Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS: clcr.me/fj8nLJ ✅ ANDROID: clcr.me/PaJGIb ✅ PC: clcr.me/QJZ792 And get a special starter pack 💥Available only for the next 30 days
Metatron Howdy! How are you feeling? I just finished my junior year in university and I will be a senior this fall! I go to one of the best senior military colleges in the USA!
PLEASE tell me your endorsement of Raid: Shady Ledgers is SARCASTIC in nature? From what I've been hearing about it, it's a SHAMELESSLY pay to win game.
@@ezrafaulk3076 It is absolutely, i installed it awhile ago to try it out. Got paywalled within the first hour. You literally cant go anywhere without paying
"The hastati, triarii and principes all had spears, everyone had spears" Why i imagined those tv shows where they give the audience gifts, but like with the caesar as host, screaming _YOU GET A SPEAR, YOU GET A SPEAR, EVERYOONEE GET A SPEAAR!_ Pointy stick rules.
Legionaries during the late Republic and Principate basically had spears too. Most varieties of pila were sturdy enough to be used as a spear. Its primary use was a throwing weapon like a javelin, but using it as a spear in melee was pretty common and was attested to in the writings of Caesar, Plutarch, Arrian, etc.
@@Intranetusa This is what I was thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if carrying two pila was done with the purpose of carrying one for throwing and one for use in melee combat. And like Metatron mentioned, Romans used the Phalanx, and a pilum is just as good for that purpose as a spear.
Here's an interesting fact. While usually, you can find Greek latinized words in the Latin languages, "Hastatoi" might be one of the rare occasions when Greeks loaned a Latin word into theirs. In Greece we say the weather will be "astatos", meaning bad weather with clouds and windy. Could it be, that it came from a metaphor, for when Roman armies used their Hastatoi to throw their hasta and cover the sky in shade for a moment??? I think it might be so. Greetings from Greece!
I'm OK with the ad even though its the worst game but next time try and sound sarcastic throughout the ad. It's amazing how much raid must be spending to annoy me with a pay to win game I'll never play.
He emphasises the fact that if you do this, you support the channel. You don't actually have to play the thing. Skallagrim was also sponsored by Raid a couple of times, but he openly gave up on them. I am sure Metatron will follow aswell in the future, once he will feel comfortable with it.
Truly the Romans use of the Gladius with a Scutum proves that thinking outside the box can lead to great success. Prime example of swords as primary weapons alongside large shields, though as you said, Romans regularly used throwing spears, javelins, pilum as their primary spears. Plus throwing darts for more missile weaponry. Truly the Romans were inventive and adaptable. Unrelated note for a future video idea. I would love to see tests with side by side comparisons of ax blows, hammer blows, and "murder strokes" from sword cross-guards and pommels. My guess is the swords will by nature of only having a thin blade to grip onto, be less effective, even though the weight of the striking force is now at the far end just like the ax and hammer. Still much better impact than striking hard surfaces with the blade alone. Always been curious how effective reversing a sword to hit like a hammer is to the real thing and how it compares to axes on resistant targets! Especially since sword "murder strokes" are shown in the historical manuals. I also theorize a stiffer blade should behave more effectively as a handle for murder strokes, with less flex on impact and so more force transferred to the target. Flexible blades should in theory lose more force, but how much, if at all I'm curious to see. It would be great to see tests done by different channels (Like ThegnThrand, Shadiversity, Skallagrim, Scholagladitoria, Tod's Workshop, Modern History TV, Lindybeige or anyone else who wants to try it) using multiple targets. Many different swords to test both 1 and 2 handed as well. Might even make for good video series to test more targets then compare the results. Additionally I think thinner or sharper pointed sword cross-guards may provide more penetration than axes to certain targets. Exactly what types might qualify I am very interested to find out with the tests! Now instead use the back spike on a ax and a war hammer and I believe they both should outperform the sword's cross-guard, but who knows? Maybe the swords will surprise us. As with any holding onto blades test, although it can be done without gloves so long as the blade doesn't slide in your hand, better to wear thick sturdy gloves for safety, improved grip and to absorb the shock from impact. As always thanks for the great content. Stay safe in these crazy times! Fight on with Dreams and Honor! The Metatron has spread his wings!
It wasnt so much that they had better equipment or better training or were physically superior (romans low protein diet actually meant they were physically weaker then their barbarian enemies) but their greatest streanghts were their flexibility and adaptability. When they got beat by Iberian swordsmen, they copied the sword, when they got beat by cataphracts, they copied the heavy cavalry. Compare them to say Athens or Sparta who relied heavily on a hopolite phalanx where men mostly just used a spear and a shield you can see why having all that gear made legionaires so deadly.
So, Roman soldiers would first become Hastati, but don't get a Hasta (spear) because those are actually used by the Triarii, and fight in first line even though "first" means "Principes" who actually fought in the second line. I guess counting wasn't their strong point...
I love there History I don't think I'd love them that much if they'd be Invading my homeland or subjugating my people! No I'd pretty much think "Fcuking Roman's What Have They Ever Done For Us? Well Apart From Building Roads, Law & Order, Schools, Housing, Fresh Water To Drink, Bath Houses And Of Course Crucifixion! Apart From All That What Have They Ever Done For Us?"
@@che71che there scammers on UA-cam we had a fight them they are called what is called Wendy vegan Parlour winter and Tom Babybot and Tom and call Tom Babybot got eaten by a shark
To the people annoyed by the sponsor: Please understand it's not his real opinion, he has a script he *has* to follow in order to get paid. He hates Raid just as much as the rest of us. Try not to skip the plug either because UA-cam tracks what we watch. Support our noble teacher by letting the ad play so he gets paid and we get to learn from him!
Noooo! Raid Shadow Legends got you too :(....I played the game for 2 months n never got a Legendary Champion(little did I know that that was the best thing that could have happened to me in that game). Anyhow ad revenue is helpful n necessary :)
I appreciate your open mind. I'm playing it and my gf was into that game actually and told me she liked it when she had it. It's funny how people just cannot believe a creator might actually really enjoy a game. (Of course not your case). Clearly the revenue part is fundamental too, people tend to forget I was sick and couldn't work for almost 20 days which had a massive impact on my revenue.
Technically not ad revenue. It's a sponsor, which is important because ad revenue from UA-cam isn't consistent nor reliable and, from what I understand, when you're lucky enough for your video to be actually monetized, the ad revenue that you get from it is pretty pitiful. This is why most UA-camrs rely on Patreon and sponsors these days.
Soo, am I the only one that can't help but to picture comments like "Noooo! Raid Shadow Legends got you too :(..." as the bugs from those old Raid bug spray commercials? lol "Raaaaaiiiiiiiiid?!" *gets sprayed and explodes* Honestly though, Raid shadow legends does more for a lot youtubers at this point then youtube does so I say hell yeah get that money! I grew up in the era of watching the same damn 5 commercials for hours so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I at least know actually helping the content I really enjoy. Oh and great video! ;) Cheers!
Same. My favorite sword would be a hand and a half sword (Personally, I really like Templar/crusader swords.) But my number 1 single hand sword would be the spatha with a scutum. Hell, give me a spear, hand and a half sword as a backup, and a scutum, and I'd be set.
@@patrickleonard7008 I know, let´s call it late western roman to high medieval western european. If you want to be that specific. Because the Byzantine equipment changed a lot compared to late western roman euqiment. One could also compare the euqiment change from the roman empire from its first start into the medieval eastern romans until its fall
I think you underrate the sling, especially compared to the bow. Ancient bows were garbage. but slings were devastating weapons, especially with lead bullets, and during sieges even the non-specialists used staff slings. At 15:36 did you actually say the pilum has better range than a sling? Look more into slings, you seem to have a serious misunderstanding of them.
Very informative and well presented! Thank you. A couple of questions, though. If people had, generally, less armour in the classical period than medieval times, why wasn't the bow used even more by classical armies? Surely, if it works - as it did - against even plate to a degree, surely it would be devastating to soldiers weary light or no armour? How much were auxiliary forces integrated into the roman army? Were they trained in the roman ways of war, so to speak, or more left to their own devices?
I think spears are most effective when used in a good formation - throwing pilums disrupted the formation and then the gladius was probably better. I think it'S the combination that made it so deadly. But it's just my thoughts.
I love it. You should do a video looking at skyrim armor mods and seeing if they are historically accurate or not! You could do this for any era to be honest.
the slingers were highly effective when Bassus used them against Pacorus keeping the horse archers from flanking with arrows and getting too close minimizing their attack.
Awesome as always! Have some random questions that have been in the back of my mind though… How did a typical Roman soldier who actually survived a term of service ‘cash out’ his career? Did his legion give him some sort of proof to show anyone in the empire “this is my pension and this is my land“? Did Roman armies have any kind of record keepers to ensure soldiers weren’t lying? Who actually paid that pension / assigned land? Was there any kind of standard veteran affairs service to soldiers after service, or was it all legion by legion? What if that legion was disbanded? Who would take over paying his pension or would the soldier simply be screwed? OK it’s kind of a few questions 😋. Would love to see you do a video on the end of a soldiers career!
Foot soldiers, often conscripted, were not paid. They got rations of salt and other provisions during their time served, but only officers got land after their service. Land is rare, soldiers are not.
The use of the hasta rises again for legionaries (and not only heavy melee auxiliaries, especially after Caracalla's edict which nullified their differences in 212) during the Severan era and throughout the 3rd century AD (Middle Imperial period), to the point that during Diocletian's reforms in 284/5 that "created" the Late Roman army, the pila were phased out. Ironic to see heavy Roman infantry "going back" to "hoplite" tactics, in a sense.
Spears are cheaper. Plus with the reorganization of the Legions into Limitanei, Comitatensis, and Alae its hard to tell if the Limitanei were just Militia, or fully trained regulars that fought the same way as the mobile field army of the Emperor (Comitatensis) which further raises the question of if they were equipped the same way. Its likely the change occured because of political reasons, so were the border armies purposefully equipped inferior to their Imperial Army counterparts, or were the Alae the real difference? Problem is we don't really know because it was either never written down or was lost.
Dear Metartron great video as always. I´m very interest in roman history. It will be interesting if you could do a video about the Bizantine armor and weapons
It must have been shocking for other civilizations used to less-organized methods of warfare to suddenly face the Romans and watch in horror as many of their modes of warfare are neutralized by them immediately. Cavalry gets broken to bits by archers, pila and plumbatae; their own archers are rendered practically useless by the Roman testudo; getting smashed to bits from afar by ballistae and catapults; and finally reaching melee range only to face that big-ass shield and getting stabbed by a thick-ass gladius. Very telling that many of their methods and philosophy of warfare survive to this day. I'm a US Army veteran, and even in basic training, we got a bit of military history teaching, and they immediately mentioned that modern logistics and combat engineering get their origin from the Romans. Truly an amazing civilization. EDIT: If you haven't done one yet, I would LOVE to see you make a video about Roman combat engineering.
I appreciate your content but even though i am most likely asking this because i am Iranian but would you make a video about the Iranian empire based on whichever era you would like?
If you're ok with spoken english, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast did a 3 part series on the Achaemenid Persian Empire that totals over 12 hours of sweet historical goodness
Ho una laurea in lingue e culutre comparate, quindi c'è principalmente lingua e un po' di storia, il resto e passione personale. Il C1 comunque è un ottimo raggiungimento. Io ho un C2 ma l'ho preso solo perché ho avuto l'opportunità di vivere in Inghilterra da ragazzino.
6:43 not surprising. It works the same in Turkish. Bow means “Yay” (pronounced “Yai”, sounds like Japanese) and Arrow means “Ok” (pronounced “Ohk” like saying Oak very fast). Archer translates to “Okçu” (pronounced “Ohk-Chu”).
I love everything ancient Greco-Roman. I wish I had the patience to read because while videos like this are cool,they don't have the same info as books
No 1. A sophisticated bureaucracy that allowed them to organized resources, train, and provide logistical support on a scale not matched by their opponents.
UA-cam transcribe: "Maybe you might go an entire battle without dropping your weapon or being disarmed, you never know. And therefore for these situations you would carry a book. A book will also be something you always have on you." Glad to see the romans appreciated good literature
It's always fun how the bottom of the list is all the cool, obscure weapons, then the most effective weapons are invariably basic things like conventional swords and normal spears. Because as neat as the more obscure weapons are, the common ones were common for a reason. When it came to killing the enemy, for thousands and thousands of years, your best bet was either a big knife or a pointy stick.
Is a "Plumbatae" the weapon the Illiad refers to when a "Dart" is mentioned? The notes in the book I read claims that Dart refers to "arrow", but they're described as being used by people in the midst of battle, and people otherwise using swords, rather than archers or crossbowmen.
please metatron XD we want more videos about the roman empire during the middle age...underestimated period for the empire that only a few talk about it and are interested. more i study this period of time for the empire and more i love it.
I think it would be an interesting discussion to speculate on how Rome would have evolved their military had the core of the Empire survived into the Middle Ages, let's say assuming the western, northern and African parts break off into their nations as occurred in real history, but rather then the Italian, and maybe Greek and Macedonian parts of Rome breaking off into separate city states, the core of the Empire is able to hold it together and regroup and endures into the Middle Ages, while Castile, Aragon, Portugal, France, England, etc all form as they did. How would Rome have adapted their Legions, navies and tactics to the Medieval armies of France, Germany, England and eventual Spain?
I was patiently waiting through the video and was surprised to not see the gladius make its appearance. Little did I know that it would take the first spot. Save the best for last.
0:59 : Yes, and sometimes deadly effective at that. Just take the famous fight between king David of Isreal and Goliath for example. At the time of the fight, David was nothing more than a shepherd boy and Goliath was a 3 meter tall guy... Well, at least it was easier to hit a large target I guess, so maybe not that good to be tall after all...
...I finally know where lawn darts game came from; it was from when soldiers were in camp and bored, so they would set rings on the ground and lobb their plumbatae to the sets of rings for points or coins for whoever got closest or in the ring...
I'm not sure why the Romans would have thought throwing their spear (javelin) at the enemy was a good idea. Even if your throw hit's an enemy soldier, another can pick it up and use it against you. Giving the enemy free weapons doesn't seem like a good idea to me. It's not like arrows, where only enemy archers could really use them. Anybody can pick up a spear and use it.
As far as I know, they were used mainly as a way to buffer the first skirmishes that would take place. If they expend all of their pilum before they charge, it would force the other line to shield themselves and brace. This would not be face to face, but likely distances of less than 50 feet.
the gladius i thinkbwas more of a psicological weapon, if you only got a short sword you gotta get stuck in and kill or be killed, if you got a long spear you can hang back and throw casual thrusts at the enemy without getting too close for comfort
A stone or bullet from a sling may not kill an opponent with a helmet, but if it stuns him for a few seconds or injures a limb, it makes it easier for a legionnaire to engage and kill him.
Can you a video on the Parthian and Marcomannic wars during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus? Specifically how the Romans became more effective against the Parthians since Carrahe?
If u seen enemies go down from a guy throwing these next to u, it must help with morale. It must of felt like game over when u see a wall of roman shields and a rain of projectiles coming at u.
I would have put pilum over the gladius, solely because the pilum is likely the only reason that the gladius replaced the spear as the roman's main weapon.
Metatron I am working on a concept for a for book. Of a modern soldier that is transported to a different world. He a historian and his family were blacksmiths so he grew up around horses. The question I keep asking myself besides Saddles, Sturgis, and Bridals. What are their weapons and armor could he introduced to get a technological advantage to a group of people that have had a regression in technology? Like post fall Roman Empire. Like very early feudal society. If you know some books or something on that or have any ideas and Concepts I would love to hear it. Thank you for your time.
When you think of the technological regression you need to think about Civil Technologies regressing, not military. Think sanitation and centers of learning. A high medieval army (remove firearms and cannons) would absolutely fuck a 1st/2nd Century Roman Legion up. The advantage the Romans had were professionalism and discipline, the professional armies in the medieval era were mercenaries with access to about 900 years of weapons advancement. Just think of the halberd, billhook, poleaxe, and bardiche. All of those weapons are extremely versatile, able to cut and pierce, as well as apply bludgeoning damage to solid plate. Plus the metallurgy was significantly better.
Regarding Archers its hard to imagine that there would not be some macho prestige in shooting a heavy bow. While we know that romans used composite bows we dont know anything about the drawnweight (i think). Scythian bows are repported to have been 80pounds or more and these predates the Romans.
hello Mr. Metatron, how's the situation in your area? Is everything alright for you now? We're glad you're alright and updating us with constant stream of knowledge. Cheers!
Top 10 roman weapons that are more effective than mr bias' choices: 10: The pike. The romans made use of pikes during the time of the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas to form those squares with missile troops behind that everyone hates in total war games for being low skilled OP noob strats, Phokas used these tactics to conquer Syria. 9: The majra. Allegedly developed by the blue turks in the 5th century AD to counter chinese crossbows, the majra was an arrow guide that not only allowed the roman bowmen to shoot shorter arrows or even crossbow bolts with their normal bows, but these also had a much greater range than arrows shot the normal way. 8: The kite shield. Unlike the clunky, awful scutums of the late republican/early imperial legions, the kite shield offered almost identical protection as it's rectangular predecessors but weighed significantly less due to it tapering downwards so as to still cover the legs while minimizing encumbrance. The earliest record we have of the romans using kite shields is from the Sylloge Tacticorum which was written in 902 AD. 7: The menavlion. The menavlion was a special semi-pike developed to counter armoured heavy cavalry charges. To get through the horse armour and stop the charging beast it had a spearhead with a point around half a meter long, it's shaft was made of a single tree between 2,8 and 3,7 meters long and was as thick as the menavlion's wielder could hold so as to make sure it could resist the force of a horse at full canter. 6: The dane axe. While not necessarily a roman weapon, it did see a lot of usage by the emperor's bodyguards which was composed of northerners wielding these great axes. 5: The bow. While Metatron did mention bows in his list, he didn't mention that archers were drawn from the citizenry in the later period and where a huge portion of the army. People from the lowliest of the skirmishers to the noblest of cataphracts would make use of bows in some way or another. Emperors like Maurice and Leo Vi lamented how archery had fallen out of practice in the roman empire and later sources say almost half of the roman infantry was composed of archers carrying hundreds of arrows each. 4: The lamellar quirass It isn't a weapon, but the lamellar cuirass - or as the romans called it, the klivanion, was a great innovation to roman armour design. It could weigh significantly less than armours like the segmentata while offering more protection since the plates that comprised it could be made a lot thinner were thickness wasn't needed than on segmentata. This allowed for full covering of the upper arms down to the elbows and also meant that klivanions could be thicker than segmentata where it was needed which was a great addition since the romans at this time were fighting heavy cavalry using both stirrups and couched lances. Leo VI says in his Taktika that all of the roman horsemen should wear these in addition to their maille coats. 3: The saber The saber was introduced by some turks or avars at some point, before the 11th century at least but I don't know when exactly. Have you seen those warriors from the roman empire? They have curved swords! Curved. Swords. 2: The caltrop. A thing with four spikes that hurt when you step on it, very painful to step on and can neutralise cavalry entirely if there are enough of them. Used from at least the 6th century right to the end. 1: Prepared fire. The holy capital of the roman empire Constantinople would surely have fallen without this legendary liquid fire. It's composition is lost to this day as it was a roman state secret, this is because it was quite lethal and records state it was capable of incinerating entire ships when blasted through the for-mounted siphons of the roman war galleys. A hand held variant was later developed that was used both in boarding actions and by generals on land to shatter hostile infantry formations.
In the 902 A.d. the Western roman Empire has already fallen, this is a list of weapons that concern the western one/the times where it was unified. And other than the kite shield you mentioned almost exlusively weapons of the Byzantine Empire.
Well, this list might be valid if you consider the bizantine empire as "roman". Most people I know accept the end of the roman (and classical) period with the fall of Rome in 476AD. Your list therefore miss the period he's talking about.
Aside from being such tight-ass arrogant, you are talking of the widely accepted as the Byzantine Empire. Although being Roman descendants, they where and are considered an Empire different from the Western and Classical Empire.
As I understand, a man from a conquered nations could enlist as an auxialiary and, after some years of service, be granted roman citizenship (somehow like the french foreign legion).
If you are paid by another country to fight for them, you are mercenary. But its a matter of semantics whether they count as "other country" or as "subjects".
In the beginning yes,but later on they were simple recruited from tribes of non roman origin who provided more specialiced troops and serfed in order to get citezenship
Install Raid for Free ✅ IOS: clcr.me/fj8nLJ ✅ ANDROID: clcr.me/PaJGIb ✅ PC: clcr.me/QJZ792
And get a special starter pack 💥Available only for the next 30 days
Metatron Howdy! How are you feeling? I just finished my junior year in university and I will be a senior this fall! I go to one of the best senior military colleges in the USA!
PLEASE tell me your endorsement of Raid: Shady Ledgers is SARCASTIC in nature? From what I've been hearing about it, it's a SHAMELESSLY pay to win game.
Hello
@@ezrafaulk3076
It is absolutely, i installed it awhile ago to try it out. Got paywalled within the first hour. You literally cant go anywhere without paying
No homo but you look handsome af rn liking the hair
Rome's most powerful weapon: Raid Shadow Legends
Great video!
NOICE
"The hastati, triarii and principes all had spears, everyone had spears"
Why i imagined those tv shows where they give the audience gifts, but like with the caesar as host, screaming _YOU GET A SPEAR, YOU GET A SPEAR, EVERYOONEE GET A SPEAAR!_
Pointy stick rules.
Gaul among the viewers "AND YOU GET A SPEAR TO THE FACE"
Alternative history Oprah. YOU GET A SPEAR. YOU GET A SPEAR. AND YOU GET A SPEAR.
The late republic: the spearmen carry swords, and the first men are in the second line.
It is sort of disturbing that the TV shows and games usually give you the impression that the Romans use nothing but gladius and pilum.
it's pointy! 😁
The entire setting makes you look like a legionnaire time traveler who already adapted to modern times. Brilliant!
Maybe it is
This is my new canon
Bro you got that description point. I was thinkin something like that but I definitely wouldn’t have said it that way.
17:50 Gotcha moment
Spearmen: Noo, you can not just close the distance!
Legionair: Haha, gladius goes stab, stab.
Only because of his big scrotum.
@@madao7865 The big scutum also helped though.
Legionaries during the late Republic and Principate basically had spears too. Most varieties of pila were sturdy enough to be used as a spear. Its primary use was a throwing weapon like a javelin, but using it as a spear in melee was pretty common and was attested to in the writings of Caesar, Plutarch, Arrian, etc.
@@Intranetusa This is what I was thinking. I wouldn't be surprised if carrying two pila was done with the purpose of carrying one for throwing and one for use in melee combat. And like Metatron mentioned, Romans used the Phalanx, and a pilum is just as good for that purpose as a spear.
Here's an interesting fact. While usually, you can find Greek latinized words in the Latin languages, "Hastatoi" might be one of the rare occasions when Greeks loaned a Latin word into theirs. In Greece we say the weather will be "astatos", meaning bad weather with clouds and windy. Could it be, that it came from a metaphor, for when Roman armies used their Hastatoi to throw their hasta and cover the sky in shade for a moment??? I think it might be so. Greetings from Greece!
Learning about the Romans is beginning to be really fascinating for me
Might I suggest the channel Invicta and Epimetheus if you never heard of them? They mostly do ancient era history, Good Stuff
I ♥️ the Romans als their weapons and armor also Gladius is the best 👍👍👍.
:< Raid shadow legend CRINGE
(Man's gotta eat thou)
Thank you for understanding I really appreciate it.
@@metatronyt Eh, I'd throw a few bucks in the hat if I could afford it right now. Stay safe out there.
I'm OK with the ad even though its the worst game but next time try and sound sarcastic throughout the ad.
It's amazing how much raid must be spending to annoy me with a pay to win game I'll never play.
@@jtbwilliams If he is insincere they will not approve of the video.
Have you seen the contract people have to sign? It's pretty epic.
He emphasises the fact that if you do this, you support the channel. You don't actually have to play the thing. Skallagrim was also sponsored by Raid a couple of times, but he openly gave up on them. I am sure Metatron will follow aswell in the future, once he will feel comfortable with it.
Truly the Romans use of the Gladius with a Scutum proves that thinking outside the box can lead to great success. Prime example of swords as primary weapons alongside large shields, though as you said, Romans regularly used throwing spears, javelins, pilum as their primary spears. Plus throwing darts for more missile weaponry. Truly the Romans were inventive and adaptable.
Unrelated note for a future video idea. I would love to see tests with side by side comparisons of ax blows, hammer blows, and "murder strokes" from sword cross-guards and pommels. My guess is the swords will by nature of only having a thin blade to grip onto, be less effective, even though the weight of the striking force is now at the far end just like the ax and hammer. Still much better impact than striking hard surfaces with the blade alone. Always been curious how effective reversing a sword to hit like a hammer is to the real thing and how it compares to axes on resistant targets! Especially since sword "murder strokes" are shown in the historical manuals.
I also theorize a stiffer blade should behave more effectively as a handle for murder strokes, with less flex on impact and so more force transferred to the target. Flexible blades should in theory lose more force, but how much, if at all I'm curious to see. It would be great to see tests done by different channels (Like ThegnThrand, Shadiversity, Skallagrim, Scholagladitoria, Tod's Workshop, Modern History TV, Lindybeige or anyone else who wants to try it) using multiple targets. Many different swords to test both 1 and 2 handed as well.
Might even make for good video series to test more targets then compare the results.
Additionally I think thinner or sharper pointed sword cross-guards may provide more penetration than axes to certain targets. Exactly what types might qualify I am very interested to find out with the tests! Now instead use the back spike on a ax and a war hammer and I believe they both should outperform the sword's cross-guard, but who knows? Maybe the swords will surprise us.
As with any holding onto blades test, although it can be done without gloves so long as the blade doesn't slide in your hand, better to wear thick sturdy gloves for safety, improved grip and to absorb the shock from impact.
As always thanks for the great content. Stay safe in these crazy times! Fight on with Dreams and Honor!
The Metatron has spread his wings!
It wasnt so much that they had better equipment or better training or were physically superior (romans low protein diet actually meant they were physically weaker then their barbarian enemies) but their greatest streanghts were their flexibility and adaptability. When they got beat by Iberian swordsmen, they copied the sword, when they got beat by cataphracts, they copied the heavy cavalry. Compare them to say Athens or Sparta who relied heavily on a hopolite phalanx where men mostly just used a spear and a shield you can see why having all that gear made legionaires so deadly.
So, Roman soldiers would first become Hastati, but don't get a Hasta (spear) because those are actually used by the Triarii, and fight in first line even though "first" means "Principes" who actually fought in the second line. I guess counting wasn't their strong point...
Or naming things. Ha.
I love the Roman Empire and I love history
Justin Mckay I do too
@@Daiki_Rengoku yes now
I love there History I don't think I'd love them that much if they'd be Invading my homeland or subjugating my people!
No I'd pretty much think
"Fcuking Roman's What Have They Ever Done For Us?
Well Apart From Building Roads, Law & Order, Schools, Housing, Fresh Water To Drink, Bath Houses And Of Course Crucifixion! Apart From All That What Have They Ever Done For Us?"
@@che71che there scammers on UA-cam we had a fight them they are called what is called Wendy vegan Parlour winter and Tom Babybot and Tom and call Tom Babybot got eaten by a shark
@@justinmckay6309 You've completely lost me somewhere at
We had to fight them
The most effective Roman weapons :-
Subscribers. 😁
Can’t not to say it:
“INCREDIIIBIIILIIIIS!!”
ETIAM
TE AFFLIGAM !
INCONTINENS
*pisses myself*
A video on most effective European blunt weapons would be lovely.
After playing Mordhau, apparently its the maul.
Bonus points if you have no shirt and jump around like a spaz
Roman shitposters are something else. You can always find quality content in Roman History. Keep up the work.
To the people annoyed by the sponsor: Please understand it's not his real opinion, he has a script he *has* to follow in order to get paid. He hates Raid just as much as the rest of us.
Try not to skip the plug either because UA-cam tracks what we watch. Support our noble teacher by letting the ad play so he gets paid and we get to learn from him!
İt's still Annoying
I do miss the, "Greetings noble ones" salute.
Strategic weapons: 10 - Silk; 9 - Bureau of Barbarians; 8 - Engineering Corps; 7 - Liquid Fire; 6 - Themata/Tagmata system; 5 - Professional Logistics Corps; 4 - Military Manuals; 3 - Constantinople; 2 - Orthodoxy; 1 - Nomismata
Personal weapons: 10 - Paramerion; 9 - Spatha; 8 - Plumbata; 7 - Staff Sling; 6 - Kontos; 5 - Menaulion; 4 - Dane Axe; 3 - Composite Recurve Bow; 2 - Flanged Mace; 1 - Fire Siphon
Noooo! Raid Shadow Legends got you too :(....I played the game for 2 months n never got a Legendary Champion(little did I know that that was the best thing that could have happened to me in that game). Anyhow ad revenue is helpful n necessary :)
Welcome to the dark side !
I appreciate your open mind. I'm playing it and my gf was into that game actually and told me she liked it when she had it. It's funny how people just cannot believe a creator might actually really enjoy a game. (Of course not your case). Clearly the revenue part is fundamental too, people tend to forget I was sick and couldn't work for almost 20 days which had a massive impact on my revenue.
man's gotta make a living.
@@metatronyt I dont think many are offended by it, its just funny that its EVERYWHERE. Their marketing budget must rival romes military budget
Technically not ad revenue. It's a sponsor, which is important because ad revenue from UA-cam isn't consistent nor reliable and, from what I understand, when you're lucky enough for your video to be actually monetized, the ad revenue that you get from it is pretty pitiful. This is why most UA-camrs rely on Patreon and sponsors these days.
Soo, am I the only one that can't help but to picture comments like "Noooo! Raid Shadow Legends got you too :(..." as the bugs from those old Raid bug spray commercials? lol
"Raaaaaiiiiiiiiid?!" *gets sprayed and explodes*
Honestly though, Raid shadow legends does more for a lot youtubers at this point then youtube does so I say hell yeah get that money! I grew up in the era of watching the same damn 5 commercials for hours so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I at least know actually helping the content I really enjoy.
Oh and great video! ;)
Cheers!
Thank you very much, It shows you are a true supporter
I like the spatha. It have the reach but can still stab like the gladius.
I just love Anglo-Saxon/viking-ish era sword, so I'll have my pick on the Spatha as well
Same. My favorite sword would be a hand and a half sword (Personally, I really like Templar/crusader swords.) But my number 1 single hand sword would be the spatha with a scutum. Hell, give me a spear, hand and a half sword as a backup, and a scutum, and I'd be set.
same. i can't see why gladius is put higher when spatha is just a better gladius
Zweihander is where its at.
It would nice if you would compare late roman soldiers equippment to high medieval equippment...
Well, they were contemporaries. We just called the Romans of that time Byzantines.
@@patrickleonard7008
I know, let´s call it late western roman to high medieval western european. If you want to be that specific. Because the Byzantine equipment changed a lot compared to late western roman euqiment. One could also compare the euqiment change from the roman empire from its first start into the medieval eastern romans until its fall
I think you underrate the sling, especially compared to the bow. Ancient bows were garbage. but slings were devastating weapons, especially with lead bullets, and during sieges even the non-specialists used staff slings. At 15:36 did you actually say the pilum has better range than a sling? Look more into slings, you seem to have a serious misunderstanding of them.
I remember period sources stating that slings outranged bows.
I heard Metatron say the pilum has a decent range, behind slings and plumbata.
@@ctrlaltdebug I heard "better" than slings and plumbata
Look up the battles of Mount Gindarus, Cilician Gates, and Amanus Pass. Ventidius Bassus used slingers to maximum efficiency against the Parthians
Very informative and well presented! Thank you. A couple of questions, though.
If people had, generally, less armour in the classical period than medieval times, why wasn't the bow used even more by classical armies? Surely, if it works - as it did - against even plate to a degree, surely it would be devastating to soldiers weary light or no armour?
How much were auxiliary forces integrated into the roman army? Were they trained in the roman ways of war, so to speak, or more left to their own devices?
I think spears are most effective when used in a good formation - throwing pilums disrupted the formation and then the gladius was probably better. I think it'S the combination that made it so deadly. But it's just my thoughts.
I love it. You should do a video looking at skyrim armor mods and seeing if they are historically accurate or not! You could do this for any era to be honest.
Good idea!
I would add ww1 armor (mail, plate & helmet) for the memes. Also instead of an arm my character would have a quarter pounder field gun
the slingers were highly effective when Bassus used them against Pacorus keeping the horse archers from flanking with arrows and getting too close minimizing their attack.
Congratulations, the Raid: Shadow Legends sponsorship means you are a real you tuber
Also the dollar shave club one works
Awesome as always! Have some random questions that have been in the back of my mind though… How did a typical Roman soldier who actually survived a term of service ‘cash out’ his career? Did his legion give him some sort of proof to show anyone in the empire “this is my pension and this is my land“? Did Roman armies have any kind of record keepers to ensure soldiers weren’t lying? Who actually paid that pension / assigned land? Was there any kind of standard veteran affairs service to soldiers after service, or was it all legion by legion? What if that legion was disbanded? Who would take over paying his pension or would the soldier simply be screwed? OK it’s kind of a few questions 😋. Would love to see you do a video on the end of a soldiers career!
I know they were paid partially in salt, and the word 'salary' comes frome salis (salt)
Foot soldiers, often conscripted, were not paid. They got rations of salt and other provisions during their time served, but only officers got land after their service.
Land is rare, soldiers are not.
*Pulls out a sling* "one shot, one kill"
The use of the hasta rises again for legionaries (and not only heavy melee auxiliaries, especially after Caracalla's edict which nullified their differences in 212) during the Severan era and throughout the 3rd century AD (Middle Imperial period), to the point that during Diocletian's reforms in 284/5 that "created" the Late Roman army, the pila were phased out.
Ironic to see heavy Roman infantry "going back" to "hoplite" tactics, in a sense.
Spears are cheaper. Plus with the reorganization of the Legions into Limitanei, Comitatensis, and Alae its hard to tell if the Limitanei were just Militia, or fully trained regulars that fought the same way as the mobile field army of the Emperor (Comitatensis) which further raises the question of if they were equipped the same way. Its likely the change occured because of political reasons, so were the border armies purposefully equipped inferior to their Imperial Army counterparts, or were the Alae the real difference? Problem is we don't really know because it was either never written down or was lost.
i did not know that the romans used lawn jarts in battle.
Number one should clearly be their battle cry "Roma Invicta!"
Dear Metartron great video as always. I´m very interest in roman history. It will be interesting if you could do a video about the Bizantine armor and weapons
This is the best,Grazzie mille magister Raphael.I've been watch your channel 2 years now,Grazzie for make this content.
I'm glad to hear
It must have been shocking for other civilizations used to less-organized methods of warfare to suddenly face the Romans and watch in horror as many of their modes of warfare are neutralized by them immediately. Cavalry gets broken to bits by archers, pila and plumbatae; their own archers are rendered practically useless by the Roman testudo; getting smashed to bits from afar by ballistae and catapults; and finally reaching melee range only to face that big-ass shield and getting stabbed by a thick-ass gladius. Very telling that many of their methods and philosophy of warfare survive to this day. I'm a US Army veteran, and even in basic training, we got a bit of military history teaching, and they immediately mentioned that modern logistics and combat engineering get their origin from the Romans. Truly an amazing civilization.
EDIT: If you haven't done one yet, I would LOVE to see you make a video about Roman combat engineering.
I appreciate your content but even though i am most likely asking this because i am Iranian but would you make a video about the Iranian empire based on whichever era you would like?
If you're ok with spoken english, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast did a 3 part series on the Achaemenid Persian Empire that totals over 12 hours of sweet historical goodness
Sei laureato in storia/lettere ?
Complimenti ancora per l'ottimo accento britannico, io mi fermo al volgarissimo americano (nonostante abbia il C1)
Ho una laurea in lingue e culutre comparate, quindi c'è principalmente lingua e un po' di storia, il resto e passione personale. Il C1 comunque è un ottimo raggiungimento. Io ho un C2 ma l'ho preso solo perché ho avuto l'opportunità di vivere in Inghilterra da ragazzino.
Could you make a video about the dolabra?
I read that it was the multiporpose tool of the legions.
Survived coronavirus... he got raids shadow legends. RIP.
You are my favorite history channel on UA-cam
Great to see you still active my man 😊👍
Yes the metallurgic technology is exactly right it is ultimately the reason behind the ability to create a rapier as well.
The Scutum & Gladius are basically synonymous with Rome; it's no surprise that they would make the top of the list.
I've always liked the Plumbata. Lawn darts with an attitude! "Hey barbarian dude, catch!"
6:43 not surprising. It works the same in Turkish. Bow means “Yay” (pronounced “Yai”, sounds like Japanese) and Arrow means “Ok” (pronounced “Ohk” like saying Oak very fast). Archer translates to “Okçu” (pronounced “Ohk-Chu”).
Idk why but this is fav video so far learned alot thanks
I love everything ancient Greco-Roman. I wish I had the patience to read because while videos like this are cool,they don't have the same info as books
Your rockin' that tunic bro.
Very useful for writing, thank you
Better to be part of the Roman Empire than the Holy Roman Empire. That last one was neither holy, nor Roman, nor even an empire.
LOL
No 1. A sophisticated bureaucracy that allowed them to organized resources, train, and provide logistical support on a scale not matched by their opponents.
You should do a vid on classifying different weapons by civilizations such as the difference between the xiphos and gladius or dory and hasta etc
Your episodes are something I always look forward to
I'm glad to hear that
Also perhaps a video of the battles of Mount Gindarus, Cilician Gates, and Amanus Pass.
UA-cam transcribe: "Maybe you might go an entire battle without dropping your weapon or being disarmed, you never know. And therefore for these situations you would carry a book. A book will also be something you always have on you."
Glad to see the romans appreciated good literature
It's always fun how the bottom of the list is all the cool, obscure weapons, then the most effective weapons are invariably basic things like conventional swords and normal spears. Because as neat as the more obscure weapons are, the common ones were common for a reason. When it came to killing the enemy, for thousands and thousands of years, your best bet was either a big knife or a pointy stick.
Is a "Plumbatae" the weapon the Illiad refers to when a "Dart" is mentioned? The notes in the book I read claims that Dart refers to "arrow", but they're described as being used by people in the midst of battle, and people otherwise using swords, rather than archers or crossbowmen.
Love this channel so much. Its a like an online college.
please metatron XD we want more videos about the roman empire during the middle age...underestimated period for the empire that
only a few talk about it and are interested. more i study this period of time for the empire and more i love it.
constantinople?
Each time I watch a Metatron video about Rome, I get reminded of the fact that the Romans were the big daddies of Field Manuals.
I think it would be an interesting discussion to speculate on how Rome would have evolved their military had the core of the Empire survived into the Middle Ages, let's say assuming the western, northern and African parts break off into their nations as occurred in real history, but rather then the Italian, and maybe Greek and Macedonian parts of Rome breaking off into separate city states, the core of the Empire is able to hold it together and regroup and endures into the Middle Ages, while Castile, Aragon, Portugal, France, England, etc all form as they did. How would Rome have adapted their Legions, navies and tactics to the Medieval armies of France, Germany, England and eventual Spain?
"Sons of Dis, that's a good list"- Centurion Lucius Vorenus. Probably
Greetings from, what was once called, Noricum! 👋
I was patiently waiting through the video and was surprised to not see the gladius make its appearance. Little did I know that it would take the first spot. Save the best for last.
I study history in university and metatron teaches better then a lot of my teachers
0:59 : Yes, and sometimes deadly effective at that. Just take the famous fight between king David of Isreal and Goliath for example. At the time of the fight, David was nothing more than a shepherd boy and Goliath was a 3 meter tall guy... Well, at least it was easier to hit a large target I guess, so maybe not that good to be tall after all...
Sword, armour, shield, helmet, good group tactics. Hard combo to beat at time. Also add training.
...I finally know where lawn darts game came from; it was from when soldiers were in camp and bored, so they would set rings on the ground and lobb their plumbatae to the sets of rings for points or coins for whoever got closest or in the ring...
I'm not sure why the Romans would have thought throwing their spear (javelin) at the enemy was a good idea. Even if your throw hit's an enemy soldier, another can pick it up and use it against you. Giving the enemy free weapons doesn't seem like a good idea to me. It's not like arrows, where only enemy archers could really use them. Anybody can pick up a spear and use it.
As far as I know, they were used mainly as a way to buffer the first skirmishes that would take place. If they expend all of their pilum before they charge, it would force the other line to shield themselves and brace. This would not be face to face, but likely distances of less than 50 feet.
Greek Fire should be on the list, even if its in the later roman empire greek Fire was a beast in some situations
that dead pixel is haunting me
The scorpion, I reckon. The rest wasn't about the efffectiveness of their weapons, just the ability to move guys around on the battlefield.
the gladius i thinkbwas more of a psicological weapon, if you only got a short sword you gotta get stuck in and kill or be killed, if you got a long spear you can hang back and throw casual thrusts at the enemy without getting too close for comfort
The roman sling. Litterally adding insult to injury.
Everybody gangsta till the romans get close
I learn a lot from this 😊👍
A stone or bullet from a sling may not kill an opponent with a helmet, but if it stuns him for a few seconds or injures a limb, it makes it easier for a legionnaire to engage and kill him.
@15:40 A pilum has better range than a sling?
No.
Can you a video on the Parthian and Marcomannic wars during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus? Specifically how the Romans became more effective against the Parthians since Carrahe?
Where is the best place to buy a Gladius? In the uk?
If u seen enemies go down from a guy throwing these next to u, it must help with morale. It must of felt like game over when u see a wall of roman shields and a rain of projectiles coming at u.
I would have put pilum over the gladius, solely because the pilum is likely the only reason that the gladius replaced the spear as the roman's main weapon.
The spear of course. Won him the WWE Championship a bunch of times.
Metatron I am working on a concept for a for book. Of a modern soldier that is transported to a different world. He a historian and his family were blacksmiths so he grew up around horses. The question I keep asking myself besides Saddles, Sturgis, and Bridals. What are their weapons and armor could he introduced to get a technological advantage to a group of people that have had a regression in technology? Like post fall Roman Empire. Like very early feudal society. If you know some books or something on that or have any ideas and Concepts I would love to hear it. Thank you for your time.
When you think of the technological regression you need to think about Civil Technologies regressing, not military. Think sanitation and centers of learning. A high medieval army (remove firearms and cannons) would absolutely fuck a 1st/2nd Century Roman Legion up. The advantage the Romans had were professionalism and discipline, the professional armies in the medieval era were mercenaries with access to about 900 years of weapons advancement. Just think of the halberd, billhook, poleaxe, and bardiche. All of those weapons are extremely versatile, able to cut and pierce, as well as apply bludgeoning damage to solid plate. Plus the metallurgy was significantly better.
the dagger should have been called the stabbio
Stabio into the enemio
Regarding Archers its hard to imagine that there would not be some macho prestige in shooting a heavy bow. While we know that romans used composite bows we dont know anything about the drawnweight (i think). Scythian bows are repported to have been 80pounds or more and these predates the Romans.
hello Mr. Metatron, how's the situation in your area? Is everything alright for you now? We're glad you're alright and updating us with constant stream of knowledge. Cheers!
Keep it up metatron!
Personally, the scutum is number one for me. Once that shield is in place, it doesn't really matter if you have a pugio or a gladius.
20:09 "a pain in the neck" haaaaaaaaaaaa
Not mentioned- Greek Fire, Keeping Eastern Rome safe for hundreds of years
live reenactment of the siege of Carthage when?
Top 10 roman weapons that are more effective than mr bias' choices:
10: The pike.
The romans made use of pikes during the time of the emperor Nikephoros II Phokas to form those squares with missile troops behind that everyone hates in total war games for being low skilled OP noob strats, Phokas used these tactics to conquer Syria.
9: The majra.
Allegedly developed by the blue turks in the 5th century AD to counter chinese crossbows, the majra was an arrow guide that not only allowed the roman bowmen to shoot shorter arrows or even crossbow bolts with their normal bows, but these also had a much greater range than arrows shot the normal way.
8: The kite shield.
Unlike the clunky, awful scutums of the late republican/early imperial legions, the kite shield offered almost identical protection as it's rectangular predecessors but weighed significantly less due to it tapering downwards so as to still cover the legs while minimizing encumbrance. The earliest record we have of the romans using kite shields is from the Sylloge Tacticorum which was written in 902 AD.
7: The menavlion.
The menavlion was a special semi-pike developed to counter armoured heavy cavalry charges. To get through the horse armour and stop the charging beast it had a spearhead with a point around half a meter long, it's shaft was made of a single tree between 2,8 and 3,7 meters long and was as thick as the menavlion's wielder could hold so as to make sure it could resist the force of a horse at full canter.
6: The dane axe.
While not necessarily a roman weapon, it did see a lot of usage by the emperor's bodyguards which was composed of northerners wielding these great axes.
5: The bow.
While Metatron did mention bows in his list, he didn't mention that archers were drawn from the citizenry in the later period and where a huge portion of the army. People from the lowliest of the skirmishers to the noblest of cataphracts would make use of bows in some way or another. Emperors like Maurice and Leo Vi lamented how archery had fallen out of practice in the roman empire and later sources say almost half of the roman infantry was composed of archers carrying hundreds of arrows each.
4: The lamellar quirass
It isn't a weapon, but the lamellar cuirass - or as the romans called it, the klivanion, was a great innovation to roman armour design. It could weigh significantly less than armours like the segmentata while offering more protection since the plates that comprised it could be made a lot thinner were thickness wasn't needed than on segmentata. This allowed for full covering of the upper arms down to the elbows and also meant that klivanions could be thicker than segmentata where it was needed which was a great addition since the romans at this time were fighting heavy cavalry using both stirrups and couched lances. Leo VI says in his Taktika that all of the roman horsemen should wear these in addition to their maille coats.
3: The saber
The saber was introduced by some turks or avars at some point, before the 11th century at least but I don't know when exactly. Have you seen those warriors from the roman empire? They have curved swords! Curved. Swords.
2: The caltrop.
A thing with four spikes that hurt when you step on it, very painful to step on and can neutralise cavalry entirely if there are enough of them. Used from at least the 6th century right to the end.
1: Prepared fire.
The holy capital of the roman empire Constantinople would surely have fallen without this legendary liquid fire. It's composition is lost to this day as it was a roman state secret, this is because it was quite lethal and records state it was capable of incinerating entire ships when blasted through the for-mounted siphons of the roman war galleys. A hand held variant was later developed that was used both in boarding actions and by generals on land to shatter hostile infantry formations.
In the 902 A.d. the Western roman Empire has already fallen, this is a list of weapons that concern the western one/the times where it was unified. And other than the kite shield you mentioned almost exlusively weapons of the Byzantine Empire.
Well, this list might be valid if you consider the bizantine empire as "roman". Most people I know accept the end of the roman (and classical) period with the fall of Rome in 476AD. Your list therefore miss the period he's talking about.
Aside from being such tight-ass arrogant, you are talking of the widely accepted as the Byzantine Empire. Although being Roman descendants, they where and are considered an Empire different from the Western and Classical Empire.
Having a steel sword really gives you an advantage over enemies with lesser metal weapons.
You start like Roman man from time’s past.
One question: weren't Auxiliaries more like allies they would draw upon, rather than mercenaries?
As I understand, a man from a conquered nations could enlist as an auxialiary and, after some years of service, be granted roman citizenship (somehow like the french foreign legion).
If you are paid by another country to fight for them, you are mercenary. But its a matter of semantics whether they count as "other country" or as "subjects".
In the beginning yes,but later on they were simple recruited from tribes of non roman origin who provided more specialiced troops and serfed in order to get citezenship
He hit us with the RAID SHADOW LEGENDS
Video begins at 3:41
When they had to fight enemy in heavy armor, dolabra was apparently used as warhammer.