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May i recommend Louis bonaparte? He was the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and he basically ran his kingdom on spite and i think he is very interesting after reading on him a bunch
Loved the sponsorship segment! I remember reading an actual isekai where the main character reincarnates as an emperor of the Byzantine empire in troubled times and takes over the Italian peninsula set in a world with magic, elves, dwarves, etc. I think it was set after the events of this very video
You know Jack's passionate about a subject when there's no blackboard segments. I'm gonna go listen to an entire album of Belissarius music that exists, apparently.
Actually there’s a historical fiction book on Theodora and her time as a prostitute called Fortune’s child. Sorry I love Theodora that my partner got me an orthodox icon of her
Belisarius and Justinian's relationship can be summarized like this: Justinian: "Hello, Belisarius. You're not going to join my Legions" Belisarius: "I want to join your Legions" Justinian: "YOU ARE IN"
I know the Theodora scene is funny but the actual quote she gave (and her entire story) is super badass: "We are rich; over there is the sea, and yonder are the ships. Yet reflect for a moment whether, when you have once escaped to a place of security, you would not gladly exchange such safety for death. As for me, I agree with the adage that the royal purple is the noblest shroud"
@@michaelsinger4638 Not just humble origins, she was an actress (which to the Romans meant stripper which to them meant prostitute) and would've been looked down upon with serious contempt by many. Yet supposedly when she died Justinian never remarried and was never quite as sharp as he was when he had her by his side. And when Justinian was in a coma from Plague she kept the whole empire from tearing apart. She is easily one of history's biggest badasses.
Theodora basically just slapped her giant ovaries on the table and told everybody around her that they were being pussies for running away. And with that bold statement, everybody nutted up.
I see that actual theologically consistent Christianity isn't very mainstream anymore but believe me back in the day the Mormon joke would make even less sense.
@@vorynrosethorn903 When has Christianity ever been theologically consistent? Half of Paul's letters were him blithering that he wasn't a con artist and to ignore what everybody in Jerusalem was saying about him.
Some people theorize (and I agree) that the reason the Secret History was made was as an insurance policy for Procopius in case Justinian was ever overthrown
@@justinbowers2749 it makes for a really interesting historical case where we have to cut between the two wildly different biases from the same eyewitness primary source, not really something that's happened anywhere else in history
@@justinbowers2749 The problem in that case is it shows he is someone who would willingly alter facts to ingratiate himself to whomever is in charge, making his primary history untrustworthy too. There's really no way that the secret history doesn't cast doubt Procopius unless someone else wrote it and lied about the author (which of course is another can of worms). I like to treat the whole thing as a reminder that nothing from history can truly be known either way without material evidence, everything else is circumstantial.
I’ve heard of a joke that goes something like: “Vercingetorix, Arminius, and Belisarius walk into a bar” [THE NEXT PART OF THIS JOKE HAS BEEN REDACTED DUE TO HISTORICAL AMBIGUITY.]
Belisarius had a dream, well Justinian had a dream, and he was gonna do his darned best to realize it insubordination lack of manpower and the plague be damned.
Personally I still believe if there is no plague Justinian would’ve restored the majority of the empire. Gaul and Britannia might not have been worth the effort by that point
@@velstadtvonausterlitz2338 they also have Gauls and Franks who aren’t just gonna let them have that land back. They had a lot more manpower than North Africa and the Italian states.
@@Etom. the Franks aren't that strong in that time. The Gauls hated them too. Belisarius could just easily surround them if belisarius takes Iberia first before attacking France directly in two fronts, or keep the Frankish forces occupied in Rome, and do a sneak attack in Avigon to make way straight to Paris, and cut off the Frankish army's line of communication from their country preventing them from responding properly to the looming threat.
10:35 Belisarius: "We must be righteous! Be like Christ my brothers. " Hun Mercenary: "What?! And kill people?" 15:15 "To think such a powerful City could fall because of one unguarded entrance! Pathetic frankly! Imagine if we ever let something like this happen in Constantinople!! " This was an amazing video of my favourite General.
It’s funny how there’s a lot of arguing on if Justinian was smart to try and reconquer the west and if he was great or just good, meanwhile pretty much everyone agrees that Belisarius was an awesome dude, and his only weakness was that nobody listened to him
Fun fact about Belisarius’ triumph: he actually brought the Menorah back with it, having been taken from Rome by the Vandals a century earlier, meaning it starred in two different Roman triumphs almost half a millennium apart. But after an earthquake, Justinian was compelled to send it back to Jerusalem, where it was lost in the Final Roman-Persian War. Because the Babylonian Talmud had already been completed before any of this happened, the Menorah’s ultimate fate was never included in the larger body of Jewish law (we know about all of it from Procopius), so some Orthodox Jews still believe the Vatican is spitefully hiding it in Rome.
Actually, there is a minor tractate in the Babylonian Talmud from Rabbi Natan that claims that it was taken before the Persians sacked Jerusalem and was moved back to Rome along with other artifacts.
The Vatican probably did. It, like other religious institutions, doesn't exactly have the most honorable history with these sorts of things. They probably took it at one point and just as likely lost it. That's usually how these things go.
I see a lot of people picking favorites between Bellisaurius and Justinian, all saying that one was the true power responsible for all of the Byzantine’s success during this period. This is a deeply stupid take, because the real story is clearly the incredible bromance between these two and how their teamwork made the dream work.
Belasarius definitely wouldn't have been able to do what he did under most Emperors because they were often quite paranoid or deeply corrupt. It required a lot of trust and support from Justinian (although he did at times waver on Belararius) to enable The big B.
Both are great men with great dreams whom worked in tandem as great allies Also my third favorite figure from the time is the underrated Roman General Germanus Justinian’s cousin and intended heir
@cokelover9001 heraclius was caught between a rock and a hard place so he fought back savagely like a cornered animal and he actually succeeded in defeating the persians earning him the title of the first crusader but his reputation marred by the loss of basically half the empire to the muslims
Roman Generals: I have successfully captured this mountain fortress with a giant dirt ramp and siege tower after months of marching troops single file up the entrance and suffering casualties from enemy arrows. Belisarius: Ya so one of my mercenaries found an old water pipe leading into the city I was besieging and I wrote to the enemy commander that I found a way in and asked him to surrender immediately or I would kill them all that night. Lol.
I loved the ending with Justinian bailing Belisarius out of jail and they drank heinekens and watched chariot races today for the rest of their days, and life was as good then as it would ever get in all of Middle Age Rome's history. Awesome ending Jack!
I have to apologize to you here, Jack. The first time watching your video, I could not bring myself to complete it. Not because I was not interested in the subject matter, quite the contrary, but after you had mentioned that album by "Judicator", I had to look it up posthaste and by the pope, did I fall in love with it. I made amends, mind, watched the video through since then and loved it too, but that music, man, felt like a revelation to me. Cheers man, you are one of the best producers on the platform!
Holy cow, here's a comment I didn't expect! Huge fan, I actually recorded a whole speech for Belisarius inspired by the ending of Strange to the World that I had to cut for time
@@JudicatorMetal I probably won't be releasing it since ultimately I felt it got in the way of the video's pacing, but I'd be happy to email you the audio if you want! Or whatever's the best way to send it to you
Ah Ireland... A land who's entire history is that of a people repeatedly getting suckerpunched and still getting back up everytime. From the Vikings to the Normans to the English to the English to the English and again to the English... And also Scotland when you remember James I started the Ulster plantations but he did that because Scotland wasn't English enough and he blamed Ireland.
Those mercenaries were so chill at 3:10, even calling an Imperial soldier over to look at something. Its crazy that they just got drunk and killed their friend :O
@@JackRackam LMFAO thats canon then! I got so captivated by them and, while I was trying to listen to Belisarius, I was also just watching them thinking "something...is happening there. like some story is being played out" hahaha!!!
You should do a video on Emperor Aurelian, the belisarius of his time, reclaiming the empire, basically tripling the size of rome when he took the throne.
@handri i no He was Iustitian and Belesarius. Aurelian didn't just reunite the empire, he passed massive amount of Reforms and fixed alot of the infrastructure Romes. Additionaly he also brought rome on the path towards monotheism
I've planned to go to bed when I saw you released a video about Belisarius.. I might be tired tomorrow at work but I'm convinced it was the right decision, after all Belisarius didn't slept 7 hours before beating the persians. Definitly one of my top three generals.
Byzantium Jack is my favorite Jack. I hope you do Michael V one of these days. Him getting ripped out of a church and blinded with hot irons would be particularly silly!
Jack, the other channels could learn a thing or two from watching your videos. I absolutely love how you have turned the commercial thing into funny content on each video. If television had been this innovative, streaming wouldn't be king right now. Your crew deserves an extra ration of rum,I'd recommend the sweet Puerto Rican stuff that the islanders keep for themselves....look for the silver label. Fair winds to you and yours.
Belisarius, eh? He's frequently ignored because (in case it couldn't be anymore obvious) the military conquests he went on didn't stick as a long-term success.
@@NiclasLoof Compared to alexander who got boo boo and died, caesar who became a pin cushion, and hitler killed by hitler; thats a relatively a better ending for him. His story started on an island and ended on an island
That and Western Europe often preferred to downplay or sweep under the rug Byzantine accomplishments. It undercut the narrative of Western Europe rising from the ashes all on its own. Rather than reabsorbing knowledge from the east. I kinda see that a lot towards the Muslim Empires to. Although that's changing.
It's been argued quite effectively that Belisarius was actually the END of the western roman empire as an identity rather than some revival. When he marched his way into Italy, all the Italians considered themselves Roman, living in the Roman world culturally, simply in a state that had a loose vassal relationship with the Res Publica rather than direct control. That all changed when Greek speaking Roman troops marched into the penninsula to "return them to Roman control". They said they were Roman, the Roman troops who arrived called them barbarians ruled by a barbarian. Italian identity separate from Roman identity could be said to have been born at the moment they were considered non-Roman by the Emperor and had to find a different way to think of themselves now that they were hostile to what they had considered the one Roman Emperor. Late Roman identity was complex, many 'barbarian' kingdoms after the 'fall of Rome' derived their legitimacy from the Nicaean church which held the Empire as a part of God's divine plan for the world and the Roman Emperor in Constantinople as ruling by the grace of God. The 'reconquest' by Belisarius finally broke that worldview, and bankrupted the Empire besides. Of course the Romans in Constantinople kept better records than the Ostrogoths, so we mostly get their side of the story, the story where the Emperor tried to restore Rome to its former glory and was rejected by the smelly barbarians living in what was once Rome's glorious homeland.
That's actually a pretty good analysis... Like Jack said in his video on the Roman Emperor Zeno the Isaurian, it's not like the people of Rome stopped being Roman as soon as a German took over.
I was just blasting that album on my way home from work and opened UA-cam to see this. Jack you must be omniscient Edit: commented before clicking play lmao
If Extra Credits and their respective series on Justian and Belasaurius leaned into the beautiful drama of this moment in history, this really nailed the chaotic bullshit interspersed throughout
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May i recommend Louis bonaparte? He was the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and he basically ran his kingdom on spite and i think he is very interesting after reading on him a bunch
May i recommend a video about the life and death of Gajah Mada, the great General and Mahapatih of the Majapahit Empire
Loved the sponsorship segment! I remember reading an actual isekai where the main character reincarnates as an emperor of the Byzantine empire in troubled times and takes over the Italian peninsula set in a world with magic, elves, dwarves, etc.
I think it was set after the events of this very video
Was that Dance of the Akritai in the beginning I didn’t think many people knew about Farya Faraji?
@jackrackam Why does it say History Abridged?
In Procopius secret history he insults literally everyone, except Justinian’s cousin Germanus who everyone thought was just a cool dude
Every family has that one person everyone loves no matter what, while the rest get the stink eye lmao
@@yugitrump435 I mean I think he earned it, his whole career was cleaning up Justinian and Belisarius messes
Belisarius got better than Theodora at least.........I mean no geese at least........
It wasn't actually written by Procopius.
I read that as popcornius
"Oh my god he took the parade"
The deadpan delivery is just great. I mean wow what a genius bit of reasoning too from good old Justinian.
You know Jack's passionate about a subject when there's no blackboard segments.
I'm gonna go listen to an entire album of Belissarius music that exists, apparently.
i cant believe that album exists and cant wait to peep it myself when i get home lol
There is also a rarely played but very beautiful Donizetti opera about him :D
Let There be Nothing by Judicator is an awesome album
It’s let there be nothing by judicator
Yeah, I now have to go out and listen to that album too.
Now I want a Justinian, Theodora & Belasarius sitcom
Dont forget his wife and adopted son living next door
Agreed
Taped in front of a live studio audience
🎶 So no one told you Rome was gonna be this way dun dun dun dun dun 🎶
Actually there’s a historical fiction book on Theodora and her time as a prostitute called Fortune’s child. Sorry I love Theodora that my partner got me an orthodox icon of her
Belisarius and Justinian's relationship can be summarized like this:
Justinian: "Hello, Belisarius. You're not going to join my Legions"
Belisarius: "I want to join your Legions"
Justinian: "YOU ARE IN"
I know the Theodora scene is funny but the actual quote she gave (and her entire story) is super badass: "We are rich; over there is the sea, and yonder are the ships. Yet reflect for a moment whether, when you have once escaped to a place of security, you would not gladly exchange such safety for death. As for me, I agree with the adage that the royal purple is the noblest shroud"
Theodora also came from very humble origins. She worked her way up to becoming Empress.
Not hard to see why she would not want to give it up.
@@michaelsinger4638 Not just humble origins, she was an actress (which to the Romans meant stripper which to them meant prostitute) and would've been looked down upon with serious contempt by many. Yet supposedly when she died Justinian never remarried and was never quite as sharp as he was when he had her by his side. And when Justinian was in a coma from Plague she kept the whole empire from tearing apart.
She is easily one of history's biggest badasses.
@@michaelsinger4638 of course, her whole life story is crazyt
@@michaelsinger4638 "Worked" her way to the top, meaning fucked her way to the top literally.
Theodora basically just slapped her giant ovaries on the table and told everybody around her that they were being pussies for running away. And with that bold statement, everybody nutted up.
"He wants us to be Mormons, is what he wants." Lmao that line had me dead.
The guard should have replied with 'What the Fuck is a Mormon?'
I see that actual theologically consistent Christianity isn't very mainstream anymore but believe me back in the day the Mormon joke would make even less sense.
@@vorynrosethorn903
When has Christianity ever been theologically consistent? Half of Paul's letters were him blithering that he wasn't a con artist and to ignore what everybody in Jerusalem was saying about him.
Procopius, that guy who wrote that Justinian's head and body sometimes disappeared, like a demonic Cheshire cat? I'm sure he's a reliable narrator!
It is questionable if he really wrote the secret history
On the other hand he was an eye witness of most of the events and the only source we have
Some people theorize (and I agree) that the reason the Secret History was made was as an insurance policy for Procopius in case Justinian was ever overthrown
@@justinbowers2749 it makes for a really interesting historical case where we have to cut between the two wildly different biases from the same eyewitness primary source, not really something that's happened anywhere else in history
@@justinbowers2749 The problem in that case is it shows he is someone who would willingly alter facts to ingratiate himself to whomever is in charge, making his primary history untrustworthy too. There's really no way that the secret history doesn't cast doubt Procopius unless someone else wrote it and lied about the author (which of course is another can of worms).
I like to treat the whole thing as a reminder that nothing from history can truly be known either way without material evidence, everything else is circumstantial.
I like the story convention of Procopius telling Belisarius his own history.
I’ve heard of a joke that goes something like:
“Vercingetorix, Arminius, and Belisarius walk into a bar” [THE NEXT PART OF THIS JOKE HAS BEEN REDACTED DUE TO HISTORICAL AMBIGUITY.]
A bar in Germania the town?
@@mortache or the people of foul
If Procopius wrote _The Secret History_ today, he'd have put that Theodora was into light novels.
Truly heinous
Could be worst she might end up in a young adult novel.
Belisarius had a dream, well Justinian had a dream, and he was gonna do his darned best to realize it insubordination lack of manpower and the plague be damned.
🤪
Personally I still believe if there is no plague Justinian would’ve restored the majority of the empire. Gaul and Britannia might not have been worth the effort by that point
@@Etom. Gaul has huge iron deposits.
@@velstadtvonausterlitz2338 they also have Gauls and Franks who aren’t just gonna let them have that land back. They had a lot more manpower than North Africa and the Italian states.
@@Etom. the Franks aren't that strong in that time. The Gauls hated them too. Belisarius could just easily surround them if belisarius takes Iberia first before attacking France directly in two fronts, or keep the Frankish forces occupied in Rome, and do a sneak attack in Avigon to make way straight to Paris, and cut off the Frankish army's line of communication from their country preventing them from responding properly to the looming threat.
10:35
Belisarius: "We must be righteous! Be like Christ my brothers. "
Hun Mercenary: "What?! And kill people?"
15:15
"To think such a powerful City could fall because of one unguarded entrance!
Pathetic frankly!
Imagine if we ever let something like this happen in Constantinople!! "
This was an amazing video of my favourite General.
Same goes with Justinian the II (or golden nose prosthetic one) who reclaim his throne via unsecured sewer after sailing from his exile.
The Constantinople line was the best line in the video 😂
@@powerist209, somehow, I'm not at all surprised.
It’s funny how there’s a lot of arguing on if Justinian was smart to try and reconquer the west and if he was great or just good, meanwhile pretty much everyone agrees that Belisarius was an awesome dude, and his only weakness was that nobody listened to him
Also his wife
Fun fact about Belisarius’ triumph: he actually brought the Menorah back with it, having been taken from Rome by the Vandals a century earlier, meaning it starred in two different Roman triumphs almost half a millennium apart. But after an earthquake, Justinian was compelled to send it back to Jerusalem, where it was lost in the Final Roman-Persian War.
Because the Babylonian Talmud had already been completed before any of this happened, the Menorah’s ultimate fate was never included in the larger body of Jewish law (we know about all of it from Procopius), so some Orthodox Jews still believe the Vatican is spitefully hiding it in Rome.
I honestly could see the Vatican doing that.
Wow. Big fan of your channel.
Actually, there is a minor tractate in the Babylonian Talmud from Rabbi Natan that claims that it was taken before the Persians sacked Jerusalem and was moved back to Rome along with other artifacts.
The Vatican probably did. It, like other religious institutions, doesn't exactly have the most honorable history with these sorts of things.
They probably took it at one point and just as likely lost it. That's usually how these things go.
Belisarius is honestly one of my favorite historical figures
he should have been Emperor
@@theawesomeman9821 a good General doesnt automatically make a good politician
I see a lot of people picking favorites between Bellisaurius and Justinian, all saying that one was the true power responsible for all of the Byzantine’s success during this period. This is a deeply stupid take, because the real story is clearly the incredible bromance between these two and how their teamwork made the dream work.
The Agrippa to his Augustus
Belasarius definitely wouldn't have been able to do what he did under most Emperors because they were often quite paranoid or deeply corrupt. It required a lot of trust and support from Justinian (although he did at times waver on Belararius) to enable The big B.
Belisarius complemented as the brawn to Justinian's brains.
Both are great men with great dreams whom worked in tandem as great allies
Also my third favorite figure from the time is the underrated Roman General Germanus Justinian’s cousin and intended heir
@@arawn1061 such a clear parallel. All the way down to his own Livia.
"Imagine something like this happening in Constantinople"
“A city that can fall from only one unguarded entrance” thyatira would like a word.
The story of Justinian and Belisarius is like a test case of what happens when great men collide with historical forces larger than themselves.
20 minutes isn’t enough for byzantiums greatest ever general
Thats extremely debatable if he really is the best
@@Spiderfisch Name a better general who did more and conquered more territory and wasn’t a d*ck to everyone
I demand 50
@cokelover9001 heraclius was caught between a rock and a hard place so he fought back savagely like a cornered animal and he actually succeeded in defeating the persians earning him the title of the first crusader but his reputation marred by the loss of basically half the empire to the muslims
As Dovahhatty put it, there once was a dream, a dream worth fighting for, a dream called Rome.
I just came from Dovahhatty too! It's interesting how his take of Justinian and Belisarius's relationship is somewhat different from Epic History TV.
Roman Generals: I have successfully captured this mountain fortress with a giant dirt ramp and siege tower after months of marching troops single file up the entrance and suffering casualties from enemy arrows.
Belisarius: Ya so one of my mercenaries found an old water pipe leading into the city I was besieging and I wrote to the enemy commander that I found a way in and asked him to surrender immediately or I would kill them all that night. Lol.
Ok NOW you need to do Justinian.
You have no choice, you can’t ONLY do Belisarius.
Narses too
Theodora as well.
I get the idea you watched Extra Historys episode of Justinian I.
See him try 😂
That's gay haha
The logical next step for Jack is to talk about Subutai
Procopius be like:
"Nice argument Scholar but give me a source"
"My source is that I made it the fuck up!"
Can we talk about all those voices Jack did? And the animation is just 🤌🏾💋! What did we do to deserve such high quality content?
I loved the ending with Justinian bailing Belisarius out of jail and they drank heinekens and watched chariot races today for the rest of their days, and life was as good then as it would ever get in all of Middle Age Rome's history. Awesome ending Jack!
Justinian is surprisingly not - evil in this version.
"To think that such a powerful city could fall because of one unguarded entrance."
That's called foreshadowing
Indeed!
I have to apologize to you here, Jack. The first time watching your video, I could not bring myself to complete it. Not because I was not interested in the subject matter, quite the contrary, but after you had mentioned that album by "Judicator", I had to look it up posthaste and by the pope, did I fall in love with it.
I made amends, mind, watched the video through since then and loved it too, but that music, man, felt like a revelation to me. Cheers man, you are one of the best producers on the platform!
Got me in the first half for sure 😄
Very flattered that 'Let There be Nothing' was a part of your creative process ;D loved the video \m/ just subbed!!
Holy cow, here's a comment I didn't expect! Huge fan, I actually recorded a whole speech for Belisarius inspired by the ending of Strange to the World that I had to cut for time
@@JackRackam That's so cool! Do you have any plans to release it at some point? That would be so fun to hear
@@JudicatorMetal I probably won't be releasing it since ultimately I felt it got in the way of the video's pacing, but I'd be happy to email you the audio if you want! Or whatever's the best way to send it to you
I wish that Jack would do a video on Michael Collins. There isn't really that much Irish history content on UA-cam.
There is this channel called John D. Ruddy how made two videos about the Irish independence war and civil war
@@ancaconstantin8667 Yes, those videos are very good.
I hope you get out of the yards someday
Ah Ireland... A land who's entire history is that of a people repeatedly getting suckerpunched and still getting back up everytime. From the Vikings to the Normans to the English to the English to the English and again to the English...
And also Scotland when you remember James I started the Ulster plantations but he did that because Scotland wasn't English enough and he blamed Ireland.
Those mercenaries were so chill at 3:10, even calling an Imperial soldier over to look at something. Its crazy that they just got drunk and killed their friend :O
I interpreted it as them calling him over to look at something, then sneaking up to grab him, going "saved your life!" 😄
@@JackRackam LMFAO thats canon then! I got so captivated by them and, while I was trying to listen to Belisarius, I was also just watching them thinking "something...is happening there. like some story is being played out" hahaha!!!
You should do a video on Emperor Aurelian, the belisarius of his time, reclaiming the empire, basically tripling the size of rome when he took the throne.
And then he got stabbed to death
Aurelian is Aurelian he get shit down not weigh down by politics. Aurelian The Restorer of Roman Empire!
@handri i no
He was Iustitian and Belesarius. Aurelian didn't just reunite the empire, he passed massive amount of Reforms and fixed alot of the infrastructure Romes. Additionaly he also brought rome on the path towards monotheism
The empress going "Oh my god he took the triumph" was hilarious 😂
I've planned to go to bed when I saw you released a video about Belisarius.. I might be tired tomorrow at work but I'm convinced it was the right decision, after all Belisarius didn't slept 7 hours before beating the persians. Definitly one of my top three generals.
10:40 "Be like Christ, my brother"
"And what, kill people?"
Crusades in a nutshell lol
Byzantium Jack is my favorite Jack. I hope you do Michael V one of these days. Him getting ripped out of a church and blinded with hot irons would be particularly silly!
"Oh sorry, this is my backup scroll of history in case there's a sudden regime change."
~ Procopius.jpg
Beautiful
Hell yeah we are early! We need Belisarius today for post soccer/rugby match crowd control but with non lethal weapons. Such a Chad!
Anthonina: "Adopted son Theodesius, oh no i am stuck..."
Reminds me of old EC. I miss Dan and James. Fantastic video about the Roman nobody talk about
Before they went fully woke or after ?
Belisarius and Narses made the ultimate dream team
They did hate each other
Narses was Belisarius rival
@@fedda9999, Narses was like Tarkin to Belisarius' Thrawn (except Narses wasn't as much of a d*ck).
I saw Belisarius in the title and immediately fangirled. I may have gotten into a fun debate with my history prof last year who likes Narses
What a bastard, a Narses fan? UNBELIEVABLE
Insert spiderman meme pointing that we the same
I honestly think both of them were good at their jobs, but when it came to working together, they just sucked ass.
@@sapphoarnold2610 lmao
How did he like Narses?
DUDE THAT JUDICATOR ALBUM SLAYS
Man, this was ace!
I really liked this "whacky" narrative style lol ^^
I have been listening to Let There Be Nothing on repeat because of you. Thank you so much for introducing me to this
7:50 is possibly the funniest depiction of the Nika Riots I’ve ever seen, well done!
Summer means we get more Rome videos, best time of the year
Love Jacks way with words that line about every neighbour taking up the pastime of sacking the Empire
You depicted Theadora and Justinian's relationship really well in this~!
Yes! I've been specifically waiting and hoping for you to cover this one, such great tales.
Can you imagine a world where Bellisarius and Flavius Aëtius were emperors
Addendum: Justinian was still cool...Justin too
@@jakegarvin7634 but not Justin Two
@@ATemplarIGuess damn son you got me I didn't even know there was a Justin II *Googles Furiously*
@@jakegarvin7634 ...We don't like to talk about him lol
Jack, the other channels could learn a thing or two from watching your videos. I absolutely love how you have turned the commercial thing into funny content on each video. If television had been this innovative, streaming wouldn't be king right now. Your crew deserves an extra ration of rum,I'd recommend the sweet Puerto Rican stuff that the islanders keep for themselves....look for the silver label. Fair winds to you and yours.
10:10 Ah yes. We all remember the ancient Glock that Belisuarius was known to have owned.
I really like that you referenced the secret history
Hey Jack, I just wanna say thank you for mentioning that band. It's high key fire
Belisarius and Justinian: one of the greatest bromances in history
"It was his peculiar habit to shoot first and teach lessons second" 😭😭😭 bro i spit my drink at that scene.
He and Darth Vader would've gotten along swimmingly.
Belisarius, eh? He's frequently ignored because (in case it couldn't be anymore obvious) the military conquests he went on didn't stick as a long-term success.
For the best. I mean one thing is having to live under Italiens, but Greeks?! There is just so much suffer people can take
The Black Death tends to do that.
@@NiclasLoof Yes, but Belisarius was never Master of Europe.
@@NiclasLoof Compared to alexander who got boo boo and died, caesar who became a pin cushion, and hitler killed by hitler; thats a relatively a better ending for him. His story started on an island and ended on an island
That and Western Europe often preferred to downplay or sweep under the rug Byzantine accomplishments. It undercut the narrative of Western Europe rising from the ashes all on its own. Rather than reabsorbing knowledge from the east. I kinda see that a lot towards the Muslim Empires to. Although that's changing.
This is one of the most fun history videos I’ve ever seen, I’d love it if you did a Justinian one I want to see these personalities again
Nobody does history like Jack Rackam!
Overly Sarcastic Productions is in the same vein
Most tellings of Belisarius paint him as the most noble of Roman heroes. You painted him as a deeply strange man, and I love it
Jack Rackam:Does a video on Belisarius
Extra History Fans: Hey, I've seen this one before. It's a classic.
As a Byzantanist, you did a fantastic job on this. I am definitely showing this to my mentor!
It's been argued quite effectively that Belisarius was actually the END of the western roman empire as an identity rather than some revival. When he marched his way into Italy, all the Italians considered themselves Roman, living in the Roman world culturally, simply in a state that had a loose vassal relationship with the Res Publica rather than direct control. That all changed when Greek speaking Roman troops marched into the penninsula to "return them to Roman control". They said they were Roman, the Roman troops who arrived called them barbarians ruled by a barbarian. Italian identity separate from Roman identity could be said to have been born at the moment they were considered non-Roman by the Emperor and had to find a different way to think of themselves now that they were hostile to what they had considered the one Roman Emperor.
Late Roman identity was complex, many 'barbarian' kingdoms after the 'fall of Rome' derived their legitimacy from the Nicaean church which held the Empire as a part of God's divine plan for the world and the Roman Emperor in Constantinople as ruling by the grace of God. The 'reconquest' by Belisarius finally broke that worldview, and bankrupted the Empire besides. Of course the Romans in Constantinople kept better records than the Ostrogoths, so we mostly get their side of the story, the story where the Emperor tried to restore Rome to its former glory and was rejected by the smelly barbarians living in what was once Rome's glorious homeland.
That's actually a pretty good analysis... Like Jack said in his video on the Roman Emperor Zeno the Isaurian, it's not like the people of Rome stopped being Roman as soon as a German took over.
I was just blasting that album on my way home from work and opened UA-cam to see this. Jack you must be omniscient
Edit: commented before clicking play lmao
What a great and wholesome mother/son relationship they have
I dare say, this is one of your best videos ever!
Absolutely love it!
Im glad to see ye olde graphics being in the entire video. Not to insult the chalkboard ones but this is a lot better.
Why is this so hilarious imagine you writing monty python 😂
Finally my BOY is getting the respect he deserves!
Omg the sponsorship ad. It’s my favorite yet
Thoroughly excellent, and I hate how long it took before I could finally watch this.
If Extra Credits and their respective series on Justian and Belasaurius leaned into the beautiful drama of this moment in history, this really nailed the chaotic bullshit interspersed throughout
Fuq yeah. My guy, it's the little things that you do that makes this so enjoyable. The little sound effects - the two being unable to shake hands...🤌🏼
“Today, we cancel the fall of Rome!” Belisaurius at the beginning of his campaign probably
Belisarius with a Glock... that's some Paradox-level historical accuracy
I do greatly love these style of videos. They feel wonderful.
if only history class was this entertaining
I like that these "strategy" mobile games exist because these great ads by Jack Rackham wouldn't have been created otherwise.
The sitcom "WOOO" soundbite is so fucking funny @ 8:04 great gag
I love how he just caps any that dare veere away from his hyper specific set of morals.
“That was a freebie” is slowly becoming a catchphrase on this channel
This is the first time I've seen my man Farya Faraji's work in a video before, and I must say, excellent song choice.
I lost my shit with the delivery of him picking the parade
I feel betrayed.
Top tier ad format
But it needed music ;)
This is the best UA-cam channel
12:53-13:07 Belisarius acting like a Skyrim npc right now lmao
OMG!! I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE A FAN OF JUDICATOR! THOSE ARE SOME GREAT FRIENDS OF MINE!!! #ExcuseMeWhilstIFanboiTwoOfMyFavoriteThings ComingTogether
That add style got me a good laugh before work, he got issekaied lol nice truck trope.
The mad lad Belisarius who deserve respect for actually getting back western rome.
Next you REALLY need to do the life & times of Agrippa
Poor Hipatius. A man who did not want to be emperor, yet caught strays for seemingly no reason.
This has one of my favorite lines ever from Jack Rackam's videos: "Oh no! We've been isekaied!" 🤣
The album is Let There be Nothing by Judicator. It's amazing. Their album about the First Crusade (The Last Emperor) is even better.
And it has Hansi Kursch!
I love Prokopius and Belisarius hanging out with each other.
Hello fellow cultured viewer, I too am from Dovahhatty's series.
OSTRAGOTHI DELENDA EST
I like how Extra History's visual depictions of Belisarius is this dork with a monk bowl cut, and in this one he's ripped and handsome