Thanks for all your command for this episode. Next units. 1. Genoa crossbow 2. Armenian archer 3. Polish gussar 4. Irish galloglasses 5. Aztec Jaguar warrior 6. Indian rajput 7. German landsknecht 8. Ethiopian shotelai warriors 9. Japanese samurai 10. Turkish Janychars Thanks for your content.
@@Techtalk2030 the parthian empire and sassanian empire both called themselves "iranshahr" meaning kingdom of iran. The sassanians came as a revolution in the parthian government
Im a Persian from daylamite regions of Iran. People from these regions are more often than not very bulky built. Most of the top current wrestlers from Iran come from these northern regions specially mazandaran, followed by shiraz and Khorossan and ardabil. Us north Iranians are built physically for Cataphracts.
i watched one time some documentary about something like this,but i cannot remember now if you would threaten my life hhhahhhaha...some school or academy about Iranian ancient infantry,something like Enderun in Otoman Empire,do you know maybe? where they train and learn.they wore some green red and white short pants and same on heads.And something on head,while Juggling some cones,they were bulky and head moustashes?
@@aleksandrastojiljkovic4285in ancient iran they were immortal who sometime wear red pants and in recent time about 500 year ago they well Qizilbash who were famous for they red hat and they name mean red had
The Daylamites were unique warriors, even after the fall of the Sassanids, they resisted the Arabs for two centuries in Tabaristan, and during the Iranian intermezzo, they formed two powerful empires(Ziyarid and Buyid) , and were able to expel the Arabs from Iran,۰[ and the Buyid Empire conquered Baghdad brought the Abbasid caliph to his knees and ended the Arab rule in Iran]
@@Techtalk2030 The Saffarid cleared eastern Iran and Khorasan, and the Qarmatians achieved a great victory by attacking Mecca and burning the Kaaba.But the caliphate still dominated the west of Iran and many Arabs lived in the west of Iran, but Shah Mordavij, the king of the Ziyarid dynasty, conquered the west of Iran and killed all Arabs living in the west of Iran ,And after the death of Mardawij, the buyid dynasty conquered Baghdad( end of Arab rule in Iran)
Baduspanid dynasty in north of Iran were remnants of Sassanid empire lasted for about 1000 years Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and Timur never could conquere their lands
Thank you for this. For years I have wondered if the Persians ever adapted their infantry to fight the west in the same way the west adapted its cavalry to face the east.
Roman troops must of crapped themselves when they saw these Armored Persian knights. I dont think they ever faced anything like them in Europe or the east.
@@Techtalk2030 Obviously they did face something like them. For one thing, there were plenty of civil wars where Roman heavy infantrymen fought against other Roman heavy infantrymen. The Huns and their allies were terrifying, and these guys you refer to as 'knights' would still have been the lesser of the Zhayedan or Immortal cavalry, who would've been more scary because they're on armoured horses. Oh, and there were elephants, too... Even so, no, Rome had its own elite troops that could match them, like the Bucellarii, Cataphracts and Clibanarii. If they 'crapped themselves' as you so childishly put it their empire would've simply been overrun by them, which didn't happen. No doubt there were scared soldiers on either side, as it is in war, mostly among the lower classed levies (like the Ghassanids at Callinicum...), but each empire had enough brave well-trained men to ensure its survival, as well.
@@enjoythestruggle I'll go a step further and say the Romans probably did not give these Daylamites much thought, as I have never heard or read about them before, which is probably due to their lack of accomplishments and more, despite the avid comments about them. Cataphracts however, are mentioned and properly respected in countless sources.
@@ragnarok6521 The Daylamites had their fair share of accomplishments How do you think the Sassanids won the Lazic war, a region full of mountains and hills ? Those lands aren't fit for cavalry tactics and mounted armies It's just that the Romans called all of them Persians while in fact only a portion of the army consisted of Persian soldiers The rest were provided by the seven great Parthian houses one of which wasn't even Parthian but Median The Median guard is even mentioned at the reports on the battle of Avarayr During the Lazic wars, the Sassanids won thanks to the Daylamites skills in infantry battles and sieges Battle of Nisibis (541) Sassanid victory Siege of Petra (541) Sassanid victory Siege of Sisauranon (541) withdrawal of Belisarius army after the fierce resistance of 800-1,000 Sassanids resistance (but 8,00 defected in the end) Battle of Anglon (543) Sassanid victory Siege of Edessa (544) technically a Sassanid victory (the city wasn't taken but they were paid tribute to leave) Siege of Petra (549) Sassanid victory Navid/Naved invasion of Abasgia (550) Sassanid victory Mihr-Mihroe captures forts of Sarapanis and Scanda (551-552) Sassanid victory Battle fought at Tephlis (553) Sassanid victory Battle fought at Ollaria (553) Sassanid victory Siege of Onoguris (554-555) Sassanid victory Archaeopolis captured and sacked (555) Sassanid victory The Romans victories during that war only included : Dagisthaeus surprise attack on the outnumbered forces of Fariburz (543) Siege of Petra (550-551) [Pyrrhic victory] Battle of Archaeopolis (551) Siege of Phasis (55-556) By the end of the war, the Sassanids were paid heavy tribute by the Romans and peace was made between the two empires
@@ragnarok6521 Then you're not as well-read as you think. There is extensive literature on the Daylamites, mostly belonging to the Middle Ages and the post-Sassanian period. After the fall of the Sassanians, the Daylamites were used as elite mercenary units all throughout the Islamic world-from Egypt to India.
@@TheColombiano89 Man doesn't know that Islam does not destroy cultures but perfects it. The mighty Daylamites proved their mettle in Muslim armies for centuries
@@TheColombiano89 Thank you. We sympathized with the Christians, Zoroastrians and Shias who fled to us, as they were all being prosecuted by the Caliphate. After years of resistance, we chased the Caliphate out. Despite their numbers, they ran and hid like cowards. They were no match for us, even when they defeated Mahta and Rostam by destroying the dam.
As a proud descendant of the Daylamites, I deeply appreciate your attention to our heritage and the remarkable efforts of our ancestors. One of my biggest "what-if" fantasies is a Daylamite Reconquista of Iran, similar to what occurred in the Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately, our great leader Mardavij was assassinated before he could conquer the capital of the Caliphate. While some Daylamites who once fought alongside Mardavij did manage to capture Baghdad, they did not aim to reestablish the Sassanid Empire or restore Zoroastrianism as the nation's religion. Unlike the Iberians, who received help from crusaders to liberate their homeland from invaders, we instead encountered Turkic tribes who, rather than aiding our cause, ended up becoming the saviors of the Caliphate.
@@Techtalk2030 Indeed, they ousted the Abbasid caliph, but only to replace him with another Abbasid, albeit a powerless one-far short of what Mardavij had intended.
@@Techtalk2030 After conquering Baghdad, the Buyids kept the Abbasid caliphs as symbolic religious figureheads while holding real political power over the Caliphate. Unlike the Samanids and Saffarids, who operated in some parts of the caliphate under the caliphs' nominal authority, the Buyids directly controlled the Abbasid heartland. Though initially more rebellious and expansionist than the Samanids, the Saffarids eventually acknowledged the caliphs' authority but continued to rule largely independently. Ultimately, it was the Mongols who brought an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, though Mardavij, had his plans succeeded, would have ended the caliphate much earlier.
Very cool. You have a wonderful heritage. In Crusader Kings III, you can actually play as Rustram of the Daylamites and launch the Daylamite Reconquista. That was my first playthrough in CK3 and I loved it!
My current unmodded CK3 playthrough started with the Daylamite Zoroastrian and supposed Sassanid descendant Rostam. Now I can find out what the actual Daylamites were like to better roleplay his descendants in-game. Very convenient timing, I must say.
I've read Kaveh Farokh's Articles. Seeing those texts illustrated like this (especially that assault tactic 14:32) was a fantastic experience! Thanks for the great video. I hope more people around the world become interested in this incredibly underrated historical people: the Persians.
Thanks so much for this video. I've never heard of these men before today, very interesting history behind them. Love how you delve into somewhat unknown group like the Daylamites.
These units were especially successful in Armenia and outperformed their Roman counterparts. At the Battle of Anglon in 543 AD, a small Persian force of 4,000 was able to defeat a Roman army nearly 10x its size.
Thank you. There's an interesting spin-off by Schwerpunkt about them in the later period, i.e. 11th century, when mounted warfare took over for good with the Seljuks. It should be the video about Syrian, Jaziran and Iraqi warfare or the one about Western Iranian and Islamic Caucasus. Keep up the amazing work
An interesting example of how Rome and Persia shaped each other's militaries throughout many centuries of conflict. The Daylamite heavy infantry were Persia's answer to the Legions, and the cataphracts were Rome's answer to Persia's Aswaran.
The arabic word "Jond/Jund or Jondi/Jundi" meaning soldier, is actually adapted from the Persian word for a small army of 4,000-5,000 Daylamites who guarded Ctesiphon called "Gond-i Shahanshah" meaning the soldiers or army of the king of kings They defected to arabs (probably convinced by salman-e farsi), converted to islam and then settled in Kufa where they had their own quarter
@@abdiali2227 The Gond-i Shahanshah was established during the reign of Khosrow Parviz which was from 590 till 628 AD but the word gond was used by the Sassanids during their 427 years of reign while Quran was written between 609-632 AD The possibility of them adapting it from the Sassanids isn't anything impossible After all, whether muslim or not, arabs did trade in the southern territories of the Sassanid and Roman empires and the Daylamites had already made a name/reputation for themselves given that they were great warriors acknowledged even by their Roman rivals
Wow, this documentary on the Daylamites is absolutely fascinating! 🎥💥 I’m thrilled to see such an in-depth exploration of these remarkable warriors. The Daylamites really were a force to be reckoned with, bridging the gap between the Sassanid Empire and the various Islamic powers that followed. Their role in military history, especially their adaptation and resilience, is so often overlooked. I loved how the documentary highlighted their unique tactics and their endurance even after the fall of the Sassanid Empire. The fact that they remained a significant military presence for centuries, influencing various dynasties and even participating in key battles like Manzikert, is incredible. 🏹⚔ It’s amazing to see how their influence extended beyond Iran, reaching as far as Egypt and playing a role in shaping medieval military strategies. The cultural and historical contributions of the Daylamites are truly impressive, and it’s fantastic to see them getting the recognition they deserve. 🌍👑 Thank you, Invicta, for bringing this often-overlooked chapter of history to light! Your detailed animations and insightful narration really bring the story of the Daylamites to life. 🙌👏 I’m looking forward to more content on such unique and influential military histories. Keep up the great work, and please consider covering more on similar underappreciated historical figures and units! 🌟📚 Can’t wait to see what you’ll explore next. Cheers to more great content! 🥳🚀
The interesting thing about theses people is that they still exist in the northern part of iran. There is a village called Khoramrode which it's residents are isolated from the cities and they believe they are the descendants of daylamites.
Such an awesome video! I find the Sassanid Empire very fascinated, if not THE most fascinated empire that ever existed. I think it's not correct to refer to them solely as the Persians or as an Persian Empire. Many people make this mistake and I think the other Iranic people deserve more attention in general. You had the Kurds, the Sogdians of the city-states like Bukhara, Ferghana and Samarqand in Central Asia, the Daylamites and Tapurians near the Caspian Sea. These are just the people I came up with right now. I know I have forgot some. The Sassanid Empire had very diverse units, but what I mostly like is their central positioning in the region and their relationships with its neighbors. The Sassanid Empire, a Zoroastrian nation, had interreligious allies/contact with the Christian Arab Lakhmids, the Bagratunis of Armenia (although not all members where Sassanid supporters), the Tang Dynasty of China, the Jews in the Levant etc. All these aspects make the Sassanid Empire such an unique Empire with immense prestige. I've always wondered what would have become of Eranshahr if it could resist the Arab invaders...
A lot of people forget that many warriors were just as good as Legionary Cohorts but didn't have the same level of supply logistics. So they're overlooked.
Or maybe history of western empires are overrated by western Medias, they don't lack of logistics just look at the parthians at battle of haran. The conflict between crosus and sorena. Actually supply logistics of parthians were upper hand of Roman cohorts at this battle and give parthians an advantage to defeats legions with minimal casualties.
A very interesting thing about the Daylamites is the fact that how long they remained relevant and noteworthy as an important military/mercenary unit and military force. Even Centuries after the fall of the Sassanid Empire, the Daylamites were still hard in demand in lands as far as Egypt. They created multiple dynasties in the Iranian pleateu too, One of them-the Buyids- managing to capture Baghdad even, making the Abbassid Caliphs into their own pawns for a time, while another Dynasty, the Ziyarids-still Zoroastrian-, captured most of mainland Iran for a time under their warlord Mardavij, who had the aim of restoring a Zoroastrian Iranian Empire, going as far to revive ancient courtly and popular ceremonies in the lands under his control. The Daylamites also contributed much to the Great Seljuk Empire's military; being present at Menzikert as an example. I always wonder if they happened to fight directly with the Varangian Guards there.
18:13 Correction : A Daylamite general of Khosrow's deceased rebel son, called Wahrez, was leading that campaign and Nawzadh was actually his son, not Khosrow's Wahrez defeated the Aksumites twice in two campaigns Once he was sent to Yemen with an army of 3,600-7,500 of which only 800 men were cavalry, to face an army of 10,000 Ethiopians who he defeated at the battle of Hadhramaut and killed an arab king named Masruq ibn Abraha, who'd allied himself with the Aksumites The Aksumite Ethiopians later returned again and Wahrez was sent to face them once more, with an army of 4,000 men and again, he successfully defeated the Aksumites and added Yemen to the Sassanid empire as a province until the rise of islam
Masruq wasn't arab. Abraha, his father, was an Aksumite general who went rogue and established his own kingdom after King Kaleb of Aksum sent him to defeat the Jewish King of Himyar.
I am from southern Caspian shores, Gilan to be specific. No one ever really conquered this region, not even the Iranian dynasts. The "vassalage" has always been much more informal than is the case anywhere else. This is Partly due to, hard-to-grasp, difficulty of the terrain and partly due to aggressive and warlike nature of the people there. Also, genetic studies conducted in Iran show that people of this region belong to a very different genetic cluster, much closer to people of Georgia than the rest of Iran. That being said, our loyalty is first and foremost to Iran. We will fight for Iran in the face of foreign aggression as we have done for thousands of years.
I got that impression from Xenophon's retreat, many of the hill people were ignorant of, or dismissive about being part of the great empire. Too hard to conquer, govern and tax.
I have never heard of the Daylamites before this (that I'm aware of)! Thank you very much for this. Now, I want to look up more content on the Sassanids in general. I don't know much about their empire at all. God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)
As an Iranian it just saddens me that I have to learn my own history from foreign youtube channels. thank you for the Amazing work Invicta, I didn't even know anything about the deylamites before this video
lol literally high school history textbook in Iran, "Ale-Buye" or "Buyid" they became a major power after Samanid and Safarid, contemporary of Ghaznavid. Maybe you should have paid attention in school lol
@@danielm3711 They're all islamic Iranian kingdoms And the Ghaznavids were a Persianized Turkic dynasty None of them are pre islamic Iranian empires Modern day western historians write books about each Iranian king or dynasty both pre islamic and islamic The schools in Iran summarise the whole pre islamic era in few short lessons
Excellent video! I think I have found a serious contender for my top five favorite warriors. Move over Vikings! ...And maybe Spartans too? What do you think?
I love learning about Sassanian and pre-islamic Iranian history! 10:45, I haven't heard of these bodyguards, the "Ghondi Shahansha" I believe it's spelled? Both Sassanid and Byzantines had a lot of different bodyguard units that seem to function identically which always confused me as to why they needed new versions. Speaking of the bodyguard units, how were these different than the Pushtigban or the Darigan? And side question, I've seen discussion saying that the closest things to knights the Sassanid Empire had were the Asvaran, but the Pushtigban seemed like a closer fit. What would their equivalent of knightly squires be?
Great work as always, still waiting on the Elite IMMORTALS of Sassanid Empire, especially their heavy infantry variant. and also like to know more about the Pushtigban Heavy Infantry and their top squad Gyan avspar.
Throughout its prior history, Iran has been variously threatened or conquered by either Mongol (13th century) or Turkic forces such as the dynasties of the Seljuks (from the 11th century onwards) and the Ghaznavids (late 10th through 12th centuries)-all from Central Asia. Hence, organizing resistance against aggression is a constant in Persian history and "Iran has one of the most vibrant, interesting, tragic, and turbulent histories in the world"."
It is amazing to me that you made a documentary about these fighters and paid attention to them, while unfortunately in Iran, no one cares about their past. Thank you very much for this documentary.❤
These guys are absolutely cool. Guess mountain folk really do be built different. I wonder if thats why many elite modern day forces have mountaineer based training 🤔
Think of the gurkhas in Nepal. I once was driving uphill in Switzerland by car. At around 1000m high i got surpassed by some suisse in Mountainbikes. They were no e Bikes:)
Imagine this,im Iranian myself but i didn't know about this!they never talked about it in history classes or anywhere else,we study mostly Arabian history after islam!this is what cultural invasion looks like!this is what happened to once greatest of peoples after Arabic invasion!but thanks god we kept our language and identity even after all the efforts against it in the past and specially now with our anti-persian government!!!!
@@Techtalk2030 yes as for now, after almost half a decade, people generally hate government and religion, specially the younger generation,soon i hope there will be a government of freedom and nationalism
As a Gil/Deylam from northern Iran, i would like to thank you for covering our history and culture. I would have preferred if you had used actual pictures or better illustrations of the people and armour; instead of the stereotypical middle-eastern imagery and music. But overall this was a good informative video. I would recommend you do a video on the Ziyarid dynasty specially king Mardevij, it is one of the more interesting parts of Gilan's history in my opinion.
I’d love to see a deep dive into Brabantine mercenaries- they feature prominently in a lot of British Isles, French, Burgundian, and Rhineland area wars throughout the Medieval period, but there really isn’t a lot of published material out there on them
can you do a video about Batavians please? i heard they had so little young man in there society because they where all serving in the roman military but i dont know if that is true.
Very Great and Cool Video ❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍 Thank You Very Matsch. Please make a Video about The pushtigban an elite military unit of the Sasanian Empire and the Savaran Heavy cavalry. The Grivpanvar (literally: neck-guard wearer) were an elite late Parthian and Sasanian division who fought as heavy cataphract cavalry.
Thank you so much for the amazing content. From the historical perspective world has to learn more about the impressive armies of ancient Iran (under dynasties of Achaemenid’s, Parthians and Sassanids). It is always a shame to see how Persians are dressed in movies, Non of those movies are well researched and they always dress Iranians in fancy customs like Arabs are something strange in between.
Daylam people finally managed to establish their own kingdom and even conquered Baghdad in 945. In order to contrast the Abbasid Khalifa, they chose the Shia faith as their dimention. Their kingdom (Buyids) destroyed in 11th century, but the northern Iran remained Shia while the rest of the former Sassanid territories were Sunni. But 500 years later, they hosted a little boy from a fugitive noble family. That boy marched an army when he became 15 and called himself "Shah Ismail the Safavid". He made Iran Shia.
@@Notasingleword12 That boy called himself the Shah of Iran two years before his campaigns against aq qoyunlus began (at the time he only had Tabriz and some small provinces) when he had no control over Iran and eventually he truly became shahanshah Thanks to him, Iran came back on the maps of the neighboring kingdoms as an independent empire once more Same thing happened in Europe with the only difference being that instead of Iran, the Europeans started to use the name Persia in their maps with the rise of the Safavids
Iranians can correct this, but I remember one story about Wahrez was that when he was assigned to the expeditionary force to Yemen, a naval commander asked the King (or Wahrez) whether it was a good idea to ship off mountain men who had no sea legs on such an important mission. In response, Wahrez just told his men to get on the ships and sail away. After a few days Wahrez told the commander that his "mountain men" came from the shores of the Caspian sea and many came from fishermen families. They had sea legs.
"Baduspanid" dynasty were remnants of Sassanid empire in north of Iran lasted for about 1000 years Arabs, Turks and Mongols never could conquer their lands
What Units of History should we cover next? Celebrate the anniversary of World of Warships: Legends - wowsl.co/46Gf0Kx
Thanks for all your command for this episode.
Next units.
1. Genoa crossbow
2. Armenian archer
3. Polish gussar
4. Irish galloglasses
5. Aztec Jaguar warrior
6. Indian rajput
7. German landsknecht
8. Ethiopian shotelai warriors
9. Japanese samurai
10. Turkish Janychars
Thanks for your content.
The Mamluks or the Janissarys, please.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of Cao Cao.
Also the French Gendarme cavalry.
The Janissaries.
I love how they basiclly look like foot cataphracts
Well, the tradition of cataphracts also comes from that region.
@@Techtalk2030 That's the same area.
@@Techtalk2030 Cathaphracts were well establshed even in Achaemenid Empire. Most of which orgined from Media neighboring Daylamite's land
@@reachwbar It's not.
@@Techtalk2030 the parthian empire and sassanian empire both called themselves "iranshahr" meaning kingdom of iran. The sassanians came as a revolution in the parthian government
Thanks. Please more on Persian battle units.
Im a Persian from daylamite regions of Iran. People from these regions are more often than not very bulky built. Most of the top current wrestlers from Iran come from these northern regions specially mazandaran, followed by shiraz and Khorossan and ardabil. Us north Iranians are built physically for Cataphracts.
i watched one time some documentary about something like this,but i cannot remember now if you would threaten my life hhhahhhaha...some school or academy about Iranian ancient infantry,something like Enderun in Otoman Empire,do you know maybe? where they train and learn.they wore some green red and white short pants and same on heads.And something on head,while Juggling some cones,they were bulky and head moustashes?
@@aleksandrastojiljkovic4285in ancient iran they were immortal who sometime wear red pants and in recent time about 500 year ago they well Qizilbash who were famous for they red hat and they name mean red had
@@notthatguy-ku2eh no,i know this,but this was not that
@@aleksandrastojiljkovic4285 Maybe you are referring to "Zurkhanah" or what you can also call, "varzesh-e pahlavāni or varzesh-e bāstāni."
@@aleksandrastojiljkovic4285 You mean members of Zoorkhaneh ? Pahlavans ?
I just love the narrator voice when he narrates you sit down and listen and most definitely enjoy.
I wish he had pronounced Savaran as Sawaaran.
Guess sleep can wait
@@RogeringMan In the likely/probable words of Emperor Aurelian, "I will sleep when I am dead! I have an Empire to reunite!"
What is this "Sleep" You speak of? Is it a new type of Pokémon?
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
One time the red baron flew into town I ran my ass off
Nukkah you commented this at 11:53am
Excellent documentary . Thank you for covering Daylamite warriors.
@@Techtalk2030He meant warriors
The Daylamites were unique warriors, even after the fall of the Sassanids, they resisted the Arabs for two centuries in Tabaristan, and during the Iranian intermezzo, they formed two powerful empires(Ziyarid and Buyid) , and were able to expel the Arabs from Iran,۰[ and the Buyid Empire conquered Baghdad brought the Abbasid caliph to his knees and ended the Arab rule in Iran]
They were of Sassanid royalty as well, atleast the buyids
The saffarids, buyids and qarmatians literally conquered a big chunk of the caliphate as well.
@@Techtalk2030 The Saffarid cleared eastern Iran and Khorasan, and the Qarmatians achieved a great victory by attacking Mecca and burning the Kaaba.But the caliphate still dominated the west of Iran and many Arabs lived in the west of Iran, but Shah Mordavij, the king of the Ziyarid dynasty, conquered the west of Iran and killed all Arabs living in the west of Iran ,And after the death of Mardawij, the buyid dynasty conquered Baghdad( end of Arab rule in Iran)
Baduspanid dynasty in north of Iran were remnants of Sassanid empire lasted for about 1000 years
Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and Timur never could conquere their lands
@@he4620and bavandid dynasty
Thank you for this. For years I have wondered if the Persians ever adapted their infantry to fight the west in the same way the west adapted its cavalry to face the east.
Roman troops must of crapped themselves when they saw these Armored Persian knights. I dont think they ever faced anything like them in Europe or the east.
@@Techtalk2030 Obviously they did face something like them. For one thing, there were plenty of civil wars where Roman heavy infantrymen fought against other Roman heavy infantrymen. The Huns and their allies were terrifying, and these guys you refer to as 'knights' would still have been the lesser of the Zhayedan or Immortal cavalry, who would've been more scary because they're on armoured horses. Oh, and there were elephants, too... Even so, no, Rome had its own elite troops that could match them, like the Bucellarii, Cataphracts and Clibanarii. If they 'crapped themselves' as you so childishly put it their empire would've simply been overrun by them, which didn't happen. No doubt there were scared soldiers on either side, as it is in war, mostly among the lower classed levies (like the Ghassanids at Callinicum...), but each empire had enough brave well-trained men to ensure its survival, as well.
@@enjoythestruggle I'll go a step further and say the Romans probably did not give these Daylamites much thought, as I have never heard or read about them before, which is probably due to their lack of accomplishments and more, despite the avid comments about them.
Cataphracts however, are mentioned and properly respected in countless sources.
@@ragnarok6521 The Daylamites had their fair share of accomplishments
How do you think the Sassanids won the Lazic war, a region full of mountains and hills ? Those lands aren't fit for cavalry tactics and mounted armies
It's just that the Romans called all of them Persians while in fact only a portion of the army consisted of Persian soldiers
The rest were provided by the seven great Parthian houses one of which wasn't even Parthian but Median
The Median guard is even mentioned at the reports on the battle of Avarayr
During the Lazic wars, the Sassanids won thanks to the Daylamites skills in infantry battles and sieges
Battle of Nisibis (541) Sassanid victory
Siege of Petra (541) Sassanid victory
Siege of Sisauranon (541) withdrawal of Belisarius army after the fierce resistance of 800-1,000 Sassanids resistance (but 8,00 defected in the end)
Battle of Anglon (543) Sassanid victory
Siege of Edessa (544) technically a Sassanid victory (the city wasn't taken but they were paid tribute to leave)
Siege of Petra (549) Sassanid victory
Navid/Naved invasion of Abasgia (550) Sassanid victory
Mihr-Mihroe captures forts of Sarapanis and Scanda (551-552) Sassanid victory
Battle fought at Tephlis (553) Sassanid victory
Battle fought at Ollaria (553) Sassanid victory
Siege of Onoguris (554-555) Sassanid victory
Archaeopolis captured and sacked (555) Sassanid victory
The Romans victories during that war only included :
Dagisthaeus surprise attack on the outnumbered forces of Fariburz (543)
Siege of Petra (550-551) [Pyrrhic victory]
Battle of Archaeopolis (551)
Siege of Phasis (55-556)
By the end of the war, the Sassanids were paid heavy tribute by the Romans and peace was made between the two empires
@@ragnarok6521 Then you're not as well-read as you think. There is extensive literature on the Daylamites, mostly belonging to the Middle Ages and the post-Sassanian period. After the fall of the Sassanians, the Daylamites were used as elite mercenary units all throughout the Islamic world-from Egypt to India.
as decendent of daylamite who live in northeren region of iran i like to thank Invicta for this legendery documentary.
Your people resisted the Muslims for centuries. Zoroaster shines on you ☀️ 🔥 🦁
@@TheColombiano89why the need to bring up religion man?
@@TheColombiano89 Man doesn't know that Islam does not destroy cultures but perfects it. The mighty Daylamites proved their mettle in Muslim armies for centuries
@@TheColombiano89 Thank you. We sympathized with the Christians, Zoroastrians and Shias who fled to us, as they were all being prosecuted by the Caliphate. After years of resistance, we chased the Caliphate out. Despite their numbers, they ran and hid like cowards. They were no match for us, even when they defeated Mahta and Rostam by destroying the dam.
@@muhammadedwards8425 🤣🤣🤣
Yes! More on units from various Persian empires. Thank you for the awesome video.
I'AM LITERALLY PLAYING ATILLA TOTALWAR AS THE SASSANID, WHAT ARE THE ODDS YOU UPLOAD THIS?!
Lol me too. Playing the Fall of the Eagle Mod.
great game
Eat modafnil, fight hard hahahhahahahahahhh
The legal alternative to coke.
Lol nice
Total war really did bad to Sassanid make their infantry weak the empire divided version of rome 2 tho gave better infantry to Sassanid .
As a history geek and particularly interested in pre-Islamic Iran, I have seen many documentaries covering Daylamite legacy but yours tops them all.
Sassanians? Clicked without a moment of hesitation!
As a proud descendant of the Daylamites, I deeply appreciate your attention to our heritage and the remarkable efforts of our ancestors. One of my biggest "what-if" fantasies is a Daylamite Reconquista of Iran, similar to what occurred in the Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately, our great leader Mardavij was assassinated before he could conquer the capital of the Caliphate. While some Daylamites who once fought alongside Mardavij did manage to capture Baghdad, they did not aim to reestablish the Sassanid Empire or restore Zoroastrianism as the nation's religion.
Unlike the Iberians, who received help from crusaders to liberate their homeland from invaders, we instead encountered Turkic tribes who, rather than aiding our cause, ended up becoming the saviors of the Caliphate.
Buyids literally kicked out the Abbasid caliph and claimed Sassanid Persian origins.
@@Techtalk2030 Indeed, they ousted the Abbasid caliph, but only to replace him with another Abbasid, albeit a powerless one-far short of what Mardavij had intended.
@@mayer14474didnt they split from the caliph completely or were those the saffarids and samanids?
@@Techtalk2030 After conquering Baghdad, the Buyids kept the Abbasid caliphs as symbolic religious figureheads while holding real political power over the Caliphate. Unlike the Samanids and Saffarids, who operated in some parts of the caliphate under the caliphs' nominal authority, the Buyids directly controlled the Abbasid heartland.
Though initially more rebellious and expansionist than the Samanids, the Saffarids eventually acknowledged the caliphs' authority but continued to rule largely independently.
Ultimately, it was the Mongols who brought an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, though Mardavij, had his plans succeeded, would have ended the caliphate much earlier.
Very cool. You have a wonderful heritage. In Crusader Kings III, you can actually play as Rustram of the Daylamites and launch the Daylamite Reconquista. That was my first playthrough in CK3 and I loved it!
My current unmodded CK3 playthrough started with the Daylamite Zoroastrian and supposed Sassanid descendant Rostam. Now I can find out what the actual Daylamites were like to better roleplay his descendants in-game. Very convenient timing, I must say.
I've read Kaveh Farokh's Articles. Seeing those texts illustrated like this (especially that assault tactic 14:32) was a fantastic experience! Thanks for the great video.
I hope more people around the world become interested in this incredibly underrated historical people:
the Persians.
Fun fact: the most iranian wrestler are from this region
More Iranian history, thank you!
I've been looking for more recognition of the Deylami for over a decade, thanks for spotlighting such a unique culture!
I am literally playing as them for over a week now in CK3. Glad to get to know them even better.
What is CK3?
@@T_bone Crusader Kings III, a game
Thanks so much for this video. I've never heard of these men before today, very interesting history behind them. Love how you delve into somewhat unknown group like the Daylamites.
I have been waiting for this! What an underrated unit.
These units were especially successful in Armenia and outperformed their Roman counterparts. At the Battle of Anglon in 543 AD, a small Persian force of 4,000 was able to defeat a Roman army nearly 10x its size.
Thank you. There's an interesting spin-off by Schwerpunkt about them in the later period, i.e. 11th century, when mounted warfare took over for good with the Seljuks. It should be the video about Syrian, Jaziran and Iraqi warfare or the one about Western Iranian and Islamic Caucasus. Keep up the amazing work
An interesting example of how Rome and Persia shaped each other's militaries throughout many centuries of conflict. The Daylamite heavy infantry were Persia's answer to the Legions, and the cataphracts were Rome's answer to Persia's Aswaran.
The arabic word "Jond/Jund or Jondi/Jundi" meaning soldier, is actually adapted from the Persian word for a small army of 4,000-5,000 Daylamites who guarded Ctesiphon called "Gond-i Shahanshah" meaning the soldiers or army of the king of kings
They defected to arabs (probably convinced by salman-e farsi), converted to islam and then settled in Kufa where they had their own quarter
@@ramtin5152 Salman Al Farsi had a lot to do with their defection
Basically the size of a Roman Legion. Curious.
@@ramtin5152 Jund is mentioned in the Quran, long before the conquest of Persia. Pseudo history
@@abdiali2227 The Gond-i Shahanshah was established during the reign of Khosrow Parviz which was from 590 till 628 AD but the word gond was used by the Sassanids during their 427 years of reign while Quran was written between 609-632 AD
The possibility of them adapting it from the Sassanids isn't anything impossible
After all, whether muslim or not, arabs did trade in the southern territories of the Sassanid and Roman empires and the Daylamites had already made a name/reputation for themselves given that they were great warriors acknowledged even by their Roman rivals
@@ramtin5152 went from was adapted to possibly adapted 😂😂😂
Wow, this documentary on the Daylamites is absolutely fascinating! 🎥💥 I’m thrilled to see such an in-depth exploration of these remarkable warriors. The Daylamites really were a force to be reckoned with, bridging the gap between the Sassanid Empire and the various Islamic powers that followed. Their role in military history, especially their adaptation and resilience, is so often overlooked.
I loved how the documentary highlighted their unique tactics and their endurance even after the fall of the Sassanid Empire. The fact that they remained a significant military presence for centuries, influencing various dynasties and even participating in key battles like Manzikert, is incredible. 🏹⚔
It’s amazing to see how their influence extended beyond Iran, reaching as far as Egypt and playing a role in shaping medieval military strategies. The cultural and historical contributions of the Daylamites are truly impressive, and it’s fantastic to see them getting the recognition they deserve. 🌍👑
Thank you, Invicta, for bringing this often-overlooked chapter of history to light! Your detailed animations and insightful narration really bring the story of the Daylamites to life. 🙌👏 I’m looking forward to more content on such unique and influential military histories. Keep up the great work, and please consider covering more on similar underappreciated historical figures and units! 🌟📚
Can’t wait to see what you’ll explore next. Cheers to more great content! 🥳🚀
before this i was hardly able to find any information about the daylamites at all thanks for this great informative video!
Could you do a video about Pushtigban
The interesting thing about theses people is that they still exist in the northern part of iran.
There is a village called Khoramrode which it's residents are isolated from the cities and they believe they are the descendants of daylamites.
Men will see this and go *hell yeah*
*hell yeah*
Yeah hell yeah
Hell yeah hell yeah
Yeah yeah yeah hell hell hell
Oooooh yeaaaaaa
Such an awesome video! I find the Sassanid Empire very fascinated, if not THE most fascinated empire that ever existed.
I think it's not correct to refer to them solely as the Persians or as an Persian Empire. Many people make this mistake and I think the other Iranic people deserve more attention in general. You had the Kurds, the Sogdians of the city-states like Bukhara, Ferghana and Samarqand in Central Asia, the Daylamites and Tapurians near the Caspian Sea. These are just the people I came up with right now. I know I have forgot some.
The Sassanid Empire had very diverse units, but what I mostly like is their central positioning in the region and their relationships with its neighbors.
The Sassanid Empire, a Zoroastrian nation, had interreligious allies/contact with the Christian Arab Lakhmids, the Bagratunis of Armenia (although not all members where Sassanid supporters), the Tang Dynasty of China, the Jews in the Levant etc.
All these aspects make the Sassanid Empire such an unique Empire with immense prestige.
I've always wondered what would have become of Eranshahr if it could resist the Arab invaders...
Wow, this video is surprisingly detailed and correct.
A lot of people forget that many warriors were just as good as Legionary Cohorts but didn't have the same level of supply logistics. So they're overlooked.
Or maybe history of western empires are overrated by western Medias, they don't lack of logistics just look at the parthians at battle of haran. The conflict between crosus and sorena. Actually supply logistics of parthians were upper hand of Roman cohorts at this battle and give parthians an advantage to defeats legions with minimal casualties.
سپاس فراوان از شما 🙏
A very interesting thing about the Daylamites is the fact that how long they remained relevant and noteworthy as an important military/mercenary unit and military force. Even Centuries after the fall of the Sassanid Empire, the Daylamites were still hard in demand in lands as far as Egypt. They created multiple dynasties in the Iranian pleateu too, One of them-the Buyids- managing to capture Baghdad even, making the Abbassid Caliphs into their own pawns for a time, while another Dynasty, the Ziyarids-still Zoroastrian-, captured most of mainland Iran for a time under their warlord Mardavij, who had the aim of restoring a Zoroastrian Iranian Empire, going as far to revive ancient courtly and popular ceremonies in the lands under his control.
The Daylamites also contributed much to the Great Seljuk Empire's military; being present at Menzikert as an example. I always wonder if they happened to fight directly with the Varangian Guards there.
Sassanians are very underrated, From their Cataphracts to their Daylamites, They were such a powerful and quite Fashionable force.
Please make a video about Sassanid "Panjagan"
Thanks for making this video
18:13 Correction : A Daylamite general of Khosrow's deceased rebel son, called Wahrez, was leading that campaign and Nawzadh was actually his son, not Khosrow's
Wahrez defeated the Aksumites twice in two campaigns
Once he was sent to Yemen with an army of 3,600-7,500 of which only 800 men were cavalry, to face an army of 10,000 Ethiopians who he defeated at the battle of Hadhramaut and killed an arab king named Masruq ibn Abraha, who'd allied himself with the Aksumites
The Aksumite Ethiopians later returned again and Wahrez was sent to face them once more, with an army of 4,000 men and again, he successfully defeated the Aksumites and added Yemen to the Sassanid empire as a province until the rise of islam
thanks for that correction!
Thank you for informative comments.
Masruq wasn't arab. Abraha, his father, was an Aksumite general who went rogue and established his own kingdom after King Kaleb of Aksum sent him to defeat the Jewish King of Himyar.
Thank you all, it's good to see more persian history! Give us the sassanid cataphracts and immortals or the central asian cakar cavalrymen
I was waiting for this for a long time
Armored guys with bows... The immortals lived on longer than we thought...
Thank you Invicta. The best historical channel.
I am from southern Caspian shores, Gilan to be specific.
No one ever really conquered this region, not even the Iranian dynasts. The "vassalage" has always been much more informal than is the case anywhere else. This is Partly due to, hard-to-grasp, difficulty of the terrain and partly due to aggressive and warlike nature of the people there.
Also, genetic studies conducted in Iran show that people of this region belong to a very different genetic cluster, much closer to people of Georgia than the rest of Iran.
That being said, our loyalty is first and foremost to Iran. We will fight for Iran in the face of foreign aggression as we have done for thousands of years.
ti naz mi gaz
I got that impression from Xenophon's retreat, many of the hill people were ignorant of, or dismissive about being part of the great empire. Too hard to conquer, govern and tax.
Procopius in his chronicle said as much regarding their independence.
We dont look like georgians and are mostly j2 like the rest of Iranians.
I mean, we did lose the Rasht republic a hundred years ago. Since then, we haven't been that powerful.
I have never heard of the Daylamites before this (that I'm aware of)! Thank you very much for this. Now, I want to look up more content on the Sassanids in general. I don't know much about their empire at all.
God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)
Sassanid Persian armor drip looks so good.
As an Iranian it just saddens me that I have to learn my own history from foreign youtube channels. thank you for the Amazing work Invicta, I didn't even know anything about the deylamites before this video
Theres like loads of Persian history channels. Chi migi?
lol literally high school history textbook in Iran, "Ale-Buye" or "Buyid" they became a major power after Samanid and Safarid, contemporary of Ghaznavid. Maybe you should have paid attention in school lol
@@danielm3711this is about Sasanian daylamites. Nothing of them was said in our textbooks.
@@amirhoseinbizhanzade2064 Ancient Caravan is a very good Iranian one
Check it out
@@danielm3711 They're all islamic Iranian kingdoms
And the Ghaznavids were a Persianized Turkic dynasty
None of them are pre islamic Iranian empires
Modern day western historians write books about each Iranian king or dynasty both pre islamic and islamic
The schools in Iran summarise the whole pre islamic era in few short lessons
Keep making great content!!! 👍🏼 I truly enjoy the Roman history you create.
Wonderful video. Astonishing information about these unsung warriors of antiquity. Thank you for sharing this information with us.
Excellent video! I think I have found a serious contender for my top five favorite warriors. Move over Vikings! ...And maybe Spartans too? What do you think?
I love learning about Sassanian and pre-islamic Iranian history! 10:45, I haven't heard of these bodyguards, the "Ghondi Shahansha" I believe it's spelled? Both Sassanid and Byzantines had a lot of different bodyguard units that seem to function identically which always confused me as to why they needed new versions. Speaking of the bodyguard units, how were these different than the Pushtigban or the Darigan? And side question, I've seen discussion saying that the closest things to knights the Sassanid Empire had were the Asvaran, but the Pushtigban seemed like a closer fit. What would their equivalent of knightly squires be?
*_Gond i Shahanshah_* (In Middle Persian)
*_Jund e Shahanshah_* (In Modern Persian)
The best narrator by far.
Great animation in these videos. Whoever does the animation is doing an excellent job 👌🏾
Thank you for the great work.can you please do a video on pushtigban heavy cavalry?
Very interesting part of history I need to catch up on. Great documentary
This group was new to me. Thank you. Well-Done
Great work as always, still waiting on the Elite IMMORTALS of Sassanid Empire, especially their heavy infantry variant.
and also like to know more about the Pushtigban Heavy Infantry and their top squad Gyan avspar.
Throughout its prior history, Iran has been variously threatened or conquered by either Mongol (13th century) or Turkic forces such as the dynasties of the Seljuks (from the 11th century onwards) and the Ghaznavids (late 10th through 12th centuries)-all from Central Asia. Hence, organizing resistance against aggression is a constant in Persian history and "Iran has one of the most vibrant, interesting, tragic, and turbulent histories in the world"."
It is amazing to me that you made a documentary about these fighters and paid attention to them, while unfortunately in Iran, no one cares about their past. Thank you very much for this documentary.❤
These guys are absolutely cool. Guess mountain folk really do be built different. I wonder if thats why many elite modern day forces have mountaineer based training 🤔
Think of the gurkhas in Nepal. I once was driving uphill in Switzerland by car. At around 1000m high i got surpassed by some suisse in Mountainbikes. They were no e Bikes:)
That was nice, I like it so much; thanks ❤
Imagine this,im Iranian myself but i didn't know about this!they never talked about it in history classes or anywhere else,we study mostly Arabian history after islam!this is what cultural invasion looks like!this is what happened to once greatest of peoples after Arabic invasion!but thanks god we kept our language and identity even after all the efforts against it in the past and specially now with our anti-persian government!!!!
Ive heard things are changing. Theres very little the gov can do to counter this nationalist movement
@@Techtalk2030 yes as for now, after almost half a decade, people generally hate government and religion, specially the younger generation,soon i hope there will be a government of freedom and nationalism
@@DrReza-xb6dk Ive heard even the government is adopting pre-islamic nationalist ideals. They even started saying dorood in their programs lol
I can't be sure,but even if it is true, still so late for them😬
@@DrReza-xb6dk well its better than nothing. This has been happening the past 10 years if not more as well.
As a Gil/Deylam from northern Iran, i would like to thank you for covering our history and culture.
I would have preferred if you had used actual pictures or better illustrations of the people and armour; instead of the stereotypical middle-eastern imagery and music.
But overall this was a good informative video.
I would recommend you do a video on the Ziyarid dynasty specially king Mardevij, it is one of the more interesting parts of Gilan's history in my opinion.
Ad stops at 2:36
@@marksprings3493 Much appreciated
😂
Unnecessary they have chapters
He stole my job
Thank you for your great work. 👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏🌹🌹🌹
Is it possible for me to dub this movie to Persian?by telling your channel as the Credit owner?
that was very interesting and badass , subbed !
one of my favorite units to use in atilla total war
this is better then Netflix , awesome! thanks!
Man it’s 3am, I should sleep. Got work in 4hrs. 😂
I’d love to see a deep dive into Brabantine mercenaries- they feature prominently in a lot of British Isles, French, Burgundian, and Rhineland area wars throughout the Medieval period, but there really isn’t a lot of published material out there on them
Their heavy armour looks awesome!
Wonderful as always
will you also cover sogdian and khwarezmian warriors that served under sassanids aswell ?
awesome content
love the coverage of irans history
Until now I knew very little about Daylam, so this is great content.
Excellent video thank you so much ❤
Sassanids had the dopest outfits
yes dude ive been waiting for this one
can you do a video about Batavians please? i heard they had so little young man in there society because they where all serving in the roman military but i dont know if that is true.
Weren’t these guys also where the Buyids originated? The dynasty that took over Baghdad.
thank you for making this video
Our history is like GOT series
@@badboyirani6675 I'm pretty sure that your history influenced the writer of GOT.
Very Great and Cool Video ❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍 Thank You Very Matsch. Please make a Video about The pushtigban an elite military unit of the Sasanian Empire and the Savaran Heavy cavalry.
The Grivpanvar (literally: neck-guard wearer) were an elite late Parthian and Sasanian division who fought as heavy cataphract cavalry.
There was a Daylamite dynasty known as the Buyids
Can you prepare a video of Parthian army as well? Elephants, light infantry usage against Seleucid and later Roman Empires?
Cover the Sassanid cataphracts next
They already did
th-cam.com/video/StYxs7JHHeE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Ob52bfqlUs_qPw9B
Would love a video about the Sohei Japanese Warrior monks, and the legend of Benkei. They’re very interesting to learn about.
I wonder if the Daylamites were actually the inspiration for the Sardukar. That area sounds a lot like Salusa Secundus. Wet and mountainous.
Possibly. We know dune has Persian influence
@@Techtalk2030 Is it a good movie ?
@@ramtin5152 yea pretty good. First one is better than the second in my opinion but everyone loves the second dune movie
as a Persian, I love how amazingly u have portraited these legendary warriors ❤🔥
Thank you so much for the amazing content. From the historical perspective world has to learn more about the impressive armies of ancient Iran (under dynasties of Achaemenid’s, Parthians and Sassanids). It is always a shame to see how Persians are dressed in movies, Non of those movies are well researched and they always dress Iranians in fancy customs like Arabs are something strange in between.
Yes! I love the nuances of Roman history, but I also love to learn about military history outside of that silo!
Daylam people finally managed to establish their own kingdom and even conquered Baghdad in 945. In order to contrast the Abbasid Khalifa, they chose the Shia faith as their dimention.
Their kingdom (Buyids) destroyed in 11th century, but the northern Iran remained Shia while the rest of the former Sassanid territories were Sunni. But 500 years later, they hosted a little boy from a fugitive noble family. That boy marched an army when he became 15 and called himself "Shah Ismail the Safavid". He made Iran Shia.
That boy also ended the Baduspanid dynasty once and for all.
@@lambert801 That was Shah Abbas, not Ismail
@@Notasingleword12 That boy called himself the Shah of Iran two years before his campaigns against aq qoyunlus began (at the time he only had Tabriz and some small provinces) when he had no control over Iran and eventually he truly became shahanshah
Thanks to him, Iran came back on the maps of the neighboring kingdoms as an independent empire once more
Same thing happened in Europe with the only difference being that instead of Iran, the Europeans started to use the name Persia in their maps with the rise of the Safavids
Great video. Can you cover the Shahsavans next?
Stopped touching myself to watch this
9:23 nvm, god that looks good
Great dicision 😂
I also like to touch myself to Persian Sassanid knight armor
Great content thank you
Worth noting that the main export of this region today is Wrestling Champions :-)
Iranians can correct this, but I remember one story about Wahrez was that when he was assigned to the expeditionary force to Yemen, a naval commander asked the King (or Wahrez) whether it was a good idea to ship off mountain men who had no sea legs on such an important mission. In response, Wahrez just told his men to get on the ships and sail away. After a few days Wahrez told the commander that his "mountain men" came from the shores of the Caspian sea and many came from fishermen families.
They had sea legs.
"Baduspanid" dynasty were remnants of Sassanid empire in north of Iran lasted for about 1000 years
Arabs, Turks and Mongols never could conquer their lands
@@he4620 The Year 760 disagrees with your claim.
@@LORDMEHMOODPASHA
Nop, Arabs never could defeat Baduspanids
Search them in google
They ruled for 1000 years
@@LORDMEHMOODPASHA
Nope, Arabs never could destroy Baduspanids. They ruled for 1000 years
Search it in google
@@LORDMEHMOODPASHA
Nope, Arabs never could destroy Baduspanids. They ruled for 1000 years
Search it in google
@@LORDMEHMOODPASHA
No they did not become destroyed completely