🚩 Keep exploring at brilliant.org/HistoryMarche/. Get started for free, and hurry-the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription. 🚩 Basil II Playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLWwyDn76LiH1ILQgm32Kyqj3-_FBluiPW
Great channel but I have to say the sound mixing was terrible in this video. The background music was way too loud to the point where I had trouble hearing you. Frankly, I firmly believe background music is annoying, distracting, and unnecessary (especially for educational videos). I also believe people want to hear you speak and get information and not hear background music that they have to mentally filter out.
your map is incorect because on place in Balkan where is suposed to be Bosnian kingdom u place serbian and croatian (they do not have kingdoms in that time )
Imagine how loyal those Armenians were to the Emperor to not only hold their own in battle at night, but realize the situation, and act with all possible effort to save their leader at any cost. Those men are what history is made of, we don't and never will know their names, but they changed the course of history that night.
Well said, in many theatres of History, plus Armenians and Georgians have also been great characters in the European and the Roman Empire's History. They deserve their honor.
@@Voivod23 yeah no arguments there, i guess anyone would have done the same to stay alive. Imagine being one of the other guys tho.... such a wasteful death
Exactly! Armenian guards are what Nikifor Genik lacked 2 centuries before the battle of Trajan's gate where he loses his head in the battle of Varbitsa pass.
Byzantine royal court drama feels like the true story. They could have won so many wars, if they weren't busy murdering each other and then going to war with each other over the murders.
When a Bardas revolts against you, counter with another Bardas you have in your back pocket. Which is why you never leave home without at least one Bardas.
VARDAS THE HARD ,bruh mimagine veing called hard/tough in middle ages . It means this guy really was a tough motherfucker . I wouldnt mess with a guy whose name is this
As a bulgarian I'd still have to admit that what follows is one of the most hardcore moments in medival history. Basil II not only didn't forget this defeat, but made sure to have a payback served COLD. Can't wait for next episodes of the series.
Well for sure Nikifors guards didn't do the same. In a matter of facts, in Bulgarians schools we learn much more for the battle of "vurbishki prohod" than this battle.
@Vrvodec basil saw Samuil as nothing as the yet another rebel he had to deal with nothing personal actually and Samuil had no chance of taking the roman empire anyway within the first bulgarian empire empire only simeon the great had a chance and the empire during his time actually had a chance of taking the city
@@yoghurtmaster1688 that is just false, they tried to overtake Bulgaria for decades with no avail and it was thanks to the usual backstabbing and dirty tactics that led to the breakthrough of the fortress at Kliuch village Basil hated Samuil with all his soul and he committed one of the biggest atrocities in mankind's history - he blinded nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers, something that is just a big NONO to do to another christian nation, a heinous crime He was one evil man and should not just be remembered as a great ruler, u have to take the good, the bad and the downright ugly And Bulgaria is well and alive now even after 500 years of ottoman yoke while the greeks pretty much stole all the history they could lmao
How many times does the Byzantine empire get wrecked for stupid reasons? The Byzantine Empire seems to not deserve survival purely because of the constant backstabbing.
I like hearing anything about the Byzantine and Basil II. He's an interesting character. Can't wait to see the next episode of this series. I just hope we also see the next episode of the Hannibal series too.
There are two Byzantine emperors that I can't get enough of. One is the Bulgar Slayer and the other Alexios Komnenos. The guy was Rocky in real life. Never heard the bell ring
I really love your videos about the bulgaro-byzantine wars, a topic of history that I believe is neglected by most people and I am so happy to see someone talk about my country's history. Some fun facts: about Arons execution. Samuel ordered the death of him, his wife and all of his children, trying to wipe out that branche of the family for good, but Samuel's own son, Gavrail Radomir, stepped in to save his childhood friend, the son of Aron, Ivan Vladislav. I will not spoil how the latter two will become important, but they will be. The four brothers who continued the war, also known as the Komitopul, were of unknown descent. We know that their father was the ruler of Sredets, Nikola, but some scholars believe that the brothers were a minor branch of the Krum dynasty, to which tzar Petar, Simeon and khan Krum belong(and others), which might be where their legitimacy came from. When tzar Boris II was brought to Constantinople, he was ritualistically stripped of his regalia and humiliated as to show that the Byzantines were now the rulers of his domain, afterwards his brother Roman was castrated. I will not spoil what happens to them.
Honestly I was a bit shocked when I read the Byzantines destroyed the Bulgarian Empire (I read history chronologically). Like the Bulgarians were up and coming and were pretty strong but the Romans under good leadership straight up wiped them within a few years.
@@zippyparakeet1074 They conquered it by bribing the regents. After Samuel dead his son Gavrail Radomir become king.Ivan Vladislav assassinated him (the one who saved him). The Bulgarian kingdom continued to expand under ivan Vladislav until he died in the siege of Durres,stracked by an arrow. The successor ,his son was 6 years old . Basil rashed to bribe all regents to be . They chose him as Emperor. Nobody wiped Bulgarians. Their kingdom revived as strong as before 160 later. In 1165 than was made up the nickname Bulgarslayer as propaganda. Bulgarian king was called Romanslayer, defeated the crusaders in 1205.
@@zippyparakeet1074 it is a number of factors that contributed to this, mainly the fact that Simeons wars exhausted the country and under Petar, they didn't really have time to recover. The Serbian uprising, followed by the rebellion of 2 of Peter's brothers, whilst the pechenegs and magiars invaded from the north, raiding almost constantly, exhausted the kingdom, but the real kicker was the invasion of Svatoslav and the following mess. It wasn't really a couple of years, resistance continued until 1018 and afterwards many uprisings would rack the empire, including in 1040, 1072, some others and the famous one of 1185. In conclusion, while the Byzantine empire recovered because of the peace, Bulgaria just couldn't recuperate that quickly
The old romans should've started a new genre for their books called military horror in which a lot of of them started with "during the march in the narrow pass ..."
This trinity, Nikephoros Phokas, John Tzimiskes, and Basil the II, was the greatest in the Byzantine History!!! Hope that you cover Phokas and Tzimiskes' story, after Basil's!
Imagine if all these greats of different dynasties- Nikephoros Phokas, John, Basil II, Alexios and John Komnenos succeeded each other like the five good emperors of old Rome with some other decent emperors sprinkled in between. Maybe the Empire would've regained Justinian's territories of Italy, the Levant, Egypt Libya, Africa and maybe even Hispania. What a glorious timeline that would be.
Damn, what an in extremis escape for the King and his retinue. Just barely managing to go through a side pass to escape the battle, leaving everyone else to die behind you. Harrowing thing.
Bitch move, he hated Bulgarians to his core. Did all the dirty tactics he could and later commited one if the most heinous war crimes in human history - the blinding of nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers after the breach of the fortress in Kliuch village ( which also couldnt be done without bulgarian traitors) The man was a great ruler but he was also a monster
@@resileaf9501 it is tho, its all connected He tried underhanded tactics, all his people died and he barely escaped. U have to be objective and remember the good and the bad
"With the collapse of the empire in the west, its eastern counterpart became, in reality, an entirely new and independent state, at once Greek by language and Roman in name: 'A Greek Roman empire'." Roderick Beaton, "The Greeks: a global history", New York: Basic books 2021, pp. 212
After this battle the byzantine author John Geometres wrote: ,,Ister grabbed the wreath of Rome- the Bulgarian arrows are stronger than the Roman spears."🇧🇬
Hi History Marche, when you get time could you do The Battle of Lake Regillus 496 BC and The Siege of Carthage 149 BC. Thanks from Daniel. Also did you get my email from bilesoo
Hey there Daniel. Wow dude, you're not messing about 😲 . Thanks so much for the support, you are so very kind ❤️. I can certainly try to cover Regillus 496, but as for Siege of Carthage in 149, that is surely coming.
The Elite Armenian Bodyguard who saved Basil had been put together by John Tzismiskes. They certainly did their job. John was a better general than Basil but he did not live long and some think he was poisoned.
Bulgaria has some of the richest history in the WORLD, and bulgarians have existed waaay before the country's official inception in 681. Every Bulgarian should be proud of their heritage
As a Serb I sometimes wonder if there's any other people on the Balkans that have mastered the level of surprise attacks as our Bulgarian brothers and yes, if you sense a slight insinuation in this joke for what happened back in 1915 then you are absolutely right, lol, though jokes aside you guys really are good at ambushes and surprise attacks and that truly deserves respect and recognition as it is not easily pulled off, though I hope you guys can understand that my stereotypical Serbian inat-o-meter requires that I make a lighthearted reference all the while I show my admiration for you guys.
When you mention 1915, you should never forget 1885. Serbia was the first country to attack us shortly after our liberation from the Ottomans. The funny thing was that almost all of our army was on the southern border because we expected a Turkish attack. Instead, we received a brother backstab.
Well, it is proven that nobody is better at backstabbing as Serbian King Milan and nobody works better with the enemy than Stefan Lazarevich by helping the Ottomans to actually survive the following crusade. So you have contributed plenty to backstabbing and betrayal....dear brother :) I'm saying this with the best feelings in my heart :)
Though defeated, Basil showed in the following decades that he learned his lesson. And the bulgarians would know this in a horrible and unforgetable way
Insert puerile comment:"Basil's eunuch uncle, Basil Lackapenis." Superb presentation as always good sir. You are definitely one of the best history channels on this platform.
8:30 What I have learned on this topic is that Boris II was likely given the option to side with the Rus or get executed. In addition, there were many Bulgarian soldiers siding with the Romans and fighting against the Rus. So there were Bulgarians fighting on both sides of the conflict.
That's what I know too. It wasn't only the Byzantines but a combined Bulgarian-Byzantine force that kicked Svyatoslav out of the Balkans and into Pecheneg lands where his skull was made into a drinking cup.
Thank you very much for the video and for the Bulgarian subtitles. My father is big fan of yours and all the time I have to translate for him. This time I passed 😂
Increíble que a pesar de dicha derrota tan catastrófica Basilio II pudo mantener su trono y prevalecer, debemos de dar a conocer mucho mas la Roma Oriental.
Greatest Eastern Roman emperor to rule the half a millennium long period from Heraclius to Alexios Komnenos, albeit Leo the Isaurian wasn't any less of a decent ruler
Please continue this series! I'd love to know better on basil and you always put out vids on how the eastern roman empire lost haha, would love to see when did they win actually
Usually other than minor details, dates and other small peices of information, I'm never really finding out anything I haven't already known. As I'm fairly educated on the period. However I had NO idea the RUS were going into the Balkans this early on. The bribery by the Eastern Roman's was stunning and quite interesting. Love this channel, good voice, good graphics, just a great all around program. Keep it up. 👍🏻
Russians is not an accurate name for the period. This population was called by Byzantium, Scythians. and those who have been bribed are the Scythians of Prince Svetoslav from the Russian Principality of Galicia. In other words, from the territory of today's Ukraine. The Muscovite Russian Principality would later conquer the remaining small Scythian (Russian small state entities) principalities
Nothing surprising about New Rome's "divide and conquer:" foreign policy ... they invented it more than 1000 years before and applied it better than anyone. Their diplomacy was truly in a class by itself in those times.
Svetoslav was not attracted solely by the Roman gold. In order to better understand his motives we should look at his background. His mother Olga of Kiev (also known as Saint Olga for popularizing christianity in Kiev) was a Bulgarian princess, most likely the daughter of Vladimir Rasate - the firstborn son of Boris. He ruled for 4 years before he was dethroned by his old father for allegedly not upholding christianity but most likely for geopolitical reasons - he made alliance with The Holy Roman Empire which was unacceptable for the Eastern Roman Empire. Boris then put Simeon in his place who later on became a living nightmare for the Bizantines. So Svetoslav apparantly had a claim to the Bulgarian throne and he presented it in a devastating fashion. His invasion decisevely weakened Bulgaria and set the stages for its decline.
I thought it was arguable that Theophano was responsible for helping Tsimiskis murder Nik Phokas. It's probable that she was blamed by Tsimiskis (who committed the murder himself) because she was a a) convenient scapegoat b) a woman c) held influence over the rightful rulers Basil and Constantine
Producing highly capable restorers after decades of decline and crisis is such a uniquely Roman trait No other empire managed to do put up a fight quite like the Romans did
Basil II and Alexios must be two of the best Eastern Roman emperors ever in terms of revitalizing the state both externally and internally especially since the dismal condition the state were at their respective reigns.
so Bulgarians have beaten "the greatest Byzantine warrior emperor" in history. That's something to be proud of and is indicative of Bulgaria's immense strength. Although small in size , Big in heart
Looked up more information after watching video, Empress Theophano is a very interesting character, her grand daughters are equally interesting, they are all scheming double-crossing masterminds!
Anyone else noticed how the Danube river comes up way too often in all these various episodes. Man these historians and researchers should search there, I bet they'll find something of extreme value or maybe something exquisite.
I live in this region and I have found plenty of byzantine and some more worthy roman colonial coins. Not to mention rings and other applications. There is still much more uncovered even after many decades of treasure hunters looting.
11:30 a missing important detail - after Skleros had won a series of battles against the then-loyal general Bardas Phokas and marched from the east through Anatolia to Constantinople. Basil summoned Georgian general Tornike Eristavi known as John-Tornike to his capital to mediate the alliance with David III of Tao, a measure that seemed to be necessary to save the situation. The monk agreed reluctantly, persuaded chiefly by his fellow monks that it would be in the best interests of the Athonite community for him to obey the imperial command. David responded vigorously and entrusted his former general the command of some 12,000 Georgian cavalrymen sent to reinforce the imperial army. The decisive battle was fought at Pankalia near Caesarea on March 24, 979 and resulted in the crushing defeat of the rebels.
The bulgarslayer underrated? No mate, he was glorious and is known to everybody who knows byzantine history. It's one of the best emperors, if not the best.
Samuel's nephew Ivan Vladislav (the son of Samuel's brother Aron) will write in his Bitola Inscription: Bulgarian by birth and will name his son Persian II (named after the father of Tsar Boris I). Samuel was most likely related to the Krum dinasty as his father Nikola was a Komita (leader of a Komitat in the Bulgarian Tsardom).
@@nccamsc I think it is Presian, we have it written in greek in the sources, the point is that the name of Boris father and Ivan-Vladislav son is the same.
🚩 Keep exploring at brilliant.org/HistoryMarche/. Get started for free, and hurry-the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription.
🚩 Basil II Playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLWwyDn76LiH1ILQgm32Kyqj3-_FBluiPW
and people say that Basil II is invincible the greatest and never lost. Yes he was beaten by Bulgarians.
Why dont you make content on Indian history anymore?
There is a profile trying to fool that there is giveaway and to write on Telegram. It is on one of my comments I will go and report.
Great channel but I have to say the sound mixing was terrible in this video. The background music was way too loud to the point where I had trouble hearing you. Frankly, I firmly believe background music is annoying, distracting, and unnecessary (especially for educational videos). I also believe people want to hear you speak and get information and not hear background music that they have to mentally filter out.
your map is incorect because on place in Balkan where is suposed to be Bosnian kingdom u place serbian and croatian (they do not have kingdoms in that time )
Ambushed in a narrow pass: A Roman tradition.
I'm suprised Romans didn't have a massive fear of doors and hallways
@@damoncrossan3827 they did thats why their doorways/hallways are so big
@@thegamingwolf5612 ofcourse how could I neglect these facts 😅
Hence why they built roads everywhere
I can't think of any besides trasameine. What others were there?
Imagine how loyal those Armenians were to the Emperor to not only hold their own in battle at night, but realize the situation, and act with all possible effort to save their leader at any cost. Those men are what history is made of, we don't and never will know their names, but they changed the course of history that night.
Well said, in many theatres of History, plus Armenians and Georgians have also been great characters in the European and the Roman Empire's History. They deserve their honor.
That part that they cut down their own tho...
@@nickdg507
They were at the heat of battle, and did what they saw was necessary.
@@Voivod23 yeah no arguments there, i guess anyone would have done the same to stay alive. Imagine being one of the other guys tho.... such a wasteful death
Exactly! Armenian guards are what Nikifor Genik lacked 2 centuries before the battle of Trajan's gate where he loses his head in the battle of Varbitsa pass.
Byzantine royal court drama feels like the true story. They could have won so many wars, if they weren't busy murdering each other and then going to war with each other over the murders.
Game of thrones in real life
Witout internet n' shit, murdering you relatives sounds like a good pass time activity.
Have you even seen the Chinese Palace intrigue... This is children's games compared to that
@@caniblmolstr4503 ok ...
@@caniblmolstr4503 Not as crazy as Byzantine court drama!
When a Bardas revolts against you, counter with another Bardas you have in your back pocket. Which is why you never leave home without at least one Bardas.
VARDAS THE HARD ,bruh mimagine veing called hard/tough in middle ages . It means this guy really was a tough motherfucker . I wouldnt mess with a guy whose name is this
And then have both Bardases revolt against you...
@@Perceval777 True. I'll update my Bardas policy to have at least 4-6 ready to go in case cumulative Bardas problems arise. :D
@@zoliking 6 Bardoi is a disaster waiting
@@histguy101 Sorry, zoliking is not available from now. This is Bardas. Can I help youi?
As a bulgarian I'd still have to admit that what follows is one of the most hardcore moments in medival history. Basil II not only didn't forget this defeat, but made sure to have a payback served COLD. Can't wait for next episodes of the series.
"Payback is a bitch" - Kaloyan Romanslayer
Bitola was even colder
Basil Lack-a-penois is the best name ever for a Eunuch Uncle. I can't stop laughing.
True🤣
It's like something out of a Monty python skit
Real life is a
Big comedy !!
Funny playword indeed.
Lhe-kha-pee-noos is the correct pronunciation.
I was hoping people noticed that 🤣
Those Armenian soldiers deserve credit for rescuing Basil II in a very difficult situation. They literally changed history by saving him.
Well for sure Nikifors guards didn't do the same. In a matter of facts, in Bulgarians schools we learn much more for the battle of "vurbishki prohod" than this battle.
Basil II himself is Armenian descent and is the best warrior of Armenian descent
@@yaqubleis6311 no its not!
@@Elenril_ read about is ancestors and origin is origin is Armenian
@@yaqubleis6311 nope he wasn't sorry
Thank you for this great and accurate video on Bulgarian and East Roman Empire history! I look forward for the second part!
Thank you for the support. You are very kind.
Most underrated rivalry in history
Agree
@Vrvodec basil saw Samuil as nothing as the yet another rebel he had to deal with nothing personal actually and Samuil had no chance of taking the roman empire anyway within the first bulgarian empire empire only simeon the great had a chance and the empire during his time actually had a chance of taking the city
the 5th longest rivalry in the history of mankind
@@yoghurtmaster1688 that is just false, they tried to overtake Bulgaria for decades with no avail and it was thanks to the usual backstabbing and dirty tactics that led to the breakthrough of the fortress at Kliuch village
Basil hated Samuil with all his soul and he committed one of the biggest atrocities in mankind's history - he blinded nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers, something that is just a big NONO to do to another christian nation, a heinous crime
He was one evil man and should not just be remembered as a great ruler, u have to take the good, the bad and the downright ugly
And Bulgaria is well and alive now even after 500 years of ottoman yoke while the greeks pretty much stole all the history they could lmao
@@aleksk4151 Hi Alexandros, I find you here AGAIN :) Hehehe….you like this Hellenic History? Boulgaroktonos is the MAN 😃
So the eunuch uncle's name is Lakapenus. Guess that fits.
Now I cannot unsee that
I was hoping someone else caught that too😂
Absolutely love learning about the Byzantine empire, so much luscious culture and history 👍
How many times does the Byzantine empire get wrecked for stupid reasons? The Byzantine Empire seems to not deserve survival purely because of the constant backstabbing.
@@ParleLeVu on the other hand, its amazing for how long the Eastern Rome surivived with all those incompetencies, betrayals, and defeats.
Roman power, baby 💪
@@freedombro Never said they did. Said they didn't deserve to.
😅😅😅😅😅
Thanks! Balkan history is always fascinating and you did it justice with a fine retelling! Awaiting part II ...
Thank you for your support! Very kind of you. Part 2 coming later this month or early February.
Благодарим ви!
Thank you so much for supporting the channel, you so very kind!
I like hearing anything about the Byzantine and Basil II. He's an interesting character. Can't wait to see the next episode of this series. I just hope we also see the next episode of the Hannibal series too.
There are two Byzantine emperors that I can't get enough of. One is the Bulgar Slayer and the other Alexios Komnenos.
The guy was Rocky in real life. Never heard the bell ring
@@caniblmolstr4503---Yeah I heard him compared to Rocky. And I get what you mean.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for the support!
I really love your videos about the bulgaro-byzantine wars, a topic of history that I believe is neglected by most people and I am so happy to see someone talk about my country's history.
Some fun facts:
about Arons execution. Samuel ordered the death of him, his wife and all of his children, trying to wipe out that branche of the family for good, but Samuel's own son, Gavrail Radomir, stepped in to save his childhood friend, the son of Aron, Ivan Vladislav. I will not spoil how the latter two will become important, but they will be.
The four brothers who continued the war, also known as the Komitopul, were of unknown descent. We know that their father was the ruler of Sredets, Nikola, but some scholars believe that the brothers were a minor branch of the Krum dynasty, to which tzar Petar, Simeon and khan Krum belong(and others), which might be where their legitimacy came from.
When tzar Boris II was brought to Constantinople, he was ritualistically stripped of his regalia and humiliated as to show that the Byzantines were now the rulers of his domain, afterwards his brother Roman was castrated. I will not spoil what happens to them.
Honestly I was a bit shocked when I read the Byzantines destroyed the Bulgarian Empire (I read history chronologically). Like the Bulgarians were up and coming and were pretty strong but the Romans under good leadership straight up wiped them within a few years.
@@zippyparakeet1074 They conquered it by bribing the regents. After Samuel dead his son Gavrail Radomir become king.Ivan Vladislav assassinated him (the one who saved him). The Bulgarian kingdom continued to expand under ivan Vladislav until he died in the siege of Durres,stracked by an arrow. The successor ,his son was 6 years old . Basil rashed to bribe all regents to be . They chose him as Emperor. Nobody wiped Bulgarians. Their kingdom revived as strong as before 160 later. In 1165 than was made up the nickname Bulgarslayer as propaganda. Bulgarian king was called Romanslayer, defeated the crusaders in 1205.
@@zippyparakeet1074 it is a number of factors that contributed to this, mainly the fact that Simeons wars exhausted the country and under Petar, they didn't really have time to recover. The Serbian uprising, followed by the rebellion of 2 of Peter's brothers, whilst the pechenegs and magiars invaded from the north, raiding almost constantly, exhausted the kingdom, but the real kicker was the invasion of Svatoslav and the following mess. It wasn't really a couple of years, resistance continued until 1018 and afterwards many uprisings would rack the empire, including in 1040, 1072, some others and the famous one of 1185. In conclusion, while the Byzantine empire recovered because of the peace, Bulgaria just couldn't recuperate that quickly
@@zippyparakeet1074 few years?You call 40 years of various campaigns few years?
This'll be a great series! looking forward to part2
The old romans should've started a new genre for their books called military horror in which a lot of of them started with "during the march in the narrow pass ..."
I think its a huge oversight not mentioning Nikephoros' conquest of Antioch.
Maybe if he wasn't Murdered..
This trinity, Nikephoros Phokas, John Tzimiskes, and Basil the II, was the greatest in the Byzantine History!!! Hope that you cover Phokas and Tzimiskes' story, after Basil's!
Phokas carrier was much more glorious as a general though. "the pale death of the saracens" "
Justinian would have something to say about that claim
In my humble opinion Ioannis (John) II Komnenos certainly was among the greatest, if not the greatest.
The soldiers emperors
Imagine if all these greats of different dynasties- Nikephoros Phokas, John, Basil II, Alexios and John Komnenos succeeded each other like the five good emperors of old Rome with some other decent emperors sprinkled in between. Maybe the Empire would've regained Justinian's territories of Italy, the Levant, Egypt Libya, Africa and maybe even Hispania. What a glorious timeline that would be.
Damn, what an in extremis escape for the King and his retinue. Just barely managing to go through a side pass to escape the battle, leaving everyone else to die behind you. Harrowing thing.
Bitch move, he hated Bulgarians to his core. Did all the dirty tactics he could and later commited one if the most heinous war crimes in human history - the blinding of nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers after the breach of the fortress in Kliuch village ( which also couldnt be done without bulgarian traitors)
The man was a great ruler but he was also a monster
@@tsvetomirsheev3882 Sure but that's not related to my comment.
@@resileaf9501 it is tho, its all connected
He tried underhanded tactics, all his people died and he barely escaped. U have to be objective and remember the good and the bad
“The blind leading the half blind.” Best podcast episode title ever from History of Byzantium by R. Pearson
huge respect of putting the Byzantine empire as the Roman Empire
"With the collapse of the empire in the west, its eastern counterpart became, in reality, an entirely new and independent state, at once Greek by language and Roman in name: 'A Greek Roman empire'." Roderick Beaton, "The Greeks: a global history", New York: Basic books 2021, pp. 212
The GREEKS are the Romans
Absolutely love eastern roman empire history guys, keep it going!
After this battle the byzantine author John Geometres wrote: ,,Ister grabbed the wreath of Rome- the Bulgarian arrows are stronger than the Roman spears."🇧🇬
Hi History Marche, when you get time could you do The Battle of Lake Regillus 496 BC and The Siege of Carthage 149 BC. Thanks from Daniel. Also did you get my email from bilesoo
Rich boi
Hey there Daniel. Wow dude, you're not messing about 😲 . Thanks so much for the support, you are so very kind ❤️. I can certainly try to cover Regillus 496, but as for Siege of Carthage in 149, that is surely coming.
Most excellent! Great storytelling..
Go team History Marche..!
History Marche always introduces informative, excellent historical videos.. thanks for sharing 👍🏻
Back here so I can remind myself of what happened before, now that the second video about Basil is released. Loving the content, as always!
It is indeed an interesting documentary. Thank you
The Elite Armenian Bodyguard who saved Basil had been put together by John Tzismiskes. They certainly did their job. John was a better general than Basil but he did not live long and some think he was poisoned.
Great stuff. I live in Bulgaria. Always interested to learn more history of this country.
Bulgaria has some of the richest history in the WORLD, and bulgarians have existed waaay before the country's official inception in 681. Every Bulgarian should be proud of their heritage
As a Serb I sometimes wonder if there's any other people on the Balkans that have mastered the level of surprise attacks as our Bulgarian brothers and yes, if you sense a slight insinuation in this joke for what happened back in 1915 then you are absolutely right, lol, though jokes aside you guys really are good at ambushes and surprise attacks and that truly deserves respect and recognition as it is not easily pulled off, though I hope you guys can understand that my stereotypical Serbian inat-o-meter requires that I make a lighthearted reference all the while I show my admiration for you guys.
The Balkans are providing such opportunities! Its a thick forest and high hills everywhere across Bulgaria and Serbia. Very beautiful.
When you mention 1915, you should never forget 1885. Serbia was the first country to attack us shortly after our liberation from the Ottomans. The funny thing was that almost all of our army was on the southern border because we expected a Turkish attack. Instead, we received a brother backstab.
Well, it is proven that nobody is better at backstabbing as Serbian King Milan and nobody works better with the enemy than Stefan Lazarevich by helping the Ottomans to actually survive the following crusade. So you have contributed plenty to backstabbing and betrayal....dear brother :) I'm saying this with the best feelings in my heart :)
@@ОгнянДимитров-с4г I bet he never studied in school this part of Serbian history.
@@ОгнянДимитров-с4г 🎯
Basil the based!!
“The Bulgar Slayer” is one of the coolest monikers ever.
200 yrs later they’ve got revenge.Kaloyan, the Roman slayer
Bulgar slayer is just english interpretation, original sounded much cooler.
It is Bulgaroktonos.
respect to Bulgaria for being the only one to defeat Basil the Bulgarslayer . Nobody else did that
@@aleksk4151,
Nearly ended him, before he became great! He was very lucky to escape that day.
Though defeated, Basil showed in the following decades that he learned his lesson. And the bulgarians would know this in a horrible and unforgetable way
Thanks
Thank you so much for the support!
love your byzantine vids man keep them coming
Awesome video as usual! Can’t believe we’re getting this quality of content for free
These videos make me love the game Crusader Kings 3 even more haha
Greetings from Sredets/Serdica (nowadays Sofia).
Insert puerile comment:"Basil's eunuch uncle, Basil Lackapenis." Superb presentation as always good sir. You are definitely one of the best history channels on this platform.
Another great video. Intro to a legendary ruler, the calm before the storm lol
I know this series probably isn’t first priority but I’m really looking forward to you finishing it. I think Basil should get more attention.
Very informative ❤
Please continue this is excellent
Love your videos keep them up mate!
What a marvellous channel. Quite astonishing.
Can't wait. Keep up the good work.
This is going to be your greatest series.
waiting for the next! thank you
As always, great work!
8:30 What I have learned on this topic is that Boris II was likely given the option to side with the Rus or get executed. In addition, there were many Bulgarian soldiers siding with the Romans and fighting against the Rus. So there were Bulgarians fighting on both sides of the conflict.
That's what I know too. It wasn't only the Byzantines but a combined Bulgarian-Byzantine force that kicked Svyatoslav out of the Balkans and into Pecheneg lands where his skull was made into a drinking cup.
I am really glad you are doing docs on this time, thank you
Great presentation! The narration is excellent and the animations are clear, beautiful and abstract enough to leave space for imagination!
Great video!⚔
That was awesome!
Great video as always!
Thank you very much for the video and for the Bulgarian subtitles. My father is big fan of yours and all the time I have to translate for him. This time I passed 😂
Excellent video as always and l think the battles of arcadiopolis and dorystolon diserve their own video
Increíble que a pesar de dicha derrota tan catastrófica Basilio II pudo mantener su trono y prevalecer, debemos de dar a conocer mucho mas la Roma Oriental.
Arabs I exist
Great stuff, thanks!
Greatest Eastern Roman emperor to rule the half a millennium long period from Heraclius to Alexios Komnenos, albeit Leo the Isaurian wasn't any less of a decent ruler
Amazing content keep it up
Sredets is the medieval Bulgarian name of modern day Sofia. The city was captured by Khan Krum (803-814)...
We know, especially Nikephoros, who is now a cup.
Basil made the escape of the ages. If he was caught and killed like Nikephoros 1 the fate of ERE and Bulgaria would've been totally different.
Така е,понеже приемниците на Василий са по слаби владетели,и Източната Римска империя навлиза в упадък при тяхното управление.
Please continue this series! I'd love to know better on basil and you always put out vids on how the eastern roman empire lost haha, would love to see when did they win actually
Why did you revolt against Heraclius? What did Chosroes II offer the Judeans?
Just kidding
Wow very Informative and also inspiring video! I will illustrate this whole battle in my Basil II comic.
cant wait for the next episode on this. Thank you! liked and subscribed as always.
Great videos as always.
These videos are as good as a cup of coffee in the morning!
good content thanks
La historia del imperio romano de oriente o bizantino es tan increíble que podrían hacer varias series o películas, excelente video.
Whoever did Boris' painting, they did Boris dirty.
Usually other than minor details, dates and other small peices of information, I'm never really finding out anything I haven't already known. As I'm fairly educated on the period. However I had NO idea the RUS were going into the Balkans this early on. The bribery by the Eastern Roman's was stunning and quite interesting. Love this channel, good voice, good graphics, just a great all around program. Keep it up. 👍🏻
Russians is not an accurate name for the period.
This population was called by Byzantium, Scythians.
and those who have been bribed are the Scythians of Prince Svetoslav from the Russian Principality of Galicia. In other words, from the territory of today's Ukraine.
The Muscovite Russian Principality would later conquer the remaining small Scythian (Russian small state entities) principalities
@@radislavrashev7266 I didn't call the period "Russians." I'm aware how they were founded, and what they were referred to as.
Nothing surprising about New Rome's "divide and conquer:" foreign policy ... they invented it more than 1000 years before and applied it better than anyone. Their diplomacy was truly in a class by itself in those times.
These videos are so well made that even commanders Phuk-ass and Lak-of-penus couldnt distract me from learning some interesting history.
Svetoslav was not attracted solely by the Roman gold. In order to better understand his motives we should look at his background. His mother Olga of Kiev (also known as Saint Olga for popularizing christianity in Kiev) was a Bulgarian princess, most likely the daughter of Vladimir Rasate - the firstborn son of Boris. He ruled for 4 years before he was dethroned by his old father for allegedly not upholding christianity but most likely for geopolitical reasons - he made alliance with The Holy Roman Empire which was unacceptable for the Eastern Roman Empire. Boris then put Simeon in his place who later on became a living nightmare for the Bizantines. So Svetoslav apparantly had a claim to the Bulgarian throne and he presented it in a devastating fashion. His invasion decisevely weakened Bulgaria and set the stages for its decline.
Did you know that Nikephoros II belongs to the cast of the few men in history who never lost a battle either as a Strategos or Basileus!
What, he never crossed a mountain pass?
@@vashtalelq You must be talking about Nikephoros I (Pliska 811)
This chanel always deliver
I thought it was arguable that Theophano was responsible for helping Tsimiskis murder Nik Phokas. It's probable that she was blamed by Tsimiskis (who committed the murder himself) because she was a a) convenient scapegoat b) a woman c) held influence over the rightful rulers Basil and Constantine
Producing highly capable restorers after decades of decline and crisis is such a uniquely Roman trait
No other empire managed to do put up a fight quite like the Romans did
Hi Rex, off topic
Who are your best generals?
@@ali-u1c4e Its not me who's being adressed, but my top 4 (in no particular order) are Khalid, Hannibal, Caesar and Alexander
Basil II and Alexios must be two of the best Eastern Roman emperors ever in terms of revitalizing the state both externally and internally especially since the dismal condition the state were at their respective reigns.
Well during basil the second reign the empire was stronger than the one alexios had inherited
so Bulgarians have beaten "the greatest Byzantine warrior emperor" in history. That's something to be proud of and is indicative of Bulgaria's immense strength. Although small in size , Big in heart
He almost became a drinking cup....
@@aleksk4151 we are small in size now cause we've been robbed and backstabbed by everyone, but sooner or later our glory will be back
@@БоянБогданов-ю6о but instead Tsar Samuel lay 6ft underground.
Looked up more information after watching video, Empress Theophano is a very interesting character, her grand daughters are equally interesting, they are all scheming double-crossing masterminds!
Again amazing video,thank you for good videos,respect from Türkiye,u are loved
Oh, my God! I’ve always wanted a series about Basil… Can’t wait for the whole documentary!
The Eastern Roman Empire ceased to exist 600 years ago, but Bulgaria continues to exist and is the oldest country in Europe.
San Marino was established in 301
@uncle0quenchy
San Marino is not a country but a city-state with a population of 33 thousand people.
Bulgarian military tactics:
1. Ambush in a montain pass
2. Attack with litght cavalry, lure, ambush
Repeat
Only when Bulgaria didn't have a bigger or better army, and even then they could beat anybody, like the battle of Acheloy
Pretty awesome video! Beside I am bulgarian really like Byzantine-Sassanide wars, before theyre total exhaustion.
Anyone else noticed how the Danube river comes up way too often in all these various episodes. Man these historians and researchers should search there, I bet they'll find something of extreme value or maybe something exquisite.
I live in this region and I have found plenty of byzantine and some more worthy roman colonial coins. Not to mention rings and other applications. There is still much more uncovered even after many decades of treasure hunters looting.
Search for the Danube Valley culture, the oldest pre-historic European culture
The end was just great!
Interesting as per usual.
11:30 a missing important detail - after Skleros had won a series of battles against the then-loyal general Bardas Phokas and marched from the east through Anatolia to Constantinople. Basil summoned Georgian general Tornike Eristavi known as John-Tornike to his capital to mediate the alliance with David III of Tao, a measure that seemed to be necessary to save the situation. The monk agreed reluctantly, persuaded chiefly by his fellow monks that it would be in the best interests of the Athonite community for him to obey the imperial command. David responded vigorously and entrusted his former general the command of some 12,000 Georgian cavalrymen sent to reinforce the imperial army. The decisive battle was fought at Pankalia near Caesarea on March 24, 979 and resulted in the crushing defeat of the rebels.
The most underrated emperor ever👏
😂 In the official list of "rated emperors"?
Underated ....... by who ??? He's the most talked about ....
@@НиколаПоюков what manner?
The bulgarslayer underrated? No mate, he was glorious and is known to everybody who knows byzantine history. It's one of the best emperors, if not the best.
@@christospanagopoulos5821 agreed.
Awesome video, greetings from Byzantine Athens...
The level of treachery and double crossing is just staggering. Makes the present ongoing conflicts almost look mundane.
Having kids become King that early must have been tough, Blessed Be.
Samuel's nephew Ivan Vladislav (the son of Samuel's brother Aron) will write in his Bitola Inscription: Bulgarian by birth and will name his son Persian II (named after the father of Tsar Boris I). Samuel was most likely related to the Krum dinasty as his father Nikola was a Komita (leader of a Komitat in the Bulgarian Tsardom).
Is it Persian or Presian?
@@nccamsc I think it is Presian, we have it written in greek in the sources, the point is that the name of Boris father and Ivan-Vladislav son is the same.
Thank you!
Great video!
"Bulgar-Slayer" !!!
Can't wait for the next episode!!
Peace and Lots of Love from Mumbai India ❤️💯👌✨