I hope you enjoy the first episode of our new Belisarius series! This topic was chosen by Patreon supporters, if you want to vote in future polls and get ad-free early access to new videos, visit www.patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV.
@@napolien1310 Spoiler alert: Belisarius' wife shits the bed, Theodora takes her side and actively persecute Belisarius and Justinian does jackshit to help him. Some sources claim Belisarius was put down to a position where he literally had to beg for his daily bread.
@@napolien1310 After pretending to take the Ostrogothic crown at the end of Belisarius' campaign of the Ostrogoths made Justinian suspicious that he might someday actually try to do that. Remember, popular generals often tried to install themselves as Emperor, even in the Eastern Roman Empire so it wasn't entirely irrational of Justinian to think that. Hell, when he got sick of the Plague and thought to be dead, many people were thinking and arguing for Belisarius to take the purple and crown himself emperor, despite him stating that he wasn't interested one bit in that.
@@claudiu-mihaipuiu1221 The atmosphere you describe (where generals vied for power) was the exact same, if not more extreme, when Octavian established the Triumvirate and later, the Principate. He could've just as easily done Agrippa when people like Salvidienus, Maecenas, Antony etc... actively encouraged him to. Justinian was simply an oaf when it came to recognizing people for who they are and even worse individual when it came to the bro-code.
Wow it’s been that long?I remember watching it around 5 years ago as a young teen along with the first crusade on this channel, crazy to think now I’m a adult in college potentially getting my degree in history.
Belisarius, restorer of Roman prestige Aetius, destroyer of the Huns Majorian, reconquer of Gaul, Basil ll, the Bulgarian slayer, These were the last true Romans.
Nikephoros Phokas and John I Tzimiskes were better generals than Basil II, but Basil in General for me is the best emperor of the middle ages but don't forget The white dead of the Saracens (sounds so cool).
If you get a chance, check out the 'Belisarius series' books by David Drake and Eric Flint. First one in "An Oblique Approach". Basic plot is two AI from the future are sent back to the past to change history. One wants to make a perfected caste system to purify humanity and takes over Malwa India. The other wants to make a humanity that welcomes differences and goes to Rome to help out. 6 books total
Well, your video turned better than even I thought would be! Didn't know you were going to cover Calinicum as well. It's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! I hope that the rest of the series goes as well as this. Justinian and his crew like Belisarius, Theodora and Narses deserve more coverage than they currently get and I'm sure that you will give them the story they deserve.
Another superb addition, Toby. Belisarius was truly one of the greatest generals in any age. One wonders what could have been had Belisarius accepted the Gothic offer to become Emperor of the West. Would Justinian have agreed to it? Because on hopes Justinian would see the immense benefits of a pacified and united Italian Peninsula and North Africa. He knew Belisarius had little love for ultimate power, so Justinian could rule as Senior Augustus. With a secure power base and with the Goths tied to the Empire, it would have made the reconquest of Hispania, Gaul and Britannia much more simple.
@@derpynerdy6294 It does! One throne, and direct descendants on four more. The second oldest reigning dynasty in Europe. Not bad for a man who enlisted as a private at the age of 16. And, one notes, with the help of Epic History, the long-delayed rehabilitation of my reputation is beginning.
I cannot express enough joy to see such a topic picked up, and produced in such a manner like that which mesmerized us for so long, during the entirety of the Napoleonic Wars series. The maps, troops display, battle developments, even the sound effects - and gosh, the narration. Absolutely hooked on this new series, what a joy!
Dear Count Belisarius reminds me somewhat of the great Khalid Ibn al-Walid. Both won many victories despite being outnumbered and used guile to overcome the more numerous enemy. They also suffered unjustly at the hands of their sovereigns due to the jealously and palace intrigues of lesser men and were stripped of their rank and rewards. Both men deserved better ends.
Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, was not treated unjustly from Umar R.A. The reason he was stripped of his rank was because the men started to think victory came with Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, Umar R.A wanted to reinstate the fact that victory comes only from Allah (God). That’s basically it.
The only history channel worth watching, a lot if not most channels do “mistakes” or revision history now a days especially when it comes to Greece and Rome, but you guys have always been consistent and even give sources while others don’t, thank you for having integrity and defending historical truth.
A small mistake perhaps, but it must be said Thrace is not a part of Serbia; it is the territory West and North-West of Constantinople, being rather a part of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
I cannot stress enough how good the animations, illustrations and maps are ! We all knew that the narrator was one of the best in the UA-cam game but man, the visual quality struck me in the doc !
Whilst it’s true to say that the cavalry became more prominent, one should not underestimate the strength and versatility of the infantry. Far from a glorified meat shield, enemies of Rome that thought the spearman was the soft underbelly of the Roman army were quickly surprised when they didn’t just break apart at the first charge.
Indeed, the new Protostate infantry combined features of the old legion and the phalanx, and tactically complements the armored archer cavalry. Their 2-meter long spears, when anchored on the ground, were designed to stop cavalry charges. They were also armed with bows & arrows and use the longer spatha sword instead of the gladius of the republican period.
The old legion gave Rome mastery of the Mediterranean world, but it was ineffective against the horse archers of the Persians and the Huns. Everybody knows of Crassus' disastrous end at Carrhae but not even Caesar himself would have done any better against Parthia. In a sense, the new combined arms doctrine of the Eastern Romans was a revival of Alexander's tactics, with the infantry serving as the anvil to hold the enemy while the cavalry sweeps from the flanks.
@@GloryToParadis Caesar would have done just fine. You realize that Marc Antony invaded Parthia and succeeded, right? This was shortly after the Crassus debacle.
Such an underappreciated General! If the Plauge had not showed up to derail all that he and Justinian had done! Who knows what course history would have taken!?
One of the best channels on UA-cam right now, hands down! A thorough explanation of the background events, in addition to a supreme Tactical and Strategic analysis of the conflict. The narrator's voice, turns each video into a real experience. Truly Epic, and thank you for the enormous effort.
You'll find that the Adeptus Mechanicus draws heavy inspiration from the Eastern Roman Empire (look up "theosis" in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and how it relates to the Cult Mechanicus' dogma of 'becoming one with the Machine God') while the Imperium is modeled after the Western..... With the Emperor being kind of like Alexander the Great and the Custodes being his Companions. 40k has very deep underlying inspirations and themes but most people are not knowledgable enough about classical history to properly appreciate it.
The great schism has put the Eastern Roman Empire in a negative light compared to the Western counterpart, especially in Western history and literature. In line with what the Catholic Pope said after the sack of Constantinople of 1204, there can only be one Rome.
just checked it out, thanks for the awesome recommendation! song sounds so tragic, Belisarius deserved better than he got from the Emperor and Empress :(
Big Billy did his damnedest to bring back the glory days of the empire, but was always going to struggle against time. Much like Alexander, having no proper successor meant his short term gains would never be stable beyond his lifetime. Thanks so much for bringing this part of roman history to life with exquisite illustrations, scripting, narration and digital battle re-enactment.
@EpicHistoryTV may be, the most articulated history channel around... Epic all-round, narration, editing, story telling, animation's rhythm,, aesthetics... you people, truly are top class thank you for all content.
This is amazing and i'm glad that the documentaries are getting even better. Hopefully the next episode comes out soon because i already can't wait for it lol
A quick analysis of Belisarius's entrenching strategy and tactics at Daras. Although heavily outnumbered, Belisarius risked an open battle rather than a siege, though on a carefully laid out battlefield where he could conduct defensive, offensive maneouvers. The trench system was calculated to force the Persians to avoid the obvious trap in the center where their troops would be exposed to enfilade fire from both flanks. Their care played right into the hands of Belisarius, because not only would it mean that their main effort would be split on 2 flanks, but it would mean the main fighting would be with cavalry, the arm in which Belisarius was least outnumbered and on troops he could best rely on. Hes a master at exploiting his strengths as well as the enemy's weakness time and again. Did not expect this video at all, im a huge admirer of Belisarius and have alot of books about him and his skills as a general. Looking very much forward to this series.
the way the Romans changed their army is fascinating , it became the opposite of the traditional Roman army , from heavy infantry to mounted archer cavalry A true application of the saying "Either adapt or perish"
Just when I think you can't get any more awesome, you find a way to push back the frontiers of awesomeness! The long conflict between the Romans and the Persians is absolutely fascinating. P.S.: The artwork is sublime. Keep up the amazing work.
If I remember the character of Bel Riose in Isaac Asimov's popular sci fi series "Foundation Trilogy" is inspired from Belisarius. Bel Riose had almost reestablished the dying Galactic Empire for his Emperor Cleon II but at the end he received a really dreadful end. After his end the empire truly died as in the next story we realise that Trantor (capital of the Galactic Empire) has fallen.
What a masterful presentation! The Eastern Roman Empire has been a long-neglected subject on this channel; great to have a well-rounded study of their most famous general to kick off what one hopes will be a comprehensive treatment. BTW don't usually like Total War clips interspersed with the narrative--too often they prove distracting as well as inapropos-- but in this case they complement it nicely. Cheers!
4:14 Justinian wasn't from Thracia and neither Thracia is what's now Serbia. Justinian was from Tauresium, in modern Northern Macedonia. Thracia is nowdays roughly split between Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria.
@@gamingdealer9514 Justinian's step father was Justin I, who was also from what's now Northern Macedonia. The Justinian that I'm talking about is the same as the one in the video, Justinian I, born in Tauresium (Northern Macedonia) in the year 482, the emperor under which Belirsarius served.
Okay this is the best Channel I've ever stumbled upon... the other night I just watched the Napoleon special, it was amazing!! Thank you to all who create these amazing pieces about history!
Belisarius was the man of his era. The Byzantine Empire would never see such success after he died. It's the biggest pity his associates were lesser men and worked to undermine him.
generally i agree, but those conquests overstretched the empire and were unecessary. with so few troops committed Justinian was lucky he had a military genius in his hands to accomplish most of the objectives but Italy itself was never really secure and would eventually be lost completely. I would say Basill II's reign matched Justinian's but more importantly, The empire was stronger and stood more securely in his time despite being smaller.
@@tylerellis9097 take note though, that Narses had a superiority of force against his enemies compared to the ridiculous inferiority of forces that Belisarius was constantly handicapped with. At one point Belisarius had around a mere 1,500 men in Italy under his direct command.
@@stuka80 True But Narses still had to March his entire army through the Dalmatian coast to Italy, fought Totila the Best General of the Goths, defeated and killed him through brilliant tactical maneuvering and formations, then defeated his successor Teias in the Goths Steadfast final stand. Finally To top it off then repelled the Fresh Frankish Invasion through advanced use of Heavy infantry and horse archers. His army was also mostly made up of Germanic Foederati. Finally Narses was far more liked by his multiethnic troops then Belisarius and better at maintaining their loyalty. And Chad enough he’s the Last Roman General to celebrate a Triumph in Rome. Not saying Narses was better but he’s definitely on par with Belisarius and carried Justinian just as Much.
Would love to see a series about khosrau anushirawan (think that’s right ) he was justinians main rival during this time and was ruler of the Sassanid empire and also fun fact he was the one who imported chess from India into Europe
seriously, thank you guys for all you great work. it is something to depict history as correctly as possible, but to do it in such a way as to incite motivation and excitement is another story. A story you guys are telling so well. Keep up the good work, and thank you to the sponsors as well, for the support and good will, hélas, we live in a world where information is not transmitted unless it sells something or hits the boundaries of propaganda.
@@mylesjulius4742 Alexander wasn't a good emperor. He overstretched his empire and his men, and soon after his death his empire was dismantled from inside.
This channel is amazing, the narration, the music, the animation quality, it makes learning about history as exciting as watching a movie. Only few documentaries feel both educating and captivating and this channel does a better job of it than any TV series I know.
Belisarius: the man who almost reunited the western and eastern roman empire; the man who saved Byzantium time and time again and who allowed it to endure 900 years after he left the earth.
Sorry to inform you but the Justinian Plague has infected all of the Emperor's gene seed reserves, turning all hopes of future military reinforcements to dust. As such from this point onwards the Imperium will be fighting a war againt time.
"Belisarius:the Emperor's Sword" The most suitable, honorable and intimitating title for the greatest general of Rome. Thanks for having recorded these videos on Justinian and Belisarius, the best though most underrated couple
I completely agree with you on that Satoru Gojo because like the Mongols were mighty, Magnificent and fierce warriors who conquered China, Persia, Russia, and made raids into Poland 🇵🇱,Hungary and I would also say that the mongols played an important role in the fall of the Byzantine empire and what I mean by that is by the time the mongols reached modern day turkey 🇹🇷 they launched invasions which deteriorated the power of the Seijuqs and as the ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia gained strength and authority it encouraged the beys of Anatolia to declare sovereignty and as the Byzantine empire’s power in Asia minor was deteriorating one of these beys decided to take matters into his own hands and transformed the Kayi Tribe into an empire that would spark the end of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the modern republic of turkey and the empire was the famous OTTOMAN Empire.
@@chasechristophermurraydola9314 The real reason the Seljuks disintegrated was because of the loss they faced in the Battle of Qatwan against the Kara Khitai. The same Kara Khitai who were once overlords of the Naiman Khanate and the Kwarizmian Empire. After this battle the Seljuks last strong leader died and the Empire fragmented into competing Beyliks and Sultanates. The Mongols conqured the Kara Khitai and basically forced the Seljuks to consolidate even more in Anatolia. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qatwan
@Some thing but they didnt rename themselves the romans called themselves "Romaioi" meaning Roman, some of these lands were also under Roman rule longer than their own rule, they were Romans just as people from the western USA isn't considered Native American they are American and people from eastern Russia aren't Siberian they are Russian
@Some thing you are incorrect to assume roman culture didnt dominate further than the Italian peninsula and you clearly don't have any sources for that, lands across rome was ruled by people from their native homeland but was still ran by a roman governor along with roman citizens being merged into these lands to increase "romanization"
@@reignadams6692 They were Greeks and hellenized populations that had roman citizenship, in other words they were only politically romans. So if you mean solely in a political sense, then yes they were Romans/Roman citizens. Otherwise they were completely different people from the ancient romans and the only thing that linked them together was the fact that both of them (ancient Romans, medieval Greeks) controlled the Roman state at different historical periods. When we're saying that the Byzantines were Romans we mean that they were people that had roman citizenship, not that they were descendants of ancients Romans. As for the Roman culture, it dominated further than the Italian peninsula but it certainly didn't dominate the eastern part of the empire where the dominant culture was the Greek one.
@@gilpaubelid3780 Great post. This is the point that most do not understand about the eastern Romans. The Latin language and influence may have greatly took hold in Western Europe, but Eastern Europe and mostly the eastern parts of the Roman Empire were always hellenized since the times of Alexander the Great and his massive influence. Latin language and influence could never penetrate or displace the Greek influence and although the Roman identity and Roman ways of administration took hold, I believe the eastern Romans were always and continuously aware of their “Greekness” and “otherness” from the western parts of the empire.
@@gilpaubelid3780 emperor Hadrian was from Hispania and was mocked by the senate for his accent and not speaking proper Roman Latin vs Vulgar Latin or a variation of it. Does that make him politically Roman and not truly Roman? You are trying to interpret a past world through modern tropes. Being Roman was never an ethnicity. Ever heard of the Roman emperors Philip the Arab and Elagabalus who were…shocker….Arab???? Are they not true Roman emperors but only politically Roman? Do you see how silly your argument is?
At Callinicum Arab allies fought at the exposed flanks of both armies Al Mundhir Lakhmids on the Persian left and Al Harith Ghassanids at the Roman right, al Mundhir with Persian cavalry support was able to route the Ghassanids and turn the Roman flank
@@1488EVERGETES At this point the Lakhmids weren't Christians yet (their Kings at least) Al Mundhir their leader was a Pagan infamous for sacrificing 500 nuns to the Arabian goddess Al-Uzza, but then again at least one of the previous Lakhmid kings was a Christian so idk
@@miracleyang3048 yeah maybe due to the persian influence Lakhmids werent Christians at that point or at least not all of the kings were Christians. But Ghassanids were, and as far as i know Lakhmids were Christians when their kingdom fell
@@1488EVERGETES Yeah they definitely abandoned paganism for good in the later years, The Ghassanids however weren't just Christians they considered themselves defenders of Christianity against the Persians and their pagans allies, the Ghassanids always ride to battle carrying a Cross and an icon of Saint Sergius
What is missing in the Nika riots is what happened before Belisarius and Mundus enter the Hippodrome (the rioters headquarters) Justinian sent the eunuch Narses with a bags of gold, unarmed into the Hippodrome. He goes to the Blues faction. Reminds the Blue faction that Justinian had always supported the Blues and that the man they had selected to replace Justinian belonged to the Green faction. Narses hands the leader of the Blues the gold and leaves. The Blues discuss the situation and decide to change sides and back Justinian. The Blues then leave leaving the Hippodrome full of Greens. This is when Belisarius and Mundus enter the Hippodrome and proceed to annihilate all the people left in the Hippodrome.
This narrator ranks among the best I've heard in any history channel.. He adds a special element of prestige to these videos and is a big part of why I keep watching Epic History TV videos.. Kudos!
I hope you enjoy the first episode of our new Belisarius series! This topic was chosen by Patreon supporters, if you want to vote in future polls and get ad-free early access to new videos, visit www.patreon.com/EpicHistoryTV.
Love your videos👍
Truly Epic VOice the narator has
"Epic"
This was amazing!!
This really makes my day, God bless you all ❤
Belisarius deserves his place next to Julius Caeser and Scipio Africanus.
Yes but hardly anyone knows him
@@afriendlycadian9857 That's his point
Funnily enough, in such company its hannibal whose the odd one out.
He gets a fair if sketchy shake in Adrian Goldsworthy's study of great Roman generals, In the Name of Rome.
and heraclius
"He will be remembered as Rome's last great general"
He will be - once Epic History TV is done.
to be fair, Dovahatty got there before, and just as epic and highly unbiased, the way we like it lol (it's the reason why I'm here right now)
@@TheDrsalvation yeah, but heraclius tho?
@@johnpattenden8553 Basil II as well
@@megasalexandrostv7077 true true
Basil the Bulgarslayer:Ahem…you’re forgetting someone?
10 thousands reinforcements arriving at the battle, bringing the Persian forces to 50 thousands.
Andreas : "49.998"
49,991
7 were killed in the first cavalry patrol determined to check the strength of the Greek Byzantine Romans
8 thousand died and the rest ran away 😂 how could 49.998 lose to 25000? It just shows how incompetent those generals were.
@@Abdi-libaax a waryaa historian like me lol salamat
@@Abdi-libaax very simple, once an army broke - that's when the real casualties began
WHAT'CHA GONNA DO, PERSIA...WHEN ANDREAS AND HIS 24 INCH PYTHONS RUN WILD ON YOU!
Belisarius achievements should have entitled him to be "Julius Caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire"
Love ur vids Scorpo
Of the whole Roman empire
hi
Hell no, Julius Caesar was way more than just a general. Belisarius lacked the "social genius" that Julius had.
Seriously though No.
This was the first Documentary of The Eastern Roman Empire I've watched without a single word of "Byzantium". Awesome
precisly
It's actually Byzantium
Rome fell only in 1453 ! "Byzantium" was Rome.
I think that was because Rome was still latin at this time
EXACTLY
" For not by numbers of men, nor by measure of body, but by valor of soul is war to be decided. "
- Flavius Belisarius.
🔥
"In the jungle when the enemy is behind you, he is surrounded by all sides."
- WWII British general I don't remember his name.
Well said 👏
Rise of Kingdom
and superior weapons , not always, but without physical weapons ,you have Gods intervention.
Belisarius and Justinian could've been the next Agrippa-Octavian, if only Justinian had his bro's back like Octavian did.
What do u mean!!
@@napolien1310
Spoiler alert: Belisarius' wife shits the bed, Theodora takes her side and actively persecute Belisarius and Justinian does jackshit to help him. Some sources claim Belisarius was put down to a position where he literally had to beg for his daily bread.
@@napolien1310 After pretending to take the Ostrogothic crown at the end of Belisarius' campaign of the Ostrogoths made Justinian suspicious that he might someday actually try to do that. Remember, popular generals often tried to install themselves as Emperor, even in the Eastern Roman Empire so it wasn't entirely irrational of Justinian to think that.
Hell, when he got sick of the Plague and thought to be dead, many people were thinking and arguing for Belisarius to take the purple and crown himself emperor, despite him stating that he wasn't interested one bit in that.
@@princepscivitatis4083 thats a myth
@@claudiu-mihaipuiu1221
The atmosphere you describe (where generals vied for power) was the exact same, if not more extreme, when Octavian established the Triumvirate and later, the Principate.
He could've just as easily done Agrippa when people like Salvidienus, Maecenas, Antony etc... actively encouraged him to.
Justinian was simply an oaf when it came to recognizing people for who they are and even worse individual when it came to the bro-code.
This brings back memories when I was a kid watching Extra History's Justinian series.
Same. I can't wait Belisarius' journey.
Wow it’s been that long?I remember watching it around 5 years ago as a young teen along with the first crusade on this channel, crazy to think now I’m a adult in college potentially getting my degree in history.
Same here
such a great series, hopefully this will be just as good :)
Thanks for making me feel old guys! ;)
Belisarius, restorer of Roman prestige
Aetius, destroyer of the Huns
Majorian, reconquer of Gaul,
Basil ll, the Bulgarian slayer,
These were the last true Romans.
I find this title "last true Roman" dull and false, but it's probably because Belissarius is the last Latin speaking great Roman general.
Nikephoros Phokas and John I Tzimiskes were better generals than Basil II, but Basil in General for me is the best emperor of the middle ages but don't forget The white dead of the Saracens (sounds so cool).
No love for Heraclius or Maurice?
@@christermi I think whe had an excellent knowledge of greek
Aetius was half Iranian Scythian Origin and Belisarius lost 2 war vs Sassanid Empire
"Dubious background from the acting profession"
me:new insult acquired..
Another documentary of epic history about an epic general in an epic time era in an epic video with an epic voice from Epic History TV. ;)
What an epic comment
@@pythonhtmljava7811 What an epic reply
what an epic thread
What an epic...just...what an epic!
@@NoXeB1995 What kind of epic will epic post after this epic series ? the epic story of the epic Caesar ?
In love with this charismatic general since I read Robert Graves' "Belisarius" when I was a teenager
Me too!
also love that novel! surprisingly very historically accurate for a fiction work.
Aye?I have not heard of this book,I will be looking to find it
Belissarios by Robert Graves an excellent book
@@dimitriosvlissides5781 I shall read it and see for myself how good it is thanks for the heads up
Great video! Both Justinian and Belisarius deserve more attention then they've previously had. Great to see them finally getting it 😁😁😁
agree 100% there are so many more underrated ones tho
Justinian gets plenty of attention.
Everybody who knows about Hagia Sophia knows who he is. That includes many thousands of tourists every year.
@@TesterAnimal1 Okay BlackSheepSwimmer
If you get a chance, check out the 'Belisarius series' books by David Drake and Eric Flint. First one in "An Oblique Approach".
Basic plot is two AI from the future are sent back to the past to change history. One wants to make a perfected caste system to purify humanity and takes over Malwa India. The other wants to make a humanity that welcomes differences and goes to Rome to help out. 6 books total
Well, your video turned better than even I thought would be! Didn't know you were going to cover Calinicum as well. It's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! I hope that the rest of the series goes as well as this. Justinian and his crew like Belisarius, Theodora and Narses deserve more coverage than they currently get and I'm sure that you will give them the story they deserve.
You're not great.
The author gets the identity of emperor Justinian Wrong It seems like he never heard of Tauressium today located in Skopje Macedonia??
@@pimpintoads5871 Why not?
There is already some good content about Belisarius and Justinian on the historical side of UA-cam but this goes above and beyond it, simply amazing!
No kidding
So excited you guys are doing Belisarius, what an underrated military genius
because the Western Historians are not keen with the Byzantines since they at from the East they don't really regard them as one of their own.
oh Eric Flint is the author
@@tijotypo5252 Thank you, will definitely check it out
@@ismetdurmaz4746 rubbish.
They were Romani.
1453 😡
@@TesterAnimal1 true, but Western Rome has much more coverage and lots of information about it compared to the East and it tells you something.
It was a pleasure to help, guys! Thanks again for reaching out to me!
your shots are clean! i kinda prefer them more to the ones used in Kings And Generals (:
@@user-po3ss3vk5b Thanks man, appreciate it!
no problem, im glad you guys gave credit to what mods you used. it's not something i see all the time ;)
What mod is used in this footages, I mean just some reskin of Roman units, or mb some big mod?
@@oleksandr1459 it's called 555 Age of Justinian for the game Total War Attila
Another superb addition, Toby. Belisarius was truly one of the greatest generals in any age. One wonders what could have been had Belisarius accepted the Gothic offer to become Emperor of the West. Would Justinian have agreed to it? Because on hopes Justinian would see the immense benefits of a pacified and united Italian Peninsula and North Africa. He knew Belisarius had little love for ultimate power, so Justinian could rule as Senior Augustus. With a secure power base and with the Goths tied to the Empire, it would have made the reconquest of Hispania, Gaul and Britannia much more simple.
sup Bernadotte, the long ass names and titles.
Feels good to have descendants still reigning till this day eh?
@@derpynerdy6294 It does! One throne, and direct descendants on four more. The second oldest reigning dynasty in Europe. Not bad for a man who enlisted as a private at the age of 16. And, one notes, with the help of Epic History, the long-delayed rehabilitation of my reputation is beginning.
Also Germanius who married the Gothic princess. Had he lived he may have succeeded Justinian and been King of the Goths.
@@crownprincesebastianjohano7069
hehehe napey is jealous
@@derpynerdy6294 Bonaparte was always jealous of Bernadotte and his "Belle Jamb."
I cannot express enough joy to see such a topic picked up, and produced in such a manner like that which mesmerized us for so long, during the entirety of the Napoleonic Wars series. The maps, troops display, battle developments, even the sound effects - and gosh, the narration.
Absolutely hooked on this new series, what a joy!
532AD
Never did I think such a date, read aloud, would send a shiver down my spine
Dear Count Belisarius reminds me somewhat of the great Khalid Ibn al-Walid. Both won many victories despite being outnumbered and used guile to overcome the more numerous enemy. They also suffered unjustly at the hands of their sovereigns due to the jealously and palace intrigues of lesser men and were stripped of their rank and rewards. Both men deserved better ends.
Yi Sun Shin too!
Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, was not treated unjustly from Umar R.A. The reason he was stripped of his rank was because the men started to think victory came with Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, Umar R.A wanted to reinstate the fact that victory comes only from Allah (God). That’s basically it.
Sandpeople *YAWN*
The only history channel worth watching, a lot if not most channels do “mistakes” or revision history now a days especially when it comes to Greece and Rome, but you guys have always been consistent and even give sources while others don’t, thank you for having integrity and defending historical truth.
So you don’t believe them even if they know what there talking about you must have a big ego
@@nataliekennedy4646 what does ego have to do with someone being trusting or not?
Kings and Generals?
A small mistake perhaps, but it must be said Thrace is not a part of Serbia; it is the territory West and North-West of Constantinople, being rather a part of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
What do you mean by 'revisionist history? History itself is revision, historians are revisionists. I think you mean distortionist history.
They need to make a tv series like the show "Vikings" about Justinian, and Belisarius.
@Some thing Alexander has one coming soon brother stay tuned
@Some thing Hannibal would be awesome, i know i really enjoyed the BBC documentary on him with Alexander siddig
About whole Eastern Roman Empire, some 20+ seasons or so, That would be really EPIC!
@@martinboskovic1009 There TONS of Eastern Roman history to draw from!
i think about that a lot about the Romans it would last like 20 seasons with no filler material
Imagine being the emperor and your best friend is the commanding General of your army …
That was not exactly unprecedented in history.
Pretty Justinian got lucky his friend is so good, apparently he promoted him based on their relationship at first...
Alexander’s right hand man was his childhood friend aswell.
Octavian and Agrippa
Majorian and Ricimer...oh wait this one didn't end well.
I cannot stress enough how good the animations, illustrations and maps are !
We all knew that the narrator was one of the best in the UA-cam game but man, the visual quality struck me in the doc !
Whilst it’s true to say that the cavalry became more prominent, one should not underestimate the strength and versatility of the infantry. Far from a glorified meat shield, enemies of Rome that thought the spearman was the soft underbelly of the Roman army were quickly surprised when they didn’t just break apart at the first charge.
Indeed, the new Protostate infantry combined features of the old legion and the phalanx, and tactically complements the armored archer cavalry. Their 2-meter long spears, when anchored on the ground, were designed to stop cavalry charges. They were also armed with bows & arrows and use the longer spatha sword instead of the gladius of the republican period.
The old legion gave Rome mastery of the Mediterranean world, but it was ineffective against the horse archers of the Persians and the Huns. Everybody knows of Crassus' disastrous end at Carrhae but not even Caesar himself would have done any better against Parthia.
In a sense, the new combined arms doctrine of the Eastern Romans was a revival of Alexander's tactics, with the infantry serving as the anvil to hold the enemy while the cavalry sweeps from the flanks.
@@GloryToParadis Lol buddy you only know of Carrhae?.. Do you know how many times Rome burnt the Parthian capital after that?
@@GloryToParadis
Caesar would have done just fine. You realize that Marc Antony invaded Parthia and succeeded, right? This was shortly after the Crassus debacle.
Everyone reading this, I wish you and your family the best of luck and a lot of health!
Such an underappreciated General! If the Plauge had not showed up to derail all that he and Justinian had done! Who knows what course history would have taken!?
The best epic History Channel ever and Charles Nove's voice is soothing,watching all the way from Zimbabwe!
And just like that Andreas name is written in history
Yes
This is where the fun begins!
Ever since Extra History covered the reign of Justinian have I been interested in this story!
The fact that this quality of content is free on the internet shocks the life out of me
Great to see my friend Legendarian working with Epic History 👌🏻
At last my boy belisarius got the respect that he deserved.
One of the best channels on UA-cam right now, hands down! A thorough explanation of the background events, in addition to a supreme Tactical and Strategic analysis of the conflict. The narrator's voice, turns each video into a real experience. Truly Epic, and thank you for the enormous effort.
Belisarius' achievements have never been matched. He's truly the greatest
Sadly not as well known
Alexander. Undefeated.
@@engr.tonystark3504
hahahahahhaa
@@engr.tonystark3504 You were great as well, but that Russia part man.... big mistake!
@@williamjordan5554 Died at a young age and kinda went crazy in India. Great commander though!
THANK YOU FOR NOT CALLING IT THE "BYZANTINE EMPIRE"
Why when I first read this I instantly went “WAIT 40K IS REAL??????”
You'll find that the Adeptus Mechanicus draws heavy inspiration from the Eastern Roman Empire (look up "theosis" in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and how it relates to the Cult Mechanicus' dogma of 'becoming one with the Machine God') while the Imperium is modeled after the Western..... With the Emperor being kind of like Alexander the Great and the Custodes being his Companions. 40k has very deep underlying inspirations and themes but most people are not knowledgable enough about classical history to properly appreciate it.
Belisarius deserves his own movie! A great commander of the romans!
One of the greatest Roman Generals
Thanks to him arguably romano-Greco culture flourished
@@charlesmcgill2974 More like cause of him it got destroyed in most of Italy lol.
Its really disappointing that Justinian and Belisarius aren't remembered alongside the greatest Roman leaders
Its because its only Eastern Rome. Not the West and East together
@@arche8229 Flavius Aetius is bette remembered even though he was from just the Western Roman Empire.
The great schism has put the Eastern Roman Empire in a negative light compared to the Western counterpart, especially in Western history and literature. In line with what the Catholic Pope said after the sack of Constantinople of 1204, there can only be one Rome.
@@rennor3498 they are though
He’s literally Justinian The Great
@@rennor3498
Because he was around during the time of the United Roman empire, both east and west
Judicator - Let There Be Nothing is an album about Belisarius. Highly recommended if you're into metal
just checked it out, thanks for the awesome recommendation!
song sounds so tragic, Belisarius deserved better than he got from the Emperor and Empress :(
Big Billy did his damnedest to bring back the glory days of the empire, but was always going to struggle against time. Much like Alexander, having no proper successor meant his short term gains would never be stable beyond his lifetime.
Thanks so much for bringing this part of roman history to life with exquisite illustrations, scripting, narration and digital battle re-enactment.
@EpicHistoryTV may be, the most articulated history channel around...
Epic all-round, narration, editing, story telling, animation's rhythm,, aesthetics...
you people, truly are top class
thank you for all content.
asthetic belongs to history marche animation but if both of them combined seen on their napoleonic wars then its superB
„…he will be remembered as Rome’s last great general…” John Kourkouas and Leo Phokas: hold our beers
Your doing belisarius I couldn't be more excited top underrated general of all time for sure
Congratulations on reaching 1 million subscribers, you guys deserved it.
Finally Belisarius a man who was easily the match of Napoleon and Alexander, he is an awesome general it's nice to see him finally get some love
Just finished Julius Caesar series by Kings and Generals and now this, I love it!
I feel like the Justinian period is underrated.
This video is brilliant!👏👏
Sir we need you again
Ever loyal to his emperor, one of the great strategic minds on the battlefield. What a man!
This is amazing and i'm glad that the documentaries are getting even better. Hopefully the next episode comes out soon because i already can't wait for it lol
A quick analysis of Belisarius's entrenching strategy and tactics at Daras.
Although heavily outnumbered, Belisarius risked an open battle rather than a siege, though on a carefully laid out battlefield where he could conduct defensive, offensive maneouvers.
The trench system was calculated to force the Persians to avoid the obvious trap in the center where their troops would be exposed to enfilade fire from both flanks. Their care played right into the hands of Belisarius, because not only would it mean that their main effort would be split on 2 flanks, but it would mean the main fighting would be with cavalry, the arm in which Belisarius was least outnumbered and on troops he could best rely on.
Hes a master at exploiting his strengths as well as the enemy's weakness time and again.
Did not expect this video at all, im a huge admirer of Belisarius and have alot of books about him and his skills as a general. Looking very much forward to this series.
the way the Romans changed their army is fascinating , it became the opposite of the traditional Roman army , from heavy infantry to mounted archer cavalry
A true application of the saying "Either adapt or perish"
After seeing this intro I was thinking: '''This will be an epic series!!!''
Looking forward to the comming parts!
Just when I think you can't get any more awesome, you find a way to push back the frontiers of awesomeness!
The long conflict between the Romans and the Persians is absolutely fascinating.
P.S.: The artwork is sublime. Keep up the amazing work.
If I remember the character of Bel Riose in Isaac Asimov's popular sci fi series "Foundation Trilogy" is inspired from Belisarius.
Bel Riose had almost reestablished the dying Galactic Empire for his Emperor Cleon II but at the end he received a really dreadful end. After his end the empire truly died as in the next story we realise that Trantor (capital of the Galactic Empire) has fallen.
Belisarius is the Chadest Byzantine ever. Vandali Delenda Est!
"Constantinople, the greatest city in the world"
*aggressive and endless crying*
I do like the little examination into Persian military units.
What a masterful presentation! The Eastern Roman Empire has been a long-neglected subject on this channel; great to have a well-rounded study of their most famous general to kick off what one hopes will be a comprehensive treatment. BTW don't usually like Total War clips interspersed with the narrative--too often they prove distracting as well as inapropos-- but in this case they complement it nicely. Cheers!
4:14 Justinian wasn't from Thracia and neither Thracia is what's now Serbia. Justinian was from Tauresium, in modern Northern Macedonia. Thracia is nowdays roughly split between Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria.
Finally a comment who writes about it.
The Justinian you are talking about is this guy step father.
There were 2 Justinians.
@@gamingdealer9514 Justinian's step father was Justin I, who was also from what's now Northern Macedonia. The Justinian that I'm talking about is the same as the one in the video, Justinian I, born in Tauresium (Northern Macedonia) in the year 482, the emperor under which Belirsarius served.
Okay this is the best Channel I've ever stumbled upon... the other night I just watched the Napoleon special, it was amazing!! Thank you to all who create these amazing pieces about history!
I have to remark on the music in all of your videos, it really creates an awesome atmosphere for the topic showed in them. Great work as always!
Belisarius, the unsung hero of the Byzantine Empire.
@@ΡωμαϊκόνΠύρ
Imagine posting nonesense comment about Byzantine.
Eastern Roman Empire*
@@HsienKoMeiLingFormerYANG Imagine being jobless and replying to those nonsense comments while lying on your sofa. Great life you got there mate.
@@muchentuchen6592
I do have part time job. The ways it is.
@@muchentuchen6592 Roman Empire*
Dude when i hear your voice i imediatly remember your legandary napoleonic serie , i hope this one would be as good
I’ve seen many brilliant individual battle reviews of Bellisarius’s. I have been waiting for someone to do an overview of all his accomplishments. 👍
Greece will never be complete without modern day Turkey under its command
Belisarius was the man of his era. The Byzantine Empire would never see such success after he died. It's the biggest pity his associates were lesser men and worked to undermine him.
generally i agree, but those conquests overstretched the empire and were unecessary. with so few troops committed Justinian was lucky he had a military genius in his hands to accomplish most of the objectives but Italy itself was never really secure and would eventually be lost completely.
I would say Basill II's reign matched Justinian's but more importantly, The empire was stronger and stood more securely in his time despite being smaller.
Narses was just as competent and more importantly the one to actually complete the conquest of Italy and repel the Frankish Invasion.
@@tylerellis9097 take note though, that Narses had a superiority of force against his enemies compared to the ridiculous inferiority of forces that Belisarius was constantly handicapped with. At one point Belisarius had around a mere 1,500 men in Italy under his direct command.
@@stuka80 True But Narses still had to March his entire army through the Dalmatian coast to Italy, fought Totila the Best General of the Goths, defeated and killed him through brilliant tactical maneuvering and formations, then defeated his successor Teias in the Goths Steadfast final stand. Finally To top it off then repelled the Fresh Frankish Invasion through advanced use of Heavy infantry and horse archers.
His army was also mostly made up of Germanic Foederati. Finally Narses was far more liked by his multiethnic troops then Belisarius and better at maintaining their loyalty.
And Chad enough he’s the Last Roman General to celebrate a Triumph in Rome.
Not saying Narses was better but he’s definitely on par with Belisarius and carried Justinian just as Much.
this channel has an incredible inspiring force
it makes me want to do a similar work focused on the history of my country, Italy
Would love to see a series about khosrau anushirawan (think that’s right ) he was justinians main rival during this time and was ruler of the Sassanid empire and also fun fact he was the one who imported chess from India into Europe
Constantine XI deserves an episode, for sure!
3:25 - many thanks for putting my people (Bulgars) on the map 150 years before they set foot on European soil! xD I'm teasing but awesome docu
The first 1mintue and 30 second is the best intro and part of the video
Again an high quality documentary. Thank you for the hard work Epic History TV 😄
The music used for this is on another level.
Does anybody recognize the music used in this video? It's a brilliant piece.
Another fantastic video. Even though I knew the story I was engrossed from beginning to end. Great work!
seriously, thank you guys for all you great work. it is something to depict history as correctly as possible, but to do it in such a way as to incite motivation and excitement is another story. A story you guys are telling so well. Keep up the good work, and thank you to the sponsors as well, for the support and good will, hélas, we live in a world where information is not transmitted unless it sells something or hits the boundaries of propaganda.
This isn't content, it's a masterpiece! I love the quality you guys achieve. Your Napoleonic series is one of my favorite history pieces ever.
One of the most underrated commanders ever, thank you for talking about him.
Just saying but I feel that Belisarius deserves the title Belisarius the great.
And then we have Napoleon, the ultimate Emperor-general combo
imo I think he is up there with Caesar and Alexander
@@mylesjulius4742 Alexander wasn't a good emperor. He overstretched his empire and his men, and soon after his death his empire was dismantled from inside.
@@josecipriano3048 Alexander was always more of a general than an administrator or emperor.
This channel is amazing, the narration, the music, the animation quality, it makes learning about history as exciting as watching a movie. Only few documentaries feel both educating and captivating and this channel does a better job of it than any TV series I know.
This is hands down my fav youtube page
I actually enjoy these a lot more when you guys use boxes/rectangles to tell the story instead of clips from Total War.
One of my favorite generals from history. So glad see you doing a series on him!
actually emperor Heraclius will be remembered as Romes last great general
Wasnt he an emperor also
A.D. I LOVE IT! Don't give me any of that BCE/CE mumbo jumbo.
Belisarius: the man who almost reunited the western and eastern roman empire; the man who saved Byzantium time and time again and who allowed it to endure 900 years after he left the earth.
I'd love to play a Assassin's Creed game set during this time.
One of the greatest saviors of Holy Terra, his army of Primaris march together with the regent Lord Papa Smurf himself
Sorry to inform you but the Justinian Plague has infected all of the Emperor's gene seed reserves, turning all hopes of future military reinforcements to dust. As such from this point onwards the Imperium will be fighting a war againt time.
Belisarius is an amazing figure he stands tall among the greatest Romans
"Belisarius:the Emperor's Sword"
The most suitable, honorable and intimitating title for the greatest general of Rome.
Thanks for having recorded these videos on Justinian and Belisarius, the best though most underrated couple
I am absolutely thrilled for this series!! Today is a damn good day. Keep up the brilliant work
I think you should try to make a series on Genghis Khan and Mongol Empire.
I completely agree with you on that Satoru Gojo because like the Mongols were mighty, Magnificent and fierce warriors who conquered China, Persia, Russia, and made raids into Poland 🇵🇱,Hungary and I would also say that the mongols played an important role in the fall of the Byzantine empire and what I mean by that is by the time the mongols reached modern day turkey 🇹🇷 they launched invasions which deteriorated the power of the Seijuqs and as the ilkhanate commanders in Anatolia gained strength and authority it encouraged the beys of Anatolia to declare sovereignty and as the Byzantine empire’s power in Asia minor was deteriorating one of these beys decided to take matters into his own hands and transformed the Kayi Tribe into an empire that would spark the end of the Byzantine empire and the rise of the modern republic of turkey and the empire was the famous OTTOMAN Empire.
@@chasechristophermurraydola9314 calm down
@@hazzmati okay I am calmed down
@@chasechristophermurraydola9314 The real reason the Seljuks disintegrated was because of the loss they faced in the Battle of Qatwan against the Kara Khitai. The same Kara Khitai who were once overlords of the Naiman Khanate and the Kwarizmian Empire.
After this battle the Seljuks last strong leader died and the Empire fragmented into competing Beyliks and Sultanates.
The Mongols conqured the Kara Khitai and basically forced the Seljuks to consolidate even more in Anatolia.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qatwan
@@grimgoreironhide9985 oh okay
Finally, a proper name for the Empire: Roman Empire. It did NOT ceased to exist.
It was just the Italian peninsula that was taken by hostiles.
@Some thing but they didnt rename themselves the romans called themselves "Romaioi" meaning Roman, some of these lands were also under Roman rule longer than their own rule, they were Romans just as people from the western USA isn't considered Native American they are American and people from eastern Russia aren't Siberian they are Russian
@Some thing you are incorrect to assume roman culture didnt dominate further than the Italian peninsula and you clearly don't have any sources for that, lands across rome was ruled by people from their native homeland but was still ran by a roman governor along with roman citizens being merged into these lands to increase "romanization"
@@reignadams6692 They were Greeks and hellenized populations that had roman citizenship, in other words they were only politically romans. So if you mean solely in a political sense, then yes they were Romans/Roman citizens. Otherwise they were completely different people from the ancient romans and the only thing that linked them together was the fact that both of them (ancient Romans, medieval Greeks) controlled the Roman state at different historical periods. When we're saying that the Byzantines were Romans we mean that they were people that had roman citizenship, not that they were descendants of ancients Romans. As for the Roman culture, it dominated further than the Italian peninsula but it certainly didn't dominate the eastern part of the empire where the dominant culture was the Greek one.
@@gilpaubelid3780 Great post. This is the point that most do not understand about the eastern Romans. The Latin language and influence may have greatly took hold in Western Europe, but Eastern Europe and mostly the eastern parts of the Roman Empire were always hellenized since the times of Alexander the Great and his massive influence. Latin language and influence could never penetrate or displace the Greek influence and although the Roman identity and Roman ways of administration took hold, I believe the eastern Romans were always and continuously aware of their “Greekness” and “otherness” from the western parts of the empire.
@@gilpaubelid3780 emperor Hadrian was from Hispania and was mocked by the senate for his accent and not speaking proper Roman Latin vs Vulgar Latin or a variation of it. Does that make him politically Roman and not truly Roman? You are trying to interpret a past world through modern tropes. Being Roman was never an ethnicity. Ever heard of the Roman emperors Philip the Arab and Elagabalus who were…shocker….Arab???? Are they not true Roman emperors but only politically Roman? Do you see how silly your argument is?
At Callinicum Arab allies fought at the exposed flanks of both armies
Al Mundhir Lakhmids on the Persian left and Al Harith Ghassanids at the Roman right, al Mundhir with Persian cavalry support was able to route the Ghassanids and turn the Roman flank
Ah Ghassanids and Lakhmids... Christian arabs. Good old days
@@1488EVERGETES
At this point the Lakhmids weren't Christians yet (their Kings at least) Al Mundhir their leader was a Pagan infamous for sacrificing 500 nuns to the Arabian goddess Al-Uzza, but then again at least one of the previous Lakhmid kings was a Christian so idk
@@miracleyang3048 yeah maybe due to the persian influence Lakhmids werent Christians at that point or at least not all of the kings were Christians. But Ghassanids were, and as far as i know Lakhmids were Christians when their kingdom fell
@@1488EVERGETES
Yeah they definitely abandoned paganism for good in the later years,
The Ghassanids however weren't just Christians they considered themselves defenders of Christianity against the Persians and their pagans allies, the Ghassanids always ride to battle carrying a Cross and an icon of Saint Sergius
What is missing in the Nika riots is what happened before Belisarius and Mundus enter the Hippodrome (the rioters headquarters) Justinian sent the eunuch Narses with a bags of gold, unarmed into the Hippodrome. He goes to the Blues faction. Reminds the Blue faction that Justinian had always supported the Blues and that the man they had selected to replace Justinian belonged to the Green faction. Narses hands the leader of the Blues the gold and leaves. The Blues discuss the situation and decide to change sides and back Justinian. The Blues then leave leaving the Hippodrome full of Greens. This is when Belisarius and Mundus enter the Hippodrome and proceed to annihilate all the people left in the Hippodrome.
This narrator ranks among the best I've heard in any history channel.. He adds a special element of prestige to these videos and is a big part of why I keep watching Epic History TV videos.. Kudos!