Hello everyone, if you are wondering why this video was uploaded twice, the first time I was a blind as a Bulgar and did not realize that the file was was broken and the video was stuck at one frame. This is the good video file now, so please enjoy and excuse me for my slip up.
The Komnenian Restoration (esp. John II) is CRIMINALLY underrated, especially in how such a modest emperor was able to methodically and patiently gain ground for his beloved Rome such that by Manuel I's reign, Rome was once again the strongest power in Europe. THIS NEEDS MORE VIEWS. I wish there were more quality content on this period. Thank you for shedding light on John and his super interesting dynasty!
As a Serb we always mentioned Manuel Komnenos when learning about Stefan Nemanja and that period of medieval Serbia. I remember our teacher used to praise Manuel for his accomplishments, though we never truly focused on Byzantium outside of its relations with Serbia as much, so it's great to learn about his reign and the reign of the Komnenoi in this format. Great video as always!
Hey, at least you learned about Byzantium in school unlike in so many other nations. If you're into medieval Serbia you might like the future video because I think they will feature much more prominently from this point forth.
@@byzansimp Exactly! And yes, the Nemanjic dynasty will get more screen time which I'm excited about, so I'm looking forward to the next videos even more! :)
Amazing video! I came to your channel from the comments on the symphony about Justinian by Farya Faraji. I was just interested in the Komnenos dynasty - there is such a gift here. Just think, I went to listen to music, and besides this pleasure I also got 2 interesting channels with wonderful stories. Heartfelt thanks to you!
A warm welcome to you! Always happy to have more Farya enjoyers on board, especially if they enjoy the Komnenoi as well. Hope you like the channel content :)
Even Though Manuel i failed To Reconquer Egypt, i still find it quite impressive. since no roman army has never gotten this far & close to retaking Aegyptus for Rome since the disaster at Nikiou, however at least he retook a good chunk of Illyricum (dalmatia) & made Jerusalem a Vassal.
John was not only the best Komnenos but the best Byzantine emperor by far. He attained so much while keeping such a low profile, by spilling as less blood as possible. Capital punishment was de facto abolished during his reign.He even pardoned traitors like his sister Anne who tried to assassin him during their father'f funeral (!!!) and didn't even punish the arch traitor Isaakios Komnenos his brother, who betrayed him to the Turks. He expanded the Empire and became a patron of arts and sciences. One of his greatest accomplishments was the Monastery complex of Pantocrator which was in fact a modern hospital (by today's terms)!!!.
His sister was not a traitor, we have explicitly mentioned in the video (and even more in detail in my video on Anna) that this narrative is flawed and may be entirely made up by Choniates. We love Ioannes but this love doesn't have to be found upon dubious anecdotes.
@@byzansimp She actually tried to overthrow him twice. The second time even her husband Nicephoros Bryenios didn’t want to follow her schemes and remained loyal to John. That’s when she famously “accused” him of not having balls. The narrative is not flawed. Anna schemed along with her mother against John even before Alexios’ death. When Irene Doukaina was promoting her son in law for emperor Alexios said : If I choose my son in law over my son the whole Roman Empire will be laughing at me. Mind also that Alexias, Anne’s history masterpiece was finished 5 years after John’s death and she never mentions John on the contrary she praises her father non stop.
Would you consider doing an updated version of this video that incorporates Maximillian Lau's latest published work? It's the most comprehensive biography of John II Komnenos and changes a lot of what's commonly accepted about him.
Great video! On the subject of the supposed coup of Anna Komnene, The idea of her attempting to coup her brother is incorrect. I recommend listening to Episode 197 of the History of Byzantium podcast for a great and detailed explanation on her life, Byzantine gender norms, and her writing style/choices. Episode 224 also covers the idea of this supposed coup with the idea of a coup in center focus.
Thank you, the idea of her coup is not incorrect, just that it's very suspicious and should be challenged, as there is no definitive proof hat Choniates is lying as of yet. Because you see, I have already explored her life and work in full and commented on Leonora Neville's proposed interpretation on my video dedicated to Anna and the Alexiad here, a take I actually am mostly in favor of. ua-cam.com/video/AkL036nXs_o/v-deo.htmlsi=Vu3FRu0MYL0gTiOq
While the Komneian Restoration was Eastern Rome's " I didn't hear no bell" moment, it still pales in comparison the juggernaut that was Basil's Macedonian Renaissance. still, the Komnenos Dynasty gave the empire a little respite after the defeat at Manzikert, but couldn't save it from the tragedy of the 4th crusade and the steady decline of Constantine's legacy. Sometimes my mind drifts and I wonder if Manzikert was a astounding victory and Eastern Rome was able to take the fight to the caliphate under a united front would it had survived decline? or would the victories renewed national pride and managed to survive to the 21st century.
It's possible, but remember that the Normans were also a threat, along with many new neighbors of the Empire, not only the Turks. To survive to the ever changing world and the many new players trying to grab a piece of Rome for themselves the Romans needed more than to just win one battle.
At around 3:00 the video was stuck on that one frame for the next 10 minutes, am I the only one who could see that? I verified the problem on all my devices before deleting the previous upload.
to me john was something rare way better then he father and his son while Manuel was good in west flank campaign in the east was ... bad he had very good chance to reclaim central Anatolia in second crusade but he blew it then simply made peace treaty rather then destroyed it this very dangerous because of this the saljik used this time to unit again when he decided to attack in 1176 it was too late with rush strategy end up in disaster by 1180 manuel ded with it the turk toke south anatolia easily ...
Couldn't? By the time of Manuel they probably could if they wanted, but other threats were more urgent. The Crusades for example were a huge burden on the Empire and the Romans suspected the Latins more than the Turks (who couldn't take Constantinople anyway meanwhile the Latins pass by the Queen of Cities with a large rowdy army every time they take up the cross). Also the interior of Asia Minor was not of super strategic importance, all the rich fertile farmlands of the coasts were firmly in Roman hands by Manuel's reign so it was probably fine if the mountainous interior was left by the Turks. Plus there were some instances where Romans themselves resisted imperial reconquest because they thought they lived better under the Turks than the Emperor, and if they don't want to return to the imperial fold anyway, better spend those resources elsewhere. By the Komnenian period, the Balkans sort of replaced Asia as the heartland of the Empire as well. All I'm saying is that I could sort of understand the decision of the Komnenoi, it's not completely baseless.
@@byzansimp that's exactly why the ottomans took away Constantinople, because they were worried mostly about the enemies of the same faith while remaining oblivious to the real enemy of the faith. The byzantines waited for their destruction. they were more worried about the innocent venetians being their main trading partners when they should have worried about the turkish enemies who were literally the one who wanted to take the lands. I know hungarians always caused drama including the Normans, but they weren't the main threat only if the byzantines would've been less arrogant but still keeping some suspicion on the Latins. I know the Latins weren't the best to trust, but they weren't the worst! The Byzantines were really just cocky and arrogant with their European Latins, instead of having that look upon the real heathens and enemies - the turks - which was the biggest mistake. Really?! Vassalizing a turkish low class subject because the roman inhabitants preferred it that way is simply BS. So they forgot about the slaughters, rape and slavery that the low class character turks enjoyed doing???? Come on! The answer is simple. The Byzantines waited and hoped for their destruction to come. The real Romans were gone already. It was just cocky greeks who wished for their destruction.
vassalizing the turks was a mistake because then they lost Constantinople. Asia Minor was always crucial as it was the core of the Roman empire. Ruling it through vassalage was the huge mistake during the Komnenian period, which resulted to being beaten and betrayed to literally being destoryed completely by the ottomans. these romans relied on too much useless diplomacy as always. Everybody forgets to mention that Nikephoras II was the greatest Roman Emperor. Nikephoras knew how to attack the enemies as he had no petty mercy on them!
They never vassalized the Turks. No other video or source says anything like that. This is a story that the Byzantine historians of the time exaggerated to flatter Manuel.
Hello everyone, if you are wondering why this video was uploaded twice, the first time I was a blind as a Bulgar and did not realize that the file was was broken and the video was stuck at one frame. This is the good video file now, so please enjoy and excuse me for my slip up.
"Blind as a Bulgar" 😭😭
Your videos are entertaining and enjoyable
“Blind as a bulgar” 😂
@@Cabbage-Enjoyer true tho :(
@@rodrigo.p9300 Thank you!
The Komnenian Restoration (esp. John II) is CRIMINALLY underrated, especially in how such a modest emperor was able to methodically and patiently gain ground for his beloved Rome such that by Manuel I's reign, Rome was once again the strongest power in Europe. THIS NEEDS MORE VIEWS.
I wish there were more quality content on this period. Thank you for shedding light on John and his super interesting dynasty!
No problem! If you wish to bring more awareness to Komnenian awesomeness, simply share the video!
As a Serb we always mentioned Manuel Komnenos when learning about Stefan Nemanja and that period of medieval Serbia. I remember our teacher used to praise Manuel for his accomplishments, though we never truly focused on Byzantium outside of its relations with Serbia as much, so it's great to learn about his reign and the reign of the Komnenoi in this format. Great video as always!
Hey, at least you learned about Byzantium in school unlike in so many other nations. If you're into medieval Serbia you might like the future video because I think they will feature much more prominently from this point forth.
@@byzansimp Exactly! And yes, the Nemanjic dynasty will get more screen time which I'm excited about, so I'm looking forward to the next videos even more! :)
better than Varna and 1453
Was really happy to be a guest in this channel! I'm happy I got to talk about my favourite Emperor of the Romans :D
You're always welcome back! Ioannes was such a chad tho, we all love him
Amazing video! I came to your channel from the comments on the symphony about Justinian by Farya Faraji. I was just interested in the Komnenos dynasty - there is such a gift here. Just think, I went to listen to music, and besides this pleasure I also got 2 interesting channels with wonderful stories. Heartfelt thanks to you!
A warm welcome to you! Always happy to have more Farya enjoyers on board, especially if they enjoy the Komnenoi as well. Hope you like the channel content :)
this was wonderful to watch. A great video and documentary, made by 2 of my favorite youtubers!
Our pleasure!
Amazing work as always!
Thank you!
great video as always
Thank you
Even Though Manuel i failed To Reconquer Egypt, i still find it quite impressive. since no roman army has never gotten this far & close to retaking Aegyptus for Rome since the disaster at Nikiou, however at least he retook a good chunk of Illyricum (dalmatia) & made Jerusalem a Vassal.
John was not only the best Komnenos but the best Byzantine emperor by far. He attained so much while keeping such a low profile, by spilling as less blood as possible. Capital punishment was de facto abolished during his reign.He even pardoned traitors like his sister Anne who tried to assassin him during their father'f funeral (!!!) and didn't even punish the arch traitor Isaakios Komnenos his brother, who betrayed him to the Turks. He expanded the Empire and became a patron of arts and sciences. One of his greatest accomplishments was the Monastery complex of Pantocrator which was in fact a modern hospital (by today's terms)!!!.
His sister was not a traitor, we have explicitly mentioned in the video (and even more in detail in my video on Anna) that this narrative is flawed and may be entirely made up by Choniates. We love Ioannes but this love doesn't have to be found upon dubious anecdotes.
@@byzansimp She actually tried to overthrow him twice. The second time even her husband Nicephoros Bryenios didn’t want to follow her schemes and remained loyal to John. That’s when she famously “accused” him of not having balls. The narrative is not flawed. Anna schemed along with her mother against John even before Alexios’ death. When Irene Doukaina was promoting her son in law for emperor Alexios said : If I choose my son in law over my son the whole Roman Empire will be laughing at me. Mind also that Alexias, Anne’s history masterpiece was finished 5 years after John’s death and she never mentions John on the contrary she praises her father non stop.
Such an Underrated Emperor...
Damn this video is already a year old.
@@Arxyium time flies
@@byzansimp fr
Would you consider doing an updated version of this video that incorporates Maximillian Lau's latest published work? It's the most comprehensive biography of John II Komnenos and changes a lot of what's commonly accepted about him.
Thanks for the suggestion, maybe I will, after I publish the one million other videos I wanna make haha
Great video! On the subject of the supposed coup of Anna Komnene, The idea of her attempting to coup her brother is incorrect. I recommend listening to Episode 197 of the History of Byzantium podcast for a great and detailed explanation on her life, Byzantine gender norms, and her writing style/choices. Episode 224 also covers the idea of this supposed coup with the idea of a coup in center focus.
Thank you, the idea of her coup is not incorrect, just that it's very suspicious and should be challenged, as there is no definitive proof hat Choniates is lying as of yet. Because you see, I have already explored her life and work in full and commented on Leonora Neville's proposed interpretation on my video dedicated to Anna and the Alexiad here, a take I actually am mostly in favor of. ua-cam.com/video/AkL036nXs_o/v-deo.htmlsi=Vu3FRu0MYL0gTiOq
While the Komneian Restoration was Eastern Rome's " I didn't hear no bell" moment, it still pales in comparison the juggernaut that was Basil's Macedonian Renaissance. still, the Komnenos Dynasty gave the empire a little respite after the defeat at Manzikert, but couldn't save it from the tragedy of the 4th crusade and the steady decline of Constantine's legacy. Sometimes my mind drifts and I wonder if Manzikert was a astounding victory and Eastern Rome was able to take the fight to the caliphate under a united front would it had survived decline? or would the victories renewed national pride and managed to survive to the 21st century.
It wasn't the defeat at Manzikert, it was the following civil wars that led to crisis.
It's possible, but remember that the Normans were also a threat, along with many new neighbors of the Empire, not only the Turks. To survive to the ever changing world and the many new players trying to grab a piece of Rome for themselves the Romans needed more than to just win one battle.
I don't think there was an actual problem with the previous upload but oh well
At around 3:00 the video was stuck on that one frame for the next 10 minutes, am I the only one who could see that? I verified the problem on all my devices before deleting the previous upload.
@@byzansimp In any case, thank you for bringing all of this to life. I can appreciate how taxing this must be.
@@alexanderkorol677 You're welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed.
rewatching it and you guys forgot about the Gabras family in Trebizond
Didn't specifically mention Gabrades as a family but Ioannes enforcing suzerainty over Trebizond in 1140 was included in the video.
to me john was something rare way better then he father and his son while Manuel was good in west flank campaign in the east was ... bad he had very good chance to reclaim central Anatolia in second crusade but he blew it then simply made peace treaty rather then destroyed it this very dangerous because of this the saljik used this time to unit again when he decided to attack in 1176 it was too late with rush strategy end up in disaster by 1180 manuel ded with it the turk toke south anatolia easily ...
I do wonder how Byzansimp will draw Dandolo...Will it be like WowMao's dandolo? Or more like the mosaic?
He has a mosaic?
@@byzansimp ah forgive me, I thought it was a mosaic, It was just a woodcut drawing of him a la gustave dore
Underrated lol
thanks for the video as always! Just wondering why don't you make something like showing your face ala story teller style?
You're welcome. I find it hard to visualize history if it's one person talking the whole time.
And just like that i noe have to scour the internet to find Christodoulos Halaris
Whoever took them off UA-cam committed a crime against humanity (/s)
Try the Internet Archive!
Neat
but why couldn't the romans reclaim the center of asia minor??? that part was super crucial!
Battle of Myriokephalon
and later on Manuel had a peace treaty with them, but wait until you hear what Theodore II did to them
Couldn't? By the time of Manuel they probably could if they wanted, but other threats were more urgent. The Crusades for example were a huge burden on the Empire and the Romans suspected the Latins more than the Turks (who couldn't take Constantinople anyway meanwhile the Latins pass by the Queen of Cities with a large rowdy army every time they take up the cross). Also the interior of Asia Minor was not of super strategic importance, all the rich fertile farmlands of the coasts were firmly in Roman hands by Manuel's reign so it was probably fine if the mountainous interior was left by the Turks. Plus there were some instances where Romans themselves resisted imperial reconquest because they thought they lived better under the Turks than the Emperor, and if they don't want to return to the imperial fold anyway, better spend those resources elsewhere. By the Komnenian period, the Balkans sort of replaced Asia as the heartland of the Empire as well. All I'm saying is that I could sort of understand the decision of the Komnenoi, it's not completely baseless.
@@byzansimp that's exactly why the ottomans took away Constantinople, because they were worried mostly about the enemies of the same faith while remaining oblivious to the real enemy of the faith. The byzantines waited for their destruction. they were more worried about the innocent venetians being their main trading partners when they should have worried about the turkish enemies who were literally the one who wanted to take the lands. I know hungarians always caused drama including the Normans, but they weren't the main threat only if the byzantines would've been less arrogant but still keeping some suspicion on the Latins.
I know the Latins weren't the best to trust, but they weren't the worst! The Byzantines were really just cocky and arrogant with their European Latins, instead of having that look upon the real heathens and enemies - the turks - which was the biggest mistake. Really?! Vassalizing a turkish low class subject because the roman inhabitants preferred it that way is simply BS. So they forgot about the slaughters, rape and slavery that the low class character turks enjoyed doing???? Come on! The answer is simple. The Byzantines waited and hoped for their destruction to come. The real Romans were gone already. It was just cocky greeks who wished for their destruction.
How old are you? Weird question ik but still
"mAny bIaSeS aGaInsT fEmAle fIguReS". It's the ancient women were all perfect and evil men slandered them lie again.
idk why Nemanjić is pronounced as Nemanja by so many westerners when serbian ć is ch in english phonetics
How are you supposed to pronounce it?
@@byzansimp like ch in china
Mas,mas,masss
vassalizing the turks was a mistake because then they lost Constantinople. Asia Minor was always crucial as it was the core of the Roman empire. Ruling it through vassalage was the huge mistake during the Komnenian period, which resulted to being beaten and betrayed to literally being destoryed completely by the ottomans. these romans relied on too much useless diplomacy as always. Everybody forgets to mention that Nikephoras II was the greatest Roman Emperor. Nikephoras knew how to attack the enemies as he had no petty mercy on them!
They never vassalized the Turks. No other video or source says anything like that. This is a story that the Byzantine historians of the time exaggerated to flatter Manuel.
😓 P r o m o s m