Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Tier List

[@Serapeum]

I forgot to show Heraclius' tier: to clarify, I put him in A-tier.

[@harrydowling3271]

Based

[@williammacdonald3173]

Also in the case of Justinian he is considered one of the greatest lawmakers in history. The house chamber in the US capital building has on the gallery doors busts of the 23 greatest lawmakers in history which includes Justinian so that might boost him

[@susanodseta]

Also in the case of Justinian he bankrupted the empire, overextended the military, had to keep taxes high to finance his campaigns, and ordered a masacre of 30 thousand of his own people, so that might debase him a bit too

[@williammacdonald3173]

@susanodseta what would you have done different in the case of the Nika revolt

[@jovanvladetic8772]

​@@susanodseta he didnt bankrupt the empire, he overextended the military and the quelling of the nika riots were necessary to not be deposed. Only bad thing he did was overextending.

[@Gigadoomer13]

The overextension was worsened by the plauge, had that not happened they would've been able to consolidate their gains in Italia. It's not like Justinian had a magic ball/mirror that could tell him when a future BUBONIC plague was going to happen.

[@qbpdnguyen2844]

​@@jovanvladetic8772yea the only thing he did wrong was the military, his campaigns took too much time and life as well as money either because of his decisions and the plague.

[@DIXIE-DEAN]

Phocas 🐐 and Alexios IV 🥶 better be in S tier 👀👀

[@antiepix9555]

IKR! Name ONE Emperor better than those two! You can’t!

[@DIXIE-DEAN]

@antiepix9555 Only real historical leader close was King john of England

[@mezzyvt701]

Good yes

[@JstZeldablackie]

True bro

[@user-gw2uq4fr8p]

@DIXIE-DEANjohn was no where near as bad as people tjink he was

[@dansmith4077]

For the algorithm great video your channel is awesome

[@jaydenburgher2651]

Lol Micheal VII is so bad they didnt even bother blinding him

[@williammacdonald3173]

I think you underratted theodisius II. I think he he gets B for hos he dealt with the huns and also the episode of how he had the walls of Constantinople repaired after an earthquake with tge huns coming

[@ziyadpepe6291]

Your voice is so calm 😅 You have no idea how many times i re-watch your videos just to hear you talking. . In the future I'll re-make one of your videos as a gift from me to you.

[@Ausplainer]

I think you underrate Justinian. His church was way more costly than the wars, but this site alone secured Roman diplomacy for centuries. He brought legal reform, silk trade, maritime trade and diplomacy through slick administration. As for the conquests, if he's left all his armies in Thrace they'd have turned into corpses. Italy fell appart because Belisarius disobeyed and refused the peace and and the plague (combined with the Gothic counter attack) trashed it. Justin II literally declared war on all fronts which would have been disastrous at any time. The treasury quickly provided Tiberius II with a surplus so the economy was stable if only Justin II had been saner. As for Phokas and the Arabs, did anyone see that coming? I'd argue the trade and exposure to the west alone made the reconquests key to Byzantium's long term survival.

[@TheGamingRaven]

Justinian's accomplishments throughout his own life-time are truly momentous. His feats are never really replicated by any subsuquent emperor. Wholeheartedly agreed.

[@kaiser9488]

Wasn't Justinian being untrusting of Belisarius in Italy why the war dragged on, since him being pulled off the campaign allowed the Goths to regroup and counterattack IIRC.

[@Boo-lr8fj]

@@kaiser9488 It was Belisarius’s fault that the Gothic War dragged on between the years of 540-554. Thus overextending the empire of resources and forces, which would had been desperately needed against Persia.

[@ErtaiCZ]

I love Constantine XI. I wrote my theses on the Fall of Constantinople and grew to appreciate the guy

[@onemoreminute0543]

Reached the end of the video. Can't believe Basiliscus was S tier.

[@danske613]

38:34 English Kings tier list when

[@siyg]

Here’s the cycle: Chad emperor appears out of nowhere and fixes the empire. The empire is almost brought back to where it was centuries ago. Chad emperor either dies without an heir or suddenly dies and is replaced by a string of incompetent (some decent ones mixed in) emperors that undo his life’s work. Repeat process for 1000 years

[@Ennio444]

I think there's merit in "rating" historical characters not as achievers, but as characters in a narrative. Someone could achieve much, sure, but would it make for exciting stories, interesting narratives, gripping biographies, or even simply lives that make us reflect on the human experience? If we continued I, Claudius until Constantine XI, which seasons would be stand outs, and which ones would be kinda boring? Which characters we'd root for more than others?

[@v4facade]

I'm convinced that Justin II used the palantir and saw the Persian conquest.

[@awadmanoe]

Wait so what tier is Heraclius in?

[@Serapeum]

Oh nuts, he's meant to be in A-tier

[@maldegaar]

If Constantine isn't S tier I don't know who is.

[@Ennio444]

Big J

[@owoc8260]

Basil the War Criminal

[@nexus7860]

@@Ennio444 virgin pagan larper vs chad orthodox ☦

[@IMPCIVLIVSCAESARDIVVS]

Constantine is easily the most overrated Emperor.

[@Ennio444]

@@nexus7860 Big J is obviously Justinian, Julian is Small J at best.

[@Constantine_Bush]

Constantine,also,established solidus as the empire's currency.

[@Giga-cat-c6b]

You really seemed to rate all of them quite harshly.

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

What grade did Heraclius get?

[@zeldov5735]

I think it is fair to say that both basil II and justinian are overrated atleast a tad bit. The reconquests of the west by justinian led to not much gain for alot of blood, italy was a poor, desolated region, and the financial struggle that came with it probably impacted as far as Heraclius' reign. As for Basil, although his reign is almost flawless, it is hard to forgive the monumental mistake it was for him to completely "forget" about procuring himself an heir, especially with all his nieces around. It is true that he was on the field almost all the time, but the continuation of the macedonian dynasty after such a triumph could have rooted it deep into the roman state, like with the paleologoi later on. I think that the best empires, in my opinion, have to be those that defied the odds when the empire was at it's lowest. Alexios Komnenos, maybe Heraclius, maybe even Leo III.

[@superyamky]

Finally ty

[@MoeLesteur]

Cmon Nikephoros II is a S ! =D

[@chadroberts6344]

I think the rating is really harsh on justinian

[@luke-nz5du]

Christmas has come early I’ll edit whenever u say something egregious

[@rickyyacine4818]

Very based finaly someone sought the true great emperor john 1 basil dont deserve s tier a maybe just maybe I dont like basil 2nd

[@TimeOfTroubles73]

I still call it Constantinople.

[@rosskourtis9602]

With respect, I think you're too charitable towards Isaac II Angelos. This guy made so many absurdly stupid mistakes that I personally think he should be put at the lowest tier.

[@user-gw2uq4fr8p]

x views in y minutes bro fell off

[@mezzyvt701]

I love men

[@ZorroOfTheLaw]

oooooo

[@JuggisManuggis]

Alexios and John II should be S. Unsubscribed

[@gabrielethier2046]

Constantine too

[@TheGamingRaven]

Personally think you probably overrated Julian who, while a conscientious emperor and clever man, has a pretty short, disasterous reign. He is largely unpopular with the growing christian segment and launches into an awful Persian campaign which culminated in his early death + no obvious successor. A bad reign and bad legacy. But ofc this is just my own read of Julian's reign.

[@bariuslippius]

1 view in 30seconds bro fell off