It is fun to think that crossing a river as small and shallow as the Rubicon, will remain in the consciousness of the entire western world to this day as a reckless act and with unimaginable consequences. "Crossing the Rubicon" today is synonymous with reaching a point of no return. I look forward to this new chapter in Julius Cesar's story, thank you K&G.
It may be a stream but to Roman tradition, it really was a "no going back" point. It was a tradition arguably as old Rome itself that a Roman army was forbidden from marching into the city unless it was in a Triumph. It's actually the reason why originally when the Republic didn't have a standing army that the people, when called for military service, would actually gather under arms outside the city limits on the Campus Martius. Hence why the Civil Wars of the 2nd and 1st Centuries were so formative, the traditions of old were being thoroughly abused and stamped on.
Also, the tone of the phrase is usually misunderstood. It was much closer to "well, here goes nothing" (a die being cast is generally associated with gambling, not so much with an ominous point of no return). It's only in retrospect that it seems like he was making this big, certain statement about the start of a major conflict, because that's what happened afterwards. But nobody at the time knew for sure what would happen. That's what Caesar was getting at: that the whole thing was a gamble and he was taking a huge risk.
It was the roman version of "Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible make violent revolutions inevitable." In a way. The Grachi brothers land reforms and fighting for the people trough peaceful means had been crushed and many flocked to Caesar (and Catiline before him) for the promise of land and bread, and fighting against the Oligarchy. Caesar saw the opportunity in this and acted. If he truly was a populist at heart is another matter.
Those mosaic artwork maps are absolutely stunning. The production value on your guys videos are absolutely amazing, genuinely stunning whilst still detailed and informative.
I love how you guys stay entirely unbiased- every single other video about this conflict I’ve ever seen has gotten some conjecture about whether Caesar was ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for Rome but KaG just explains what happened. Very nice.
@@OGfisk For me too. I saw his bias, when he claimed that Caesar was to blame for destroying the republic, and that it was 'mostly stable' before Caesar came along. He of all people should be able to see the wider picture, that the instability of the Republic was what allowed Caesar to get so powerful at all.
@@kmonster6879 The "mostly stable" line was obviously refering to the entire history of the republic, not just the first century, which was very unstable
It was the roman version of "Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible make violent revolutions inevitable." In a way. The Grachi brothers land reforms and fighting for the people trough peaceful means had been crushed and many flocked to Caesar (and Catiline before him) for the promise of land and bread, and fighting against the Oligarchy. Caesar saw the opportunity in this and acted. If he truly was a populist at heart is another matter.
In my opinion I think Caesar truly was a populist caring for the people at least in some manners, as much as one can expect from that time period. Even after clearly being the Master of Rome he didn't stop with projects helping the plebs, often at the cost of the wealthy. He did it even when he had all the power and could have done anything he want (so to speak, of course there were limits.). Now of course Caesar was very vain and prideful, and simply wanting the affection of the people for his own vanity was certainly a reason, but I do think in some parts he did truly want to reform Rome.
@@Comintern1919 He poisoned the well during his reign. It would never recover as an institution. It's laws were only able to be respected at sword point, as evidenced by the civil war that came here.
I really like the new background dialogue of the Roman senators speaking in Latin. It sounds very natural and helps immerse the viewer in the video. Keep up the great work K&G!
You shouldnt take these political sides as some fixed ideological groups. For example, some of Caesar's laws might come conservative, some of Cicero's acts could be populist, calling them optimate or conservative or populare wont be as accurate as you might think with the modern political view perspective. So i highly doubt anyone from that senate thought that way.
@@blackflagsnroses6013 He is actually completely correct. Optimates and Populares weren't analogous to Plebs and Patricians. That's the Struggle of the Orders from the 5th Century B.C., the Plebs agitated for places in the government, the right to vote and land reforms. Quite literally the formation of the Republic as it would stand till the mid 2nd Century. Tradition in Roman politics had become firmly established and very seldom did senators deviate from the established Mos Maiorum until the Gracchi, there was nothing to be gained from bringing the train to a halt. Optimates and Populares were types of senators that formed factions that served the needs of the individuals within those factions (The First Triumvirate for example). Men like the Gracchi Brothers and Marius who used tactics like gang violence, and abusing the popular assemblies by manipulating the Tribunate in order to pass their laws were considered Populares, "Men of the People." though over the course of the Roman Revolution for the reasons stated above, this became quite a negative term. Optimates ("The Optimals") were considered ideal senators who toed the line and respected the Mos Maiorum (Way of the Ancestors). These were men like Sulla and Cicero who tried to preserve the Republic. They weren't singular entities, or political parties, they were fluid factions that served the needs of the individuals and their supporters based on their values, what methods they were prepared to use and what they needed to accomplish.
Caesar walks into a bar, holds up two fingers and says, "five pints, please". _buh-dump-bump_ Gosh I love Roman history! Thanks K&G for more awsum original content!
18:03 - My God. This scene is stunning. I wish you used such visuals in all of your videos. This video itself, was literally a masterpiece from beginning till the end. I can't mention every single detail that made this video specifically so beautiful (I hope you will be able to understand them yourselves), but I truly want your other videos to be similar to this one.
Wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you and your team put into building historical content that I can share with non-history buffs. You make it easier to share my passions with others and for that you have my gratitude
Lets give a nod to the artists on this one, this is definitely the most beautiful visuals K&G have ever produced. The combination of the animated aerial shots of the city proper combined with the imagery of the pivotal "ALEA IACTA EST" is powerful indeed. Simply well done. I have been a fan of your channel for some time now and this is clearly your most profound work so far.
It was a great episode, im so happy that you are continuing Caesar's story line. Caesar's life and Caesar in general is a very interesting character of the history. Im looking forward for the rest of his life.
I just have to say, the artwork and production quality is simply STUNNING. Good work. Cant believe this is free. And yes, I would rewatch the raid shadowlegends ad every time ;)
Very accurate and rightly synthetic! Bravo! These are such complex times! Just a reminder : you place Cicero within the oldest families, the nobles. Cicero was a "Homo Nuevus", a recently made aristocrat without a long family line. And he was not a real Optimates, but someone in between : we would say a moderate nowadays. He hesitated a lot before joining Pompey's camp and even when he did, he did it reluctantly. He was also a friend of Caesar, not really politically : but they were from the same generation and shared the same taste for literature. They knew each other well before those events. He became a firm opponent of Caesar very late : just before his assassination. He played a role and was for it, but his plans (actually the assassin's plan) for after this assassination came to no fruition.
5:33 the coliseum was not built until 80AD 17:12 Cicero is very unique because he was not an aristocrat like most Optimates but a "new man" that rose through the ranks and achieved success.
my favorite story is about how he snuck into caesars home when he was pontifex maximus, during a female only ritual and tried to bang caesars wife, leading to a wacky trial, where nobody even knew what they were literally trying him for, or if any laws were broken at all, caesar would divorce his wife, and when he was brought to the stand, he said he didnt know what was going on, and when asked why he divorced his wife, caesar said something to the effect of "the wife of caesar should be beyong suspicion" which is one of the best comebacks ive ever heard, not only was this trial very scandalous because of its contents, it was also supposedly a bribery filled, dirty as all hell corrupt shit show, but for clodius, just a normal instance lol
Perfect Brief and profound story. Caesar was a true loving leader and practical military commander. Envy is all how it started, since the beginning of human kind and till this day. We need another Caesar these days a man who stands with all people. Poor and rich, white and black.
@@loldiamond1017 I am increasingly of the opinion that democratic republics are horrible ideas... granted monarchies, theocracies, and oligarchies are also horrible ideas, tribal confederations are horrible ideas, and communist republics are horrible ideas... so are socialist republics... in fact even anarchy is a horrible idea... well, looks like we are screwed no matter what. Maybe we take the Suebian method, build a little patch of woods to call home, burn everyone and everything within 20 miles of it, and tell everyone to get off our lawn.
@Paul Thomas Johnson Maybe we try not having governments a while,. live quietly in our communities and stop trying to enforce our will on those around us, stop trying to expand our power for good or bad, stop needing to tell others how to live and die. A good joke I know.
Excellent video! I remember going over this topic in my ancient Rome class in college. But this video explained it so that it is much easier to understand. It is a interesting time period and a climax of decades of build up and events would be lasting for all of history.
@@BoxStudioExecutive - there are many interpretations. I think he gets it right here. "The die is cast" - meaning the die has already been cast by the Senate Optimates, so my course is clear.
"Alea iacta est" is aprophycal... and yet it IS the most apropriate phrase for what was happening! Godd job on summing a very fascinating period in history!
No, dear KG: we all know that the reason why the Republic was brought down to its knees, was Titus Pullo. Oh, Pullo, you drunken foul... PS: Can't wait for the next episodes of this new series! And all the marvellous quotes from _Rome_ .
@@travisnebeker9970 It is, for a History Channel. It's something else if it is a political or opinion channel. But a History Channel should be as unbiased as possible.
A nicely informative video. I love how in depth it goes into what led to the Roman Civil War. When's the next video coming out. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.
17:50 You misplaced the Rubicon and the city of Parma. The river you named Rubicon is in fact the Reno river, while the real Rubicon is further south. The city of Parma is further west, by no means near to the Panaro river.
Has anyone here read “Rubicon” by Tom Holland? One gets to the point that when Clodius is mentioned, an eye roll and the question “what now” is the appropriate reaction; what a guy😂 Seriously, though, great video, K&G!!! Ironically I’m watching this one last in the series, since I watched it all about 3 months ago, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining!
i highly recommend reading Caesar's actual work, and writings on these subjects, they are propaganda filled as hell, but much better than any youtuber could make a video about, everything in any video on youtube about it probably came straight from his writings anyway
13:41 It was the Caesarians who made this demand to Pompeii first. It was Caesar's plan to drive a wedge between Pompeii and the hardliner optimates who would agree to such a compromise as it made legal sense. This caused a lot of demands to go back and forth, giving Caesar enough time while the senate was bogged down It makes no sense for Pompei to have needlessly put his career and political clout on the line by making such an offer himself
In truth. I really do NOT blame the war on Ceaser. Yes, he was certainly in part responsible for pushing things further then they should of gone by his actions. BUT it really was Cato i put the primary responsibility for pushing things into Civil War. Cato knew that his intractable stance would force Ceaser into responding as he did. This was while expecting he would be able to force/manipulate Pompey into backing the Senate (even tho in Cato's view Pompey was hardly any better) but he imagined that Pomey would be easy(er) to manage then Ceaser once it was just Pompey. Tho i feel once Pompey was free of the threat of Ceaser he would have just became the equivalent of a dictator. Perhaps Cato did not think Pompey would grasp bloody power like Sulla. Pompey just wanted to be "famous" and be lauded and praised but wouldn't upset the social/political order like Ceaser would may have been Cato's reasoning? Here i think is a dangerous gamble on his part, that the Senate could just 'wait Pompey out' or just placate him through flattery but no REAL upheaval. Certainly a risky gamble, one that I'm sure Cicero would have realized. Pompey allowing Cato to practically lead him by the nose into Civil War against Ceasar-an action that really in no way was of benefit to Pompey- somewhat bears out that Pompey would not be the kind of destabilizing force that Ceasar was. His, Caesars- offer of the 2 provinces and one legion (might have been 1 province & 2 legions tho) was more then reasonable. Had Cato not been such an uptight self righteous hardliner the Civil War -at least at that time would have easily been avoided by eliminating Caesars causes bellii to do so. Kinda feel bad for Pompey really at the end of it. Powerful as he was, ended up just being a tool of the Optimates. Pompey just wanted glory & to be famous- Ceasar wanted POWER (Crassus's earlier motives are harder to divine but irrelevant). Blame Cato for the downfall of the Republic really. Must not have been aware of the old maxim- "do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good". P.s.... anyone else think that Pompey would have been a great, and wouls have LOVED to of been a Viking? Lol
crap i made my Nord VPN account last night. i was hoping to be able to do the account while also helping this channel. damn it all!!!. love history. especially ancient history. and you guys make it a delight to watch and listen. few channels out there with this profile are so good. nice job.
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganised, into the FIRST ROMAN EMPIRE! For a safe and secure society!"
You think you already know how large and influential figure Julius Caesar was. But you really don't unless you really study him closely. That's when you realize just how 'great' Caesar was.
Academia paints Caesar as a villain.. the more I learn about him the more I'm seeing just like others in history.. *cough* he was actually a hero of the people.
He was a hero. Academia knows only books and none of reality. They're good talkers, but doesn't really paint an illustrative picture of the situation. I prefer a historian that tries to understand the situation from top to bottom rather than go 'muh intellectual wisdom'.
Even Caesar felt this way. There is a story where Caesar looked at a statue of Alexander the Great when he was quaestor in Hispania already in his 30s and lamented that at his age Alexander had already conquered most of the known world. And Alexander looked back to Achilles and the mythical Greek Heroes and thought he could never match their greatness. There is no "greater" generation. Every generation looks to the accomplishments of previous generations with the benefit of hindsight without realising what their generation is achieving.
@Klaidi Rubiku the story was reported by both Plutarch and Suetonius who both wrote biographies of Caesar and are considered important primary sources, make of that what you want. Also I didn't reply to OP's comment on depression but his comment on the fact that this generation is not as great as the previous ones. Pretty much every generation thinks that, which is why I used this example.
Damo2690 he had many of these before the Gallic conquest. He was in debt and young most of his life. He was only old and rich after his success in Gaul
To any lovers of quotes: The Latin iacta ālea est, a grammatically, and thereby semantically, incorrect translation by Suetonius, 121 CE,[1] is the translation of the Ancient Greek phrase of Menander ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which Caesar quoted in Greek (not Latin). It was a line from a theatrical play (can't remember now) which in Greek translates rather as “let the die be cast!”, or “let the game be ventured!” We know that Caesar said his famous phrase in Greek and not in Latin, it was quite common for the elite or educated in Ancient Rome to speak fluent Greek. Similarly most of the theatrical plays were performed in Greek.
@@talknight2 Die casting can easily by confused by the metallurgical process. Though that process wasn't invented until the 1800s, it can still confuse modern hobby historians into interpreting the phrase to mean "the decision has been made and cannot be unmade" rather than the more accurate interpretation of "the decision has been made to gamble with fate". It's a subtle difference, but I get why OP felt the need to opine.
tbh you could make a miniseries on just the prelude to the civil war starting from Sulla's time. It is such an interesting and fascinating time to study
Ahhh Just what I needed , now I can watch “ceasar in Gaul “ then this video and then history marche video’s on ceasar’s civil war ☺️🔥 but still looking forward for this channel to bring out it’s videos on the civil war . this inside was welcoming and very entertaining to watch🔥
Cicero was a "new man", meaning that he was the first-ever of his family to become a consul. He was not a well-established aristocrat but a man who worked his way up the curses honorum with pure skills. He supported the Pompeians solely because he believed that they would be more merciful and lenient to the Republican system than the Caesareans.
Hello @KingsandGenerals, I want to ask what is the title of the introductory soundtrack of this video. It's mostly used in many of your Roman and Caesar videos. I have been trying to get my hands on it for ages 😂 though I won't say it has been for ages since I have been searching for it. Lol. Kindly reply thanks.
Romulus and Remus: *fight over which hill to build their city on* Kings and Generals: Uses beautiful picture of Rome but without hills. Remus: Are we a joke t- Romulus: *Buries an axe in Remus’ head* Kings and Generals: And that was how Rome was founded.
did you ever checked 3d Roma city models in Italian museums, which were used as a reference for this video? Those hills are not huge, they are small, they are rather symbolic. Istanbul is also built on 7 hills again none of them are more then 40 meters to climd, on inside a small neighbourhood. So you can't look for hills in Roma in 1st century BC, by then the population was around 1m in the city, contrary to a few thousands when the city was founded 400 years before.
Love how 'extra credits' made a video about the brothers gracci but hadn't talked to much about the consequences of their deaths, but here on K&Gs I now can see what the other video didn't cover.
Caesar is back and on a world tour again, baby: bit.ly/2PX5A4n
Plz continue the thirty years war
Hi Kings and Generals. Why don't you do a video about the history about each of the Greek city states.
nadera ajam NO
@@Τζει-ε5δ hear, hear!
@@22vx Thanks
It is fun to think that crossing a river as small and shallow as the Rubicon, will remain in the consciousness of the entire western world to this day as a reckless act and with unimaginable consequences. "Crossing the Rubicon" today is synonymous with reaching a point of no return.
I look forward to this new chapter in Julius Cesar's story, thank you K&G.
How you made comment when 12 hours ago when video is uploaded 13 minutes ago.
@@batgirl65 He's a patron, they get to see all videos earlier than us regular folks.
was it shallow back then?
It may be a stream but to Roman tradition, it really was a "no going back" point. It was a tradition arguably as old Rome itself that a Roman army was forbidden from marching into the city unless it was in a Triumph. It's actually the reason why originally when the Republic didn't have a standing army that the people, when called for military service, would actually gather under arms outside the city limits on the Campus Martius. Hence why the Civil Wars of the 2nd and 1st Centuries were so formative, the traditions of old were being thoroughly abused and stamped on.
@@brentanthuenis9875 shallow crossings
Caesar actually spoke the words "The die is cast." in Greek. It was in reference to a Greek tragic play now lost to us.
Also, the tone of the phrase is usually misunderstood. It was much closer to "well, here goes nothing" (a die being cast is generally associated with gambling, not so much with an ominous point of no return). It's only in retrospect that it seems like he was making this big, certain statement about the start of a major conflict, because that's what happened afterwards. But nobody at the time knew for sure what would happen. That's what Caesar was getting at: that the whole thing was a gamble and he was taking a huge risk.
Caesar had a habit of using Greek a lot more than people think.
@@adimazga He spent a lot of his youth in Greece. It's said his last words weren't "Et tu Brute" but "kai su teknon"
Tareltonlives true
It was the roman version of "Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible make violent revolutions inevitable." In a way. The Grachi brothers land reforms and fighting for the people trough peaceful means had been crushed and many flocked to Caesar (and Catiline before him) for the promise of land and bread, and fighting against the Oligarchy. Caesar saw the opportunity in this and acted. If he truly was a populist at heart is another matter.
“I came, I saw, I clicked.”
@@SilverisDuhas I started business, I started poking my nose in Indian politics, I conquered the whole Indian subcontinent, then I civilised them all.
@@britisheastindiacompany6031 veni vidi subscri
@@opperturk124 clever. Cheers mate.
I praise the Lord
I take what's yours
Then take some more
Epic!
Those mosaic artwork maps are absolutely stunning. The production value on your guys videos are absolutely amazing, genuinely stunning whilst still detailed and informative.
If I have one beef it is that they show Rome with a colosseum. It didn't exist during Caesar's time. After all this is a history video right?
do you guys know the tiltle of the theme song played at the begining ?
@@kayrico8367it's just a distinctive feature that rome had, even if the colosseum didn't exist at the time.
I love how you guys stay entirely unbiased- every single other video about this conflict I’ve ever seen has gotten some conjecture about whether Caesar was ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for Rome but KaG just explains what happened. Very nice.
follow Historia Civilis ...
Channel he did great job on the Civil war
KaG is a true historian , historians should have words such as “good” and “bad” in their dictionaries .
@@jlassijlali290 Actually foun Historia Civilis a bit more opinionated. Takes away a bit of the enjoyment for me, but he is good :)
@@OGfisk For me too. I saw his bias, when he claimed that Caesar was to blame for destroying the republic, and that it was 'mostly stable' before Caesar came along. He of all people should be able to see the wider picture, that the instability of the Republic was what allowed Caesar to get so powerful at all.
@@kmonster6879 The "mostly stable" line was obviously refering to the entire history of the republic, not just the first century, which was very unstable
Caesar is such a legend. Imagine being so influential that all/most of the emperors called themselves Caesar. Damn
Augustus played a part in that I think.
Tsar and Kaiser are corruptions of Caesar too
@@shadhinov yeah but Octavian was Caesars adopted son right?......so lets give caesar the credit lol
I personality like it when they give opinions in videos
@@M15-c9c Being an adopted son in Roman times was a huge honor. Also, Octavius renamed himself Gaius Julius Caesar.
Caesar: "I am going to get lunch, does anyone want anything?"
Cicero: "I will have a salad....Caesar."
Caesar: "And you, Brutus?"
Caesar: Et Tu Brute?
Brutus: Minime, Ego Sum Domi Dormit.
"Then fall Caeser!... dressing on my salad as well."
Dont historians miss pronounce Caesars name it was Actually pronounce something like kaaesar ?
From what TV Series is this reference?
@@shadowrealm8014 Yes, it was pronounced closer to Kaiser if you are using Classical Latin.
Caesar: "Titus Pullo is with me, and you...ARE YOU WITH ME?"
Best TV Show
"Torture?.... I'm a soldier I just kill people, what's torture?... do I cut his finger off?!
god i wish they could've continued that show. vorenus and pullo - best bromance ever.
What is the title of this TV Show?
@@engr_qt7093 ROME from HBO
"He was a CONSUL of ROMEEE!" Oh wait, sorry! Wrong video!!
Shame on the house of Ptolemy for such barbarity
@@Countdooku97 SHAME! SHAAAME!!!!
@@Countdooku97 His sister's hot, though.
SIT DOWN!!! now when can I expect payment?
@@FrostCaramto Is there any kind of law...you wretched woman?
Oh now this, THIS will be a big series
Dan Crenshaw's History of Rome podcast 🔥
@@samsohn Or Michael Duncan's History of Rome podcast, starts out rough but its so good.
@@ProvidenceNL that's what I meant!! Why did I say Dan Crenshaw!?
Highly recommend the History of Rome podcast!
@@samsohn lol to think Dan Crenshaw would be knowledgeable of the history of rome. Maybe he is but hearing him talk in interviews, I won't bet on it.
To be fair to Caesar he goes to a lot of effort to avoid the war.
Hey, Sheev. From one Emperor to another, how’s it going?
Pompey had nothin to lose, he shld hv resigned first, then Caesar wld hv followed
@@tarakabuddha do u really believe that, we all know how Caesar operates, if pompey resign then no left to defend the republic.
I just have to say that marking the sizes of a city by the number of pillars it has is simply ingenious
Thanks, watch Servile Wars series, it has the same map. As a infographics designer and strategy games fan I decided it would add dept to the map 😊
It was the roman version of "Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible make violent revolutions inevitable." In a way. The Grachi brothers land reforms and fighting for the people trough peaceful means had been crushed and many flocked to Caesar (and Catiline before him) for the promise of land and bread, and fighting against the Oligarchy. Caesar saw the opportunity in this and acted. If he truly was a populist at heart is another matter.
Wow I haven't heard anything about those brothers in forever.nicely played.
The Grachii fought peacefully and failed. Clearly Caesar and Marius were cunning enough to not fall for idealism
I find it a bit odd to say the Grachi "died". "Murdered" or "assassinated" is more to the point. And don't forget Marcus Livius Drusus!
In my opinion I think Caesar truly was a populist caring for the people at least in some manners, as much as one can expect from that time period.
Even after clearly being the Master of Rome he didn't stop with projects helping the plebs, often at the cost of the wealthy. He did it even when he had all the power and could have done anything he want (so to speak, of course there were limits.).
Now of course Caesar was very vain and prideful, and simply wanting the affection of the people for his own vanity was certainly a reason, but I do think in some parts he did truly want to reform Rome.
@@Comintern1919 He poisoned the well during his reign. It would never recover as an institution. It's laws were only able to be respected at sword point, as evidenced by the civil war that came here.
Greatest red square, that ever lived.
Tribune Aquila endorses this comment
What the hell is a red square??
@ Watch Historia Civilis LOL you'll see and understand
@ all of them
@ Videos concerning Julius Caesar. Historia Civilis has a whole playlist about our favourite red square
I really like the new background dialogue of the Roman senators speaking in Latin. It sounds very natural and helps immerse the viewer in the video. Keep up the great work K&G!
Do you know where i can listen the original speech ..it sounds so lovely
Optimates: Hail Sulla, Dictator for life
Populares: Make Caesar Dictator for life.
Optimates: Surprised Pikachu face.
Octavian: Half shadowed Villian face smile.
Caeser did something that Sulla did not, he let his enemies live. Sulla got to grow old, do you see where I'm going with this?
You shouldnt take these political sides as some fixed ideological groups. For example, some of Caesar's laws might come conservative, some of Cicero's acts could be populist, calling them optimate or conservative or populare wont be as accurate as you might think with the modern political view perspective.
So i highly doubt anyone from that senate thought that way.
Can Çatalbaş it was patricians vs plebeians and who can serve which interest bloc
@@blackflagsnroses6013 He is actually completely correct. Optimates and Populares weren't analogous to Plebs and Patricians. That's the Struggle of the Orders from the 5th Century B.C., the Plebs agitated for places in the government, the right to vote and land reforms. Quite literally the formation of the Republic as it would stand till the mid 2nd Century. Tradition in Roman politics had become firmly established and very seldom did senators deviate from the established Mos Maiorum until the Gracchi, there was nothing to be gained from bringing the train to a halt.
Optimates and Populares were types of senators that formed factions that served the needs of the individuals within those factions (The First Triumvirate for example). Men like the Gracchi Brothers and Marius who used tactics like gang violence, and abusing the popular assemblies by manipulating the Tribunate in order to pass their laws were considered Populares, "Men of the People." though over the course of the Roman Revolution for the reasons stated above, this became quite a negative term.
Optimates ("The Optimals") were considered ideal senators who toed the line and respected the Mos Maiorum (Way of the Ancestors). These were men like Sulla and Cicero who tried to preserve the Republic. They weren't singular entities, or political parties, they were fluid factions that served the needs of the individuals and their supporters based on their values, what methods they were prepared to use and what they needed to accomplish.
Caesar walks into a bar, holds up two fingers and says, "five pints, please".
_buh-dump-bump_
Gosh I love Roman history! Thanks K&G for more awsum original content!
- 3...2...1 yeeeah! Happy 58 b.c., everyone!!
- b.c... Battlecruisers?
- oh, never mind.
@@istvansipos9940 Drach
jokes like these remind me of the Asterix series
@@ForelliBoy I'm not certain people are actually getting the joke.
18:03 - My God. This scene is stunning. I wish you used such visuals in all of your videos. This video itself, was literally a masterpiece from beginning till the end. I can't mention every single detail that made this video specifically so beautiful (I hope you will be able to understand them yourselves), but I truly want your other videos to be similar to this one.
Wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you and your team put into building historical content that I can share with non-history buffs. You make it easier to share my passions with others and for that you have my gratitude
You are the first one to make a history class more interesting to me than any series of Netflix
thank you!
This episode was absolutely phenomenal! I've always wanted to support you guys directly, but this sealed the deal. Perfect. I love it!
We appreciate it!
Lets give a nod to the artists on this one, this is definitely the most beautiful visuals K&G have ever produced. The combination of the animated aerial shots of the city proper combined with the imagery of the pivotal "ALEA IACTA EST" is powerful indeed. Simply well done. I have been a fan of your channel for some time now and this is clearly your most profound work so far.
thanks for watching!
It was a great episode, im so happy that you are continuing Caesar's story line. Caesar's life and Caesar in general is a very interesting character of the history. Im looking forward for the rest of his life.
I just have to say, the artwork and production quality is simply STUNNING. Good work. Cant believe this is free. And yes, I would rewatch the raid shadowlegends ad every time ;)
Very accurate and rightly synthetic! Bravo! These are such complex times!
Just a reminder : you place Cicero within the oldest families, the nobles. Cicero was a "Homo Nuevus", a recently made aristocrat without a long family line. And he was not a real Optimates, but someone in between : we would say a moderate nowadays. He hesitated a lot before joining Pompey's camp and even when he did, he did it reluctantly. He was also a friend of Caesar, not really politically : but they were from the same generation and shared the same taste for literature. They knew each other well before those events. He became a firm opponent of Caesar very late : just before his assassination. He played a role and was for it, but his plans (actually the assassin's plan) for after this assassination came to no fruition.
This has become a great channel, the consistency of quality content is excellent. Keep up the good work!
5:33 the coliseum was not built until 80AD
17:12 Cicero is very unique because he was not an aristocrat like most Optimates but a "new man" that rose through the ranks and achieved success.
Cato also was a pebleian, being tribune of the plebes before being pretor
@@megasalexandros714 yeah but Cato came from a noble family. Cicero did not.
Kings and Generals will narrate as though we traveled back in time.. still my favorite history channel
From TWO years i am following you !!!!!your graphics and story telling is increasing day by day!!!!BEST TH-cam CHANNEL!!!
If you like this subject, Robert Harris's book "Imperium" is excellent.
I prefer Colleen Mccullough's "Masters of Rome" series, but Imperium is also very solid
@@KingsandGenerals I'll need to check it out... oh wait, library's closed. :(
Yeah, a few of our series are stalled because of that. :-(
@@KingsandGenerals Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing?
@@berserk6855 Based
While I know all of this from word for word the presentation is what keeps me coming back to Roman history
Publius Clodius Pulcher deserves his own series. His many scandals, his brazen political acts and his gang war with Milo are the stuff of legend.
my favorite story is about how he snuck into caesars home when he was pontifex maximus, during a female only ritual and tried to bang caesars wife, leading to a wacky trial, where nobody even knew what they were literally trying him for, or if any laws were broken at all, caesar would divorce his wife, and when he was brought to the stand, he said he didnt know what was going on, and when asked why he divorced his wife, caesar said something to the effect of "the wife of caesar should be beyong suspicion" which is one of the best comebacks ive ever heard, not only was this trial very scandalous because of its contents, it was also supposedly a bribery filled, dirty as all hell corrupt shit show, but for clodius, just a normal instance lol
Perfect Brief and profound story. Caesar was a true loving leader and practical military commander. Envy is all how it started, since the beginning of human kind and till this day. We need another Caesar these days a man who stands with all people. Poor and rich, white and black.
Everyone: K&G you can't possibly start a new series !!
K&G: Hold my toga...
lol “hold my toga”
What fantastic storytelling, guys! Bravo!
The patterns are uncanny in the modern timeline as well...
History doesn't really repeat itself, but it does like to rhyme.
Gotta be aware of our history in order to avoid making the same mistakes
*Looks at America* Well, yes but actually, no.
@@loldiamond1017 I am increasingly of the opinion that democratic republics are horrible ideas... granted monarchies, theocracies, and oligarchies are also horrible ideas, tribal confederations are horrible ideas, and communist republics are horrible ideas... so are socialist republics... in fact even anarchy is a horrible idea... well, looks like we are screwed no matter what.
Maybe we take the Suebian method, build a little patch of woods to call home, burn everyone and everything within 20 miles of it, and tell everyone to get off our lawn.
@Paul Thomas Johnson Maybe we try not having governments a while,. live quietly in our communities and stop trying to enforce our will on those around us, stop trying to expand our power for good or bad, stop needing to tell others how to live and die.
A good joke I know.
Thanks Kings and General for the Roman civil war. Was eagerly waiting for it since the Gallic conquest.
What a way to finish the episode, really great :D. Looking forward for more
Excellent video! I remember going over this topic in my ancient Rome class in college. But this video explained it so that it is much easier to understand.
It is a interesting time period and a climax of decades of build up and events would be lasting for all of history.
The 1st century BC is a gem for history geeks.
"Let the die be cast."
"La suerte está echada" in spanish.
"Ο κύβος ερρίφθει" in Greek
Apostolis Pouliakis ‘ετσι...
But that would be "Alea acta sit", not "Alea acta est".
@@BoxStudioExecutive - there are many interpretations. I think he gets it right here. "The die is cast" - meaning the die has already been cast by the Senate Optimates, so my course is clear.
Finally!! I’ve been waiting my whole life for this series!
I sense Caesar season 2 is coming, yes? That would be amazing :D
••GLADIATOR•• Yeah on Sunday
Thank you for your excellent videos with quality animations and factual information. Keep up the good work
I am just grateful to you for this fascinating content, gratias ad mvltvm K&G !
These graphics are stunning. I am amazed. Great work
Caesar was truly a man of the people. Screw the Optimates.
"Alea iacta est" is aprophycal... and yet it IS the most apropriate phrase for what was happening! Godd job on summing a very fascinating period in history!
No, dear KG: we all know that the reason why the Republic was brought down to its knees, was Titus Pullo.
Oh, Pullo, you drunken foul...
PS: Can't wait for the next episodes of this new series! And all the marvellous quotes from _Rome_ .
Nah, it was some hairy hobo trying to avenge Pullo for killing his gay lover.
Senate: Backs Caesar into a corner, forcing him to march on Rome
Caesar: Actually marches on Rome
Senate: Surprised Pikachu face
Much more details on that story on channel Historia Civilis.
With a high level of anti-Caesar bias. This is the channel for facts.
@@nathannickalo1109 As if "anti-Caesar bias" were a bad thing.
@@travisnebeker9970 It is, for a History Channel.
It's something else if it is a political or opinion channel. But a History Channel should be as unbiased as possible.
@@nathannickalo1109 what anti-caesar bais? sure he created was a lot less favorable image but it was supported by events that did happen
@lumasz one holds his power legally and complains about the one holding his illegally, and he calls it a false equivalency.
A nicely informative video. I love how in depth it goes into what led to the Roman Civil War. When's the next video coming out. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.
It's almost like history is repeating itself somewhere in the western hemisphere...
I’m sorry, but what is the music used in this video?? It is absolutely glorious 😩
17:50 You misplaced the Rubicon and the city of Parma. The river you named Rubicon is in fact the Reno river, while the real Rubicon is further south. The city of Parma is further west, by no means near to the Panaro river.
Has anyone here read “Rubicon” by Tom Holland? One gets to the point that when Clodius is mentioned, an eye roll and the question “what now” is the appropriate reaction; what a guy😂
Seriously, though, great video, K&G!!!
Ironically I’m watching this one last in the series, since I watched it all about 3 months ago, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining!
I highly recommend you watch Historia Civilis’ videos on Caesar’s wars in Gaul and the subsequent civil war.
i highly recommend reading Caesar's actual work, and writings on these subjects, they are propaganda filled as hell, but much better than any youtuber could make a video about, everything in any video on youtube about it probably came straight from his writings anyway
Amazing quality of video, thank you very much
13:41
It was the Caesarians who made this demand to Pompeii first. It was Caesar's plan to drive a wedge between Pompeii and the hardliner optimates who would agree to such a compromise as it made legal sense. This caused a lot of demands to go back and forth, giving Caesar enough time while the senate was bogged down
It makes no sense for Pompei to have needlessly put his career and political clout on the line by making such an offer himself
You use new kind of illustrations and animations. Very beautiful!
In truth. I really do NOT blame the war on Ceaser. Yes, he was certainly in part responsible for pushing things further then they should of gone by his actions. BUT it really was Cato i put the primary responsibility for pushing things into Civil War. Cato knew that his intractable stance would force Ceaser into responding as he did. This was while expecting he would be able to force/manipulate Pompey into backing the Senate (even tho in Cato's view Pompey was hardly any better) but he imagined that Pomey would be easy(er) to manage then Ceaser once it was just Pompey. Tho i feel once Pompey was free of the threat of Ceaser he would have just became the equivalent of a dictator. Perhaps Cato did not think Pompey would grasp bloody power like Sulla. Pompey just wanted to be "famous" and be lauded and praised but wouldn't upset the social/political order like Ceaser would may have been Cato's reasoning? Here i think is a dangerous gamble on his part, that the Senate could just 'wait Pompey out' or just placate him through flattery but no REAL upheaval. Certainly a risky gamble, one that I'm sure Cicero would have realized. Pompey allowing Cato to practically lead him by the nose into Civil War against Ceasar-an action that really in no way was of benefit to Pompey- somewhat bears out that Pompey would not be the kind of destabilizing force that Ceasar was. His, Caesars- offer of the 2 provinces and one legion (might have been 1 province & 2 legions tho) was more then reasonable. Had Cato not been such an uptight self righteous hardliner the Civil War -at least at that time would have easily been avoided by eliminating Caesars causes bellii to do so. Kinda feel bad for Pompey really at the end of it. Powerful as he was, ended up just being a tool of the Optimates. Pompey just wanted glory & to be famous- Ceasar wanted POWER (Crassus's earlier motives are harder to divine but irrelevant). Blame Cato for the downfall of the Republic really. Must not have been aware of the old maxim- "do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good".
P.s.... anyone else think that Pompey would have been a great, and wouls have LOVED to of been a Viking? Lol
crap i made my Nord VPN account last night. i was hoping to be able to do the account while also helping this channel. damn it all!!!. love history. especially ancient history. and you guys make it a delight to watch and listen. few channels out there with this profile are so good. nice job.
How it really started: "I am the senate"
Love your portrait!
@@AlphaSections thanks
"In order to ensure the security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganised, into the FIRST ROMAN EMPIRE! For a safe and secure society!"
@@nobblkpraetorian5623 *autistic clapping*
@@nobblkpraetorian5623 So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause!!
Voices in the senate speaking latin gave me the chills. Great job!
You think you already know how large and influential figure Julius Caesar was. But you really don't unless you really study him closely. That's when you realize just how 'great' Caesar was.
I have never been so early. Glad to watch another video about Caesar
Perfect timing as I just ordered a pizza! :)
Was it Little Caesar's Pizza?
Thanks
3:38 is exactly what's happening in the USA, and the end of that Republic is on the horizon as a result
I just watched the documentary on the Gallic Wars two days ago I am so glad to continue to see the adventures of Gaius Julius Caesar.
Academia paints Caesar as a villain.. the more I learn about him the more I'm seeing just like others in history.. *cough* he was actually a hero of the people.
He was a hero. Academia knows only books and none of reality. They're good talkers, but doesn't really paint an illustrative picture of the situation. I prefer a historian that tries to understand the situation from top to bottom rather than go 'muh intellectual wisdom'.
This channel produces the best documentaries like this. Thanks for the great content
Can someone give me the names of the soundtrack plzzz? Hey Kings and Generals, i really enjoy your work, thanks for this!!!!
Rannard -marching
Others can be found from total war rome 2 soundtrack
Can u link rannard-marching please
really like the new art style, great video
I feel the present generation can never match the glories of Great men from the past. No wonder today's men are so depressed.
Even Caesar felt this way. There is a story where Caesar looked at a statue of Alexander the Great when he was quaestor in Hispania already in his 30s and lamented that at his age Alexander had already conquered most of the known world. And Alexander looked back to Achilles and the mythical Greek Heroes and thought he could never match their greatness. There is no "greater" generation. Every generation looks to the accomplishments of previous generations with the benefit of hindsight without realising what their generation is achieving.
@Klaidi Rubiku the story was reported by both Plutarch and Suetonius who both wrote biographies of Caesar and are considered important primary sources, make of that what you want.
Also I didn't reply to OP's comment on depression but his comment on the fact that this generation is not as great as the previous ones. Pretty much every generation thinks that, which is why I used this example.
This is better content than 90% of what is on cable right now.
Caesars picture is horrid, he was more handsome than that
He seduced way too many people for this
@@calebsmith7633 Have you seen Billionares today with 2 girls off on their arms...they don't need to be pretty
Damo2690 he had many of these before the Gallic conquest. He was in debt and young most of his life. He was only old and rich after his success in Gaul
He was a red square
Sad, sad. We always asume famous and great men to look good and be good and for the lower to look bad.
What is this insight?
To any lovers of quotes: The Latin iacta ālea est, a grammatically, and thereby semantically, incorrect translation by Suetonius, 121 CE,[1] is the translation of the Ancient Greek phrase of Menander ἀνερρίφθω κύβος (anerrhíphthō kúbos), which Caesar quoted in Greek (not Latin). It was a line from a theatrical play (can't remember now) which in Greek translates rather as “let the die be cast!”, or “let the game be ventured!” We know that Caesar said his famous phrase in Greek and not in Latin, it was quite common for the elite or educated in Ancient Rome to speak fluent Greek. Similarly most of the theatrical plays were performed in Greek.
„Alia iacta est.“ actually means: the die is thrown. Out of hand, however the outcome is not sure yet...
That's the same as the die is cast
@@talknight2 Die casting can easily by confused by the metallurgical process. Though that process wasn't invented until the 1800s, it can still confuse modern hobby historians into interpreting the phrase to mean "the decision has been made and cannot be unmade" rather than the more accurate interpretation of "the decision has been made to gamble with fate". It's a subtle difference, but I get why OP felt the need to opine.
@@bestestdev That would be a particularly stunning misundertanding
"Cast" can mean "to throw" in English, which is just what it means here.
i mean i'm as proud a pedant as any, but damn dude, you just take irrelevant information to a new level.
Love this channel...it make me fall in love with history.
Why does almost no one spell "Gracchi" correctly, I'm going crazy
tbh you could make a miniseries on just the prelude to the civil war starting from Sulla's time. It is such an interesting and fascinating time to study
Senate: The senate will decide your fate
Caesar: I am The Senate
Ahhh Just what I needed , now I can watch “ceasar in Gaul “ then this video and then history marche video’s on ceasar’s civil war ☺️🔥 but still looking forward for this channel to bring out it’s videos on the civil war . this inside was welcoming and very entertaining to watch🔥
Cicero was a "new man", meaning that he was the first-ever of his family to become a consul. He was not a well-established aristocrat but a man who worked his way up the curses honorum with pure skills. He supported the Pompeians solely because he believed that they would be more merciful and lenient to the Republican system than the Caesareans.
Hello @KingsandGenerals, I want to ask what is the title of the introductory soundtrack of this video. It's mostly used in many of your Roman and Caesar videos. I have been trying to get my hands on it for ages 😂 though I won't say it has been for ages since I have been searching for it. Lol. Kindly reply thanks.
"ANTONY!!!!!!, VETO THE MOTION, VETO THE MOTION!!!!!"
The narrator for this channel has got the greatest voice. I won't be surprised to hear his voice narrating something else soon.
Romulus and Remus: *fight over which hill to build their city on*
Kings and Generals: Uses beautiful picture of Rome but without hills.
Remus: Are we a joke t-
Romulus: *Buries an axe in Remus’ head*
Kings and Generals: And that was how Rome was founded.
lol
cringe
did you ever checked 3d Roma city models in Italian museums, which were used as a reference for this video? Those hills are not huge, they are small, they are rather symbolic. Istanbul is also built on 7 hills again none of them are more then 40 meters to climd, on inside a small neighbourhood. So you can't look for hills in Roma in 1st century BC, by then the population was around 1m in the city, contrary to a few thousands when the city was founded 400 years before.
The quality of the videos you upload are really amazing
2 political parties blocking each others ideas causing mass polarization? Where have I seen that before
I was cynical going into this. I had doubts about Kings & Generals doing this social/political video ... But it's really good. Great job! Thanks!
CROSS THE RUBICON, DONALD.
Beautiful artwork and really cool maps! This series is going to be great
I don't know who does the artwork for your videos but you better hold on to that person.
We will :-) all the names are in the credits
They are holding me quite well, thanks for watching! :)
Very nice video! I hope you can do another on the roman economy in the future
Please make some documantries about Süleyman the Magnificent and his wars in Ottoman wars series. 🙏
So many are there. Rhodes. Belgrade Vienna
Your documentaries pictures are amazing!
Bruh Caesar looks like President Duterte
😂 they did him dirty. Made him look like skeletor
Love how 'extra credits' made a video about the brothers gracci but hadn't talked to much about the consequences of their deaths, but here on K&Gs I now can see what the other video didn't cover.