Empire of Psychopaths: What Lead the Romans to be Quite so Brutal?

Well, that's one theory...
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[@yesfredfredburger8008]

Rome wasn't unique for its psychopaths, it was unique for how well armed and organized its psychopaths got

[@lazaruschandler3750]

Hive mind psychopathy

[@bobbygetsbanned6049]

Yup! Those were different times, every civilization was barbaric.

[@clockeight5747]

@@bobbygetsbanned6049 No! not every civilization at least not as much as European civilization.

[@bobbygetsbanned6049]

@@clockeight5747 Lmao right, all the human sacrifices that were going on in the Americas were super civilized.

[@flavorlessdenial8271]

Haha I was on your side, then I started rambling about other violent civilizations, and he is pretty much right xD Christian europeans stand behind some of the most gruesome and horrible torture and capital punishments throughout history... Being tied to a wheel and beat until every bone was broken, specialized seats with nails sticking out / just a huge metal triangle for decimating women's genitals (also a gripping claw that was put in a fire till it was red hot before it was used to RIP their BREASTS off), iron maidens, boiling oil, being hung drawn and quartered with your mangled torso being displayed for good measure after... They were nothing if not creative!

[@tacklengrapple6891]

Simon: “Rome was populated with psychopaths.” Assyrian Empire: “Am I a joke to you?”

[@composerdoh]

Yeah, I've heard that some of the practices of the Vikings and many other peoples more contemporary of the Romans also made the Romans sometimes look like Sunday School teachers. The Romans were hardly alone in their cruelty of the time.

[@JohnSmith-eo5sp]

Vikings chewed magic mushrooms

[@charlesflint9048]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp that might explain the ‘Berserkers’

[@composerdoh]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp Too bad they didn't invent psychedelia and the hippy movement 1500-1800 years early

[@milascave2]

@@JohnSmith-eo5sp Some probably did. But they were not the psilocybin that you are probably thinking of. These were Aminita Mascara. These are in the family of drugs like belladonna and datura. In low doses, it gets you high, in higher doses, it is a poison that makes you have horrible trips and physical problems. So yea, this is more like the kind of drug that you would expect Vikings to take.

[@TCAPChrisHandsome]

I love the pun in the title. "What LEAD the Romans to be so brutal?"

[@johanneabelsen1644]

And "LEGIONS of other brutal acts.."😊

[@knowEyeDeer]

Watch the trolls DECIMATE the comments section...

[@hellomoto2084]

I don't see a campaign by the trolls of in this comment section.

[@knowEyeDeer]

@@hellomoto2084 combo breaker!

[@micksherman7709]

Dude can't spell.

[@antonioyeats2149]

Honestly I imagine Roman's were no more brutal than any other culture. They just kept better records

[@mongoose6685]

Nah, Aztecs were worse

[@jonnylawless6797]

At least the Romans didn't practice human sacrifice

[@Eduardo_Ventura]

Guess you should start researching for what others did. In middle ages there were things the Romans wouldn't even dream about. They just did what everyone else did. You don't judge a millennia old culture by our standards. Some other cultures impaled, skinned, quartered, and the list goes on. Romans didn't do that.

[@justecaro955]

@@Eduardo_Ventura Romans crucified Christ

[@robertshank3729]

Thank you

[@MrDDiRusso]

Outlaws in the Wild West often suffered terminal kinetic energy poisoning from lead as well.

[@IntotheShadows]

:D

[@voshadxgathic]

Ya got me, pardner.

[@stefanschleps8758]

Dirp!

[@minagica]

What a way of putting it 😂

[@archstanton_live]

Chronic low level lead ingestion likely contributes to an increase in kinetic energy poisoning from lead also.

[@futurehistory2110]

This makes me appreciate being able to go to sleep in a warm bed and in safety tonight when throughout history, including ancient history, many innocent people suffered horrific injustice and deaths. I appreciate that I am not in physical pain right now and that I am alone and feel safe.

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

Yes that is what many people take for granted.

[@pauliePwalnuts]

Amen

[@colmcmillan173]

That's because you are a modern Roman.

[@shadyshandalear]

Same! And I live with severe chronic undiagnosed pain for over 2yrs. Still, I’m appreciative the life I have. Possibly more so, because of this experience. If anything, I want to live more fully 😢❤

[@itsmeme8544]

don't be so hasty. This was an example of badly researched advancement in technology and today we have the same problem multiple times because we can not catch up with technology...Tomorrow might be nuclear winter all over the Earth.

[@giorgiociaravolol1998]

Context: the classical age was extremely violent, especially in continental Europe. Romans, being composed originally by bandits of the worst kind and desperate people, were aggressive go getters that relied on conquest for defence naturally had a culture based around "visit Rome before Rome visits you". Mfs literally built roads towards enemy territory because it was easier and faster to invade them. They had war and domination 24/7 in their minds. Even the etruscans didn't manage to do what romans did in terms of urban development because they chilled in their city states despite having the wealth to do it

[@Dedlyniteshade]

Extreme violence wasn't unique to Europe lol

[@rdrrr]

@@Dedlyniteshade Chinese civil wars are on a different level. "Man declares himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ; 25 million casualties."

[@PeasantNo.471]

Look up scaphismus, I think it comes from persia....humans are brutal, doesent depend from where, they are all.

[@Etzelsschizo]

@@rdrrr CHina had a large population which was almost impossible to feed. Any minor imapct on the harvest meant the starvation of tousands to millions of people which usually made up the majority of deaths in most CHinese wars

[@encahill]

I don't think it was any more brutal than similar empires in Asia, Africa or the Americas .. perhaps just more documented.

[@frogger2011ify]

Japan was very recently this terrible

[@frozzytango9927]

Stop trying to shift blame. There is no such barbarism in other cultures. IF other race of people were in coliseums, they will think the roman people are psychopaths.

[@Tespri]

@@frogger2011ify same with russia within their 100-years.

[@friedmandesigns]

Well put. Documentation is the only thing that differentiates the generally consistency of barbarity throughout hominin history. Our fossil record is the output of hardwired Fight-or-Flight source code in resource competition on a resource-constrained mudball spaceship. The Mongols, Huns, Vikings. Crusaders, Inquisitors, Aztec sacrificers. Trans-Saharan slavers, the America's, Rwanda, the Khmer Rouge. Mao's "Great Leap Forward." There is zero bio-geographic ancestry or historical empire with exclusive rights to title "barbaric." That's owned by human history.

[@kryzzan7039]

Germany..@@Tespri

[@Nyctophora]

Having been exposed accidentally to water in lead pipes in an old Georgian house, let me tell you it does taste sweet and rather pleasant, so I can see how it came about that the Romans preferred it. Also please don't do this. It isn't worth it. I bought a water filter and used it. In another house, Victorian this time, the plumber cut a section out of the water pipe during repairs and showed me that it was lead. It was so furred up inside that the lead was no longer in contact with the water, but honestly, I was glad to see it replaced. If you live in a Victorian house in the UK, it's worth checking.

[@Aconitum_napellus]

Is that why you crucified your hamster? ;)

[@waynebimmel6784]

I think a water filter won't do it

[@karlost23]

Hmmm, so need an Empire?… plan ahead with a generation of sweet, sweet, leaded water. It’ll be interesting in a couple of hundred years to see the YuToob comments about us - “wot thei drank MILK!!? OH thei didn’t nkow…”

[@MrLoobu]

This explains a great deal.

[@aurumproductions]

Just when I was thinking about getting lead pipes for that classic sweet lead tast you come along and tell me "it isn't worth it" I dont buy it.

[@uumlau]

Q: What lead to the Romans being so brutal? A: They were human. The main difference between Rome and other ancient civilizations is that Rome was organized enough to keep more meticulous records than most of the others, so we have a lot more material to work with. Heck, we know a lot more about Rome than many of the medieval realms that followed its fall. The proper question isn't why the Romans were so brutal, but rather how/where/when/why did humanity become gentler? I include the "where" and "when" parts of that because the 20th century was no exception to extreme government-sanctioned brutality. Brutality was not exceptional for most of the history of humanity. Gentleness is very exceptional.

[@dan-qi4ye]

Nailed it!

[@wigsmey4462]

Exactly. They lived in an era where civilizations had to fight incredibly violent wars against each other to survive. The most brutal would win. There wasn’t much room for mercy.

[@grant.5345]

Not necessarily. Anthropologists nowadays have found that early pre-civilization humans did not have the regular, organized, and cultural brutality we see in Rome. That kind of coordinated violence, and then the accepted casual cruelty really is as exceptional to the history of humans as much as "gentleness" is. I mean consider that in the 200,000 years of us being evolved as we are, we only really have history of mass violence within really only a few thousand years. Humans mostly lacked the organization to effectively administer that kind of sadism for most of our existence. It probably wasn't until the advent of "society" that humans could effectively do this sort of stuff.

[@christophertaylor3150]

Valuing human life including those outside your family came to western culture as values from Christianity

[@uumlau]

@@grant.5345 Um, we only have a HISTORY of a few thousand years. That's kind of a thin thread on which to assert that we've only had brutal violence in that time. I would agree, to an extent, that "mass violence" is only possible via mass societal organization, but that's just human nature scaled up. Don't fall for Rousseau's concept of the "noble savage". Prehistoric tribes fought each other as readily as ancient empires. Only the scale differs. Don't mistake the selection effects of civilization enabling human accomplishments (for good or ill) on ever larger scales for somehow indicating that civilization causes that increasing violence.

[@kmdn1]

I lived in Rome for a couple years around 2001-2002. I was 13 years old and I was walking in the area of the colloseum when i noticed a lot of commotion around the highest part of the colloseum wall. There were a few large trucks, some polizia, and an audience of people that were taking seats on a grassy area, like they were getting ready to watch an outdoor movie. I remember some people spreading small blankets out to sit on, some were munching on snacks while they gazed up at a man pacing back and forth on the edge of the highest part of the wall of the colloseum. He was distressed. He was considering jumping. I remember thinking how strange it was to suddenly and unexpectedly be at the Colloseum, surrounded by Romans, who on this sunny beautiful afternoon were casually watching a man struggle for his life. The man's body wasn't being ripped apart by lions or tigers- but he certainly was being ripped apart by something else, inner beasts i suppose.

[@rain_M4V7]

Free show

[@archmageofmetal8883]

How many channels does this guy have!!?? You could make an entire streaming service with JUST his content.

[@SlimeBlueMS]

He gets hired by random channels to read scripts, they aren't his lol

[@liquidminds]

@@SlimeBlueMS he has writers that write scripts and when he has a bunch that don't fit the existing channels but can be grouped up, he makes a new one. Other people do write his scripts, but he pays his writers to do it for him, not the other way around.

[@dans9463]

​@@liquidminds He reads the scripts better than Biden.

[@sabiti5428]

The poor using copper (a metal the human body actually wants) and the rich using toxic lead pots is poetic.

[@exosproudmamabear558]

Copper is also toxic not as much as lead tho. In my country copper was pretty widely used but they covered the inside with tin so it wouldnt be toxic. The thing is copperware is amazing to cook things so I dont understand why wealthy opted by lead.

[@Laocoon283]

All heavy metals are toxic silly egg

[@sabiti5428]

@@Laocoon283 copper isn't one thick egg

[@sabiti5428]

@@exosproudmamabear558 it's toxic in large amounts, just like iron. But nobody is throwing away cast iron skillets because it's going to make you crazy

[@Laocoon283]

@@sabiti5428 All metals are toxic ya rotten egg

[@caspersorensen5685]

"What LEAD the Romans...." I see what you did there.

[@deboralee1623]

i missed it; thanks for pointing it out, Casper.

[@Faithless0415]

Ahh, you beat me to it!!

[@margaretc5679]

Clever little typo... lol

[@37Dionysos]

In case you don't know "led."

[@37Dionysos]

@Betty Embury Oh, Christ.

[@countcampula]

Part of the reason you had people carry their own cross is so they're too tired to escape once they're on it, nails won't hold someone truly determined... Unless they're exhausted to begin with.

[@patrickdegenaar9495]

Much of our plumbing here in the UK was lead based until recently. The main water pipe into my house was lead. I tested the water and it was actually within acceptable limits. Though i still replaced the pipes just in case, I suspect this isn't the issue in Rome. Rather lead seals on bottles, lead salts in wine etc as you highlight are much more of an issue.

[@sinocte]

Not to mention their fondness for lead based pewter goblets and plates.

[@Vazzini42]

They sprinkled it on food for flavoring. The caps on jugs were a pittance.

[@Fangman123789]

The lead pipes used throughout history usually had an oxide and calcium buildup that protected the water from lead leeching. However as you stated the Romans used lead for more than just their pipes. Their biggest intake of lead was most likely as a sweetener in wine and other foods/beverages.

[@SpaceMonkeyBoi]

The Roman's would have never fallen if they were sponsored by Curiosity Stream

[@jpbean]

😂😂😂😂

[@TheGrinningViking]

Curiosity stream, 100% lead free.

[@pandakicker1]

Rome would never have fallen had they not played around so much with monotheism and then let it devour them. Even then, Rome lives on today in so many ways including that alphabet you use everyday.

[@masterrafferty4065]

"Brother Romulus, we should name this new city Reme!" "It's not terrible, but I have a much better idea."

[@lupunegru2023]

🥲

[@victoriandino]

“Jupiter said I got the vultures first so it should be my name!”

[@Rex73777]

@@victoriandino But more Vultures landed on my hill!!!

[@victoriandino]

@@Rex73777 “Well you little-“ *marches over and gets killed*

[@burquebandit7169]

😂 brilliant

[@StopFear]

Some people make a mistake when they assume that since such brutality description mostly come to us from many centuries ago that this is something beyond what people are capable of in modern times. But I think given the conditions and scarcity all violence like this can easily reappear and happen on mass scale again.

[@benyendle2584]

Muslim countries are heading there

[@666Kaca]

@@benyendle2584 being bombed and invaded by the US for 20+ years does that to you

[@benyendle2584]

Most Muslim countries weren't bombed. They're just backward

[@666Kaca]

@@benyendle2584 tell me you dont know history without telling me you dont know history. Read a book, your bigotry is showing

[@zogar8526]

@benyendle2584 that isn't an issue caused by them being Muslim. Rather it is an issue caused by allowing theocratic rule of any kind. Every theocracy in human history has been cruel and horrible in all ways. Including christian ones. There are no exceptions. When government and religion mix, people go bad and it is a terrible time for all but those at the very top. And this is exactly where the American right is pushing us now. They want a completely authoritarian theocracy here in the USA. And anyone who thinks it will be any less then what goes on in Islamic controlled countries is kidding themselves. The reality is, if we let Christianity gain control of a government again, it will be worse. So much worse. The Islamic nations will be looking on saying " wtf? That's too much, a little religious freedom is ok guys, come on."

[@rayramos8435]

The decimation was rarely used and only for the most egregious of military derelictions: mutiny or refusal to fight things like that. BTW, my pet peeve is when someone uses the word decimation to mean totally destroyed. It literally means to be reduced by 1/10. So out of a legion that is decimated you would lose one cohort, leaving 4800 ,give or take, still able to fight. Hardly destroyed even if you are considering morale. A decimated legion would fight that much harder to regain their honor in view of the others.

[@cambyses1529]

Well, I think it was mostly just used by psychopaths that wanted to honour themselves as upholders of ancient traditions (eg Crassus during the war against Sparticus). After a defeat caused by the consuls (generals) not equipping or training the men properly, choosing a bad engagement and then themselves running from battle first. But Crassus still thought it was the right thing to murder 10% of the survivors and just allow the consuls to live out their lives in comfort on their estates. Crassus was playing to his base and looking to improve his political standing by taking the "traditional" option. It wasnt really the decimation that improved those troops, it was the proper training and equipment he gave them afterwards that did - and he knew this full well. I believe the real reason decimation wasnt used more frequently by the large number of psychopaths in charge of Rome's military is that if imposed without the comfort of other legions in support the troops to be decimated would not have stood for it. So, in the Crassus example he was able to impose the punishment only because he had his own (properly trained and equipped) army ready to enforce it.

[@hunterharris637]

According to oxford dictionary theres two meanings, the historical one you stated and the one meaning destroyed. Maybe it won't bother you anymore

[@rayramos8435]

@@hunterharris637 ha! All that means is that so many people have been using it wrongly for so long that they just gave in to the tyrrany of the mob. Anyone who reads the two definitions back to back will see the impossibility of both destroying one tenth and completely destroying at the same time. Still bothers me.

[@oughv]

It's a pet peeve of mine when someone ignores the long accepted colloquial usage of a word for its literal definition, just so they sound smart.

[@rayramos8435]

@@oughv you'll be alright.

[@elianaramitt758]

the casual criminalist: oh my god i can’t believe this horrific serial killer into the shadows: let me explain why we had a whole era of psychopaths and why it was socially acceptable

[@ignitionfrn2223]

I have to say , that is the longest episode of "Into the Shadows" so far...maybe he uses both Casual Criminalist and Into the Shadows interchangeably (the former being more focused on criminal & serial killers and the latter on periods of time)

[@SEAZNDragon]

@@ignitionfrn2223 You're not far off. Causal Criminalist is basically the production team jumping on the true crime bandwagon but giving the stories the "blaze" treatment both to help blunt the horrific actions and to highlight the all too common stupidity exhibited either by the criminals or law enforcement. Into the Shadows is definitely event focused but delivered straight to highlight the seriousness of the topics.

[@timcollum5015]

yeah because he doesn't write any of it. he admits constantly in Brain Blaze he doesn't remember or care about the content. Don't have to believe me. Watch him over there to see what this guy is really about. Dollars.

[@timcollum5015]

@@ignitionfrn2223 he pumps out videos and lets the tech people figure it. "Brain Blaze" was once "Business". This guys going to end crashing under his own weight. Watch and see. So many don't like the conflicting views.

[@Goldenkitten1]

You know this video reminded me of when Top Tenz did a video titled something like "The Most Horrifying Facts About Ancient Rome" and like...literally none of the facts were horrifying. How was it so difficult to make a list when this shit existed?!

[@paulbowser1989]

Back in 2002 when I was 13 my parents rented a first floor apartment and for some reason my brother started eating paint chips from the walls. My parents took him to the doctor after awhile I'm pretty sure cause of how he was feeling or acting and that's when they found out he had been eating the paint chips, they also found out that because he had been doing that he had gotten lead poisoning and was also diagnosed with Pica. The landlord ended up getting in trouble cause houses/apartments weren't allowed to have lead paint in them. That's when I also found out that if the paint on walls can be chipped off instead of peeling off that it's lead paint cause apparently lead paint will come off in chips instead of peeling

[@bxdanny]

I think if there have been many coats of paint, the accumulated paint can chip off, regardless of its chemical composition.

[@adamwhite2364]

@@bxdanny I have definitely done a terrible prep job with latex paints and had them chip off, though they generally stay more flexible than the yummier lead variety 😜

[@Inertia888]

Lead paint does chip into smaller flakes than latex or oil paint. Lead paint can be identified by its “crocodile skin” texture that it takes on when it ages. It reminds me of a dry lake bed, or dry, cracked skin. You don't want to scrape it to find out, because that will make it get into your eyes, nose, and lungs. But without scraping it, you can see how it is already cracking in many small pieces, all over the paint. Once you know what it looks like, it is easy to identify. There is a right way to get rid of it, best to either learn how or hire someone who has the training. If you look at it in your browser images, you will see exactly how I mean when I describe how it looks, when dried on a wall.

[@jackandblaze5956]

I have a distinct memory from when I was a toddler of chewing the rails on the crib which was made in the 1950s. The paint tasted sweet, so of course I chewed on it some more. Leaded paint tastes really good. Even though I have a tested IQ of 138, I still have mental disabilities. I'm sure if I had not chewed on that lead paint I wouldn't be so mentally messed up today.

[@leonieromanes7265]

@@jackandblaze5956 you're not alone, most old cribs and toys were covered in lead paint. And yes todlers and babies will chew on anything, especially if it's sweet.

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

7:03 Rome shocked even Rome with its penchant for sadistic brutality.

[@augustinkabamba5895]

That’s how u know

[@QueenpinMolly]

I love ur videos so much simon, this literally is unironically keeping me from ending it all, thank you

[@amandajones661]

Simon: I don't want to talk about Romans ever again! Danny: Fact Boi, you'll read what I write, or you'll face the wrath of the basement creatures!

[@shellshell942]

Gotta get some of that sweet money! 💰

[@TeamOT]

That was my first thought seeing the title of the video.

[@biggybro4124]

Clicked the video for this comment

[@superior_court]

Came to post thiiissss 🤣

[@victoriandino]

@@TeamOT same lol

[@spankflaps1365]

Roman Crucifixion researchers say they mainly used X shaped crosses, not the T shape we normally see. Most victims were tied to the cross, only the worst offenders were nailed, and nails were always re-used because iron was rare and valuable. All victims were naked, and wild dogs would eat their toes and genitals, and birds would peck out their eyes…

[@cwallcw]

Good add, thanks!

[@amandajones661]

Honestly, I've always wondered why the heck was a T called a cross. An X makes more sense as a cross.

[@old-fashionedcoughypot]

Re-use the nails?!? That doesn't sound very hygienic or safe!

[@cherrydragon3120]

Sounds like a lovely sunday

[@isaacvogt9220]

@@old-fashionedcoughypot I know! The people nailing them down could get tetanus!

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

It's crazy how people will be like "I can't believe **this** group of people was so brutal back then" I always tell them: however brutal you read about one group of people being at a certain time, is how everyone is at that time - that's just the one they wrote about.

[@larsnystrom6698]

@Frosty the Snowman I think you are wrong about "at that time". You seems to belive things have changed from that time. It hasn't!

[@aoeu256]

Were the Greeks as brutal as the Romans?

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

@Alex aoeu256 I suppose I should clarify this statement I made whilst previously intoxicated - there are certainly more brutal people in one ethnicity or social group than another at the same time (Germans, ww2, for example..) but each group at that time, still houses the capacity to do deeds that are just as heinous as the next, even if it wasn't as widespread or known at the same scale.

[@stevensmith7447]

Absolutely bang on

[@viacrucis2509]

This one is about the Romans

[@Kornknealious]

Lead poisoning is a stretch.

[@ajbaker-lz8jn]

I fell behind on my viewing and now I think I just going to make playlist called "SIMON" and let that bad boy play through the day. Everyone at work already knows me "talking to myself" is actually me correcting Simon on some pop culture reference or cracking up at one of his off the wall rants.

[@elnombre91]

Correcting Simon? Fact Boy is never wrong. Don't be ridiculous.

[@soccerbro12]

If you do have a playlist like that id love to see it i could use something like that to play while im at work

[@brandeeboo9879]

That is actually a great idea 💡 I would like to check that Playlist out when you make it. 😊 I guess I could try and make my own 🤔😆

[@DUTCHESS924]

So much THIS!! ❤️

[@amandajones661]

I have one too. 😅😅😅

[@markhantla7915]

I want to applaud this video’s academic prudence. It’s uncommon among online infotainment to do the academic rigor of proposing a theory and then contextualizing it so as not to imply causality beyond what is plausible, or to oversimplify a complex situation from laziness or dishonesty. The lead poisoning theory outlined in this video is handled appropriately: it is well outlined, supported by contemporary scientific findings, and then situated properly so as not to imply it is the end-all, be-all explanatory factor of ancient Roman behavior. This is important because to be good thinkers, we need to question ideas, see them from multiple perspectives, and try to situate them within an interlocking set of related ideas. Any theory we consider needs to work like this. If we take any idea as truth without proper investigation and contextualization, we aren’t doing ourselves intellectual justice. Well done, Simon!

[@keegobricks9734]

It's not that rare on youtube, it's only rare on mainstream platforms, because they are either more interested in entertainment or more interested in pushing an agenda. In fairness time slot constraints can also time spent on context.

[@jamesv.7041]

Yeah, I can't Simon, he keeps getting hired to do this kinda thing and I keep avoiding him!

[@drennyvision6141]

You sound like a teacher or a professor. Teach ON;)

[@thatlittlevoice6354]

Somebody learn the big words?

[@00xero]

It's a shame academia itself has abandoned this practice in favour emotion, mob rule and ideological purity.

[@janetrickwood2484]

An excellent analysis. Interesting thought material. I'm going to have to digest those ideas. Thanks.

[@mohammedpanju2236]

Love all your Videos - highly informative.

[@SlurpeeBoy9999]

I don't think the Romans were exceptionally brutal, we just happen to know about it thanks to better record keeping and, for the West, they are our antecedents. Brutality is inherent to humanity, a universal part of the human experience. And don't fool yourself into thinking we have "evolved" past this either; ask the people of Cambodia about how the 1970s went. What is truly fascinating about Rome is their organizational skills.

[@Monatio79]

And let's not forget how we could all, under certain circumstances, act with callous brutality. We have the luxury of sitting on our high horses, to point our fingers at our ancestors and say "Well, those were different times and they were different." Truth is, humans have always and will always have the propensity for savagery and violence.

[@kylelundgren5133]

All ancient people were equally barbaric and brutal.

[@kyle4563]

@@kylelundgren5133 Maybe not all, although they were forced to do so. Back then, even though there was civilization they didn't have the same technology, laws, medicine and advanced knowledge we have.

[@ahmad-yasinabdullah2001]

I agree with your assertion... Think the Mongols they couldn't be more different culturally, their ways of life and religious beliefs couldn't be any more different... a different century on the opposite side of the world and their brutality is also legendary, putting entire cities to death was just another day at the office for those guys ... The modern idea of civilisation, and a scorn for brutality is the the exception not the norm.

[@originalblob]

I think the point is not only the degree of brutality but the emotional response. Our response to watching a circus execution would not be fun and entertainment but shock and disgust. Most modern people seem to have far more empathy for suffering of others. So, at least in this regard there is no fixed human nature but cultural malleability. It is an interesting psychological question what roman culture lacked in order to develope empathy.

[@ilirlluka6789]

You should make a video about the Akkadian and Assyrian Empires as well in this context so that the ancient world can be fully understood in terms of violence. Rome was not an isolated psycological context for human sadism. The entire Ancient world was full of psycopaths mostly belonging to the ruling elite because it was from them that the brutality trickled down to the fearful commoner or soldier.

[@Adam-nc6qg]

@@amoxzi breaking bad refetence, I think.

[@talltroll7092]

I would argue that you may have your perspective reversed. It's not that ancient humans were psychopaths, it's that modern humans are incredibly fragile. For all of our advances, cultural and scientific, all humans are still doomed to die; it is 100% certain, no exceptions. We have become much, much worse at dealing with the idea and its' consequences though (in those parts of the world where the aforesaid advances apply, at least). The objective facts have not changed, but our reaction to those facts has

[@ilirlluka6789]

@@talltroll7092 I agree with that. Although I must clarify also that when I say that ancient humans were psychopaths I do so based on my modern convictions on life and death and humanity, fragility to me is not a negative trait of humanity, it is not a lack of dealing with the realities of life, is just accepting that there are complexities that govern human nature and its emotional aspect thus from this point of view the ancient indifference towards casual violence can be considered psychopathic. Sure this is just playing with semantics but semantics do not live in an isolated universe, they are created by the context of our time. Maybe in the future psychopathy will have completely reverse definitions to those that exist now. We as modern humans have found more value in every life in comparison to ancient humans, sure we are far from perfect but e are not those people that were in the bronze age anymore To a degree of course. Human nature remains human nature in its hypocrisy and contradictions. Whatever the era or historical context it may be.

[@Lanval_de_Lai]

​@@talltroll7092 I understand that and explains many things, but doesn't explain directly the torture and cruelty. I don't know maybe with rage and that level of violence it's more easy but it's still shocking to me.

[@mamameg9916]

Making a video on Rome doesn’t mean Rome was in isolation.

[@thequantumnexus4270]

Rome fascinates me. 2k years ago, it was a brutal time (the word even comes from Brutus and his actions), on a level we can hardly imagine. But we also find it hard to imagine how advanced the Romans actually were. Up to 1.5k years before it was surpassed. And we still can't replicate their cement. And yet, they were bonkers brutal and debaucherous. So much so, I wonder how they managed to build such a society that was on the outside so incredible, yet rotten at the core. The led poisoning idea could be an interesting factor. Not the whole of the story, but an interesting factor in it that could explain a few things.

[@silverchairsg]

The cement bit was partly due to unique volcanic rock.

[@caviaguianae5419]

Like two months ago they managed ro replicate it

[@blitzofchaosgaming6737]

Lead. It's amazing how people try to sound smart just to not be able to copy/ paste a 4-letter word from the title. Illiterate morons will always be illiterate morons.

[@pambennett8967]

I watched Spartacus . It made me understand how we are still being occupied by similar jerks and enslaved through debt taxes and inflation

[@johnmccarron7066]

I think it says something about Caesar's brutality when other Romans thought it was excessive.

[@martine5604]

I think it was more political than that they honestly thought it was too much. He was getting a lot of riches and popularity from it, which threatened them.

[@CannabisDreams]

The people of Rome loved him for it. The senate didn't like it because they felt he threatened their wealth and power. No one cared that slaughtered some primitives. I mean why would you care?

[@soheil527]

@@CannabisDreams so should we care nazis killed jews??

[@CannabisDreams]

@@soheil527 isn't that a question you should ask yourself?

[@rohiths9099]

@@soheil527 the Romans almost wiped off jews.

[@candlestyx8517]

I was the victim of pretty severe lead poisoning as a child. I'm convinced that its the reason why I have memory issues and chronic headaches.

[@jeannedouglas9912]

Calcium is good for absorbing lead.

[@caitchri2426]

You’re lucky you got away with those mild symptoms. Lead poising as a child can lead to lifelong learning difficulties. And exposure as a baby can lead to severe retardation.

[@BeeHatGuy]

@@jeannedouglas9912 too late, now lol

[@juliac3933]

Are you a psychopath

[@drago6568]

Damn I have severe memory issues too.

[@nomad7814]

I really like these videos. They are really well made and very interesting. Is it possible for you to share some of your research material so that people can read up on it more after growing more interested in the topic due to the video?

[@davidcase1762]

I thought you wrote and presented the subject really well !❤

[@caitchri2426]

He does not write most of his scripts. He has a staff of very talented researchers and writers, across many different channels with different focuses

[@CasaBonita1018]

While lead is an interesting hypothesis and could have been a contributing factor to ancient brutality in Rome, I think plenty of it is just human brutality. There have been plenty of civilizations as if not more gruesome and cruel to humanity than Rome that lacked lead as an excuse.

[@teemuleppa3347]

yes...and i think it's all about "what we are used to"....i dont think romans becamse brutal over night....every generation prolly just got used to the normal level...and wanted to take it a bit further....i mean the victims werent people...they were thieves...criminals....or whatever else...."less than human"

[@usmcson3]

Native Americans in North and South America were brutal. Very interesting history, especially since they are portrayed as civil

[@tomfrazier1103]

Aztecs!

[@garretth8224]

Lead is way more of an issue now compared to antiquity. We have put an insane amount of lead and mercury in our environment.

[@frankryan2505]

I know right.. It's a bit of a cop out to blame this for the brutality we've seen over history.

[@SK-lt1so]

If you know history-people being really nice and friendly never gets recorded. What gets recorded is insane violence.

[@julianshepherd2038]

The living write the history

[@MacNif]

​@@julianshepherd2038 The living are dead inside, the dead...well idk they are just dead

[@eq1373]

Because the people that are really nice and friendly are wiped out and don't make it through history

[@meriambenabdallah9495]

@Charger Dave oh wow I had no idea thank you for informing me yeah when it came to Marcus I only heard much of the positive bit the negative, but im pretty sure there had to have some good leaders throughout history ... I hope.

[@jwilson544]

I dont know, I've read about some pretty chill people in middle eastern and Asian histories. Seems Europe was kinda the worst

[@timmotel5804]

Excellent Again. Thank You Simon. Very Educational.

[@badguy5554]

I've heard that the use of lead cups was also a problem. Wine, which was consumed in large amounts, tended to react with the lead in those cups so that the lead would be consumed along with the wine.

[@BAC-bm8em]

If you’re a baby boomer in the USA there’s a good chance that the pencil you chewed on in elementary school was painted with lead paint.

[@timmy7201]

Well, that does explain certain behavioral typicalities in the boomer generation... I also read some article about leaded fuel a couple years ago, there has apparently been some slight increase in IQ since the banishing of leaded fuel. Younger generations have also been more acceptable against minority groups, maybe there is more behind this than just parenting...

[@Yezpahr]

We have an industrial area that sits on top of an old forest, they had to take out 5 meters of top soil because it was completely contaminated with lead buckshot from top to bottom. The area was a forest for about 500 years with a lot of lead buckshot hunting and 150 years of farmland, worked on by diesel tractors and 50 years of unrestricted dumping of wrecks/garbage/appliances/fuels by the people that lived there. Cows that were held there were kept away from the water and were drinking out of their own water tanker because the water around the farm land was literal poison.

[@KingNoTail]

So that explains my occasional twitching.

[@davidvalensi8616]

@@timmy7201 I'm a boomer and lead was in the paint also, but darn it, those chips were good, especially with onion dip or salsa.

[@painterken2542]

Fyi.....lead laws in the United States went into effect..1979.. before then lead was in gas..burned alongside cornfield across the Midwest.. contaminated all corn feed animals as well as people,.. anyone that was below age 9 in 1979 was at least exposed to that..( gen x)..so all the gen z and millennial believe your safe? Lead sinkers used for fishing for all these years..any idea how many are lost in pretty much every body of water larger than a mud puddle?

[@joshm3484]

Rome wasn't any more barbaric (pun intended) than any of their contemporaries, they were just better at it. Some little village might capture and execute an enemy warrior or two, while Rome would kill one in ten of their own soldiers if the legion disgraced itself, because Rome could afford to. Enemies of Rome would dream of invading and depopulating Rome, but couldn't make it happen. Rome could, and did, destroy whole empires at a whim. It should be noted though, that Rome used terror as a tool. It was rarely random. They'd happily declare an enemy a "noble savage," Romanize them, then send them out in battle to face other enemies of Rome if it was convenient for them to do so. Edit: Nice, you mentioned decimation. Most people never think about what the "decimal" in decimation means.

[@mario387mario6]

Add to that, Carthage had invade Rome, through Spain into the Roman heartland. Killed a couple legions a total of 100 to 200k death. Then raided the land for a couple of years, not going after Rome itself as Hannibal was not sure he could capture it. So when Rome did win, they made sure they would not rise again.

[@vlada131]

@@mario387mario6 Yes, but Hannibal invaded Italy in the Second Punic War. The total destruction of Carthage, the final act of the Third Punic War, came about some 50 years after Scipio Africanus had defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama.

[@offwiththefairiesforever2373]

True

[@TshenQin]

@@vlada131 So 3 strikes and your out. There was a long history of war between them, with a lot of dead between them. So calling the Roman's bad because they ended it finally is a bit meh.

[@hughg.gaines6027]

@@TshenQin >fight a brutal generations long conflict >Romans win and (eventually) decide to completely destroy carthage. >"oh no those psychopaths did what??" Lol you don't have to read far in Roman history to see that that Hannibal and Carthage were like a boogey man to Romans. The Second Punic was was very jarring for Rome, some might say it was one of their darkest hours and I'm not suprised there was a great deal of fear left over even by the time of Scipio the younger.

[@metalmatt3431]

Way to lighten up the end of the video : ) - u r my absolute favourite KZbinr, the way you host your videos is nothing short of magnificent!

[@paullowman9131]

Little Boots! lol! He hated that nickname, btw. 🙂 Thing is, the only accounts we have of Caligula were either written by his enemies (who were basically from the same Senatorial class that Caligula despised) or by writers who lived decades later and went on rumors and conjectures. We have no idea just how off his nut Caligula actually was; he was still very popular amongst the lower classes though. Have you done a show on him yet? I wanna see it! Thx Simon! Never mind, I found it! lol

[@randomoverpopulatedworldid3286]

Nice shirt... I was lead prisoned by an old Victorian home from the Goldrush area of CA foothills. Lived there for only about 9m before my tiny dog began having health problems. Then I noted to the vet that the old paint was cracking off the entire building inside and out, and turning into a fine dust in the dirt below. Therefore was being tracked into the home by my dog who licked his paws to groom, so his levels were fully elevated and he needed chelation. So did we. I ended up bringing a small claims lawsuit to my landlord who DID NOT provide a "lead disclosure" upon move in (required in CA,) and he settled and paid all the health bills related to the lead. Then I went to the city building dept. and told them about the lead home and the response was literally, "what do you want us to do about it??" Last time I was in the area, looks like the owner just painted over the entire building, covering up the cracking lead paint. That doesn't solve the lead dust still in the dirt around the property or the pipes. I hadn't even thought about the pipes.... people that still live there look sickly and most are probably not even aware of the exposure even though I tried to tell them. Sad.

[@angelwheaton1100]

WOW!! I can say it backwards.. You too I bet. Hey, you saved the dog & in my sick mind, that's everything!! Be well & thanks for sharing.. didn't they replace the lead with mercury??

[@racheljennings1688]

@@angelwheaton1100Mercury makes you go crazy. It is where ‘ Mad as a hatter’ comes from 😮

[@angelwheaton1100]

@@racheljennings1688 and our little energy saving spiral light bulbs are full of it amongst other things

[@ignitionfrn2223]

3:30 - Chapter 1 - Psychological sadism 7:05 - Chapter 2 - Genocide 9:15 - Chapter 3 - A culture of callousness 12:35 - Chapter 4 - Religious foundations 15:55 - Chapter 5 - Roman plumbing 19:35 - Chapter 6 - Lead poisoning 21:35 - Chapter 7 - Roman children 25:40 - Chapter 8 - Fall of the roman empire 29:05 - Chapter 9 - A lead based diet ? - Chapter 10 -

[@sharonb3939]

Do you ever sleep?

[@xisotopex]

genocidal? the romans were known for integrating the locals into their empire. not necessarily at all levels but certainly more than any other concurrent civilization

[@TheRealNormanBates]

There is no Chapter 10 due to the Empire’s policy of institutional decimation.

[@NOLAgenX]

@@xisotopex They did lots of assimilation (probably their greatest weakness over the years), but genocide also existed when resistance was deemed to be too much.

[@ispartacus1337]

@@xisotopex absolutely genocidal. Wtf are you on about? This is a shock to you? Anyone who didnt assimilate was murdered. How is that NOT genocide??

[@texasfuneral4787]

My mother and I love history and I was quizzing her on how the Romans became so crazy while occupying Britain and my dad who has been a welder his whole life said lead poisoning. I was stunned but he does know metals so it made sense but I underestimated his knowledge on the subject

[@Laocoon283]

It's common knowledge. It's a cliche.

[@texasfuneral4787]

@@Laocoon283 you know what else is common knowledge?

[@Laocoon283]

@@texasfuneral4787 that nothing but steers and queers come from texas?

[@thefirm4606]

Fast becoming my favourite Simon whistler enterprise ❤

[@AppliedMathematician]

Yet, still, the existing sanitation system increased general health since dirty waters of cities would have contained all kind of pathogens. Also I am not sure if the Romans really stood out in psychopathy with respect to other groups in that time. They just had the most powerful military.

[@leewilkinson6372]

Perhaps they stood put in documenting their psychopathy?

[@emsnewssupkis6453]

Let's review WITCH BURNING done by European Christians all the way up to the 1600's! Brutality is normal for rulers.

[@GoGreen1977]

And the Romans wrote about their brutality. They didn't seem very embarrassed about their behavior..

[@debbylou5729]

The Roman's used lead in everything, plates, cups, storage containers, tableware, vases, coins, cosmetics, containers to store wine......everything. It wasn't just a little exposure from water. We even used it. Remember lead paint? Toys, cosmetics, paint, pipes etc. lead was originally in pewter, as well

[@debbylou5729]

@@emsnewssupkis6453 you mean European rulers

[@klaudioabazi4478]

It isn't surprising that the Romans were brutal. The Ancient world was filled with brutality. Because Rome is the most famous of these in our times, as a result of countless movies and tv series based on ancient rome, we take it for granted “Oh the Romans were so horrible.” almost every great civilization and empire was brutal. It just so happens that Rome was and remains at the spotlight more frequently than others.

[@fgjfjdfghjsfghjsfj]

That is true, but you have the standard brutality and morals of the time, and then add to this lead lined water pipes, lead based makeup and pretty much lead everything. Not so unlikely it made them a bit extra spicy :)

[@klaudioabazi4478]

@@fgjfjdfghjsfghjsfj Well, on that point of lead poisoning you're right.

[@sloaiza81]

I think you meant "Almost every great civilization and empire IS brutal"

[@klaudioabazi4478]

@@sloaiza81 Exactly. I rushed it a bit. Thanks for correcting me.

[@Musikur]

Simon specifically states in this video that the Romans were brutal even amongst their peers, so your argument, while perhaps true, is probably not the whole story

[@NidotheKing]

It's crazy that even recently, we had whole generations grow up in lead-painted houses, drinking water from lead pipes and driving cars powered by leaded gasoline. If you ever think some older folks are just wired differently, this may explain part of it.

[@Brotlov]

Could explain the egregious amount of old, psychopathic CEOs in companies and others in important leadership positions

[@Xylospring]

It really does...explains quite a bit.

[@Monicaerikarita]

Some studies have posited that due to lead in gasoline, especially, those born in a certain time period in general have a slightly lower IQ than children today. I don’t remember the end range except that o was born in ‘86 and was included in that tail end.

[@leburger5160]

When you have an empire spanning most of the known world at the time, you need an exceptionally brutal method to keep those under your governorship under control. They often say, it is better to be feared than loved... Modern society isn't much less brutal than those days of old. Except, these days, it is no longer physical. It is psychological and economical. The last 3 years is a perfect display of how brutal our current methods of instilling control can be...

[@arthurporter131]

Comparing lockdowns to save lives during a worldwide pandemic to Roman imperial sadism is the height of stupidity

[@719Flowers]

@@arthurporter131that’s what you got from reading his comment?☠️

[@arthurporter131]

@@719Flowers what else could it be referring to when he says “the last 3 years is a perfect display of how brutal our current methods of instilling control can be” ? 🤣

[@leburger5160]

@arthurporter131 I didn't refer to anything here. You implied that yourself... I wasn't talking about the lock downs at all. I was referring to the batshit crazy levels of propaganda. The social ostracising of anyone who disagrees. The condemnation of anyone who wishes to be autonomous and free from state interference regarding medical decisions... This is all means of control. In New Zealand, our prime minister at the time admitted as much on live TV. A two tier system. Those who are and aren't vaccinated. Those who aren't, have less rights than those that do. She even went as far as calling her government the single source of truth. Even denying evidence the W.H.O had found all in an effort to get the protestors to bend the knee. Needless to say, she was basically forced to resign at the beginning of this year... This is what I am referring to. If you can't see it, it's because you're fucking blind...

[@bobbarker1798]

Oh, like trying to take control of election results, storm the capital, destroy property, cause death to capital police who are merely trying to perform their duties and attempt a coupe? In case you haven't been paying attention, the election results have been verified in all 50 states, in many twice.

[@bobboberson2736]

Rome was not an abnormally violent society compared to most societies that came before and after them, they just had more widespread success in expanding their way of doing things. the Assyrians left people to die from thirst in the desert by the tens of thousands, Steppe tribes made bowls out of human skulls and the Aztecs sacrificed people daily. Humans are brutal especially when they become successful enough to do what they want to others. Not saying Romans were not brutal just that they weren’t much different than most ancient empires.

[@Veldtian1]

probably actually quite moderated and organized about it too.

[@Hollylivengood]

The Romans made games of killing people. They were psycho. Most tribes in the area of the Aztecs and Myans considered those two psycho as well.

[@censorduck]

@@Hollylivengood and germanic tribes made human sacrifices. Britons once made a dozen wickermen just before the roman invasion. The Carthaginians reguarly sacrificed children to their gods. If rome is psychotic, so is the rest of ancient history.

[@mathiasbartl903]

The Romans were super particular about Human sacrifice being a taboo.

[@abdqs853]

Yea i agree all ancient civilizations were psychos in one way or another. It was just the norm at that time. I think it pretty probable that our descendents will think of us as savages or psychos given how we were food while people in the third world are starving and other problems in our world. It's overall pretty wrong to judge ancient societies by our standard as savages and use it as justification for racism, because that's how a lot of people use these narratives to justify racism forgetting their own ancestors were probably the same. It is this I really have a problem with and this is mainly done on the Native American civilizations

[@charleswilson4526]

I actually was interested to find out that many gladiator battles, in fact most, were not fights to a death, just until one gave up.. many men retired and died not from gladiator battles

[@kcbarbo78]

True. Historians estimate that one had a 1 in 8 chance of dying in the arena from gladiatorial combat (others estimate that it’s closer to 1 in 13, though I’ve seen estimates as low as 1 in 30). Most deaths were accidental or a result of infection or injuries incurred in the arena that killed the gladiator after the fight. An actual fight to the death would have been advertised and hyped up like a major pay-per-view prize fight today. It would have been a BIG deal. The audience would have received its dose of death from the public executions that took place in the arena (there was death by combat, death by wild beast, straightforward execution, etc), and from the wild beast hunts (which would have killed exotic animals rather than humans). Yes, gladiators could and did die in the arena (gladiatorial combat was originally a form of human sacrifice performed at the funerary games of prominent citizens, after all; it evolved into mere sport during the Empire), but the likelihood would have varied widely based on the era, the location, and the wealth of the person sponsoring the games. (The emperor could afford to pay for the deaths of very expensive gladiators, but a provincial official might not.)

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@kcbarbo78 yes, much like later european tournaments. But still, the life expectancy of a professional gladiator was...not great....

[@icecold9511]

They were more valuable than most realize. Much like slaves in America, practicality limited cruelty when it damaged value.

[@dan_38]

Still, it didn't matter the statistics, which is our way to accept the reality. The fact was, their was murder, there was still people that died for entertainment purposes.

[@steveclapper5424]

Gladiator were valuable all of the others who were slaughtered in the arena by the thousands were not.

[@whimsical_me5135]

Could you please do a video about the gods Romans worshipped before they conquered the Greeks? I have always wondered what they were since Roman society adopted the Greek pantheon and I have never been able to find a satisfactory answer!

[@weignerleigner3037]

They don’t have any info of rome from early republic and prior

[@N0TYALC]

@@weignerleigner3037we’ve got thousands of pages of information about the early republic. You look like a fool when you act smart.

[@internal.inferno2088]

I'm amazed how every time I catch up on Simon Whistler, he's improved. He was still a bit uncomfortable when it came to the relaxed blaze stuff and being himself but he's really honed in now and perfectly chill. It's made him funnier. Dig the production style and new backdrop of the other new channels. How he walks solemnly out of frame now to finish. He's one of the best presenters.

[@mildlydazed9608]

So much for that reluctance of covering the Romans FactBoy

[@samanthar1214]

I had a little chuckle when I saw the video title.

[@Kari.F.]

To be fair, he can justify this one by saying that it's really about led poisoning and psychopathy, and that the fact that it's about the Romans a secondary thing. But yeah, I smiled when I saw the title of this video!

[@mildlydazed9608]

@@Kari.F. This one is calling Rome a bunch of psychopaths. Maybe he's trying to let people know that the past was the worst, especially in Rome.

[@tengonadacluewhatsgutsprec1419]

@@Kari.F. very fair you can even hear it in his voice with the sentences about leads effects being more vibrant and then when he mentions Rome totally dull

[@garyball1587]

Do we have psychopaths in the United States? Or what other country can you think of?

[@johnphillips5310]

As an American that lives in rural America I can understand completely what those Romans felt looking at their cities. I'm starting to think we have lead in our water too.

[@amazinggrapes3045]

I was thinking the same thing except I don't doubt it. I lived in Philadelphia for a few years, and among other horrors, the water was often... off. And there was that lead in Flint, Michigan's water just a few years ago, that I don't know if it ever got resolved. And there was the leaded gasoline in the seventies. And then there's just lead casually being in a lot of paint or metal objects, especially those imported from China or wherever else the manufacturing is poorly regulated; you could have chewed or sucked on leaden paint on your crib or a toy when you were a baby. Combine that with all the pesticides, herbicides and whatever-cides, all just fancy names for poison, that drenches our food, I think even our organic food is allowed to have poisons used on it as long as they are from natural substances. And I remember hearing about how they banned a bug spray ingredient back in the day because the poison would just go through the food chain to the point there was a serious risk that bald eagles would go extinct. So I definitely think we're all really poisoned at least in this country, there is no way it's not effecting us, and it starts to make some things make a little more sense, like why it seems we have a more violent culture compared to other developed countries. Now they all have their own problems too and a lot of them similar to our own, but they're probably not living a totally pure environment either. They're saying that everything has plastic in it now, and we don't even know yet if that does something to us, and if it does then it's going to take decades of coverups before we know about it and more decades of lobbying before anything substantial is done about it, and even then putting a complete end to these problems is a pipe dream.

[@lostspider343]

man, leaded gasoline was such an epic idea, considering we were pretty well aware of the dangers

[@rogerhennie8939]

Was there ever an empire that wasn’t run by psychopats?

[@owenparris7490]

The Holy Roman Empire (for the most part)?

[@no-good-productions]

indeed. Dr Ramani says that the majority of political leaders - even today - are narcissists or psychopaths. Those are the folks who are power hungry and have no problem doing what they have to do to get there.

[@AO00720]

the caliphate

[@duidave4737]

@@owenparris7490 The holy Roman empire was an empire in name only

[@DonRoyalX]

@@AO00720 mate, the caliphate’s slaving trade was far more brutal and took FAR more slaves than all European colonial nations combined

[@skatatataatje]

Considering we're just nine meals away from anarchy, we are still this brutal.

[@neckbeardpig279]

Perhaps, but America has a cheese supply in the Salt mines. When Anarchy is at the gates. The military shall deliver great blocks of cheese with an odd salty taste. And thus anarchy shall be abated. While the strategic cheese stores are refilled. Blessed be to the cheese stores, which save us from anarchy. Long live the dairy industry. That gifts us this caloric bulwark against long nights of anarchy.

[@TIMEtoRIDE900]

@@neckbeardpig279 They might just use the cheese like "bread and marmalade" to bait people onto the waiting trains.... I heard FEMA bought 20,000 guillotines from China and 2Billion hollow-point rounds some 15 Years ago, Deer hunting, perhaps ??

[@sethmcavoy1800]

You don't know what that word, "anarchy", means, do you?

[@klarahfenderson1374]

@@neckbeardpig279 Mmmm Gubbermint "Cheese."

[@danielwoods3896]

@@sethmcavoy1800 "a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority." STFU anarchist

[@ChrisVillagomez]

Rome never salted the earth at Carthage. They sacked the city I'm sure, but Carthage became the most MASSIVE food production center for the Republic and Empire until Egypt was conquered afterwards. If they had truly salted the earth, Carthage wouldn't have been able to become such a breadbasket for Rome, plain and simple. It's more of a metaphor for "we defeated them so hard that their gods have abandoned them! How could anything grow here afterwards, now that their gods abandoned their city to us?" Except things did grow after the sack of Carthage, the Romans even rebuilt the port afterwards into the once-massive complex it used to be

[@tripple-a6031]

Is he drunk or does he have lead poisoning? He's not making any sense whatsoever.

[@douganderson8348]

My house was built in 1892. The pipes are original and there's nothing wrong with me...at least that's what the huge black spiders on the ceiling tell me.

[@josephdowling3745]

I would suggest investing in a roll of metal foil like the material used to wrap various foods prior to baking or roasting. The material is highly effective in blocking out "the voices" some hear, directing them in commission of various and sundry actions, usually covered as "mass shooting" attacks, or assaults on crowds with motor vehicles, and or typical serial murderers. In addition to the "tin foil hats" it's helpful to have a ritualistic mantra to repeat over and over til the demons ease up in their attempts to entice one into doing something bat shit crazy.

[@carolineleiden]

Limescale protects you.

[@douganderson8348]

No limescale up here

[@WhatIsThatThingDoing]

There's a man in the wall cavity behind the wall closet who is currently addressing himself as limescale. Remind me to thank him.

[@faarsight]

I mean how do you explain the cruelty of Genghis Khans armies? Or the Athenians massacring an entire town and taking the survivors as slaves? Many cultures in the past were at times horrifically brutal, they can't all have been suffering from lead poisoning. Seems a bit far fetched to me.

[@garretth8224]

Lead from leaded gasoline did reduce average iq, but not enough to push people to brutality.

[@dinnerwithfranklin2451]

@@garretth8224 The correspondence of reduction in lead gas with reduced violence in cities does suggest that there is a connection. Not proof no but it is suggestive and I haven't read of another explanation.

[@slappy8941]

Cruelty has been the rule in human history, rather than the exception, among all cultures.

[@dinnerwithfranklin2451]

@@slappy8941 Syphilis has been around since Rome or earlier, I believe. So we should not treat it?

[@maryfreebed9886]

@@dinnerwithfranklin2451 I just had a thought. Does syphilis make a person do bad things?

[@PaulLefebvre]

I've drunk from the water pumps used in ancient Roman fountains before. I was always curious whether they ever replaced those pipes.

[@vastvideos7212]

Awesome video and not only do I agree tha mild lead poisoning could be a factor in the brutish nature of the Roman's but seen another video hypothesis tha was about zombie fungus parasites tha causes interesting and horrific effect on insects and small animals,but might psychological effect a large portion of humans as well tha might have huge applications on mental health.basicly I think it was a multitude of things to cause our puzzling past to be so alien to us in the modern Era obviously power and corruption is still present as I'm sure it was a big motive back then as well but Doesnt explain some strange aspects of life back then and their way of thoughts

[@mioracarabas]

There's also a problem with lead glazing in many old crockery. Even in cups and plates from past centuries, or in countries where glazing isn't even regulated, in the very present. Does your coffee taste extra sweet in that one old cup that has been in the family forever? Maybe it IS the cup...

[@CannabisDreams]

No because we had glass cups mostly.

[@KarimDeLakarim]

Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the Lead Pipe?

[@KarimDeLakarim]

@@CannabisDreams So if it wasn't that what do you think it was?

[@CannabisDreams]

@@KarimDeLakarim in responding to the "does your coffee taste extra sweet in that one old cup", no, because my cups are glass. The fuck, do you think I'm a Roman

[@danielled8665]

Victorians also thought tomatoes were deadly poisonous for this reason; the acid in the tomatoes dissolved the lead in the plates, poisoning any tomato heavy dish served on them.

[@divanbuys1484]

Incredible video, didn't even know Simon had this channel, of course I subscribed! I love Roman and classical history and this was just another piece of the massive puzzle that is ancient history. Thank you Simon.

[@jeannedouglas9912]

Very interesting. thanks

[@harter517]

Not only did the Romans drink water from lead pipes, drink from lead cups, wear lead make up, but one of their most popular desserts was topped with a cooked lead and fruit mixture syrup

[@amaccama3267]

Mate I've been watching and subbing to your channels for 5 years now and this video has to be one of the best you dudes and dudettes have ever done. Awesome work. 🤘🤘

[@AvB.83]

Knowing what people occasionally do to each other, themselves or animals when they either lose their minds or for other reasons don't have to be afraid of suffering any punishment for their actions, the cruelty and brutality, especially amongst adolecents & businessmen... in a society that has "A Serbian Film", where it is not too far fetched to believe that "Hostel" is kind of based in reality, where people kill their own babies by slamming them into a wall because they won't shut up, where we pack pigs so tightly into cages that they can't turn around and die within minutes when they AC cuts out, a world that has public beheadings by ISIS and Saudi Arabia amongst others, alongside stuff like The Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, the madness of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin and countless others, putting a bit of the blame on lead poisoning seems like a bit of a cheap excuse. Yeah nah, WE would never do such things, because we don't have lead poisoning... the Colosseum would be sold out every single day for months in advance, and the broadcasting rights would make more money than soccer, football and Formula 1 combined. We'd have shitton of video games and every kind of merch you can possibly imagine. And if we had public executions, half of TikTok would be that shit. And as for their way of dealing with Carthage or other foes... there has never been a fourth Punic War, has there? "Your wars are decided by the death of a tenth of a population, a third of an army. Then the defeated surrender their honor and the victors surrender their advantage. This is called 'being civilized'. We are not civilized. It would be a mistake to deal with us as though we were."

[@andrewmeppen8068]

Not even social life is civilized. It's like communism. It only works in a household. Ask a nation to participate and corruption opportunities abound. The best to hope for is a culture of community regulated locally and linked through a common identity nationwide so that every region can live its own culture without pushing other regions to outrage and conquest. Your welcome for my drunken comment.

[@michaeltobias3110]

Well spoken 👏👏👏

[@pretzelhunt]

You can't equivocate that a Lars Von Trier film and ISIS beheadings of today are the same as having a single emperor governing what was a Single society, at very least with sworn allegiance, if not a total culture shift, to a third of the known world. It's not like we all are on the one encompassing side of ISIS/LVT/TikTok, and therefore society's total shite...

[@simonkevnorris]

@pretzelhunt I think it depend upon the person being 'a glass half full' or a 'glass half empty' type of person.

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

Yes, except, A Serbian Film is a film

[@litebkt]

After seeing what is happening here in the US, I’m convinced that it is possible to lead a civilization into cruelty just for cruelty’s sake. Excellent video.

[@Xtian982]

Underrated comment

[@joereimantz8185]

America is the Roman Empire of our Era, full of violence like Gun Violence and Politicians.

[@jeromedavid7944]

I couldn't agree with you more. It was less than a decade ago the big anti-bullying campaign began with commercials as well as the commitment from school boards and learning facilities nationwide to do their share to recognize the behavioral ans create a zero tolerance for it presence in their schools. Then 2016 comes along and with it the GOP 's adult size version of a middleschool bully with US Presidential aspirations. The name calling started immediately. Lying Ted Cruz(true but tactless), as well as derogatory statement or two about Senõra Cruz. Little Marco, crooked Hillary and then when he mimicked the physically and mentally challenged news reporter in front of the entire station audience and nation. It was the type of behavior you expect out of a spoiled bratty 6th grader. Here he was the GOP's nomination for POTUS telling people he could shoot someone in Manhattan and not be charged.later made another live statement if it was back in the day I would have punched him in the face. Or his famous description of his fantasy position of zero consequences for his actions, so he can "grab a woman by the pussy" at will..... We tell our children don't be a bully. Be kind to small kids especially those that have challenges both mental and physical. By recognizing their dignity you validate their humanity and for short moment they enjoy the feeling of being an equal. Then we offer them the mixed message that what is an unsuitable behavior for them is OK for 70plus year old adult man who should not only know better protocol, but behave like politically aware POTUS instead of spoiled, cowardly, impolite, rude. and name-calling eighth grade ginger headed bully prick! He doesn't like guys who get captured. His fake bone spurred ass or Nugent's meth induced week of shiity pants places them in a spineles position where they are not worthy to even mention the name John McCain! Looking out over a vast piece of hallowed ground filled with the young US war dead and making a statement that they are suckers and losers is abhorrent for any US citizen to say let alone the sitting POTUS. Those young men and women are the very best we have to offer! The majority are volunteers and the valor, honor, and affection they have for America is evident in the headstones. They truly are the US's best. Maybe that's why there's no Trumps buried there!

[@bobbarker1798]

So agree. I worked at a place like that. Sadistic!

[@tonynittoli4792]

Starts with collapsing the family structure and removing god.

[@levana410]

Thank you for the video and for introducing the idea of lead poisoning as possible cause. I have visited a circus in and It is not difficult to imagine the scale of madness. I did not hear anything about Spain, but I can add that as the Carthaginians, the different cultures from the peninsula were ereasen with exeption of the vasque culture. For example, now a days the arqueologist can not translate runes from the different languages that once were in the iberian peninsula (Iberian from Iber river). *See "Plomo de alcoi" (greco iberian) or "Bronces de botorrita" (celti iberian). A tragic lost.

[@loonaeon4944]

There's really no need for a lead poisoning hypothesis. The "community", as a social entity, always acts to some degree in the manner we describe as psychopathic... it's only when the individual does likewise that we ascribe pathology or immorality to the same actions

[@MrHotLovin]

It is the Shadow given flesh.

[@TheBashxDProductions]

@@MrHotLovin A fellow Jung man of the culture...

[@doomdrake123]

I've noticed that people as a mass are quite complacent with brutal violence. We're like a sheep and if we're told that it's ok to kill brutally these other people, because resaons, we'll be ok.

[@sparky6086]

I'm just glad, that the elites of today aren't psychopaths!

[@fukkitful]

@@doomdrake123 Hell, even as recent as the 1950's people would go have a picnic while watching a death row inmate be executed.

[@scrotusmaximus3043]

Every past civilization was brutal, including the current ones.

[@victoriandino]

So true. Also your name is amazing.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Maybe, but there are degrees of brutality, and Cultural Relativism, popular in liberal thinking, really just does what you do and says "meh, everyone's the same", when patently that isn't true. Funny thing is that the same type of thinking demonises some groups and celebrates others, but that's a separate issue.

[@Mp57navy]

@@owenshebbeare2999 No, No. It's the same issue. The need to "stick to your group of apes that talk the same way you do and look the same as you" is deeply engrained and the core of the problem. Christian Conservatives and autonomous leftists are exactly the same violent bunch. Don't get me wrong, both have a point, but neither offers a good solution to it.

[@arthas640]

I'd rather live under Ceasar than Xi Jiping, the Kim dynasty, or Sharia law. Rome practiced slavery and had harsh penalties for many crimes but they were also surprisingly tolerant and diverse and obsessed with justice.

[@alanamiel4927]

The Third Reich in Germany committed the worst crimes in human history past or present especially in the Soviet Union.

[@brockmitchell3989]

I have a book called The Martyrs Mirror that was written in the 1500s if I am not mistaken. It is mainly about the martyrdom of Christians by the Roman Catholic Church, but it does have a few chapters at the beginning that cover some of the psychopathic behavior toward Christians by Roman leaders before the fall of the Roman empire. To say they were sadistic is an understatement. I don't remember where I heard about it, but I also remember either reading or seeing something where they claimed excessive copper exposure was also an issue for the Romans. I don't know if that is true, but I do know when I used to work at a powder metal plant I was over exposed to copper and I began having major mood swings, depression and other issues. After I quit working with the copper on a regular basis, the symptoms went away. So if what I heard about copper is true regarding the Romans, then it could have been a combination of lead and copper poisoning that affected their society, not just lead. But like I said, I don't know if the part about copper is accurate or not.

[@datastorm75]

It is fascinating how big of an impact seemingly innocuous things in the environment can have on humanity.

[@asabovesobelow4180]

Absolutely love this channel. Love how extremely in depth it is.

[@JordanBirty43]

This is one of the least in depth channels around have a scout about you'll find videos with much more detail

[@matthewalexander1943]

It's also poorly researched. I watched nine minutes and couldn't take any more bullcrap.

[@atheistcomments]

I'd like Simon to tell the story of my life at my funeral. He'd make it sound way more interesting than it really is.

[@Cringility]

He will make the funeral speech of yours "bombarding"

[@johns2240]

He'd be good, I might prefer John Cleese though.

[@carlcramer9269]

Lead pipes were used for what we call grey water - watering plants and such. On the other hand, the romans loved adding lead salts to wine to heighten the taste.

[@abcrane]

I have surveyed quite a few theories on the origins of human mass violence/normalized violent culture, and I believe there are often if not always many causes, many effects, yet, many attempts at conscious change/revolution etc. Here are potential and probable influences: 1. Leonard Shlain Alphabet vs Goddess: left brain "domination" vs right brain "domination" brought on by "reading" effect on brain 2. drought...drove shifts to patriarchy, drought drove huns 3. property relations means compulsory arranged marriages, shame of pleasure=mental pathology=violence 4. this lead theory 5. chimp vs bonobo theory (the two species were geographically divided, chimps got short end of stick (more food scarcity in drier climate=more competition and violence), bonobos make love not war, chimps make war in order to make love Now, what do these all have in common? They seem to be related to desertification and "dessert culture" , lack of water, we humans are 80% water or so, the lack of water poses the greatest threat of extinction, irrigation means piping means lead, but the chimps were also more violent in the areas that were scarcer/drier. I believe it was a confluence of many rivers. 1. scarcity of water/food 2. the secondary effects of technologies inspired by this scarcity (written language/irrigation) crowding in cities, stricter laws necessary to keep order

[@myriaddsystems]

The problem arose not from lead pipes so much but from the practice of drinking wine from lead cups leading to poisoning from lead acetate

[@RavingKats]

Yet it didn't seem to cause the same issues for the ancient Egyptians who also prepared wine in lead containers and even thought it was beneficial to have in their eye makeup. Seems to be more to it than just lead poisoning. Ritualized, public violence combined with spiritual beliefs is probably a much greater influence than lead.

[@raphaellavictoria01]

lead doesnt lead to psychopathy, it has been linked to ADHD symptoms, potentially. definitely not psychopathy

[@RavingKats]

@@raphaellavictoria01 that's incorrect. Aaron Reuben, from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study based on a population-representative birth cohort of individuals born between April 1, 1972, and March 31, 1973. Participants were followed through age 38 years in December 2012. Adult mental health disorder symptoms were examined as the primary outcome as assessed through a clinical interview at 18, 21, 26, 32, and 38 years. Overall, 579 (55.8 percent) of the 1,037 original study members were tested for lead exposure at age 11 years; the mean blood lead level was 11.08 µg/dL. The researchers found that each 5-µg/dL increase in childhood blood lead level correlated with a 1.34-point increase in general psychopathology after adjustment for covariates, which was driven by internalizing and thought disorder symptoms (b = 1.41 and 1.30, respectively). A 0.10-standard deviation (SD) increase in neuroticism, a 0.09-SD decrease in agreeableness, and a 0.14-SD decrease in conscientiousness was seen with each 5-µg/dL increase in childhood blood lead levels. No significant correlations were seen with informant-rated extraversion and openness to experience. "For researchers, these findings add further evidence to the suggestion that environmental toxins may affect important life outcomes through subtle changes in the way that individuals feel and behave," the authors write.

[@rights_vs_wrong1956]

Fun fact: lead is still used in cosmetics today and its more widespread than you probably realize. There are laws to help prevent lead from being added to things you directly ingest in the US, however, there are no laws to prevent it from being put in the products you put on your lips. Which may transfer to things you ingest. Brilliant logic. Although lead poisoning does permanently lower IQ, so....

[@minkorrh]

Well, that explains feminism. They all wear bright red.

[@bobgillis1137]

That is not all. I was a plumber in Canada for most of the 1990s. They were only then starting to phase out the use of lead in solder used to fuse copper waterlines. Lead & Oakum joints in waste drainage lines had only been superseded by superior technology only a generation before that. While we obviously don't drink waste water directly, it would contaminate the hydrosphere and hence us, indirectly and eventually. Along the same lines, the phasing out of lead in gasoline was only initiated in the 1980's over a ten year period in Canada. The significance of this is that service station gasoline storage tanks were known to be leaking into the hydrosphere as well. In other words Canadians were drinking lead for most of the 20th century.

[@NautilusSSN571]

So that's why so many women are always so stupid.

[@rights_vs_wrong1956]

Don't forget that the lead in those cosmetics doesn't just affect the women who wear it, its transferred to many places and many people through many different means. So to think this only affects "those other people" and not your mom or wife who kissed you or prepared your food or shared space with other products you use is pretty foolish. But frankly cosmetics are a small contributer to lead poisoning. The leading cause of lead poisoning for children comes from their own homes. Renovate your homes right if you care about your families.

[@nidohime6233]

@@minkorrh How you are so sure you aren't the one swallowing lead the whole time?

[@tamaragriesel4783]

I was going to spellcheck the title of this video, then I noticed the pun and immediately died--a cruel fate of which a Roman would be proud.

[@bogdaaan]

"what LEAD the romans to be quite so brutal" 😂 nice one guys

[@oldschooljack3479]

I may or may not always agree with Simon's conjecture or conclusions... But damn, the man can certainly hold your attention while delivering them. 👍

[@sfall616]

@@user-zy9yg2eu5t rtard detected

[@khomol]

So true

[@heofonfyr6000]

you'd be mad to. the man's an idiot.

[@damiandraven4537]

He's literally the most boring person who doesn't even know more than half of the things he talks about. He literally gets paid to read you a script and he catches your attention because you have a tiny attention span....every video he is in is garbage and just repeating what has been started by hundreds of other channels before the channels he works for even think of doing a video.

[@johnapple6646]

@@user-zy9yg2eu5t redditor detected

[@H4FF]

It's an interesting potential factor contributing to the overall nature of Roman society and its eventual downfall, but we probably will never know what rile it truly played, if any. I personally always find the ruthlessness and stubborn perseverance of the ancient Romans fascinating; the Punic wars are an amazing example of this. To bounce back time and time again, even though they repeatedly lost huge chunks of their male population before getting their final victory. The fact that they simply would not give up until they saw their enemies burn and their societies and cities ground to dust is somehow both awe-inspiring and terrifying, regardless of what contributed to this mentality.

[@FuckTard-dd1ee]

It was the longest reining empire rather they called themselves a kingsom,republic. Etc. Any empire eventually falls its impossible to be forever.

[@agrippa5643]

We can learn a lot from the Romans don't we?

[@brucejensen3081]

Unsustainable farming practices is what lead to their downfall. Even when numbers decreased by huge numbers, they were still starving. It took hundreds of years after they were gone for the soil to recover

[@buddyrojek9417]

Seems like the Russian mentality in Ukraine

[@romanjancura9651]

Dont forget that country/republic/empire existed since 509 BC to AD 1453, about 1962 years. Very few Empires existed such long time. Just dont count Un-"holy" German-"Roman" non-"Empire", which was barbarian copyright infringement.

[@f.b.l.9813]

if anything, Rome was more civilized and tame compared to other empires from that time period and older.

[@rhys406]

Very interesting but as a plumber in the UK i have to say i still come across plenty of lead pipes, incoming water supplies to properties. So alot of people are still using lead pipes for drinking and bathing water in modern times.

[@liamanderson4992]

Really interesting! You could also add another factor which is caused by and would increase the brutality. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Just because it has only been recognised recently doesn't mean that it didn't exist in the past. The brutality of life in ancient Rome would likely have baked PTSD into the culture. Sufferers of PTSD can turn violent and abusive if they think they are under threat, and empathy for others would be swept aside. How would multi-generational culture be affected? Preemptive wars and genocide to prevent possible attacks from a past or potential enemy. Assassinations of rivals. Frightening others into submission by exposing them to the hideous deaths of others to prevent them from considering doing the same......

[@minimoomin]

If you’re interested in modern studies on this, there were some longitudinal studies of kids who survived hurricane Katrina that show some of that in action. Obviously creating a situation that traumatizes a whole generation of a population would be wildly unethical, so the tragedy of the hurricane and its horribly bungled aftermath are one of the only examples I know of high quality studies on the subject easily available in English. (I’m not an expert in the field, but I lived in New Orleans for a very long time).

[@Quinefan]

YES.

[@Quinefan]

@@minimoomin Very interesting, thank you.

[@Monicaerikarita]

I’m one of those fascinated with the Tudors, and this is exactly what drove their line to be so brutal. Fear.

[@lonegamer6332]

This video has taught me not to feel bad about the Ostrogoths and Vandals destroying Rome.

[@Ideo7Z]

Yes. I'm torn by the fact that the Romans created an incredibly spectacular and advanced civilization yet practices like this makes me think the Goths and Vandals were really scalpels excising a cancer from the body of Europe.

[@spamhonx56]

@@Ideo7Z meh, it's more a case of literally everyone was brutal back then. Pick me a civilisation from ~2000 years ago, and i'll tell you how they preferred to do their human sacrifices. There just weren't ancient civilisations with a modern day sense of morality, or at least not one strong enough to find its way into law and reel in what the psychopaths of society were happy to do. Slavery and mutilation were common things back then as punishment for criminals or POWs regardless of continent or government method.

[@bethbethbeth97]

The answer lies within the question. Love the title!!!

[@pearly872]

I would be surprised if you tube (google) has a better narrator and or communicator then Simon Whistle. He is inspirational at the very least and a surprise that you tube had or has the insight for such talent, all things considered. He is the exception to rules...and IS the only reason I tolerate you tube with its ingrained anti - social behaviors. It must be an embarrassment for conscientious viewer to have to indulge such a feeble entertainment provider, but some may claim that at least you tube is "free", but in reality ..."You get what you pay for.".. and is painfully clear in most videos. So congratulations Simon Whistle, you are a rare individual especially if you write your stimulating and thought provoking presentations.

[@yehudityishai3542]

I was in rome for the first time last February. I went on many historical tours of the city. Many stories made my jaw drop...I asked the tour guide if the show Spartacus was accurate...he said it was even worse. Love this channel. I have already Binged a few shows as I love history, especially the darker side. Thank you

[@matios83]

Welcome

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

What about lead in pregnancy? Breast milk?

[@bjorn4978]

That's false lol .. Spartacus is over dramatised they never used to just have their gladiators killed if they lost, you know how expensive it was for a gladiator lol

[@Bob-qk2zg]

@@bjorn4978 True. Spartacus was a Roman auxillary soldier before both he and his wife were sold into slavery. The man was pissed!

[@johnwatts8346]

@@bjorn4978 the end of spartacus is also license / false, obviously- all the bravest fought to the death including spartacus himself, it was those who lost their nerve and surrendered who were all crucified along the highway road.