Military Reforms of Diocletian - Roman Imperial Army DOCUMENTARY
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Our animated historical documentary series on the evolution of Roman armies and tactics continues with a video on the military reforms of Roman Emperors Gallienus, Diocletian and Constantine, as the introduction of limitanei, comitatenses and other reforms changed the armies of the Roman empire.
Previous videos in the Evolution of Armies and Tactics series: • Marian Reforms and the...
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We are grateful to our patrons and sponsors, who made this video possible: docs.google.com/document/d/1_...
The video was made by our friend Arb Paninken bit.ly/2Ow3oC8 while the script was researched and written by Matt Hollis
This video was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & / @gameworldnarratives )
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#Documentary #RomanArmy #Diocletian
Someone is planning a comeback: bit.ly/37BO4Ms
In 2 minutes nice video.
The loins of freedom shall prevail.
Video aboug the tocharian people in the Tarim basin!!
@Kings and Generals little did you guys know, but during this era the T.rex Cataphractarii were invented, basically a t.rex covered in armor!
Caesar civil war is coming then.
My boy Aurelian could use some love here
seconding this, wish we got a full blown video for Aurelian.
Lord Inquisitor Ninoslav your prayers have now been answered!
@@user-sp9vm2id7m i have seen it thrice now, its not my birthday, but that was one hell of a gift, and i loved every minute of it.
@@StoicNatsoc Great to hear:) I thoroughly enjoyed it too!
@@user-sp9vm2id7m Everyone loves Aurelian, except corrupt scumbags. Aurelian Optimus Princeps!
>comes out of nowhere
>declares war on the emperor
>wins and declares himself emperor
>fixes the empire
>abdicates after 20 years because "no one should rule for so long"
>lives retired till his peaceful death
I bestow on you your 69th like.
“Fixes the empire” makes it sound like he fixed literally everything, but not really. His reforms with dividing the empire between 4 different people caused many years of civil war and his economic reforms are the exact opposite of what you should do
>decided cabbage farming was more important than ruling.
I mean he’s not wrong
@@Chadius_Thundercock
Yeah, splitting the Empire has some credence to it, but not in the way he did it.
Having Hispania, Gaul, Italy, etc as major holdings lead by a ruler who would then report to the Emperor allows for centralization on a smaller, more manageable scale.
Splitting the whole Empire in such large chunks makes things more difficult than it has to be.
@@robertadam7182 My Cabbages!!!
Don't forget the Chariot Ballistas, the chanting priests that boast morale and carry big crosses as well as the Foederati who all have small buckler shields, spears and are all blonde with Suebian knots.
Nah man foederati actually looked like Guy Fieri everyone knows that SMH
>chariot ballistas and war priests
This sounds badass as fuck
what is this referencing?
@@Sihengli The original Rome Total War DLC Barbarian Invasion I think
@@Sihengli It's referencing Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion game.
A state that survived for 2200 years started as a city state in Italy build an universal empire and ended up as a Greek Orthodox state on the Bosporus what a history no state in history of humanity changed so much since it’s beginning to its end.
Marcel Costache the romans never mentioned themselves as Greeks..
You are so true. Like an organism given enough time, the empire evolved substantially
SPΛDΣ greeks were poor and part of the peasantry in the Roman Empire they never described themselves as Greeks but as Romans. Only modern historian use the term ‘Byzantine greeks’ even though that was not the case. The Turks also referred to Greeks as ‘rum’ meaning Roman. The statement that the eastern Roman Empire was Greek is nothing else then Greek propaganda to claim that they’re the rightfully owner of Anatolia.
Yigitcan Okutan Rome was based on greek culture at one point it was
One and the same and by the way Latin and Greek where co-official latin was more the language of the army and lower class greek was the language of culture and education.
Ιωάννης Μπαλτουμάς take a Roman from Augustus time and send I’m into Justinians era he will be like an alien however it’s still the same empire it will be until 1453
"Our series on the Roman armies will continue all the way to 1453"
Oh yeah, talk to me baby.
Istanbul forever
Constantinople?
Make Constantinople Great Again
Byzantium
Oh yes. For sure one of the most captivating eras of the Roman Empire. Maximian, what a legend.
Good to see ya
A legendary history channel watching another legendary history channel.
Love your videos man keep up the good work you do
@@justlikeme2797 not really, the late roman army was just as effective as its early roman counterpart; it's just that they were far less loyal to the state
@@woreandpiece4815 and to me they looked very roman but roman fashion evolved as every civilization do.
Comitatenses: "Damn weekend-warrior Limitanei, always showing up late with their old ass equipment."
Gallienus is undoubtedly one of the most underrated rulers Rome ever had. He managed to reign 15 years (7 with Valerian) in a period when an emperor reigned more or less 3-4 years or some months at best. He was a skilled bureaucrat and general. He opened the highest command posts in the army to the the soldiers who rose from the ranks, thus removing the legati legionis and tribuni laticlavi of senatorial rank with viri militares (praefecti legionis avens vices legatorum and probably the tribuni angusticlavi and primipili doubled their personnel) although this trend had precedents in the Severan period. He wasn't able to win back the East and Postumus rebellion after 260 but he tried to do his best with what he had, helped by the illyrian legions stationed on the Danube, possibly the best of the entire Empire. Love him.
Yeah everyone rides Agrippa’s nuts (lord knows he earned that acclaim lol), but I always preferred Gallienus.
thank you dawg
@@sethgaston8347 agrippa??
@@daniellinanmolina1044 probably meant aurelian.
I can’t agree more, I would love to see a documentary about him. If anyone has a safe link to one, please let me know.
Last time I was this early legionaries were still paid in salt.
@098765 Craper They'd get salty alright...
Venetian salt or Austrian?
+@@MarkVrem, Carthaginian
The 4th, 5th and 6th centuries really fascinate me. The transition from antiquity to medieval is very interesting to behold. You can see several things here in this video that lay the foundation for medieval stuff.
Also, the late Roman emperors were guarded by literal paladins!
Yeah, it's weird. I feel like a lot of people just assume that Europe went from classic first century style Rome at its height to medieval knights and castles basically overnight after 476 AD, when there was actually a slow period of transition that began earlier and ended later. I wish this period was documented better in history.
I love that the Romans basically created early feudalism in Europe on accident because they couldn't effectively rule. Like I can see the dark ages coming through. With the castles and forts and defensive buildings along with a system of hierarchy of rulership. Just another reason I love the Roman Empire. They did what they had to do to survive and even after their collapse the groundwork they left was still evident.
Makes me wonder how many uneducated peasants (or even nobles for that matter) knew what had been and how it got that way.
Congratulations K&G you've reached the halfway point only a thousand years remaining.
Right? :D
@@KingsandGenerals Hope we more great content for the next 1.000 years!
I've said it in one of your vids previously that the strength of the Roman Empire as a whole - and why it lasted until 1453 - was their ability to change when circumstances dictate it so. You can see this from their beginning as a Phalanx until they reached their apogee in the Legions of the Principate that they are not afraid to discard old ways in order to assure their success. While inglorious to a lot, merely SURVIVING and THRIVING on the world of Diocletian/Constantine was a feat of itself. That has to do with them changing with the times.
The throne may not have been made of gold as per Cassius Dio, but it sure is made out of steel. It has grit and resolve.
Well the empire at some point was doomed to fail but it can be appreciated how long they managed to survive to the point that Rome wasn't even necessary anymore, every change was made to prolong their life in one form or another at the same time as the people which they interacted with evolved also.
The Punic Wars explain Rome perfectly - the unending manpower and succes from failure
The Principate was on easy difficulty.
The Late Empire was an Attila Total War Western Roman Empire, Legendary, playthrough.
P.s All changes were made to prolong one's life, that doesn't mean they are any less badass.
The way that the Roman Empire was organised after Diocleatian, the reforms of his successors, was amazing.
The thing was, that an entire avalanche of german tribes was pushed across the empire by the huns.
We look it from our perspective and say - "Pfff, teh leit ruman empaier wuz bad, let me larp on teh republikan and early principeit period wa wa"
@@starhawck Yeah, the Huns caused a lot of pressure by driving the Germanic tribes into Roman lands. I do love how we can start to see the transition from the Roman period to the Middle Ages. In the West, there's this stereotype of the dark ages, but the Byzantines and Charlemagne show that is a lie. I love hearing about the Byzantines, and I want to hear more about the Successor kingdoms in the west.
@@shorewall Well, there was a Dark Age. As there were several others before - Post-Bronze Age Collapse.
We don't call this Early Medieval period, that, without a reason.
The primary sources, opposed to what we got from previous periods, are substantially less.
Some areas in Europe's technology got back years, untill it recovered in the middle middle ages. The population of the whole contintent was ravaged. Population centers destroyed. And so on and so on.
So yeah, those were Dark Ages.
I heard he cultivated the most glorious cabbbages.
😁😁
I wonder...could the cabbage guy from ATLA be Diocketian himself? :O
@@aromanlegionnair5096 My cabbages!
I’M REFOOOOOOORMING
The makings of medieval Europe began with the Romans. Boy.
Totally with the increasing of privileges of a new landowning elite class with their own serfs (colonai) under Diocletian and fortified towns in the frontier regions. This period was an early blueprint of what would come about in the medieval period.
Its pretty crazy that even by the time of Charlesmagne, most of Europe was still less advanced in organization than during this time. The fall of the western court was just as devastating as the Bronze Age Collapse.
@@geordiejones5618 only for the west
Greetings to Kings and Generals from Diocletian's Palace called Spalatum, outside of Salona, today Split, Croatia.
Breathtaking architecture for sure
@@aggelos8256 ofcourse, one that endured the thoot of time
How are those cabbages doing
@@Dustz92 still good enough to refuse to return to office becouse of them
Greetings from Diocletians hometown Salona
It's interesting to look at military history from late Rome to the high Middle Ages and how cavalry evolved. I'm sure Diocletian's reforms didn't seem like a huge deal at the time, but in hindsight we can see that it was the start of a thousand year trend towards greater emphasis on producing more and better cavalry until Europe's entire social system was based around it.
*edit: Nice touch having the vaguely Roman music turning into the Crusader Kings II soundtrack at the end
Maybe it's a sign we gonna touch the early middle age?
Basically the feudal system adopted by the Frank's Charlemagne then Europe in general
Makes me want to play Total War:Atilla as West/East Romens.
Sort of..
Maybe..
or better yet play rome 1 barbarian invasion
@@legionarylion1794 barbarian invasion is amazing
If you want to lose your sanity
@@oscardelafuente8649 it s not that bad just kinda painfull in the begin but afterwards it s actualy nice
They made ready for war...
“The Roman armies up until 1453.”
Don’t........ Don’t give me hope.
Once Commodus became emperor, it went downhill from there.
@@imgvillasrc1608 Yes, what a shame that Maximus Decimus Meridius wasn't able to restore the republic and give Rome it's ancient glory smh
@@imgvillasrc1608 It is nonsensical to ascribe it to any single individual even if Commodus would be 100 times worse than he was.
@@imgvillasrc1608 Commodus is actually believed to be better than sources say.
He just made the rather necessary mistake of trying to centralize power as an emperor and in so doing pissed off the wrong bunch of senators and patricians who then proceeded to slander him.
@@ineshvaladolenc6559 he did quite a lot of questionable stuff tho. his father had left him with a chance to finish with barbarity not seen since the times of germanicus
I love all things ancient and Roman ⭐
You'll love my Italian grandpa
@Plamen Stoev patreon
@Plamen Stoev Joining the channel allows for early access to new content and other perks. And it provides a bit of financial support so K&G can continue doing what they do.
@Plamen Stoev In fact, I'd encourage supporting K&G by joining the channel. Their programming, as you know, is truly world class. There's just no way they can make video-based content of such high caliber for free. It's a massively time and resource intensive endeavor to produce this content, especially as prodigiously as K&G does. It's an honor to play a small part in making it happen. And, from my perspective, it's a bargain. Cheers bro 👍
“ I came, I saw, I thumbs up 👍 “
I love that this was posted just as I’m walking over to the first of 3 consecutive lectures I have today. At least I know that there’s something nice to do tonight, what with not having a social life.
Hey man ,a legionary in never alone .
@vikedude 123 I never chose the mgtow life- the mgtow life chose me.
Seeing the Ancient world disappear and the Medieval world appear in this video was interesting. Good work!
It is! A lot of the features of Medieval world came from the Romans. Flavius Aetius have to beg on the local Goths and Romans to fight with him against the Huns like a medieval king calling on his vassals to war.
I love how this video shows the transition of the Roman Empire to what we would see in the Middle Ages. This period is so underrepresented in history. Well done!
It's astonishing how an empire this large was able to hold together at all. The fastest travel was done by horse, infrastructure was sparse, towns often far in between. The only way to enforce central authority was sending armies from Italy across half of Europe! On foot! Most of the times it took years to reestablish control, decades to repair the damage and break up power structures that arose in a momentary lapse of control.
The Roman superpowers were twofold, their incredible military might and their ability to absorb different cultures and romanise them.
They used ships.
.
Excellent videos as always. I always felt that the late roman empire’s armies are rather underrated among history lovers. The late army was far more practical, better defense, better flexibility and versatility.
It was an army that while not large as it had been before, it was fast, quick and able to react quicker to armies raiding its borders.
Late rome’s armies are arguably still very good troops and its is not their fault that west rome would fall but rather due to the internal political problems of west rome itself.
By asking why the Romans abandoned the old system and the old equipment of lorica segmentata, gladius and scutum is like asking why the British abandoned the tricone hats, red coats and the brown bess musket, more simple put they weren't viable at some point.
I used to really dislike the late imperial government and army, not realizing that it was superior in many ways to it's predecessors. Because the context had changed. The way Rome had operated during the Principate was no longer possible. Enemies too numerous and well equipped, too bold, and massive depopulation along with rampant corruption. They needed a more flexible army.
The early legions only did well when there was a large disparity with their enemies and they could also get away with pitiful cavalry forces. Spears are a better weapon, mail is better armor (properly made), and large quantities of skilled foot archers means death for horse archers with their greater range, penetration, and and defensive qualities. Smaller units means greater flexibility. No point in tying down 5500 men dealing with a small raid, and for larger incursions just combine multiple legions
K&G: "Our series on the Roman army will continue all the way to 1453"
Me:🤓
HRE: 😤
Principate Rome: *gets army utterly destroyed* "Hey! Barbarians! I didn't hear no bell!"
Dominate Rome: "please don't hurt me, I'll give you my lunch money"
To be fair the dominate had to deal with even more potent Barbarian foes. But then again the Republic and Principate did defeat pretty much all the major powers of the period.
The Dominate Empire was facing a lot more organised enemies. The disorganised and feudalistic Parthians were replaced by the lot more centralised, urbanised and aggressive Sassanids who in many ways were a perfect counter to Rome. The Germanic tribes by this time had begun using Roman equipment and tactics. The Empire also was now focused on defense than expansion and needed more mobile armies to contain incursions across its vast frontiers while reducing the risk of civil wars encouraged by the old Marian legions. They also were moving away from a slave based economy which led to a drop in cheap labour as the Empire gradually moved towards a more agrarian and trade based economy. The old gold mines were also drying up which also weakened the economy and increased inflation.
Western civilization is substantially romanized, of the barbarians there is nothing left
Excellent video as always. There was just one thing which I'd change a bit, when it's said "Diocletian ended the Crisis of the 3rd century", don't forget Aurelian :-) "Diocletian, taking from the foundations laid by Aurelian, definetely closed the Crisis of the 3rd century" Well, just a thought.
Covered this a lot in my MA thesis. This is my favorite period in Roman history. Well done!!
Dont know who thumbeddown this video..never a let down video K&G channel..one of the most important and informative videos yet.!!!! Loved it.!!! Great how they break down time periods to help understand where and when things happened..along with the threats and surroundings as to why things happened.. great job once again!!!
I'm so happy you guys finally hit over 1,000,000 subs, I've been watching for years and love your videos, congrats!
" mounted Dalmatian warriors " I automatically imagined a cavalry of upright Dalmatian dogs with spears riding on horses, and the dumbfounded/wtf look and reaction of the legionaries seeing that sight lol.
Thanks for highlighting the Illyrian Emperors of Rome. You could do a series if you chose to; this was very nice to see.
Oh that’s clever, bringing in the CK2 music towards the end during the show of fortification changes to represent the slow organic evolution of the late imperial period into the medieval age.
Holy shit, I waited so much for this video, and now my prayers have been heard! :D
Thanks a lot, Kings and Generals! You guys kick ass!
I mean, I know the past always influences the future, but there's just several things in this video that I can see kind of echoed in medieval times. I was totally fascinated by the "Dux". But also, it seems like their fortifications were quickly becoming medieval-ized as well. This is a very, very interesting time in history - and one I've always been interested in but knew little about. I'm not sure about proper names for time periods but, generally, when I was younger, I was obsessed with Medieval times, then I just kept wondering, "well, what was before that?" and "What led to things being the way they were" - what happened before medieval Europe, what happened before Rome, before Greece, etc - not to mention everything in between... Anyway, it makes some of the theories that we have "missing chapters" and knowledge gaps in our timeline a VERY interesting and tantalizing proposition. With so much that we _do_ know, it makes me wonder what kinds of crazy things that have happened in human history that we _don't_ know - conquered peoples, lost records, lost technologies, etc... It sounds like the future videos in this series are going to be exactly what I'm looking for... Roman armies up to 1453? Just that sentence alone piques my interest. As my dad always says "Hubba hubba, chop chop"...
Yeah it is very interesting. There seems to be very little attention given to this 'Late Antiquity' period of transition as an actual independent, distinct concept, at least in the popular imagination and outside of niche historical circles.
Yet another well informed and executed episode, the Kings and Generals channel is far better than any other main stream TV show about history, keep on the good work!
I'm glad to see Gallienus getting more mentions, I feel that he is often overlooked, without him, the empire might as well have collapsed completely in the late 3rd century. Love the video!
without him, the empire absolutely collapses in the third century, in part thanks to you
Ave Gallienus
Ave!
Thank you. I have learned so much about the details of Roman history, from you, that my education only glossed over.
Greetings from Diocletian's hometown of Salona
I absolutely love the final commentary at the end. Great video!
I am very fascinated to see the signs of transition from late ancient to early middle age. The roman fortreses looking more and more like the classical castle, smaller and protecting a local comunity, armies comanded by duks and vicars as civil servents.
I've been looking forward to this, great video guys
ohh a new video and here i am ... hyped as always whenever i see a new content from K&G
The Roman warm period is almost ending
This is like one of your most interesting series. Keep it up!
I love these pieces on military organization. Awesome work
You have to love Kings and Generals ..I am a simple man ... i see Greco Roman history i stop everything i am doing to watch the video
BTW FUN FACT: Limitani in Greek is Akrites and there are a lot of Byzantine Cypriot folksongs about Digenes Akritas of the 8th century... check it out is cool story
Yes! I commented that a video like this would be great last upload - and here it is!
Great video! Hopping to see more videos on the Iranian Empires in the future.
15:55 - Do my ears decieve me or is that Crusader Kings music?
*CK2 intro music intensifies*
I know that it's not that, but in my mind I actually heard the intro going from something steady to madness
They use music from Paradox and Total War games quite often.
that may mean we go into some early middle ages roman history boyyyz
or not, anyway, I love it!
Yes, Te Donimum I believe
Does anyone know where the music around 10:00 is from?
This is a classic example of how Rome was able to adapt to new challenges that arose and why it lasted as long as it did.
Although the West might have fallen, the Eastern empire would go on for another thousand years.
and kept adapting itself until the end.
Awesome video, again great job!!!
Gotta love the switch to Crusader Kings music once he starts describing the ever increasingly defensive proto-castles.
Fascinating
I just love this channel so much!
Gotta love that ck2 music! Great video as always!
Este es el mejor canal de historia militar videoanimado del Mundo!!! Greetings from Chile...
That word, Palatini, may be the root of what’s known today as Paladin.
love this late roman stuff, keep going!
Fantastic video!
Amazing!
i enjoyed this video very much, could you do the same of charlemagne's army structure and organization?
That would be so epic, or just medieval armies in general
I'm happy that there are multiple channels as of late covering the late Roman Empire. It's often ignored I feel.
Got an essayton Docleain's reforms thank the lord and this channel for this video
Yes, I love this series!
Whenever OffyD says ‘Comitatenses’ all I hear is the TWA variant of *COMITATENSES*
The deeper, more growly voice or the midrange growly voice?
Chad Palatina vs Chad Triarii
"If it aint broken, improve it" Diocletian
Yet he broke the economy.
@@luciano9755 That was more of a result of his actions, rather than something done on purpouse
Luciano I think it was already broken during the crisis of the third century.
@@Mrkabrat which.. only makes it worse.
Ah yes, the Commitatensi Spears, the ultimate weapon for every settlement battle as Western Roman Empire.
Yep, even when I already obtained the upgrades for Cornuti spears, i still kept one legion filled with my veteran Comitatensis in Rome just to remember my self how many close calls i had on the early stages of my WRE crisis.
*Hunnic invasion PTSD intensifies*
But Yari Ashigaru from Shogun 2 and Spear Guards from Three Kingdoms are even better.
@@soulofcinder2129 They're much more useful in FOTS cause they could "Stonewall Jackson" the hell out of the enemy while your archers tear into the giant melee bloob your enemy formed.
Just grabbed two shirts guys! Keep up the great work!
Great video.
Great!
Quito-Ecuador
2020
Great vid!
The western empire is nervous about the next video.
Excellent!
Military reforms are my kind of p0rn
It's an honor to see you here
Smash that testudo
Marian reform is my favorite
Mmmmmm, agreed...
Great video
Top work
Now I know from where count and duke titles come from. An important video imo, especially for the beginning of the Byz Empire!
...which was simply Roman Empire.
I'm a big fan of your video, please make video of rise and fall of Hannibal,his tactics
This channel is the best
About time
I see you finally hit 1 million subscribers!
Who else is waiting for Lepanto?! 😍😍😍
Great Video as always, but could you include the evolution of Arms and Armor?
I think a cool video y'all can do at some point in the future would be about Yuan Chonghuan, a Ming dynasty general at the end of the dynasty who successfully defended against Manchu invasions with a combining western artillery tactics to his tactics at the Battle of Ningyuan. He was successful until he was framed by eunuchs and executed.
massed musket volley and pike wall as well.
i love these roman army series !!
Sitting back in my chair with a cup of tea.....This is what my day ends on.
The R2TW pre-battle music is making me tense
Hope there will be diadochi vids again
I think they the reason why started recruiting more and more "auxilia" and dressing them like legionary was to bypass the payment gap that the auxilia and the legionary has. If i remember correctly Legionary salary by this time went insanely high, a tradition started by the severans.
I love your videos on rome. I love it even more so, because I watch unbiased history ok the side.
I know most wouldn’t care but I would love to see some videos on Wales. Wales fought many wars with England and their was a view uprisings. A few are very interesting full of battles would love to see you make a video on one or two
Its so refreshing not seeing a Raid: Shady Legs ad; man! :D
Hey, this was amazing! I know this may be a long shot, but would you happen to have references you used for this video? I'm planning on doing a research essay on the military reform of the late Roman Empire for one of my classes. I'm eager to get down and dirty with this period and just want to pour over every piece of info I can get. Cheers
Never watched any kings and generals video as early as today .