Justinian was like that because of his Theodora planting those ideas in his head. Belisarius' wife, Antonia, who was also close friends to Theodora was no help either.
@@terner1234 There was a battle at Ravenna in 476 between Roman Feoderati and the emperors Garrison, but it only lasted a day. The emperor(who was a usurper) abdicated, and the victor for the first time decided not to take the title Emperor, leaving the seat vacant. Ravenna was not sacked or put to siege. Rome was not touched. It was, however, sacked in 455 by the Vandals.
@@tristandavies9597 > probably wouldnt care, had lower taxes, a fairer justice system and more stability under the Goths I am not so sure about that. The Goths had almost no experience managing cities, people, and the infrastructure. They did not know how to administrate the people, deal with the municipal issues, and deal with the declining population in a very large old city that was literally falling apart at the seams (due to lack of maintenance). One of the reasons for the fall of Italian peninsula after Justinian won it back was due to the lack of any remaining centralized roman management infrastructure. For example, they could not collect taxes anymore, as there was no records left of who owned what. There were no tax collectors, no places to keep the tax revenue, no way to administrate any of this. Without the tax income, Italy was going to be a lose-lose situation and a waste of money to protect and feed. I find it hard to believe Rome was more stable under the Goths.
Belisarius was a tactical genius equal to Caesar and Hannibal. It must have felt amazing to get Rome back from the Goths. That revenge must have been sweet.
This is debatable.Belisar excelled mainly as a defensive commander as general of offensive battles he was not so successfull(unlike Caesar and Hannibal),although he also showed good sense of tactics mainly during long siege of Rome.
@@dosran5786 I didnt said Belisarius never won any battlefield victory through leading his men offensively but he was definitely the most succesfull when fighting defensively.There are many examples of Belisarius losing battle when trying to win through offensive approach. In that particular battle you mentioned he won because of his quick reaction.Rebel army was unexpectedly changing its deployment at the last moment and Belisarius calculated that,being dramatically lower in his own troop numbers,this mystake of his enemy was his best chance to win.So without any bigger preparations he ordered simple general charge and it worked as he hoped since enemy soldiers were in disorder and were quickly overcomed by panic plus also dust was blowing in their eyes which further helped to Belisarius side. But you cant define commander and his most sufficiant way of fighting battles on the ground of one exception.
@@donvickers6710 Justinian's vacillation and lack of faith in Belisarius' loyalty, as well as the rivalry between the generals whom he sent into Italy, caused the war to be conducted in a far less efficient and more destructive manner. But don't underestimate how the calamities which befell the whole Roman world such as the 'Plague of Justinian' affected everything that happened.
@@dosran5786 the Ostrogoths essentially led to states, a Gothic one who had their own laws and a Roman one who maintained their ancient laws, Theodoric maintained the old Roman institutions such as the senate and these institutions and the entire administrative system was governed solely by Romans, in other words little had changed except Goth's now lived in northern Italy. These wars broke Italy and sealed the fate of what was Rome.
It’s amazing how Justinian lived until his 80s and the fact that he ruled for 38 years. He was a great man he was on of the greatest emperors in Roman history. But i cannot forget Flavius Belisarius he was a true Roman and one of the greatest man in Roman history. It’s a shame that his name is not well know like some of the other Roman commanders.
@@hilmimehmeti5348 his personal roots plays no role in his status of Roman Emperor.You guys from Albania are always interrested only in saying other people that or that Emperor was from Illyria(which you romantically saw as "yours") otherwise nothing else interest you about those persons.
I currently have to prepare for my exams, but after them, I'm totally hitting the library in search of books about Belisarius. Thanks for bringing him to my attention.
Kamil Szadkowski for faster information than reading look up the extra history channel, they do do a good series on the rule of Justinian, belasarius is frequently mentioned. It's a wonder why he's not more popularly known.
@@filiusreticulum2926 Edit: _"Caesar was a conqueror at the height of the Roman Empire. Belisarius was a defender of a failing state."_ The Roman empire at the death of Belisarius in 565 was about 30% larger than the empire of the Roman Republic at the death of Julius Caesar in 44bc, including his conquests of Gaul. A failing state doesn't undertake vast offensive expeditions overseas, or go out building new cities, monuments, churches, rebuilding cities, and building a thousand forts. And a failing state doesn't have a well trained professional army 200,000-300,000 strong. It may have been a state in crisis a generation or three after Belisarius, but in his day, it was the only true world power and wealthier than any other state.
Won't be able to reply to the comments early on - need to sleep it off. Please, behave. :-) Obviously, all the comments will be answered eventually. Thanks for watching!
its not just his mastermind that is amazing... his whole story... his battles in africa and all that... one of the most interesting figures in human history. and not a lot of people even know his name. only history buffs...
+Kings and Generals It's not his fault, Rome didn't have any walls when he built the Mausoleum. Blame Aurelian for being a lazy shit and not building his walls around Hadrian's Mausoleum.
The thing is that the Aurelian Walls do go around Hadrian's tomb as they were extended to there by Honorius. (go look at Google Maps!) The thing is that I'm not sure they were held by the Roman army during the Siege of Rome. I felt that Procopius was rather vague with some of his assertions regarding that.
According to "The Gothic War: Justinian's Campaign to Reclaim Italy" by Torsten Cumberland Jacobsen, Belisarius was forced into sallying out by his rowdy soldiers who had become too confident in themselves from the repeated successes against the Ostrogoths. Belisarius gave a speech that amounted to, "You're making me do this. I do not believe that this will work." before marching out. Regardless of whose idea it was to fight, this was a great video, as always. Edit: Thanks for correcting me. The Ostrogoths had taken over Italy. Don't know why I wrote Visigoths.
I love clips about Belisarius (which I rank as one of greatest and more fair generals in history!). This episode was realy good! This comes like "EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!" I hope that you will continue until end of Justinians reign. I mean there are at least 4 or 5 great battles that Belisarius and his rival Narsses won!
ahahahhahahahahahah now imagine what will happen when the rich will form their own guards and militias... im turning red just by thinking about it! hey maybe the russians were right after all, man!
@@MK_ULTRA420 sure, but they are no match for an actual army. back then you could buy swords and bows and you had your own corp that given training could match an actual national army... now its not that easy.
@@MojoBonzoBuilding an empire was easier back then like you said. However, training citizen soldiers is much easier today due to the weapons used. I think being trained how to use a gun is much easier than being trained how to use a spear and shield. I also believe people back back then had to be physically tougher and healthier to be even trained. Training soldiers has become much easier but equipping them and manufacturing their weapons have become more costly and difficult.
Belisarius is a very forgotten, yet extremely important commander and historic figure, and one of my personal favourite commanders. He could actually be considered as one of the best commanders in history, together with men like Khalid bin Al Walled, who had fought over a 100 battles and never lost, including battles like the battles of Mu'tah, Yamama, and ofcourse Yarmouk, as well as many others, Alexander the great, slair of the Persians and a brilliant commander, Falvius Belisarius himself, Justinian's right hand man in his great reconquest, Cao Cao, the brilliant and powerful Chinese commander who came so close to unifying China, and many many others. I appreciate that you made this series, about this often unmentioned and forgotten general, Flavius Belisarius.
Last year i did a paper on Belisarius for uni because i think he is really interresting and classical history books always neglect the byzantine empire when talking about the roman era. Really fun to see this channel give Belisarius the attention he deserves. Thank you for that!
Kings and Generals That's such a shame. Anyways thank you for these informative videos they really do these historical figures justice and allows people to get a grasp of the strategic minds of the day
Great job again! I heard the name Belisarius before, but only since watching this channel I start knowing more about him. This general is totally underestimated and overlooked.
Amazing work, never knew about the details and anecdotes mentionned here (including Belisarius himself being locked outside the city). Thanks to the team for your work !
Awesome! Thanks so much. This series has been my favorite one thus far. I think it's safe to say Belisarius was a stud and the true star of Emperor Justinian's reign.
One of the most interesting battles, especially from those less known, I ever watched on UA-cam. Good choice, good narrating, good battle to ponder about
I rank Belisarius as one of the greatest generals in Roman history and this was an amazing video. I love the entire Roman era [both western and eastern parts of the empire and the Republic era] and it is disappointing that Emperor Justinian kept on disrupting Belisarius in the reconquest wars. I hope to see more of the Reconquest of the West wars :)!
Belasarius is one of the greatest generals of the Byzantium Empire and fight the enemy with his creativity and winning against all odds. Nice video as always Kings and Generals. If you have time to waste I recommend you watch a video about emperor Justinian from the Extra Credits Channel.
It's okay Malik even if he is not great in you he still did his job and did it. After Justinian died Byzantine empire never got Rome back again. It's still a big achievement for Belasarius conquering Back Rome and Egypt for 60 years.
It's common to history about exaggerated things. Even if it is exaggerated things in recapturing Rome Justinian Paid a heavy price. I agree with your statement on the first paragraph that Justinian empty the national treasury of the empire and its resources. The plague and other Persia and goths did challenge Justinian in his rule. I'm sleepy so We can say that Justinian did do a decent job in ruling the empire and managing to reconquer Egypt, Rome and HIspania with the help of Belasarius and other Important person which I don't remember. Reconquering those land are good achievement exaggerated or not still a good job. But sadly after Justinian died the empire decline which is a little bit sad but let's end this talk now. It's fun having a conversation with you Malik I've gain new knowledge.
It was not Egypt, but Carthage (Provincia Africa) that was recaptured. This was very important (a breadbasket of the West, rich, and relatively easy to defend) and was a very valuable addition to the Empire. It stayed in Roman hands for almost 200 years, and at some point emperor Heraclius even considered moving the capital to Cathage.
THE Eastern Roman empire was great unitl the Illyrian Emperors were in charge. Constantine the great , an Illyrian emperor created the eastern roman empire and Justinian another Illyrian emperor was the greatest one. When anatolians and asiatics came to power the eastern roman empire went to shit. All these Illyrian emperors were ancestors of today's Albanians
You have to feel bad for Belisarius. A truly loyal soldier to his country and sovereign. In the end, brought down by the very sovereign he served and his cheating wife.
VYNLT I feel like after all that his reputation would have heavily been tainted. What they did to belisarius was cruel to such a loyal soldier and General.
Loved this video. I'm starting to have a much higher regard for Belisarius than I originally have before. Great work to whoever made this video a reality.
I'm glad to see this. Belisarius has not been given due credit for his contributions to the Roman Empire. I believe he was assassinated or pushed aside due to his growing popularity by the emperor, if I'm not mistaken. Good video and as always backed by good research.
My understanding is that the Emperor forgave him again eventually and enjoyed having a trusted advisor and friend at his side. Belisarius was used as essential line of communication between the Emperor and the Pope Vigilius in the 550s. He was accused in the 560s but forgiven and it's recorded that he had his full titles restored. The legend of him being blinded seems to be fabricated.
This war was such a mistake. Italy would have been better off if Justinian could have influenced the Ostrogothic court into a favourable outcome. The Ostrogoths were very Romanized and benevolent rulers of Italy, this reconquest would only result in the complete destruction of the penninsula (far worse than any so-called barbarians did the century before), and put the empire in deep debt which resulted in the Arab Conquests.
+Kings and Generals Now that's a really good question, as that's one of the largest debates regarding Justinian's reconquests. Did Justinian plan to restore the whole Western Empire all along? Or was this something he improvised due to how successful the Vanadlic War turned out to be? Nobody really knows. It's just a shame what happened to Italy. It was flourishing under Ostrogothic rule, in a way which it hadn't for 50 years. Then by the end of this war it was a wartorn hellhole. Most senators and aristocrats were either killed or fled east, entire cities were destroyed, and those that weren't turned into ghost towns and as a result the society became increasingly ruralized/militarized. It's quite ironic, that what destroyed the Roman culture and way of life in Italy was not the Goths or the Vandals, but the Romans themselves in their attempt to get it back.
Justinian had reasons to believe this would be a short war: The Goths had internal strife and incompetent leadership and the populous was largely in favour of Belisarious. And in the early stages, things went according to Roman plans. Belisarious took over the majority of Italy very fast and without large casuaties, before he was recalled back to Constantinople. It was on its second phase, after Vitigis was gone that the Italian war became prolongued, wildly expensive and with huge casualties in both soldiers and civilians. If Justinian had let Belisarious win the war in the first phase, it would be a quick glorious victory.
marvelfannumber1 Yes, but if he didn't conquer Italy Empire would not endure Arab attack. Also, Arab attack is not caused by war in Italy, but by Byzantine-Sassanid war 602-628 in which (for the time being) Sassanid Empire take and in large part destory entire Roman Middle East (Egypt, Paletina, Syria, Armenia and third or even half of todays Turkey!). During Arab conquest big part of main force come from western provinces that Justinian conquered (Italy and North Afica). Also "all of Empire bread" (if you know what I mean) in time of Arab conquest come from fields of Sicily and North Africa! So, in some way, Justinian saved Empire by that move! Also it is not true that conquest empty imperial vault, plague did that. Acctualy Justinian manage to restore revenue at end of his reigne!
Good job on the video. It is one of my favourite history topics. Good presentation and well done research. I am proud to be one of your early subscribers. One day you guys will pass the million for sure. I will make sure to help as I can. :)
That was the ingredient of Roman Empire,that made it great: anybody,from anywhere,could rise in hierarchy,from a Thracian shepherd,to general,even Emperor! That's a big learn!!!
Kuno Movies and series were made about those generals, but I don't recall hearing any about Belisarius or seeing one, that's why those generals are known.
I loved it! Anything on the Roman Empire is fine by me. My only wish is that there was a playlist with all the dates in order so I can watch the videos like a long story
You should do Wars of the Diadochi. Its an interesting part of history after the death of Alexander the Great. By the way one of the greatest channels on UA-cam about history
"Finally Rome was securely back in the Roman Empire, but at what cost?" You asked the question. It would have improved the documentary if you'd also answered it.
Dang, you guys always make these so interesting! I'm suppose to be reading about this, but the suspense! ugh, this channel is like the Game of Thrones of history!
General Bellissarius Birth PlaceGeneral Vellisarius Birth place ...[Ormenio (Greek: Ορμένιο) is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros regional unit of Thrace. It is situated near the right bank of the river Evros, which forms the border with Bulgaria here. On the other side of the Evros, 6 km to the north, lies the Bulgarian town Svilengrad. Nearby villages in Greece are Ptelea to its southeast and Petrota to its southwest. Ormenio is bypassed by the Greek National Road 51/European route E85 (Feres - Soufli - Orestiada - Ormenio), which continues across the border as the Bulgarian road 80 to Svilengrad. Ormenio had a railway station on the line from Didymoteicho to Harmanli in Bulgaria.
Forget star wars...this was the REAL Empire Strikes Back!!!
best comment I read here so far :)
Holy shit, this is actually logically and most possibly the best comment I've read today! XD
Yes, until Justinian became jealous/fearful of Belasarius.
Justinian was like that because of his Theodora planting those ideas in his head. Belisarius' wife, Antonia, who was also close friends to Theodora was no help either.
Yep, Empire strikes back. :-)
61 years since Rome was originally sacked by the Goths imagine being on old 80+ year Ex-Roman soldier and the East came and took it back, euphoric....
well not many of those would be around but yeah it would be ecstatic
Rome was sacked by the Goths in 410, so about 130 years.
@@histguy101 rome was sacked one more time in 476 CE and only then the romans lost control of it
@@terner1234 There was a battle at Ravenna in 476 between Roman Feoderati and the emperors Garrison, but it only lasted a day. The emperor(who was a usurper) abdicated, and the victor for the first time decided not to take the title Emperor, leaving the seat vacant. Ravenna was not sacked or put to siege.
Rome was not touched. It was, however, sacked in 455 by the Vandals.
@@tristandavies9597 > probably wouldnt care, had lower taxes, a fairer justice system and more stability under the Goths
I am not so sure about that. The Goths had almost no experience managing cities, people, and the infrastructure. They did not know how to administrate the people, deal with the municipal issues, and deal with the declining population in a very large old city that was literally falling apart at the seams (due to lack of maintenance). One of the reasons for the fall of Italian peninsula after Justinian won it back was due to the lack of any remaining centralized roman management infrastructure. For example, they could not collect taxes anymore, as there was no records left of who owned what. There were no tax collectors, no places to keep the tax revenue, no way to administrate any of this. Without the tax income, Italy was going to be a lose-lose situation and a waste of money to protect and feed. I find it hard to believe Rome was more stable under the Goths.
Belisarius was a tactical genius equal to Caesar and Hannibal. It must have felt amazing to get Rome back from the Goths. That revenge must have been sweet.
Agreed, Belisarius is on par with the masters of the old.
This is debatable.Belisar excelled mainly as a defensive commander as general of offensive battles he was not so successfull(unlike Caesar and Hannibal),although he also showed good sense of tactics mainly during long siege of Rome.
Parsman
Tell me about him. I know him but not much.
@@dosran5786 I didnt said Belisarius never won any battlefield victory through leading his men offensively but he was definitely the most succesfull when fighting defensively.There are many examples of Belisarius losing battle when trying to win through offensive approach.
In that particular battle you mentioned he won because of his quick reaction.Rebel army was unexpectedly changing its deployment at the last moment and Belisarius calculated that,being dramatically lower in his own troop numbers,this mystake of his enemy was his best chance to win.So without any bigger preparations he ordered simple general charge and it worked as he hoped since enemy soldiers were in disorder and were quickly overcomed by panic plus also dust was blowing in their eyes which further helped to Belisarius side.
But you cant define commander and his most sufficiant way of fighting battles on the ground of one exception.
How about his victories against the Vandals?
The recapture of Rome is one of the most satisfying historical moments ever.
Next episode will be fun! :-)
Yes, it is. Its like bizantinians saved the world during darkest times.
@@donvickers6710 Justinian's vacillation and lack of faith in Belisarius' loyalty, as well as the rivalry between the generals whom he sent into Italy, caused the war to be conducted in a far less efficient and more destructive manner. But don't underestimate how the calamities which befell the whole Roman world such as the 'Plague of Justinian' affected everything that happened.
@@donvickers6710 what a pussy cease to exist please
@@dosran5786 the Ostrogoths essentially led to states, a Gothic one who had their own laws and a Roman one who maintained their ancient laws, Theodoric maintained the old Roman institutions such as the senate and these institutions and the entire administrative system was governed solely by Romans, in other words little had changed except Goth's now lived in northern Italy. These wars broke Italy and sealed the fate of what was Rome.
It’s amazing how Justinian lived until his 80s and the fact that he ruled for 38 years. He was a great man he was on of the greatest emperors in Roman history. But i cannot forget Flavius Belisarius he was a true Roman and one of the greatest man in Roman history. It’s a shame that his name is not well know like some of the other Roman commanders.
Maybe our series will change that. :-) Sharing will help. ;-)
Depends on how you view him
In some perspectives justinian is the reason why the Roman empire declined
Greatest Roman, but with origine is Illyrian like many Roman Emperors!
@@hilmimehmeti5348 his personal roots plays no role in his status of Roman Emperor.You guys from Albania are always interrested only in saying other people that or that Emperor was from Illyria(which you romantically saw as "yours") otherwise nothing else interest you about those persons.
Thomas Sugg Augustus and Agrippa reincarnated.
"Rome belonged to the empire once again"
:')
:')
:')
Malay Archer
Rome is rightfuly muslim claim
F
Allah Is My Lord nice bait.
Interesting, I did know about this events but not in such details. I think I was greatly underestimating Belisarius.
Yeah, he was one of the generals who lived and breathed war. Not cruel, but a professional.
I currently have to prepare for my exams, but after them, I'm totally hitting the library in search of books about Belisarius. Thanks for bringing him to my attention.
Crush them! :-)
I will!
Kamil Szadkowski for faster information than reading look up the extra history channel, they do do a good series on the rule of Justinian, belasarius is frequently mentioned. It's a wonder why he's not more popularly known.
Too bad that Belisarius doesn´t have the recognition that people give to ceasar. The man was a tactical mastermind and very loyal to his emperor
True. He was on par with the generals of the Antiquity.
Ceasar was a conquerer at the height of Roman empire. Belisarius was a defender of a failing state. Also Shakespeare and pop culture play a role
Its because both of them have the same origin, Illyrian!
@sciphynuts if you dont know, that time was no slavs in Illyrian peninsula.
@@filiusreticulum2926 Edit: _"Caesar was a conqueror at the height of the Roman Empire. Belisarius was a defender of a failing state."_
The Roman empire at the death of Belisarius in 565 was about 30% larger than the empire of the Roman Republic at the death of Julius Caesar in 44bc, including his conquests of Gaul.
A failing state doesn't undertake vast offensive expeditions overseas, or go out building new cities, monuments, churches, rebuilding cities, and building a thousand forts. And a failing state doesn't have a well trained professional army 200,000-300,000 strong.
It may have been a state in crisis a generation or three after Belisarius, but in his day, it was the only true world power and wealthier than any other state.
Won't be able to reply to the comments early on - need to sleep it off. Please, behave. :-) Obviously, all the comments will be answered eventually. Thanks for watching!
Kings and Generals Can you guys please do any video about Skanderbeg?
+juubi jinchuriki can you try watching something that doesn't cover your nation?
Kings and Generals You just crushed my dreams like my parents.
Kings and Generals can you do the battle of issus soon?
Napoleon Bonaparte How was Berlin?
Truly one of the greatest generals in history
He is my new favourite historical figure.
in my top 10
Even the Pope agrees. :-)
its not just his mastermind that is amazing... his whole story... his battles in africa and all that... one of the most interesting figures in human history. and not a lot of people even know his name. only history buffs...
@@KingsandGenerals Pope is not ROMAN .. It s LOMBARDIAN CONQUEROR OF ROMAN LANDS ... ONLY GREEKS ARE ROMANS
"HEY! I'M TRYING TO BE DEAD IN HERE!"~Me when the barbarians tried assaulting my mausoleum.
Building the mausoleum outside the walls, bad idea. :-)
+Kings and Generals
It's not his fault, Rome didn't have any walls when he built the Mausoleum. Blame Aurelian for being a lazy shit and not building his walls around Hadrian's Mausoleum.
Servian walls? :-)
+Kings and Generals
Those hadn't been used for a LONG time and were in ruins by then.
The thing is that the Aurelian Walls do go around Hadrian's tomb as they were extended to there by Honorius. (go look at Google Maps!) The thing is that I'm not sure they were held by the Roman army during the Siege of Rome. I felt that Procopius was rather vague with some of his assertions regarding that.
According to "The Gothic War: Justinian's Campaign to Reclaim Italy" by Torsten Cumberland Jacobsen, Belisarius was forced into sallying out by his rowdy soldiers who had become too confident in themselves from the repeated successes against the Ostrogoths. Belisarius gave a speech that amounted to, "You're making me do this. I do not believe that this will work." before marching out.
Regardless of whose idea it was to fight, this was a great video, as always.
Edit: Thanks for correcting me. The Ostrogoths had taken over Italy. Don't know why I wrote Visigoths.
Thank you very much! :-) I think that I cut that point out of the initial script. Bad me.
This is a great book that I'd highly recommend anyone read if they are interested about Belisarius' campaigns in italy and Africa!
You mean Vandals?
stuka80 I mean when he wrote "repeated success, did he mean against Vandals?".
Because differentiating the goths is much like doing the same with the stans, what's the point? jk
I love clips about Belisarius (which I rank as one of greatest and more fair generals in history!). This episode was realy good! This comes like "EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!" I hope that you will continue until end of Justinians reign. I mean there are at least 4 or 5 great battles that Belisarius and his rival Narsses won!
There will be more episodes.
Kings and Generals Great! I think that there is material to 3-5 more great episodes!
Both Belisarious and Justinian were Illyrians.
Adolph Bismark Well either that or, more likely, Thracians. In any way they were born on Balkan. Justinian is acctualy born in my country, Serbia.
Romanised Latin speaking Thracians, i.e. (Proto)Romanians
Belisarius is one of the most underrated commanders in history. Basically rebuilt the Roman Empire with about 30k men.
A "Household guard" of 5000 men; his house must have been insanely large!
ahahahhahahahahahah now imagine what will happen when the rich will form their own guards and militias... im turning red just by thinking about it! hey maybe the russians were right after all, man!
@@MojoBonzo When? They already have access to mercenaries and private security.
@@MK_ULTRA420 sure, but they are no match for an actual army. back then you could buy swords and bows and you had your own corp that given training could match an actual national army... now its not that easy.
“A Lannister always pays his...” wait that’s a different story.
@@MojoBonzoBuilding an empire was easier back then like you said. However, training citizen soldiers is much easier today due to the weapons used. I think being trained how to use a gun is much easier than being trained how to use a spear and shield. I also believe people back back then had to be physically tougher and healthier to be even trained. Training soldiers has become much easier but equipping them and manufacturing their weapons have become more costly and difficult.
Belisarius is a very forgotten, yet extremely important commander and historic figure, and one of my personal favourite commanders. He could actually be considered as one of the best commanders in history, together with men like Khalid bin Al Walled, who had fought over a 100 battles and never lost, including battles like the battles of Mu'tah, Yamama, and ofcourse Yarmouk, as well as many others, Alexander the great, slair of the Persians and a brilliant commander, Falvius Belisarius himself, Justinian's right hand man in his great reconquest, Cao Cao, the brilliant and powerful Chinese commander who came so close to unifying China, and many many others. I appreciate that you made this series, about this often unmentioned and forgotten general, Flavius Belisarius.
Don't forget Julius Caesar and Hannibal
Last year i did a paper on Belisarius for uni because i think he is really interresting and classical history books always neglect the byzantine empire when talking about the roman era. Really fun to see this channel give Belisarius the attention he deserves. Thank you for that!
Thanks! :-) This series will continue!
Thank you K&G! This has helped me with studies, learning and was my first videos which i watched in K&G channel.
Belisarius was awesome. One my favorite generals of antiquity along with Alexander and Hannibal.
Yes, he truly belongs to that group.
Top 10 Anime Comebacks of all time
Belisarius - one of the Top 10 Mechas of all time.
Belisarius, a truly great and honourable general
One of the best :-)
Kings and Generals glad you agree! Keep up the good work my friend
Planning to! :-)
I cant believe Belisarius isn't as broadly talked about compared to many other great Generals of History.
I think it is the stigma of the Dark Ages on him. It makes people ignore Belisarius.
Kings and Generals That's such a shame. Anyways thank you for these informative videos they really do these historical figures justice and allows people to get a grasp of the strategic minds of the day
Thanks for watching! :-)
I had no idea that the city of Rome was bought back into the fold... awesome vid once again guys..loved it.
Belisarius was a goddamn genius. Learned from his mistakes quick too.
I *really* appreciate the detail here. It's great to hear the thought process behind a successful siege defense.
Thanks for watching!
Great job again! I heard the name Belisarius before, but only since watching this channel I start knowing more about him. This general is totally underestimated and overlooked.
Yeah, he is overlooked. Probably due to the era he belongs to.
Amazing work, never knew about the details and anecdotes mentionned here (including Belisarius himself being locked outside the city). Thanks to the team for your work !
Thanks for watching! :-)
Awesome! Thanks so much. This series has been my favorite one thus far. I think it's safe to say Belisarius was a stud and the true star of Emperor Justinian's reign.
Thanks for watching! Yes, Belisarius was probably the best Roman general since Caesar.
Belisarius is one of the best generals in history,his strategic victories are too good to be admired.
One of the most interesting battles, especially from those less known, I ever watched on UA-cam.
Good choice, good narrating, good battle to ponder about
My sunday can't get any better with a new video.
+Droplul happy to hear that. :-)
That was as unique as you said it would be! Really happy with the result! Catch your well-earned sleep!
Thank you, my friend!
*Belisarius is my spirit animal!*
I absolutely adore your videos.
Thank you very much!
I rank Belisarius as one of the greatest generals in Roman history and this was an amazing video. I love the entire Roman era [both western and eastern parts of the empire and the Republic era] and it is disappointing that Emperor Justinian kept on disrupting Belisarius in the reconquest wars. I hope to see more of the Reconquest of the West wars :)!
Best video of your channel so far... Loved it
Thank you very much!
Belasarius is one of the greatest generals of the Byzantium Empire and fight the enemy with his creativity and winning against all odds. Nice video as always Kings and Generals.
If you have time to waste I recommend you watch a video about emperor Justinian from the Extra Credits Channel.
It's a shame that they have don't have decent kings and generals to govern the empire.
It's okay Malik even if he is not great in you he still did his job and did it. After Justinian died Byzantine empire never got Rome back again. It's still a big achievement for Belasarius conquering Back Rome and Egypt for 60 years.
It's common to history about exaggerated things. Even if it is exaggerated things in recapturing Rome Justinian Paid a heavy price. I agree with your statement on the first paragraph that Justinian empty the national treasury of the empire and its resources. The plague and other Persia and goths did challenge Justinian in his rule.
I'm sleepy so We can say that Justinian did do a decent job in ruling the empire and managing to reconquer Egypt, Rome and HIspania with the help of Belasarius and other Important person which I don't remember. Reconquering those land are good achievement exaggerated or not still a good job.
But sadly after Justinian died the empire decline which is a little bit sad but let's end this talk now.
It's fun having a conversation with you Malik I've gain new knowledge.
It was not Egypt, but Carthage (Provincia Africa) that was recaptured. This was very important (a breadbasket of the West, rich, and relatively easy to defend) and was a very valuable addition to the Empire. It stayed in Roman hands for almost 200 years, and at some point emperor Heraclius even considered moving the capital to Cathage.
THE Eastern Roman empire was great unitl the Illyrian Emperors were in charge.
Constantine the great , an Illyrian emperor created the eastern roman empire and Justinian another Illyrian emperor was the greatest one.
When anatolians and asiatics came to power the eastern roman empire went to shit.
All these Illyrian emperors were ancestors of today's Albanians
Great video! Hope to see more of Belisarius' campaigns in the future!
Unfortunately, there is not much more, but we will cover the events!
You have to feel bad for Belisarius. A truly loyal soldier to his country and sovereign. In the end, brought down by the very sovereign he served and his cheating wife.
Didn't Justinian ultimately pardon him, released him, and restored him to favor, though?
VYNLT I feel like after all that his reputation would have heavily been tainted. What they did to belisarius was cruel to such a loyal soldier and General.
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus says hello, honestly history is choke full of great generals getting fucked over by insecure leaders.
@@ivannierez7731 Stilicho & Aetius: First time?
Loved this video. I'm starting to have a much higher regard for Belisarius than I originally have before. Great work to whoever made this video a reality.
The Empire strikes back.
This one was a little less despicable. :-)
Amazing depiction of the siege battle. The quality keeps going up with each video.
That is the goal - each new episode should be better. :-)
I'm glad to see this. Belisarius has not been given due credit for his contributions to the Roman Empire. I believe he was assassinated or pushed aside due to his growing popularity by the emperor, if I'm not mistaken. Good video and as always backed by good research.
He was pushed aside and basically court-martialled. It is debated on what happened to him later, but yeah, he is underrated. Thank you! :-)
My understanding is that the Emperor forgave him again eventually and enjoyed having a trusted advisor and friend at his side. Belisarius was used as essential line of communication between the Emperor and the Pope Vigilius in the 550s. He was accused in the 560s but forgiven and it's recorded that he had his full titles restored. The legend of him being blinded seems to be fabricated.
Great documentary. Short and concise.
Thank you! Doing our best to keep it short! :-)
Well done guys. Its nice to see you again.
Thank you! :-)
It never fails to amaze me on how these massive battles were fought without using modern communication. The coordination mustve been superb
Make rome great again
That actually works better here, than anywhere else.
+Fuck Google+ never great but they managed to conquer the whole world.....
Manny Belgrano Stockholm syndrom. That’s why the Italians wanted to keep the goths lol
@montecuccoli Bizantinians liberated Italy from the Germans... They are liberators not oppressors.
@@KingsandGenerals ohhh so ur another nevertrumpist mob😂😂😂
You guys are making some of the best content on youtube, thanks
-A big fan
And one of us is an Avs fan, so you know we are cool. :-)
Great way to wake up on Sunday morning... BATTLE!
Good morning! :-)
Kings and Generals Right on guys!
Fantastic video! So informative... using your videos as a supplement to my education which really helps!
Thank you very much. We hope to be a gateway for many future historians. :-)
The best channel ever seen!
Thank you :-)
Kings and Generals I love history now even more
Im not sure why it took me so long to find your channel but Im glad I did
We are glad that you did. :-)
This war was such a mistake. Italy would have been better off if Justinian could have influenced the Ostrogothic court into a favourable outcome. The Ostrogoths were very Romanized and benevolent rulers of Italy, this reconquest would only result in the complete destruction of the penninsula (far worse than any so-called barbarians did the century before), and put the empire in deep debt which resulted in the Arab Conquests.
That is true. I wonder what was the end-game. Did it really look like the Empire can be restored and prosper once again? Don't think so.
+Kings and Generals
Now that's a really good question, as that's one of the largest debates regarding Justinian's reconquests. Did Justinian plan to restore the whole Western Empire all along? Or was this something he improvised due to how successful the Vanadlic War turned out to be? Nobody really knows.
It's just a shame what happened to Italy. It was flourishing under Ostrogothic rule, in a way which it hadn't for 50 years. Then by the end of this war it was a wartorn hellhole. Most senators and aristocrats were either killed or fled east, entire cities were destroyed, and those that weren't turned into ghost towns and as a result the society became increasingly ruralized/militarized.
It's quite ironic, that what destroyed the Roman culture and way of life in Italy was not the Goths or the Vandals, but the Romans themselves in their attempt to get it back.
Justinian had reasons to believe this would be a short war: The Goths had internal strife and incompetent leadership and the populous was largely in favour of Belisarious. And in the early stages, things went according to Roman plans. Belisarious took over the majority of Italy very fast and without large casuaties, before he was recalled back to Constantinople.
It was on its second phase, after Vitigis was gone that the Italian war became prolongued, wildly expensive and with huge casualties in both soldiers and civilians. If Justinian had let Belisarious win the war in the first phase, it would be a quick glorious victory.
Konstantinos Kotsomytis "glorious".
marvelfannumber1 Yes, but if he didn't conquer Italy Empire would not endure Arab attack. Also, Arab attack is not caused by war in Italy, but by Byzantine-Sassanid war 602-628 in which (for the time being) Sassanid Empire take and in large part destory entire Roman Middle East (Egypt, Paletina, Syria, Armenia and third or even half of todays Turkey!). During Arab conquest big part of main force come from western provinces that Justinian conquered (Italy and North Afica). Also "all of Empire bread" (if you know what I mean) in time of Arab conquest come from fields of Sicily and North Africa! So, in some way, Justinian saved Empire by that move! Also it is not true that conquest empty imperial vault, plague did that. Acctualy Justinian manage to restore revenue at end of his reigne!
Good job on the video. It is one of my favourite history topics. Good presentation and well done research. I am proud to be one of your early subscribers. One day you guys will pass the million for sure. I will make sure to help as I can. :)
We are proud that you are with us! :-) Thank you very much!
There was a saying on that period: "The name of Belisarius is worth 50000 soldiers".
This was a great video! Thank you for all your hard work
Thanks for watching!
Respect Belisarius from Turkey and very good video respect Kings and Generals.
Thanks!
Solomon the hardvorking slave Solomon the hardvorking slave you know ? why you are low IQ because eşşeğin zikinden dolayı
Spiderman Adamdır REEEEEEEEE
@@kenantiryaki8806 Atatürk was greek ......he was born in Thessaloniki, Greece.
@@g.x.9104 No problem. I love Greeks. So ı love Atatürk
You should cover Cyrus the Great and the Persians
It is a
Very interesting part of history
Great video
indeed he should
We'll see.
“But at what cost? And for how long?” Damn, I shed a tear at that.
Great content getting better and better with every video. Keep it up!
That is our goal, to be better every time. :-)
mah boi Belisarius, one of the biggest badasses in history
Yep, he will be back with more. :-)
These videos are really well made. Well done guys 👍
Thank you!
Thanks for the amazing video once again!
Thanks for watching! :-)
I seriously can't get enough of Belisarius. EVERYTHING about him is just so cool.
John Smith Yeah it's odd. His loyalty, honor, brilliance and achievements are amazing. Truly an underrated general of history.
@@blingwraith6951 Self-prais smells .-)
That was the ingredient of Roman Empire,that made it great: anybody,from anywhere,could rise in hierarchy,from a Thracian shepherd,to general,even Emperor! That's a big learn!!!
so much better than any History channel bio i've ever seen, and that goes for all the video's i've watched on this channel
All of your documentary movies are great, and one day I would like to see a video about Pyrrhus of Epirus... He deserves one for himself :D
Thank you! Yes, there will be at least one.
these videos are awesome. Thanks again yet for another great video. And the narrator's voice is perfect for this...
This is so awesome!
Thank you! :-)
Very impressive video. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks for watching!
The Glory that was once Rome could never be recaptured
Excellent video as always! Belisarius is a real badass!
Thank you very much! :-)
Some General he was, this chap.
One of the best.
Really great episode once again on a topic that is hard to get good information on!
Thanks! :-)
Great general!
One of the best in history, probably.
It saddens me that Belisarius isn't quite as well known as other great generals like Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, etc.
Kuno
Movies and series were made about those generals, but I don't recall hearing any about Belisarius or seeing one, that's why those generals are known.
Friggin love this channel!!!!!
Thank you!
8:28 I can imagine Vitiges shouting "Noobs" and "Campers" at Belisarius who just camped out on artillery and arrow towers.
I loved it! Anything on the Roman Empire is fine by me. My only wish is that there was a playlist with all the dates in order so I can watch the videos like a long story
Thanks! I will look into the playlist thing.
You should do Wars of the Diadochi. Its an interesting part of history after the death of Alexander the Great. By the way one of the greatest channels on UA-cam about history
Thank you. We will.
Great video! Very impressed by Belisarius.
Thank you!
"Finally Rome was securely back in the Roman Empire, but at what cost?" You asked the question. It would have improved the documentary if you'd also answered it.
Another great one! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
The Empire strikes back!
Can you imagine, Justinian as Palpatine and Belisarius as Vader. :-)
You’re videos are awesome !
Thank you very much!
Time to get my popcorn and watch 😁
+Mr Panda it is tea for me. :-)
Dang, you guys always make these so interesting! I'm suppose to be reading about this, but the suspense!
ugh, this channel is like the Game of Thrones of history!
Thank you very much! :-)
General Bellissarius Birth PlaceGeneral Vellisarius Birth place ...[Ormenio (Greek: Ορμένιο) is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros regional unit of Thrace. It is situated near the right bank of the river Evros, which forms the border with Bulgaria here. On the other side of the Evros, 6 km to the north, lies the Bulgarian town Svilengrad. Nearby villages in Greece are Ptelea to its southeast and Petrota to its southwest. Ormenio is bypassed by the Greek National Road 51/European route E85 (Feres - Soufli - Orestiada - Ormenio), which continues across the border as the Bulgarian road 80 to Svilengrad. Ormenio had a railway station on the line from Didymoteicho to Harmanli in Bulgaria.
wonderful as always❤
Thank you! :-)
Belisarius is one of the greatest commanders in history.
By far the best channel ever
Thanks for your dedecation
Thanks for watching!
Most of the battles in this channel are post Western Roman Empire, can you do some Roman battles from this period (500 BCE - 476 AD)?
Thinking about it. Most of them are already done by other channels, so we need to think about it.
This was really cool. I never seen such videos about time trying to recapture the ok’d empire
This makes me want to play the last Roman dlc
Yeah, I replayed the campaign after finishing the video. :-)
Great video! This is a fantastic channel. It's a shame you don't have more subscribers.
+Nathaniel Brown thank you! It is a grind. Eventually, we'll get there. :-)
Belisarius a great General comparable to Julius Caesar, Pompey, Trajan,
There is almost nothing on Trajan and his generalship.His victories were pre-dominantly gained by his generals not by him commanding it in person.
40 seconds in and I had to pause this one just to say that opening sequence was so well done!
Thank you! :-) Hopefully, the video will not disappoint you!
Also... Belisarious was a badass!
Thanks! :-)
Love your videos! How are you animating them?
Thank you! Adobe Photoshop/After Effects/Premiere Pro!
Kings and Generals thx for your response:)
We always do. :-)
Kings and Generals thinking about starting my own history yt channel. You‘re inspiring me;)
Do that! Best of luck!
Nicely done!
Thank you!
"Somebody Toucha my Spaghet"
I don't know that reference. :-)
Its a meme you can check pewdiepie too :).
But can you do this ?
Christermi Christos and only for 399,00!
Skrattar du forlorar du
we need more of these videos..... please upload the rest of the series. 😃