History Hit Roman Expert Simon Elliot Said What?

[@GamerAccounts-s7s]

No modern politics injected? The professor is having a fun time? And ample amounts of opportunity for Metatron to be pedantic? I dare say this is one of the good ones!

[@exantiuse497]

The History Hits videos reviewed on this channel have for the most part been alright IMO

[@TheDragorin]

he even used BC instead of BCE

[@AttaBek1422]

@@TheDragorin AUC if you want to be really pedantic about it

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I dont know why he keeps saying that. He's literally just being Scientific.

[@ShadowKain666]

I fear for the future of humanity.

[@sorrysirmygunisoneba]

I came, I saw bait, I clicked.

[@metatronyt]

Lol

[@LastGoatKnight]

Veni, vidi, clicci. (Not actual latin) Here's the Google translation of your comment in latin so take it with a big grain of salt: 'Veni, vidi escam, premebam.'

[@tomaszmurzyn9123]

​@@metatronytdo something about whore comment

[@danielealbaghdadi4705]

​@@LastGoatKnight I think the Google translation is fine but it should be "pressi" insted of "premebam".

[@hexoslaya3696]

@@LastGoatKnightrolls off the tongue

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

According to Astérix, SPQR means Sono Pazzi Quei Romani, "these Romans are mad"

[@Aureus_]

Well yes that's the modern meaning that inhabitants give it.

[@Chief_Hiccup]

I wonder if Rafaello has ever read those comics? I've found myself enjoying all of the ones I've read. I wonder what his opinions are on those books.

[@johnswansen192]

😅😅

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I'm still glad he said it correctly.

[@GalileosTelescope]

A man of true culture!

[@MDE123]

It’s well known that SPQR stands for “sono pazzi questi Romani “. They’re crazy, these Roman.

[@magyarbondi]

Sei matto 😂

[@christiankirkenes5922]

I can't believe an expert would get that so wrong !!!! 😂😂😂 Caeser was named after a salad because they were both loved by everyone.

[@kaltaron1284]

The salad also gets stabbed a lot.

[@hellegennes]

@@kaltaron1284 😄😄

[@professornuke7562]

@@kaltaron1284 It was originally intended to be eaten with the fingers.

[@nikkibrowning4546]

​@@professornuke7562 not anymore.

[@NotanEmpire]

Hi Metatron . Just to be pedantic as a native English speaker: Someone is learn-ED not 'learnt' when they are well-educated in something. That is, in this case pronounce out the -ed ending, ie the word has two syllables. I think a reason why it's pronounced like this is that it differentiates the adjective from the past tense verb. Your work is usually always impressively punctillious and a feast for any pedant!

[@cjohnson3836]

your

[@Kargoneth]

Yes. "Learn•ed". Bisyllabic. One who has been educated.

[@sigurdholbarki8268]

Unless yer learnt proper like us Norverners like eh

[@NotanEmpire]

Thx, good editing​@@cjohnson3836

[@tigernotwoods914]

The word does not have two syllables. Learned is one syllable. It’s pronounced learnD not learn ED.

[@comedyfox4018]

I appreciate that you correct how people say things. That is the best way for us to learn. Keep up the amazing work.

[@marksanders573]

I’m an archaeologist and historian as well, but I’ve never referred to a fuller as a blood runnel…

[@1Arky1]

Same here. Because it isn't

[@marksanders573]

@@1Arky1 Simon Elliot said that in a video 2 years ago.

[@schaddenkorp6977]

It’s something that we can blame on a lot of the historians around the turn of the last century.

[@I-HAVE-A-BOMB]

Would be alot cooler if it was though right

[@sleelofwpg688]

...Ceaser did conquer Gaul. Except for one villiage.

[@MrRabiddogg]

Caesar had the gall to conquer Gaul.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

???

[@gabrielethier2046]

​@@MR-MR-ud5ooHe couldn't subjugate the mighty war chiefs Asterix and Obelix, though most mainstream historians want to cover this up

[@Coentjemons]

​@@MR-MR-ud5ooit is one of the biggest travestys in history. It is propaganda that the VILE Cesar conquered all. My ancestor Asterix and his companion stood AND held proudly against the foreign invaders.

[@laisphinto6372]

Asterix and Obelix arent warchiefs

[@Bramble451]

A word on English pronunciation: a specialist professor on ancient languages once told me that English speakers naturally pronounce "a" in any word they haven't seen before as a hard "a". So foreign words that are adopted into the English language from writing are likely to use a hard "a" unless corrected somewhere along the way. Ergo, "Cannae" with a hard "a" made it into the English language before anybody was able to correct it. As for why he didn't pronounce the "ae" with hard "a"... I'd just say it's because English speakers don't know what the hell to do with vowel combinations like that, so you'll hear various pronunciations. I would have pronounced it "ay", like the word "eye", but that's not how he pronounced it. Along a related line, we also want to emphasize the first syllable in unfamiliar words.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

A hard a?

[@nikkibrowning4546]

100% if I think it is a foreign word.

[@unarealtaragionevole]

With Roman medical knowledge there's an interesting back and forth between medicine and magic, especially when talking about their knowledge of herbology. Like most ancient cultures the Romans were well aware of the different properties and effects of plants. And while there's a mixture of magic and medicine, there's a gradual trend of viewing the magical as more medicinal. And when Christian Rome started to turn on pagans and paganism, they were more tolerant to stregheria because of stregheria's vast medicinal knowledge and practice, which was continued and practiced in religion, science, medicine, home remedies, and even their literature.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I have a hard time believing this prof. since by the time of Gauis, not only had Socrates, Hypocrates, and many others already made GREAT strides in publications on medicine. but also, Alexandria already had a large school & library dedicated (by Alexander?) to taking deceased people

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

And making autopsies on them for medical knowledge and advancement. A book was written but I cant remember the name.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I made 2 coms b4 this 1.

[@unarealtaragionevole]

@@MR-MR-ud5oo Agreed. The problem with History Hits, Wired, and the other channels/videos doing these types of things is that the exerts tend to speak in generalities and are unable to go into any depth for these topics for time constraints as the professors are there to quickly answer some questions and are not there to give actual lessons. It's annoying but understandable as I see many debates to all out fights on YT for what appear to be very knowledgeable people providing claims without sources and methods to support their claims also...not because they might not exist or they don't know them, it's usually because YT threads and 15 minute videos are not always the arena to get into the details as 1) most people don't care 2) most people are not going to go fact checking on the spot and 3) most people are going to reject you as long as they have what supports their side. LOL It's a fair bet that all of these experts on all these topics know that every topic is deeper and more nuanced, but they are forced to give generic answers. He failed the medical question in my opinion because I think he wanted to stress 1) romans didn't have the level of knowledge we do today (shocker I know), and he wanted to stress that this was period when both magic and science co-existed equally in the eyes of the majority, so the types of treatments and approaches could have been varied and extreme. He just failed to get that expressed as accurately as I think it probably sounded in his head at the time. ;o)

[@parakeetbudgie]

2:35 it is a mix between Latin and English pronunciation. In English, it would be “principate” with an S sound for C.

[@MarcinSzyniszewski]

Yeah, judging by how lecturers pronounce it, it should be with an "s" sound for "c". The one given in the video is a bit strange then.

[@zimzob]

“Principate” and “Dominate” are both English words introduced as terms of convenience by modern historians , so should be spoken according to standard English pronunciation.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

As long as he didn't say Pompi.

[@parakeetbudgie]

@ pompey

[@LeonidasSparta-Fun-History]

What i do appreciate about History Hit is that they generally avoid politics and genuinely want to give historical fun facts and insight... unlike Wired. Overall their guests remain respectful and knowledgeable, presenting their opinions backed by history, not modern politics.

[@cookeecutkk]

2:10 Surprised that you were surprised. English is THE most unruly language when it comes to pronunciation.

[@CritiqueCS]

The last monarch i can think of he was in an active combat zone while reigning was the king of belgium during WW1. He was personally leading his troops in holding of the german invasion. He was often litteraly referred to as the "knight king" or "soldier king". It earned him massive admiration from both allies and frankly, enemies. Now dont mistake that heroism/ideal for meaning he was a flawless person, he was simply the commander of "Army group Flanders" at the end of the war. Now if we talk about litteraly being present on the battlefield while being the REIGNING monarch/president. Really it would have to be a monarch who had military talent, whilst the radio/telephone wasnt invented yet. Albert wasnt litteraly shooting, but he had to be somewhat near the action during WW1. If we mean oldschool style (when we think of them hearing the screams of their men, on a horse in vibrant armor etc.), i would probably guess Napoleon Boneparte. Theres been other royalty obviously to be generals since, but generally thats the latest I know of.

[@ImperialGuard322nd]

Last battle to see opposing monarchs leading their armies was the battle of Solferino in 1859 between Napoleon III and Franz Joseph.

[@Ivftinianvs]

and Napoleon III was actually captured later, during the Franco-Prussian War, and held for ransom. The ransom bring his throne.

[@liamconverse8950]

There were a lot of US Presidents that served in combat before they became president 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@CritiqueCS]

@@liamconverse8950 Sure, but they didnt do that acting as a head of state. Plenty of leaders of nations have former military experience, thats not necesarily unique to the US.

[@MT-iw6sl]

@@liamconverse8950Washington is the only one that led troops while BEING president tho. And it wasn’t even during the revolution, it was during the Whiskey Rebellion.

[@michaelelmore8793]

From a fellow pedagogue, I appreciate your videos so much.

[@metatronyt]

Thank you!

[@Sturdy_Penguin]

11:45 this is a really good idea. While they didn't know that mosquitoes carried bloodborne illnesses, they learned that diseases were more prolific near swamps. Knowledge isn't the same as wisdom. I had a cultural geography teacher who also gave examples of how feng shui, which was used by the Chinese to decide where to build cities, homes, and the placement of rooms and doors, which explained it through mysticism but gave solid advice we can explain with a modern understanding. Whether to build inside of a valley depending on its direction helping the flow of Qi where it was actually that the amount of sunlight was preferential when facing a certain direction. When building next to a pond, you choose the side being upwind or downwind because it will ward off evil spirits when it is actually preferable to keep mosquitoes away. I bought a LoPan (a feng shui compass) just to remember to respect the past.

[@nictamer]

Re: leaders eating with the soldiers. I remember reading somewhere (I think this was Beevor) that a Soviet commander was shocked and probably ashamed when, at the end of WW2, he saw Eisenhower eating with soldiers.

[@____________838]

Which is so odd… with the entire implied dissolution of classes in the USSR, lol

[@dusk6159]

​@@____________838 They indeed managed to be a more proper and vile empire than even those in Berlin at the time

[@HarrisonBurgeron-h9m]

General George S. Patton: "We fought the wrong enemy."....shortly before being killed in a suspicious incident.

[@drakron]

That is curious because I am looking at Google search and the only thing that pop up was he eating a C Ration in North Africa in 1943, alone. What shows a lot is his trip to Korea in 1952 when he was president when he visited the 15th Infantry Regiment that he commanded as a Lt Coronal however since I am also pedantic, Eisenhower spend WWII on a staff role and never commanded troops directly, I am saying this because most of his time he was in either Washington in his various roles, London for most part since that is were the European Theater HQ was located, Gibraltar during the North Africa campaign (he was the only non British to be the Commander of The Rock) and Frankfurt am Main when he was military governor of the American-occupied zone of Germany. The idea that in 1944 Eisenhower just took a flight from London to "go eat with the soldiers" when there the entire occupation of Germany had to start up is a bit hard to swallow , would look nice for the 1948 presidential election but I see no record of that, the Korean picture is known, it sounds like people are confusing the Korean picture taking place in WW2 and adding some "facts", considering the "Soviet Commander" is nameless as well rankless and very unlikely to be in the presence of Eisenhower, let alone in a situation were they would be with "soldiers" (technically they would be since MP and general non-officer staff). Sounds to me the typical anti-soviet made up anecdote that perpetuates in the Internet, not the Soviet regime needs then to look bad that just makes me annoyed.

[@dusk6159]

@@HarrisonBurgeron-h9m The soviet empire itself wasn't at least involved in that, directly I guess

[@ChristopherWentling]

It wasn’t just infant mortality but also death of women in childbirth. Just one more comment about this… walk through cemeteries from the 19th century and earlier and look specifically at the ages of women at death and it will make more than clear that this was not just Rome but all of human society up until the 20th century.

[@exantiuse497]

The chance of death from pregnanch/childbirth related complications was around 1% in the pre-modern times, so if the average woman gave birth on average 7 times the chance of death was around 7%, not an insignificant chance (although infant/child mortality was a bigger factor nonetheless, the chance to live up to 20 years old was somewhere around 50%)

[@glittermama]

I believe childhood mortality was higher than infant mortality, so that has to be added in as well.

[@chickenlover657]

@@glittermama There is no such category as "childhood mortality", genius.

[@blacktigerpaw1]

​@@exantiuse497Where are you getting the 1% stat? It was far higher in pre modern times.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@exantiuse497 6.793465209301% to be exact.

[@AntonTheKicker]

19:45 I would like to add that we also play games like Mortal Kombat where people are sliced up and have their spines ripped out because we think its fun. Of course it's digital, but it still shows that people today love violence, we've just been able to digitalize it so no one actually gets hurt. (Which has also allowed us to make it even more brutal than what for example gladiator fights or jousting would have been)

[@exantiuse497]

I have no proof of this, but my gut feeling is that people living today are way more desentisised to violence, or at least digital/cartoon violence, than people in at least the past several centuries. If you look at artwork decipting war, atrocities, torture etc from middle ages, early modern to early 1900s, even images intended to be shocking and grotesque are usually pretty tame compared to things we rarely even bat an eye today (such as Mortal Kombat)

[@Spielkalb-von-Sparta]

Your pronunciation of German _Kaiser_ was top notch! Thanks for the explanation of the differences! Fun fact: If you learn Latin in northern Germany you're taught to pronounce the "c" like a "k" whilst in Bavaria they pronounce it like a "c" as in English "cease". Don't ask my why.

[@HenryLoenwind]

Bavaria is Catholic...

[@Dodlo32888]

“I saw, I clicked, I React” - metatron when ever he saw a history hit or wired video.

[@esmeraldagreen1992]

The bulla was a locket and often contained objects of religious or magical significance that were believed to have a protective effect on the child wearing it. I always thought that the tradition of wearing a protective necklace was continued by the tradition of giving babies necklaces with the image of the saint the baby was named after or Mary, on their baptism day.

[@Djhuty]

Technically *a* Roman Republic was restored (?) if you consider whatever that short-lived monster was that France helped make in Roma during the Revolutionary period.

[@malarobo]

There were others short-lived restored Roman Republics: - The Roman Republic in 1300s made by Cola di Rienzo (against the barons and the Pope) - The Roman Republic in 1849 made by Mazzini during the italian wars of independence (destroyed by French to restored the Pope). In the fall of that republic died Goffredo Mameli, the author of the lyrics of the italian anthem

[@zwerko]

'Pompi' will never get old. Never!

[@anthonyoer4778]

I keep seeing the comments, but what is the reference?

[@zwerko]

@@anthonyoer4778 There was some professor or such who kept calling Pompey - Pompi, and Metatron would lose his shit whenever the guy would say it. 'twas properly funny, especially when mocked, can't remember which video it was originally from, tho, but it wasn't that long ago...

[@anthonyoer4778]

@zwerko thank you, but I've seen him and others in the comments reacting, but I don't know the Italian language refrence. Is it a sexual innuendo?

[@zwerko]

@@anthonyoer4778 Yes, if you add 'no' to it's a slang for fellatio. Also, it's a very common slang for one's posterior in Spanish...

[@anthonyoer4778]

@@zwerko thank you...explains the giggles. Lol.

[@TheRomanTribune]

As a fellow Roman and follower since 2017. Metatron, I request you make a video on your setup room/and gaming consoles, games, etc. I wish to see what you own and your space.

[@SaguntoYT]

Weren't the Persians/Parthians considered THE biggest enemy of Rome throught all the Imperial period?

[@celston51]

The Roman-Parthian wars were mostly aggressive Roman pushes into Parthian spheres of influence. At no time did Parthians ever threaten the existence of the Roman Empire, unlike the Punic Wars. I'll grant you the Seleucid Persians were far more of a challenge but again, this was a back-and-forth for limited goals unlike the Gauls or Carthaginians who attacked almost to the gates of Rome itself.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I dont know about his list. I really thought Germany would of made the list.

[@zimzob]

@@MR-MR-ud5oonah the Germans were never totally united, so the Romans could always play one tribe against another. The Germans readily adopted Roman culture and values, so they were motivated more by the desire to integrate with Roman civilization rather than conquer it. The idea of “barbarian invasions” destroying the Empire is a modern misconception arising from historians in the early modern period working from limited historical and archaeological evidences; it more accurately characterizes incursions made by various German tribes in the second and third centuries AD, but by the fifth century AD, Germans had largely adopted Roman culture and Germania proper outside of direct Roman control had developed urban centers. The incursions of the fourth century could be better characterized as “refugee crises,” as both pressure from Hunnic tribes from the east, and rising sea levels inundating Frisia and the coast of northern Germany forced entire tribes to leave their homelands. By the fifth century, the “barbarians” were fully Romanized. The Germanic invasions and the sacking of Rome in 410 was collections on back pay owed for services rendered, while that of 455 was restitution for Petronius Maximus breaking Rome’s treaty obligations to the Vandals.

[@andrewwelch5017]

@@MR-MR-ud5ooHe’s discussing the Republic, not the empire. Other than the Cimbrian War, Germanic tribes were not much of a concern during Republican times.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

@@andrewwelch5017 Ah, ok; good point.

[@zendene]

Pedantry is very much appreciated. Thank you, Metatron! ☺️🙏

[@matthewnew7280]

senatus populusk... I about flipped my table over.

[@metatronyt]

I 100% understand the feeling. Mostly because 1 - He is an “expert” so people will believe him. 2 - because he said it was for those who “really want to know”… really? 😅

[@dan_mer]

That was the worst Latin pronunciation ever since BBC recreated Mark Anthony's speech. I still have PTSD from that. Romaenus - WTF is that

[@Aureus_]

Senatoos popalouskway romanooz

[@titanscerw]

Is this Polish?

[@oisinmurphy6401]

I know it has nothing to do with the video but I would absolutely love for you to talk/learn about Celtic history more, specifically the Gaels and my home country Ireland.

[@ruffaldimarco]

Idea for thumbnail: Maybe rebrand these videos as "Historian Review" or "Rating a Historian" or something like that? I wonder if they'd get more traction, probably not but maybe worth a try with A B testing

[@c1ph3rpunk]

@@seeglinesyou’re assuming the strategy is to obtain views as quickly as possible vs how many you can add to a cumulative whole over time.

[@cyrielwollring4622]

Franklin Roosevelt had three terms and was serving his fourth term when he died. The third term was during World War Two. After that they limited the maximum time to eight years.

[@dazuk37]

I'm English and you are quite right about the pronounciation of principate. He was saying it in that way in an effort to be pretentious in my honest opinion. All he achieved was to pronounce the word wrongly in both languages. In answer to the Cannae question. I would pronounce that Can-ay phonetically.

[@metatronyt]

I think you are spot on sir

[@WildWhiteNorth]

It is so refreshing to hear Latin pronounced properly. Many thanks.

[@kay1057]

I think the last leader of a country that lead a army in war was Napoleon III. So during the French-Prussian war in 19th century.

[@Riddle79]

Atatürk

[@Chief_Hiccup]

I love the Latin and linguistic portions of your videos Rafaello.

[@ungenbunyon5548]

2:42 Englishman here, we would not pronounce it 'prinkypit' either.

[@hexoslaya3696]

Technically true but I do when I want to sound smart

[@Annielee825]

I shall henceforth think of it as prinkypit. The word makes me strangely giddy 😅

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

It doesn't matter, Latin is dead, and has a few pronunciations, but then again, English is pronounced differently depending on country of origin, and class.

[@esmeraldagreen1992]

Yes, consuls were expected to lead armies, but usually, only one did while the other stayed home and ran the state. Not politically speaking, consuls were often not equal with one having mich more authority and power than another. The year was named after the consuls but during one of Caesar's consulships he eclipsed the other consul so much that his name was barely mentioned and the year was jokingly referred as the year of Julius and Caesar.

[@ronald3836]

Poor Gaius ;-)

[@OnceMac]

Hey! German here: perfect pronunciation of „Kaiser“! No „r“ at the end! I really like your channel!!! And you should talk more Italien! It sounds so beautiful!!!

[@opensinner9288]

Careful, FAKE. Kaiser, with "r" at the end ! It may differ a bit in Germany, but in "Hochdeutsch" (standard german) you pronounce it with an R. In some "Mundarten" you may loose the "r" or even the "er" an it becomes more of "Kaisa" spoken, but in Standard German you pronounce the "er".

[@giorgiaolivotto8442]

So, regarding the biggest enemies of the Roman Republic, I would have at least given an honourable mention to the Samnites and the wars fought against them. First of all, if it was already more than a war, it must not have been that easy to defeat them. Second, they were a major obstacle in the consolidation of the power of Rome in the Italian Peninsula. And crucially, since both Metatron and the professor spoke about the ability of the roman military system to adapt in consequence of a defeat and learn from the enemies, the Samnite wars are literally a textbook example.

[@leonardoferrari4852]

Absolutely, they also aided Hannibal and were very active during the Bellum Italicum

[@billanderson1075]

The British pronounce everything goofy. Examples - Paris, Bavaria, Ypres, Qatar, Agamemnon, Menelaus .... and my favorite, the Italian city of Livorno that they call Leghorn.

[@sigurdholbarki8268]

Now try Kirkcudbright, Loughborough, Torpenhow, Burgh-by-Sands, Brougham and Broughton! Kuh-coo-bri, Luff-buh-ruh, Truh-pen-ah, Bruff-by-Sands, Broo-uhm, Braught-ton. And there are a few of those that actually have different pronunciations! 🇬🇧

[@jannikheidemann3805]

Nice

[@manfrommaine]

27:35 We (likely) know what Julius Caesar thought about it. Caesar thought himself a failure in comparison to Alexander the Great, due to Alexander being so much younger when he made his famous conquests.

[@gregorde]

America had a de facto president for life in contravention of tradition (FDR), and one of the first things we did after was to amend the constitution to keep it from happening again. So that was an apt comparison.

[@MR-MR-ud5oo]

I feel like I remember someone else doing it too. Anyways, yea winning the war came at the cost of The New Deal, among other things. For better or for worse, I guess we have to be grateful we had FDR .

[@wulfheort8021]

I saw the thumbnail and prepared myself, but the professor still amazed me.

[@dannygreenland4853]

This is another great video, I saw a video of what would have happened if Rome didn't fall apart another good video would be what would have happened if Gaius Julius Caesar was not Assassinated.

[@clairehealey111]

Hello I think your pronunciation is correct as always. You say your no expert but you are! Im going to binge watch you and have a drink every time you say pedantic ❤

[@nikkibrowning4546]

Your poor liver.

[@aszhara2900]

In standard German 31:17, the word Kaiser is pronounced exactly how you pronounced it (I'm Austrian so I know both Latin and German, yes we still learn Latin), there was something slightly off with how the professor said it, but it was basically correct as well. But regarding the use: The word is used solely for the Emperor of a form of the Holy Roman Empire. We sometimes translate similar titles from other cultures like the Chinese 'Huangdi' to 'Kaiser', but there is only one what you could call "capital-K Kaiser". Usually this was the leader of Holy Roman Empire, and then Austria/Hungary when Empress Theresia took the throne (see Habsburger-Succession war for why). Reason being that there could be multiple kings ruling parts of the empire, but only ever one Emperor/Empress that stood above them all.

[@jacquelyns9709]

An interesting video would be on the history of war elephants around the world. Specific topics to include: when were they first used in war, what species were used, how were they trained, what age did they begin training, and when they last used in war? Additional topics would be the use of horses, dogs, birds, etc in war.

[@Ponto-zv9vf]

Aifrican elephants are not easily trained, unlike Asian elephants. On coins depicting war elephants they are always Asian, at least by the size of their ears.

[@barahng]

Just wanna say I appreciate the latin lessons. I took latin in high school but learned almost nothing because of the unruly kids who sat in the back of the class. The teacher was a sweet old man but a pushover, and just gave up trying to teach in that period. 3 kids that didn't even wanna be there but were forced to take an elective ruined it for the rest of us. That last line sums up American public schooling in general unless you live in a very rich school district. 😂

[@jannikheidemann3805]

I had the same issue in Germany.

[@HenryLoenwind]

I had a somewhat similar issue with an elective language. Only it was Russian, and it wasn't from people who didn't want to be there, but from people who already spoke Russian. Half the class was from Eastern Europe, including East Germany (this was in the first half of the 90s). The teacher was happy but completely ignored the half of the class who did not have any prior knowledge. One of us powered through; the rest dropped it within half a year.

[@Nazdreg1]

1. Can we all vote for a reaction to an English documentary on Pompey just for him to lose his mind over the pronunciation of the name? :D 2. I am surprised that as biggest rivals, he didn't pick the Parthians at least in top 3. They were the only ones who withstood serious Roman campaigns (nope, the Carthaginians were crushed, the Gauls were crushed and the Hellenic states were crushed. The Parthians weren't despite several attempts) and were responsible for one of the worst defeats in Roman history when they relatively comfortably annihilated 6 legions. I would put the Parthians above any hellenistic state any day and they also had succeeded in their imperial ambition, which also makes them a worthy rival in that regard (as opposed to i.e. the Gauls).

[@paulodelima5705]

The Parthians never cared about the Romans so calling them rivals is too much.

[@revilokid]

Great vid both prof and metatron were amazing I really enjoyed it .

[@ChetJang]

I know a great deal about history. I like your posts because they are generally accurate. Most people on KZbin know nothing about history and are rude about their lack of knowledge!

[@Tulkash01]

Carthage was the Republic number 1 enemy but the second most relevant one were certainly the Parthians as Crassus defeat aptly illustrates.

[@LouisKing995]

The Parthians aren’t relevant to the republic until the Hellenistic kingdoms are dealt with.

[@sebdunleavy1608]

I’d argue that Gauls and German tribes were a greater enemy to the Romans, as the Parthians never actually threatened the integrity of the Roman Empire, while Gauls and Germans did, having sacked Rome and the Cimbrian wars being a disaster. The Romans and Parthians had a pretty intense back and forth for a long time but Parthia never posed the same threat level as the others, and Rome sacked Ctesiphon 5 times I believe

[@Tulkash01]

@@sebdunleavy1608 Partthia was arival empire that was never fully conquered by the Romans (made into a client State at times). While sporadic Gaul and German invasions did threaten Rome, they were sporadic in nature and not really organized in a sistematic way(being coalitions of rival tribes), which wasn't the case for Chartagineans and Parthians.

[@magister343]

It should probably be noted that the Romans kept referring to their society as a Republic (Res Publica or Politeia) for the entirely of their time as an Empire, and that they used the term Imperium for the lands they commanded throughout the period we identify them as a republic. Those are arbitrary distinctions only applied by much later historians. The amount of power held by the emperors also waxed and waned quite a bit.

[@leonardoferrari4852]

Yeah, and imperium also refers to the power of some roman officials to command troops in the field

[@zimzob]

Yes, “imperium” meant the power to command without question or appeal, which extended everywhere outside the _pomerium_ of Rome. Within the city walls, magistrates holding _imperium_ were, at least in theory, bound by the same laws and procedures as every other citizen.

[@Tomichika]

Im very much afraid Im absolutely addicted to your daily uploads, sir. Now you cannot stop... 😮

[@elfomask]

Very fascinating, I am trying to absorb all the information. I need to learn more. Thank you.

[@fryke]

Oh, I completely forgot that KZbin's mistake to have the progress bar go from red to magenta (which will hopefully be fixed in a matter of days, as it looks as if everyone's display had gone faulty) will now be preserved in various reaction videos that are recorded during these dark times. (You can probably tell I really, really mind it.)

[@jannikheidemann3805]

They changed the KZbin logo. It is now a shade of red that looks quite unhealthy.

[@Sidistic_Atheist]

The greatest most dangerous enemy of Rome, was Rome itself..

[@Dowlphin]

20:10 Massive style points to him for starting at the top of the ranking! 21:12 Still (or again) does work well with the Germans. 23:46 The Battle of Cannae would have been impossible to win for the Scots. 24:30 A ship built for parrotsea.

[@matthewschwartz8730]

I have a question for you Metatron. You seem pretty knowledgeable about history. I assume your college educated. Do you have a degree in some area of historical study? The reason I ask is because basically every single video I watch of yours I learned something. For instance today you taught me that Carthage had something similar to the senate in Rome. And wow.... Not that pronunciation was a joke. I took Latin as my foreign language in high school didn't attend high school because I was way too cool back then and did very little and Latin but I do remember pronunciation somewhat and the knowledge has stuck with me over the decades. Someone who is an expert and butchers those words like that especially after pronouncing the c like a "k" incorrectly earlier in the video. (If he was speaking English and not referring to the time period as something that the Romans themselves named therefore making that a proper noun .. "Participate" I think it was).

[@metatronyt]

Hi! Yes I have a degree from the university of Naples “L’Orientale” in compared languages and civilizations”. It’s mostly a mix degree with a focus on languages first and history second. I also have a full team of academics who help out in the production of my videos with the research and peer review my work. Thanks!

[@michelguevara151]

@@metatronyt excuse my pedantry : "comparative languages.."

[@dieyng]

@@michelguevara151 That was literally my first thought as well, reading this comment.

[@AntonioTorella82]

Well, i was today years old when i discovered that it is romanus and not romanorum (and i studied latin for like 8 years in school, back in the 90’🤔)

[@LyneaFlynn]

Yours and his pronunciation of Kaiser were pretty spot on! There was a slight difference in how you two pronounced -er, you slightly more like an -a, he more like -er. Both are perfectly within the pronunciation margin, though.

[@OLBarbok]

I will always click these reactions, I love when people who know what they are talking about are appreciated and charlatasn called out while also learning something new at the same time. Metatron when it comes to Latin is me when it comes to americans trying to say German words, drives me crazy.

[@christianlenik5307]

Everything correct said with the German Kaiser, Metatron!

[@christiankirkenes5922]

If you take England, for example, the current royal family still serves in war. Roosevelt was a military man and was also a president. It feels like it's been since companies started to choose and put politicians in power to advance their own affairs that politicians lost their spines. About 1950, or there about.

[@leodesalis5915]

JFK had been quite the hero in WW2 and we all saw how he was dealt with. I do strongly believe good leaders tend to rise from military backgrounds but there are lots more bad leaders who have seized power through military might.

[@Santeria78]

In Southern Germany (Bavaria) there is an rhotic R in our pronunciation, so it is more similar to classical Latin

[@LuxisAlukard]

47:53 Metatron: "Choose between these two..." me: "Yes!"

[@stonerhino5035]

there is an interesting alternate history novel titled "Hannibal's Children" by John Maddox Roberts that goes through the idea of the Romans losing to Hannibal with a number of Romans falling back into Germania for a time. the novel really picks up then several generations later when Rome returns from Germania. the second book being "the Seven Hills"

[@AnkouFJ]

I was eating Jersey Mikes when you made your comment on it, and you are correct, Jersey Mikes slaps hard

[@ozymandias5257]

Your concern for academic knowledge is laudable, I don't perceive it as ostentatious or being overly concerned. Bring the precision; cheers.

[@alucardonus]

Leaders that went into the frontline were very rare across the history. For Europe there are two names of 20th century. - Albert I. of Belgium led an offensive 1918 - Tsar Nicholas II. And his frontline actions at 1915. But the LAST head of state, actively serving would be Abdulah of Jordan, who fought on frontline 1948 Israeli war.

[@barahng]

Based Jordanian royals

[@PP-th4ft]

While watching the part about caesar being derived from the phoenician word for elephant, ads were played. First one was from German shoe manufacturer "Elefanten", second one was Super Mario transforming into elephant mode.

[@jboss1073]

20:58 - It took the Romans 200 years to conquer Celtica (meaning Iberia). Way longer than Gauls and any of those other "enemies".

[@analien4813]

Pedantry is why we're here, it's part of the fun.

[@speckbretzelfan]

Metatron: Choose between these two videos. Community: Yes.

[@stewrmo]

What is this Empire you speak of? I'm in Scotland, did something happen? One love from Caledonia! 😁🤭💙🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@veritorossi]

Am I having a Deja vu or did I already watch this one several times?

[@itshunni8346]

Modern medicine actually refers to medicine AFTER the industrial revolution (or at least the first 2 major stages). this is because we saw the development of a lot of medicine and medical practices advanced with the advent of better understandings of sanitation and tools during the first and second stage of the industrial revolution but the rampant poverty and land centralization that saw mass rural-urban migration plummeted living standards. Germ theory was really when modern medicine starts developing in earnest and where many illnesses were cured when just decades before they were thought impossible to treat.

[@stalhandske9649]

5:33 You can't really point out one specific date, since the answer is different depending which countries you speak of. But here are some dates that come to mind: Battle of Lützen, 6 November 1632 - Gustavus Adolphus, last European monarch to fall in a pitched battle. Siege of Fredriksten, 11 December 1718 - king Charles XII, last European monarch to fall on field. Battle of Dettingen, 27 June 1743 - George II, last British monarch to lead forces into battle World War I (no specific date) - king Albert I of the Belgians fought and lead men in combat in various occasions. His wife, queen Elisabeth, served as a nurse in front lines as well. Albert's role has been challenged, however, so it is not conclusive. Emperor Napoleon III might make the strongest case of a ruling European monarch leading troops in battle. He was surrounded and forced to surrender by invading Prussian forces in Battle of Sedan in 2 December 1870. This battle was not a singular experience for him either: he had taken command in many battles in Second Italian War of Independence as well, most famously that of Solferino in 24 June 1859, where monarchs Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia and Franz Joseph I of Austria were also present. Others may add & correct to the list.

[@goodfty]

I speak American English and I pronounce it the same way as you Metatron as that is what I was taught and they even pronounce it the same in American English documentaries.

[@DiddleLe]

Great watch, thank you.

[@rob_over_9000]

A dedicated video on who did and didn’t go to war with their soldiers would be interesting- especially finding out who the last leader was to have done this.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Years ago my first Latin teacher - he was a classics scholar, spoke quite a few languages, but not a great teacher as such - taught us that just as English is spoken with many accents/dialects and different pronunciations for the same word he had been taught that the same often applied to Latin. A speaker from Gaul would pronounce words different to a speaker from Egypt and someone from the top echelons of Roman society would have a different accent to someone from the poorest sections of society [his examples were someone speaking cockney to someone from the middle classes to someone from Eton/Harrow - he was from Yorkshire himself so probably had his own accent issues as well]. Would that have been an issue in Rome, this was 50 years ago and I don't know if views have changed since then but to us girls in class it made a lot of sense - we had girls from all around the world, many for whom English was a second language and their pronunciations were often different to those of us who were native speakers, it sounds logical that Latin would have had the same issues [substitute Latin for English] but I wonder what your opinion is.

[@skorza212]

Given your knowledge of Ancient Rome (and apparent appreciation for professional wrestling) I’d love to hear your opinion on Lindybeige’s “gladiator helmets might have been oversized to help disguise cooperation between the fighters to put on a better show” thought. The more I learn about gladiators and the history of professional wrestling the more it seems to feel like a possibility. The gladiators have an interest in putting on the best show possible (just like professional wrestlers) and although death was always around them it want always the goal. The thought makes a lot of sense to me, especially if the gladiators came from the same school (ludus? My Latin could use some work!). If I can send two of my guys into a fight, they put on a hell of a show, win glory for everyone and still both come back alive then surely that’s the way to go?

[@scimitaredgebooks]

Thank you for a fascinating video. I always thought it was pronounced car-nay!

[@yellingintothewind]

Hard C vs Soft C is an interesting one for anglicize Latin words. Historically, english used æ in words like Cæsar. At which point it's hard C, because it isn't followed by an E or an I: kaizer. Add in the vowel shift, people reading it without ever _hearing_ it, the printing press largely removing æ, changing the spelling to cesar, and you have many people use a Soft C. Also, how words get anglicized varies with region and subculture. Sometimes we try to keep the original word, like Costa Rica instead of "Rich Coast", and Rio Grande instead of "Big River". Other times the name is morphed substantially, like Tunis becomming Tunisia. And sometimes no effort is made, like Germany vs Deutschland. Hard C in words like principate is common among people that try to more closely match the origin word, but still the anglicized version of it. This makes it easier to differentiate between word origins, which often matters when you have similar sounding words with different meanings due to different source languages. At the end of the day, English, especially modern English, is a mutt of a language.

[@iwishyouhappinnes1125]

Yep, I totally agree. Times became crap when when rulers stopped going to war.

[@Taktix-]

for the British kings fighting in battles ended on June 27, 1743, which was the battle of Dettingen

[@skorza212]

We need to start expressing “life expectancy” as something more like:- “If you were alive at 10 you could expect to live to be X” or even “if you survived infancy, your life expectation would be X” Feels a lot more effective at transmitting the information the question is really looking for.

[@rabensteinerronald7875]

Mg i like the pedantic Metatron !

[@dottorekaoz8679]

In my latin studies, I learned a rather different suggestion for SPQR, that it meant "Senatus Populus Quirites Romanus" - Quirites refering to the old noble families. I wonder what is the take on that and if we can clarify that.

[@morgangallowglass8668]

I came for the pedantry, I stayed for the brilliance.

[@iluvrolaz]

This was fascinating!

[@xsqrewfacex]

Metatron you better take us all to school professor😂😂😂😂😂 Ty sir

[@franjolu]

Thank you for your suggested corrections of latin pronunciation. As a person with italian ancestry, it makes my skin crawl whenever I hear the british latin academic's pronunciations...

[@Annielee825]

I mean, we have accents in pretty much all other foreign languages, why not in Latin?

[@Bigrago1]

5:45 probably when long range weapons became more prevalant, especially sharpshooters and snipers

[@JuniusTarquiniusDives]

There was an old saying in my academia study group. The Spartan (Lakonian) population is not 1/5 slaves but 1/5 non-slaves.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

It ended after the American Civil War. In that war many politicians fought against the other side for both north and south actually. A former US Vice President under James Buchanan, named John C. Breckenridge served as VP from 1857-1861 until accepting a commission as a Major General (2 star) in the Confederate States Army, leading his men in combat throughout the entire war. Many politicians were wounded or killed as a consequence of their participation in combat in that war.

[@gaiustacitus4242]

It should be noted that the original phrase "Senatus Populus Que Romanus" was transformed into "Senatus Populusque Romanus" by poets to maintain the meter of verses by pronouncing pop-u-lus-que with only three syllables. While a part of this phrase is seen on monuments in the form "POPVLVSQVEROMANVS" this was a matter of style used by the stone carvers.