A big contributor to that is light and air pollution that prevent you from seeing the stars and the Milky Way at night, like you would now if you went somewhere far up in the mountains. The night sky panorama has a curvature to it that is noticeable if you are looking at it every night and seeing the paths the celestial bodies take (always curved).
According to wikipedia the Byzantine empire had the first university of the western hemisphere (that includes the Middle East) in the institution known as the University of Constantinople established by the emperor Theodosius II and it covered all areas of knowledge. Education was widespread including for women.
@@dirremoireThey were Greeks with Roman citizenship and called themselves Romaioi (Romans), Graikoi (Greeks), Hellenes (Greeks), Helladikoi (Greeks), Romellenes (Roman Greeks) . They called themselves Romaioi because 1) they had Roman citizenship and 2) since, among the people with Roman citizenship/Roman citizens, Greeks were were the ones that ruled the empire during the byzantine period the term roman started being associated specifically with them and came to mean the ethnically Greek during the medieval period. With this definition (as just another word that means Greek, like Hellenas and Graikos) the term Roman is used by the modern Greeks as well when we use the term for ourselves. Are you saying that we are not Greeks either? The term roman changed meaning multiple times through history and was used by completely different people. What matters isn't that the medieval Greeks called themselves Romaioi (among many other things), what matters is what they meant by it.
@@gilpaubelid3780 Medieval Rome had a huge, diverse population. It's not even clear that the majority of the population even spoke Greek, let alone called themselves Greek. But they all agreed they were Romans.
@@dirremoire All empires have a huge diverse population and all empires have an ethnic group that controls them . The empire before the byzantine period was much more diverse since it included much more land and as a result more people. This doesn't change the fact that it was the ancient romans that controlled the empire before the byzantine era, the same way that medieval Greeks controlled the empire during the byzantine period. So it's kind of weird to say that they didn't call themselves Greeks when the centre of the empire called themselves exactly that..
When my DM second-guessed himself about including some more advanced technology in his greek/roman mythology setting, I told him about the flamethrowers.
Time zones first came from Claudius Ptolemy in the Roman Empire in the city of Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy wrote the book Geography around 150CE. The book was rediscovered in Constantinople. and that is the reason time zones were known in the eastern Roman Empire! Christopher Columbus had a Latin copy of the book and was one of the inspirations for his voyage west.
There was a chain of signal towers along the Yorkshire coast, with others inland for connection to Malton Fort, & possibly others near Hadrian's Wall, before the end of the 4th century. Illustrations show Wind Organs in use in Amphitheatres during games long before the 'Byzantine' era. The Antikithera shipwreck has produced a complicated geared astronomical device, termed an early 'computer' of the earlier Imperial age.
I've always been interested in the Eastern Roman Empire and now you've given me even more reasons than before! Some of the inventions like Greek fire, organs, underground cisterns I had already known about, plus, of course, the Legal reforms and codification of Justinian. The other inventions/innovations were new to me, especially the "Gregorian" calendar. Yes, I agree with you when you say we shouldn't call it the Byzantine Empire, but the Eastern Roman Empire.
In the early medieval West the spherical nature of Earth was well known. Bede use it in his AD 725 "De temporum ratione" to explain the changing length of daylight. It was also known that the moon influenced tides.
It is incredible that the Romans had the ability, but never thought to put steam to a wheel and begin an industrial revolution. They really were amazingly close.
They actualy did in Alexandria, it was even used for opening huge door of a Temple. Problem was that slave work was cheaper than anything steam was useable for in that time
After watching this video, I remember the classical Rome movies where actors put leather bracelets to cover the watch. Now I want to see a movie where an Eastern Roman doesn't hide his watch, eats dinner with his family with a fork, and later goes to war carrying grenades and flamethrower, while Fortunate Son is played on pipe organ in the background.
His surname was Gregoras, so in a weird twist of fate, the epithet Gregorian records his contribution. In modern Greek and Middle Greek we normally use a person's surname/epithet to note their connection to something.
It's a misconception that Medieval people (in the West) thought the Earth was flat. One of the Imperial insignia, I'm not sure about the English name, it's "Reichsapfel" in German which literally translates to "Imperial Apple", this was a ball (an "apple") with a cross on it. This was a metaphor that through the Emperor, Christ ruled Earth. This insignia was as prominent as the sword and the crown and therefore everybody knew. When Columbus argued with Queen Isabella in 1492, they didn't argue about the shape of Earth, they argued about its diameter.
The "Imperial Insignia" of which you speak is the Globus Cruciger, which first appeared on coins of Arcadius or Theodosius II. There is no distinct English word for this symbol, rather the Latin word is borrowed into English.
Kettle hat helmet used by most of the professional archers in late medieval Europe which also served as a basis for the WW 1 Brodie helmet was also invented by E.R.E.
If you think about it, the western European Renaissance has its roots in brain drain from the Eastern Empire as it declined. Once the capitol fell, all the talent that could leave, left.
Justinian also did an extensive review and consolidation of prior Roman law, as it was often in the form of decrees, and so it was often complicated to research with only archives sometimes only having some but not others. He consolidated it into a single description of Roman law up to that point, and provided extensive discussions and history of how various laws came about. This is how we today know so much about Roman law all the way back to the early republic! His various legal codexes were preserved to the era of the printing press through the scribal tradition.
When Constantinople fell to the Turk, many fled not west to Roman Catholic realms, but up into Russia. This was Russia's first big boost towards deeper applications of mechanical thinking.
When talking about the Eastern Roman Empire, following the fall of the Western Empire, I have started saying: "The Byzantium era of the Roman Empire" Anyways very great video, always joins to learn about Advanced Technologies of the past....
Thanks for another great video it really opened my eyes to how advanced the byzantines were compared to the rest of Europe. I think if the Eastern Roman Empire had survived after it's recovery in the 10th century it would have continued to innovate and develop. Perhaps an industrial revolution would have happened there instead who knows.
Hi Matthew, thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, I agree, it is so sad the the ERE fell. They would have continued to innovate, and indeed, who knows, maybe in that alternate timeline, the industrial revolution would have happened in the ERE instead of Britain.
Yup they were Romans hence the great innovative ideas they had. Rome and thus the Romans were masters in taking good ideas mastering and improving them and implementing it to great extent. Many roman innovations were based on things other nations already did but improved on it.
"Hey, we invented this stuff that just burns no matter what you do to it." "I want it on our boats. I want it in the hands of our men. I want to be able to lob it over 50 yards from a trebuchet. By God, I will see this world burn, since the world seems so inclined to watch Rome burn."
The desire to prove that the barbarians who inhabited Western Europe are the true heirs of Rome is not the only reason for underestimating the Eastern Roman Empire. One of the key reasons is religion. In 1054, the descendants of the barbarians rejected Orthodox Christianity in favor of the Catholic variant. The Romans of the East and all the nations of that cultural sphere are Orthodox Christians. They were Orthodox in the Middle Ages. They remain so today.
Bro the fork came to Eastern Europe through the silk road from China. It's a thousand years older or so than use in Europe. Also it's nice when you record yourself in videos. Quite handsome and your dyed hair is pretty quirky. Distracts me when I see bad illustrations hah Edit: I was wrong. Bone forks in eastern asia go back 4400years ago, and metal ones in china go back to 1600bc according to archeological finds.
The cooking fork probably dates to the Palaeolithic as a utensil to lift things out of a cooking container. We're talking about the eating fork which has zero parallels in East Asia.
I'd like to point out that the Eastern romans call themselves just Romans. There was no disruption in 476 AC. The roman civilisation survived in the east after the fall of the western part. In constantinople and other many places, there were still hippodromes, public baths, aquaducs ... and even latin was spoken natively by Justinian and people of the Balkans, Italy North Africa and spain in the 5th-6th centuries...
It’s called Antisemitism anti eastern not anti Jewish. If it weren’t for their civil wars they would still be around today. I consider them on par with the Egyptian Civilization as the greatest. Sorry I’m at work had to make it quick.
@@dirremoire A thing which was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire really. It was a feudal German state which for most of its existence had an electoral body which elected the Emperor.
Sorry but when western Roman Empire fell all of Rome fell eastern wouldn’t be the Roman Empire without the west the real Roman Empire so yea when the city of Rome fell the whole empire fell sorry guys
but the capital of the western roman empire when Romulus August was deposed was Ravenna not Rome at the time, also the fall of the west did not have the impact in the east the fall of Constantinople had on the west
They also had automatic door opening, venting machines... (Where you place a coin and an animated figure was serving holy water in your cup...) they had water fountains with automatic music coming out of ceramic birds based in hydraulics and so many other things like chainmail armor, for example. Many of them were from ancient Greece since there were records of them from this era.
Great video, but I cringe every time I hear the word "Byzantine"! It perpetuates the very same misconceptions about the Eastern Romans that the video seeks to correct.
They could make Greek Fire but couldn't hold onto their empire. The Byzantines were the most brutal, selfish, prideful bunch of numbskulls to ever have an empire. It's entirely their own fault that they lost their empire.
It is absolutely true what you say and it is the greatest proof of the Greekness of the Romans of Constantinople.The same reasons were the cause of the collapse of the Hellenistic kingdoms
@@CHRISTOS_KAZANOPOULOS the Romans of Rome weren't much better. As great as Caesar was, his murderers were right. A message had to be sent to any future tyrants that the republic was bugger than one man. What they needed was a third way - an elected imperator who could only be removed by the senate. That would stop your Ricimer's, Basil's and Andronikos from murdering their way to power and undermining the imperial position.
They held on for a millennium though, which doesn't apply to many current civilizations. It certainly didn't help that their fellow Christians destroyed and looted their capital in the 4th crusade:-/
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There are probably more people that think the earth is flat now than in the ancient/medieval periods!
Thanks inter-webs!
Nooooooooo!
I know right 😂. Everyone should know that the Earth has the shape of a fiat uno!
Nobody thought it was flat. That was a myth invented in the 19th century.
A big contributor to that is light and air pollution that prevent you from seeing the stars and the Milky Way at night, like you would now if you went somewhere far up in the mountains. The night sky panorama has a curvature to it that is noticeable if you are looking at it every night and seeing the paths the celestial bodies take (always curved).
Bro really knows his late Roman history
According to wikipedia the Byzantine empire had the first university of the western hemisphere (that includes the Middle East) in the institution known as the University of Constantinople established by the emperor Theodosius II and it covered all areas of knowledge. Education was widespread including for women.
The Greek fire 🔥🔥 was badass
The recipe was kept secret until the end, nobody knows what they put in.
Great you still record only late Roman history. Good to see you!
as always the Greeks are great inventors
They called themselves "Romans" (Romaioi), not "Greeks".
@@dirremoire Greeks called themselves Romans until early 20th century.
@@dirremoireThey were Greeks with Roman citizenship and called themselves Romaioi (Romans), Graikoi (Greeks), Hellenes (Greeks), Helladikoi (Greeks), Romellenes (Roman Greeks) . They called themselves Romaioi because 1) they had Roman citizenship and 2) since, among the people with Roman citizenship/Roman citizens, Greeks were were the ones that ruled the empire during the byzantine period the term roman started being associated specifically with them and came to mean the ethnically Greek during the medieval period. With this definition (as just another word that means Greek, like Hellenas and Graikos) the term Roman is used by the modern Greeks as well when we use the term for ourselves. Are you saying that we are not Greeks either? The term roman changed meaning multiple times through history and was used by completely different people. What matters isn't that the medieval Greeks called themselves Romaioi (among many other things), what matters is what they meant by it.
@@gilpaubelid3780 Medieval Rome had a huge, diverse population. It's not even clear that the majority of the population even spoke Greek, let alone called themselves Greek. But they all agreed they were Romans.
@@dirremoire All empires have a huge diverse population and all empires have an ethnic group that controls them . The empire before the byzantine period was much more diverse since it included much more land and as a result more people. This doesn't change the fact that it was the ancient romans that controlled the empire before the byzantine era, the same way that medieval Greeks controlled the empire during the byzantine period. So it's kind of weird to say that they didn't call themselves Greeks when the centre of the empire called themselves exactly that..
When my DM second-guessed himself about including some more advanced technology in his greek/roman mythology setting, I told him about the flamethrowers.
Time zones first came from Claudius Ptolemy in the Roman Empire in the city of Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy wrote the book Geography around 150CE. The book was rediscovered in Constantinople. and that is the reason time zones were known in the eastern Roman Empire! Christopher Columbus had a Latin copy of the book and was one of the inspirations for his voyage west.
One of the best channels on youtube i always click as soon as i see a new video
Your content is such a joy man, love your work
Heraclius should be tought about more
No thanks rather learn about Elabagalus or Commodus
@@palacehaunter5442 an infamous tyrant who is well known and an even worse person who is less documented
The man who presided over one of the most pivotal turning points in history...and a tragic hero.
@@aidanbarrett9313 died a broken man all that reconquest
Heraclius lost Egypt to the islamic savages. Shame.
Thanks
Thanks a lot for your kind donation, I really appreciate it
Never been so early to a Maiorianus video!
Great video
So… it's the Holy hand grenade? :)
Of Antioch
Bring the book of armaments!
There was a chain of signal towers along the Yorkshire coast, with others inland for connection to Malton Fort, & possibly others near Hadrian's Wall, before the end of the 4th century. Illustrations show Wind Organs in use in Amphitheatres during games long before the 'Byzantine' era. The Antikithera shipwreck has produced a complicated geared astronomical device, termed an early 'computer' of the earlier Imperial age.
I've always been interested in the Eastern Roman Empire and now you've given me even more reasons than before! Some of the inventions like Greek fire, organs, underground cisterns I had already known about, plus, of course, the Legal reforms and codification of Justinian. The other inventions/innovations were new to me, especially the "Gregorian" calendar. Yes, I agree with you when you say we shouldn't call it the Byzantine Empire, but the Eastern Roman Empire.
Very entertaining, interesting and informative look at the remarkable Eastern late Roman Empire! Thanks!
In the early medieval West the spherical nature of Earth was well known. Bede use it in his AD 725 "De temporum ratione" to explain the changing length of daylight. It was also known that the moon influenced tides.
I don’t think this knowledge was never lost since the Greeks
very nice, as usual
Thank you for making these interesting videos! You're one of the channels inspiring me.
Greetings from Finland!
Was anticipating 10 specific innovations but got whole categories of Roman contributions.
I love this Targeryaen guy!
Always insatiable yet satisfying content 🏆
It was not Byzantine but Roman Empire's eastern continuation
Or just Roman empire
VIZADIO (Imperium Romanum Orientem)
God bless you and your channel ♥
I wasn't aware of the fork thing. Gratias!
That's awesome))
Thank you and have a good year ahead.
great job
Great video as always!
Late-"byzantine" roman history is underrated.
Thanks for sharing us this channel !
Excellent presentation. I am Eastern Roman military history nut!!!
It is incredible that the Romans had the ability, but never thought to put steam to a wheel and begin an industrial revolution. They really were amazingly close.
They actualy did in Alexandria, it was even used for opening huge door of a Temple. Problem was that slave work was cheaper than anything steam was useable for in that time
Thank you for this video!
After watching this video, I remember the classical Rome movies where actors put leather bracelets to cover the watch. Now I want to see a movie where an Eastern Roman doesn't hide his watch, eats dinner with his family with a fork, and later goes to war carrying grenades and flamethrower, while Fortunate Son is played on pipe organ in the background.
not to cover their watches, it was to cover their removed watch tan lines.
ERE vid, yeay. Ave!
Question: Should the Gregorian calendar be renamed Nikephorosian calendar instead?
His surname was Gregoras, so in a weird twist of fate, the epithet Gregorian records his contribution. In modern Greek and Middle Greek we normally use a person's surname/epithet to note their connection to something.
The true late Roman history ❤💜 🗣️✨
You do much great work however I have enjoyed this release the most.
It's a misconception that Medieval people (in the West) thought the Earth was flat.
One of the Imperial insignia, I'm not sure about the English name, it's "Reichsapfel" in German which literally translates to "Imperial Apple", this was a ball (an "apple") with a cross on it. This was a metaphor that through the Emperor, Christ ruled Earth.
This insignia was as prominent as the sword and the crown and therefore everybody knew.
When Columbus argued with Queen Isabella in 1492, they didn't argue about the shape of Earth, they argued about its diameter.
The "Imperial Insignia" of which you speak is the Globus Cruciger, which first appeared on coins of Arcadius or Theodosius II. There is no distinct English word for this symbol, rather the Latin word is borrowed into English.
thank you!!!
On liquid fire I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's video on Byzantine naval tactics that frames the question in the proper context
Kettle hat helmet used by most of the professional archers in late medieval Europe which also served as a basis for the WW 1 Brodie helmet was also invented by E.R.E.
If you think about it, the western European Renaissance has its roots in brain drain from the Eastern Empire as it declined. Once the capitol fell, all the talent that could leave, left.
The one I found most impressive was the time zones. I mean, how do you even START to calculate that?
Justinian also did an extensive review and consolidation of prior Roman law, as it was often in the form of decrees, and so it was often complicated to research with only archives sometimes only having some but not others. He consolidated it into a single description of Roman law up to that point, and provided extensive discussions and history of how various laws came about. This is how we today know so much about Roman law all the way back to the early republic! His various legal codexes were preserved to the era of the printing press through the scribal tradition.
this was a great contribution of the eastern Roman Empire to Europe and beyond. Law is the basis of civilization.
The history of the Byzantine Empire is just as fascinating as that of the Western Empire, although not as well known.
My favourite Eastern Roman inventions are Byzantine bearoucracy and Bearou of Barbarrians
Run by the Secretary for Barbarian Affairs, I imagine.
Schwerpunkt is legendary too...
I don't exactly know what you mean by that, but I'll just say yes :)
The metal plumbing on the organs and that of the flamethrowers look kind of similar.
When Constantinople fell to the Turk, many fled not west to Roman Catholic realms, but up into Russia. This was Russia's first big boost towards deeper applications of mechanical thinking.
Great video, can you make reaction to history of Eastern Roman Empire timeline
Why of a fake roman empire? No chance.
When talking about the Eastern Roman Empire, following the fall of the Western Empire, I have started saying: "The Byzantium era of the Roman Empire"
Anyways very great video, always joins to learn about Advanced Technologies of the past....
Thanks for another great video it really opened my eyes to how advanced the byzantines were compared to the rest of Europe. I think if the Eastern Roman Empire had survived after it's recovery in the 10th century it would have continued to innovate and develop. Perhaps an industrial revolution would have happened there instead who knows.
Hi Matthew, thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, I agree, it is so sad the the ERE fell. They would have continued to innovate, and indeed, who knows, maybe in that alternate timeline, the industrial revolution would have happened in the ERE instead of Britain.
I have ONLY two words: Greek Fire
@Maiorianus_Sebastian have you listened to "History of Byzantium Podcast"? If not, I can only recommned it to you and everyone else!
Forks!
Of course, the fork! Why I was thinking on the internet?
The shame starts with the name "Byzantines". The capital of the Roman empire at that time was Constantinopel. Not Byzantium.
Great video. But the traction trebuchet was accounted for in China before the 10th century
Dohhavatty will shed some tears while watching it.
Why is Julian calendar still used by the orthodox church in Russia?
👍👍👍
Yup they were Romans hence the great innovative ideas they had. Rome and thus the Romans were masters in taking good ideas mastering and improving them and implementing it to great extent. Many roman innovations were based on things other nations already did but improved on it.
They were not Romans by that point.
"Hey, we invented this stuff that just burns no matter what you do to it."
"I want it on our boats. I want it in the hands of our men. I want to be able to lob it over 50 yards from a trebuchet. By God, I will see this world burn, since the world seems so inclined to watch Rome burn."
Yeah
Fork 🍴
The desire to prove that the barbarians who inhabited Western Europe are the true heirs of Rome is not the only reason for underestimating the Eastern Roman Empire. One of the key reasons is religion. In 1054, the descendants of the barbarians rejected Orthodox Christianity in favor of the Catholic variant. The Romans of the East and all the nations of that cultural sphere are Orthodox Christians. They were Orthodox in the Middle Ages. They remain so today.
I'd put Byzantine in the parenthesis and East Roman outside.
Bro the fork came to Eastern Europe through the silk road from China. It's a thousand years older or so than use in Europe.
Also it's nice when you record yourself in videos. Quite handsome and your dyed hair is pretty quirky. Distracts me when I see bad illustrations hah
Edit: I was wrong. Bone forks in eastern asia go back 4400years ago, and metal ones in china go back to 1600bc according to archeological finds.
The cooking fork probably dates to the Palaeolithic as a utensil to lift things out of a cooking container. We're talking about the eating fork which has zero parallels in East Asia.
Stop calling them "byzantines". This is ridiculous. They were just ROMANS.
I'd like to point out that the Eastern romans call themselves just Romans.
There was no disruption in 476 AC. The roman civilisation survived in the east after the fall of the western part.
In constantinople and other many places, there were still hippodromes, public baths, aquaducs ... and even latin was spoken natively by Justinian and people of the Balkans, Italy North Africa and spain in the 5th-6th centuries...
NO ONE ever said "byzantine empire or eastern Roman empire"....dude lost his mind....
Not only that....imagine not knowing naptha from napalm....
"Medieval Rome" is the most correct, but "Eastern Roman Empire" is acceptable.
@@dirremoire i do agree
Roman Empire dlc 😹😹😹
It is roman empire. Not eastern roman empire. Also what is byzantine?
It isn't.
It’s called Antisemitism anti eastern not anti Jewish. If it weren’t for their civil wars they would still be around today. I consider them on par with the Egyptian Civilization as the greatest. Sorry I’m at work had to make it quick.
Not Byzantine but THE Roman Empire or Empire of the Romans.
No
@@palacehaunter5442 yes
yes
Not even “empire”
Not Byzantine nor empire nor eastern. Just Roman (πολίς Ῥομαίων). Mutatis Mutandi like the “holy Roman empire”: was neither holy nor Roman nor empire
Uh, Deutsch... "rebate" is a bizarre word in English. "discount" is the usual word for English speakers.
Rebate is a normal English word, it means getting some money back, so not the same as a discount.
You should never use the term Byzantine empire nor should anyone ever use the term Holy Roman Empire.
I understand and agree about the Byzantine Empire, but what's wrong with the Holy Roman Empire (Sanctum Romanum Imperium). It was really a thing.
@@dirremoire A thing which was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire really. It was a feudal German state which for most of its existence had an electoral body which elected the Emperor.
@@dirremoire indeed we should for accuracy refer to this decaying thing, the HRH, for what it was the German confederation.
Same annoyimg background music on all your videos! - I watch YT on a tv /surround system. Thr music i so irritating
please dont call them Byzantines.........................................
They were not Romans. Pretentious claims that they were are cope at best, and usurping at worst.
Sorry but when western Roman Empire fell all of Rome fell eastern wouldn’t be the Roman Empire without the west the real Roman Empire so yea when the city of Rome fell the whole empire fell sorry guys
but the capital of the western roman empire when Romulus August was deposed was Ravenna not Rome at the time, also the fall of the west did not have the impact in the east the fall of Constantinople had on the west
@poorchoicefwordsThis is just cope.
They also had automatic door opening, venting machines... (Where you place a coin and an animated figure was serving holy water in your cup...) they had water fountains with automatic music coming out of ceramic birds based in hydraulics and so many other things like chainmail armor, for example.
Many of them were from ancient Greece since there were records of them from this era.
Great video, but I cringe every time I hear the word "Byzantine"! It perpetuates the very same misconceptions about the Eastern Romans that the video seeks to correct.
No such thing as the "Byzantine" empire. It's a very ahistorical term and deserves to be placed in the dustbin of, uh..history.
They could make Greek Fire but couldn't hold onto their empire. The Byzantines were the most brutal, selfish, prideful bunch of numbskulls to ever have an empire. It's entirely their own fault that they lost their empire.
Byzantium filth. Legacy of Thodosius and Constantine
It is absolutely true what you say and it is the greatest proof of the Greekness of the Romans of Constantinople.The same reasons were the cause of the collapse of the Hellenistic kingdoms
@@CHRISTOS_KAZANOPOULOS the Romans of Rome weren't much better. As great as Caesar was, his murderers were right. A message had to be sent to any future tyrants that the republic was bugger than one man. What they needed was a third way - an elected imperator who could only be removed by the senate. That would stop your Ricimer's, Basil's and Andronikos from murdering their way to power and undermining the imperial position.
They held on for a millennium though, which doesn't apply to many current civilizations. It certainly didn't help that their fellow Christians destroyed and looted their capital in the 4th crusade:-/
@@livrowland171 western Europe is not a "fellow" for the greeks by any meaning
Great Video.