Byzantine Empire: Justinian and Theodora - From Swineherd to Emperor - Extra History - Part 1

📜 Byzantine Empire: Justinian and Theodora - Part 1- Extra History
Justinian arose from humble roots, the nephew of an illiterate pig farmer named Justin. Justin joined the army and rose to become leader of the palace guard, then took his nephew under his wing and made sure that he was well educated. When Emperor Anastasius died, Justin used his position (and his standing army inside Constantinople) to claim the crown for himself. His nephew guided the early years of his reign, helping Justin secure support both in the capitol and abroad. When Justin died, rule of the Byzantine Empire passed to the young Justinian, who had grand ambitions to restore its waning glory. It also freed him to marry Theodora, a famous actress who was far beneath his social station, and who would also rise from her humble beginnings to become a revered empress.
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Part 4 - • Byzantine Empire: Just...
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Part 6 - • Byzantine Empire: Just...
Part 7 - • Justinian & Theodora -...
Part 8 - • Justinian & Theodora -...
Part 9 - • Justinian & Theodora -...
Part 10 - • Theodora - This is My ...
Part 11 - • Justinian & Theodora -...
Part 12 - • Justinian - Caesar I w...
Series Wrap-up & Lies Episode Part 1 - • Byzantine Empire: Just...
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[@olefredrikskjegstad5972]

Emperor Justin seems like a guy who was pretty intelligent without being educated. He recognized his own limitations and deferred to people who knew better than him on various topics, and recognized the value of developing the skills of someone else to help him do things he otherwise wouldn't have been able to achieve. That demands respect.

[@virgiljianu7166]

We need more leaders like that,expecially these days

[@artofthepossible7329]

These days one can be educated and stupid. How exactly this works by the power of nature is beyond me.

[@bullthatsalive9111]

@@artofthepossible7329 the difference between Studying and practical experience or education and common sense. Those who can master both are people to be admired

[@artofthepossible7329]

@@bullthatsalive9111 Good luck finding such a person.

[@tylermech66]

@@artofthepossible7329 I mean there's plenty, just none who come into power.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"You can think of them as a sports club, a political party, a community group, and a moving riot all rolled up into one." Kinda like Brazilian soccer, then.

[@Scriptedviolince]

cheezemonkeyeater Made my day.

[@TheNeverNight]

cheezemonkeyeater Like soccer in any Latin American country, really.

[@stevenirizarry1304]

Rodrigo Mancera have you seen Europe :|

[@azelfdaboi5265]

American Football in the USA

[@WERTYUIO821]

I am Greek. We considered the Byzantine Empire as our ancestor. Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, Aek and Paok(football/soccer teams) have many in common with those that are mentioned. Panathinaikos: Upper class Olympiakos: Corrupted powerful people Aek: Anarchics Paok: North Greek localism

[@Peanutjoepap24]

I'm I the only one that think's Justinian's drawing design as adorable? With his flippy hair and all the weird reactionary facial expressions they give him.

[@abcde_abcde_8135]

Weird but it seems like you are not the only ones.

[@shshshshsh5471]

:D

[@azelfdaboi5265]

Ive been in this comment section for enough time to know at least 10 people who would date Justinian

[@alexandruym1569]

yeah i know he is so cute

[@caraelliott9909]

I think it's because he's one favorites of the team XD

[@Drilling4mana]

The drawing of Justinian in this series looks like me, and I choose to accept that as fate. I am now your emperor.

[@thomaskole9881]

Drilling4mana Praised be our glorious emperor Drilling4mana, the first of his name, ruler by right and fate and Protector of the realm.

[@Drilling4mana]

I shall treasure the opportunity to rule, and immediately succumb to Aerys II Targaryen levels of madness.

[@constantinediomedes6277]

+Drilling4mana Are you gonna turn into a dragon and burn them all :3...here drink this wildfire

[@constantinediomedes6277]

+Thomas Kole Until walpole....

[@tommyharrington3094]

It’s been 2 years now. Are you any closer to restoring the empire?

[@JorneDeSmedt]

Who doesn't dream of riding a T-rex with laser eyes into battle?

[@fezdalek]

TheRexDark I don't. I dream of riding a giant turkey with a jetpack into a battle.

[@LesterRamos]

Fezdalek Abraian Why? Because you are Walpole? D:

[@jaliborc]

TheRexDark That ain't a t-rex, thats a giant reptile! T-rex had feathers! xD Not so sexy, I know.

[@chrischu1285]

TheRexDark I dream of riding into battle with SHARKS WITH FRICKIN' "LASER" BEAMS on their FRICKIN' "HEADS"! I just hope that they aren't endangered and as a result cause an international incident.

[@JorneDeSmedt]

Chris Chu Well, so long as it's a naval battle, that should be no problem.

[@TheCroArmyBilice]

It was Walpole, Justinian employed Walpole.

[@hsnd2388]

TheCroArmyBilice Yeah, everything was Walpole, down to Walpole having the "Goverment Officals Can't Marry Actresses" law removed.

[@henkwaterlander3038]

Fucking Walpole again

[@woodzy136]

gavinrichard ladd Which Walpole originally masterminded. Typical Walpole ;)

[@weldonwin]

TheCroArmyBilice Walpole, the ultimate time travelling Bastard is responsible for everything

[@topnotchshinobi]

TheCroArmyBilice Why does that meme never get old? :D

[@InMaTeofDeath]

This man knew how to play the Game of Thrones.

[@weldonwin]

InMaTeofDeath These are the people from whom we get the expression 'Byzantine Poilitics' meaning intrigue and back stabbing. This guy is the real Tywin Lannister

[@nerdseternal1138]

weldonwin I see him more like prince Doran

[@Elizabeththegreatest]

only he isn't a little person!

[@stevenchoza6391]

Elizabeththegreatest That’s Tyrion you’re thinking of. Tywin is Tyrion’s jerk father, albeit a smart jerk father.

[@maximumeffort7096]

He even lost like someone from Game of Thrones XD

[@zarathustra8643]

0:05 It's over...

[@Bubby370]

?

[@perhaps1094]

lol

[@AskeArg]

​@@Bubby370you wouldn't get it

[@pcachu]

Laser-eyed fire-breathing dinosaur mounts. Mr. Justinian, your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[@azelfdaboi5265]

Same

[@commandervulkan]

Justinian for Civ VI (I can dream.)

[@telivan776]

Omg yes

[@superchacho777]

+Tobias Taarup Give me komnenos or give me death

[@AshtonSnapp]

YES

[@omarm127]

Look at the stupid shit they've been doing with these gender quotas. It's pretty obvious that they want an even number of male and female leaders. I'm pretty sure we wont see Justinian for the same reason we got Catherine de Medici for France (someone who had negative impact on France as a whole) over someone like Louis XIV.

[@awanderingmonk828]

Hold strong, I'm sure he will be back. Theodora was the leader last game, its mostly likely his turn.

[@frostyguy1989]

It's always struck me as weird that when studying Rome, we tend to cover the Caesars and the Empire up to about Marcus Aurelius in the 180s AD, and then just stop there. It's as if the curriculum in school is like "Wow, look at how Rome rose up to such spectacular heights despite the odds... oh, and it falls to barbarians after 200 years or something where nothing happened at all. And nothing happens afterwards for 1000 years." That's actually skipping over more than half of Roman history. The Byzantines (shh, don't call them Romans or the Germans and the Pope will get butthurt) were a natural continuation of Roman culture and traditions, whereas the West was more heavily influenced by the "barbarian" cultures that colonised the empire's former holdings. You miss out on the Third Century Crisis, which was a fascinating civil war where the Roman Empire actually got split into three parts. You miss out on Diocletian, one of the most brilliant and innovative leaders Rome ever had. Of course, you miss out Justinian and Theodora's epic quest to rebuild the empire's former glory. You miss out on the Arab Conquests and how the empire survived- and outlasted, I might add- the seemingly unstoppable Caliphate. You miss out how Byzantine philosophy, art, architecture and religion became immensely influential on Eastern Europe, Russia and the Islamic world, and remains so to this day. And you miss out how the Byzantines influenced their successors, the Ottomans, who considered themselves to be Rome's heir and went on to dominate and terrorise Europe for centuries.

[@miloskocic1759]

We here in.serbia learn about him.we are orthodox

[@asasas9146]

Don't call them Romans or i will get butthurt

[@soviettankmen]

@@miloskocic1759 agreed, The history about the Rise of the Roman Republic is underappreciated, just think about 1 city became an empire that would impacted the whole civilization (like Roman conquest in Italian peninsula (Samnite Wars (Second Samnite War almost brought Rome to crisis), Phyrric Wars, etc)) well about Caesar, he was a smart person, and his story is interesting and he brought the Republic to the end. Well here in Indonesia, we don't learn about Roman history, but we learn about Islamic history. Sadly early Islamic expansion against Eastern Roman Empire and Sasanid Empire by Rashidun Caliphate was not covered here.

[@skippy9214]

Most of the school system doesn’t tell you nearly the full and interesting story. I see this as being a reason why so many people do not find an interest in history.

[@BlueTigerTheLion]

While we in school didn't see the third century crisis, we did actually see (although briefly) Justinian's reconquest.

[@greypotter1005]

Oh god thank you so, so much for calling Justinian a Roman Emperor. The Byzantine Empire gets so overlooked as it is, and even when it is being considered and taught about, its always as some footnote wholly separate from the Roman Empire itself. Sure, it grew into its own thing, but its so weird how a former part of the Roman Empire gets so overlooked in most history classes and "western" texts (if "western" even means anything...)

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

After classical Rome, but before the Medieval age, this is a period of history people in general tend to overlook, but it's a fascinating time. Thanks for doing this one!

[@robouteguilliman6662]

Even in death, Rome has still won.

[@alexpsaraftis6380]

Researching history from 0-1 k aren't you big G.(40k ref)

[@samuelademeso6061]

Ah no they didn't

[@Demicleas]

The rest of the romen empire would maby be the Greeks and Vatican city

[@Demicleas]

And many macidonia but mostly greece

[@lukemorrell149]

Grandmaster demicleas those both have nothing to do with the roman empire

[@User5C13nc5]

lol that Justinian hiring Ezio to assassinate Vitaly illustration

[@julianogodoy964]

User5C13nc5 Just some Random Asasssin. Ezio won't be born for some 900 years at that point

[@wiggumesquilax9480]

Juliano Godoy Animus. There is always an Ezio.

[@gutembergcraft]

Truly, is walpole

[@wiggumesquilax9480]

Gutemberg Camilo Ezio is time-travelling Walpole?! ...You just blew my mind. All human history makes sense now.

[@scribejay]

Juliano Godoy Heck, the Hashishins wouldn't be around for at least 500 years. The reference is a really annoying anachronism if you break it down.

[@stockimageguy8941]

0:06 Gemerald

[@-._Radixerus_.-]

laughed out loud bro that's crazy

[@horus_137]

ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID, ALL THE THING SHE SAID RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD RUNNING THROUGH MY HEAD

[@yavuzrao4401]

He really went all the way and changed the damn law just to marry Theodora. Have to respect that level of dedication / commitment. What a fella

[@wololo3781]

westphalen

[@adultadulturson7142]

0:05 say the line Chuddie!

[@lathamhendrickson2028]

Similar to how the Voortrekers weren't called Voortrekers until after they were gone, the Byzantine Empire never called itself the Byzantine Empire. To them, they were always just the Eastern Roman Empire, but we use the term Byzantine Empire to differentiate them from the Western Roman Empire, which we just call Rome. Also, Justinian supported the Blues? Sarge would be very disappointed. Blues suck!

[@rjfaber1991]

Latham Hendrickson Yes, Chelsea sucks.

[@frater7576]

Latham Hendrickson They were always just the Roman empire * haha :P, It had all the validity.

[@weldonwin]

Latham Hendrickson Yeah, but the Blues technically have Tex on their side

[@urbaraskpraetor3316]

weldonwin Tex can't handle Griff's balls.

[@weldonwin]

Urbarask Praetor Of course she doesn't handle them, just just punches them... a lot... Really hard... and the cone does NOT protect him

[@Matt-cz6ti]

One of my all time favourite periods of history - and I'm a historian. Can't wait to see what you'll teach me

[@seno5639]

scyx Hey no reason to act like that.

[@TurlasThe6]

Seno I can let ignorance slide. But not hatred.

[@seno5639]

scyx You do realize your telling some to KILL THEM SELF. That is hatred and so your hypocritical.

[@TurlasThe6]

Seno It is your right to feel that way. But yes, I hate people like that. But I have a REASON to hate them. They don't. I'm fine if you think I'm a hypocrite, as I'm sure he's fine letting me think he's racist. If he can speak his mind and spout such poison, then I can do the same.

[@seno5639]

scyx So your basically letting yourself slide down to the same level as that person?

[@zeevox1628]

VVOVV...... THE VVEST HAS TRVLY FALLEN......... BILLIONS MVST DIE

[@jcmoralfer]

This user is a p3doph1le he loves little girls they make him feel so good

[@hanque4684]

Justinillions must reconquer

[@ChrisPrantza]

0:43 As a typical greek, My heart become 1000 pieces when I saw these Banners...

[@sixstring4718]

Constantine and Justinian were Illyrians (Albanians) and Greeks still hate Albania smh

[@Weebusaurus]

UUUUUNGH WHY CAN'T THIS BE TWICE A WEEK Just tell me how much money I need to shove into your Patreon to make that so

[@hsnd2388]

PokeZelda6664 You can't, Walpole and John Blunt taught them how to extort money out of people.

[@-kenik9629]

PokeZelda6664 Also making content too fast will hurt quality.

[@billzhang1448]

PokeZelda6664 Don't listen to gavinrichard ladd and Kenik Kress . Maybe a 1337 centillion payments of 21,212,121 British pounds paid every nanosecond should do. Anything for more E.H!

[@henrikmunkmadsen3190]

PokeZelda6664 If I made a wild guess it would probably be about double.

[@billzhang1448]

Henrik Munk Madsen Plz sotp teh cmomon senz. Diis iz da inrtewbes.

[@Mr.Korzack]

Euro-centric Football context: The hippodrome had a bigger capacity than the Nou Camp in Barcelona. That kind of puts things into perspective for me. Holy Crap!

[@justing6292]

He just like me fr

[@aclown36]

The west has fallem

[@dragonking4756]

0:05 West has fallen it's over rome Chad's!

[@Warrior_of_Sparta]

Wow! This was excellent, subscribed :)

[@Adam-cq2yo]

This history series ain't all you're going to be getting in your sunscription box. If you don't like video games, you will at least learn more about them after watching a few videos. If you love video games to death, you'll learn more than you thought possible.

[@philarscott]

WarriorofSparta To add to Adam's reply, I subbed a few weeks ago. I like video games, but what I love about their view on the games is they look at how they affect the human psyche, and that is really more of a social engineering or modern-day mass psychology analysis than a video game review. It's a very intelligent channel.

[@jaydemarshall9191]

WarriorofSparta As some who has watched every episode since it first started on The Escapist Welcome to the Club! This is one of the best channels. It isn't just game design but also talks about the human condition and so many other things. I hope you enjoy it!

[@patrickfilion7950]

Warriors of Sparta! How's it going? Yea, I subbed for a while, this is good.

[@patrickfilion7950]

Reminds you of the last roman dlc campaign, doesn't it?

[@BigTuk]

belasarius was a genius. The polite request of surrender was basically meant as a warning. As inrrender or things get messy. He'd shown what happened when people cooperated and now it was seen what aheppend when people did not cooperate.

[@aaronman4772]

Anyone else feel like this episode was on fast forward? Not bad, since it was interesting, but it seems like it went faster than normal. Or maybe it was just that there was a lot I was unfamiliar with, it seemed faster.

[@wanderingursa8184]

aaronman4772 I assume it was merely because this was a "setting the stage" episode, so to say, quickly introducing what we will be viewing over the coming weeks and helping us... at least be familiar with the background of Justinian.

[@efgwrgergeg]

aaronman4772 yh especially the first half, i thought this was a one-off extra history episode while watching it because of the speed he went in the first half

[@aaronman4772]

The Red Dane I guess, and I guess the fact I know the least about this time than any of the other EHs they've done so far didn't help, but even for an exposition first episode it seemed to go fast.

[@lagsaur]

aaronman4772 Yeah it does. It's important to remember that the Byzanine Empire lasted for almost two-hundred years, which means this might be the longest time frame they've covered so far. So it will be a lot more history to talk about.

[@wanderingursa8184]

lagsaur Well, they're only going to be focusing on the life of Justinian, and not the Empire as a whole, so really, just 38 years of it. What is important to note is that this is happening between 527 to 565, and the country is the "successor" to the Roman Empire.

[@Dlopwoo]

seeing the hagia sophia becoming a mosque made me break down in tears

[@somaliforeheadwarrior9721]

I was dancing at the news.

[@thenablade858]

It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it’s still here. Most people in modern day Turkey aren’t Christians, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t be made into a useful place of worship for the population. Although I would prefer a museum.

[@emmaj8337]

I admire people who can look at historical figures as real, relatable humans... and I admire more those who share their passion for high school students to see and understand in a new light. Thanks for this!

[@ztac_dex]

The west has fallen

[@wololo3781]

0:06 It's Theodover

[@Bubby370]

Why?

[@wololo3781]

@@Bubby370 The west has fallen

[@Bubby370]

@@wololo3781 ?

[@mratmozzmsm]

Its so so over

[@peytonreed937]

What?

[@Bidoof_Fan7]

Did u pass?

[@NAWWMANNN]

Uhh, screw Justinian! This guy's uncle was freaking INCREDIBLE!!! Justinian rose to prominance at the behest of his uncle, but Justin literally clawed himself from illiterate peasantry to freaking EMPEROR of Rome. Why is there not a more detailed series on this guy?!?!

[@KasumiRINA]

But... he, like, never even conquered Italy?.. It's like me claiming to be Empress of New York while sitting in Eastern Europe, like... no. this Justin not-Timberlake is as much an emperor of Rome as you are the Queen of England.

[@palatasikuntheyoutubecomme2046]

@@KasumiRINA The city of rome was irrelevant, It was still the same empire. If every US state left except Hawai'i, Haai'i would still be the US

[@TheMagicDrPancakez]

Thank you so much for covering this period of history! Sadly the history of the Eastern Romans is neglected and misunderstood greatly (such as the use of "Byzantine") in the West.

[@chaosspork]

TheMagicDrPancakez Thank you! I really hope that term stops being used someday. I really don't care for it.

[@Switcharoo12]

Just discovered you guys through my cousin, he shared your piece about Cheng I Sao. I love your Extra History series, the illustrations, narration, and delivery are both entraining and witty as well as informative. Ive binge watched just about all 200+ videos and look forward to more. Thank you and keep up the great work. You all rock!

[@theamazingm4780]

Ah hell yes! Being a man in Greece myself i have seen this part in history class at school and I'm definitely exited for this one.

[@wawawiwa___]

its over, the west has fallen. milions must reconquer

[@Valefisk]

Istanbul was Constantinople Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople Been a long time gone, Constantinople Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night...

[@ogulcankrmzaltn4531]

The capital of old Kebab and lt had different names like İslambol (İf I wasn't wrong means city of islam ) İstanbul has many names but cannot win name race againts Daenerys Targeryen but West Mostly use both and most knowed names is this two of them

[@dombombomabely]

Hi valefisk im a subscriber

[@ogulcankrmzaltn4531]

I came from School and so what İstanbul name doesn't matter and how you got money for ınternet or computer

[@ogulcankrmzaltn4531]

Gio Antony they teach us wars like we won and your losses only three times your nation win againts us in war of greece indepedence by having back of english balkan wars ottomans 2 front war with 3 normal(Greece Bulgaria Serbia) 1 major (Italy) and one small nation (montegro) and in ww 1 we even fight but because of we lost the war you win but almost all 1 vs 1 country wars Turks wins and we don't care like city names also gdp per capita doesn't count money earn by rich and poor also if you give your debts your economy became way worse than us also because your nation in eu your money is more worth than us but but more important think is how many people had money need for basic needs ... and we hold almost 3 million refugees equal Almost a % 25 of your country population and long live mongolia

[@ghostsade3]

100 years after the end of the Ottoman Empire? Do you mean beginning? Or the end of the Byzantine empire? Because 100 years after the end of the Ottoman Empire would be 2022, which hasn't happened yet.

[@nanoenjoyer8027]

da west has fallen, its so over

[@lillianlevi5448]

I keep coming back to watch this series. It's like returning to a favorite movie.

[@calchuchesta3196]

BILLIONS

[@Shal5ful]

This makes the byzantophile inside me happy :)

[@hsnd2388]

Who got Justin to repeal the Goverment officals can't marry actresses law? Not Justinian, but Walpole. Also, Walpole would have _loved_ to bribe the demes in his favor... Wait, he'll probably do that next episode.

[@j.d.norcross9362]

This was your best extra history yet! History has never given me goosebumps before!

[@villalba874]

Imagine being a peasant one day and an emperor the next.

[@MrPoPo-ie9ly]

bruh

[@ahzekahriman9379]

A man to rival Romulus in ambition, a man with Caesar’s sense of ambition, all with the wisdom of Marcus Aurelius. That is Justinian

[@beans00001]

THE WEST HAS FALLEN

[@crumbo5095]

With Oda/Tokugawa, Hannibal, Shaka, Bismarck briefly, and now Justinian/Theodora being in Extra History, I think these 10 topics involving civ leaders in the Civ series will be covered Julius/Augustus Caesar's campaigns Mehmed's conquering of Constantinople Rise of the Incan Empire The Napeolonic Wars Genghis Khan's reign Alexander's conquest of Persia The Spanish invasion of the Aztec empire Elizabethan England The Native uprising in America The Vikings

[@inconceivablycanadian3559]

A surprising amount of these are correct.

[@RasenFemme]

I've always been fascinated by this era of history. Much as I've enjoyed this show so far, this is the first time I've ever been disappointed that the episode was over. Disappointed in the good way, mind; that I will have to wait another week for the next episode.

[@NicoGonzalezEstevez]

This sounds really interesting! again i know nothing about this, every time i see one of these episodes i end up spending like an hour on wikipedia finding out more stuff about it, and that's awesome.

[@Sforschondetta]

Nico Gonzalez The reign of Justinian is truly something of a marvel.

[@xXS3miNinjaXxSemiSiblings]

Ikr we should have people like Justinian who rule nations

[@MrMadster69]

Thank you for giving all my Civ games some context

[@ΜέγαςΙουστινιανόςοΆγιοςΑυτοκρά]

One of the greatest Roman emperors of all time.

[@voldlifilm]

Okay, I'm hooked. Again. You guys tell these stories so well. I could go on for a few more lines praising you, but you get what I'm saying. Keep 'em coming. 'nuff said.

[@TheBoyonBreakUntil]

It’s so over western bros

[@272arshan]

Extra History always surprises me by showcasing the less well-known tracts of history. Excellent work. (Also, an interesting future episode topic would be the Pirate Rajdom of Champa. Just a suggestion.)

[@thefuryofthedragon8715]

Wow I remember watching this years ago, can't believe its been 8 years tbh

[@nathanielmesekale583]

You make me remember why I became a history major in the first place ... Love the series !!!

[@CommissarWallace]

Just waiting for Belisarius - he's the Walpole of the Eastern Empire.

[@andrewchen6253]

Incredible how different the story is depending on the perspective.

[@JouleZeath]

1:58 "He had the energy, the drive and the capacity" *30 GB* *Lmao*

[@ultralight9625]

coming back to this series for the khosrau series

[@_Ocariao]

Justinian and Belisarius will be my sons names, I already choose this!

[@waternapkinvondushenhofen8717]

+Extra Credits I utterly admire the efforts and work you put in those magnificent downloads of historical marvel :) The intriguing and adapted manner in which you deliver the material is evidently delightful

[@Capsuleer7]

I love the history and culture of the Byzantine Empire. I thank you all for doing a Extra history on the Eastern Roman Empire!

[@SaltpeterTaffy]

I love the abundance of dutch angle shots in this video. :D Makes everything look so important.

[@NadavNevo883]

I feel like I should mention The Sarantine Mosaic - a couple of great historical fantasy novels by Guy Gavriel Kay loosely based on the reign of Justinian I.

[@Theehtlam66]

Sitting in Istanbul as we speak, couldnt have come at a better time :)

[@Wolf_Medic]

4:49 I love the assassins creed reference

[@strasbourgeois1]

1:02 Unrelated, but the person next to Justinian is Flavius Belisarius, considered to the the last true Roman warrior.

[@WitcherGerd]

He’s talked about later in the series but yes he was

[@wretneck]

Now I really hate public school history classes more. Not only are they not entertaining like these videos they never talked about characters/people like this guy, Justinian. But goes to show that as long as the sources play to be honest, you can learn more by reading online

[@Snowy123]

OH MY GOD HOW DO YOU DO IT! EVERY SERIES IS ON SUCH GOOD TOPICS!

[@kava2340]

God, this series used to be amazing.

[@ZosoZeus]

Dear Extra Credits, For the first time in fifteen years, I look forward to a Saturday morning cartoon. Thanks for that.

[@johnnyscifi]

I love your intro. Especially with the Actraiser 1 music!!!

[@OmegaLittleBob]

I love this series! Almost feels like a sequel to the first one on the Punic Wars XD "Last time Rome was Victorious against Carthage and became the greatest power in the World!" This Time "Rome is gone, only a shadow of its former glory remains," XD I love history!

[@TheFelborn]

"Next few weeks." Five months to our one-year anniversary.

[@jackd5525]

Wonderful series and brilliant channel! However, there are several emperors of the East who could be contenders for the greatest. Off my head: Herakleios, the Komnenoi, Basil I, Basil II, and Constantine I! Would love to see a video on any of them!

[@rossmallo]

3:25 - The delivery of people dying in this series always gets me. The sheer, mid-sentence suddenness of it and the "OH CRAP" expressions, plus the fact the scene usually lasts less than a second, it always cracks me up.

[@sonic234sonikero4]

7:01 The best image of the video xD Just think... A emperator cooking for his wife? I will pay for see that.

[@g.o.a.t9442]

I think that rather Justinian or Basil II is the best Byzantine Emperor. Extra History should make a series on him, too.

[@KameronsAnimations]

Justin looks very experienced to become an emperor just by being chosen by Anastasius.

[@wanaan]

Thank you for making history fun, as always. It might be out of your area of expertise (and reliable sources are much harder to come by) but a series on Asian history would be awesome.

[@Ennio444]

I don't think Justinian was a man you can consider "wise" or "caring towards his people". If he did, he wouldn't have ordered ten or twenty thousand of them dead during the Nika riots. He was actually your average Soldier Emperor, of the same mold Constantine, Diocletian, Constantius II or Vespasian came from. Tireless, unrelenting, and very drastic, capable of great cruelty. He had assets few other Emperors had: a clever and devoted (to him or to his crown, that's another story) wife, very capable officers (Narses and Belisarius, but not just them), and a hoard of money inherited from his predecessos Anastasius. I like him, but mostly because I can relate to his loss of Theodora and the fact that he survived the Plague of 540 (arguably deadlier than the Black Death), which must have left him scarred. Half his people, and many of his friends and close ones, died with the Plague. He got sick, but survived, although Procopius tells us he was never the same. Sources are also a problem: we mostly have one source, Procopius, and he wrote two contradicting histories: his own official chronicle and the Secret History. In one, he paints Justinian as the paragon of monarchy. In the other, he calls everyone bad names and says they were all terrible people. Which one should be believed?

[@Ennio444]

Well, the Secret History is so filled with bad bile and namecalling that one can hardly take it as a reliable account. As always, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Anyway, Justinian is the most well known emperor for three reasons: He built the most recongnisable Byzantine work of art (Hagia Sophia), he reigned longer than any other Byzantine Emperor, and he had good press (or just, press, in the form of Procopius and the well known and well preserved mosaiques in San Vitale. It's important to see the face of the man you're reading about). Probably we're missing most of the history about the others. Zeno, for instance, was a very Justinian-like character, but his reign is largely known through external sources, and therefore little considered (only in the famous "Odoacer sent Zeno the Imperial insignia").

[@PaulGaither]

These are great and keep getting better.

[@MisaelSuaveTeamAccount]

They hands down have the best musical scale

[@smalltime0]

This is one of the periods of history I love. Can't wait to see it all unfold.

[@pisiupo]

Horrible Latin pronunciaton, but besides that everything is great.

[@pisiupo]

***** It's not just the pronunciation of Hagia Sophia, but all latin words in general. For example they pronounced Justinianus "Justini-ugh-noʊs"

[@Lanthalona]

pisiupo The thing about Latin pronunciation is that you always have to decide which standard to follow. Italians, English-speakers, Germans, Russians etc. all pronounce Latin words in a different way. I don't know what standard they were going for in the video, but it sounded better to me than the English standard, honestly. Also, what's with your combining of pronunciation transcription methods in the example?

[@pisiupo]

***** Well if they were trying to pronounce it in a Greek fashion they're even more wrong, starting from the fact that they put the stress on the wrong vowel.

[@pisiupo]

Daniela L I wanted to transcribe it in such a way that everyone would understand but I didn't know how to transcribe that sound without using the IPA.

[@frozendragon498]

pisiupo No it not Latin is a extinct languages so there is no correct way to pronounce a Latin word.

[@mindockMK1]

Loving that it takes 30GB of storage to back up the dreams of the Roman Empire

[@ADOG51412]

Great episode! Im excited to see the next one! Thanks again guys!!!!!

[@Weebusaurus]

Yes! Waiting all week!

[@RonaldLouieSadiz]

Who's back here after the Khosrau episode?

[@darthrevan4748]

Rome Restore:A wonderful new product. Can help fix problems that might be making your country run slowly or stop responding. Will also help download the ROmeS to computers that are on the primitive Barbarian OSX or Hundows 6.

[@mas_3330]

I love how the image from civ v was used to represent the Haigia Sofia

[@jimt6498]

There was no Byzantium after 312AD - just Constantinople. And though Anatolia was central to the eastern Roman Empire, so was Greece (including Thrace and Macedonia), Syria and Egypt.

[@uhhhprussia]

The west has fallen.

[@Oblivisci........]

No it really hasn't. 😂

[@uhhhprussia]

@@Oblivisci........ its a joke

[@PapagenoDispo]

we out here crushing on caesar, augustus, and justinian