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

Well, that's one theory...
Got a beard? Good. I've got something for you: beardblaze.com
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Casual Criminalist: / @thecasualcriminalist
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
XPLRD: / @xplrd
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526

[@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!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@kamerionsmith4551]

Yeah I guess were just gonna ignore where Simon said that Roman's brutality shocked even the ancient world, pointing to it not being normal.

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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!

[@NewDawnCircle]

"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.

[@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

[@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

[@giulioiodice2114]

africa , asia , america were famous at the time for peace 🤣🤣🤣crucifiction was a carthage think that the roman took and used after

[@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.

[@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?!

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@soheil527]

@Cannabis Dreams so should we care nazis killed jews??

[@rohiths9099]

@@soheil527 the Romans almost wiped off jews.

[@vylbird8014]

@Cannabis Dreams They were right to feel threatened.

[@histguy101]

I'm sure "personal self interest" could describe the motive of some senators, but surely there were also patriotic senators that saw Caesar severely damaging the balance of power by his actions in Gaul. With every victory, and every new legion he raised in due to the "necessity of the war effort," He represented an increasing threat to the state. When Labienus abandoned Caesar upon learning he would march on Italy, he did so out of principle.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

You’re right. We have so many things that are relevant today, thanks to the Romans. Except Latin … had to study that in high school, so no thanks for that, Rome!

[@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.

[@turtlenoheart]

The "salting of the earth" idea has been debunked for a while now. Also, it seems like you're claiming that EVERYONE used lead piping/aquaducts. Do I really have to go into detail as to how this is patently false? And another thing! MOST OF THE POPULATION DIDN'T LIVE IN CITIES! Dude... How much legit research did you do before posting this?

[@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

[@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.

[@Wasteland88]

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?

[@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?

[@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.

[@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?

[@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.

[@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.

[@tripple-a6031]

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

[@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...

[@KarimDeLakarim]

Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the Lead Pipe?

[@KarimDeLakarim]

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

[@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.

[@peterheinzo515]

@Cannabis Dreams lead was also used to tint glassware

[@peterheinzo515]

@Cannabis Dreams i inherited radioactive coasters that were supposed to make winetaste better. they were produced in the 1960's or 70's and were made out of wood with a uranium core. We didnt know what it was and just threw them into a big fire...

[@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

[@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??

[@jozsefveibli-magyari2240]

Roman history / legacy has and is fascinating me for so many years. I've heard long time ago about the lead poisoning and the theory of its harsh consequences upon Roman civilisation. So nothing really new from factual point of view, but I really love the complex, holistic approach of this video... and a big thank for avoiding the trap of mono-causality final explanation. Great work, I'm a big fan of your activity. Please keep on!

[@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."

[@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.

[@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

[@DonRoyalX]

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

[@reasonsvoice8554]

They would have just been seen as soft and overthrown id imagine Weak softies cant and wont lead anybody

[@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.

[@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?

[@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

[@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.

[@PetThePeeves]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@MrYTGuy1]

Ok but what about all the other brutal cultures that didn't have lead poisoning. I'm not really seeing any sort of brutality that was exclusive to the Romans or beyond the level of cruelty in other cultures at the time. Could it be that a lot of humans are just plain garbage both intellectually and morally? After all humans have never needed an extra reason to conduct torture on its own kind. And this type of cruelty occured both before and after the Roman empire.

[@philliplamoureux9489]

Lead poisoning was endemic since 7000BC

[@OGA103]

This is why Judeo-Christian culture is so important. Not saying Jews and Christians are perfect, but it's a culture that puts value on the individual and on mercy in a way that no other culture had in the past. Cancel me if you want but some cultures are, in fact, better than others.

[@OGA103]

@@joelaut2605 indeed, because it's practiced by humans who are imperfect. But the values are superior.

[@Krysnha]

@@OGA103 Many forget that, it was christinanity, and judaism, that allow, humanity, to create a quite order for the time, and to progress, but sometimes, we forget, we forget

[@chiarayavhnoska966]

​@@Krysnha oh wow, so please, tell us where the organizations that the church inherited come from. do you even know what a pontifex was in Rome or who Constantine was? - and not just the pope, all the hierarchies of the church have taken in the names romans used for their political topdogs. christianity may have been, and i think it was, a somehow progressive movement for the times at its very beginning, but as soon as it conveniently claimed the right to be the political authority, well, what it did it was not be less cruel, but in turn it managed to murder the intellectual ability of the romans, who were open psychopaths, and less cultural narcissists (the main talent of judeo-christian-muslim narratives over their being a gift to humanity, just because they feel deeply to be superior, in a very closed mind way, compared to hellenism or roman culture), which helps with remembering that power also likes actual organizazional skills, which notoriously, christian europe lost. i mean, people reverted to live in prehistoric huts, let alone having aqueducts and long distance roads, since all reality-based knowledge was useless to a church that thought 'sin' and the threat of hell, to literally control serfs was enough to keep its power. ...'superior values of judeo-christianity', laughs in ancient greece ethics (not rome) and at least being enough of an individual thinker that tribal narcissism doesn't impress

[@thuzan117]

5:51 Crucifixions were not a purely Roman thing, they weren't even a Roman invention. The Carthaginians did it as well and it appears to have been invented by the Persians.

[@davidhawkinsiv4039]

Close, it was actually the Assyrians who invented crucifixion, which did come to Rome by way of Carthage. The Achaemenids (Persians) were actually a lot more lenient than Greek propaganda would have us believe. Not to say that they were rays of sunshine, but nowhere comparable to Romans or Assyrians.

[@carlomariaromano4320]

That's true. However, the Romans "perfected" crucifixions and used it in an nearly industrialized way.

[@tophers3756]

@@carlomariaromano4320 that describes how Rome approached most things.

[@CRT_sRGB]

@@davidhawkinsiv4039 Th Assyrians, huh? Figures. I saw a bas relief not long ago showing Assyrian soldiers flaying enemy prisoners alive. Can't imagine the kind of cultural conditioning needed to do that. Damn.

[@carlosmedina1281]

Yeah the Romans merely perfected it and made it into a psychological weapon,

[@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.

[@johnashleyhalls]

Livy's history of Rome states that Romulus killed his twin brother Remus when the city was established, so the brutallity of fratricide is the base of the culture. Later Livy recounts how any criminal, fleeing slave, or other "refugee" can become a Roman citizen. Many men arrived and not having enough women they invited the neighbors for a celebration, and then stole as many women and girls before killing and driving off the rest. The style and quality of an orginization is a direct reflexion of its founder/leader.

[@matthewalexander1943]

Do you not realize that those foundation stories are myths?

[@tonyprost5575]

@@matthewalexander1943 well, they did not start as a Greek mercantile colony, or an Etruscan outpost.

[@matthewalexander1943]

@@tonyprost5575 Certainly not a Greek colony. There are some who posit that Rome was an Etruscan city first, but I don't accept that.

[@Cuoreromano90]

@@tonyprost5575 Neither.Romans probably descend from latins.They settled in latium in 2000 BC.Latins were much more older than etruscan

[@Cuoreromano90]

​@@matthewalexander1943 Never heard about "latium vetus"?..A group of Latin peoples that was created in 1500 BC.When latins were in latium etruscans probably were still on the trees.

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

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

[@augustinkabamba5895]

That’s how u know

[@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.

[@Fizz-Pop]

Humans are horrible. If there was a collusium in the world today where those gruesome things took place you can pretty much guarantee it wold be packed, and streamed on the internet.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Terrorist groups such as ISIS have already streamed their barbaric acts.

[@americasariesson1862]

Yup sold out too

[@eoindunphy6147]

Simon you need to learn the difference between Gaelic & Gallic! You confuse them every time and they're really not the same!

[@SevCaswell]

They aren't the same today, but they arise from the same root. The 'Gauls' were actually also the Britons, who became the Celts who became modern day Irish, Scottish and Welsh...

[@ScipioAfricanus_Chris]

Simon needs to learn a great deal more: the Gaelic and Gallic distinction is the tip of the iceberg.

[@lisazoria2709]

I know! One is a language, and the other one, you eat. It's not that hard, this guy must be dumb. 🙃

[@SevCaswell]

@@lisazoria2709 uh what? Gallic is an adjective used to describe someone or something as coming from Gaul/france, Gaelic is both a language and a national idenity. Neither are foods, though both can be used to describe foods... Are you thinking of Garlic?

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@lisazoria2709. It is just dumb to criticize a person for a single point in 30 minute video. 😂😅🤣

[@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. 🤘🤘

[@michaelcrichton8983]

The "Salting of the Earth", if it happened at all, would have been purely symbolic. There's no way that the Romans could possibly have spread enough salt to have affected the land's fertility. It takes decades for the runoff from modern road-salting to do the same.

[@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.

[@gaba_goblin]

I love how the signature for ITS is Simon walking off into the shadows at the end every time lmao! Also, KZbin makes you censor victorian art now? Everyone has a couple nipples I thought.... wtf.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Prissy American scriptwriters and editors.

[@americantopteam135s-t7]

Sums up a lot of modern ideologues. Wouldn't surprise me if they really are sitting in their rooms, screaming about nipples.

[@stefankitt6660]

And here I'm drinking up to 3 litres of lead induced water every day, in Germany, becaus this house is 2 centuries old and noone bothered to renovate it. Also I can't afford to move places. At least now I know what awaits in the future

[@leddielive]

Enjoy your future slow slide into madness, I'm almost envious! Lols

[@paulrector3299]

Get thee a water filter

[@marjae2767]

I am neither a doctor nor a plumber, but a few options. 1. Check the pH. If it's high (basic), it should coat the pipes with calcium carbonate, reducing exposure. If it's low (acidic), it will eat at the pipes, increasing exposure. 2. Get a water filter which can handle heavy metals. 3. Avoid lead-based sweeteners, leaded gasoline, or other sources. While any dose can hurt you, small doses in adulthood aren't nearly as bad as arger doses starting in childhood.

[@garretth8224]

@@marjae2767 Leaded gasoline is banned in every western country.

[@paavobergmann4920]

If you have hard water, you should be fine as long as you don´t ever do anything to the pipes. No cutting, moving, replacing or soldering of parts that could expose fresh metal surface. If you have copper pipes elsewhere in the house, you have a nasty problem, as the copper will force the lead to dissolve.

[@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.

[@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.

[@youtube2snoopy820]

Excellent video! Caligula's childhood army camp name was Calli Galli - a play on his name and the diminutive for boots. The name Caligula does not mean anything but Caligula. The lead-sweetened wine was news to me. I don't doubt it all. Probably the most 'lead poisoning thing' in ancient Roman society was their equivalent of soft serve - a big lead dish into which an acid was poured, foamed up and was whipped into a kind of dessert. For kids. It was what the rich kids got whenever they wanted, middle-class kids on a weekend. Foamy lead-acid confections. Probably could subtract half an IQ point for each one.

[@SINNER5150]

Mankind through the ages has been brutal in they're treatment of others different from them,or"lower" then them! Most people taken as slaves were treated as entertainment to the masses! No country from the ancient world are exempt from barbaric treatment!

[@kyletucker3811]

What's with all the exclamation points? One gets a point across. Ending every sentence in them just makes it repetitive and almost comical.

[@pambennett8967]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@mabinogidrws]

I'm glad you brought up ancient Rome's genocidal campaigns. They had the audacity to pretend to be horrified at the Celts' human sacrifices, while not only enjoying gladiatorial "games", but literally trying to commit genocide.

[@signoguns8501]

Rome wiped entire settlements of Northern Europeans off the map. God knows how many people were massacred in Northern Europe. It was racially motivated too. a kind of ethnic cleansing. They were killed because they were considered inferior, they were "barbarians." They needed to be dominated by Rome so that they could learn to become "civilized" people. It was a brutal campaign, on par with the nazis attempted extermination of the Jews.

[@sirnonapplicable]

While also utilizing human sacrifice from time to time

[@louisavondart9178]

The only " evidence " of human sacrifice come from Roman propaganda.

[@LividLobster]

It’s true, at the end of a triumph (a sort of parade for major military victories) they would line up prisoners of war outside the temple of Jupiter and choke them to death

[@signoguns8501]

​@@LividLobster They used it as an excuse in the same way that modern politicians will lie and cheat and manipulate the population to start wars. Wars were extremely profitable, people made their fortune by going to war, so they would use any excuse they could. It was propaganda. The logic would have been very familiar- when we do its ok, when other people do it its bad.

[@mydude3254]

I wonder if the Romans really did salt the Earth. Salt was extremely valuable at that time.

[@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

[@greg_4201]

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

[@nealhoffman7518]

Handpicked slaves fighting to the death at their master's funeral for the entertainment of the mourners... By the way, thank you for the delve back into an era you're personally tired of

[@dascorncakes1151]

I would actually unironically love this.

[@leemichael2154]

Fights we're hardly to the death in ancient Rome as it cost so much to train and keep the slave's fed housed etc and unless the injury was so severe and a quick death was needed the fighter's understood that the neck should be extended so the death blow could be delivered quickly and efficiently

[@nealhoffman7518]

They weren't gladiators in the arena, just house slaves thrown weapons and told to kill each other

[@RetroTaylor94]

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.

[@PetThePeeves]

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.

[@hannahhester8376]

Something that really got me, the fact that they'd crucify girls with them turned backward to "keep their modesty." Um, why in the hell would you care about that while you're murdering somebody?

[@mythicalmeanderings]

lol who cares

[@lucafruttarol287]

Because they were gentlemen

[@teresastabler]

I wondered the same thing.

[@fuckdeathpoisonanthrax]

probably had to be there

[@greg_4201]

because it's important? 🤷🏻‍♂️ you'd have to be psychotic to disagree...

[@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.

[@JJadx]

we still have lead water pipes in some places in the Netherlands.. now i know why people want them gone... RIP.

[@sandybarnes887]

Flint MI enters the chat.

[@JJadx]

@@sandybarnes887 yeah that's next lvl of course.

[@bogdaaan]

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

[@system1542]

Salting the lands around Carthage is a myth. Salt would be too expensive at the time to be wasted like that. Plus and you would need an insane amount to get the job done.

[@XMarkxyz]

To be more precise is a myth that rised only in the Victorian age

[@DaroriDerEinzige]

Also, Rome was relativly chill in comparison to other Empires. I mean, look at China, feudal Japan, Mongols, Huns, Vikings, Babylon, ancient Egypt, ... Even King Lionheart simple massacered a whole City because - why not? They resistet.

[@MrCatfishable]

From what I remember reading the salting was a purely symbolic gesture rather than a literal scorched earth strategy. Carthage was rebuilt by Julius Caesar and the Carthaginian people were assimilated into Roman culture rather than genocided. Punic civilization survived under Roman rule for quite a long time.

[@MrCatfishable]

@Great White Carthage the city was, yeah. They had more than just Carthage though, and what wasn't in the actual city of Carthage was relatively unmolested as far as I'm aware.

[@DaroriDerEinzige]

@Great White ... Ok.

[@jfoster1]

Simon, this new channel takes your work to a new level. Please keep doing what you are doing. Thank you to the writers, too - exceptional work!

[@00bean00]

A small technical Point regarding the crucifixion. The nail goes between the ulna and radius bones, so that the weight of the body can be borne. I don't know who made the pictures though

[@jacobhuff3748]

I always wanted to name my children after Roman Emperors and Caligula sounded so good, at least Nero is still available. I'm pretty sure that will end well.

[@victoriandino]

Naming your kid little boot sounds like a great idea.

[@TesterAnimal1]

Augustus, Marcus, Lucius, Titus are fine names…

[@brucetucker4847]

I like naming cats after Roman Emperors. My first was Caligula because he was a grey kitty with little white boots. He insisted on making his favorite mousie toy a senator. Nero was a very old and famous name among the Roman aristocracy, ruined by one bad apple.

[@zakazany1945]

@@brucetucker4847 Ruined by christians. He was not really a bad apple. What really stood out from the other emperors was the special hatred christians had towards him. Othewise, Nero was like every other roman emperor.

[@brucetucker4847]

@@zakazany1945 That is not the way the pagan Roman historians described him. he was hated by the Roman aristocracy and ended up having one of his slaves kill him when they rebelled against him.

[@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.

[@Aconitum_napellus]

Next time you hear someone claim that we should return to the 'glory' of Roman governance or some similar nonsense, just remember this.

[@Lucretia916]

Cry about it Roma Aeterna

[@alastor8091]

I'm remember it and it makes me want to return to the glory of Rome even more.

[@tolrem]

The Roman historian Tacitus wrote "They have created a wasteland and call it peace."Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt." [annihilation of Germanic tribes]

[@tolrem]

@UTubeFekUrself They say the following in the article I read.."In the first century A.D. the Roman historian Tacitus wrote "Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt," translated as "they have created a wasteland and call it peace." He was describing the devastating Roman campaigns against the German tribes under the first emperor Augustus in which all the men capable of carrying weapons were slaughtered and the remainder of the population was sold into slavery".

[@NautilusSSN571]

@@tolrem Those tribes looked like wastelands even before the Romans destroyed them so I don't see the big deal here.

[@tolrem]

@UTubeFekUrself Yes interesting to know the truth about it.I always thought it was about Carthage too.Mind you I've found that the general opinion on a lot of topics is quite often the wrong one so it pays to keep an open mind. .

[@stoferb876]

That quote from Tacitus is when he was writing about campaigns in Britain, and specifically after having just depicted a genocidal campaign in what's now scotland. They really did create a kind of wasteland at the northern border were later Hadrians wall was built. So if it refers to anything in particular it's that. But it's in a little diatribe that is sort of complaining about Roman cruelty and decandence in general rather than some specific campaign or place.

[@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

[@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

[@francispitts9440]

I can’t think of Roman history without thinking of Monty Python and their hilarious skits featuring Bigious Dickous and the many ridiculous scenes they preformed. Sorry but I love Monty Python……

[@SubPablum]

He had a wife you know...

[@YourMomsFavoriteCommenter]

What about the Aqueducts?

[@YourMomsFavoriteCommenter]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXu4mZ-IpKd_bq8 Don't forget, always look on the bright side of life!

[@brucetucker4847]

Stwike him forcefuwwy!

[@stokerboiler]

Yeah, Rome was brutal and psychopathic. The same could be said of all other empires. But one thing about the Roman Empire: It was durable. The Western Empire lasted half a millenium. The Eastern Empire lasted nearly a millennium further. Not until the Ottomans came along did anything approach the durability of the Roman system. Most Empires lasted about a generation or two. Like it or not, the Romans were very organized by the standards of their day. Europe pined for a Roman resurrection for nearly two millennia.

[@eatfrenchtoast]

A generation is 20 years. Rome is special to people who want to remember it that way. Selective history is the malady of the average mind.

[@machida58]

EUROPEANS

[@naturalfreeness322]

whataboutism ✔️ check

[@nedames3328]

Roman Republic: about 480 years Roman Empire: another 450 to 500 Byzantium: another 450 to 500 years. Interesting pattern here.

[@ileanahope466]

Our American culture is becoming psychopathic and we are already a narcissistic nation on our way down unless we change!

[@lostspider343]

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

[@davidlenz9902]

What a naive title. The story of mankind has been one of brutality.

[@jsistars]

I feel that the knowledge that elite and city Romans were chronically exposed to lead adds an interesting layer to the study of their culture. No one can say that it had no effect on it.

[@leunisvandewege9651]

Nazis did the same sadistic things; don't think they had lead poisoning'. Most people just can't accept this is how human beings are. They can get very sadistic. As the woke pogroms of today show very well.

[@elkabz8174]

You obviously have never read scriptures, Rome was preordained, the beast who's wound is now healed!

[@The_D_Man]

@@elkabz8174 Is the wound healed because of Jesus?

[@Hydra-dr8hd]

@@The_D_Man Yes

[@Joe_-tf8is]

The only interesting thing is that he didnt provide peer reviewed evidence of any of his speculations, and the video has been debunked. Pretty lazy video research.

[@wendychavez5348]

This is horrifying on so many levels. Humans can be terrible to one another, and I'm surprised that this is the first I've heard about lead poisoning.