Romans in the Heart of Africa - The Expedition to find the Source of the Nile (60AD) DOCUMENTARY

In 60 AD, a Roman expedition set off for the heart of Africa to find the source of the Nile. Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: ow.ly/hkb530spaYY
In this history documentary we explore this history of ancient Africa as it was understood by the people of the Mediterranean. We begin with the stories relayed by Herodotus through his accounting of the places, animals, and people that inhabited the vast lands of Libya. We look specifically at examples of Phoenician and Greek explorers who sought to discover its secrets. We then turn to the ascendancy of the Romans and how the efforts they took to understand what lay beyond their borders.
Part of this involves the forgotten wars of Augustus including the Roman invasion of Arabia and the Roman invasion of Nubia. These helped expand the bounds of the known world but still much remained a mystery. It is for this reason that in 60 AD Emperor Nero would launch an expedition to find the source of the Nile. We seek to reconstruct this journey of the Romans in North Africa who may have gotten as far as the equatorial regions of modern Sudan and Uganda.
Related videos:
Forgotten Wars - The Roman Invasion of Arabia • Forgotten Wars - The R...
Forgotten Wars - The Roman Invasion of Nubia • Forgotten Wars - The R...
How They Did It - Carthaginian Exploration • How Carthage Explored ...
Sources and Suggested Reading:
“Dialogues - Book 6” by Seneca the Younger”
“Geography - Book 6 and 16-17” by Strabo
“The Natural History - Chapter 6 and 35” by Pliny the Elder
“Histories - Book 3, 7” by Herodotus
“History of Africa” by Kevin Shillington
“The Kingdoms of Kush” by The National Geographic
Credits:
Research = Invicta
Writing = Invicta
Narration = Invicta
Artwork = Gabriel Cassata
#history
#rome
#africa

[@InvictaHistory]

We explore another story of ancient exploration with "Greeks in the Arctic" kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWa1gHWfo9CbeKc

[@ledtargaouschi5831]

Dude, i'm Tunisian, and you shouldn't put "Numidia" over Tunisia in that map it should be "Carthage" (and during roman times, it should be "Africa proconsularis" (even though it still Carthage) ...thank you

[@larsrons7937]

Are there any plans of more videos on Roman exploration in Africa or other southern direction? Thank you for a very interesting episode. Greetings from Denmark.

[@dylanjwagner]

It’s so cool to delve into the less militant experiences of the Romans. Humans have always wanted to know MORE. That they sought such knowledge and thusly spread knowledge of their world beyond its natural boundaries is such a human experience. Antiquity was not so disconnected, only skewed by the lack of rapidity.

[@stellviahohenheim]

Great rulers inspire

[@deusvult6920]

Of course it's "such a human experience" we are the only rational creatures on earth

[@magicpyroninja]

Back then men had reason to want to go out there's always a chance you can find something amazing and change your life forever claim a new kingdom and become a ruler yourself a lot of those possibilities don't exist today

[@KD400_]

Humans u mean men because men have the masculine instinct to go and discover and claim it as theirs

[@not_milk]

Humans have always been humans. Some have a great desire to know more. Others just have a desire to preserve what is already known. And many others are fairly indifferent and just want to experience life.

[@teddyhoffman8391]

Videos like this really help emphasize just how large the world use to be. With fast travel unlocked via planes, trains, and cars it’s really easy to forget how much time and effort had to go into exploring the world. I love stories like this or the ancient Chinese empires trying to send envoys to Rome. You read about them and realize just….how difficult it was

[@KD400_]

Yh technology has made the world extremely small

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Yup. Travel times to distant places could be so long, the only equivalent today would be going to Mars.

[@coreylouviere4466]

Where did you read this? I'm interested.

[@teddyhoffman8391]

@@coreylouviere4466 at this point I don’t remember which source was the first one. It’s been a few years and they blend together and I forget names. I’d say start with KZbin channels that are trustworthy and google….I really need to make a list of stuff

[@coreylouviere4466]

@@teddyhoffman8391 it's cool, now I know there are accounts I can find it on my own. I understand when references blend together over time.

[@RenMagnum4057]

Did the Romans ever venture deep into the Volga River from their Outposts in Crimea?

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

I believe they traded with Sarmatians so yes

[@solomonthefoolish]

I bet their traders did at the very least!

[@senorsombrero1275]

I’m sure they tried Did they come back? Thats another question…

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

@@senorsombrero1275 they did indeed. They had extensive trade routes all over the known world even when they warred with the Parthians and the Sassanids.

[@karatejoe6332]

@@Fatherofheroesandheroines not all over, like the didn’t go to North east Eurasia or south east asia

[@dayros2023]

Check out the Palestrina mosaic. It’s a massive roman mosaic located in Palestrina, a town close to Rome, that depicts the travel of a Roman merchant, at the bottom you can see Alexandria, and then going up the rest of Egypt, Ethiopia, and what they thought was the source of the Nile. I saw it in person and it iw truly magnificent.

[@smithnigelw]

Yes, I checked it out. Very interesting. I had never heard about it before. Thank you.

[@kilpatrickkirksimmons5016]

I love these. Back in the day when I wanted to know about this expedition there was only a brief Wikipedia article and some song (infuriatingly) titled "Nero's expedition up the Nile."

[@Gorboduc]

Check out the song though, it's by Moondog!

[@lausdeo4944]

The story around 6:20 is very interesting. There is linguistic evidence the Pygmies of Africa were once more widespread before being driven into small pockets of the Congo. Not only that, but the legend of "men who speak in squeaks (from the Herodotus' rumors) may very well be a garbled reference to the clicking languages of the Khalahari Bushmen. These Bushmen (and their language) may have also extended beyond their home in the extreme south.

[@chingchongmypenisislong790]

And the river they described was probably the Niger

[@jasonmatthewoliver3810]

The language that you're referring to regarding the Kalahari Bushmen (Khoisan) is actually part of a language group that extends further north, as well. The language family is called Khoe-Kwadi, however, some of these languages are extinct. It is possible that they'd encountered similar dialects, considering that Africa has an incredible variety of dialects. In my country (South Africa), we have 11 official languages. Africa has some amazing cultural diversity. It's just sad to see how rampant corruption is throughout the continent. Not to mention how most African people still retain a level of wariness around foreigners (but, who can blame them, considering their history). There are also issues of xenophobia within the African communities, as well. Africa has never been able to heal properly.

[@siphomnisi3842]

Future advice : don't call the KoiSan Bushmen. It's found to be deragatory similar to how native Indians would be called r-- people

[@lausdeo4944]

@@siphomnisi3842 Sorry, just using the terminology from _Guns, Germs, and Steel._

[@lausdeo4944]

@@siphomnisi3842 It's where I heard the ideas I mentioned above.

[@ByronC900]

"Men with no heads, with their eyes in their breasts." I can't help but wonder if this is an ancient description of some type of ape.

[@riograndedosulball248]

It does sound a whole lot like they saw a chimp and didn't knew how to describe it

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

No. It's guys from Jersey...

[@nathanpangilinan4397]

While Herodotus might have talked about click consonants of the Khoisan and related people when he mentioned people who talked like bats.

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

@@nathanpangilinan4397 hey anything's better than what Team America did

[@MetalHeadViking]

Maybe they were just racist.

[@allonzehe9135]

I want to hear about those other Roman expeditions in to the Sahara!

[@albertlowe9510]

Thanks you so much for your serious look into the Roman attempts into exploring Africa. As someone who enjoys history of both the Roman and kushite/Ethiopian empire your video was well done and informative.

[@nathanpangilinan4397]

Considering that Herodotus talked about men who talked like bats, do you think he was talking about click consonants?

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

Maybe. There are languages that involve the clicking of the tongue.

[@nathanpangilinan4397]

@@mirandagoldstine8548, and the click consonants associated with the Khoisan might have been more common in Africa before the Bantu Expansion.

[@yoboiboy4182]

Idk about that. Click consonants are far in the south in Khoisan and Shona languages.

[@chino3796]

Another Roman historian called them "Troglodytes" said they spoke in clicks and whistles.

[@PraveenJose18551]

@@yoboiboy4182 yea, the common theory is that Southern Bantus got that feature from Khoi-San, it's highly unlikely Romans went that far down South.

[@keiththomas1180]

You need to cover the later Roman expeditions into Central Africa via Libya, that would be interesting too, or even the expedition north via the Don and Volga Rivers!

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

They did an expedition in easter europe? mind sharing any sources plz

[@justinian-the-great]

I'm pretty sure that Romans never reached Volga. I'm interested into knowing where did you read that they reached Volga?

[@dantecaputo2629]

@@lorddervish212quinterosara6 Roman merchants occasionally visited what is now Poland and the Baltic states as part of the amber road. Baltic amber was highly sought after, and we even have an account from a merchant sent by Nero to report back on the trade. Roman legions also would sometimes march into what is now Poland on power projection and recruitment missions, same with Ukraine. We have found Roman artifacts in both

[@AT-gu8by]

They never reached central Africa.

[@BrazilianImperialist]

@@AT-gu8by They did

[@Andrewsatkowski]

What a GREAT plot for a movie or a TV series. "Marcus Felix Tullius I order you by the command of the Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus to seek and find the origin of the Mother of all rivers the Nile". Marcus is a war hardened centurion who is recovering in Rome from an arrow through the eye. Oddly, he is literate. His father was a scribe in Germania who lost his head in some un-named raid. Escorting a senator's son on this expedition with a cohort of soldiers is his duty.

[@jacobpeters5458]

lol gonna plagiarize this for a novel and make millions thx

[@crispinjulius5032]

It ain’t me! It ain’t me! I ain’t no senators soooooon! No!

[@sivartb7273]

@@crispinjulius5032 bellum porcus

[@crispinjulius5032]

@@sivartb7273 And to think, even in the 1st century, some armor and weapons smithy was making bank and greedily looking at a map of the known world, hoping that the Roman juggernaut continued on forever.

[@judsonwall8615]

I highly recommend a trip down the Nile on google earth. Make an hour or two out of it. Really zoom on and follow the journey, it’s super fascinating. After having done so myself, I think it’s clear that these Romans made it to the South Sudan jungle area of the Nile. You can tell, just on google earth, how impassable it must’ve been, particularly if it was high water season.

[@zzzm1k3zzz]

I have done the same in the past on google earth, apparently with the same curiosity as the Romans did. Got lost basically at the same point as the Romans as well lol. It must have been such a challenging expedition. It also really sheds a light how blessed we are in this time of age with all our knowledge.

[@hayatimofire4852]

It's called the water hyacinths which prevented Egyptians from going further up to East africa.

[@InvictaHistory]

You can learn more about the Kingdom of Nubia: Nubian Archers - kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6eyZJKhjreFrZo Nubian Invasion of Egypt - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXragaulitp4qbc Roman Invasion of Nubia - kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6aZoIRsp65qars

[@jacksteed7199]

I'm sorry but I did not come from africa there are so many types of humanoids that are not homo sapien your old school aproach is so wrong. The fact people think were the only one to evolve and not have variants is wrong im sure spider monkey's are the only species of monkey like gorillia is ape if this is the case cause humans are not an ape were closer related to pig's. why is that cause every type of animal in this world has variant copy of each animal.. like look at marsupial you have a completely different path of evolution just from one island to another. bear looking marsupial wolves, tigers, devils... like look at how killer whales are the only whale species that has k-9 dna... cause not all whales are same mammal....

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely done video. I wouldn't mind seeing video's on other Roman explorations. This is a subject not talked about enough.

[@bigmonke7661]

Imagine how cool a movie about this would be just Roman’s in Ethiopia

[@comradecam9530]

The story would make for a great movie in the vein of Aguirre, the wrath of god. A bleak and atmospheric look at the human condition set against the backdrop of the harsh natural world.

[@090giver090]

@@comradecam9530 Or the adventure mouvie about roman embassy to China (Yes, that happened. Twice)

[@heruy8274]

It would not be an intresting movie. Rome was a trading partner of Axum and most Roman people in Axum were just traders.

[@jacobpeters5458]

@@comradecam9530 funny you mention that, I barely discovered the movie a few weeks ago. The cannons are looking a bit rusty!

[@Frenchylikeshikes]

You most definitely, absolutely have one of the best History channel on YT currently.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

We want more coverage on the expeditions by all civilisations and how far they’ve discovered.

[@crazychase98]

Crazy how modern civilizations don't really have anything left to discover only rediscover

[@SOULAANI_]

@@crazychase98 we do, just now our exploration is towards the cosmos where we will have an infinite amount to explore!

[@thomasmalacky7864]

​@@SOULAANI_Earth is centre of the universe. Repent

[@SOULAANI_]

@@thomasmalacky7864 lmao ok bro🤣

[@robbabcock_]

Great video! It's fascinating to learn of Rome's explorations, not just conquests.

[@wolfcharlie3771]

Shoutout to atun shei for also telling this obscure story to others. And thank you guys for putting more light into the subject aswell

[@macarronconqueso1939]

What a great story!! Hope to see more in the future

[@Gorboduc]

I think the failure of this expedition also gets a passing reference in the beginning of Lucan's Pharsalia, written about four years later. It's from the intro when he's grieving the costs of the civil wars in terms of conquests foregone: "What lands, what oceans might have been the prize Of all the blood thus shed in civil strife! ...Long since barbarians by the Eastern sea And far Araxes' stream, and those who know (If any such there be) the birth of Nile Had felt our yoke."

[@HellenicWolf]

Great work man and Invicta team! Keep it up!

[@Uzair_Of_Babylon465]

Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job

[@dukesilver702]

I love Invicta videos. They always turn my dumb day into a day where I feel smart.

[@slavenarkaimovski3897]

Last time when i have wached invicta video Illyrian Revolt,i was so upset by it,that i wanted to kill invicta with my bare hands.And for good reason to,becouse the number of lies that invicta has sed about illyrians was disturbing.The Illyrians in his fake history video are described either as the ancestors of the albanians,or as uniqe people,but not as slavic serbs that they realy are.And this is problem with every youtube history chanel,they acept antislavic propaganda as actual history,that has been writen by history falsefiers from nordic history school.The same lies about slavic people can be found on sama youtube chanel,but slavic truth is more glorious than the bible's children tales.And that truth has come to light in 1980,when germans has admited that slavic history has been falsefied on berlin congress in 1890.The germans has even donated 500 page book to serbian sanu academy,wich tells real slavic history.And for the end,the roman empire would never existed,if slavic emperor from 2025BC Nino Belov,haven't went to first aryan conquest to india.And people that has lived in italy before romans,was slavic etruscans,rashany,and ladini.And rome was named after serbian word ruma,from whom english word room comes from.PS:The youtube history chanels are hanging places for idiots,liers,and slav haters,so don't go there.

[@MichaelSmith-ij2ut]

As an African with a heart myself, this is fascinating

[@knowthyselfinstitute]

Fascinating. Thank you for the research and presentation!

[@rpower1401]

Great video, nice to learn about a little less discussed realm of history

[@stevenicholas5651]

Very awesome video. Would love to see more about the expeditions through Libya

[@TomLuTon]

How far north could Roman ships go? Would they be able to explore the Baltic? Go up the coast of Norway to North Cape?

[@erwin887]

Romans found their way up to denmark untill teuroberg so it would not shock me traders went to southern sweden

[@paulrockatansky77]

If I'm not mistaken, Roman trade routes took them north across modern day Poland to the Baltic shore where they acquired amber.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

The biggest archaeological source of Roman silverware is actually Denmank. They reached it at the time of Augustus, and remained in friendly terms with the tribes there.

[@aaronjefferson279]

Romans were not really good sailors. Sailing within the Mediterranean was hard enough for them. Their ships and skills notoriously were not well suited for harsher waters like the Atlantic and its smaller seas. I seriously doubt they’d be able to make it up the Norwegian coast or to the Baltic.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@aaronjefferson279 There were Roman commercial outposts in southern India. Don't mistake warships with commercial ships.

[@Russia-bullies]

Thanks for the good & interesting show.I love any show on the historical exploration of Earth.

[@JuliusCaesar888]

Awesome video man.

[@kubhlaikhan2015]

Interesting that the Nasamoneans encountered the Pygmies, confirming that they lived much further north and west than they do today. The climate must have been wetter, and the advance of the desert as well as the massive expansion of the Bantu later forced them back into the Congo - much reduced in numbers. A sad story.

[@nathanpangilinan4397]

While Herodotus might have heard tales of Khoisan click consonants.

[@miguelmontenegro3520]

Not early enough to explore the world and not to late enough to explore the stars... but just in time to know about most of the past and secure the chance to know the future

[@chrish9698]

Fascinating story and wonderful video!

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video.

[@allonzehe9135]

I've been waiting for this video!

[@jonny-b4954]

It's honestly SUPER surprising to me that's as far as they went. I mean, just with how powerful and expansive they were. The land they had conquered in it's very self, it's surprising to me they hadn't at least sent exploration expeditions out just as far. Crazy. I mean, they knew of China and traded with them. So it's not an unheard of distance.

[@antonionotmyrealnamo6333]

Distances were important. Armies are required and raising them far from home was impossible, convincing them to traipse away from home also impossible. Why march to distant lands when you could march on Rome and become Emperor?

[@jonny-b4954]

@@antonionotmyrealnamo6333 Well, I'm not talking about marching armies. I'm just talking about small exploration parties like the video mentioned Nero sent.

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

@@jonny-b4954 as far as we know no roman ever reached china they just knew of eachother second hand though i believe china has A merchant go to rome himself

[@snookers88]

@@mondaysinsanity8193 An official delegation (or a group of merchants claiming to be) reached the Han emperor during the time of either Marcus Aurelius or Antoninus Pious

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

@@snookers88 freal? I hadnt come across that and i looked into it at one point. Also i thought qin dynasty were rome contemporaries...just googled it..chinese dynasties dont last very long i guess lol. And seems theres actually was quite a bit of direct trade huh

[@uprightape100]

Thank you.......that was lovely.

[@travishighbaugh5245]

I love videos like this.

[@Warmaker01]

There was some history video that talked about the brief Roman conflict with Nubia. The problem for Rome was that the distances were so far and logistics so problematic, and Nubia being hotly defended that the conflict ended and both powers just made huge money trading with each other.

[@getbetter973]

That and Nubia was one of the greatest military powers in the ancient world. The empire as told by some Africans encapsulaed the entire Horn of Africa and some of the land to the west of Egypt.

[@comradecam9530]

Yep. The terrain was difficult for an army to navigate as well. I think the Romans decided that ultimately it wasn't worth the effort. Taking a territory is one thing, keeping it is another.

[@yoroshikuonegaishimasu8649]

@@getbetter973 im not sure, the egyptians defeated the nubians most of the time, maybe the later nubians were better

[@luchamiomaridekakio6429]

@@yoroshikuonegaishimasu8649 no Egyptian and Nubians defeated each other, it was back and forth, not really lopsided one way

[@MsCwebb]

@@getbetter973 Rome was way more powerful of an army and nation than Nubia and it wasn't even close.

[@mekatronik_albo]

Invicta(Oakkley) I have been following you since your humble beginnings as total war player.Please do a video about illyrian society.Keep up the good work :)!

[@jdiaz4877]

Well done!

[@danilo4631]

Gracias por tu trabajo!

[@davidbalogun7569]

Just realised the river from the story in the middle of the video is likely the Niger. So wild to think Mediterranean people got that far south in ancient times

[@nataliajimenez1870]

Well, there were cross-Saharan caravans that connected Lybia to the rest of Africa, so you can see some Romans joining one of those caravans to scout the region. Even paying some of the traders for info about the region

[@54032Zepol]

I hope they make it home before it rains in Africa, maybe they'll hear the drums and follow the stars towards salvation

[@benusmaximus3601]

Brilliant video - I’d love to see one on the Roman expedition to Lake Chad!

[@emysimo]

This is so interesting!!!

[@TheGoldennach]

The world used to be such a big and magical place...😍

[@anggellos87]

Love your videos always learn something new:)

[@090giver090]

Indeed

[@andrei19238]

Fascinating video very good

[@josephphoenix1376]

Excellent Episode 👍

[@allonzehe9135]

Full video on the Sahara expedition of Cornelius Balbus please.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Romans got well far into Africa. They set up trade routes all the way past the Sahara and had a few run-ins with Ehthiopia. I feel like there's a whole video on Africa and Rome.

[@makeytgreatagain6256]

But that’s coastal Eastern Africa which was t unknown to the world. Africa is like a cross between the new world/Oceania and the old world. Most if it was unexplored and unknown yo outsiders and vice versa but some parts like west Sahel and east Africa coast were known. It’s NA intresting dichotomy and explains why even colonialism of the continent was much later and differnt to when Europeans took Oceania and Americas

[@jonbaxter2254]

@@makeytgreatagain6256 Not really. Romans crossed the Sahara many times to trade, and ancient Greeks got all the way to Ethipia. Makes sense they could have made it further, Europeans have been in Africa for literally thousands of years.

[@makeytgreatagain6256]

@@jonbaxter2254 no because the Sahara deserts too vast and harsh, Europeans literally die in tropical Africa, trading on the horn coast of Africa isnt “equatorial Africa” there’s a reason why Africa was the last explored continent and a big reason for that is due to to the harshness and inhospitability of africa to non natives which lack of he genetic defences to not due within a week. European slave traders had a life expectancy of 1-2 weeks and they were on the west African coast not even inland and they still died to the illnesses and parasites that plague the land. The romans would have at most made it to the desert regions but no further into west Africa

[@jonbaxter2254]

@@makeytgreatagain6256 Lol, no they don't. Do your own research, not my job to educate you. Do you think Black people break down in Europe? No, so why would white people suddenly die in Africa?

[@makeytgreatagain6256]

@@jonbaxter2254 because Africa is Australia on steroids. Europe is a predictable calm land, no harsh parisites, plenty of fertile soil, huge Penensulas, no messed up diseases and animals such as mosquitos and the Tse fly which not only murder humans at such a rate groups have to literally evolve to combat it such as Sickle cell these same animals destroy certain livestock like horses which is why horses weren’t found in places like central Africa and at most they were in southern Nigeria but kept within cities and sheltered from the outside. I suggest you look up what Quinine is and learn how that one medicine prevented Europeans from dying within a couple weeks after stepping foot in Africa. www.polyprep.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/nhd-essay2-william-l-r.pdf

[@mrhernandez739]

Very well done

[@Andrevhmachado]

That was amazing!

[@TheSaneHatter]

This idea BEGS to be made into a movie!

[@p_pattedd5477]

Sadly they didn't have James May, discoverer of the true source of the Nile, and two other blokes.

[@stronghand9932]

@Invicta Great research. Good visuals. Good sequencing. Can't complain. Tons of content. Thanks so much! Just wondering, though, if you can you get that other narrator back?

[@tylerhaigler7409]

Please more videos like this

[@AncestorEmpireGaming]

The last time I was this early….. hoverboards actually hovered.

[@lordofutub]

Please do an episode on the Roman conquest of Thrace. I've found so little on it

[@sarcasmo57]

Super interesting.

[@0mn0mable]

very cool topic.

[@pontusrosholm]

Hey love the videos you do. I think it would be really interesting if you also did a video on the Roman exploration of west Africa

[@ojofrank9394]

I don't they did that,or did they?🤔

[@MrBalkanx3Mix]

They should have used the scouting perk to cross two fields at ones and extra visibility range.

[@zachbonvallat6586]

Great history.

[@michael.bremer]

Great stuff - now I have to read another Seneca ..🤗

[@eyesofisabelofficial]

I am always fascinated by these tales of exploration. I highly recommend the 1990 film "Mountains of the moon" Top Gear launched one such expedition and James May is credited with discovering the actual source itself.

[@professoroak7545]

I mean they basically chose a tributary and followed it to a spring, there are a huge amount of tributaries that feed into the lakes and through to the nile. Its just not as romantic to say that the nile as multiple sources.

[@AldousHuxley7]

What episode!?

[@eyesofisabelofficial]

@@AldousHuxley7 Africa Special (Not the one in Namibia)

[@AldousHuxley7]

@@eyesofisabelofficial Thanks!

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

I hear Toto playing in the background... Mr. Livingston I presume...

[@tomriley5790]

Amazing story! Looking forwards to the other stories of atempted exploration! Even now those are non-trivial expeditions

[@saratmodugu2721]

Are you going to do Roman expeditions into the Niger River, forest region of Nigeria, and the agisymba kingdom of lake Chad

[@MsFrancois1]

Yes, need to hear about Agisymba

[@awesomehpt8938]

Did they listen to Toto while they were there?

[@possumpatrol45]

They heard only whispers of some quiet conversation...

[@rhyscouser9449]

Does anyone have any resources on the book he references in ~8:40 of the video, titled "The Aethopica?"

[@lavykalava1149]

can we get a link to the map at 1:47. without the overlay. i really love that map

[@richjordan6461]

7:17 The famous journey of Henry the Navigator? I didn't think Henry ever went anywhere himself

[@kjsdpgijn]

You misheard. HANNO The Navigator, not Henry en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanno_the_Navigator

[@Nerdvanna98]

My guess about the whole "Nile flowing across the west" thing is that the explorers most likely misinterpreted the Niger river for the Nile.

[@AldousHuxley7]

Thats wild my 92 yo grandpa was just telling me at lunch today how Teddy Roosevelt went to Africa with a huge team of naturalists to discover the source of the Nile! He also supposedly killed over 10,000 animals of all kinds to send abroad.

[@davyroger3773]

Roosevelt is the best

[@samdumaquis2033]

Interesting

[@vazak11]

Wow!

[@CarlJohnson-oq1oj]

For the glory of Rome

[@kazemizu]

It really makes me wonder why nothing was done with the sea a relatively short distance east of the Nile...

[@InvictaHistory]

There was tons of trading going through the red sea which made Egypt extremely rich. However facilities on that side of the coast are in fairly inhospitable terrain and the sea itself has rough shores with unfavorable winds. I believe that's why the Persian Gulf was somewhat favored

[@m.o.bentertainment8582]

would love to see an I shouldn't be alive episode for a Roman in some distant land way past the border

[@Epsilonsama]

Fun fact, 2000 years ago the Sahara was more hospitable than today and the desert was not as big as it's today. There were more Oasis and there were also more grassland in between deserts. It was still a pretty harsh Desert but more livable than today.

[@LawlTwins]

Ye that's still not common knowledge unfortunately. It makes total sense too when you think about supplies. He said it was 5-6 men right? The more hospitable the land, the less water needed ect... Would be tough to haul multiple wagons for a possible year+ journey. Even if they had horses pulling them you'd need to find fodder for them.

[@Grimcrawler]

Yeah if you go back 10 000 years the desert wasnt even a desert it was forest younger dryas most likely changed it

[@KraNisOG]

Imagine how much more exploration, and how much more advanced the Romans would be if they weren't locked in their struggle with Germania, if Arminius didn't betray Rome, we would probably have many more tales, and definitely more sources, and writings to look at.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

They weren't locked in a struggle with Germania. For much of the Empire, Germania had been occasionally a nuisance. Still in late 4th Century, Emperor Julian, after having beaten the Alamanni at Argentorarum, decided to campaign in Persia. Until the battle of Adrianople, the Romans didn't consider the Germanics a real treat.

[@JcoleMc]

Imagine how much better X would be if Y didn't happen is most redundant and useless saying ever

[@Pompomatic]

Love these non-war history videos

[@eddolous]

This could be a great movie

[@robwalsh9843]

I'm guessing some hungry nile crocs ate well when a bunch of out-of-towner Romans appeared in their rivers.

[@stc3145]

It would not be until 2012 when James May and two other blokes found the true source of the Nile

[@AlexandreAuCambodge]

For those asking about relations between Southeast Asia and the Romans. The name of that old port in the Mekong delta is Óc Eo. Wikilink: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93c_Eo

[@AlexandreAuCambodge]

Which might have been "Cattigara": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattigara

[@iDarkfigure]

...Small One Man Craft : Shows two guys paddling a Reed Canoe. Narrator's Voice right near the edge of "Fingernails on a Chalk Board" in tone... Must've missed the part as to exactly how long the round trip took... As it seems to be told... not a single loss of life during the entire expedition... Amazing!

[@Oxtocoatl13]

Could be that this kind of detail just didn't make it into the second-hand sources we have. With the amount of tropical illnesses these men had no immunity for, it would indeed be a spectacular amount of luck if no one died.

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

Well obviously they found the source of the Nile through the old footprints of the wise general Snoopus Doggus, who once led the invasion of the Kushites some eighty years ago! How else would they have found it, if not for the old general's wisdom on his long and smoky journey?

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

What most people don't know is that he also had that great explorer Tupacius Shakuris with him and they discovered the lost City of Angels

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

@@Fatherofheroesandheroines Truly a tragedy that the city remained lost after the ganja fire…

[@mhdfrb9971]

@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 Mortals have made up their minds to name two forms, one of which they should not name, and that is where they go astray from the truth. They have distinguished them as opposite in form, and have assigned to them marks distinct from one another. To the one they allot the fire of heaven, gentle, very light, in every direction the same as itself, but not the same as the other. The other is just the opposite to it, dark night, a compact and heavy body. Of these I tell you the whole arrangement as it seems likely; for so no thought of mortals will ever outstrip you.

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

@@ramenbomberdeluxe4958 yes well the Great Cataclysm of the Burning Grass truly made us lose a lot of history ...it was a HIGH event.

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

@@mhdfrb9971 ?

[@thehashslingingslasher6443]

imagine seeing crocodiles and hippos as an ancient roman.

[@privatebandana]

They knew very well about crocodiles and hippos because of african traders prior to this

[@Zvabh]

They knew about all these stuff

[@jamesblackshaw132]

Imagine marching all them miles on foot seems daunting driving that far

[@jackieking1522]

You showed a picture of Murchison Falls which is indeed between two crags but not hard to port around ( avoiding crocodiles ) while Kabalega Falls are much less impressive, without any constricting crags and probably rather a long portage to get around.

[@bedouinknight9437]

Can you talk about Romans Scientific discovery ? If they exist

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

They do indeed. Romans figured out a type of concrete we only now are figuring out for instance. Also their roads were wonders as well.

[@PraveenJose18551]

Too broad of a topic tbh

[@zacmarulo8721]

@@PraveenJose18551 just split it up into a series that's all. More episodes for us right?

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

Its mostly greek discoveries tbh rome themselves kinda saw greece as their "science nerds" much as greece was largely romes farm

[@Game_Hero]

Not really any discovery, like the greeks, they thought that everything was invented. Where they shine is in their ability to synthesize multiple databases of knowledges among the conquered people into one cohesive whole. They were the organizers of what was already discovered among their expanding empire.

[@yes619]

Romans visited the coast of Somalia frequently for trade on their way to India

[@NoRockinMansLand]

Really???

[@yes619]

@@NoRockinMansLand you did not know this? Ancient Greeks came even before this. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplus_of_the_Erythraean_Sea

[@NoRockinMansLand]

@@yes619 cool stuff, yeah I heard about the land of Punt so I know it happened. Are you Somali?

[@yes619]

Yep

[@RobertStCyr-pe7ic]

If I remember the Odyssey correctly it was Neptune not Zeus who was hanging with the Ethiopians. He was on his way back home when he discovered that Calypso had sent Odysseus home in a boat with supplies to get home. Zeus was the one who commanded that Odysseus should be sent home. His brother Neptune was a little unhappy about that to say the least

[@olowrohek9540]

Wow very interested Do we know what DNA have had ancient Romans

[@mfaizsyahmi]

I bet the story about the travellers who went past the Atlas Mountains found the Niger River instead.

[@090giver090]

Agricola (yes, that one) once led an expedition south from Roman Mauretania (modern day Morocco) south and believed to reach somewhere around modern day Senegal or Gambia.