Rise of Bulgaria - Events leading to the Sack of Constantinople
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 พ.ค. 2021
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New Kings and Generals animated historical animated documentary series on the Byzantine-Crusader-Bulgarian Wars, as well as the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, fragmentation and restoration of the Eastern Roman Empire and Frankokratia, starts with an episode exploring the geopolitical situation in the region in the XII century, fall of the Komnenos dynasty and rise of the Angelos dynasty, and the restoration of the Bulgarian Tsardom under Ivan Asen and Peter. We'll also talk about the battle of Tryavna of 1190.
Previous videos on the Crusades, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire:
Varangians - Elite Bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors - • Varangians - Elite Bod...
Siege of Damascus 634 - Arab - Byzantine Wars - • Siege of Damascus 634 ...
Byzantine Empire Strikes Back - Battle of Nikiou 646 - • Byzantine Empire Strik...
Siege of Constantinople 717-718 - Arab-Byzantine Wars - • Siege of Constantinopl...
Pliska 811 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars - Pliska 811 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars
Versinikia 813 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars - • Versinikia 813 - Byzan...
Third Crusade 1189-1192: From Hattin to Jaffa - • Third Crusade 1189-119...
Basil II - Reformer, Restorer, Bulgarslayer - • Basil II - Reformer, R...
Creation of the Medieval Roman Army - • Creation of the Mediev...
Strategikon - Army Manual of the Eastern Roman Empire - • Strategikon - Army Man...
Medieval Battles - • Early Muslim Expansion...
Support us on Patreon: / kingsandgenerals or Paypal: paypal.me/kingsandgenerals or by joining the youtube membership: / @kingsandgenerals We are grateful to our patrons and sponsors, who made this video possible: docs.google.com/document/d/1o...
The video was made by Martin Stamatov, while the script was researched and written by Georgi Kolev. This video was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & th-cam.com/channels/79s.html.... The art was created by Nergiz Isaeva. Machinimas by MalayArcher on Total War: Attila engine.
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#Documentary #Bulgaria #Crusades
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Love your videos.
Can you make the video about Krisha Deva Raya pls
زیرنویس فارسی لطفا😭😭😭😭
I hate being that guy but I got to say it. But if it helps for future video references. The city NIS in current-day Serbia is pronounced NISHhhh, the shhhh sound. In Latin/Greek it would be called Naissus. Just saying lol, cause the English way of saying it when reading the 3 letters is just kinda weak.
Catalan company and Roger de Flor next maybe?
Generals when they win a battle:
"You know I'm something of an emperor myself."
This is gold!
true af lmaooo
Julian the apostate: we don't do that here
Belisarius >:(
Not so sure it applies to the Byzantines - them speaking greek and all - but the word emperor comes from Latin "imperator", which means: "a person with authority to give military orders". Generals definitely have that authority.
What we call "emperor" was called" Augutus" in Latin speaking Rome, which comes from the verb "augere", which means "to increase" or "to augment". Which kind of applies to generals who succeed in offensive campaigns, too.
So: more truth in this than you might have intended. Me like!
Generals in the empire: "I have won some battle! So following the ancient customs, I declare myself emperor."
This deserves to become a meme!
1200 years since Octavian did it first.
@@Shreendg he learned it from his ...... Father
@@notaseal7864 and he learnt it from Sulla. Everything that led to the fall of republic can be traced back to sulla.
@@Shreendg and Sulla could do it due to marian reforms, and those reforms had to be made by someone (with previous military system, they couldn't preserve the huge empire). In the end, everything is kinda inevitable in a big scale imo.
Poland: I'm getting attacked by everyone
Byzantium: First time?
Ottoman empire:
Every time
@@SerkAk why are you attacking mameluk too? Mameluk islam sunni too right?
Why England attack France. Why Germany attack Poland. All Christians right?
@@SerkAk umm you got point there mate
@@SerkAk Ottoman didnt attack Mamlukes, they knocked it out😅
England and France had fought for 500years.
Selim1 finished the quarrel in 1 year😆
Germans: teutoburg is the best ambush the world ever seen !
Bulgarians: hold my banitsa
Out of the many ambushes Bulgaria laid for their enemies, which one do you think did the most damage?
@@KingsandGenerals pliska, definitely
@@KingsandGenerals If you have to put the name "Bulgarian" it was the Battle of the Ongal. This battle is of the same if not greater importance as the battle at Manzikert to the Turks/Romans, which is way more known. It think it was even the first time when an outsider came settled on Eastern Roman territory crushed much superior army and started an entirely new ethnicity out of nothing and never left.
@@KingsandGenerals Battle of Adrianople 1205, even though the number of both armies are known. I think the real numbers of the Latin army were reduced in purpose from the historical sources. I think both armies were the same.
This battle causes the most damage because almost all nobles and knights of the newly formed Latin Empire were captured or killed. That was the start of the end of the Latin Empire, and even it survives for the next 50 years, the empire never managed to restore.
@@KingsandGenerals Battle of Trajan gates I think was the greatest ambush
There are two types of Roman and later Byzantine generals.
1.: Competent. Will most likely overthrow you.
2.: Completely incompent. Might still try to overthrow you.
Which is frustating because an easy solution would've been to appoint a ton of people into the position of general. Why? Because in order to rebel they need to gather a massive army which is impossible when every general commands a small percentage of said army, on top of the fact that if they claim the throne other generals would get envious an asssassinate them. Which is basically how the HRE survived so long, have a bunch of nobles for every meter of land so nobody can be powerful enough to dipose the Hapsburg.
@@rafaelglopezroman1110 Good luck assembling your army, commanding it and leading it to battle, tho.
@@rafaelglopezroman1110 yeah that’s not how the chain of command works. Sure you can appoint a bunch of generals as commanders of single units but at the end of the day, it’s still going to be the top general, aka the guy commanding the entire army who wields the ultimate power. All that guy has to do is turn those other generals with him and now he has an army to March for the throne.
Also your comparing two different states with major differences in their structure. The filthy HRE was a decentralized state with a elected “emperor”. While he did have the most power and was usually the most powerful prince out of all of them, there’s still dozens of principalities and domains that are pretty much answerable only to their prince and how much shit they give to the emperor. It’s a system that works with feudalism and heavily decentralized state. Plus, you can’t be emperor if you can’t secure the votes and acknowledgement from the church as well.
The ERE is a centralized state with all power centered in the emperor. It’s balanced by the church, nobility, and army which serves as a counter and buff to the emperor. That’s the key difference. HRE emperor is hard to overthrow but as a result, he has much less power over his subjects, less revenue, and less professional troops. ERE emperor is easier to overthrow but in return, he gets all the power, much more tax revenue due to centralized state, and a more professional army.
@@pergys6991 No general is going to convince another general to willingly surrender command of their troops to them. That just rarely ever happens specially in a case where they need those troops loyal to them, just to keep their position and the fact the right to loot is going to be their biggest source of income. They're fighting a war of attrition, having multiple generals fighting at all fronts with the added bonus of not one of them having the capabilities to march back to Constantinople is a logistical victory. This gives breathing room for the emperor to focus on diplomacy, the only thing that can save them at that point.
The so called filthy HRE outlived Byzathium. Centraized power is ironically not as stable as decentralized power. One dynasty basically took over the HRE for half a millenia, while in Byzantium no dynasty ruled for more than two centuries, so the voting system worked well as a legimitate succesion system something which Byzantium didn't had and desperately needed. Overall the HRE defended well against invaders and survived so long despite also been attacked from all fronts. It even got tagged team by France and the Ottoman Empire, while dealing with the aftermath of the 30 years war were they nearly lost 60% of their population. No state could ever survived something like that except the HRE.
@@rafaelglopezroman1110 that’s not how armies or even generals work. What your advocating is essentially copy the decentralized states, allow nobles to have their own armies that can be called on, and have your kingdom be helped together with strings and tape. If you appoint ten thousand generals to independently command every 100 man unit, you create a massive chaos in the command. If every general is in command of an army, then you actually run the greater risk of the emperor being overthrown. Every noble is going to be overthrowing the emperor so they can be the emperor because they have an army while the emperor doesn’t. And even if that doesn’t happen, no noble would actually go help anyone at all. There wouldn’t be anything stopping a general if he just said no to moving to the border from Nicaea.
Also, you actually have no idea how shit a decentralized state is in general. You do realize the reason barely anyone overthrew the HRE emperor was because there was almost no point too right? If your state was powerful enough, you could basically be your own thing with limited to no oversight from the emperor. Also, looting is not a good income. What if You lose a battle? Then you have nothing to pay your troops with. Also, less tax revenue gives you way less to work with. You want to build massive fortifications? Or have big armies that don’t disband after one season? Or create centres of innovation? Or make stockpiles of weapons and armour? You need money for that. And for that, you need capable administrators and a bureaucracy that can collect these taxes and count to make sure they are in line and that also requires money.
Btw, the ERE lasted way longer the the HRE considering they are the Roman Empire which was created in 1AD. Plus, the ERE faced way more challenges than any empire in Europe has. The ERE had to face the Muslim invasions, Sassanid empires, nomadic horse tribes, Normans, Bulgars, Hungarians, France, Sicilians, Austrians, Germans, and that’s ignoring the other hundreds of German tribes they had to face WITH NO ALLIES while simultaneously in a civil war.
You actually have no idea why no one copied the HRE style of “empire”. It was unsustainable, disunited, fragmented, and most of all, just plain bad compared to every other state in Europe. Just look at France, once they managed to centralized, they whooped Europe for a century.
*Mountain passes exist*
Bulgarians: It is free victory.
The Bulgarian army of the time wasnt the good old heavy cavalry. On large open field a victory against e legions would be hard to pull of. It was a 5min state at the time too so they cant have enough large well trained army for open field war.
The geography of Bulgaria itself helps a lot for a guerila war!!
Pretty much it. Almost all of our rulers were savy enough to always use the terrain advantage in our favour.
@@starhawck More like, "those who were savvy enough to use the terrain became rulers"
“The province of Philladelphia rebelled”.
Americans: “Just like home!”
Philadelphia is a greek word for 'friend and brother'
Listen again dude hes obviously not talking about Pennsylvania. Philidelphia was a province in the Byzantine empire long before it was a city in the US
Americans know the best
Did they throw batteries on opposing players and boo Santa Claus?
@@IvanIvanov-lb9ur It's actually just basic history. The US wasn't settled until the 17th century. The city in Anatolia being discussed is in the 12th century. Not exactly rocket science.
Fun Fact: Stefan Nemanja was the second of a series of twelve Stefans in a row. Between 1166-1355 the ruler of Serbia was always named Stefan.
@@nocomment5705 pulling a Caesar move lol
Steven is good name
Also, the last ruler of the dynasty was also called Stefan Urosh V the Weak (1355-1371), and during his reign the country became so decentralized that when he died a country collapsed completely into many smaller fully independent states. Some of those nobles tried to prove their connection to the Nemanjic dynasty, some of them named their heirs Stefan as well. Bosnian ban and later king Tvrtko I also named himself Stefan and crowned as King of Serbs and Bosnia in Serbian monastery Milesheva.
Did you really counted all of them, batko 😂
Similarly many of the of the bulgarian rulers named themselves Joan/Ivan during the second bulgarian state. It began with a Joan and ended with a Joan.I t was more of a title rather than a name
I've always wondered how it was humanly possible to be that incompetent as the Angelos dynasty was.
It's simple actually
Alcohol
Greed
Incest
And your done ^^
The only reason the Angeloi ever rose to the Imperial throne was because of their matrilineal descent from the Komnenoi, otherwise they were as useless as the backstabbing Doukai at Manzikert.
Issac the second was not THAT bad . He successfully annihilated the Normans and the Serbians . But he could not estimate the scale of the Bulgarian rebellion.
Tbf, they’re nothing comparing with... say Northern Qi.
@@demeterruinedmylife3199 I like your name lmao
Everyone: Will you stop trying to replace emperors and sending armies only to be massacred?
Eastern Rome: No.
Well, they must have had plenty of soldiers from the population boom that came before
@Black Wolf they considered themselves Romans, byzantines is the post empire term, so east Rome is more adequate
@@davidcampos1504
It doesn’t matter. They can call themselves Romans all they want, but they were de facto another country entirely both culturally and linguistically.
The people in the Holy Roman Empire also called themselves Romans, so one might as well assume that since everybody could claim to be “roman” nobody was Roman.
@@LuisBrito-ly1ko Eastern Rome was ethnologically Greek (i.e. not from Rome) though politically Roman, especially before the fall of the western half it was one and the same empire with two different rulers because administratively the empire got too big. When the last Western Emperor fell the Imperial regalia got sent to Constantinople by Odoacer, which in essence meant the recognition of the emperor in the east succeeding him, effectively filling the power vacuum that resulted from the Ostrogothic conquest in a continuous fashion, legitimizing the authority of the emperor until the adoption of the imperial title by Charlemagne, although in technicality until the sack of Constantinople in 1204.
@@LuisBrito-ly1ko East Rome was a child of Rome. It came directly a Roman. HRE was a German empire or so and had no actual cultural connection to Rome. The Greeks in East Rome are far more Roman than HRE. HRE is nowhere near a direct continuation.
Seriously: how did the Byzantine Empire managed to survive for that long? They walked from disaster into disaster constantly.
Reforms
they are organised like a state and too far technological from their enemies +roman diplomacy...
because Greeks never give up...
Also it had well defended cities.
More wealthy. Excellent military and civil reforms helped the empire survive for a long time. They also played their enemies against one another. Bribing one opponent to attack another was key to their survival. That and they avoided pitched battles for the most part. Deemed too risky and reckless.
The eastern romans would harass foragers and raiding parties. Ambush small forces of enemy troops. Waited until the enemy is laden with booty and prisoners and slowed down. They decided to attack the baggage train. Only then will they gave the confidence to engage in a pitch battle.
The tarsus mountains also have limited paths to take. Making the approach of an enemy army predictable. Towers established across the mountains will sent signals that would spread one by one till they reach constantinople within hours giving the emperors a lot more time to raise an army.
I told my history professor about the Chanel and she said that your videos are historically accurate and very interesting!! Well done !
We appreciate it :-)
@@hatsuhioki9361 ./.
@@ashtonhaggitt216 exactly, at my school all my cool history teachers just seem like miserable fucks but it’s because all they can teach us now is “our past bad, now good”
@@ashtonhaggitt216 It’s sad that 95% of Americans have never heard of Byzantine history or Eastern history in general for that matter
@@Zeerich-yx9po It may not seem necessary but it’s definitely a subject of great importance for the west to be educated on. The Byzantine empire was basically the most educated society in the Middle Ages and its fall basically started a chain that birthed the Enlightenment due to which America gained its independence. Arabic history is extremely important because Arab scientists essentially made possible the scientific revolution and the development of many modern fields. But yeah people from the states should definitely learn essential history first because they seem to lack necessary knowledge, on average at least
Watched like 5-6 videos of Bulgarian history (different time period) and there is always ambush/narrow path major victories, these guys took this type of war to another level
We were came from the steppe after all, trying to adapt the ambush to a different terrain.
More Bulgarian-Byzantine clashes: hype. One of the longest rivalries in the region.
From war in 680 to peace after 1014 to have another go for the sport.
I mean this wasn’t over a rivalry but over heavy taxation for Bulgarians and over power for the Asen Brothers.
Bulgaria and Byzantium ! Enemies - yes, surely , but they are also two sides which sometimes worked together /vs the ARABS for ex./ and also INTERACTED in a good way sometimes, when they are not busy killing each other
This more like the North vs South. It also doesn't matter what the name or the ethnicity of the belligerents is. If you put it into that perspective this conflict has been raging for thousands of years. If you look at the shape of the countries they are nearly the same as they have been 2000-2500 years ago. Also maybe the first mentioning of that confrontation was in the Iliad.
The 5th longest conflict in history of mankind
Love Bulgaria from Croatia 🇭🇷❤️🇧🇬. We're old rivals and friends.
Croatia is the only Balkan state who has nothing against us. Furthermore, we were allies for most of our modern history.
@@user-th3nx6zj2f da bratko 🇭🇷❤️🇧🇬
Love from Bulgaria
@@LeoInvictus 🇭🇷❤️🇧🇬
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic prefers that Croatians and Bulgarians remain "rivals" with his recent bullshit comments about Bulgaria.
Note: *Never attack Bulgaria through mountain passes*
The Turks learned that lesson in 1878 as well.
emperors go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
In bulgarian passes they are not trapped with you, you are trapped with them
we have a lot of mountained area, and a mountain that passes thru the middle which is very usefull.
>:))))
My hometown is Tryavna. about 2 km from the city is the place where the battle took place and there is a large statue in honor of the battle. Also in the center of the city is the church built by Tsar Assen in honor of the victory over Byzantium in 1190 and to this day is a functioning church and can anyone who wants to come in and light a candle!
Battle of Tryavna is basically a medieval version of the Teutoburg disaster of 9AD.
And what would be the equivalent of the disaster at Carrhea which was against the Parthians?
The third episode of this series features a battle that fits your description quite well!
@@KingsandGenerals battle of adrianople??
Or more like the victory of the Varbitsa mountain pass on 26 July 811 almost 4 centuries ago when Nikephoros I Genikos lost his head. Byzantine soldiers were recalling this events, believe me!
@@DimitarFCBM but hattin is essentialy Crusader vs Ayyubids. I think something like Manzikert will be closer since both the Turks and Parthians loved horse archers.
Byzantines: let's cross this Balkan pass.
Bulgarians: these people never learn...
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 'Destroy' suggests to put something irretrievably to an end, which is not the case with what you're trying to imply.
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 Pretty much youy're all wrong and don't understand English. If someone was destroyed, and raped at the same time it's the Byzantium, by the Ottomans. Night-night.
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 no actually Bulgaria still existed within the Byzantine empire as a themata ! read it.
"destroyed" is not quite accurate, Bulgarians were enjoying the best days of their lives as Basil treated them better than he treated you Greeks :D
just read how Basil ushers Bulgarians highly into byzantine society, giving them riches&gifts, high social status, low taxes, priviledges, titles etc.
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 lets not forget how Bulgarians destroyed Byzantine conquests of Constantine, Nikephoros, Romanos, Tzimiskes and even Basil in 986.
@@giorgosgkialpis1394 1185 uprising
The Byzantine history is the real embodiment of "Game of thrones"...
A very good way to put it and this series is just warming up. We know events like the sack inspired certain moments in the book, but I wonder if what happened afterwards is what inspired the war of the five kings.
@@KingsandGenerals I believe it's largely been agreed that the "War of the Five Kings" is heavily influenced by the English War of the Roses
Someone should really make a great netflix drama series about the Komnenian age. What a blast that would be. Blindings, rebellions, sacks, banishments, foreign intervention, eunuchs, court conspiracies, crusaders, nomads.. why didn't anyone capitalize on this?
@@game_boyd1644 kinda take it as tolkien: all over the shop but with an heavy main influence in center of diffrent ledgens and storys...
dont get me wrong myself would had heavly focus on the steppe and silkroad as Romani being nomads from former kushan sakastan now rajastan before coming to europe we got our culture and way of living as then with modern take on it hehe...we got a great heritage as being of firm belive in our way and traditions are right but not maybe all agree..then again not blond ubermensch being rather mix of the hunnas and gods choosen kind...thats why they allways hated us hahah
jekh baxhtale drom avar Romale kama kush :)
And who are the Bulgarians? The King in the North or the White Walkers? Or maybe the Rus are the White Walkers?
On the origin of the brothers:
As expected a lot of you have commented on the heritage of the two brothers who started the second Bulgarian Tsardom and we have a lot to unpack here.
The three brothers named Theodore (Peter), Ioan (Ivan Asen), and Ioan (Kaloyan), were most probably born in Tyrnovo to a rich pastoral family. Considering the chronology of the Norman invasions, their arrival at Kypsela, the feast day of Saint Demetrius, and when the wedding occurred along with the fact that what they requested never required meeting the Emperor in person we know that their rebellion was started on their own accords, probably seeking more influence while the Empire was struggling.
Note that initially the goal was not to create Wallachia, Bulgaria, Cumania, or the Empire of Tyrnovo, Peter laid a claim to the throne itself, but to fan the flames of rebellion he and his brother tapped into the Bulgarian culture and heritage to gain more supporters. The icon and patronage of the Saint being brought to their hometown were very symbolic, but also tactical. They wanted the Saint to be the rallying figure, not themselves, in this time religion played a far more significant culture than nationalism or even culture.
What we see afterward is a crushing defeat, both in getting most of Bulgaria to rebel (which it didn’t) as well as on the field. This is when they flee north of the Danube and gain the Cuman allies which turn the tide, most probably because they were able to speak their language and convince them that there would be plenty of spoils. This completely discredits the theory they were of Cuman origin, because if so it makes more sense to start the rebellion in modern Ukraine and lead the army south.
In fact, after the death of Ivan Asen the Cumans started raiding all of the Balkans, including Bulgaria, and later at the siege of Thessaloniki by Kaloyan, we know that the Bulgarian camp was separate from the Cuman camp.
Speaking of Kaloyan his correspondence with Pope Innocent III clearly shows both sides mentioning that the origin of his people could be traced back to the city of Rome itself, a claim that invalidates the Cuman or Bulgarian origin.
As a fellow Bulgarian all of this shocked me and I followed every source possible to find what is at the bottom of this, but in the end, does it matter? In my opinion, the brothers not being Bulgarian, yet rebranding themselves like this is extremely clever and paid off. They were able to pull many different cultures and religions together with one goal, which they achieved, unlike several true Bulgarian rebellions failed to do in the years prior. Their origin is secondary to their actions and while we argue about who they were and where they are from, most of the world doesn't even know who they are or how they essentially ended the Latin Empire, before it began.
I hope this shows the lengths I went to when telling this story and I hope to see us come together and celebrate history, instead of drawing lines in the sand.
A question for you, please..... Can we say that the vlachs had the same strong connection to the Bulgarian elites in Pliska, Preslav and later Turnovo in the same way armenians had strong connection with the Constantinople elite? I think this is the case. Probably people will not wonder too much if two armenian nobles restored the Byzantium empire with capital Constantinople. But as you said their origin is not the most important thing. What they did is important.
Since the fall of Rome, no other state had exercised serious power Wallachia other than the Bulgarian Empire. To think that a medieval person in Wallachia would be far from considering himself part of the Bulgarian culture at the time is more reasonable, that to attribute a separate identity misguided by the later existence of Romania and the same place. What other state had influence in Wallachia for centuries before 1185? In 1185 a person from Wallachia would claim Bulgarian heritage as much a person from Moesia.
Still, going with the Vlach origin theory was a little peculiar since other prominent theories, such as the ones that claim that the brothers were either Bulgarian or Cuman, are just as plausible.
It could be argued that you discarded the Cuman origin theory too easily. The Cumans rarely acted as a unified force so it is strange to propose that, just because the brothers didn't have significant influence among the main Cuman tribes and didn't start their rebellion in Ukraine or something, they weren't of Cuman origin. I mean, the first time when Chinggis Khan managed to organize a real army under his sole leadership was when he served under the Jurchen Jin dynasty. Does that mean that he was a Jurchen and not a Mongol? Similarly, I wouldn't discard the possibility that the brothers were of Cuman origin simply because some Cuman tribes raided Bulgaria since nomadic infighting was fairly common during these times. Again, I don't think that anybody believes that Chinggis Khan unified the Mongols peacefully. We also can't ignore that one of the brothers, Asen, had a distinctly Cuman name, and that the other, Kaloyan, was married to a Cuman woman. In addition, not only did many Cumans fight for the Asens, but the brothers themselves were also rather proficient in using their Cuman allies during battle.
I also have to point out that the Bulgarian origin theory is just as possible to be true as the Cuman and Vlach ones. Firstly, the real name of the youngest of the three brothers, Kaloyan, was Ioanitsa (Little Ivan), which points to a Slavic origin. Ivan was also the baptismal name of Asen. Secondly, that same Kaloyan, who wrote to the Pope that he can trace his origin back to Rome, also persistently insisted that he was a descendant of the old Krum dynasty, which ruled the first tsardom. And as we know, the rulers of the First Bulgarian empire were definitely not Vlach.
Honestly, if it were up to me I would have just said that the Asen dynasty had disputed ancestry without mentioning the specific theories. Or, if I really wanted to voice my preference for the Vlach theory, I would have also mentioned the other contending narratives.
Many Bulgarians refuse to even hear about non-Bulgarian roots of the Assen dynasty, as it is a shameful siggestion. But if they were not Bulgarians that would mean that their contemporaries held Bulharian culture and state tradition in such a high regard, that being part of it were considered a legitimate claim to power in the Balkan region. The same way most European empires claimed some sort of Roman heritage and Romans claimed heritage from Troy. So if the Asen dynasty adopted Bulgarian culture, that is a great compliment. And cultire is as much about sharing as it is about tradition anyway.
About the Vlach connection - the Coat of arms of the Second Bulgarian tsardom is often depicted as the traditional Moldovian coat of arms. So there is certainly connection between the two.
@@boriskrestev3730 Of course there is a connection between the two. The First and Second Bulgarian empires controlled these regions for centuries. Furthermore, Bulgarians and Vlachs had been living in the same tsardom for quite some time so the connection is certainly there.
I replied to the original comment simply because it dismissed the Bulgarian and Cuman origin by using some rather shaky argumentation. I agree with what you said about culture and I have no problem with the Asens being of foreign origin. Culture and language will always be more important than blood when it comes to a given nation's history. I just didn't appreciate the fact that none of the other two major theories about the origin of the brothers were even mentioned in the video as possible alternatives.
Hello and thank you for the video from Bulgaria 🇧🇬
OOH! More Byzantine History! ME LIKE!
@Black Wolf He isn’t exactly wrong. I’m actually finishing my master’s degree in byzantine history and the persistence of the term “Byzantine” is truly a consequence of the Great Schism. See the latins always called eastern Romans as “Greeks” and that’s how they even addressed the emperors(emperor of the Greeks not the Romans). We just use the term “Byzantine” more often(personally I don’t) because it’s convenient and because it frankly sounds cooler than “Easter Romans”, plus it may cause confusion because everybody thinks of the Roman Empire when the Romans are mentioned
@Black Wolf I do actually. There is no “correct term” in academia as “Byzantine” is merely a convention favored by modern historians. I, like many other of my peers and mostly anglophone historians, call Byzantium the “eastern Roman Empire” as this is inherently what it is. There is no “Byzantine empire” because the Roman Empire never truly collapsed completely up to 1453. The Romans called themselves Romans objecting to be named otherwise nothing complicated about it. The Byzantine empire is just the medieval Roman Empire which of course in a 1000 years changed drastically
@Black Wolf Sure I’m not saying that it’s wrong but that calling Byzantium Eastern Rome, Medieval Rome or Romania(from the original Greek «Ρωμανία») is merely more accurate and true to the original medieval Greek scholarship. The term is merely a convention(sadly born out of the west-East cultural dichotomy) which remains valid. It’s something that contemporary English speaking historians have realized and thus use in their academic works. The changes that took place between Caesar’s and Justinian’s are indeed cultural so it would be more appropriate to use a term like “Byzantine culture” or the “Byzantine People” rather than “Byzantine empire” because it denotes a different political entity, something which Eastern Rome never was. Something similar can be said about the shift from the principate to the dominate in the time of Diocletian which was an immense political change yet Rome didn’t change as a political entity
@@god-emperorofmankind8540 Thanks man and yeah I’m half Italian and half Greek. You are as well?
@@god-emperorofmankind8540 Εε φυσικά!! Παρατηρώ όμως δυστυχώς πως υπάρχει πολύ παραπληροφόρηση στην Ελλάδα για το θέμα του Βυζαντίου ακούω δηλαδή εξωφρενικά πράγματα από Έλληνες. Δεν ξέρω αν έχεις προσέξει το ίδιο
Such a fascinating period in Balkan history. My favorite campaign in AOE 2 is the Ivaylo rebellion against the Second Bulgarian Empire. I really appreciate this video connecting all these lesser known events with the more famous Fourth Crusade. I hope to see this series continued.
Thank you for your continued support!
Oh Ivaylo, our shepherd tsar, perhaps guys you can make a video about him because it is precedent in Medieval European history.
"Look at how they massacred my boy."
*Cries in Greek and Latin*
You know, thus actually maybe protected the Empire from Mongol attacks.
*I don’t want his mother to see him like this.*
(Turns to Nicaea)
*I want you to use all your powers and all your skills to try to remedy this.*
@Geremia Russo No Byzantium was founded in 659 BC by the Greeks . The population of Constantinople used the word Byzantion for their selves as a local identity. The population of the City , unlike Rome, was mainly Greek with some hellenized minorities such as Armenians and Hebrews . Even in the time of Justinian it was rare to find someone except some in the court and in the army ( the emperor included ) to speak Latin . Actually in 865 emperor Michael claimed to the pope that Latin was a barbaric language.
@@nikostombris5505 Which is ironic when all Byzantine correspondence to the west was in Latin and Latin was on the coins until the 1000s. And it was used In Religious holidays by priests and the military still during the 900s as listed in De Ceremoniis by Constantine Purpleborn.
So I’d say that was just Michael talking shit like Nikephoros phocas who threatened to reconquer Rome when the Pope insulted him.
@@tylerellis9097 true not to mention medieval Greek had borrowed heavily from Latin both for military related terms and official titles as well as everyday items though I guess that depends to some degree on which variant of Greek you examine since the "Byzantines" actually employed several distinct ones. The elites who generally prefered to write in their own Attic -like variant would probably avoid using too many latinisms same for the church which used koine greek which is also pretty un-latin . Latin influence would have been more obvious on the language of the plebs /lower classes ie "demotic" greek.
“Listen guys I’m loyal to the emperor and all that sure, but I’m not going through another forest again.Okay”
Probably said by a Roman soldier.
@@thatisme3thatisme38 He tried to insult you, calling you mongol, what a poor soul :D :D :D
Other channels are Solid but K&G is truly Hyperpryon.
Do not say that... There are a lot of good historical chanels like Epic history TV..Invicta... Voices of the Past... Bazbattles... making good content
History Marches is really good too. I like this guys voice from King and Generals.
I think history Marche is a little worse
They're like the history channel before reality TV
@@alexandrostheodorou8387 yeah, the narrator has the perfect voice for documentaries
PLEASE cover Michael II the Amorian.
Dude went from sentenced to being *CHAINED TO AN APE AND THROWN INTO A FURNACE* to Emperor within a few hours!
Just byzantine things
Wat
Wat
Wat
Where did they even get an ape?
Hopefully we can see next, the Bulgarian-Latin wars and the Kaloyan campaigns.
Stay tuned and find out how your namesake will eventually become the Roman Slayer
french knight go brrrrrrrrrrr
@@KingsandGenerals hehe
@@KingsandGenerals As person which ancestors have relocated from Tarnovo region in the 18th century to Preslav, where I am borned and raised, I will be waiting with anticipation.
I'm gonna cry a lot during this series...
Why
@@mk9650 they have a few more videos
Me too :(((
@@aboubacaramadoutraore6551 Fall of Constantine the 11th is legit sad.
Slight correction: 16:06 Lovech's "-ch" is pronounced "-ch" as in "Chair"; the same goes for the "c" in Branicevo. Aside from that, excellent video, as always. Greetings from Bulgaria.
Fun facts: During the siege of Tarnovgrad a meteorological anomaly happened - a rare dust storm to the north of the city. This scared the byzantines cuz they thought all of that dust was being lifted by cuman cavalry. This caused them to retreat through the Tryavna pass. During the battle there one of the byzantine priests threw one of the religious relics into the river, so it wouldnt get stolen - a golden cross engraved with diamonds. Some bulgarian soldiers saw that, and jumped in the river to get it. That cross stayed in Tarnovgrad until Ivan Asen III turned traitor and robbed the treasury, fleeing to Byzantium. Thats why in Bulgaria on the 6th of January every year, priests throw a cross in the river, and people jump in the cold water to find it. That battle is where that tradition comes from.
Top 10 saddest anime deaths;
Number 1: Komnenos dynasty
@Black Wolf bro log off
Have to agree with this. Least The Komnenos Dynasty had the mind set to improve the Byzantine Empire. Than the moronic Angelos dynasty came into the picture...idiots.
Nah number one is julius ceaser.
Nah Number 1 would be Constantine XI.
@@AlextheGreat647 Manuel Komnenos Drained the treasury. And got defeated by them but still they revived the empire
Shrek to Byzantine Empire: Could you stop betraying each other for FIVE MINUTES!!
One thing is for certain, Constantinople definitely held out for longer than most people probably figured.
You mean Istanbul?
Just kidding. Although it would be great if people mentioned it by the present name.
@@ahbabmuttaki1856 it would create confusion for non Turks who don't know the history of istanbul before the Turkish independence or ottaman conquest of the city
@@ahbabmuttaki1856 i mean context wise it makes sense to refer to it as Constantinople, and as eons stated might raise some confusion as well but i do see sort of what you mean. idk might be worth it to say Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, but idk.
@@Fun4luve yeah but the thing is,it wasn't called Constantinople until they decided to divide up the empire and set a secondary capital there. And after Mehmet the second made it a capital,he renamed it. So,don't you think we should call it Istanbul logically? Coz otherwise,we shouldn't call it Constantinople either coz it's not its first or original name. The original name was something in original Greek.
@@eons8941 I think we pretty much somewhat know the history of the city. The Romans conqured and changed the name,then ottomans did the same. Then,why shouldn't we call it Istanbul. Its not like that Constantinople was the first and original name of the city. The original name of the city was something in ancient Greek.
Great video! I'm historian from Tarnovo, every year we make celebrations in memory of the rebellion of Asen and Petar. Also, my university in Veliko Tarnovo and the Sofia university have an old quarrel for the exact year of the rebellion - 1185 or 1186. A colleague of mine recently put evidences in favor of the year 1186 but 1185 is still used in books and researches.
Часта, че вероятно са влахи не беше споменавана в учебниците хах
This was one of the most controversial moments in the video, but after exploring every possibility 1186 made more sense. Personally, I belive the primary source (Niketas Choniates), made an error when describing the events, leading to many historians after him repeating the false date.
In the end, his own words state that the battle was fought in total darkness (not during the night), and the 1185 date only featured a partial eclipse, while a total eclipse occurred the year after.
Thank you for your feedback!
@@gunsrlove Влахи или кумани с някакви български корени. В професионалната литература куманският произход е по-разпространен. А въпросът за влахите и тяхната роля в нашата е история е доста комплексен. За мен лично са си българи смесени с най-различни племена от степите, които с времето се отцепват от централната власт в Търново. До много късно територии в сегашна Румъния са под контрола на Българската държава.
@@KingsandGenerals Yes, exactly the problem. My colleague research the NASA archives for full solar eclipses and the one most likely according to the chronographer was, as you said, in 1186. Or in the end, the chronographer just brought the eclipse to make the moment more important and to show divine intervention.
@@gunsrlove Няма никакви доказателства че са били влаcи. Това сигурно е взето от румънските учебници. Някои историци предполагaт че са имали куманска кръв заради името Асен, но това спокойно може да е име от прабългарски произход. Самият Асен казва че те са били потомци на стария царски род.
More Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian and Hungarian history more, more! Also please kindly continue with Russian history as well :)
very underrated parts of history
I asked a video on the komnenian dynasty in the comment section of the last video and I got it ... K&G I have no words .
big thank to you and your overwhelmingly persuasive commenting powers!
@@landoonline6393 I am a Byzantine diplomat... that’s why 💁♂️
Man, if you are a true byzantine diplomat you surely became their biggest patron supporter.
me during the video: i cannot imagine how the hell this empire survived almost 300 years after this mess
the narrator: this is actually the calm before the storm
When boysCry: Sacking of Babylon
When men Cry: Sacking of Rome
When gods Cry: Sacking of Constantinople.
Which sack ?
@Black Wolf Baghdad and Nalanda also.
@Black Wolf What do you mean by " It wasn't physical sack but cultural"?
@Black Wolf he is talking about 1204 when crusaders sacked Constantinople
@@shabaz1187 Right
The amount of infighting, backstabbing, usurping and overall instability of the Byzantines is absolutely mind-boggling! Their longevity is all the more surprising. What a fascinating history they had,. Great video, my friends!
Thank you for your support!
Byzantine-Bulgarian wars best episodes ever!!!
Poor Isaac, he was clearly doing his best, but was surrounded by courtiers and rebellious generals
Clearly his best wasn't good enough. Not surprising for someone who became emperor basically by accident without any qualifications. That said Isaac was probably the least messed up of his "dynasty". I consider Andronikos the real culprit here for leading to the rise of the Angeloi in the first place with his shameful usurpation and disastrous reign (if only he was as skilled at ruling as he were at usurping wouldn't that be great) which could be seen as a prelude to what would follow.
Isaac is far from the perfect emperor, and can be seen as 'incompetent', but dang, he did not bad in holding the fort. Most people would've probably committed suicide in that situation or something.
@@ntonisa6636 The only positive point I give to Isaakios II, is that he refused to let Bulgaria win and tried (and retried ...) to stop their advance, his s.... brother, Alexios III was worst than him. Isaak had a chance to destroy the rebelious brothers, after his crushing victory during the eclipse. They fled in Cuman Territory. He should have them killed by diplomacy and gold (typical for Byzantine Tactics), it would have avoided huge damage.
About Andronikos, indeed his rule was a shame .... He should have solved issues inherited after Manuel's death, but knowing how he took the throne, violence was the only solution he knew.
Unfortunately, during challenging times, emperor doing their best isn't good enough, competent emperors, such as Alexios I, Ioannes II, Basileios Ior Leo III are required.
@@DimitarFCBMStill, isakios took back the icone of st demetrius that Bulgarians used, it was a blow to their moral and beginning rebellion. If Isaakios after this fight have used the usual diplomatic ways, asens brothers would have been murdered in a mouth by their couman allies. He wasn't really wise.
K&G have brought much comfort throughout these crazy times. Thank you team K&G!
Bulgarians in 1010's: Let's weaken ourselves through infighting and capitulate to Byzantium.
Byzantines in 1180's: Let's weaken ourselves through infighting and let Bulgaria break free.
Thank you kings and generals for your consistent uploads and long videos keep it up
Wow, Kings and Generals the next one will be a video I can't wait for! Great work Fellas, thanks.
thank you for explaining bulgarian history, it was quite accurately presented to my humble knowlegde.
This is the only channel i need on youtube.Nice work guys 👍
WRE: I am the epitome of coups, barbarian invasions, and betrayals.
ERE: That's cute. You're cute.
Just dont forget about corruption and debasing your currency over and over and over again.
@@KingsandGenerals how could we ever forget, the good old days.
ERE : *We should date*
@@adamevert1618 yes up until a read head wanted to build a palace
So good that you are doing in details that often overlooked era and region of Euroasia. And the story of battle for survival of the Roman Empire in the greek speaking world, and development of orthodox Christian civilisation is very interesting and important one, not to mention full of good fights and tense moments!
We constantly try to expand the topics and region that we cover, history is full of interesting tales from all over the world and we do our best in trying to tell as many of them.
Really this channel is gr8....I try to see almost all new videos and try to update myself in History
Greetings from Tryavna.
I really look forward to your videos, they are all filled with historical perspectives, good graphics and narration.
Thank you for your support, these videos would not be possible without it!
Already looking forward to part 2 this video was really good.
Let’s go!!! I can tell this series is gonna be one of my favorites.
4 more episodes on the way!
when you are quarantine because of the virus its a happy momment to see new videos for kings and generals!
greece celebrating 200 years since the war of independence and k&g is putting a knife in my heart with videos like this. still, history is history and i have to face it, sadly😢. thank you k&g for your awesome work, even if it hurts.
@@Georgios1821 well said !!! Μπράβο
Amazing video as always, I like when I see a little nuggets of Bulgarians history throughout your videos
We are glad you enjoyed it. The continuation of this series will see more than nuggets as we delve into battles like Adrianople and Klokotnista
Brilliant video as always K&G.!!
A lot in this video..would love it to be broken down in to 2-3 more videos and explain some overthrows and as to why?!!
Love the channels work.!! 👌👍
Nice to discuss some Bulgarian history ! TY, Kings and Ichergu Boils, I mean Generals !
Asen and Petar being vlachs is the most elaborate Romanian propagnda.
It was probably their origin and its widely acknowledged in the scientific community. The letter between the pope and them tells it pretty clearly aswell.
I see a lot of Bulgarians buthurt about it altho I dont see why, they were citizens of the Bulgarian Empire as many other minorities, them being Vlachs and having restored the Empire doesnt take away anything from Bulgarian merits.
Been waiting for this 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
Amazing as always
Christ, Andronikos was a bloodthirsty psychopath, what kind of sane individual would force a kid to sign his own mother's execution ? That's just sick and cruel...
Dude medieval Balkans are.... not pg 13.
There's also the fact that he married that kid's wife at age 13, while he was 65 (this is also the same guy who slept with two of his much younger nieces). Even medieval chroniclers of the time criticized him heavily for this immoral action.
He was a business man doing business (ie. politics)
And then have him strangled afterwards...
I think he was mad, he rebelled against his cousin Manuel, I think had an affair with his niece (and a child) ... Manuel should have killed him, would have avoided a lot of s... to Komnenos dynasty.
This is a particularly brutal episode, lovely.
This was captivating. Great stuff!
Superb job once again. Love this channel.
Great video! Greetings from Serbia!
I love that casual slap sound effect they added.
I can't wait till the next video of the series comes. It's super interesting
As always . Great video
The video was great. The only mistake was that Petar and Asen weren't Vlachs. They were Bulgarians from Cuman origins. The reason Theodor changes his name to Peter was to build a connection to the First Bulgarian Empire and it's first officially recognized emperor basileus was named Peter, that's why he took his name.
The third brother mentioned in the video who was imprisoned by the byzantines called Kaloyan later becomes Tsar of Bulgaria and expands the kingdom and is also called Roman slayer. He wants to exact revenge for Basil the Bulgar slayer. Kaloyan is also the one who defeated the undefeated crusader army that conquered Constantinople and captures the Latin emperor Baldwin. Very interesting stuff 👌
The claim you are making is not true. Their origin is not well-known, whether it is Vlach, Bulgarian or Cuman, I agree that the video shouldn't have said that they are Vlachs without explaining the context, but saying they are Bulgarian it is equally wrong. Besides, Vlachs have lived under the 1st Bulgarian Tsardom for so long that it is very likely they also considered themselves Bulgarians, the same way a scottish or welsh person can consider themselves british.
The video makes a correct statement: they were, most probably, Vlachs (not certainly). The Vlach theory is backed by hundreds of contemporary (12th - 13th century) writings (letters, chronicles etc).
Sounds nationalistic to me 🤔
Copium overdose. The Asens/Asans were Bulgarians in a royal, quasi-national sense; but they were most likely Vlach-Cuman by ethnicity up to the death of Kaloyan, and Vlach-Cuman-Bulgarian up to the death of John Asen II. The Second Bulgarian Empire is as much a part of Bulgarian history as it is part of the history of all its other ethnicities.
The first recognised basileus was simeon the great
I live really close to that mountain pass! Its still wild and untouched by civilization! History lovers should visit Bulgaria, it’s a lot to see here!
I ve been waiting for this
We're getting the spotlight again, boys :P Keep up the good work, man, appreciate it.
Everybody is commenting on the video but can we take a moment to appreciate the animation ? I mean that thumbnail is 🔥🔥⛽⛽
Asen and Peter were either of local bulgarian or cuman stock, not vlach. Vlach is a proposed theory, specific to Romania(for obvious reasons).
Not to mention "vlach" is not an ethnicity at that time, it started to form probably around XV-XVI c.
Vlach is not a theory proposed by Romania. Vlach is testified by hundreds of contemporary documents (letters, chronicles etc from the 12th and 13th centuries). Even the piece of land they first liberated from the Byzantines (former Paristrion byzantine province) was named Vlachia by many contemporary authors. Asen's Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state created following the Byzantine model.
The Vlachs are just the Latinized Thracians; while Bulgarians are just the Slavicized Vlachs (Thracians). Genetics proves the population in Bulgaria did not change much in the last millennia - it was the same population, just changing its language and state-name. Very similar population to that on the north of Danube, BTW.
@@ionbrad6753 Cope and larp
Too nice historic channel with clear explaining of history periods. thanks for sending
Excelente vídeo!!! Parabéns!!!!
I would really love for K&G to make a good video about the Komemnoi Dynasty period of Byzantine History but also for the Paleologian one which basically the Dynasty that managed to reclaim Constanipole and rebuild and save the Empire for a short amount of time and also had a brief Golden Age. These two periods are very interesting and highly underrated imo.
Yea it had its ups and its interesting how they tried to reclaim that lost glory and no matter how many times they were defeated they kept trying to reach the century old glory
Actually it is the Laskaris Dynasty that set the base for Paleologian success
@@GreenMarkoulis13 Exactly overall the Palaiologos dynasty was bad to average. Michael can directly be attributed to the fall of Byzantine Anatolia by forcibly moving its nobility and their retinues to Constantinople and weakening the garrisons for expansion and defense in Greece.
Laskaris did all the heavy lifting and get no praise. Theodore straight up killed the Sultan of Rum.
@@tylerellis9097 Hmm interesting to you both. I agree that Laskaris Dynasty did actually all the heavy lifting in terms of military and battles which are of course highly important but culturally and socially at least at the start of their Dynasty the Palaiologoi were good. I believe it is terribly wrong to say that " The Empire s totally dead after the Komnenos Dynasty, there no coming back and blah blah" . While yes the Palaiologeans weren't at the level of other notable families and periods of Byzantium they still along with th Laskaris Dynasty of course preserved the presence of Byzantine rule or a quite stable power for at least 100 years. At least that's what I think imo.
@@tylerellis9097 Michael started it but Andronikos II his son thought it was a good idea to completly disband the navy and most of the field army... leaving Anatolia and the rest of the empire pretty undefended.
More about the Komnenian Restoration pls
Greate video and amazing quality : O
Good stuff,, thank you Ks and Gs
Everyday life in the Byzantine Empire.
"you did a great job defeating that Army, have you ever thought of being emperor?"
"who me, nah.... But now that you mention it"
Two weeks later
"you did a great job making that pointy stick, have you ever thought of being emperor?"
Reminds me of playing Skyrim.
"Nice work fetching this artifact. Ever thought about leading our faction?"
Correction: Hungary did not became a vassal of Manual, but it was forced to relinquish Croatia and send the crown prince Bela III. into Constantinople as a hostage. In fact Bela was favoured by Manuel (they were closely related, Manuel being the gradson of the Hungarian king László the Saint) and was granted the name Alexios and the title Authocrator. For some time Bela was considered as the hire of both Hungary and Byzantium.
I don't know which channel is more pricised... I love this 😍 channel, cz this Man's voice is sureal . Always Give me goosbums
This was a good one.
It's funny, when I went home a few years ago I got to see most of the the places in this series. And shipka is only 30 minutes from my home town. It's nice to see the ruins in some of these place. And some of the old Roman roads up in the mountains.
Great video as always waiting for the next episode and the laskaris dynasty who fought against the Latins Seljuks Bulgarians successfully
It’s Eastern Roman Empire not greek empire chill out my kid!!!
@@Simeon594 ????
@@Simeon594 stop crying simona and bow to the greeks
@@user-fb3kh5zf7h 🤣🤣 19 centuries of slave first of eastern Romans second on Ottomans🤣🤣 you crying
@@Simeon594 simona you bark too much you should learn your place
Nice video with great job 👏🤗
Great job!
I would love to have seen the duel between Conrad of Montferrat and Alexios Vranas
Roman generals after 1 win: me emperor?
😂😂
@@Jose-mh2om Aww thanks Jose...
is for me 👉👈
@@rondeanichi3633 current emporer: NO
everyone: he said the n word!
Love this channel! Any chance of something on the fifth crusade? Seems to be criminally under covered on youtube
Thank you , K&G .
Our pleasure!
I can see my home town Drastar in North East Bulgaria, today known as Silistra 🙌🏽 1900 years old
Every strategos during this era: "Become the Emperor or die trying!"
Thank you!