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Desperta ferro!! PS: On the other hand, in 1453, the Catalans fought until the very end in Constantinople against the ottomans. From the wiki: "The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of the wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall."
Viva la corona de Aragón, pero no está claro si paso realmente o fue para presionar la reclamación en el imperio romano. Recordar que teóricamente se dice que el título pertenece a España
@@rishavkumar1250In the XIII Century, a Bizantine emperor hired a mercenary army of Catalan almoghavars called The Catalan Company, under Roger de Flor, to fight the Turks. They did it fabulously, beating the Turks up and down and accomplishing all objectives set by the Bizantines. However, bored almoghavars are known to be very unruly. So the son of the emperor decided to dispose of them before they became a problem. Then attacked them with an army and killed their leader. That backfired in a spectacular way. Most of the Catalan Company escaped, and, despite being heavily outnumbered and lost in a hostile land, proceeded to wipe out every single Bizantine and Alan army the emperor threw at them, battle after battle. Then they ransacked Thracy and Greece and especially Gallipolli for years and conquered both the duchies of Athens and Neopatras, which belonged to the Chrown of Aragon for a few years more after the successes. It's a very interesting episode in history, and a perfect example of instant karma. Pd: as a curiosity, Roger the Flor was from Prussian origins, and his actual name was Rudger von Blum
In Romanus Diogenes' tent before the battle of Manzikert, the Pecheneg leader and Seljuk envoy were communicating with each other in their own languages during a meeting. The Greek historian who was watching them was shocked and said Wait a minute, they speak the same language?
The Pechenegs and the Seljuks were Oghuz Turks, and at that point the two men would probably speak the same language with a slight difference in accents and vocabulary. Concerning the Pechenegs and the Cumans, with the latter being linguistically more related to the Kypchaks, them being neighbourly peoples would mean that they probably had difficulty understanding each other, but not after continued exposure.
@@ΧΑΡΗΣΚΟΥΡΗΣ-ψ3ν Actually, Kipchak was much less deviated from Oghuz at the time, and they could easily understand each other. Even a thousand years later, considering all the cultural, and linguistic changes, we in Turkey now can read and understand Codex Cumanicus which was written by the Latins in Cuman and Latin languages to convert Cumans to Christianity. A thousand years ago, the Oghuz-Kipchak branches were probably just forming, and there probably wasn't too big a difference between the two branches.
Note: The Byzantine Empire had been reduced to its smallest territorial extent in history at the start of the Komnenian period (1081). With all of its enemies surrounding it and a protracted civil war having devastated its finances, the empire's future had seemed bleak. However, by building a new army from the ground up, Alexios I Komnenos, John II Komnenos, and Manuel I Komnenos were able to restore the power of the Byzantine Empire through a combination of skill, determination, and years of campaigning.
That the Empire even survived under Alexios was a truly remarkable achievement. The Seljuk Turks and Normans, two of the greatest warrior peoples to ever walk the Earth, who had carried all before them since they first exploded onto the scene, barreled towards the Romans simultaneously, and he successfully dealt with them both.
Excelent video! Here a Catalan inmensely happy for you to tell a little of the amazing, horrifying and hard ventures of Roger de Flor (born Roger von Bloom, as he was from german ancestry) and the Great Catalan Company. It is still being discussed by Catalan historians if his actions in Eastern Rome were a secret ploy of the House of Barcelona to try to take over the Byzantine Empire. Thank you K&G for this!
@@TrollersJusticeno solo los detuvieron sino que los persiguieron hasta muy atrás. Dejaron de luchar para Constantinopla por una grave traición que sufrieron. Nunca fueron catalanes eran aragoneses y juraban a Aragón. Lo de catalanes es una mentira nazi
You guys had some pretty dope ass heavy Cavalry back in the day too. Also, Thanks for probably being the reason the rest of us werent conquered and enslaved by various baddies from the East. @@Darkseidsolosfiction
Excellent presentation my friends. My continuing lifelong (I am now 73) study of ancient and medieval military history depends greatly on your hard work!! Thank you.
I remember before Harold Sigursan became King Hardrada he joined the Varangian Guard as a Viking mercenary to think Norseman managed to get that far is amazing
@@michaelhaderach277 it was probably both Kieven Rus And Norseman who like Sigurson came from Norway or happen to live along side Slavs who all together went south to join the Byzantine army
Apparently Turkic mercenaries in the Byzantine army date back to late antiquity with Oghuric tribes like Sabirs, Huns, Kutrigurs, Saragurs, Onogurs,... being prevalent in Belisarius's era
@@julia2k8 the Byzantine empire was vast and had many territories all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East so it wouldn't be too far fetched for them to have various ethnicities serving under them. For example, the Ghassanids (Christian Arab kingdom in the levant and northern Arabia) fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sasanians and Muslim Arabs.
@@julia2k8 "Greek history"? Did you even watch the video? @9:50 Athens wasn't even part of Eastern Roman Empire for centuries (or even half of Greece)! 😂😂Idiot
Mercenary soldiers played a vital role in the decisive moments of the Roman Empire's history. Throughout the conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar strategically employed Germanic cavalry to confront the Gaulish forces. The Battle of Frigidus witnessed Theodosius utilizing skilled Gothic mercenaries. Belisarius led his campaigns with the support of Huns during the conquest of the Vandal Kingdom. Turkish forces played a crucial role in Alexios' ascension to the throne and the successful defense against the Norman invasion. The illustrious Varangian Guard faithfully served the empire in both domestic and foreign conflicts for centuries. Lastly, Italian troops valiantly defended Constantinople's walls, standing side by side with the Greeks against the relentless onslaught of the Ottomans. The Roman Empire's remarkable achievements were indebted to the indispensable contributions of these mercenary and auxiliary forces.
@@TrollersJusticeWhat's wrong with him being against a bunch of orcs illegally invading another country's sovereign territory for bogus or made up reasons. Intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure such as apartment buildings and hospitals with missile strikes killing thousands. You need to wake up cause he's on the right side of history as far as this conflict goes. Russia will never be justified in starting this senseless war no matter how many years go by.
Great video, thanks for speaking of the history of the Catalan Company (Almogàvers). If you want to know more about that history you can read “The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner” (1328)
I suppose you mean al mughawir. Weren't they the poorest of the losers in the Catalan invasion of the Moslem kingdoms, emirates of Larida, Turtuixa and Xibrana, all of them seized by the count of Barcelona and the emirates of Qalat al Ayyub and Saraqusta, seized by the king of Aragon? That is the reason to use arabic names for their officer titles: al dalid and al muqqadem. Al mughawir were Christians and Moslems alike at some point of their existence. As most of the Spanish were Polytheists, then Christians, then Moslems then again Christians (until the next conversion), with the usual small minority of Jews descending from those arrived from the Roman province of Judaea after Tito destroyed the Temple. They were the poorest of the Spanish, losers in the invasions of Romans, Visigoths, Arabs (and Syrians and Berbers) and finally the invasions of Northern Spanish feudal lords, whatever their title or religion.
Although, be mindful that Muntaner, while being a first-hand testimony (also a part of the Catalan Company), has an understandable bias. So have most of the medieval greek and Byzantine historians.
Very informative video about the diverse composition of the Byzantine army. I was particularly interested in learning about the role of foreign soldiers, such as the Armenians, Georgians, and Turks. It's fascinating to see how the Empire incorporated different cultures and fighting styles into its military structure.
Yes i told and guess, before Seljuks come Anatolia, there are many Turkic nomads already settled by Byzanine Empire in west Anatolia like Pechenegs, Cumans. Later ofcourse they adopted Seljuk/Ottoman culture, religion en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manavs
whoever is running this channel is just the OG as my kids would say. I've been following them for years and their in depth knowledge of world history, their ability to narrate it seamlessly and their graphics are out of this world.
Hey guys, wonderful video! I wonder how the ealry 1300s saw large Ottoman armies fighting in the Cilician Gates, though. Might it be an Atabeg army, perhaps Ataman?
I'd really love to see a video featuring the Catalan Company under Roger the Flor. One of the most epic stories of the Middle Ages. It's almost like Xenophon's 10.000, but on steroids.
They can do a whole series on it. The Chronicle by Ramon Muntaner, one of the Catalan officers, is an amazing read. Better than fiction. I would also love to hear the Greek side of the story beyond 'the mercenaries were behaving badly' tale.
You could do some of the Catalan Company victories over the French at Formigues (naval) or Cefis (land). Using light infantry with missile weapons and stalling the heavy cavalry charges using prepared terrain and avoiding the shock, the Catalan Company anticipated by some decades the similar and more famous English victories over the French in the Hundred Years War.
Ideas for future ERE videos: - how their view on what was de jure Roman territory evolved over time - how their knowledge and affinity for the antique empire evolved over time - the livelihood and state of subjugation of Roman identifying populations in Anatolia after Manzikert 1071 - the hellenization of Anatolian populations like Galatians, Lydians, Isaurians, cappadocians, etc over time - the governing and state of affairs and culture of the Roman Millet of the Ottoman Empire - responses to cultures that formed within their view like Bulgarians, Serbians, Rus, etc - modern (early and current) perceptions of the ERE among groups that interacted with them regularly when they existed - direct ERE influences in modern nations
It is insane how long the eastern half of the Roman Empire lasted. From the final division in 395 AD to the sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD spanned 809 years. To put it in our modern perspective, if the sack of 1204 occurred today, then the final division of the Roman Empire would have been in 1214 AD.
Additionally Turks served in East Roman ranks in Belasarios campaigns. To defeat Vandals, the general used Hun horse archers in north africa and in Italy.
Armenians not only fought and rose in the ranks - there were also Armenian dynasties of emperors... In addition, about 20-30% of the empire’s population at one time were Armenians - after the division of Armenia, its western part (Western Armenia) was annexed to Byzantium...
@@Shaman42069don’t mind him. He’s just miserable. I agree! Nothing beats doing something in a game and then seeing a video about it! I’ve had that happen before and it was great! enjoy ur game :]
great video as always ,but i kind of think you did not mention enough about georgian involvement in byzantine army i think you should have mentioned tornike eristavi that helped basil 2 bulgarslayer to maintain its throne. that's all and great video keep going
There is something that doesn´t add up here. Its mentioned in the video that Armenians had good relations with the Byzantines when it was in fact the opposite of that. The Byzantines in a sense saw them as lesser, denying them moving the Armenian Patriarchate to Constantinople which later on made them more loyal to the Seljuks and Ottomans later on. Im not sure if the same thing happened to the Georgians. Otherwise the video was well done.
No, Georgia has always remained independent and has always beaten the Oghuz tribes. No Oghuz has ever set foot in Georgia, only the Kipchaks, allies of the Georgians
It's weird because they were not only skirmishers like peltasts or velites, they acted also as light infantry, chock unit, espionage, guerrilla and other roles depending on the moment. The "almogavars" composed the majority of men of the catalan company so they were the back bone of that army the same as horse archers for the mongols, Hoplites for the Greeks or legionaries for the romans, and it's also wierdly remarcable this specific type of light infantry was very succesful against heavy cavalry in an age when heavy cavalry was the common trend in Europe
@@joaqermeister6904 Everything depended on their endurance abilities, they were real marathon runners, they advanced so quickly that the Turks did not have time to hit them several times while the guys were on foot
1 question if posibile to answere....i saw that vlachs were in contact with the bizantines, did they fought for the empire? Ps: can you make an ep about vlachs? :)
Hello, I wanted to double-check the information you provided at 8:28 where you are describing the battle of Kibistra. In this battle, the Catalan company fought local Turks. At the time of this battle (1304), the Ottomans were a small beylik in northwestern Asia Minor and the location of Kibistra is kilometers away from their beylik. Did the Catalan company really fight the Ottoman Turks in that location?
I also noticed this that the video reads straight from the wiki page as I read the entire wiki about the Catalans about the a month with this exact battle describing the ottomans in south-eastern Anatolia. I had the same thought: were the ottomans really that far away from their Beylik where they had fought the Catalans, Especially with the numbers that the video describes? It seems doubtful.
@@nomadichorseman Probably not, a possibility is an ottoman alliance with another Beylik, and thus ottomans being represented there, but not a full on ottoman force
The video was sponsored by catalans i think. Half of the video contains catalan company which had an importance for maybe a decade. Also their achievements were well exaggareted. How could a band of brigade make its way all through desert like and mountainous anatolia without supplies? Look at your map for god’s sake, you show as if they crossed the same distance as whole iberian Peninsula. And no mention of varangian guards, who were the most important mercenaries for the empire.
Video didn't mention but actually Eastern Rome employed many Turkic mercenaries against the Abbasids in 7th and 8th centuries also. Even the Gokturk Empire had envoys in Contantinople in 6th century. Historical relations between Turks and Romans go way back.
Thanks to the creators once again! One remark here. Not doubting that Ottomans, just in 1349, could provide Byzantines with 20k cavalrymen does not corresponds to the channels extremely pessimistic calculations of much larger territorial army numbers in other videos. This comment does not doubts the numbers in this video.
That was one of the finest historical dissertations I have ever heard . And I love all things Byzantium . Question …. Where are all the Greek New Testament manuscripts . ??????
I really hope one day you cover some Polish medieval history, would love to see it. Besides your now very old video on grunwald, I only seem to find mentions whilst covering other nations.
Should be noted that the Navarrese Company was a basque mercenary company (in its majority and beginning at least). There's something oddly funny now about basques and catalans fighting each other while under the employ of foreign monarchs
The Navarrese company was not basque, it was composed of men from Navarra and Gascony. And unlike the Catalan company, the "Navarrese" company it's not its original name, it was originally named the "White" company.
@@joaqermeister6904 The navarrese are also basque, especially since basque has been referred to "lingua navarrorum" and the fact that Navarre is one of the seven historical basque territories (the other being Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Lapurdi, Zubero, Araba and Lower Navarre). Plus, wasnt the White Company the one led by the english John Hawkwood, and comprised of veterans of the Hundred Years War?
@@Mrkabratlol, basque territories? What a joke, Navarra was a real Kingdom, the basques never had any real estate or entity. Bunch of farmers in the mountains.
@@JavierGarcia-nm4zr Newflash, Javier; the navarrese where (and still are) basques, which even a navarrese queen Jeanne d'Albret commissioning the traduction of the bible in to basque so her subjects could read it. Plus the aforementioned "lingua navarrorum" bit, you have the Fueros in both the territories of navarre as well as bizkaia, gipuzkoa and araba, their own code of law that has been supressed at times by castillians (and later spaniards). Beraz harzak hire iritzi kaxkarra, ta ospa benito hire gazteldar zulora
@@Mrkabratmenuda comida de tarro lleváis madre mía. Tan Vasca era la Juana que su padre se llamaba Enroque y su madre Margarita. Pero oye seguro que llevaba el flequillo cortado! Que vacío estáis por dentro que tenéis la necesidad de llenar vuestra identidad con mentiras y subjetivismos.
While it is a great short documentary about lesser known Byzantine auxilaries/mercenaries I have to point out that It does not do justice to Armenian and Georgian contribution to the imperial armed forces and political life. Georgians served less as mercenaries and more as independent armies aiding the empire through complex diplomatic ties, several notable Armenian and Georgian generals have saved the empire in dire situations and in other instances caused great grief to the Byzantines.
please do a video on these (this is a copy and paste list for a few channels) units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches) the tank doctrine of countries evaluation of tank veiw ports evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2 ww1 estern front tactics Russian Civil war tactics and strategies navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works) evaluation of types of ships or evaluation of navil warfare air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries) ancient persan ships, ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser) ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic the vernesain republic government all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out) tactics used so far in the Ukraine war, better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3, and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks, ancient urban warfare ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war) tactics in the ruso jap war cold war navil tactics, Korean war tactics, strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil war how were 17th centry sailing ships build types of bombs lunched by drones comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say) why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations) why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
Karamanids were Christian Turks and they used greek Alphabet. In fact, a tombstone was found during an excavation and it had Türkoğlu(direct translation son of Turk) written on it. in Greek alphabet. I wonder if costas karamanlis is one of the Turkish Christians.
10:15 That moment when the iberian mercenaries were defeated only because they were against other iberian mercenaries lmao. Kinda interesting how the byzantines didnt develop a ''crusader'' mentality just like the iberians, despite the fact both of them were constantly in war against heathens or heretics.
Finished your complete first crusade documentary very good and intresting made me look up the byzantine empire and look at them in different light and now ive been wathing your videos and others about them i will say yours are most numerous and covers the most. Would you consider doing. The same and put them all on 1 playlist under byzantine nkt greek or roman. when done so i can watch in one go.
Ehh, Other than interruptions in the period of 980-1050 Georgia was almost always cordial or allied to Byzantium during their 800 year relationship. A relationship of superior and inferior yes but many Georgians were fine with that and wore Byzantines titles, served in the army or allied with them against the other Georgian principalities or King. Byzantium was able to gradually expand in the caucuses like the annexation of Tao because the local notables found Byzantine rule and privileges better than that of their people.
It wasn't Ottomans, it was one of the dozen or so Turkic Beyliks. Ottomans was one of the smallest ones in at the time, in Northwest Anatolia, far from Cilicia
Don't forget to mention on the next video the legendary mercenary Halfban who left his name on the hidden corner of Agia Sofia 😂 And yes to his day his name is remain
Can you make a video about what happened tot he assyrians after their empire fell and wether they continued to live in history and offered their military services to later empires ?
🎥 Join our TH-cam members and patrons to unlock exclusive content! Our community is currently enjoying deep dives into the First Punic War, Pacific War, history of Prussia, Italian Unification Wars, Russo-Japanese War, Albigensian Crusade, and Xenophon’s Anabasis. Become a part of this exclusive circle: th-cam.com/channels/MmaBzfCCwZ2KqaBJjkj0fw.htmljoin or patron: www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals and Paypal paypal.me/kingsandgenerals as well!
@@danielsantiagourtado3430 a new comment, please
thank you for this topic @@KingsandGenerals
Which option supports you better, Patreon or TH-cam members? And which gives you more financial support?
@@bradmyst1339 thanks for considering. Patreon gives us a higher %, TH-cam has more functionality for the people who support us.
16:05 With Jerusalem and St.John Hospitaller knights served.
The Catalans are amazing with how strong they were, using how little equipment they used. Mobility is truly the king.
Desperta ferro!! PS: On the other hand, in 1453, the Catalans fought until the very end in Constantinople against the ottomans. From the wiki: "The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of the wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall."
Este es el comentario que estaba buscando, desperta Ferrooo!!
Someone stayed loyal to those backstabing bastards?
@@jordisaura6748would you care to elaborate?
Viva la corona de Aragón, pero no está claro si paso realmente o fue para presionar la reclamación en el imperio romano. Recordar que teóricamente se dice que el título pertenece a España
@@rishavkumar1250In the XIII Century, a Bizantine emperor hired a mercenary army of Catalan almoghavars called The Catalan Company, under Roger de Flor, to fight the Turks.
They did it fabulously, beating the Turks up and down and accomplishing all objectives set by the Bizantines.
However, bored almoghavars are known to be very unruly. So the son of the emperor decided to dispose of them before they became a problem. Then attacked them with an army and killed their leader.
That backfired in a spectacular way. Most of the Catalan Company escaped, and, despite being heavily outnumbered and lost in a hostile land, proceeded to wipe out every single Bizantine and Alan army the emperor threw at them, battle after battle.
Then they ransacked Thracy and Greece and especially Gallipolli for years and conquered both the duchies of Athens and Neopatras, which belonged to the Chrown of Aragon for a few years more after the successes.
It's a very interesting episode in history, and a perfect example of instant karma.
Pd: as a curiosity, Roger the Flor was from Prussian origins, and his actual name was Rudger von Blum
In Romanus Diogenes' tent before the battle of Manzikert, the Pecheneg leader and Seljuk envoy were communicating with each other in their own languages during a meeting. The Greek historian who was watching them was shocked and said Wait a minute, they speak the same language?
The Pechenegs and the Seljuks were Oghuz Turks, and at that point the two men would probably speak the same language with a slight difference in accents and vocabulary. Concerning the Pechenegs and the Cumans, with the latter being linguistically more related to the Kypchaks, them being neighbourly peoples would mean that they probably had difficulty understanding each other, but not after continued exposure.
That's why Pechenegs later joined the Seljuks at Manzikert
@@ΧΑΡΗΣΚΟΥΡΗΣ-ψ3ν Actually, Kipchak was much less deviated from Oghuz at the time, and they could easily understand each other. Even a thousand years later, considering all the cultural, and linguistic changes, we in Turkey now can read and understand Codex Cumanicus which was written by the Latins in Cuman and Latin languages to convert Cumans to Christianity. A thousand years ago, the Oghuz-Kipchak branches were probably just forming, and there probably wasn't too big a difference between the two branches.
Note: The Byzantine Empire had been reduced to its smallest territorial extent in history at the start of the Komnenian period (1081). With all of its enemies surrounding it and a protracted civil war having devastated its finances, the empire's future had seemed bleak. However, by building a new army from the ground up, Alexios I Komnenos, John II Komnenos, and Manuel I Komnenos were able to restore the power of the Byzantine Empire through a combination of skill, determination, and years of campaigning.
That the Empire even survived under Alexios was a truly remarkable achievement. The Seljuk Turks and Normans, two of the greatest warrior peoples to ever walk the Earth, who had carried all before them since they first exploded onto the scene, barreled towards the Romans simultaneously, and he successfully dealt with them both.
Excelent video! Here a Catalan inmensely happy for you to tell a little of the amazing, horrifying and hard ventures of Roger de Flor (born Roger von Bloom, as he was from german ancestry) and the Great Catalan Company. It is still being discussed by Catalan historians if his actions in Eastern Rome were a secret ploy of the House of Barcelona to try to take over the Byzantine Empire. Thank you K&G for this!
It’s truly an amazing feat for the Crown of Aragon really, hope they make more videos about other Aragonian conquest such as Sicily or Corsica!
Yet not enough to stop a superiour army, the Ottomans.
@@TrollersJusticeno solo los detuvieron sino que los persiguieron hasta muy atrás. Dejaron de luchar para Constantinopla por una grave traición que sufrieron. Nunca fueron catalanes eran aragoneses y juraban a Aragón. Lo de catalanes es una mentira nazi
Thanks from Georgia, glad that you mentioned us in this video about a very interesting period of Europe.
ჩვენს ქვეყანაზე რომ მოუხშიროს ვიდეოებს კარგი იქნებოდა
You guys had some pretty dope ass heavy Cavalry back in the day too. Also, Thanks for probably being the reason the rest of us werent conquered and enslaved by various baddies from the East. @@Darkseidsolosfiction
@@tylerjackson2906 you are more than welcome mate
Well let's hope Gorgia stops being such a conservative place.
@@cegesh1459Or what?
Excellent presentation my friends. My continuing lifelong (I am now 73) study of ancient and medieval military history depends greatly on your hard work!!
Thank you.
This has got to be one of my favorite videos from you guys. Keep up the great work, K&G! I would love to see more about the Cumans.
I remember before Harold Sigursan became King Hardrada he joined the Varangian Guard as a Viking mercenary to think Norseman managed to get that far is amazing
He even took part in the dethrone of Michael V Kalaphates
Varangian guard is called so because it was mainly from Norsemen
@@michaelhaderach277 it was probably both Kieven Rus And Norseman who like Sigurson came from Norway or happen to live along side Slavs who all together went south to join the Byzantine army
@@kaybevang536correct
and even that pales to us getting to the new world hundreds of years before Colombus.
Apparently Turkic mercenaries in the Byzantine army date back to late antiquity with Oghuric tribes like Sabirs, Huns, Kutrigurs, Saragurs, Onogurs,... being prevalent in Belisarius's era
@@julia2k8 the Byzantine empire was vast and had many territories all over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East so it wouldn't be too far fetched for them to have various ethnicities serving under them. For example, the Ghassanids (Christian Arab kingdom in the levant and northern Arabia) fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sasanians and Muslim Arabs.
@@julia2k8 "Greek history"? Did you even watch the video? @9:50 Athens wasn't even part of Eastern Roman Empire for centuries (or even half of Greece)! 😂😂Idiot
Mercenary soldiers played a vital role in the decisive moments of the Roman Empire's history. Throughout the conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar strategically employed Germanic cavalry to confront the Gaulish forces. The Battle of Frigidus witnessed Theodosius utilizing skilled Gothic mercenaries. Belisarius led his campaigns with the support of Huns during the conquest of the Vandal Kingdom. Turkish forces played a crucial role in Alexios' ascension to the throne and the successful defense against the Norman invasion. The illustrious Varangian Guard faithfully served the empire in both domestic and foreign conflicts for centuries. Lastly, Italian troops valiantly defended Constantinople's walls, standing side by side with the Greeks against the relentless onslaught of the Ottomans. The Roman Empire's remarkable achievements were indebted to the indispensable contributions of these mercenary and auxiliary forces.
So you've dug into history and yet you've got a ukrainskiy flag on ur PF. Brother please wake up.
@@TrollersJusticeWhat's wrong with him being against a bunch of orcs illegally invading another country's sovereign territory for bogus or made up reasons. Intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure such as apartment buildings and hospitals with missile strikes killing thousands. You need to wake up cause he's on the right side of history as far as this conflict goes. Russia will never be justified in starting this senseless war no matter how many years go by.
Ah so now you support Palestine...
Great video, thanks for speaking of the history of the Catalan Company (Almogàvers). If you want to know more about that history you can read “The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner” (1328)
I suppose you mean al mughawir.
Weren't they the poorest of the losers in the Catalan invasion of the Moslem kingdoms, emirates of Larida, Turtuixa and Xibrana, all of them seized by the count of Barcelona and the emirates of Qalat al Ayyub and Saraqusta, seized by the king of Aragon?
That is the reason to use arabic names for their officer titles: al dalid and al muqqadem.
Al mughawir were Christians and Moslems alike at some point of their existence. As most of the Spanish were Polytheists, then Christians, then Moslems then again Christians (until the next conversion), with the usual small minority of Jews descending from those arrived from the Roman province of Judaea after Tito destroyed the Temple.
They were the poorest of the Spanish, losers in the invasions of Romans, Visigoths, Arabs (and Syrians and Berbers) and finally the invasions of Northern Spanish feudal lords, whatever their title or religion.
Although, be mindful that Muntaner, while being a first-hand testimony (also a part of the Catalan Company), has an understandable bias. So have most of the medieval greek and Byzantine historians.
Do a video about Roger de Flor
Would highly recommend becoming a member. The videos on Sulla and the Albigensian Crusade were reason enough for me!
Just made a membership because of your comment
Let us not forget the Khazars, possibly the Turkic mercenaries who fought alongside Emperor Heraclius at the Battle of Nineveh.
They werent mercenaries, they were literally allies. Herakleos even promised his daughter to their leader (who spontanously died)
@@brainblox5629 Indeed! Perhaps they and the Ghassanids were the only true allies.
Just amazing in detail and brilliantly narrated as always!
Faky grek
Very informative video about the diverse composition of the Byzantine army. I was particularly interested in learning about the role of foreign soldiers, such as the Armenians, Georgians, and Turks. It's fascinating to see how the Empire incorporated different cultures and fighting styles into its military structure.
yeah i was waiting for hearing about georgians
Another beautiful Eastern Roman video. Thank you very much!!
Best Empire of all time.
Very interesting topic. Thank you very much!
Yes i told and guess, before Seljuks come Anatolia, there are many Turkic nomads already settled by Byzanine Empire in west Anatolia like Pechenegs, Cumans. Later ofcourse they adopted Seljuk/Ottoman culture, religion en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manavs
Wow, What an intro! You guys are the best. Love Roman and Byzantine history. Thanks so much for
İ didn't know there were that much Turkic warriors on Byzantine side. Great video btw
whoever is running this channel is just the OG as my kids would say. I've been following them for years and their in depth knowledge of world history, their ability to narrate it seamlessly and their graphics are out of this world.
wooooooo, more stuff on the Byzantines. They're so under-appreciated.
Hey guys, wonderful video! I wonder how the ealry 1300s saw large Ottoman armies fighting in the Cilician Gates, though. Might it be an Atabeg army, perhaps Ataman?
Flemish, Frankish, and Vlachic mercenaries were also among the common elements of the high medieval Eastern Roman Empire
Can’t get enough of this content
Girlfriend:how often do you think about the roman empire?
Me:yes
I'd really love to see a video featuring the Catalan Company under Roger the Flor.
One of the most epic stories of the Middle Ages.
It's almost like Xenophon's 10.000, but on steroids.
They can do a whole series on it. The Chronicle by Ramon Muntaner, one of the Catalan officers, is an amazing read. Better than fiction. I would also love to hear the Greek side of the story beyond 'the mercenaries were behaving badly' tale.
@@Spartan_Disiplin they fought the Turkic beyliks which would later on turn into the Ottoman empire.
The Bulgars were not Slavic, Bulgarians were
Moved from the Steppes, that other Turkic Tribes came from!
Turkic much like the Cumans
Irish are not Celtic they are Germanic
@@schpitzkomander2997dont tell that to the gingers. They might slap you
They became Slavs theoughout the Middle ages
For the algorithm great video
You could do some of the Catalan Company victories over the French at Formigues (naval) or Cefis (land). Using light infantry with missile weapons and stalling the heavy cavalry charges using prepared terrain and avoiding the shock, the Catalan Company anticipated by some decades the similar and more famous English victories over the French in the Hundred Years War.
Ideas for future ERE videos:
- how their view on what was de jure Roman territory evolved over time
- how their knowledge and affinity for the antique empire evolved over time
- the livelihood and state of subjugation of Roman identifying populations in Anatolia after Manzikert 1071
- the hellenization of Anatolian populations like Galatians, Lydians, Isaurians, cappadocians, etc over time
- the governing and state of affairs and culture of the Roman Millet of the Ottoman Empire
- responses to cultures that formed within their view like Bulgarians, Serbians, Rus, etc
- modern (early and current) perceptions of the ERE among groups that interacted with them regularly when they existed
- direct ERE influences in modern nations
Thanks for the video 👍🏻
everyone loves your channel
If you are from Europe, North Africa, the Levant, or the western Eurasian Steppes, there's a chance one of your ancestors fought for Rome.
For Constantinople
@@aokiaoki4238 I meant including Gallic mercenaries or sarmatian knights for the western part.
@@aokiaoki4238 New Rome
It is insane how long the eastern half of the Roman Empire lasted.
From the final division in 395 AD to the sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD spanned 809 years.
To put it in our modern perspective, if the sack of 1204 occurred today, then the final division of the Roman Empire would have been in 1214 AD.
well they did recapture Constantinople in 1261 and continued for almost 2 more centuries before the final fall.
@@ragael1024 True. And that brings the total existence of the Eastern Roman Empire to 1000 years.
Additionally Turks served in East Roman ranks in Belasarios campaigns. To defeat Vandals, the general used Hun horse archers in north africa and in Italy.
Armenians not only fought and rose in the ranks - there were also Armenian dynasties of emperors...
In addition, about 20-30% of the empire’s population at one time were Armenians - after the division of Armenia, its western part (Western Armenia) was annexed to Byzantium...
When Byzantium annex Armenia, witch year?
@@aokiaoki4238 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Acilisene?wprov=sfti1
A true blessing in the skies! Love the Byzantine vids
With the new Byzantium update in EU4, I have just started a Mercenary only campaign playing as Byzantium. This video's timing is impeccable
No one cares
Good luck. Shame you have to rush northern Italy and Egypt to get the proper name for your country.
Have fun
@@balabanasireti :'( :'(
@@Shaman42069don’t mind him. He’s just miserable. I agree! Nothing beats doing something in a game and then seeing a video about it! I’ve had that happen before and it was great! enjoy ur game :]
Keep on rolling K&G! 😎
And again man, this is just beautifully made!
5:22 the word (almocadin) sound very simular to the arabic word (المقدم /almocadim) and have the same meaning too
A lot of details I hadn’t been informed of before. 👍🏼
great video as always ,but i kind of think you did not mention enough about georgian involvement in byzantine army i think you should have mentioned tornike eristavi that helped basil 2 bulgarslayer to maintain its throne. that's all and great video keep going
i was hoping to see more about georgians
Another day, another perfect narration, animation, and explanation. 🤜🤛 Enjoying from across the world, fellas!
There is something that doesn´t add up here. Its mentioned in the video that Armenians had good relations with the Byzantines when it was in fact the opposite of that. The Byzantines in a sense saw them as lesser, denying them moving the Armenian Patriarchate to Constantinople which later on made them more loyal to the Seljuks and Ottomans later on. Im not sure if the same thing happened to the Georgians. Otherwise the video was well done.
No, Georgia has always remained independent and has always beaten the Oghuz tribes. No Oghuz has ever set foot in Georgia, only the Kipchaks, allies of the Georgians
Catalans, 1st time I have heard of successful javelin based troops
Besides pelcasts
It's weird because they were not only skirmishers like peltasts or velites, they acted also as light infantry, chock unit, espionage, guerrilla and other roles depending on the moment. The "almogavars" composed the majority of men of the catalan company so they were the back bone of that army the same as horse archers for the mongols, Hoplites for the Greeks or legionaries for the romans, and it's also wierdly remarcable this specific type of light infantry was very succesful against heavy cavalry in an age when heavy cavalry was the common trend in Europe
See also Stratioti
Really? What about the pilum and the Roman Legio?
@@joaqermeister6904 Everything depended on their endurance abilities, they were real marathon runners, they advanced so quickly that the Turks did not have time to hit them several times while the guys were on foot
Please upload First Punic War and Sulla Wars.
Love Your Channel ❤.
1 question if posibile to answere....i saw that vlachs were in contact with the bizantines, did they fought for the empire? Ps: can you make an ep about vlachs? :)
I only can say: Gràcies.
Such a great show thank you
Hello, I wanted to double-check the information you provided at 8:28 where you are describing the battle of Kibistra. In this battle, the Catalan company fought local Turks. At the time of this battle (1304), the Ottomans were a small beylik in northwestern Asia Minor and the location of Kibistra is kilometers away from their beylik. Did the Catalan company really fight the Ottoman Turks in that location?
Most likely not ottomans but other turkic armies that were present there for instance Dulkadirs or sth, but nonetheless formidable foes
I also noticed this that the video reads straight from the wiki page as I read the entire wiki about the Catalans about the a month with this exact battle describing the ottomans in south-eastern Anatolia. I had the same thought: were the ottomans really that far away from their Beylik where they had fought the Catalans, Especially with the numbers that the video describes? It seems doubtful.
@@nomadichorseman Probably not, a possibility is an ottoman alliance with another Beylik, and thus ottomans being represented there, but not a full on ottoman force
He is so ignorant about history but he is running a history channnel 😮
I expected the Varangians to be mentioned.
Fear the vengeful wrath of the almogàvers of the crown of Aragó, DESPERTA FERRO
Nice video!
Great video
Very intersting video!!!!❤
The video was sponsored by catalans i think. Half of the video contains catalan company which had an importance for maybe a decade. Also their achievements were well exaggareted. How could a band of brigade make its way all through desert like and mountainous anatolia without supplies? Look at your map for god’s sake, you show as if they crossed the same distance as whole iberian Peninsula. And no mention of varangian guards, who were the most important mercenaries for the empire.
Video didn't mention but actually Eastern Rome employed many Turkic mercenaries against the Abbasids in 7th and 8th centuries also. Even the Gokturk Empire had envoys in Contantinople in 6th century. Historical relations between Turks and Romans go way back.
Thanks to the creators once again! One remark here. Not doubting that Ottomans, just in 1349, could provide Byzantines with 20k cavalrymen does not corresponds to the channels extremely pessimistic calculations of much larger territorial army numbers in other videos. This comment does not doubts the numbers in this video.
Great video keep it up you're doing amazing things 😁👍
Maybe watch the video first
That was one of the finest historical dissertations I have ever heard . And I love all things Byzantium . Question …. Where are all the Greek New Testament manuscripts . ??????
5:05: “Desperta, ferro! Matem!”
I really hope one day you cover some Polish medieval history, would love to see it. Besides your now very old video on grunwald, I only seem to find mentions whilst covering other nations.
Desperta Ferro, we want a full video about the Almogavers!
Me a Georgian: *sees the title.*
*Faints from happiness*
It seems to me that somehow, it is the continuation and evolution of the, previously ongoing, changes in the Roman army.
Should be noted that the Navarrese Company was a basque mercenary company (in its majority and beginning at least).
There's something oddly funny now about basques and catalans fighting each other while under the employ of foreign monarchs
The Navarrese company was not basque, it was composed of men from Navarra and Gascony. And unlike the Catalan company, the "Navarrese" company it's not its original name, it was originally named the "White" company.
@@joaqermeister6904 The navarrese are also basque, especially since basque has been referred to "lingua navarrorum" and the fact that Navarre is one of the seven historical basque territories (the other being Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Lapurdi, Zubero, Araba and Lower Navarre).
Plus, wasnt the White Company the one led by the english John Hawkwood, and comprised of veterans of the Hundred Years War?
@@Mrkabratlol, basque territories? What a joke, Navarra was a real Kingdom, the basques never had any real estate or entity. Bunch of farmers in the mountains.
@@JavierGarcia-nm4zr Newflash, Javier; the navarrese where (and still are) basques, which even a navarrese queen Jeanne d'Albret commissioning the traduction of the bible in to basque so her subjects could read it.
Plus the aforementioned "lingua navarrorum" bit, you have the Fueros in both the territories of navarre as well as bizkaia, gipuzkoa and araba, their own code of law that has been supressed at times by castillians (and later spaniards).
Beraz harzak hire iritzi kaxkarra, ta ospa benito hire gazteldar zulora
@@Mrkabratmenuda comida de tarro lleváis madre mía. Tan Vasca era la Juana que su padre se llamaba Enroque y su madre Margarita. Pero oye seguro que llevaba el flequillo cortado! Que vacío estáis por dentro que tenéis la necesidad de llenar vuestra identidad con mentiras y subjetivismos.
yes the deadly almogavars
Yo where is the Xenophon's Anabasis videos? I'm super hyped for em but can't find em!
Have you tried the search function and looked through the members only playlist?
@@KingsandGenerals sigh, of course now I find it right away! Thank you :)
While it is a great short documentary about lesser known Byzantine auxilaries/mercenaries I have to point out that It does not do justice to Armenian and Georgian contribution to the imperial armed forces and political life. Georgians served less as mercenaries and more as independent armies aiding the empire through complex diplomatic ties, several notable Armenian and Georgian generals have saved the empire in dire situations and in other instances caused great grief to the Byzantines.
i was hoping to hear more about georgians here yea
Infighting... a leading cause of an empire's fragmentation.
mixture of ethnic in or outside of christian roman empire whether as allied or opponents
please do a video on these
(this is a copy and paste list for a few channels)
units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches)
the tank doctrine of countries
evaluation of tank veiw ports
evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries
logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2
ww1 estern front tactics
Russian Civil war tactics and strategies
navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works)
evaluation of types of ships
or evaluation of navil warfare
air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries)
ancient persan ships,
ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser)
ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic
the vernesain republic government
all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out)
tactics used so far in the Ukraine war,
better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3,
and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal
how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks,
ancient urban warfare
ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war)
tactics in the ruso jap war
cold war navil tactics,
Korean war tactics,
strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil war
how were 17th centry sailing ships build
types of bombs lunched by drones
comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say)
why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations)
why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot
alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
Karamanids were Christian Turks and they used greek Alphabet. In fact, a tombstone was found during an excavation and it had Türkoğlu(direct translation son of Turk) written on it. in Greek alphabet. I wonder if costas karamanlis is one of the Turkish Christians.
What about the genoese? 😌
Good video.
DESPERTA FERRO
10:15 That moment when the iberian mercenaries were defeated only because they were against other iberian mercenaries lmao.
Kinda interesting how the byzantines didnt develop a ''crusader'' mentality just like the iberians, despite the fact both of them were constantly in war against heathens or heretics.
Finished your complete first crusade documentary very good and intresting made me look up the byzantine empire and look at them in different light and now ive been wathing your videos and others about them i will say yours are most numerous and covers the most. Would you consider doing. The same and put them all on 1 playlist under byzantine nkt greek or roman. when done so i can watch in one go.
Can y'all do a video on Simon Bolivar, please?
A video about the balkans before the slavic migrations would be interesting
Scythians also acted as police force for Athens too, of course I learned this from you guys lol.
ПУСТЬ ПОСКОРЕЕ БУДЕТ МИР
И ПОКОЙ ИНШААЛЛАХ🌎1:41
УДАЧИ МИРА И ДОБРА ❤❤❤
◉‿◉◉‿◉◉‿◉◉‿◉◉‿◉◉‿◉ ___2:24
Scandanavian Vikings should have been mentioned as being part of the Byzantine army
Love the byzantine videos
Georgia never had an easy relationship with Eastern Rome, but still it was a center of it's vector and influenced Georgian culture massively
Ehh, Other than interruptions in the period of 980-1050 Georgia was almost always cordial or allied to Byzantium during their 800 year relationship. A relationship of superior and inferior yes but many Georgians were fine with that and wore Byzantines titles, served in the army or allied with them against the other Georgian principalities or King.
Byzantium was able to gradually expand in the caucuses like the annexation of Tao because the local notables found Byzantine rule and privileges better than that of their people.
I see Byzantine (Roman) anything, I click!
great!
Very interesting video. But what were Ottomans doing in Cillicia in 8:30
It wasn't Ottomans, it was one of the dozen or so Turkic Beyliks. Ottomans was one of the smallest ones in at the time, in Northwest Anatolia, far from Cilicia
Don't forget to mention on the next video the legendary mercenary Halfban who left his name on the hidden corner of Agia Sofia 😂
And yes to his day his name is remain
Great content,
What about varangians, mostly comprised of Germans, Nordic and some English.
Can you make a video about what happened tot he assyrians after their empire fell and wether they continued to live in history and offered their military services to later empires ?
Nice
I would love if K&G redid their series covering the reign of Justinian.
At some point
A bit odd that the Byzantium never hired Condottiere or any type of Italian mercenary since for a time the Byzantium had good relations with Venice
Desperta Ferro!