First Crusade - Rise of Alexios Komnenos - Medieval DOCUMENTARY
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Kings and Generals animated historical animated documentary series on the First Crusade continued with the aftermath of the battle of Manzikert of 1071 ( • First Crusade: Battle ... ) where the Eastern Roman Empire's army led by Romanos was defeated by the Seljuk army of Alp Arslan. We will cover a number of Byzantine civil wars, and the battles of Zombos Bridge and Kalavrye, which led to the rise of Alexios I and his Komnenos dynasty.
Previous videos on the Crusades, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire:
Battle of Manzikert 1071 - • First Crusade: Battle ...
Rise of Bulgaria - Battle of Tryavna 1190 - • Rise of Bulgaria - Eve...
Sack of Constantinople 1204 - • Sack of Constantinople...
Battle of Adrianople 1205 - • Battle of Adrianople 1...
Battle of Klokotnitsa 1230 - • Battle of Klokotnitsa ...
How the Romans Retook Constantinople - Pelagonia 1259: • How the Romans Retook ...
What Was Lost in the Sack of Constantinople - • What Was Lost in the S...
Varangians - Elite Bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors - • Varangians - Elite Bod...
Siege of Damascus 634 - Arab - Byzantine Wars - • Siege of Damascus 634 ...
Byzantine Empire Strikes Back - Battle of Nikiou 646 - • Byzantine Empire Strik...
Siege of Constantinople 717-718 - Arab-Byzantine Wars - • Siege of Constantinopl...
Pliska 811 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars - Pliska 811 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars
Versinikia 813 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars - • Versinikia 813 - Byzan...
Third Crusade 1189-1192: From Hattin to Jaffa - • Third Crusade 1189-119...
Basil II - Reformer, Restorer, Bulgarslayer - • Basil II - Reformer, R...
Creation of the Medieval Roman Army - • Creation of the Mediev...
Strategikon - Army Manual of the Eastern Roman Empire - • Strategikon - Army Man...
Elite and Levy Units of the Eastern Roman Army - • Elite and Levy Units o...
Medieval Battles - • Early Muslim Expansion...
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The video was made by Martin Stamatov, while the script was researched and written by Georgi Kolev. This video was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & www.youtube.co.... The art was created by Nargiz Isaeva. Machinimas by MalayArcher on Total War: Attila engine.
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#Documentary #FirstCrusade #Alexios
Finally an explanation about how the turks conquered almost all Anatolia right after Manzikert. This is something that most depictions of the period barely explain. I find very interesting that it wasn't simply that battle, but the combination of rebellions, latin allies gone rogue, more rebellions and usurpations and finally making peace with your enemy to fight another enemy. It seems the period between 1071-1081 was the perfect storm for the Eastern Roman Empire. Very impressive, Kings and Generals. This video is definitely one of my favorites from your channel because it covers a history period that is typically overlooked.
You said exactly what I was trying to explain to myself
Why was it so important to you??
even in turkish education system this is not explained well. i learned a lot.
@@timetraveller939when you history interests you then you want to know every detail in between major events.
Almost as much Given as Conquered, crazy how the handing out of official titles to feudal lords tended to backfire almost immediately or within a generation.
How Alexios dealt with Nikephoros Melissenos was particularly clever. In return for his loyalty, Melissenos was offered the title of Caesar, as was mentioned in the video, which entailed being second in rank only to the emperor himself. When Melissenos had settled into his new position and was no longer a threat, Alexios simply invented the title of "Sebastokrator" for his brother Isaac, placing it above that of Caesar! Melissenos was never recorded as openly complaining about this, but I can imagine he grumbled a good deal in private.
It's even smarter when you realize that Alexios, by doing so, put him in a position where complaining about it would only make him look worse.
Clever guy
@@RexGalilae Why would he look worse?
@@jaredgarbo3679
Think! Wouldn't it make him look petty and vain?
Ah yes, the civil war with 5 guys called Nikephoros battling for the throne. Truly the peak of Byzantine civil wars.
The year of the five Nikephoroses. Heh.
Certified Romans
They are Greeks
@@steliosbitzilekis4423 Of course Aδελφε but the word Roman doesn't mean Nationality but the Title of Empire and the Roman Empire from 08-11-324μ.Χ until 29-05-1453μ.Χ IS OUR EMPIRE! THE HELLENIC EMPIRE!!!!
Normans from the west, Seljuks from the east, Cumans and Pechenegs from the north... Honestly how many Byzantine emperors besides Alexios could've survived this
Alexios must have been like enemies in the west enemies in the eat enemies in the north,whoever stands in our way we shall defeat it.....cersei GOT
He's not stuck in there with them; they're stuck there in with him.
It's bad luck for those who ruled Anatolia both the Byzantine and ottomans were surrounded by enemies at the time of their dissolution
@@marshallsilverstar9636 average low iq turk nationalist, just ignore him
@@comradekenobi6908 yes. Indonesian 👍
Remember guys, if you ever wanted to give up after a failure, Remember Alexios Komnenos.
He literally lost Several battles of unmitigated disastrous nature to Normans and was kicked he was down by literally everyone, be it Roman or Foreign. Yet he prevailed but simply "not giving up".
"I didn't hear no bell."
- Alexios Komnenos, Emperor of the Romans
"Everything failed right into place"
Also,
"Failing upwards"
@@johntitor1256 🤣
His secret was that he never risked more than he could afford to lose. His son John learned this lesson well. If John had not been assassinated he would have saved the empire, but the Crusader Kingdoms were just too afraid of him as were the Saracen Emirs and Caliph.
This is how I try to live. I don't always manage to, but I try
Also it is unbelievable when you see that it was not the Turkish armies that cost the Empire Anatolia but it's catastrophic internal corruption and instability. Had the Empire had a competent leadership Manzikert would have remained in memory as a humuliating defeat, but not as a nation-shattering event, leading to essentialy terminal decline
Manzikert itself was caused by an internal "plague" in military side of byzantine army. It was a miracle that komnenian dynasty can get hold of multiple problems ravaging the empire and consolidated roman authority back. Chad romans as always
@@DM-dy9bq True, true
Ya, like DM said, probably not even a defeat at all without the internal corruption and betrayals. Still, I find it hard to avoid mythologizing its destruction after a lifetime of being conditioned to do so... LOL
@@thefisherking78 True as well xD
(personal opinion ahead) While you are correct. I think that you underestimate the Turkic armies. The corruption and manzikert were very strong catalysts. But the way rebelions happened frequently, and the fact that many Turks were mercenaries. And their strong armies. Meant that they would have conquered Anatolia sooner or later. Had it not been for the corruption the Byzantines would have lost Anatolia either way. But more like Al Andalus fell. 1 bit at a time over a not so short period of time. Byzantines have started their terminal decline before that period. But these events just turned it from a gentle slope to a downwards spiral
Alexios Komnenos, the hero the empire didn't deserve, but the hero the empire needed
He was 1 of top 5 Eastern Roman emperors! A great leader.
@@keziahdelaney8174 I wouldn't say he's the best eastern emperor, but he definetely is on the top 5
@@b3ygghsas given the odds he faced i would say he is one of hteb est he only failed at notexploiting the crusades well in my opinion
@@raoufduc1441 It wasnt all his fault there.
@@b3ygghsas I didn't say I consider him the best.
I don't know why no one makes a show about this era. It's more exciting and unpredictable than the game of thrones
@@mysteryjunkie9808 yeah for sure. I don't even remember watching any movie or tv show taking place in Eastern Rome. There are so many amazing stories. Such a waste.
If only... and the quality is on par (if not better) with HBO's _Rome_
There is a 6-8 episode of documantary series about conquest of costantinople called Rise of Empires Ottomans you can watch that
Yeah, but the Byzantines din't have any flying dragons or immortal ice devils... so, there's that!
@@tezcanuyank3446 I watched it. But I'm talking about the era in the video not when byzantine empire became nothing more than a city state
Star Wars, Warhammer, Elder Scrolls, Witcher, Lord of the Rings, many other things, all here!
Elder scrolls? Where?
You had me at Star Wars im now gonna wait for that series
Sounds like a fake IceCream Truck xD
Elder scrolls? Don't tease me with the epic battle of the red mountain!
@@ExtremeNeoclassical guess what, its today!
This is actually the first video I have seen that explains in detail how the Seljuks managed to take over Anatolia after Manzikert including many fortified cities. Great job.
They have a video on how Anatolia converted to Islam where they go into more details on the overarching trends that caused this
Trajan in Heaven: “How’s my empire doing all these years later?”
The Romans: *”HOLD THE AEGEAN! IT’S ALL WE HAVE LEFT!”*
Trajan: “Wait wtf”
In 2022 we still try to hold the Aegean …
@@nikostombris5505 true true
I would place Alexios over Trajan in terms of what he achieved.
Nekiphoros to the Seljuk he hired: So here's a couple of cities, mind watching over them a bit and then handing them back over when I ask?
Seljuks: Yeah sure, we got your back.
Also Seljuks: Wow he actually believed us what a moron.
Alexios Komnenos was the man the empire needed to be saved . No he wasn’t as charismatic as Basil the II or as great as Nicephorus Phokas in military affairs but he was an active and methodical ruler . He was the first emperor after Basil who gave a country stronger and bigger than the one he inherited !
@Leo the British-Filipino 💪⚔️💪
Nikephoros Phocas was a good general but a pretty bad and unpopular emperor, there’s a reason he was quickly assassinated.
@@tylerellis9097 Well people can’t understand sometimes what privileges they have until they face true difficulties.
@@DimitarFCBM I don’t disagree necessarily. Nicephorus is great though for liberating Crete , Cyprus and Antioch !
@@nikostombris5505 why have mild difficulties with Nikephoros when you can have no difficulties with the Superior John Tzimeskes. Nikephoros signed his own death warrant when he humiliated and stripped the rank of Michael Bourtzes, the Man who actually captured Antioch in a heroic feat.
Nikephoros was a great General but he lacked the tact needed to be emperor.
Great video guys, as always. Though you know, it's really sad that Alexios Komnenos is talked about on TH-cam almost entirely as within the scope of the 1st crusade. I mean, the guy was one of the greatest rulers that Roman Empire ever produced. He was a literal second Aurelian and how he is treated is like: "Look here's what happened with Alexios up until the First Crusade......and we're never gonna talk about what happened after the Crusade." Alexios really deserves better than this.
Ahh yes byzantine medieval history. This is probably my favorite era of byzantine history. Keep up the amazing work!
@Everything you can imagine is real This thing is getting old. Yes we know the Byzantines are the direct continuation of the Roman state, and indeed considered themselves Romans (as in Roman citizens), but historians use the term Byzantines to distinguish the Empire centered in the primarily Greek Constantinople in the Middle Ages from the Roman principate and unified Empire of antiquity, centered in Latin Rome for the most part of its history.
This is not the only instance that historiographers use exonyms to name a political entity. The Mycenaean civilization is an exonym for example as well, to distinguish it from other parts of Greek history.
@Everything you can imagine is real The Eastern Romans did actually refer to themselves as Byzantine in certain circumstances. Even in the Alexiad, Anna occasionally refers to themselves as the Byzantines. It was usually used to refer to citizens of Constantinople but it was also occasionally used to refer to the empire in general.
@Everything you can imagine is real "Constantinople was never Greek". Wow. The city was founded by Greek colonists from Megara as Byzantium and was always inhabited by Greeks and Greek was the spoken language there.
"The first time in history we see a greek state is in the 19th century". Greek states have existed since antiquity. Unitary nation states are a more modern concept. Yes the nation state of Greece was founded in the early 19th century. How about the unified German or Italian states that were unified in the late 19th century??? Does this mean that there were no Germans or Italians before that? Come on.
Also if you had read the Alexiad, or other Byzantine works, you would know that many times there, the inhabitants of Constantinople and of the Empire are referred to as Byzantines and even Hellenes.
Rome had heavy Greek influences, since its early history, agreed, but its population was primarily Latin. In the Eastern Roman (Byzantine Empire) Latin fell out of use after Emperor Heracleus.
@Everything you can imagine is real I believe it is widely proven that the location of Constantinople was that of Ancient Byzantium, and in any case that is how it was referred to by the eastern Romans as well in a multitude of instances.
Also, really don't start with quotes out of context. I can quote like that too: "Every kind of philosophy and form of knowledge is a discovery of Hellenes. What do you, Oh Italian, have to display?" - Theodore Laskaris.
No one is saying that they did not consider themselves as the true Roman Empire politically, but little was actually connecting them with Rome of antiquity. The famous Byzantine scholar Michael Psellos (one of the few in Constantinople who had some knowledge of Latin at the turn of the 2nd millennium), thought, as is evident in his works that Caesar and Cicero were the same person!
In any case, I don't quite understand what is your point here. Yes, when Christianity prevailed the name Hellene came to mean pagan, but that does not erase a people, a language or a culture, the Greeks and Hellenized populations referred to themselves as Ρωμαίοι/ Ρωμιοί (Romans) as in citizens but also as Γραικοί (Greeks) in many instances is recorded and the term Hellene resurfaced at least since the 11th century CE. Even today the term Romios (Ρωμιός) in Greek is used as a synonym to Greek.
Here is another quote for you: "I am the emperor of Rome and above grammar" - Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. Does the above mean that the Holy Roman Empire was not primarily Germanic?
@Everything you can imagine is real Also, you talk about self-determination.
Ask the remaining Greeks of Constantinople (Istanbul) who are indigenous to the city, or the millions of Greeks whose grandparents were expelled from Anatolia, what they think they are and if they find your claims offensive. What do you think they would say to you?
The Komnenids produced 3 competent Emperors *in a row* (Alexios, John, Manuel), that's not just something that had happened often in Roman history, except perhaps the Nerva-Antonine dynasty
Right. The only one's coming close are the three Laskaris (Theodore I & II Laskaris + Saint John III Doukas Vatatzes). Maybe also Saint Nicephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes & Basil II, but Tzismiskes was really a usurper at the end of the day.
@علي ياسر
This is a good example of a moosloom mask off moment.
@@lordofhostsappreciator3075 An example of the stupidity of religious supremacy also, it is not like the Muslims were united for most of their history either.
@علي ياسر Stop embarrassing yourselves
@@lordofhostsappreciator3075 Since when is he possibly a Muslim? Because he has an Arabic name
Alexios Komnenos's story is incredible. Between hard internal conficts, invasions of the Normans from West, Seljuks from the East, Pechenegs from the North, and with a state falling apart, what were the chances of Alexios to survive all of this? None most people would say. But Alexios did survive, and managed to give at the Eastern Roman Empire a chance to stand at its feet again. Also it was great that this episode mentioned the great importance of Alexios's mother, Mellissene, who was an excellent administrator of the state for 15 years.
Don't forget to check out our new channel - Wizards and Warriors. Today's video is on the Elder Scroll, as we talk about the rise of Tiber Septim: th-cam.com/video/qWtdKOgjV3w/w-d-xo.html
8:58, small correction. George II was not a tsar, the georgian title for it was "Mepe", but a simpler translation of King would suffice. Calling him Tsar would not only wrongly imply that he was Slavic, it would also incorrectly state that Georgia is an empire, even though that, formally speaking, was never the case. Great video by the way.
Thanks! I obviously know the title "Mepe" - decided not to use it in order not to make video even more complicated. But I have always seen "Tsar" used for the Georgian rulers. Is using "King" instead a recent change in the historiographical approach?
@@KingsandGenerals No.... "Tsar" was never used for the Georgian rulers, that's simply incorrect. it's a Slavic/Russian word for Emperor. the Georgian word for King is "Mepe", the literal translation of "Mepe" in English is King. Also Russia didn't even exist at the time, let alone had any influence on Georgia.
@@DimitarFCBM Bulgarians are slavicized thracians, never the less, still cultural and linguistic Slavs
@@KingsandGenerals Yeah, and even "Mepe" is not the right word, it is actually "Mepet-Mepe", which fuzzily translates to King of Kings, so that would definitely complicate the video.
As for the tsar part, that is really weird. I haven't seen a single source calling a georgian ruler a Tsar, but I do not doubt that the ones you have researched use that term. You guys are champs.
But as a Caucasus history nerd myself, I can assure you that calling georgian rulers kings is nothing new at all, neither is Tsar, but the latter only applies to Russian sources. Maybe the ones you saw were translated from there.
//@@DimitarFCBM : @Shrek God Neither Thracians, nor Slavs. Their origins are from ancient Iranian tribes. //
ALL of europe originates from babylon. but this video details events around 1000 CE, not 10,000BCE
I've always found it so strange how in the middle of a battle, certain elements of the army can just suddenly switch sides. I see it's actually a recurring theme in older battles/wars. I would like to know more about this.
I suspect battles generally weren’t how we see them in our popular imagination. There was lots of downtime.
I’ve read that veterans, who would usually be stationed near the back of a formation, would sit on their asses during battle and complain about being bored.
I’ve read about armies taking a lunch break during an all day battle. I’ve read that many historians believe there was actually usually a “no man’s land” between front lines of the two armies and a lot of time was spent trying to gain the collective balls to close that last gap. Also, a lot of battle time was spent just moving men in a pre-battle chess game of sorts.
And so, with these things in mind, I can more easily imagine a commander being able to have a conversation with an opposing commander at some point and being persuaded to switch sides mid-battle.
Alexios was a name befitting the man, seeing how it means “Defender of Men”, in this case the Eastern Romans, something that he did until his dying days.
@علي ياسر While there were many great Basileus and Rulers of Eastern Rome much after the collapse of the west, I would say that Maurice was the last true Imperator, seeing how he still held the old virtues and views of old Rome and how his Avenger Herakleios would be the first Hellenistic Basileus of Eastern Rome.
@علي ياسر You mean going back to a Republic?
actually, the name "Alexandros" means "he, who intercepts men or pushing them back". The name "Alexios" means defender or protector.
It's great how in your videos you expose the history of the Byzantine Empire, I admit that this is a topic neglected by me. 😕This channel makes me smarter! I am waiting for antiquity for a change ;)
Slm iyi akşamlar nasılsın
Alexios' story is one of my favourites. it's shrouded a bit in legend too because of his daughter Anna Komnena. Great presentation and explanation of the facts!
- Every Latin invasion starts from Albania
"Greek Saying"
Komnenos (Greek: Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, [komniˈni])) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185,[1] and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνηνοί, Megalokomnenoi) founded and ruled the Empire of Trebizond (1204-1461). Through intermarriages with other noble families, notably the Doukai, Angeloi, and Palaiologoi, the Komnenos name appears among most of the major noble houses of the late Byzantine world.
Komnenos
Κομνηνός from Wikipedia
Alexios Komnenos embodies the ever increasingly rare spirit of the ancient republicans.
Just as the republicans never gave up no matter how many legions Hannibal slaughtered, Alexios never gave up either, despite disasters and humiliation
I’ve read that the battle of Kalavrye between Alexios and Bryennios was abnormally bloody and the account of the battle in this video shows that well. I’ve also heard it said that the last legacy of the ancient roman legions was destroyed that day. After Manzikert and the years of civil war in Anatolia, the empire had no army in the east (hence the unchecked expansion of the Seljuks). But the European troops were still intact - until this battle.
By this point it's basically second nature for the Byzantines to cripple their own military with infighting.
Well I don’t think so . By the time of Heraclius ( or even much earlier ) the typical legion structure had been eliminated. The last legion was Legio V Macedonica which was crumbled at the Byzantine-Sassanid war of 602-629 . Then tagmata and thematic troops replaced what remained of the legions . The European armies were far from intact . Slavic invasions and Bulgarian attacks prove that the western armies were destroyed and recreated multiple times . Actually the European troops were always considered “second class” even though they were primarily ethically Roman .
Thanks!
Byzantine politics indeed...
Southern Italy lost to the Normans, Central Anatolia almost lost to the Seljuks, but the Byzantines are not giving up the fight.
The Komnenian Restoration is nearly ready to restore the empire.
Indeed the restoration had begin after the defeat of the Normans
If you have ever played Age of Empires II then you will surely know about maximum number of generals,kings,conquerors(also about civilizations and dynasties) etc...and here on this channel you will understand more clearly about them...👍👍👍
AoE II was excellent for its time, but gamers who wanted more on the Middle Ages would flock to other strategy titles such as _Medieval II: Total War_ and _Crusader Kings_ as the years went on.
Yep, Rise of Nations too
@@Latinkon well, the time of AoE II is going on today, mostly due to its everlasting PvP scene.
@@Manouil_III I wasn't trying to imply that AoE II is dead or irrelevant. Heck, I prefer it over AoE IV. Though there's a reason why channels like Kings and Generals would rather use _Total War_ assets instead of AoE in their videos.
YOU PLAY AOE II AND WATCH KG?!?!Well i am surprised AOE2 is legendary&underated
it wasn't bad enough that the battle at Manzikert was lost due to political and economic pressure which forced Romanos to become desperate in seeking a decisive victory, followed by chaotic response to commands and culminating with Andronikos Doukas's betrayal. it just HAD to be followed by so many pretenders that willingly opened up the gates to the turks. i face-palmed myself so many times it hurts. the Doukas during those days were absolute morons, they did everything to keep the power in their hands but proved 0 ability in holding it with any skill required of a true leader. to be fair, Alexios did all he could and more, to save the empire. honestly i cannot blame him for those concessions. the normans were a huge threat and he had close to no navy. he needed to focus on the north against the pechenegs and more importantly, the east, on the turks. all the fighting he did, the military reforms he made, along his mother who kept the empire in one piece from the capital while he was on campaigns... wow what a story. how can so called historians say the byzantine empire was rotten, dull... when its wars for survival are an absolute delight to read and listen to.
Keep coping greek
Our Sultans play with your empire like a ball😁
@@earlmahmud9637 i'm not greek. Far from it. I just find the byzantine empire to have a lot more flavor than the sultanate of rûm or the ottoman empire.
@@earlmahmud9637 If you are turk, fair enough. If you are not, why praise him? You were a subject of the ottomans as well, just kept snoozing with the excuse of the shared religion. If you are from east asia... mind your businness.
Alexios was a practical and effective leader who knew well the failures of his government and sought to correct them through his own ability and desire for the well-being of the Empire.
Turkic Mercenaries: Hey Nikephoros! You could station us in your most strategic and vital key cities in Anatolia.
Nikephoros: To protect them and then leave when I tell you to do so?
Turkic Mercenaries: Sure!
*Actually proceed to claim them for themselves*
Though if they had a properly functioning state, they would not lose it to a mercenary team.
@@NunoRomeo that's what happens when you start the next civil war before finishing the one you've got.
Kinda funny that the Greeks had "Immortals"
catapracts
They where called athanatoi which means immortals in greek
*Romans
It's cool to see how the empire increasingly slides toward being a paper tiger as it has to make harder and harder compromises to survive. Like I always used to wonder how Venice became such a strong state in the region but this video helps explain that a little with some very important, non-territorial concessions.
If there can be Year of Four Emperors, then War of Four Emperors sound quite possible. I think this is what this scenario can be called here. War of Four Emperors - The war that is one of the many factors contributed to the First Crusade.
Spend half the time laughing at byzantine politics and betrayals in this series.
I would love to watch the same video but from the Turks point of view, to learn in detail how they took Anatolia, did they face resistance? Did the cities simply opened their doors because an old man told them to??
The third episode will be that
@@KingsandGenerals I find watching the same events from different perspectives a great way to consolidate, thanks for the amazing content!
Amazing !
Do his Son, Emperor John Komnenos the good / beautiful
Alexios was just the kind of man the Empire needed at this time.
And his mother was an invaluable ally as well.
Ok. I have seen the insanity of Byzantine politics on many of your videos. But this one takes the cake, and then probaly ate it too.
This is a comedy of errors at this point.
Alexios was a genius no other way around it. He was a master juggler and did unreal gymnastics in keeping things together. I hope you guys plan to show case his son John who was a brave man and who deserves his spotlight here too.
Suleiman Bey literally Mount and Blade player
26:56 One of the greatest mistakes in Roman history has just occurred.
Could not agree more. The Venetians were totally untrustworthy and lied and cheated their way to prominence. Looking at the city now and its inhabitants, not much has changed.
Slm iyi akşamlar nasılsın Nathan
Apparently, the eastern Roman empire excelled at incompetence during this time. The court was screwing up in foreign policy rejecting terms that would’ve been super favorable to the empire. The generals sucked, always abandoning one another during crucial battles and seemed incapable of good tactics. Gone was the time of figures like Belisarius.
@علي ياسر no. I don’t know who that is, but it was not Belisarius. I will tell you this though. Rome or, Byzantium as we call the east nowadays, could have sorely used such a man as emperor. A pre-Christian style emperor who would summarily execute a general that failed him. I promise you that no general would abandon another one if such a man was in power to hold him accountable. But, unfortunately, Rome chose to become Christian and that spelled its doom centuries earlier.
@علي ياسر very interesting. I still have to look into this. He’s one of my favorite historical figures. Either way, they could’ve used a man like him in this time. The trouble is, the eastern Roman empire produced such men all through the centuries. Unfortunately, this society was structured in such a way that these men were feared instead of encouraged because of weak minded courtiers. In pagan Times, they would’ve been given assignments in line with their abilities such as reconquering lost lands or acquiring new ones from places further north. Have they done this, they would’ve dealt with a threat from the Turks very easily. They might have even been able to successfully reconquer the Levant and Mesopotamia. And as for emperors like basil II, they would’ve had an entire harem full of women to sire children on. He died childless. Very irresponsible. That is what set the stage for all of this terrible time.
It was still happening when Belisarius was active. But i get what you mean.
@علي ياسر you must be talking about Azarethes near Calinicum. I never claimed he was undefeated. I’m just saying he was a great general of a sort not found in The eastern Roman empire in 1071.
You definetly have a crush on the Eastern Roman Empire's history but we definetly appreciate it!
Alexios I Komnenos, the Aurelian of Byzantium.
I swear, the next guy named Nikephoros who comes along...
Another brilliant video as always, and on such an interesting, cunning, able character. I often find myself being frustrated by some of Alexios' decisions, like the concessions to the Venetians and agree to evacuated the Greek population of inner Anatolia, only to remember that he mostly had to do those things because Byzantium was in such a bad state.
Roma aeterna victrix fellas
@@asder2036 If only Manuel had Andronikos executed 😔 or if he won at Myriokephalon 😭
The Komnenos family really bailed out Byzantium’s ass. They were all handed an absolute mess, and yet they were able to prolong the Empire just a little longer
@علي ياسر Ottomans didn’t even exist yet ya goof.
@@tylerellis9097 lol well said , he spends a lot of his time making silly comments .
Just remember that "little while longer" is longer than the US has existed as a nation.
370 years it's hardly just a little longer in my humble opinion.
10:30 Seljucks: Make a party-> bonk Norman to Jail -> ??? -> Profit half Anatolia
Kamikoto knifes Are scam, they Are regular steel, same as IKEA knifes
They ruined their empire all for power. They all promised everything away peice by piece.
Sad
Here we go again. THERE WERE NO BYZANTINES! That's a modern title given to them. It was east Roman empire ffs.
This was simply a masterpiece of a video. Bravo K&G.
Of course, quality content helps any video and medieval Roman Empire content is quite simply the most interesting historical period out there. So damn good. Thanks so much for all your amazing videos.
school books in greece dont tell a story with such fine detail
Alexios Komnenos will always be remembered to me as one of the greatest, cunning, wisest rulers of Eastern Rome.
If the Greeks had learned from the Western Romans in their heyday. That without a professional army, economic social stability, maybe they would focus on the real enemy that was the Turks and not be killing each other.
the western romans survive less than the east !!!!!!!
They've been drinking all that water with lead inside of it, that's why they are so fucked up.
That battle against John Bryennios is very interesting. Alexios has such a diverse mix of warriors from many lands under his army.
I imagine after Manzikert they had to bring in tons of mercenaries from everywhere they could. In any case, I find it interesting to read Anna Komnena's account of this battle, because she ended up marrying Bryennios' son. She was literally writing about the time her father went to war and tried to kill her future father-in-law.
This is a fascinating period of history as well as a very complex one. Your video does a great job of explaining the events that led the Roman Empire to the brink of collapse and how short-sighted the actions of various Roman leaders were. It also did a great job of conveying the sense of danger that must have consumed the Roman leaders in Constantinople. Well done!
Jesus, what a freaking mess the 1070s were for the Byzantines.
A particularly great video, even for your own standards! I love that you’re drawing attention towards some of the lesser known aspects of the First Crusade. This is random, but for an idea for future video(s), I think it would be super cool to see you guys explain the early Russian conquests that led to the Russian Empire
Seljuks comes .
anatolians : can i join you ?
@@guzelataroach4450 looks like byzentium di the same
Great video
It's simply frustrating to see the Byzantines tear themselves apart over and over again. After Justinian, Heraclius, the Macedonians and the Komnenians, they still manage to find new ways to weaken their empire. I almost wanna shout "Why can't you just be like the Ottomans and stay united for just one fricking century?"
Of course, I know the Byzantines were fundamentally different from the Ottomans but it's amazing how they lasted the millennium that they did.
Same, it's unbelievably frustrating to see how unlucky the Byzantines were. Internal and external factors, it seems everybody wanted the bit of them. If they only had a bit more luck like some other european nations, then they might still be around. But it is what it is...
Roman history is filled with rebellions as usual
It's practically their national sport, with chariot racing being a close second.
@@johntitor1256 Dealing with barbarians 3rd place
Minor mistake, but one I find important due to what it implies in terms of cultural association, is that King George the second of Georgia was reffered to as a Tsar.
Tsar is/was exclusively used by the Slavic people who had contact with the Eastern Roman empire, and derived from Caesar.
While most Georgians, especially the older generations, have a neutral or positive view of Russian culture, especially the artistic side of it (literature is especially beloved), almost everyone heavily dislikes the idea of Georgian being grouped in as a sub group of Russian/Slavic culture, due to historical reasons, along with the fact that we are in no way ethnically or linguistically connected to the Slavic family, with our only bridge being, again, the fact that we were under imperial tsarist authority, which is not exactly an all too happy memory or part of our history
Edit: so I noticed that I wasn't the first to point this out, happy to see my fellow Georgians like watching Kings and Generals! As for the reply to that comment about how using the correct term "Mepe" would make the video/s more confusing, I would suggest using greek titles such as Basileus, as until the reign of King Davit the Builder, Georgian kings acceoted Byzantine Greek titles. It wasn't until Davit kicked off the Golden Age did we start rejecting Byzantine titles as a way to distance ourselves from the Greeks and focus on elevating our own culture
Great information on the Byzantine empire too bad it had rampant corruption but that is the way of the world. Thank you Kings and Generals for another gem!!
If only the byzantine could get their shit together, they would've been great
Can’t wait for the next video! This was so interesting to watch. I’ve always wondered how the Nomad Turks could take all those cities. They were literally let in, imagine being so incompetent.
Good stuff. As always. Thank you!
Your videos are of an unbelievable quality and greatly appreciated no doubt; but I have to point out critically that I've noticed Byzantine personalities within them are repeatedly given incorrectly-Anglicized versions of their names like "Michael" or "John", and half the time are also visually depicted as effeminate-looking cleanshaven westerners. No Orthodox Christian man of old -- let alone a Byzantine monarch or royal -- would have been beardless (it's against the religion) and their actual Greek names in this case are Mikhail (Μιχαὴλ) and Ioannis (Ιωάννης). Of all people, I don't think I need to relay to Kings & Generals that culturally speaking, Orthodox Christians are not & have never been like Catholics/Protestants and Eastern Europeans are not & have never been like what Western Europeans became over the centuries. Incase this matters to you for any future videos. Cheers mate.
Alexiad is my favourite start in Crusader Kings 2, it's an honor to have this man's name
For the 20th time will you stop calling Docleans Serbians and conecting Constantine Bodin with Serbia. Scilitza is the only writer who refers to them us such as all the other authors make a clear disctiontion. For F. sake wikipedia is not a source.
honestly, one of the most underrated byzantine emperors
Alexios is literally top 3 most known Byzantine Emperors
This channel is the reason why I pay up the internet.
Alexios I had prime Rocky Balboa vibes. Dude gets brutally beat down so much but just holds the Empire together through sheer will.
I had always wondered exactly how the Turk territories got so close to Constantinople, as by the time of the 1st Crusade the Latins have to take Nicea. Great job!
I, having realized the effects wrought by Time, desire now by means of my writings to give an account of my father's deeds, which do not deserve to be consigned to Forgetfulness nor to be swept away on the flood of Time into an ocean of Non-Remembrance; I wish to recall everything…
- Anna Comnena
I found that beautifully written by his daughter.
greek words used even today in greek language, after 1000 years!
But somebody offended when Eastern Roman Empire is called Byzantium. Greek. LOL
by fire and iron blood and ashes Alexios passed and revived the Byzantines! fiery and iron blood and ashes have passed these areas !!!
I love Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire! :)
The Byzantines, with 4 civil wars at the same time, a famine, high taxes, nomadic looters, rebellious mercenaries and generals, losing 50% of their land, angry peasants, sacked capital : This is just monday!
This is by far the most chaotic battle on your channel, good job!
WTF is this battle. It really sounds like scenario on video game than actual historical battle. You need to first steal the enemy commanders horse to rally your army that had already lost... and then just some random reinforcements join you. And then you are able to defeat them while they are celebrating, even though you lost the battle earlier.
25:03 "(...) the Sultanate of Rum was handed most of Anatolia and supported another pretender to the throne, a usurper, the Normais were about to invade, control over Serbia and Bulgaria was nominal, the alliance of the Danubian cities was in a rebellion supported by the Pechenegs, the treasure was empty, the manpower was depleted and the solidus fell to 10% gold content."
Just like any other Crusader Kings Byzantine playthrough, lol
Please, when are you going to talk about the Sahelian empires & medieval Africa
Songhai empire
Kanem-bornu empire
Mali empire
Almoravid empire
Sennar empire
That moment when you didn't watch the 1st video, so you go back and watch it, then click on the 2nd video feeling hyped since it's all fresh 👏
This video is just Alexios Komnenos playing "Whack-A-Mole" throughout the Balkans...
Byzantine Empire manage to survive for 1000 years and still it was most unstable country ever...just a civil war after civil war....maybe it was better if normans sucedes in carving a norman kingdom in central asia minor
@@Nortrix87 Yes, and their kingdom could be good buffer state or maybe it could eventualy go to some kind of reqonquista of asia minor
I hope the next video for the second crusade going to also include civil wars and treasons on the Seljuk side.
What I'm getting from all these videos is that the Byzantine Empire was it's own worst enemy.
Yep , seems a common theme amongst empires. And still going on.
"Often ignored"
Ikr!!!
I honestly interested with a book from my country written by The Patriots about First Crusade where people commonly thought the Crusade is just merely a war between Islam and Christianity. You explain everything in here very well how the society and the situation during that era instead merely focusing as a religious war in general. Great job!
This part of the history of the East Roman Empire is very unknown. Everybody talks about how Manzikert was the lost of Anatolia, but the truth is that it was the events that followed Manzikert.
Nice to watch it with of this details.
Thanks again, Kings and Generals.
We just suffered a catastrophic defeat from an invading force that is now going to penetrate deeper into our homeland? What a good time to start ten different civil wars!
Every time I see a video about the Byzzies, I always wonder how the hell this 'Empire' could survive even a day :)
Even ironic how it lasted for 1000+ years, the longest lasting western empire in existence.
Hiring Turks to fight for you is one thing, hiring Turks to occupy your cities is madness...
Lmao the Byzantines broke into smaller and smaller states and the emperor watched like a piegeon.Such a failed state
The franks are really playing bannerlord in real life at that time
As others have pointed out, THIS is why Anatolia ended up turkified, not Manzikert