Gothic War Aftermath: The Romans won the war but at what cost?

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

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[@opaaloys]

0:43 The sack of rome 410 is a question of make a living for the visigoths on one side and how the romanitas will go on furhter. The answer of the sack of rome gave Augustinus, in "the Civitas Dei" . The answer of the gothic wars on the Apenin Peninsular was to errect the monasterium of Monte Cassino and to close the platonic academy of Athens. Nobilities in the provinces escape from taxes and serve the state in the legion to become patriach, priest, abbe. bishop in the katholic ore monophysit church, fighting heretics and pagan people. It caused the loss of scrolls an bibliotheks not, of being copied. It caused lossed of distruction and analphabetism. the romanic languages are shiftet in a median about 300km west and south from danube and rhine, but why do latin speaking people give up the skills of civilisation ? They belive in civitas dei and nothing else matters. The medieval wold, religion is dominant. Rome appears to Rome 2.0 in Colonialism , Imperialism. So spanish, russian, british , portugese empire are Rome2.0

[@didierroux1547]

@Maiorianus_Sebastian Will you one day make a video on Romulus Augustulus to know what he became after 476 AD ?

[@GK15000]

I think the Eastern Roman Empire was too busy with holding the city against the Goths rather than rebuilding it. They had no money to rebuild

[@praetorianguard5696]

The gothic war marks the real end of late antiquity and the beginning of the Dark Ages, at least for Italy. They tried to restore the glory of Rome, but the only thing they achieved was the ultimate destruction or Rome, even if the plague and the climate anomaly were not there, the war itself was enough to destroy everything good there was at the time. And that divide North/South that you can see on the map, with these two divided at the center by the Byzantine possession (later Papal State) still haunts Italy today, economically and culturally. It's like Italy got hit so bad that she never fully recovered, as a person with an injury so bad it keeps him/her from walking straight ever again. Luckly the roman ideas never disappeared as you can see reading the german scholar Otto von Freising in the 12th century "even in the art of building and governing they still imitate the skills of the ancient romans. They love freedom so much that in order to flee the abuses of the imperial power, they are governed by consuls." Thus keeping that fertile cultural soil that later would be the ground for the Renaissance.

[@nickie2011]

getting a bit tired of that story "they love freedom so much..." they loved (the germanic tribes, I understand) freedom so much, that they plunged the whole Europe in the Dark Ages for centuries, while a number of kings kept to themselves the few comforts that survived the Roman Empire. On the other hand, the population was taken back to the Bronze Age or quasi...REVISIONISM apparently works not only for WWII but also for the Romans now!!! wow (btw >> here a descendant from Roman Legions in the East >> legio Gaellica and Illiricorum)

[@praetorianguard5696]

@@nickie2011 No, Otto was writing about medieval italians, still holding onto roman ideals in the way they were building cities and governaments. Big part of Italy in fact was not ruled by kings and nobles, as was happening in France, England or Germany, but by city states, whose institutions were shaped after the roman republic. Primary examples are Venice and Florence.

[@commonwealthrealm]

This is truly amazing. The art, maps, so on. The ancient city of Rome much like a few other historic capitals did not collapse due to one barbaric sack, but depopulation caused by continuous warfare and plague in and outside the city. Combined causing a collapse in the population that could have preserved the ancient metropolis to our day. Ancient Rome's last hope was to avoid any form of conquest after 500 (after the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was firmly established), but with the Gothic wars, what remained of the city in 536 was doomed. Since 10 to 30 thousands inhabitants from 560, (and it kept struggling with only 25 000 by the beginning of the 1400s) even the 50 000 at the height of the Roman renaissance in the late 1400s were unable to maintain a city built for 1 Million. The only reason we still have anything left of Ancient Rome 1500 years later is that Rome has always been the capital of the Catholic Church (which at the same time was also the greatest destructive and pillaging force of Ancient Rome's buildings). But credit is due where they turned Roman temples and buildings to churches and fortresses which stand to this day. (Curia Julia, Colosseum, Pantheon, Hadrian's Mausoleum, Baths of Diocletian, Aurelian's walls to name a few). Rome did not share the fate of so many Imperial capitals (Babylon, Persepolis etc.) that fell before it as Italy after over 1300 years was reunited with Rome as the final grand addition to the new Kingdom. It is still a capital of a major European power The Republic of Italy and has through it been able to surpass its ancient million inhabitants and secure its status as one of Europe's leading cities and as the Eternal City, where it all began Italy. Even then if Rome remained as part of a united Italian Ostrogothic-Roman Kingdom from 493 and onwards, then today Italy would have been even more magnificent than it already is!

[@BFDT-4]

Thanks for this summary that led to the 1300s and 1400s. I am interested in seeing an early 15th century representation of the Roman Forum. I have read that the Temple of Jupiter, though really beat up, still had some standing columns and walls as late as 1450, but then the popes decided to clear off the Capitoline Hill, and by about 1500 built the first parts of the villas or domus that were there until Michalangelo and others redesigned that area. Thanks again!

[@josephdent7343]

Really nice exploration of an underappreciated era in late antiquity. I find particularly interesting how depopulated Rome was before the Gothic Wars and then further depopulated by the wars themselves, famine, plague etc. It raises the question whether it was already too late to restore Rome. Once sophisticated trade networks break down and civil society fragments, just taking back Italy doesn't make them suddenly re-appear, plague or no. Also, it seems a bit unfair to blame Justinian for not restoring monumental Roman buildings in a city with only 30k inhabitants left.

[@ntonisa6636]

I doubt that after Justinian and especially after Tiberius II's reckless spending and paying massive tributes left and right to every neighboring barbarian to buy short lived peace the eastern empire would have the cash to restore anything even if Rome had still been relevant. One can see how not that long after during Heraclius' reign they had to plunder their own churches to fund the war effort and apparently things were so desperate that even the Church was ok with that.

[@andrewberrocal2281]

Justinian : We did it Belisarius we saved the city!

[@wannabehistorian371]

This comment should be higher.

[@ourshelties7649]

In my reading of the Gothic wars, there were a few reasons for this. The Roman army at this time did not have the discipline of the Roman's of old, and Belisarius didn't have the cooperation of some of his generals. This caused a back and forth with the Goths who looked at the local people who supported Belisarius as traitors and thus would wipe out thousands in cities they recaptured. Possibly the reason things didn't get restored around Rome is the war cost so much money and Italy continued to be a financial drain on Constantinople. They just didn't have the funds to restore anything. Whenever I read about plagues and such hitting the population of Rome hard, I wonder why it's never mentioned how the barbarian populations are affected? By this time they occupied large cities as well. Wouldn't they be hit by the same plagues?

[@animula6908]

I think it’s how plagues distract and dissipate the government, not how many citizens they kill that impact things.

[@athiocordatus9572]

I can't say for other peoples, but IIRC the Ostrogoths were concentrated around Milan, Pavia and Ravenna. So a plague that gut southern Italy may afflict them less. That, and that they didn't leave much written material on their plaguexperiences.

[@athiocordatus9572]

I can't say for other peoples, but IIRC the Ostrogoths were concentrated around Milan, Pavia and Ravenna. So a plague that gut southern Italy may afflict them less. That, and that they didn't leave much written material on their plaguexperiences.

[@iDeathMaximuMII]

I've got an Idea for you if someone hasn't already said it But what if Belisarius followed orders in 540 & made Peace with the Goths? Only northern Italy was devastated at that point, while everything south of it was rather fine. Justinian actually appoints an Able Commander to defend the Po-River from any attacks in case And then after the Sassanid's are (maybe) beaten back with Belisarius at the helm. Italy has some breathing room to recover Say the Ostrogoths don't break the Peace until maybe 545 or 550 at the latest. That would pass over the initial Plague Outbreak & while still weakened by it, the Armies in Italy manage to hold it together Justinian thinking everything on all fronts is once again fine, takes advantage of the Assassination of the Visigothic King Theudis in June 548 & the Gothic Civil War. Sending Belisarius again to work his magic in a Hearts & Minds Campaign But once the Ostrogoths attack in 550, he's recalled to Italy for its defense & he is victorious, gaining the Po-Valley for Italy while Liberius or Narses takes over in Hispania. Reconquering Southern Spain from Olisipo to Toletum to Saguntum by either 555 or 556 Would this be how it could've gone if Belisarius listened to his orders?

[@danumbert7983]

This level of research and granular detail, on such a misunderstood period of history, deserves so much praise and credit. I hope the algorithm rewards you dearly. Salve.

[@serek_heterogenizowany]

People forget that empires are not just colors on the map but the people who populate these lands.

[@SweetChicagoGator]

Ridiculous to think about restoration when constantly getting invaded ! What happened to the great legions & defense of Rome? Where did they go?? 😡🙄

[@nemiatarot497]

I grew up with Felix Dahn's epic and highly ideological Kampf um Rom, and I still retain the memories of the Ostrogoths as presented there. Thank you for adding some real history. Great videos!

[@marccarva]

Incredible how these are the events that actually ended Rome’s glory and all we learn in school is AD476

[@rockstar450]

Rome’s glory ended in the third century. By 476 it had its buildings and some aristocrats but it was a corrupt dump and far from its splendour from the times of Trajan. Buildings don’t make an empire, people do. And by 476 the west’s Roman identity was flaking away from mass migration. 476 was the mercy killing for an overrun empire. The institutions were only kept in place so goths could tax the population. Traders were cut down and farms raided. The population dropped simply because people starved and died of famine/disease. If this war didn’t happen, the Lombards would have done it just as badly. This was Romans taking what they viewed as there’s but it was already a dump that got decimated over the invasion. Just because the city of Rome was stable ignores the horrible reality of the surrounds. The citizens of Rome enjoyed goth rule because it was hands off. Under ERE rule they’d become accountable again, and so they did…. Fun fact: for most people the Roman Empire wasn’t fun!

[@gabrielalexanderkhoury73]

536 AD was the worst date in human history when volcanic dust engulfed the Earth for 18 months plunging it into winter like darkness, and may have triggered the Justinian Plague 541-549 AD.

[@rockstar450]

“No, Justinian was a Christian and Eastern Roman! Only Italians before 476 are allowed to besiege Roman cities!!” - the dude that made this video.

[@serek_heterogenizowany]

I know its been two years since you posted but the volcanic dust is just a theory. If I am not mistaken, we don't know what happened.

[@BFDT-4]

Gracious, you're moving along! I will pour another cuppa coffee and watch this. Thanks!

[@nicholasphelps3872]

This is extremely well done, Theodoric took great care and was fair toward his kingdom and the power hungry invaders of the Eastern Roman government were willing to go to any lengths for expanding their power again.

[@CaptainGrimes1]

I do regret the fall of Rome but at the same time having Europe develop into competing kingdoms did lead to technological advances, the enlightenment and the modern world. If Rome had survived I think Europe would be like China was in the 19th century an ancient civilisation that didn't innovate or develop

[@scorpionfiresome3834]

Wasn’t Innovation something both Rome and China had? Both could have had an industrial revolution.

[@CaptainGrimes1]

@@scorpionfiresome3834 But it didn't because of the culture and society, that's the thing. They created gunpowder but only used it for fireworks, they created the compass but they used it for divination. They didn't have to compete on equal footing with other nations which is what drove the European kingdoms to become nation states and then global empires. The modern world is formed in the image of the west and western technology.

[@ilgufo1146]

This is just a theory that some contemporary historians have. It's just one of the many interpretations, do not take it too seriously.

[@ilgufo1146]

@@scorpionfiresome3834 Yes, both could have had an industrial revolution. We would never know it, unfortunately.

[@joer8954]

That’s an interesting way to look at it.

[@anthonymaduska5483]

A thought-provoking analysis. Great work.

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Thanks a lot, friend ! I really appreciate it :)

[@SolidRollin]

You're doing great with these. Cheers.

[@jl696]

Too bad that Belisarius did not depose Justinian. It would have been one of the few times where the old pattern usurpation in the West would have been appropriately applied in the East. This is a case where Belisarius' loyalty was not justified.

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Hello friend ! I can understand your reasoning. Belisarius' loyalty to an emperor, that often treated him badly, is quite incredible to watch from hindsight. I often wonder what went on in Belisarius' mind. I want to make an alternate reality video, in which Belisarius accepts the title of new Western Roman Emperor in 540. This must have been a fascinating timeline.

[@halsnyder296]

Really a sad turn of events…

[@D_d_t_d_D]

Will we ever see videos on the Lombard settlement of Italy after the Gothic Wars? Nice video by the way!

[@jceepf]

Throwing statues off their pedestal? Sounds familiar.....

[@denisehorner8448]

Great voice! But one small pronunciation issue: hastened is pronounced 'hay-sind,' not 'hay-stind.' 😊 And the words 'outer lying' ought to be shortened to 'outlying,' which is a real word in itself. ❤

[@orjelmort2330]

Idea: what if the ostrogotic kingdom was integrated peacefully without any problems?

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Interesting idea, I think I will do a video of an alternate timeline, if Justinian had not attacked the Ostrogoths, what impact this kingdom would have had later on in history.

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

They had their chance but they wanted a land which was never theirs for themselves.

[@wynnschaible]

"the irony of history." And indeed, how many are we living through right now?

[@kriskris2625]

Yes the plague of 541 is big turning point, but let’s don’t forget that the plague hit the enemies of the empire also. And in the beginning Justinian try to conquer Italy with no more that 10 000 soldiers, which is completely insane to me. We all know what was the result after that

[@iDeathMaximuMII]

I mean, he was practically successful with just those men alone (along with reinforcements) up until 542 when the Goths attacked again while the Romans were fighting eachother (the Commanders in Italy)

[@josefmaster1188]

Eastern medieval romans lost so many opportunities, they were destroyers not builders and Justinian was a complete fool. i never have understand for what he wanted to conquer Italy and Rome.

[@LordWyatt]

Another Golden video Dominus. Will you do a video on the end of Roman Italy with the invasion of the Lombards? The Ostrogoths had kept their people and the Romans separate but it seems the Lombards didn’t give a sh*t😂🤔. Eventually the Roman territories would come under the direct control of the Bishop of Rome thanks to the Franks. Also I don’t know if I mentioned this idea but maybe a video analyzing the evolution of naval warfare on the Mediterranean (from the Bronze Age to the Arab invasions maybe?). Were late Roman Ships any different from their Republic ancestors?

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Thanks a lot Wyatt :) Very interesting topic suggestion, I am writing it down immediately. Please be aware though, that the future topic list is growing and growing, I think I now have material for 5 years straight. But I hope I can get to your topic suggestion soon.

[@LordWyatt]

@@Maiorianus_Sebastian awesome 👏 Love your content bro, hope you do well👌

[@kriskris2625]

I’m curious what do you guys think would happened in Justinian never turn his eyes into the west? For me at least keeping the Roman army close to the heart of the empire, he would never loose the Balkan provinces which are his home place and the home place also of the most emperors before himself

[@rockstar450]

The Italian holdings were immensely beneficial for the Byzantines. It brought them copious amounts of trade wealth and kept them i contact with the west. 500 years later Italians would be replicating the Byzantines and adopt the Roman way of doing things; making the Justinian code and other legal developments to bring Italy back to its pre-Roman glory.

[@BFDT-4]

How did Rome, the Forum to Campo Martialis to St. Peters to the Lateran Palace complex look from 1300 to 1450? ;)

[@BFDT-4]

Seriously! I'm asking! Because most of the depictions are from the early 16th century, when printing engravings began to be done. Prior to that, we have to rely on originals (fat chance) or copies of them of drawings that visitors made in that epoch! :) Thanks!

[@kriskris2625]

Great 👍 video li always! I don’t know how far you want to go with the history of the Roman Empire, but for me Basil Il was the greatest of the all eastern Roman emperors. Hi left the empire with full treasure and the best army in the medieval Europe, compared to Justinian

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Hello Kris and thanks a lot :) I will go all the way to the bitter end in 1453 and following years. So Basil II is definitely on my to-do list of most important Roman Emperors of all time :)

[@kriskris2625]

Thanks 🙏

[@jeanpaulcandau]

Very very good. Greetings from Paris France

[@MarymonckiJohn]

Imagine some old senator still wandering among the ruins of the city, maybe even protesting when Byzantine Emperors were tearing down roofs of the buildings in 570's or as far 600's. Some senators did survive till 600's as we have an evidence both archeological and in writing. Senate erected a statue for the Emperor Focas in 603; the last one to be erected on Forum Romanum. In 629 if I remember correctly, Pope complained in a letter to eastern Emperor; that nothing remained of the illustrious order of Roman Senate. And in 630's the senate house, The Curia Iulia was transformed to a church. Imagine some old guy crying as they were demolishing buildings, maybe a few guys pleading with new Byzantine authorities and church officials not to demolish their beloved monuments for building materials. Maybe trying to physically protect some buildings from looters and being treated with indifference by mostly newcoming population who felt no attachment to the city.. That must have been a sorry sight. Imperium Romanum was slavery and suffering, lots of unfair treatment to the people. I remember watching archeological document about the rented apartments in insulae were workers that took part in building Roman monuments lived.. pretty sad. And no building shall be worth more than human life and dignity. But we also should respect history and it's a shame that Italians didn't give a damn. Preserving those buildings would be respecting their past, preserving both wrongdoings as well as achievements of that great civilisation and even a testament of respect not only to archictects and engineers and stonemasons, but also to the poorest of the builders who committed to erecting these structures. Such a sad, sad affair..

[@joshlonon2614]

Awesome video!

[@LuisAldamiz]

What's wrong with always drawin the Visigoths in control of Novempopulania (Aquitania Tertia or old Aquitaine)? We know that they were initially given lands in Aquitaine and that they established their capital at Tolosa (modern Toulouse) but Aquitaine was since Augustus a much larger country spanning all the way from the Loire (central France) to the Pyrenees and the resulting (Romance-speaking) medieval Aquitaine only included the lands north of the Garonne, with the ones south of it being known as Vasconia (land of the Basques) instead. With the exception of Burdigala (Bordeaux), where the Merovingians established the marche called 'Duchy of Vasconia', the rest was under post-Bagaudae control (i.e. self-rule) and clearly spoke Basque until later in the Middle Ages (some parts still do). While the exact border between Visigoths and Bagaudae is unclear for the time these kept their capital at Tolosa of the Garonne, once the Franks expelled them and they moved their capital to Toletum (Toledo), it is very clear that they only retained control of "Gothia" (coastal Languedoc, Narbonne area) north of the Pyrenees. There would be some (two?) Visigothic incursions in Bagauda Country (Vasconia and Cantabria) from the south but not any more from the North until the brief and unstable Frankish conquest of the whole Vasconia (Cantabria probably went then to the Goths) in the 620s that resulted, upon rebellions in the *independent* double Duchy of Vasconia and Aquitaine, which lasted a whole other century plus and was the unsung hero of European resistance to the Muslim invasion... but did not survive much longer, as it had to pay fealthy to the Carolingians and was thus quickly butchered.

[@florinivan6907]

The fact that this war lasted so long is a pretty good indication that the byzantines did not fight just against germanic tribes but also much of the local population. A long war of conquest by default means a large level of native resistance.

[@c.norbertneumann4986]

The emperor Justinian ruled like an oriental despot. (He let his soldiers slaughter tens of thousands of Constantinople's inhabitants during the Nika insurrection.) It appears that for him and the Byzantine upper class, Italy and the city of Rome had become just random provinces of the empire that were exploited by high taxes but that weren't worth the money to rebuild and restore them.

[@daless3526]

Good video. Very interesting.

[@scottfoster3548]

Another good one AND we (America) are not quite at that state. There is basic upkeep and maintenance BUT the barbarians (homeless) gather around those infrastructure items and steal power, water and basic goods. AND they are growing whereas we who are paying for them are shrinking. We (Cali) lost over 300,000 tax paying people last year, though the homeless barbarians grew immensely(though they lie about the barbarian intake) AND that has never happened since the gold rush. So we are in an era before this, similar to the mid-400s. I want to pinpoint where we are in the decline of Rome. BECAUSE it is happening now.

[@marcelagarcia3925]

How do you get to the comparison of homeless people with barbarians? They are very much locals

[@scottfoster3548]

@@marcelagarcia3925 DID not start off as locals. Similar to the Barbarian MIGRATIONS. Meaning from other areas and know they can get booty OR in our case drugs. THAT is how I compare BUT you go ahead and argue BEACUSE they are still growing and now our legal system is even more corrupted. WE are in the Byzantine period where the West has already fallen (Just look at the current incompetent administration, based on identity NOT merit). Everything is emotional or a trauma NO IT IS NOT and your children will never take care of themselves. Viva Roma but don't forget to pay your homeless barbarian tax HUH.

[@Retard127]

i want the shit you're smoking

[@-----REDACTED-----]

Funny how the eastern Roman empire was to be the ultimate cause for the doom of Rome. Rome had been flourishing again under the Goths only to be left to ruin under eastern Roman hands…

[@kaanerdem2822]

İ might think the eastern romans thought that Rome city was a cursed city and wasnt worth to repair to its former glory because it was still vulnerable to barbarian attacks which had no safe buffer zone and needed huge manpower and resources to restore to its former glory while they had constantinople which they had invested heavily and withstood several attacks with ease.

[@danielracovitan9779]

of course, but OP's hatred for Eastern Romans (read : East Europeans) is way too blinding to him

[@kaanerdem2822]

@@danielracovitan9779 i call this a eurocentric view of history and i hate it.

[@PoochieCollins]

@@kaanerdem2822 the Daniel person is incorrect, as this content creator actually made a video revolving around how calling the Eastern Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire is disrespectful to them.

[@grantpenton1850]

Sad... I prefer Sprague DeCamp's historical fiction 'Lest Darkness Fall', in which an American historian was transported 'Connecticut Yankee' style into Italy in 530 and prevented Belisarius' invasion in the first place. The end passage relates how Rome and the political and architectural culture were protected and "darkness would not fall".

[@transitmallproductions1063]

Great video. What is the monument show at 5:53 meant to be? Thanks.

[@jceepf]

Thanks!

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

And thank you Sir, for the donation, I really appreciate it a lot :)

[@jceepf]

@@Maiorianus_Sebastian I am 63 and since the age of 7, I have been fascinated by the Roman Empire and in particular its collapse. So I really like your videos. I also listen to professor Freedman of Yale. He has good lectures on KZbin. His specialty is cooking and in particular the collapse of French cooking in the USA. From one collapse to the next!!!

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

Thanks so much for sharing your story with me jceeof :) I will certainly check out professor Freedman's videos as well. And you have been interested in Roman history much longer than me! I am honored that you are watching my videos. Just like you, the fall of the Roman Empire is the most fascinating part to me out of the long history of Rome.

[@meilinchan7314]

What a plot twist! but then it's unsurprising.

[@leoflorida95]

can someone tellme why the gothic wars were more destructive than every previous civil war?

[@aka99]

I guess because of Justinann I. There is a video in this channel about Justin I

[@causantinthescot]

I wished Constans II succeeded Justinian I... He's a typical A tier emperor and par with Vespasian.

[@njb1126]

As if Justin II wasn’t bad enough, then phocas had to upset the delicate balance Maurice founded. Constans brought some stability back into Byzantium

[@causantinthescot]

@@njb1126 Justin II was in the middle imo. He wasn't that bad when compared to Phocas and Alexios IV.

[@bendo9162]

So, TLDR, good plans can be terrible decisions.

[@tarionmarsden157]

Every rise has a fall, Every fall has a rise.

[@elijahhodges4405]

i must explain that ads are paid by the amount of time your watchers allow them to run. If we all allowed the ads to run clear through, you would be paid much more from the ads. I would encourage everyone who enjoys these videos and like me are on fixed income to allow the ads to run through.

[@silviosaecios5187]

This analysis in this video was perfect. Congratulations. Haec analysis in hoc video perfecta fuit. Macte. Praesertim cum ostendis Germanos invasores non omnes malos esse. Romanos esse ipsos, qui imperium deperdiderunt. Salvete ex Brasilia.

[@filipecasanova6719]

Could you make a video about how the renascence affected Rome?

[@chrislemery8178]

It's like Fallout, Roman style..

[@ihavenomouthandimusttype9729]

When you realise Justinian was the bad guy...

[@rockstar450]

The guy that makes these videos hated Greeks dude. Don’t listen to a word he says regarding the east. Rome had its buildings but outside of the nobility of the city itself it was a dump. Check out Kings and Generals video on after the fall of the west. Justinian being bad has very much hit the debunked point. His conquests stuck despite the worst year of climate and disease in world history. Belasarius was kept away from command for several years but is believed to have lived as a high noble in high steam. The idea he was treated poorly and blinded is debunked as well. The secret history against Justinian mostly stems from the fact he “incompetently” listened to women, as did Belasarius. The guy who makes these videos is correct that the wars trashed Italy, but overlooks trade has ended, famine was endemic without it and the Lombards would have done f exact same war if the Romans hadn’t. If Justinian was from Italy this guy would praise him…

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

​​@@rockstar450 Because constantinople wasn't a dump in the sprawls too?

[@decimusausoniusmagnus5719]

Leave my mans Belisarius alone, he tried to make Rome united and that's what matters.

[@ilgufo1146]

Sic transit gloria mundi

[@ecurewitz]

Such a shame the Eastern Romans let the city of Rome rot

[@grahamturner1290]

As we say in England : Capital! 😎

[@ΘΕΟΦΑΝΩΚΟΜΝΗΝΟΣ]

"Before long, the citizens of Rome petitioned Justinian to recall Narses, declaring that they would rather still be ruled by the Goths than by the Greeks."

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

BS

[@rockstar450]

The Goths expelled the nobility and trade collapsed. A few buildings being preserved doesn’t overlook the fact thousands of Italians starved to death well before this war. The numbers used are cherry picked on the extreme end.

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

@@rockstar450 This is why Justinian campaigned against the Vandals.He wanted to recover Rome's natural granary at first.

[@ΘΕΟΦΑΝΩΚΟΜΝΗΝΟΣ]

@@rockstar450 This was the real ending for Rome, quite disastrous.

[@rockstar450]

@@ΘΕΟΦΑΝΩΚΟΜΝΗΝΟΣ Like the commenter about Rome stated. They needed the African grain to repopulate Rome which was in far worse shape than "Majorianus" would have you believe. Rome was a dump by the time Belasarius got there. A workable and strong Gothic Kingdom, but a dump for everyone but the lingering aristocricy they hadn't expelled. Everyone asks what happened to the population? They starved or got slaughtered by Germanics! The amount this guy overlooks to suit his anti-Eastern narrative is hilarius. He is correct about many other details here, but incorrectly pins them on Justinian. Italy was at war - simple! If Majorian had to siege Rome 3 times this guy would be praising him. Italy was simply in a time of war and milaria and the black death ravaged their settlements making any stability difficult. The fact they held parts of Italy for so long shows this reconquest was successful and it was the Arab invasion that prevented the protection of these lands.

[@robertmazurowski5974]

I think if there was no event of 536 the western Rome would have been restored fully.

[@Busson09]

Roma caput mundi.Roma Aeterna...

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

Me being from the Eternal City itself, to this day, i still respect Theodoric and i still hate justinian.

[@anthonydefex]

In the end the civilized ones became the barbarians and the barbarians became civilized

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

How turn the tables.

[@TheHistorian5]

Such a shame that it all got so badly destroyed by that war futile 🙄

[@Jolynmanymeafy4449]

How common was cities 100,000 in the Roma empire?

[@samtheman4931]

Very rare

[@imbored7143]

I think justinan didn’t care about the city, not because he didn’t care about it but because he was dealing with other problems. I highly doubt he even visited rome

[@RPe-jk6dv]

frankish strongholds in italy?

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

Go Goths

[@mongohotline]

Ave Belisarius. You could have restored it all.

[@mikecoolwind7039]

The Ostrogoths were true Romans with Republican traditions. Justinians and his army were just Eastern despots.

[@jgrab1]

Justinian: "Make Rome Great Again."

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

"The so-called Romans of the East"... That was an unlucky and impulsive comment, perhaps showing how you feel for the Eastern Roman Empire. Lemme just remind you who kept the Imperial flag up high for 1123 years and what would Europe become if it wasn't for them.

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

@@septimiusseverus343 The word is envy my friend! Envy is an ugly thing...

[@jackwalters5506]

They were directly responsible for the destruction of Imperial institutions in the west which the Goths had preserved, and the desolation of the lands. And when they did conquer old imperial land, they repressed the people, taxed them into abject poverty, and did nothing to protect or maintain them

[@giannisgiannopoulos791]

@@jackwalters5506 Theodoric's pro-Roman daughter Amalasuntha was murdered by the anti-Roman fraction and that caused the war. Rumors had it that she was to hand over Italy under direct imperial control but the stubborn barbarians wanted for themselves something that was never theirs. The Goths and their allies made the war ugly. They should have placed themselves under a higher authority and everything would be fine. After all, isn't it what they always wanted? No, they wanted Italy and Rome for themselves! Well...

[@jackwalters5506]

@@giannisgiannopoulos791 that is such an utterly stupid statement that I don't even know where to start. All I can say is that you are the world's smartest romaboo. Literally blaming the Goths for not wanting to just roll over and submit to an empire which had betrayed and backstabbed them multiple times and which offered nothing in return except the "privelege" of losing all authority over their own people so that tax collectors could rob them blind to pay for wars in the east

[@LuisAldamiz]

So it was Justinian (or in general the Constantinopolitan ersatz of "Roman Empire") who destroyed Rome for good, heh! Whou'd have thought! As the Hispanians say: "may God protect me from my friends that I'll take care of my foes myself".

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

Get out.

[@fortunatusnine2012]

🤔👍👍

[@danielracovitan9779]

"The so-called Romans from the East" smh They WERE Romans from the East, not "so-called" ; just stop with this asinine berating of the Eastern Romans

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

To this point i'd call them byzantines as the insult they deserve to be called.

[@rockstar450]

Justinian Plague is completely omitted here. This and malaria are the reasons why Italy degraded and if the Romans didn’t retake their land, someone else would have started another war. You criticise Justinian for not building statues when he has the Persians and plague destroying his empire? I cannot understand your hatred of one half of the same empire you worship. Despite being very anti-Christian, you blindly follow Christian sources and biases to a T

[@BFDT-4]

What's wrong for truthing Christianity for what it is?

[@rockstar450]

@@BFDT-4 Citizens of the US are brainwashed into cult like pledges at school and can’t find their own country on a map, but is this useful information for an American documentary? No. True, but not relevant. Historical content should be free from irrelevant bias or unrelated facts.

[@septimiusseverus343]

@@BFDT-4 > Tips fedora

[@maisonraider4593]

Tottila attempted to raze Rome to the ground when he briefly recaptured it but decided to reconsider after receiving a letter from Bellisarius urging him not to destroy the most historicaly significant city of the west. Bellisarius recaptured it shortly afterwards. I like your videos but i totally disagree about your view of the eastern romans not having a claim in italy and Rome against the very barbarians that coused the downfall of the western roman empire 70 years earlier.

[@maisonraider4593]

@@septimiusseverus343 Not all agree that there was a Byzantine invasion in Italy, since Constantinople were founded by Romans. The barbarian goths had sole responsibility for the destruction and the famine that the people in Italy suffered, because they did not give up in a timely manner, they rather decided to prolong the inevitable and the war went on untl they were totally destroyed.

[@septimiusseverus343]

​​​@@maisonraider4593And who was it who provoked the Ostrogoths into fighting back? The Byzantines. Had Justinian left well enough alone and focused on actual threats like the Persians and the Avars, Italy would not have been turned into a scorched desert. Plenty of atrocities were committed by Germanic and Hunnic mercenaries in Byzantine service, and Naples was sacked by Belisarius' troops. They looted and pillaged and put farms to the torch. The new tax collectors were intent on squeezing out every last penny from the already suffering locals. The Byzantines are equally responsible for the destruction that occurred.

[@miramax6165]

Now that I see your video I start to foresee your future ones that will be explaining how wrong were the Romans to engage in war with the Barbarians every once in a while, and they didn't just hand over their empire to the latter in the first place! Rome would be just fine for you, its name would be New Germania of Arian Christianity and you would create videos of the triumphant Holy "Roman" Empire who had seen the face of a Persian or an Arab only in a photo! Just one thing... too many. Who betrayed Rome in 9AD? Who was invading and plundering Roman territory ever since? Who sacked Rome in 410? Who sacked it in 455? Who deposed Romulus Augustulus? Who murdered the pro-Roman daughter of Theodoric, Amalasuntha, and her son? Who put Milan to the torch and which city Totilla wanted to raze to the ground? Now, which same city did Belisarius save from being razed by Totilla? (Great that at least you mention it) Who Theodosius I was helping when fighting in Frigidus river? Who campaigned with their own funds to punish the ones who sacked Rome in 455? Who recovered the breadbasket of Rome by defeating the ones who sacked it? At least in the last minutes of your video, you mention some of the reasons why Constantinople wasn't much of a help for Rome when the former was struggling for her own survival in East and North. Make no mistake, had not the Arabs attacked them, the " Eastern Romans" , ( to use your sarcasm) would have recovered Italy from the Lombards. To your sadness, i suppose...

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

I see, you have a strong hate against the Goths. I can understand this, completely. The Visigoths sacked Rome, and were a major factor in the Fall of the Western Empire, and the Ostrogoths harrassed the eastern Roman Empire in the later 5th century. In the 4th century, the Goths of course devastated the Balkans after the disaster of Adrianople. So of course the Goths of the 4th and 5th centuries were quite brutal. But 100 years later, the Goths had transformed into something else, and had started a process of becoming intertwined with the Romans in Italy. A process which by the way we can see nicely with the Visigoths. By 650 AD, they had absolutely merged with the Hispano Romans and were indistinguishable from them. So blaming the Ostrogoths from 520 AD for the evil of the Goths of 100 or more years earlier, is like saying that all Germans now are evil and will be forever, because of the atrocities of the Nazis in WW2. We all know that it's not as simple as that. We have to see some different perspectives, and I think that the Goths by 500 AD and later, are quite different from the ones earlier. But hey, to each his own.

[@miramax6165]

@@Maiorianus_Sebastian C'mon, I don't hate someone. Since the Romans decided to recover Italy, the Goths should have accepted Imperial control. They had their chance. They chose to resist stubbornly and this is why the war became brutal and Italy paid the price. Are we serious here? The (Eastern) Roman Empire watching from afar the Goths taking Italy and Rome just like this? Don't forget that after the death of Theodoric, things snowboarded rapidly between the Goths, the Bishop of Rome, and thus the local population.

[@be2081]

Bruh

[@vsgshdg2627]

devastation no doubt during the Gothic wars but it wasn't the Romans that laid waste to these cities and what were the Romans to do: "oh lets just live under foreign rule" ? The Ostrogoths should not have been in Italy and they went extinct as result. The Ostrogoths (essentially barbarians) practiced segregation thinking they were superior to the Romans - that didn't last long.

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

Still, the management of the byzantines (and i'm calling them that for what they did) in Italy was not only an utter failure, they outright mistreated the native Latin populations. Being myself from the Eternal City, i still thank the Venetians for putting constantinople back to justice in 1204.

[@vsgshdg2627]

​@@AndreaMoletta-s3c Venetians btw were displaced Romans. Of late, the use of the term Byzantine is just another recent attempt at revisionism by (primarily) British historians. As Sebastian correctly points out, if you were to ask a "Byzantine" what he was or thought he was in the 6th century or even 400 or 500 years later they would say, unequivocally Roman, not Byzantine or Greek.

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

@@vsgshdg2627 I don't care,i still call them byzantines. For their mistreatment of us Latins, they deserved to be called so.

[@HCIbn]

Can't believe people make these videos just to lied.

[@AndreaMoletta-s3c]

It's basic, documented fact. Are you literate?

[@sengin]

Lots of biased view. Don't like the video.

[@delavalmilker]

Thanks!

[@Maiorianus_Sebastian]

And thank you Sir, for this generous donation :)

[@marcomazzi3537]

Sic transit gloria mundi.