Cataphracts ( Tanks of the Ancient World)...Before there were Knights

[@blitzkrieg2928]

I think this video will get a lot of Bannerlord players.

[@butifarras]

More like Rome total war

[@FordyTheConeSmoker]

CK2 as well

[@monkeymanbob]

Yup. Always nice to get some learning through a medium you enjoy.

[@alyssinclair8598]

No predicting my arrival. It is very rude

[@spaguettoltd.7933]

Not to mention AOEII players

[@salarrajabalizade9878]

Epimetheus thank you for showing the REAL history. my country ( Iran) is one of the oldest civilizations and has many wonderful things in its long history but due to some reason many people does not know about my country's rich history. Thank you for youre good job.( AND I LOVE THE ARTWORKS)

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thanks Salar! Glad you liked it!

[@aradsstates9584]

Epimetheus i would love if you read my comment up there and i know your opinion.

[@mehrdad5767]

@@EpimetheusHistory brooo

[@user-mw3uf3ku3k]

Well I will give you the reason. Iran is in conflict with the west which obviously acts as if everything that is old Iranian history is nonexistent. At the same time, Iran is ruled by an islamic government that is against everything before the birth of the prophet. The government would rally a lot of support if it just blended its policy with this strong iranian nationalist sentiment, but somehow they are blind. As a result of this, the culture and history of Iran is being wiped out from both outside and inside which is a shame, truly. What you can do as an Iranian is to support local nationalist and zoroastrian newspapers and organisations and most importantly read and educated your fellow compatriots about this history. With this movement, the government is slowly but surely realising that it must make this history an important part of its policy.

[@timmccarthy872]

Yeah I got cataphracts in my eyes, had to get corrective surgery.

[@magomedkartoev9550]

No you have Lincoln Continental

[@nhmooytis7058]

Magomed Kartoev haha!

[@progadkri5662]

Your artwork is addictive.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Glad up like it! :)

[@rennor3498]

Interesting to know that Cataphracts wouldn t have existed if humanity didn t know how to breed horses large enough and strong enough to carry a man in full armor

[@jacoblinde7486]

That's a part of history that people often forget about, myself included. It's kind of shocking to think back on how illogical cavalry probably would seem from an ancient point of view, before horses had been bred for riding and combat.

[@mariocassina90]

@@jacoblinde7486 you watched lyndibeige

[@alexlaza5301]

Well, ancient China and its northern neighbors also adopt Cataphracts but with smaller eastern breeds of horses. Probably less effective than their western counter-part in comparison, but still a very powerful force.

[@khafaniking1230]

jason mcallister The video and literally a ton of others not the subject spell t out for you that the horses today have been bred to be larger and stronger, enough to carry men in full armor. The horses of the ancient past were not large/hardy enough to carry, or at least couldn’t practically accommodate them, especially if you factor that the stirrup wouldn’t be invented for centuries after their domestication. Hence why chariots were king, because wheels allowed man to still take advantage of a horse’s pulling power.

[@khafaniking1230]

@jason mcallister Lmao there’s no need to yell or be rude. I’m just saying there’s literally thousands of years of evidence that run counter to your argument that because horses weigh 1000 pounds and above today, and can accommodate carrying people, that they’ve always been able to do that. It’s not about common sense, because yeah on a surface level I’m sure that a lot of people like yourself have always thought horses have been this big, but when you give a cursory look at the facts and history, you’ll see a clearly different picture. Horses used to be smaller, it’s just that simple.

[@Rodzyniastyyyy]

Pre-Islamic persian region is one of the most interesting subjects for me.

[@aydnmesuttorun8397]

iran is a lost country decimated by arabs. It is very sad but they sort of did that to theirselves (by attacking and wasting their precious resources against Eastern Romans , which made them astronomically vulnerable to araps afterwards...)

[@ReasonAboveEverything]

HolyTea or Sörkl I wonder how high and mighty place middle-east would be without Islam.

[@Rodzyniastyyyy]

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Iranophile, I really enjoy reading about Islamic dynasties like Safavids etc. but there is just something about 'pure' Persia...

[@iNFCxx]

​@HolyTea or Sörkl The Arabs have won we fucked the Persian and Roman Empire We expelled them from North Africa, subjugated the Berber tribes, occupied Andalusia for more than 800 years, and our territory still extends from Iraq to the east to Morocco to the west We are the greatest civilization That's a fact Whether you like us or not,

[@aydnmesuttorun8397]

@Ghufran dumb bitch your race and religion exists becauee of us turks. You woild be wiped off the planet had our ancestors ddidnt conquer lands neighboring your children fucking shit lands. Anyway our Tengri is enough for us

[@AdobadoFantastico]

I appreciate that the style of the drawing mimicks medieval esthetics. Feels more appropriate to me than trying to dramatize with cinematic drawings.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Glad you like it :)

Cataphracts have always fascinated me since I first encountered them in Age of Empires 2 and both their history and their evolution have been a topic worth seeing. The impressive thing about the Cataphracts is that after them, it took Western Europe several more centuries to achieve the level of armor that the Persians and Byzantines had at the end of antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages; It must have been impressive to see the heavy cavalry of those two Empires charging against each other on the battlefield, their gleaming silver and gold armor shining in the sun.

[@GeoGyf]

Indeed! The Military Manuals of the Eastern Romans say it clearly. Against Persians (who have equally well-armored troops) anti-armored weapons are preferred like the mace, the axe with a spike head and so on. Against the Persian Cataphracts a very heavy spear (log spear) was also introduced, the Menavlion (Menavleeon) and the troops that used it were called the Menavliatoi (Menavlion-bearers). The only thing in the manual about lets say Celts or Britons, is to avoid battles in swamps.

[@mikeoxmaul45]

You imagine how hot it would be in full armor *in the desert*

[@manufacturedfracture]

Bronze is so shiny when clean it could reflect the heat greatly. But still hot.

[@CirosKhan]

Iran is a mountainous country

[@u3fnoob688]

One of the reasons they lost to muslims

[@theanonymousmrgrape5911]

@@CirosKhan well yeah, but the borderlands with the Romans were pretty darn deserty.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

That's why the lighter armored Arabs conquered them.

[@theknave4415]

Keep in mind that stirrups weren't generally used in Europe until after 500 or 600 AD. Before the Sarmatians (leather stirrups), almost no one used any type of stirrup, at all. Keeping your seat during a cavalry 'meeting engagement' meant that most riders ended up fighting on foot. ;) (Stirrups were first introduced in India several centuries earlier, though, and made of leather.)

[@newname4941]

Roman horses also were alot smaller than those of medieval knights.

[@Armorius2199]

The Seleucid cataphract combines Greek aesthetic with Iranian practicality. The best of two great cultures!

[@jotaro2690]

Yes

[@davidking6242]

Alexander's dream made manifest

[@gabe6475]

@Otis C-14 tf do you mean

[@stockingsstuffer6302]

@Otis C-14 edgelord lmfao

[@okhan_roudbaraki]

The amount of research you do for each one of your videos is admirable and of course the amount of work you do to create them. enjoyed watching this video, thanks from a fellow Iranian.

[@sadradehbashi3598]

Your name isn't Iranian.

[@danmaertens7872]

Well done on the drawing, really captures the weight of the armor.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thanks man!

[@thesenate5913]

They have a weird resistance to pikemen and halberdiers, so they're a very good unit.

[@theSavageHippie]

And a weakness to archers

[@bobsmith3838]

And camels for some reason.

[@ciranopunalesvigliarolo3788]

@@bobsmith3838 Actually, cataphracts are resistant to camels and heavy camels

[@bobsmith3838]

@@ciranopunalesvigliarolo3788 That's what I meant, resistance to camels.

[@wv8d]

Cataphracts: the guy who said the joke Knight: the guy who repeated it but louder

[@justmymage]

The drawing is really great. Horses, the armour, facial expression on the rider on the right. Really makes it seem cool and gives an insight to a moment of battle between the two cataphract riders. Great work. Please do more if at all possible.

[@hamd8375]

I love how you called it "armoured horse - human collaboration"

[@cyrusa-ww3ib]

Your information about Persia is really good

[@Kublaioi]

It's truly astonishing how Turks like to claim Iranian and Eastern Iranic history like this.

[@hayalamca6185]

Today dialects of Turkish is spoken as native language in Europe, in China, in most north Russia and in Iran. Can you imagine how and when this language spread to this territories? You cant find a bit of history of Eurasia withought Turks mentioned. Name a second language spread so much in geography in time. Just modern history langages may compete like English and they are not native mostly.

[@maddogbasil]

I'm pretty sure for the longest time Turks were pretty much ruled most of persia for almost a thousand years

[@he4620]

@@maddogbasil No at most 300 years Then Persians in the time of Safavids kicked them out of their country and make another native Persian empire after Sassanids

[@robertvahedi3350]

@@maddogbasilThis is one of those pan Turkic claims. A huge area up there was always populated by various Iranic tribes. Turks kept trying to push from east without success until arabs weaponized Islam to destroy Persia as severe as possible, after which Turks gained more access to that area.

[@robertvahedi3350]

@@hayalamca6185How about Persian? Even Ottomans spoke Persian in their court.

[@miketacos9034]

I was gonna say, your drawing skills have improved so much, and this drawing is badass. Keep it up, Epimetheus!

[@tobago3679]

Always had a fascination with the cataphracts and heavy cavalry. Great drawings and thank you for the video!

[@Samuray1955]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4HWhquCgcqJZ6c

[@Warmaker01]

Flashbacks to my time playing the original Rome Total War in the mid-2000s. Roman heavy infantry facing cataphract charges with no spears / pikes to counter. Cataphracts also having maces with armor piercing buff. So even if the cataphract user was lazy and did not cycle charge, they'd still crush Roman legionaries in melee. Very few things could take Roman heavy infantry head on, 1 unit vs 1 unit, and win. Cataphracts were one of them.

[@3452te]

The Cataphracts especially Byzantine Cataphracts & Clibanarii are such a legendary cavalrymen that I would prefer them over Knights. Why! Being seasoned & well trained soldiers that have to deal with the heavy armour and dealing the climate they were on. These guys got my respect. Awesome video. :)

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

They were great and all, but when people brought gunpowder and arcabuzes, they were kinda a glass canon. Would face the same fate as the knights.

[@3452te]

@@miguelmontenegro3520 Byzantine Kataphracts haven't seen the advent of gunpowder as they were dramatically reduced to special roles in Constantinople until the 4th crusade. Like the skoutatoi that disappeared by the early 11th century AD or before that. They were ultimately replaced by Koursores, Pronoiars, Athanatoi and even the Varangian Guard. Sadly their last major battle was with against the Bulgars.

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

@@3452te Did they rout the bulgars? I Hope they did. Greek Rome is awesome.

[@3452te]

@@miguelmontenegro3520 they won the battle of Kliedion during Basil II reign then yes. They routed them.

[@6principlesforcartography61]

Don’t forget that cataphracts were also master of horse archery, which is a skill not practiced by knights.

I love smashing Cataphracts into Infantry in Rome 2 and watching soldiers fly through the air

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

Warhammer brought flying infantry to a whole new level

[@rockstar450]

It’s gold but absolutely incorrect historically.

[@mick2d2]

You want to try Bannerlord. You can be the one on the horse, doing the smashing! ;)

[@brohvakiindova4452]

@@mick2d2 but in bannerlord apparently a 800kg (potentially more) warhorse in heavy armor charging an enemy at top speed so like 50kph at least does roughly 20 damage in real life getting hit by a horse at those speed you're completely wrecked in bannerlord it's like: *thud* "ahhh that kinda hurt" until after 5 consecutive charges they would eventually faint :D unless you charge into their backs which apparently negates almost all damage

[@mick2d2]

@@brohvakiindova4452 It's still in early access. I think they're in the process of tweaking those things. When I hit infantry, it's usually with a couched lance! Nobody has survived that. 😜

[@Crafty_Spirit]

Fantastic job on the drawings, one of your best outputs so far 👌🏽 Very vivid and lushly coloured 🔥

[@seatonking8136]

I love the educational and historical value behind all the videos. Plus the art is awesome, hats off to you for the art particularly.

[@NickG_]

For anyone interested, SAVAR Shodan means to ride and SAVARAN means riders in Persian. And Dehqan class refers to businessmen class. Btw, according to Age of Empires game logic, only Byzantine had Cathaphracts

[@m.thorton9305]

also Crusader Kings

[@yohopirate]

The Sassanid cataphract frontal charge also protects the horse archers and infantry from Roman missile fire. The disappearance of pikemen among western infantry is perhaps another reason for cataphract predominance

[@he4620]

Iranian empire (Achaemenid, Parthians and Sassanid) cataphracts Very nice video👏

[@Alfred_Leonhart]

That is some beautiful armor on the Persian, I want it.

[@brianfuller7691]

Cataphracts definitely had an interesting military history. This was an informative video.

[@grimgoreironhide9985]

The Chinese and Koreans also had Cataphracts. Their experience with either fighting or ruled by Steppe Nomads influenced their decision to field Cataphracts. Achaemenids were not exactly the first to use Cataphracts. The Cataphracts originate from the Iranic Steppe nomads who inhabited Central Asia. The Persians migrated to Iran and took with them their Steppe heritage in warfare.

[@SquirrelGrrl]

Your art is spectacular! Really sets it apart and makes your channel unique. Thank YOU for this great channel!

[@EpimetheusHistory]

I am glad you like it :) Thanks EngineGal

[@andrew1jl]

holy shit you drew that?? amazing work. loved the video !!

[@peanutwars]

I love the drawing ! And I love your channel man I love the topics you pick I want you to know how much it means to me that you do this for us I love you thank you for your hard work I find this stuff so fascinating !

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thanks Devon! Reading this comment was a great way to wake up while drinking my coffee :)

[@byzantinetales]

I have been drawing cataphracts for my comic book. This video helped me a lot on the historical background of the unit.

[@ramtinfazeli5106]

Sounds like a cool comic book What's the name ?

[@byzantinetales]

@@ramtinfazeli5106 theophano: a byzantine tale

[@thedoruk6324]

1:19 - The Alexander's conquest has been summarized to *magnificently!*

[@thedoruk6324]

@@papazataklaattiranimam I Adore this Chanel :]

[@thedoruk6324]

@@papazataklaattiranimam kolay gelsin bakacağım kesinlikle 👍

[@HistoricalWeapons]

very skilled artist. I really like the small details you pay attention to. must take hours just to make one of these

[@UsefulCharts]

Congrats on 300k!

[@erfan3857]

There are some places in Iran we call it zor-khane ... it means house of power you can see Pahlevani sport there

[@brazy8427]

Great video, I find it immensely interesting learning about the arms, armour, and tactics of these ancient warriors. Additionally, the drawings are superbly done!

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thank you! It definitely was a fascinating epoch

[@parjai97]

@@EpimetheusHistory will we get a video on how you draw them?

[@user-wg1mv5hu5v]

@@EpimetheusHistory Привет и Скажи мне Был Крестовый поход на Персию🇮🇷⚔🇪🇦✝️⚔☪️Иран🇮🇷⚔🇪🇦✝️⚔☪️Боями Франками-Тамплиерами🇨🇵🇻🇦Сарматы-Катафрактами🇮🇷🇮🇶☪️⚔✝️

[@menaseven9093]

The Iranian Parthian and Sassanian armies using a combination of cataphracts and horse archers made them the majority of the time invincible to the Roman army. Nice to learn that the cataphracts influenced the European knights.

[@_semih_]

Honestly that 'horse archers' weren't a part of Sassanian army. Horse archers were nomadic Turkic mercenaries. Yes Even Byzantine used Turkic horse archer mercenaries and they named them "Turcopols".

[@aradsstates9584]

Semih Sargın horse archers used in sasanid untill the middle of it.also horse archers first created by schytians not turks.parthians developed cataphracts and horse archers and became the master of all other peoples including greeks,schytians,Iranians and romans in plus parthians were Iranic people like most of schytians ,turks came to geography of Iranian platue as hephalites (they origin is disputed) but guk Turks which destroyed the hephalites with unity with the Sassanids were turkic.

[@marmary5555]

@@_semih_ just chill with your panturkic nonsense.

[@brendanvanecko582]

Congratulations epimetheus I love watching your videos! Keep up the good work I can’t wait for you to get popular like you should be.

[@FellTheSky]

They also cost 70 Food and 75 Gold

[@AnshulPresents]

Paladins are better 🤭🙃

[@royalflush5228]

@@AnshulPresents cataphract deal area damage

[@pragadeeshwar923]

@@AnshulPresents paladin dies to halberdiers easily

[@user-mw3uf3ku3k]

Those were te glory days boys. Shout out to the coolest version of a bipolar world. USA vs USSR ? The fuck is that ? Rome vs Iran is the chad version of the cold war.

[@bubuluwithagoldendudul9709]

700yrs of war > 60yrs :D

[@dogeofgreatness2222]

Rome vs Iran? Da faq is that? The real rivalry is Iranian plateau vs Anatolia (Persians vs Greeks,Rome-Byzantinve vs Sassanid-Parthia, Ottoman vs Safavid,Afshar,Qajar and etc)

[@viraloracle5151]

@@dogeofgreatness2222 the first conflicts of Rome against Iran was western Rome (Italy) against the Parthians with Crassus from Italy invading, so Rome vs Iran is more correct. the conflict of Eastern Rome based in Anatolia against Iran began much later.

[@persiandude2378]

Greetings and many thanks for this great video about my favourit warriors . And my country and my culture Many thanks from the house of sassan to you . May shahanshah bless you :)

[@Smartacus98]

Iranian military history never gets enough love compared to their Greek and Roman counterparts. Ironic considering the Iranians were one of the few peoples the Romans encountered that they were never able to overcome.

[@curtiswong7280]

Probably because of their defeats in greece, people just assume they're bad at warfare overall; they are in fact of course one of the finest and most well-disciplined armies of the age.

[@__0-0__]

nah is just logical things to do, given the bias greek and roman bias in western historian deeply rooted, and how they view culture other than their own as not that important at all.

[@JavidShah246]

In Shāhnāmeh( book of kings), ferdowsi amazingly explains the weapons and their purpose in a verse and sequentially: بروز نبرد آن يل ارجمند، بتيغ و بچاقو، بگرز و كمند بريد و دريد و شكست و ببست، يلان را سر و سينه و پا و دست. In the battles day, the Great warrior By sword, dagger, mace and lasso Cut, tore, smashed and tied up Warriors Heads, chests, legs and hands.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Great verse

[@Alim-od2uz]

For whom that may be interested: This literary technique is called "laff o nashre morattab" (ordered grouping and dispatching) Note the order: Sword -> cut -> heads Dagger -> tore -> chests Mace -> smashed -> legs Lasso -> tied -> hands And the pronunciation of the verses is: Bé ruzé nabard ān yalé arjmand Bé shamshir o khanjar bé gorz o kamand Borid o darid o shekast o bebast Yalān rā sar o siné o pā o dast

[@farhankoozechi943]

@@Alim-od2uz لف و نشر و به اینگلیسی عالی ترجمه کردی 👍👍💪

[@romanbarna1316]

When I was a teenager, my history teacher claimed that it wasn't possible to field heavily armored cavalry until the invention of the stirrup. I pointed out that cataphracts were a thing for hundreds of years before the stirrup was invented, but he wouldn't budge.

[@SalmanibnFarsi]

damet garm. I am thankful someone makes videos about my ancestors. most iranians will speak highly of qasem but forget their history, gone are the days of rustam suren pahlav, shapur, and such.

[@dale6947]

8:32 Lance guy is about to get messed up by that mace

[@dale6947]

@Vitruvius Antarchius What about a mace pommel?

[@9051team]

@@dale6947 Gasp! To dare put the pommel at the front! You've blasphemed the holy pommel!

[@LuisAldamiz]

@Vitruvius Antarchius - It's not. Pommel is auxiliary and somewhat hard to use.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@Vitruvius Antarchius - I watch Skallagrim and it is from that kind of channels where I learned that pommel is hard to use in combat, rather used for the death blow instead. I prefer Schola Gladatoria anyhow.

[@weldonwin]

You mess with best, you mace in face

[@viriato6525]

Don't forget the Nisean horses. A warmblooded oriental horse, related to the Arabian and Akhalteke horses.This breed was very important for cataphracts. It was strong and agile.

[@ahumpierrogue137]

Have you ever considered a video on the evolution of cavalry organization and usage in China? I feel it’s a pretty interesting topic.

[@Jordan-cs6bn]

Dude you’re very good at drawing. Keep it up!

[@joshuaboer1617]

Congratulations on 300k subscribers man! You've earned it!

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Thanks Joshua! :D

[@kavehofraghae1816]

Excellent video. Thank you for all the informative details on the Sassanid war machine. At the height of Sassanid might under Bahram, Khosrow, and Khosrow II, a Sassanid cavalry charge must have been the most terrifying thing in the entire world. It would have looked like the charge of the Rohirrim, but with even more heavily armored cavalry units like the Savaran, Azadan, Pushtigban, etc. I think the Sassanid Dynasty is the single most overlooked empire in all of world history.

[@dshepherd107]

Excellent presentation & loved your illustrative art

[@hansholbein1047]

Thank you to Rome Total war for making sense of the names in this vid

[@jasonnguyen3476]

that drawing is sick!!! you got talent!

[@arashghanbari5907]

Thanks for the great video about our culture my friend. You nailed every point. I couldn't add anything else to the video as a Persian myself on this topic.

[@EpimetheusHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@grungeguy97]

I'm not surprised that Persians were so heavily involved in the development of the cataphracts. From the Achaemenids to the times of the Abassid Caliphate, Persians were on the cutting edge of research, technology, and governance compared to others they interacted with.

[@LuisAldamiz]

Maybe the main reason was that they were much more inclined, partly because of geography, towards cavalry in general.

[@__0-0__]

@@LuisAldamiz no only that, it's also because how their society work, and how egalitarian they are. Like how they allow commoner or low noble into higher rank, is one of good example how they able to improve and maintain they brilliant military structure.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@__0-0__ - Wast that the case? Persia had nobility since ancient times and I feel that was a reason both behind the development of the cataphract and also behind their defeat before Arabs, who had surely a much less stratified society.

[@__0-0__]

@@LuisAldamiz Still though, they is still have far better system than medieval europe. And the only reason why the sassanid defeated by the arabs is just like any other empire. They get weak, corrupt, forgotting their ancient ideals just like how western rome are.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@__0-0__ - What part of Medieval Europe? Here in Vasconia we had a very good system in the early Middle Age (with legacy all the way to present day, even if weakened by foreign invasions). In other places like Italy or Switzerland republics appear later on. Not everything was the Carolingian system, and even the Carolingian system was far from uniform, and Charlemagne himself was criticized for raising slaves to nobility rank, so, well, complicated.

[@KateFergeson]

Subscribed. Thank you so much for posting a video on catapfracs. Key to cavalry research

[@odin01]

Another great one! I love your drawings, and they are definitely one of the things that make your videos great. Suppiluliuma will always look like your drawing in my head!

[@EpimetheusHistory]

That's awesome! Also Suppiluliuma is one of the funnest names to say :)

[@dankeykang868]

Imagine developing the best heavy cavalry for centuries and getting destroyed by some camelriders in 20 years

[@TheColombiano89]

They also smashed combined Byzantine-Sassanian armies. The Arab commanders had been very cunning and with the religious fervor of the 7th century with the death of Mohammad they would reach western China to the Balkans and Iberia. At first viewed as merely raiders they would become a serious threat to both empires.

[@amir9053]

TheColombiano89 Both empires were weak at that time perfect time for the Arabs to strike this is known arab tactic stab someone in the back when he is not looking.

[@ShahStark]

They ruled said camel riders for centuries. Both empires had been weakened and LACKED properly trained men. Don’t meme history

[@angrymonkeynoises]

Both empires suffered from Bubonic Plague, Political and Social Instability, the Persian Empire was already in Civil War between the Parsig and the Parthian Clans in the north and east of the country. The Political Instability was so profound that 13 emperors were crowned between 628-631.

[@angrymonkeynoises]

The Plague of Sheroe (627-628) or Sheroe's Plague was an epidemic that devastated the western provinces of the Sasanian Empire, mainly Mesopotamia (Asorestan), killing half of its population,including the reigning Sasanian king (shah) which the plague is named after, Kavad II Sheroe (r. 628). (Text from Wikipedia) Could you think how destructive is to loss half of the population from your political base and the most rich province of the Empire?

[@teutonieth]

one thing i'm intrigued about is their armors. Not just that of the Cataphracts but Hittite, Scythian, Alan and other cultures known for their mounted warriors.

[@damuses1452]

Splendid. Thank you for this. The Persians were top notch military powers.

[@user-jv3mm6vt6e]

As a persian who knows the military history of this land: NO.

[@mehrdad5767]

@@user-jv3mm6vt6e fuck off

[@FromaTwistedMind]

Many believe that King Arthur's use of mounted knights or horsemen goes to prove that he was a Roman auxiliary who stayed in Britain when the Roman's left in the early 5th century. He used them to defeat larger numbers of Angle and Saxon infantry. Great picture btw.

[@mazdikhan2556]

Arthur is a myth he's not real

[@Nazdreg1]

The figure of Arthur is a myth but he is embedded in a conglomerate of real events. Conflicts between Saxons and Britons happened and it is true that Sarmatian auxiliary heavy cavalrymen were stationed in Britain. Mix in a medieval author adding some knightly flavour into the story (like we nowadays see Shakespeare's characters in suits doing business) and we have the weird mix that are Arthurian legends. Still, it is not unlikely that the source for Arthurian knights were Sarmatian Cataphracts. German authors have done similar things with the Nibelungen story, which is also based off of events during the migration period (conflicts between Ostrogoths, Burgundians and Huns) that were turned into medieval stories with added fictional characters.

[@Nazdreg1]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dun_Nechtain en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badon Nationalism didn't exist back then. And most sources we have are Anglo Saxon. I wonder where you got the idea that it was anti saxon. That would be the same as saying Teutoburg Forest didn't happen as the accounts we have are from Germanic nationalists. This is ridiculous.

[@urseliusurgel4365]

@Paulo Ramos There were several historically attested Arthurs in Britain in the late 6th century, one was a son of a king of Dal Riada (the Scots). This, at the very least, suggests that the name was current in Celtic-speaking Britain in the period. Gildas also says that a British king was originally the charioteer of 'The Bear'. There is a possible connection between the name Arthur and 'art-', which can mean 'bear' in Celtic languages (paralleled by 'arctos' in Greek).

[@urseliusurgel4365]

@Paulo Ramos The Romans used praenomen, cognomen and nomen, but in Dark Age Britain people, even kings usually had a single name, though some had nicknames, such as Maelgwn Hir (Hir = tall) or Caradoc Vreichvras (Vreichvras = 'strong-arm'). Arthur is not only found in High and Late Medieval romances, but is mentioned in early Welsh poems, such as 'Llongborth', and in the 'Mabinogion'.

[@Lycurgus1982]

I believe an even better starting point to address "cataphracts" would be to talk about the picked bodyguard of the steppes. These tribes were the ones responsible for this cavalry tradition being handed down to other Iranian tribes that became sedentary, further south in their migrations. Their introduction to the west in any real substantial form first came from the Persians. Alexander had neither the time nor the means to integrate these arms into his army, however the Seleucid king Aniochus III anabasis to the eastern portions of the Seleucid empire saw one of the most impressive military reforms in history. The integration of various degrees of barding for horse and cavalryman.

[@a1n9t8o9]

Artwork looks great!!

[@zhongxina7601]

virgin teutonic knights vs Chad sassanid cataphracts

[@matthewtenorioduenas202]

Ha

[@kingdomofbird8174]

Sassanid and in future Byzantine

[@mate5571]

@@kingdomofbird8174 *roman

[@Noface121]

Can you let this garbage meme die already? Jeez.

[@wankawanka3053]

Winged hussars 😉

[@curseoftheegglady]

Congratulations on the 300K!

[@Amadeus8484]

Your voice is PERFECT to listen to when I eat Chicken Wings :) thought you should know...

[@mistahillshistory1916]

I would have imagined a more southern accent fitting better. 🤷

[@EpimetheusHistory]

:) Food and KZbin is a perfect combination

[@james_baker]

Chicken wings? Damn you Amadeus, now I have to go out.

[@Amadeus8484]

@@EpimetheusHistory Yes but the specifics of you and Chicken Wings...

[@Amadeus8484]

@@james_baker Try the Cajun when you listen to him lol

[@HittokiriBatosai]

I'm loving these KZbin history channels. Academic history classes rarely go outside of Europe, and even then rarely outside the Greco-Roman world and their children (France, Britain, etc). This serious look into the other ancient empires without the patronizing aliens talk is really appreciated

[@shimmyhinnah]

Agree 100%!

[@XanderKalas]

Love your videos! Packed with information and to top this, your drawings are awesome!! Tnx for the hard work that you put into the research and the creation of these gems!

[@EpimetheusHistory]

My pleasure!

[@endo_kun_da]

The drawing looks great, keep that up!

[@MoeShinola1]

Here's a video idea: Why were the Arabs able to conquer so wide an empire, and so quickly, defeating the might of knights like the Cataphracts? I've always wondered.

[@stevesmith2171]

Because they had more of them?

[@yaqubebased1961]

The arabs were battle hardened, hardy people who also had one of the greatest generals of all time. Iran had just been through a devastating civil war and a long series of plagues. Their noble houses had all abandoned the country, which meant no Cataphracts since they relied solely on royal funds and the royal house had no suitable heir. Many betrayed their countrymen, as well.

[@ejoji4245]

They fought 2 exhausted empires

[@eveei]

timing, numbers, leadership, one could argue will

[@Kaiyanwang82]

Rome and Persia exhausted each other with an avoidable war.

[@kgb976]

Their ancient tanks,yes but also i like how the design and role rhymed with tanks today Scaled Armor = ERA

[@KingRichardDeLeonheart]

Fighting the parthians sounds like cancer

[@AryaOghuz]

When a gamer tries (and fails) to learn history

[@KingRichardDeLeonheart]

@@AryaOghuz I am sorry sir, but I did not articulate the meaning of what I meant in the most formal manner. The point I meant to get across is that having to be in a war with these people would be more annoying then fighting other people as their very effective tactics allowed them to shoot at you, ride off, and ward off your cavalries counter attacks. The reason I worded my prior message the way I did is because I am a young boy who plays video games, watches videos about history (especially when it pretains to battles), and I was commenting in a youtube comment section and therefore did not feel the need to use formal language.

[@user-wr3uy8wu3z]

Перевод?

[@roastingskeleton3345]

Fighting the sasanids is like having cancer but always have a seizure every 20 minutes

[@CirosKhan]

Yet Iranian Cataphracts don't get enough recognition imo

[@_semih_]

Not Iran. Iran is a country that established in 19th century. Say "Persia" instead Iran. Iran is a trash country

[@mehrdad5767]

@@_semih_ its same idiot

[@CirosKhan]

@@_semih_ Persia is what foreigners called Iran. Iranians call their cou try Iran and themselves Iranians. "Persia" is a Greek term for "Parsi" which is now "Farsi" because Arabs can't/or didn't pronounce the letter "P".

[@saeidgholibeik9865]

@@_semih_ Sargin Sargin Sargin! When are you going to learn. Read some books for everybody's sake. Don't talk about a nation that for 1150 years has been either the SOLE SUPER POWER (e.g. Achaemenid) or shared the world with Romans such as other IRANIAN dynasties (e.g. Parthians and Sasanids dynasties). IRAN includes Achaemenids, Parthians, Sassanians, Safavids, Afsharian and many more great dynasties that brought great civilizations to our world. The Iranian plateau has over 7000 years of civilization. I hope you don't rely on stories and read some books!

[@salarrajabalizade9878]

@@_semih_ persian were one of the third tribal groups that lived in land of iran (iranshahr = aryan land) and in history the land is know as persia cause persians made more than 50-70 percent of the population ( along side with medes and parthians ).they called it iran since the beginning. evidence of this can be found on the great Cyrus's cylinder and in shahnameh ( iranian epic poet-i really recommend reading this one )

[@sidneylu9659]

Great video. Overall the style of your videos are one of the most enjoyable ways to learn history.

[@timlamiam]

The west never surpassed the Byzantines in technology for as long as the Byzantines were around....

[@zjackshot]

That's not really true near the end, despite not inventing gunpowder it was the Italian states that perfected it at this time period the byzantines had stagnated at this point and couldn't get good access to his technology due to their poor relations.

[@timlamiam]

@@zjackshot the fall of Byzantium had nothing to do with technology and more to do with the decline of state functions. They did not have the means to indefinitely fight on 3 or 4 fronts for centuries. They made a good go as it is lasting so long. They sold the tax rights of their own ports to pay for mercenaries to help fight, that by the time of Byzantium's fall, they did not even own the rights to shipping across the Hellespont. That's not due to any lag in technological prowess.

[@taotekoncha6275]

People don't realize that the renaissance happened because byzantine intellectuals moved to Italy after the fall of Constantinople, what means the west never reached the technological advances of byzantine empire

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@taotekoncha6275 Jesus what did you think because of the books you stole from the Middle East

[@user-cg2tw8pw7j]

@@timlamiam They did not defeat his command more than once, and they used to pay the tribute, weak and serious

[@doubleoheck-5066]

Why you dont have millions of subscribers i never know. Such brilliant content ! Very educational

[@1roanstephen]

You have provided much education and enjoyment. Thank you.

[@matthewanderson6769]

Love your Channel mate, excellent source of world building inspiration.

[@cristianvillanueva8782]

What I love about you Epimitheus is that you dont typically just cover one area of the world, I really appreciate that. I would love to see more videos on ancient China and India

[@barwnamga3647]

Winged Hussars taking notes

[@earltaylor1893]

Congrats!! 300,000! I’ve always been fascinated by cataphracts and I enjoyed learning more about their origins. Your drawings are perfect and remind me of the art from Eruopa Barbarorum

[@davidwilliambarker]

I very much appreciate your videos, and you artwork is wonderful. Thank you so much!

[@johnschools6617]

Too bad they didn’t have stirrups to make them more stable in the saddle.

[@ideclaredwaronyourfrenchas4123]

This is the reason why norman knights alongside with the use of crouched lance would btfo Roman cataphracts

[@kalziumbones1557]

Love the drawing

[@TheZerech]

Thank you so much for making this video! I love the history of the kataphrakts.

[@AmrodOfDale]

Awesome content! Since I started playing ancient strategy games the Cataphracts have fascinated me for years. Really happy to see your channel make an episode on them! I wasn't aware that you made the drawings, well done! I love how the style reflects the topic and the era, gives it a great historic feel. Cheers!

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

Imagine how the Cataphracts would react if they discovered modern cavalry is faster, got even more armor and menages to transport up to 9 men.

[@LuisAldamiz]

The Inquisition wants to know your address. What you say sounds to witchcraft!

[@lastword8783]

Theyd think of them as armored chariots or wagons powered by magic.

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

@@LuisAldamiz I've gone to the mass regularly. I'm safe... for now.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@miguelmontenegro3520 - Except from the virus, I guess.

[@TheDAWinz]

@@lastword8783 Lol they knew about combustion back then, they just thought it was only useful for childrens toys.

[@walkingdead7115]

Damn never been this early to your videos. 3 minutes Keep up the good work my dude

[@thewowfowyay7335]

what excellent videos, I get lost in the detail, perfection, and pure awesomeness of these videos.

[@YaMumsSpecialFriend]

Good on you mate, consistently nice work and well deserved subscriber numbers👌🏻

[@arianrezaie4729]

Thanks for taking my suggestion and making a better video than i ever could have imagined could you ever do a video about the history of science in the middle east?🙏👍

[@arianrezaie4729]

And thanks for the drawings i just knowticed ther the only historicly accurate persian style drawing i have seen

[@dsnielsen7564]

8:35 realy nice work on the painting it looks amazing.

[@maxbrandt6]

Nice artwork and I just learned something never touched upon in history class. Keep up the fine work!

[@regular-joe]

Rich content, superbly presented. I love learning from your channel!