Khan Asparuh - (05) - Nemesis of the Roman Empire, Part 1

A cut-scene from the Bulgarian movie "Khan Asparuh" (aka "681 - Glory of the khan"), the full Bulgarian version. The movie was made for the 1981 jubilee "1300 years since the creation of Bulgaria". It has absolutely no computer effects, all the actors are real (around 50 000 extras, to be concrete).
This scene in particular shows the first part of the Byzantine assault on the Bulgar camp of the Onglos/Ongal.
The title of the clip is a subtle reference both to the times when the First Bulgarian Empire would become the main rival of the medieval Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 9th-10th c., as well as to the Bulgarian historical strategy game about the Punic wars "Carthage - Nemesis of the Roman Empire".

[@KnightoftheCross1]

its true today we got many special effects on movies but these old war movies r really great having all those extras. thumbs up :)

[@BlockBlender]

i wish they did a movie like this again and really feel the power of the sheer numbers on the field.

[@kurtuvash1221]

The film was made when in Bulgaria was under soviet wing and running the communist regime . All war movies made during this period were made with epic number of people and realistic props . Bulgaria was found in 681 it is one of the oldest countries in the world.

[@user-ec5oc6pu6g]

Egypt goes back 3k bc, how does Bulgaria match up?

[@dannyfubar3099]

The old Blood and Sand Flicks are the best. Thank you for Sharing.

[@skyshatter3633]

Got 2 swords,bow,quiver,few arrows,shield and a helmet from this movie. Gift from a friend of mine whos father worked as extra in the movie

[@nicoleelardo4546]

Wow I can't believe it your father was a extra in that movie wow....incredible

[@lyubenmurdzhev5967]

-How many extras do you want? -Yes!

[@Payasoplas]

I remember watching this movie in the 80s or early 90s with my mother on some state owned TV channel here in Mexico, I was impressed not only with the movie itself but with military genius of the Khan Asparuh, He redefined the meaning of "ASS KICKING"!

[@aditiyaamin3872]

Payasoplas can you tell me the name of this movie ?

[@andrespolo2722]

Khan asparuh

[@adamfox1669]

Awesome!! Thanks

[@peppealletto4031]

very very beautiful film

[@TheWheels1965]

Now thats a cast!

[@user-qz7nu3mm9r]

nice video!

[@hollywoodwerewolf]

I understand now. The budget for the costume and armament departments must've been quite high.

[@rogerauger7766]

AWESOME! WELL DONE!

[@vinicius21989]

great movie

[@real_crypto_hitman]

This is epic! 100000 men as actors....

[@f1r3hunt3rz5]

CGI can never beat real human actors.

[@ChanceKearns]

Wouldn’t be surprised if they used the Bulgarian army in costumes for these scenes

[@esterzach]

This was exactly the case.

[@truephilosopher]

wow a movie with byzantines soldiers in action! i got to see this!

[@JarlFrank]

Nice

[@Hartofilax]

Guys, this movie is 40 years old. Don`t compare it to the modern CGI and other standards for moviemaking.

[@RaiderLeo69]

No CGI bullshit! All real people, nicely!!

[@vasil21]

Acctually according to some genetic reserch many are descendentants of the original inhabitants of the balcans - the thracians.

[@tonsyidibe]

ancient wars were slaughters ... but very good scene , i see the war .

[@hauptsturmfuehrer]

Indo-Germanian tribes - Proto- BULGARIANS !

[@hauptsturmfuehrer]

Creation of FIRST BULGARIAN EMPIRE ......4-6 Century AD...!

[@nitinkataria7395]

Not ancient, coming from an Indian Aryan Hun....

[@nitinkataria7395]

@@hauptsturmfuehrer True

[@tanteedelgard1921]

Please notice: There was no CGI used in this film.

[@sharkbite5744]

No shit

[@user-gt5ev1ey3g]

That were real bulgarian soldiers no computer it was filmed 1981year

[@asheer9114]

@Tante Edelgard. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqOTlJ6ah9OJqac

[@steelballs9551]

GoT CGI darkness. We can't see shit

[@RK-gv7rc]

False. you are watching on a computer, therefore it is computer generated image. GG

[@syahrulfauzi6344]

back when film was really make a budget and effort

[@sboonthae]

Wow Excellency

[@XX-cv6fq]

the real sounds off charging men!

[@16Canadian]

man i've been looking everywhere for movies featruring the eastern roman/byzantine empire. know of any others???

[@npocToBaT]

Copy the names in the youtube search bar. " Златният век ". One of the best Bulgarian history movies. It mean " Golden age ". Борис I (1984) част 1 - Покръстването . This film tells the story of the adoption of Christianity. " Сватбите на Йоан Асен-еп.1 / The Weddings of Joаhn Assen (1975) " . " Ивайло (филм за селското въстание 1277-1280 г.) " Калоян 1963 Целия филм " , " Денят на владетелите 1986 " . Sorry, but they dont have English subtitles

[@sharkbite5744]

Proper film

[@Xopop]

This is what I call BATTAGLIA! NO cgi BS.

[@firedragonv92]

There are no special video effects! All these people are actually there. Most of them are soldiers from the Bulgarian Army. There are also many volunteers. At some scenes 45 000 men can be seen! Great movie at the time!

[@rosovavoda]

My dad war an officer in the army and he participated too with his soldiers in that film.

[@aeonflux67]

Someone is going to get seriously pawned!

[@stefan9656]

Да Живее Велика България Казах!!!

[@yusuf3005]

Old Bulgars are Turkic peoples, you are Slaves. Old Bulgars real Bulgars, you are not bulgars, real you are Slavs..

[@vasil21]

The Empire evolved and change but never the less it remains the Roman empire unlike the Holy Roman empire or the empire of the francs.The video depicts the battle of the Ongala during the reighn of Constantine IV.

[@donor09]

dats cool

[@hollywoodwerewolf]

Where do they get all those thousands of extras? How can they afford them all?

[@MrSirivan24]

They used the actual army, the reward was paid leave :D

[@morning_glorymonster3473]

This is a Bulgarian movie made under socialism. Can you guess how come the number of the extrass is so ridiculously high? No western production can afford this now.

[@robertcornelius3514]

Homelessness is way up because Hollywood won't hire large groups of actors.

[@morning_glorymonster3473]

@@robertcornelius3514 What does this has to do with the price of cheese in Canada? What does this has to do with anything?

[@Ecoman365]

Almost all of the extras were Bulgarian soldiers, who were paid about $ 5 a month.

[@morning_glorymonster3473]

@@Ecoman365 Not true. The soldiers in the Bulgarian People's Army were "paid" something like a couple of levs per month and a dollar on the black market cost 3 levs at the time. So, it was less than 50 cents per month and this is less than 2 cents per day. This is why I say that they were not paid.

[@thudbrent]

Yeah, that's the main point. Doesn't really matter how they would win.

[@albertovillamarin4528]

Nombre de la pelicula... name movie...

[@weisserelephant]

Love this CGI! Looks like real! :D

[@zjs511]

wtf

[@cipher88101]

Too bad they couldn't find any extras for this movie :)

[@truckingandfarmingmentor]

only like 60 000 extras on the set

[@syahrulfauzi6344]

is this a classic

[@user-gt5ev1ey3g]

In 681 Khan Asprukh destroyed the roman army and made our Bulgaria, the filmed is made 1981year

[@mrandrewlaw]

Which side are the Roman on? The attackers or the defenders?

[@user-gt5ev1ey3g]

They wanted to make the bulgarians slaves but they couldnt

[@mm89f]

now thats a bad ass movie, old movie no movie digital magic bullshit. just warm bodies

[@jonathanorillo8721]

I wonder how many had injuries during this scene 🤔😳

[@rgp8034]

sadly - most horses - since they used ropes to ''trip'' them as if being show by arrows. Human-wise- not many - since the stunts are done by profesionals.

[@Oleerkilass]

yes and what are your point.

[@kukuruku20]

In this excerpt from the film Bulgarians fight against rumlyani and 60,000 Bulgarians only 1500

[@user-gt5ev1ey3g]

The Bulgarians were about 48 000 of 50 000

[@kevinoverbeck4250]

Man, if they could have used a quality film camera...

[@NikeBG]

Well, the original movie does have a better quality than this. Unfortunately, this particular rip, from the dawn of KZbin, didn't turn out so well. Though there are a few newer uploads around, with somewhat better quality.

[@kevinoverbeck4250]

@@NikeBG I forgot to think about that!

[@NikeBG]

@@kevinoverbeck4250 Just to be clear. The issue isn't just that KZbin had a pretty low max resolution back then, but even more so that I didn't (and still don't) know how to rip a video properly, while keeping the size manageable.

[@pavlinggeorgiev]

There is a Bulgarian company that brought the first equipment in the balkans being able to transfer negatives to 4k .Luckily this is the first BG movie to be filmed with a Kodak film . They are working on a 4k 2 hour version of the film being named "Khan and The Empire " for english audiences . Project might be already complete.

[@NikeBG]

@@pavlinggeorgiev Indeed. Thanks for letting us know! Here's a recently released trailer which, I have to say, really does look amazing: /watch?v=tkhZjPQcQfo

[@thenaifus1]

full movie please

[@NikeBG]

Search for Хан Аспарух in KZbin and you'll find several copies of the full version of the three movies. Unfortunately, only the Bulgarian versions are available now, without English subtitles (there were versions with English subtitles as well, but they seem to have been taken down by KZbin). There also used to be a shortened version released by Warner Brothers, called "681 - The glory of the khan", with English dubbing and Bulgarian built-in subtitles, but it seems to have been deleted as well. Only one version with Russian dubbing seems to remain.

[@moakley]

where do all these extras shit?

[@gamanatv6722]

I'm noy yet born video exist already now I'm watching it.

[@Ivanecat]

THE BULGARIANS !

[@Zeus-gw8ir]

@Jeka Jeka go sleep please , and before you talk think

[@Zeus-gw8ir]

@Jeka Jeka the only stupid here is you mate, Khan Asparuh Established the first Bulgarian Empire in 681. Now take this information and thanks me later

[@Zeus-gw8ir]

@Jeka Jeka obviously you don’t have idea what are you talking, and we are talking about different things, Khan Asparuh son of Kubrat! Established the First Bulgarian Empire! I leave this with you so you have the time to do your research. Have a nice day

[@Zeus-gw8ir]

@Jeka Jeka Kubrat was the ruler of the Onogur-Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632.

[@Zeus-gw8ir]

@Jeka Jeka Asparuh was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681

[@maximehunsinger2350]

I didn't understand why it's inserted in the title of the video Roman Empire when they're not fighting at all. Rome has nothing to do with it. or give me some explanations

[@aleksandarpetrov5980]

This is the Eastern Roman Empire. Byzantion. the capital of Constantinople.

[@chelsblue7370]

Byzantium is a modern invention, the Eastern Romans never called themselves Byzantines, but romаioi (Romans). After the split in 395, the Western Roman Empire perished, while the Eastern one survived. The Eastern Romans also never called their empire "Eastern", they only called it Roman Empire (Basileia Rhōmaiōn).

[@mitevmusic]

The movie was made at the comunist time, they organised the army to go and film, so all these are soldiers from the bulgarian army ; ) A friend of mine was one of the stuff, doing the armours...

[@ultimatespider17]

the romans kick some ass in their time

[@user-kq2fn5fm2q]

whats the movie name?

[@NikeBG]

It's written in the video's info box - "Khan Asparuh". Though there's also a shortened English-dubbed (not very good quality) version by Warner Brothers called "681 - Glory of the khan". You can also find the whole trilogy with English subtitles here in KZbin though: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWHdqGdojZqpm6s

[@user-ye3ds5uk6m]

DULO, DULAT

[@aeonflux67]

Cant help thinking Julius Caesar would have came up with a lot more creative plan than the leader of this Eastern Roman army did. Somehow the tactic of "charge, leap into the ditch and struggle up the hill against murderous barrages of arrows" doesnt seem to be too well though out in this instance. But hey...maybe I am just being cynical.

[@ambit877]

It's not 100% what it happened of course but at the end of the day the Romans were defeated, also this movie is 40 years old try being not so critical.

[@bobmartin7068]

Shy Guava This is a real piece of crap how the hell are you supposed to know what is going on here,.Was tis made before sound was in movies?

[@VJBlues]

After the separation and creation of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican have been in the never ending path to destroy the Eastern Orthodox Church. Creating Islam have been one of their plans. The list is long.

[@zarni000]

well that is probably not exactly what happened. however there is no doubt the army of the eastern roman empire that was defeated there was immense

[@kostadinivanov8242]

@@bobmartin7068 when this movie was made, movies in your country were rarer than yetis. So yeah, the quality and everything is great. The movie itself is hours long and has better quality than what is shared in youtube. But you got negative iq, wont understand

[@aldosigmann419]

i'm in the ditch - now what do i do?

[@thudbrent]

I'd have to say mongols because the Mongolian light cavalry could easily out maneuver the phalanxes that the Romans typically used.

[@FirstCitizenXIV]

Late Eastern Greek Romans were half the man of the Republic and early Imperial periods of the latin Roman empire

[@yusukegarners]

Romans vs The Mongols who do you think will win?

[@user-gt5ev1ey3g]

Bulgarians

[@SethP666]

where do I get this on dvd ? any links?

[@kaustubhponkshe6186]

movie name please

[@user-xc7vr6hc7g]

HAN ASPARUH

[@gri_adam]

Doesn't anyone think of burning wooden walls?

[@meisammohammadpour4172]

Me👍

[@SD_Alias]

The modern CGI based mass scenes are crap compared to this. Real people create an atmosphere and diversity of motion no computer can do…

[@user-bq5lr6dq6b]

Este es Nuestro Búlgaro Khan Asparuh! ¡Viva la Gran Bulgaria! ¡Viva el Gran Imperio Búlgaro! ¡Porque hemos sido y volveremos a ser! ¡Siempre! ¡Y para siempre! ¡Dijo! 🇧🇬 ❤️

[@colinmccarthy7921]

I see the Wall was made out of Wood.The attacking Army should off sent 100’s of Flaming Arrows into Wall.This would off burnt the Wall and also the Men defending the Wall.There you have it,the Attacking Army would just walk in then.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍.

[@leifcatt]

Thank you, I was just thinking of flaming pots of oil or pitch thrown at the walls.

[@meisammohammadpour4172]

It seemes fake

[@johndee3842]

Roma Invicta!

[@Deftknight]

YAH!!!!!!!!

[@NormanLowell]

Imperium. The only way forward to our glorious past. The way to survival of our Race and Civilisations. Enough of fratricidal wars. Enough of cousins killing cousins. Enough. Imperium Europa: The Book that Changed the World. Amazon Books.

[@Terlin1466]

depends on the time. During the earlie empire the romans had a cavalry and later on they also had allot of seige weapons and machines that would cut a army of horses down very fast. The first machine gun was invented with in the empire. Only real reason Rome collapse is Greed, lack of discipline and Religion divideing the nations apart..

[@CogitatorX]

I think it's pretty commonly realized that the introduction of Christianity and it becoming the state religion of the Empire coincided with it's decline.

[@BookerT48]

Where are the SIEGE TOWERS??

[@MrSirivan24]

The romans didn't know the bulgarians built fortifications and so, came unprepared for a siege.

[@MinhTran-ct8wy]

what the movie

[@herewegoagain1140]

No CGI army!

[@johnrflinn]

and no workman's comp.

[@CogitatorX]

This is the Byzantine Empire. The Greek speaking eastern half of the old Roman Empire. Byzantium was never the world conquering superpower of the western Empire. Judging from the video this must be post-Constantine so by now the civil and religious culture of what we call the Roman Empire was long gone replaced by the prototype for medieval divine right monarchy in the east.

[@Lithium010]

u are gay

[@nikenaidenov1035]

България !

[@lontongsayur9666]

Are they use CGI to make a film?

[@vasil.kamdzhalov]

No

[@sidpirate8570]

Hello, I would like to use THIS SCENE in SCARY MOVIE 7. . . Perhaps it can be at the BEGINNING of the movie, when they are LOOKING for ME, SID PIRATE, The EMPEROR of HEAVEN. . . The BEGINNING when the CREDITS ROLE or perhaps the TELEVISION SHOW SCARY MOVIE. . . YOU could ALSO NAME this TELEVISION SHOW: A LOST JEDI TELEVISION SHOW. . . WHAT to ADD to the SCENE: PLEASE always in SLOW MOTION. . . PLEASE once the SCENES are ADDED, SHOW them WHERE the TIME is WRITTEN HERE for each SCENE. . . 1. At 2:15 as the SOLDIERS rush the FIELD there are porta pottys there, followed by FART NOISES. . . 2. At 4:14 an AIRPLANE blocks the SUN✈️🌞 3. SOLDIERS are always yelling "F U!!!" And "STOP HIM!!!" 4. There are FART NOISES during the great battle. . . 5. At 5:23 a SMALL DWARF GOBLIN is SHOWN at the TOP of the HILL as the LADDER hits the land. . . 6. At 6:08 a ZOMBIE is being carried away, not a dead man. . . 7. At 6:20 a man is shown throwing a boomerang and another a Frisbee 🥏. . . EYE will CONTINUE with it LATER. . . 8. At 7:32 the man that hits the dirt dead then gets up as a MOVIE DIRECTOR is shown at the BOTTOM LEFT CORNER of the SCREEN. . . 9. At 7:42 the man shown lights up a CIGAR🚬 BUT what's REALLY SCARY is it IS THE ROMAN EMPIRE looking for ME. . . . . . . . . . . . 🎭 WHERE is a Star Wars 10: A Lost Jedi, The REAL SCARY MOVIE and The EMPEROR Of HEAVEN COUNTRY??? Everything is STILL PEACEFUL HERE in THE STAR. . . . . . CONSPIRACY. . . . . . And MOVIE. . . . . .The STAR⭐. . . . . .-SID PIRATE

[@sleeper7271]

well its hard to say the mongols were a hardy people ,they conquered whole of china which is no easy task.The mongol empire was one of the biggest of its time and theyre warriors were fearless indeed.But the eastern romans have discipline and christianity at theyre side.Its quite hard to guess

[@zaferzaferoglu978]

Bulgarlar Turk Moğol değil

[@bongobrandy6297]

After years of acting lessons, understudying the greats etc. the reward is to be an extra and get killed in the first 5 minutes, screaming incoherently and tumbling badly. Oh! Woe is me.

[@KingZealotTactics]

Found this little gem in your recommended as well eh?

[@bipolatelly9806]

and all this happened during a grand solar minimum!

[@user-wr6bi8tk1g]

Как будто документальное видео

[@willthorson4543]

Whoever directed this doesn't understand tactics. The high ground. Lol

[@Playmesomeshit]

@KubernetePirata Actually historians think that we Bulgarians are Asian tribes that came here with the Huns and that we were a part of their horde, when they were in war against the Romans, but after their defeat we went East and created Great Bulgaria, later conquered by other tribes. Few that remained left the country and created the first Bulgarian kingdom (i don't actually know why they call it first)

[@ambit877]

It's correct. Bulgaria never changed it's name. Recent researches show that Bulgarians are Indo-European Branch race coming from Caucasus.

[@iazygsarmatian4638]

Bulgars descend from Cimmerians, Indo-Iranians.

[@pinklady2151]

Han Asparuh monument present a tatar warior

[@phralvim]

I thought Bulgars were turkish people

[@zarni000]

@@ambit877 not really - indigenous to Balkan peninsula. I myself am bulgarian and my DNA shows I descend from the neolithic inhabitants. the modern "bulgarians" were the neolithic inhabitans with some slight admixture. the thracians were also the same population. they were called "thraki" only by the greeks. The thracians did not call themselves "thraki". They had various names of the different tribal variations - one of them that became dominant was the bulgars.

[@space197]

this look more than like persia vs barbarians

[@jfrd28]

Surena rocks.

[@wargod2009]

Peter Jackson, eat your heart out. This is a proper battle scene.

[@ArneCamPro]

u must be think about the greeks, romans never used phalanx, the greeks did

[@StoreslemLilleslem]

exhausting audio, very bad battle scene

[@StoreslemLilleslem]

@@kozzetokopeikin im born 1990 and this is from 1981

[@NikeBG]

@@StoreslemLilleslem It's still older than you (or me). Though, I admit, this video uploaded nearly 15 years ago, in the dawn of KZbin, was made from a pretty bad rip. The original movie had a somewhat better quality, as can be seen by the uploaded versions elsewhere on YT. I recommend the one titled "Khan Asparuh (1981) - Bulgars VS Byzantine Empire: Битка при Онгъла", whose quality seems closest to the original.

[@hollywoodwerewolf]

Mongols. Unless the Romans managed to forge a mighty force of cavalry. The Mongols would pelt the Roman infantry with their arrows. The Romans may form a testudo but they'd sit there for hours as the Mongols circled them. Kind of a stalemate...

[@MattBG67]

@christakiev Какво кралство бе? Царство ,не кралство!

[@aotfan_bg425]

По онова време ханство

[@MattBG67]

@@aotfan_bg425 Българска титла хан няма, следователно няма и ханство.

[@aotfan_bg425]

@@MattBG67 добре бе философе

[@MattBG67]

@@aotfan_bg425 Няма философия, а базови знания.

[@pokermaniac0978]

these are not mongols they are bulgarians

[@user-kx5wn9vx7n]

14년 전. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[@santiagoamangan1281]

WITH SUCH BIG GROUPS OF PEOPLE AND COMPARE W/ SMALL GROUP SUCH DUEL OF TWO OR BIG GROUP AGAINST ONE PERSON, BUT THE TRUTH. ARE WE REALLY A REAL HUMAN TO BE CALLED WITH SUCH PRINCIPLES KIND OF HUMANITY THAT "NO GOT, NO GLORY". IT IS JUST DANGEROUS ANIMALS. BEAST AGAINST YAHWEH.

[@Tiger1AuasfE]

Damit where did they found so many people to take place on the movie? And yes bulgars are 90% slavs, and franks were 100% germanic.

[@baba98052]

Really bad resolution

[@jfrd28]

I'm just saying. XD Peace. Btw Surena's a he. I'm just saying too. Peace again.