Veteran Colonies - Rome's Soldier Cities DOCUMENTARY
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
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We finish our series on the career of a Roman soldier by exploring tha last chapter of a Legionary's life, retirement. This was a process which generally began in the last 5 years of their service, when a soldier was officially designated as an Evocatus. During this time they would be relieved of most labor tasks and kept in reserve in battle. Yet such men still played an important role in training up the army and preserving its customs.
Our documentary then covers the different means of discharge along with their respective rights and exemptions. We finally look to the cash and land bonuses which were doled out to soldiers upon their departure from the legions. This often coincided with the construction of a new Veteran Colony. We cover their history and construction.
Part 1 - Joining the Army ( • How to Join the Roman ... )
Part 2 - Basic Training ( • What Was Roman Army Ba... )
Part 3 - Pay and Promotion ( • How Did Roman Soldiers... )
Part 4 - Medals of Honor ( • Roman Medals of Honor ... )
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:19 Terms of Service
04:26 Chances of Survival
05:46 Forms of Discharge
07:36 Retirement Process
08:37 Rewards of Service
11:01 Veteran Colonies
13:21 Building a Colony
16:21 Life in a Colony
17:32 Outro
Credits
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Invicta
Narration = Guy Michaels
Reenactment = Imperium Romanum ( / @imperiumromanumyt , Veters Milites
#history
#rome
#documentary
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Where are the sources for information on your video? Documentary without citing any sources in the description?
duck raid poop lagends
Incompetent channel
Really disappointed in this one only talking about the founding of the cities. There are some very pretty important questions that are have been unanswered that might warrant a follow up video focusing on the actual day to day life in these colonies, as this video only covered the founding on said cities. Did the farmers live in the city or on their land? How did they get their farming equipment? Where was the equipment and draft animals kept? How did slave labour factor in? What did they do with their yields? etc etc.
Incompetent channel, meh
i recall Caesar speaking about these retirees after being a victim of pirates in Africa as a young man, Caesar is said to have banded together with them to take back his ship and rewarding them for their continued service
I have an image of modern retelling where a rich Congressman washes up ashore in the south and asks the red neck veterans if they "wanna do some more shootin?"
The army that defeated Boudicca had many retiree colonists. Governor Suetonius had emergency mobilized every veteran who could still hold a sword and march. (According to a Historia Civilis video.)
many towns here in italy were founded as veteran colonies. Lucca,my hometown, became a real city as a veteran colony for the latin citizens (the initial auxiliaries in roman history). In fact you can still see the roman division of the roads in the city centre.
I bet there is so much history all around you.
It would be great to be able to trace your roots back to one of those legionaries.
@@tonycj7860 It's probably impossible to trace that far back, to a particular individual. My self from a very old family. Prior to the move to what is now Russia, our family lived in Thessaloniki, from as far back as 10th century. Most of that history is lost, or very obscure. Prior to that, we supposedly lived in Antioch, and the family itself is believed to be some of the Macedonian colonists, who moved to Syria, as Seleucid Empire was established. We have no idea what we where doing during the Imperial era. It's very plausible someone served in the legions, maybe more then once. In the Byzantine Empire, our family had much to do with the military, tradition which was maintained, even after he fall and move to Russia. Given how things worked in the Empire, our residence in Thessaloniki (key city in Byzantine Empire, together with Nicomedia and Lyssia), probably had some kind of a military carrier in the ancient Empire. Everything was based on legacy and previous titles, so, it's a good guess, giving what we do know. But the Imperial era, is basically blank. There are not that many families what can trace back to 10th century Byzantium, or just 10th century, anywhere. Suffice to say, if you are a European, you probably have Roman genetics somewhere.
My home in England was once a veteran colony, that still has echo's in it's name. Lindum Colonia, became over time the city of Lincoln.
Sorry bro
Lucca! La città più bella che abbia mai visto!
The Legions where small communities unto themselves. Filled with experienced workers. These retired men brought ofthen world wide experience, cultural benefits and knowledge with them. Added that they where veteran and seasoned Legionaries used to a hard life. You could not ask for a better nucleus to start a settlement around.
The reenactment is probably the coolest thing in these videos. Absolutely gorgeous armors and clothes.
Not just the armor and weapons. It always pleases me when people from historical eras are portrayed as people behaving normally, as they probably were, instead of as mobbing and constantly insulting idiots or primitive, constantly drunk thugs. Many historical series tend to emphasize the negative aspects of human behavior, and particularly portray people from the Middle Ages or antiquity as characters who are incapable of being social, compassionate and benevolent. Without these skills, halfway stable societies would never have been possible.
They're a group from the Netherlands with their own channel. Trust me, they're amazing. When I watched this combo with the Invicta channel voice, I was simply ecstatic, like crazy! Seriously, both of them did it perfectly - better than the BBC!
@@davidbecker3440 It's because Hollyweird is owned by people who h~a~t~e the west. They wear small hats and they love money above all else.
I wish this was still a common practice. So many veterans struggle after their term of service. Having something to come back to would mitigate a lot of that.
plenty of land in the US too. Imagine a town being founded by vets and their families out in rural Nebraska or something. I would move there
The vast majority of veterans in the US work after their service and benefited from that experience.
Possible for future space colonies 🤔
@@alexiel4406 Why would a veteran colony in Nebraska be any different then a normal town in Nebraska?
@@CubeInspector
Average life expectancy in Roman Empire era was 25. Very few people really would have got the deal. Four years of US military service with an education bursary and living in America today is superior. Do not get me wrong that deal the Roman legionary got would have been Amazing back then just not as good as today’s veteran life with four years of service. Come out of the Army and do a welding course or accounting course and you will have a far better life.
Did veterans who got land know how to farm it or get others to work their land?
Depends if they were able to put away enough savings during military service to buy slaves to put to work.
Most of them were from peasant families so they would know how to cultivate the land.
I guess it depends. After years of pay and pillage some legionnaries would have bought a slave or two.
But slaves were expensive, both to aquire and maintain, so most low ranked soldiers (who had almost nothing saved due to frequent gambling and hyperinflation of the denarius) would have worked the land themselves (this is further evidenced by the aparent rise in crop failures in Italy during the early years of Augustus, after disbanding Caesar's legions and giving them plots of land near Rome).
Never too late to learn how to work the land.
Slaves worked the land
This episode definitely resonates with modern military retirees and veterans. Thank you for this.
Roman veterans actually had it better. I'd much rather get a plot of land with no taxes for me and my family.
@@psycomutt Some of the benefits are very similar to modern times.
You get a pension till you die. Medical coverage. If you qualify for it, Disability payments aren't taxed. Depending on your state, you might not pay any income tax on your pension. Also, dependent on your state, you might not pay property taxes on your home if you have disability.
@@tonycj7860 I'd still rather get a plot of land and no taxes for myself and my family.
@@psycomutt To each his own I suppose.
I'd prefer the guaranteed money.
@@tonycj7860 The whole family skipping taxes is a huge boon especially your children. I pay thousands every year just in federal, my kids not having to pay that would be awesome. Not to mention lots of young people now days couldn't even dream of being land owners, now you have land to hand down for generations.
Love the Rome: Total War soundtrack in the background.
From the US, one side of my family has a strong tradition of military service. I can't help but see the parallels between modern military service and Roman military service. This strong sense of tradition ensured that one generation after another, service in the military was seen as a win for everybody. The state gets a body of loyal, educated soldiers who have kids who themselves serve as well, and so long as there are lands to conquer and settle, there will always be a strong incentive to spread the Roman way of life.
I really wish i could have seen this. The sense of community must have been incredible. We lack that today i think.
There's a few groups online for military members to stick together, usually based on the region. I know some vets that have a group like this in my home town and they help each other out for just about anything from simple advice to home repair and financial assistance. When the gov and the VA fails to provide for those that sacrifice and serve then its on us to stick together. Sadly like you said we do lack the complete support and community that Rome had for its Vets
People often wonder why men are so drawn to ancient Romans. Just watch this video to understand. Consider all the men watching right now, realizing that the ancient Roman army system was one of the most modern, practical, and fascinating things to ever exist on Earth! It's not just about warfare; it's about the incredible organization and order, which we sadly lack in our society today. Engaging with ancient Roman history makes us feel invincible and hopeful for a better society. However, it also reminds us of the risk of societal collapse, leaving us fearful of falling into the hands of barbarians and corruption. It's a complex feeling, but many of you understand what I mean.
Anyways, AMAZING JOB INVICTA! :D
One thing about these Veteran Colonies - was that these guys could all rise up and form a military unit if there was a threat to the Colony. Bandits and such would likely be making a mistake to trouble a Colony made up of people who'd spent their lives killing people.
.
I’m pretty sure that’s how the Romanias survived. A mountain range plus veteran colonies equals good defenses against the invading Slavs.
The issue is that very often soldiers in the past were quite prone to do plundering and mass killing. If there is money to be made, a lot of people look the other way if a share goes to them.
Like to see a movie where the veteran retires, gets a farm works it starts a family, gets old and seen living his last days with his family and friends recalling battles and historical figures. That would be awesome, be like damn Caesar made me march 30 miles one day. Lol
Yes, this almost sounds like a primer for a Gladiator II. 👊🍻
@@johnh.2340 wonder what it would take to get a script written.
@@johnh.2340 it's basically what Maximus was planning to do at the start of Gladiator, but then the plot of the movie had other ideas in mind.
I love that the more I learn about the Roman legions, the more I see just how little the differences are between the legions and the modern infantry are. Except light infantry today definitely isn’t light.
If it ain't broken don't fix it
legionaries are heavy infantry
I mean, Infantry is default since cavemen days. Men on foot trying to kill other men on foot. Today infantry is the least important, all they can do is defend. Vehicles attack. Slow meat on boots cant attack vs artillery, airpower and armor. Sure if you're NATO equipped you got javelins and stinger missiles but those can't stop fixed wing bombers fighter-bombers, just helicopters and A-10 type slow ground support planes.
Cavalry could defeat infantry all things equal but cavalry had to be small, hard to feed. Unless infantry blocks was Disciplined and esp if Polearm equipped.
@@jiyuhong5853 He never said they weren't. No one did.
They did their part. Service guarantees citizenship, and land.
13:20 Florence was founded by Julius Caesar. Everybody always forgets that, even documentaries about Florence.
Great documentary, I’d always wondered about this aspect of Roman military service - especially about how they were guaranteed good land instead of swampy marshes or land that couldn’t be farmed.
Hope the channel is doing better! I saw the video before Christmas where you said you needed help.
Thanks for the support. We've had to scale things back and let quite a few people go which has been tough but we are now in a more sustainable position
Feels like there wouldn’t be needed that many safeguards needed against settling swamps since the incentive is to settle on geographically advantageous land for the state
@@ac1455That plus the vets ,and the guys still in the legions that looked up to them, would riot. I'd imagine that's a strong reason not to screw them over, lol.
Nice touch having the Rome Total War music in the background
This series and the approach to history's more obscured subjects is simply great. I also love the little snippets using reenactors as it adds a much needed realistic approach to these lessons.
That was fantastic! You gave me answers to questions i didn't even know i had.
Glad you liked it!
This such a beautiful work. Congratulations to all who participated. It is obvious that It was produced with a lot of love.
I've always wondered about these, thank you!
Love this series ! Keep up the good work !
What a co-incidence I am reading guy De La Bedoyere's Gladius and have just got to the chapter on Veterams. Nice work , Congratulations to all concerned
Great information! I have often wondered what specific perks retired Roman soldiers received, and what the retirement process was like. . . Thanks so much!
love the format. keep it up.
absolutely gorgeous shots from the guys from Imperium Romanum ❤
Quality production, all around. Great job.
Imp. Romanum is a very cool channel. Glad to see you to working together
Great work as always guys.
Glad you enjoyed it, this one was a ton of fun to shoot
Have ALWAYS wondered if these exact scenarios happen Ed in the past.!! Fantastic video and lesson 🙏🙏
Good information in this video & thanks for sharing it ⚔️
Great video of history with interesting illustration and narratives.
Once again, amazing!
Great video as always!
I loved this! This was amazing!
Excellent Job, Thank you
Good video. Imagine a veteran of 20 years, just a day short from retirement, being fatally shot by a stray arrow as he's making his way to the baths. He lies on the ground gasping "just a couple of hours until retirement..." a la Lethal Weapon.
Superb and above all, very informative and interesting.
The exemptions a veteran and more importantly his extended family received alone would make the term of service worth signing up for…as a 26 year retired veteran myself I can identify with the pride these men must have in having served
I do not buy into legionnaires doing 25 years of service as it would have been a near impossible feat. I suspect that it was a hard 10 year front line service and then after that a support service.
Nice video, Invicta. Very cool!
I feel bad for the reenactor who was getting the bad news he’s sacked. He’s like “I was doing this for fun” and and pat on the back. You’re done.
Thank you so much for this video! I was reading Simon Scarrow's Eagles of the Empire series the other day (book 11) and wondering what life in the "veteran colonies" mentioned was like!
Excellent video. I have been facinated by the concept of veteran colonies for many years now & I found this overview explained the how & why very well. Are there any records of such colonies being tested militarily, particularly in their early stages?
They are not veteran colonies they are out posts.
These videos are magnificent.
very informative documentary
Great video
There is a town here in Ontario which was established in a similar way.
Back in 1816, retired British soldiers who had served in the region, were settled there, in what was the middle of the wilderness at the time.
The town still exists today, as a little country town. It is called ‘Perth’.
BEAUTIFUL ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!
Very nice video
If you think that Augustus rewards were impressive, consider that later Legions threatened, coerced and outright conquered the state into augmenting both their conditions as soldiers and their veteran rewards. It's no wonder that the army basically brought the state into ruin at one point, as (if i remember correctly) Septimius Severus said to his sons in his deathbed: "pay the soldiers, and don't worry about anything else."
That was Septimius Severus not Vespasian
@@alekisighl7599 ah, right, i mixed the two up, thanks for the correction. I read the quote in middle school, it stuck with me but i got the Emperor who said it fumble up.
Awsome video!
Man, that soorhing rome total war sound sure brings back memories.
Wonderful video
Cool video. I think I had asked a question like this sometime back in a comment, as in how many soldiers actually served out the full 25 years 🙂.
Excellent video, perhaps we all have an idea of what the veterans did when they left the Legions; But, with this data in mind, the subject is much better and the Roman origin of several cities throughout Europe can be traced, thanks to the colonial effort of those who retired to populate the conquered areas.
I love Roman content
Another banger
Good stuff
Roman officers were from fhe nobility, but was it possible for a regular legionarious to be promoted into the officer class? Was there ever a general who started off as a footman grunt?
Yes. Stilico was son of a Auxilia Vandal and became Magister Militum, second to Emperor
If we’re speaking about the Roman army before Diocletian’s reforms then, in a word, no. The chain of promotion for legionaries was totally separate from that of the senatorial officers. The closest they could probably come would be primus pilus, the highest ranking centurion in a legion. They were a key advisor to the legion’s commander, and sometimes took over from him in an emergency
@@lucretialiciniagaiaerikaju3204
Rome by its very nature was a market economy that was built on merit. While there was appointed officers from Rome most of the Roman Legions did not have that requirement. The vast majority of the forces were built from service achievements. The upper classes of Rome did not send their sons to the front line.
@@Art-is-craft Yes they did. The rank of broad-striped tribune was created for young men of senatorial rank to start off their military and political careers. It would have been impossible for the upper classes to avoid the military, since military service was a prerequisite for running for any of the highest political positions.
@@lucretialiciniagaiaerikaju3204
Not every body served in the senate or had a family member in the senate. A few hundred senators simply would not have been capable of staffing hundreds of thousands of legionnaires never mind the actually administration class that supported such a force. The only way such a successful professional military that would have functioned was on merit. Do not take what I am saying to mean that the Patricians did not gain enter to the military.
I was lucky enough to have ben born and bred in Osset, next to Hispalis and very near of the very important Roman colony of Italica.
Roman history has been permanent in my hometown. It s everywhere
Very good
I grew up in one of the former colonies of retired legionnaires: Rodes, now Roses in Spain, Province Girona. Nearby, a few km lay the old harbor of Emporion, namegiver of the actual region Alt Empordá
as always a really nice and informative video
but i have a question reagrding another video:
some time ago (i think summer last year) you posted some clips about another gladiator video in cooperation with ludus aemilius
have i missed that video and if so where can i find it?
We are still working with them behind the scenes to make a series
Timely.
Whoa, cool
I'm early
Considering you had a number of emperors who lasted 20 to 30 years and many for most of the reign not having any major wars...especially from Agustus through to Marcus Aurelius. That was probably the peak of the benefits of joining the military and surviving. I also imagine Legions in Hispania and North Africa probably saw the least amount of action. But then you get to the crises of the third century and the rapid destabilization from 350 to 476 and things look very different......also Imagine if a US president declared all veteran service persons free from federal taxes....god forbid
They kind of get tax breaks but not enough. My buddy with a purple heart doesn't pay some taxes, for example. I think everyone who hits retirement age should be exempt from, at least, home owner tax. How am I supposed to retire when I'm still paying my "government rent" for a house I bought years ago?
Hell I would be happy with not paying social security.
Something to keep in mind is that their contracts were for a full 20 years. That would be retirement in modern times, rather than just a veteran.
As far as taxes, it depends on your situation and state of residence. Some states will not touch military pensions at all. In other states, if you have a service related disability, you will pay either a reduced property tax or none at all.
@tonycj7860 most joined thr legions at 16 or 17, so you were out st around late 30s early 40s. Plus we have a lot of homeless veterans and service members in debt and as the richest nation on the planet...that should not be allowed. We should probably go back to giving veterans land.
@MrLobstermeat that will bite you in the ass later. Social security is the only tax worth paying that you actually get back later. The problem is corporations and the wealthy need to pay a hell of a lot more.
That is how G.B. was settled. The Roman soldier served with honor. As a reward. They were given land as far away from Rome as possible. They were a bit rough around the rdges.
Lmfao dude what's with the soldier in the thumbnail. Gramps look like he's desperately trying to find the Roman Country Kitchen Buffet xD
I love you guys
Can you do a video about homeownership and the types of homes one can buy and how home ownership work in the ancient worlds Like was there a Roman dream
The fact that people 2,000 years knew how to take better care of their veterans than they do now is insane to me.
Not a day goes without me thinking about the Roman empire, just like a phone call I get everyday about my car's extended warranty.
Kick ass!
Nice
well done.
@DeptOfDefense construction clans or whatsoever for water truck with rows of filter plates with many other filtering methods including distilled perhaps
Like the old western carriage carriers @DeptOfDefense
So, this means that there could be descendants of Ancient Romans from Western Europe to the Mediterranean! Curious!
By now, its pretty certain that anyone with an ancestor in Western/Southern Europe at the time was related to Romans
@@stalfithrildi5366 because I think that DNA tests trace someone's linage from the Renaissance to today!
There could be? No. It's not that some people "could" descend from Romans.
It's that literally every single living person between Portugal, Egypt, England and Iran descends from Romans. Hell, half of the Iberian Peninsula were Celts and genetically speaking we are more Roman than we are Celtic.
30 years ago, in the British Army, similar to the Roman army, a Senior NCO could expect a payment enough to buy a new house. Today, no chance.
It's almost like we are setting ourselves up for history to repeat itself if we aint careful. The Roman elites of the late Republic took things too far and it led to the rise of the populares faction that fought for (or claimed to fight for) the common people. But it eventually became the empire.
For the Empire!
is this rome total war sound playing in background?
please do a video on these
(this is a copy and paste list for a few channels)
units and tactics/evaluation of loadouts of troops (from different jobs (and other branches)
like the 82 snd 101 airborne units
or infantry tank units, (or when tanks were assigned a infantry unit like i think earlier war Russia then all tanks were formed into there own units wich meant the infantry no longer knew the true strength of there own tanks but alowed tank units to fight more efficiently)
the tank doctrine of countries
evaluation of tank veiw ports
evaluation of tanks/armored vehicles of different countries
evaluation of aircraft types of different countries,
different between navil and army/air force fighters
logistics units of the axes and allied powers in ww2
ww1 estern front tactics
Russian Civil war tactics and strategies
navil ship cross sections (all the rooms and how it all works)
evaluation of types of ships
or evaluation of navil warfare (or just dedectsded videos on ww1 and ww2 navil doctrine as theres stuff out there on other times of history)
air craft carrier strike group formations exsamples (from different countries)
ancient persan ships,
ancient veneti ships (gauls that fought ceaser)
ships used by genoa and the vernesain republic
the vernesain republic government
all sailing ships, (i know theres many on yt but some contradict each other and i think theres more left out)
ancient macenean greek and trojan troops
2b9 vasilyok morter
tactics used so far in the Ukraine war,
better for squads to be 2 teams of 5 or 3 teams of 3,
and probably the easiest, better to keep troops well feed or starved like an animal
how dose age effect comsnders eg napoleon got older so took less risks,
ancient urban warfare
ww2 tactics in Asia, tactics in the Chinese age of warlords, (and Chinese civil war)
tactics in the ruso jap war
cold war navil tactics,
Korean war tactics,
strange tactics or unque battles from the American war of independence and America civil
how were 17th centry sailing ships build
types of bombs lunched by drones
comands given on sailing ships (like ease the sheets and get ready to chine, or slack n beases, basically things you hear movie capitns say)
why did the nazis never return (or a video on best occupations)
why did the Japanese empire fall, dont just say "America" like things like how there army and navy argued alot
alot more on the Polynesians and māori, but please learn pronounceations if you do this
By the time he does all those he will have earned his veteran land settlement.
@@b1laxson well most of them aren't things he would do but still
More worldbuilding knowledge for meeee!!!
Now this is what I call early.
This aspect of these veteran colonies becoming full fledge cities in later times could somewhat explain why often even centuries later many states and kingdoms and later on countries claim to be true successors to Rome
Really disappointed in this one only talking about the founding of the cities. There are some very pretty important questions that are have been unanswered that might warrant a follow up video focusing on the actual day to day life in these colonies, as this video only covered the founding on said cities. Did the farmers live in the city or on their land? How did they get their farming equipment? Where was the equipment and draft animals kept? How did slave labour factor in? What did they do with their yields? etc etc.
So if you got like 5 or 10 acres. What happens to it when you die? If you had a son, would he get the land, if so, what happens when he retires and gets land, would he sustain both?
I believe that Aquilea was founded as a soldier city and maintained a military tradition because of it's strategic location, guarding the North Eastern entry into Italy. It was destroyed by Attila and his army yet it resisted bravely and it held up his army for a time. Though unjustly, their resistance likely worsened their fate.
I find it interesting how similar the veteran city layout is to how roman legionary camps were
Someone should write a historical fiction book about one of these colonies with flashbacks in time during the various characters service.
Where was this filmed? Seems like a reconstructed roman domus.
I want a video game like this!
Who does the voice overs for this? It makes it for me
Guy Michaels
No taxes? Grant of land? Retiring with your bros? Were did we go wrong?
To honor your service here is a nice stick I found yesterday
did the veteran colonies' settlers live outside the walls on their farms or in the town proper?
Basically "The Villages" of the Empire.
"Loyal villages" being an important add
Dayum, Bro. I thought that you were about to talk about Central Florida.......Caligula enters the chat. 🤣🤔
Low and behold! I pay to not suffer from Raid adds.. And now I get a Raid add..
Interesting