest honors history can grant someone. What an figure
I absolutely love the videos, keep it up! Some of these stories are so insane, it makes me thankful for those who document and present them.
The Empire Strikes Back. This brings tears to my eyes. To see what could have been if more men like him existed.
11:20 The art in these videos is alwasy so well done and historically accurate.
Belisarius was the last military genius that the world saw for many centuries. What a shame. Loved this video. You have a great series on your hands Epic History TV.
Nope
i mean Khalid Ibn Al Waleed showed up 100 years later so I wouldn’t say centuries
@@johnnyboy3410---Okay. With the exception of that guy.
Amazing video, the production quality is beyond belief!
The Gothic war was the final ruin of Rome, even worse than the visigoth, vandal and ostrogoth invasions.
It destroyed the comerce and the infrastructure of the cities, caused the Senate, the old patrician families and the intelligentsia to disband, destroyed all the remaining roman culture and civil institutions and opened the Italian peninsula to the Lombard invasion.
The plague and Islamic invasion made imperial restoration impossible, turned Italy into a conglomerate of sub-entities open to french and german invasions and made Rome as depopulated and ruinous as Detroit and its monuments turned into quarries. If only Justinian had known the colossal mistake he was making ...
Thank you for making history fun and interesting! I cant help but wonder what we could've accomplished by now if we weren't so busy fighting eachother all the time. That being said, conquests across multiple continents like this are still an impressive display of determination and capability. To cover all that ground in a lifetime using ships, horses, wagons and boots is hard to imagine now, with or without all the battles!
It truly stuns me how, time after time, Belisarius was able to do so much with so little.
Absolutely incredible series. The artwork is fantastic. Love the depiction of Justinian though it's different from what I'm used to (in a good way). He looks like a proper Roman. And the characters standing in front of the Pantheon is so damn cool. Damn fine work Epic History!!
And what your "proper Roman" should look like?
7:10 imagine having the balls of BALL-isarious and sailing to Carthage with 100 soldiers against 9000 rebels
When aliens start attacking our planet, humanity will be lucky to have Belisarius, reincarnated to defend it...
The information , the production , the animation . I hope I can be even a fragment of your brilliance .
On December 9 2021, Epic History TV was about to be crowned emperor of all history channels. History has never seen such a rapid and dramatic rise to power at 1.21 million subscribers!
excellent production. The graphics are of good quality and tastefully presented. The music is well integrated. Research, writing and narration superb.
I am fanboying over Belisarius immensely right now❤️😂👍👍
Thx🏆🥇
Belisarius is just so inspiring...I know the numbers were probably inflated but still...
Dr. Parnell is such a good professor and I have had the privilege to have him be my professor for several of my History major courses. Good work on this series it definitely helped me visualize this important time-period better!
Happy again to be of service!
The mods I used were Age of Justinian 555 AD and Hazard's Reshade Preset
A TV series on Belisarius would be brilliant
OK, just can't let that one go. The reason Belisarius had so few troops wasn't because of the emperor's supreme confidence in him, it was because Justinian was paranoid and was afraid Belisarius' renown would grow so great that he'd make a grab to be emperor himself, and hence Justinian denied him enough troops to make such a bid. He showered Narses with troops because Narses was a eunuch and hence was ineligible for the throne.
Thats some good stuff. The quality of your videos is superb. Also including footage from Attila total war is genius
Retaking Rome. Pure Happiness.
Another amazing work. Super happy to see channels like this still going.
As an American with Greek descent, thank you for this series from the bottom of my mosaic soul.
in the honor of Stilicho, Majorion, Aurelian, and so many more, LET'S SEE THOSE CASUALTY LISTS, **cue Ode to Joy**
Edited: grammar mistakes
These videos are so epic! From storytelling to artwork! Love em!
Damn, the way you made the animations is amaizing an the video is also very interesting to watch!
Keep up the amaizing work!
Background Music, narrating, graphics, all BEST OF THE BEST. Thank You!
I was waiting for this episode great job Epic History !
This was amazing. Thank you.
Great video! Seen lots of videos on Belisarius' videos and this has been the most comprehensive!
best history channel on the internet, bar none. fantastic work as always
having the inscription on the pantheon naming marcus agrippa at 17:35 was a very nice touch
The Narrator's impressive voice is making this channel EPIC in its true sense.
Antonina was such a badass, she just throws the Pope out of Rome
Great part 3 is here! Thank you EHTV
Good tribute to one of the greatest roman who ever lived.
Obrigado como sempre!
This was incredible, great work!
Belisarius the only general second to Caesar himself ! But is almost underrated and forgotten.
Seeing a resurgent empire is so inspiring to see.
A great emperor, a legendary commander, a diverse lineup of troops, a formidable economy and the patriotic people of Italy finally fighting to help the Romans reclaim their empire.
Things were shaping up so well but the damn plague had to hit. This whole story feels like a spin-off story that was never meant to be
An empire fights back but fate is sometimes fickle.
Hail to Belisarius! Procopius for telling us how it was, and this channel for this video!
If only Justinian fully trusted Belisarius as Augustus trusted Agrippa.
But then the slow decline of the Roman Empire was not due to any mighty rival but infighting. The key that the barbarian tribes used to open the doors to the Empire.
That's what defines great emperor from ok. Justinian was one of the best emperor Eastern Rome had, but it doesnt say much. Most of them were really incompetent. Augustus was on another level entirely.
The plague did not help at all, killing millions which affected the tax base and therefore the ability to field armies etc.
To be fair, it's understandable why Justinian didn't fully trust Belisarius, he probably feared that if Belisarius got too powerful he would rebel. And this has happened throughout Roman history. Ricimer who had served alongside Majorian under Aetius was a close friend of Majorian but even he betrayed him in the end. Justinian probably felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
And there's the plague which devastated the empire, the consequences of that epidemic meant Justinian couldn't send more troops west even if he wanted to as he had lost so much manpower and the cost of raising troops would be too high after the devastation caused by the plague and he had to deal with the Persians, who at the moment were lead by one of the greatest Sassanids to have existed Khosrow I "The Immortal".
Seriously! how has there not been a movie made about Belisarius!
What a wonderful video! This has been a terrific series so far. ⚔️🐎🏹
These videos are awesome! The narrator has an engaging voice that keeps my interest.
Staying true to its name Epic History releases another great episode.
Im curious as to what is the second most requested topic
To me, Belisarius was truly Rome's last greatest General.
Shout out again to Procopius for basically writing all these vids
The Great General who brought the light of Rome back to Italy, realised Justinian the Great's dream. Renovatio Imperii! Roma Invicta!