Roman Legionary VS Samurai

[@Life4Metalcore]

During the first Roman civil war Caesar's men held a fort against Pompey's mostly archer and slinger forces who shot missiles at them all day. They counted 30,000 projectiles at the end of the day with one centurion having 120 holes in his shield. These were Cretan archers which were arguably the best in the world at the time. Caesar only had one man killed that day, with everyone else sustaining non fatal wounds. The scutum is no joke. Source: The Civil War by Julius Caesar Ch. 53

[@MrManifolder]

The scutum is no joke indeed, but it sounds more like the combination of scutum and armor is basically arrow-proof, like Metatron says in the video. From Chinese sources, who had to deal with Japanese pirates, we know that the samurai bow was very powerful indeed, and from western observers we know that samurai were incredibly accurate archers. However, samurai were also reported to take their sweet time while aiming and so even if the samurai bow managed to pass through the scutum and wound the Roman in the arm, leg, or face, the bow would still be a bad choice for an arena duel because the Roman can close distance quickly. The bow would only be useful to tie the Roman down and maybe wound he enough to prevent him from throwing his pila (and that's a very big maybe).

[@user-lu6hp8nx1j]

Actually, the recommended range for the Samurai to shoot his yumi/pierce armour is seven to eight ken (~15m). That's about the same range, or slightly SHORTER, than the Roman pila. So samurai were used to this sort of things (charge or get charged immediately after shooting).

[@aule10]

On the other hand they almost lost whole rome to attila, a lot of horse archers. I know I know it was after their prime.

[@aule10]

Or more accurate they charged while they where shooting. They where horse archers afterall :D

[@nagyzoli]

They had a special kind of recurve bow, extreamly strong (almost longbow level) but small enough to be used on horse. The effective range was almost 150 meters, some shooting accurately even at 200 m (ww2 rifles were designed for this range)

[@AJ-kj1go]

Samurai vs f18 super hornet

[@l0rf]

Grorious Nipponu Steelu, folded eighteen billion times, will cut reality so deep the F18 never existed. Samurai wins by default.

[@Nutty151]

Twist: The Samurai can turn into a Gundam, and the f-18 into a Transformer.

[@StrategosAmoros]

ABerroa is that a Ready Player One reference

[@ceiling_cat]

Samurai will throw his katana, u stupid

[@munstrumridcully]

The Bamboozler The Samurai would leap hundreds of yards into the air, running off missiles from the Hornet and slicing its machine gun fire with his indestructible, supernaturally sharp katana and hew the jet in two! Cuz anime! ;)

[@xariasfury5782]

Winged Hussar vs Samurai of the same era. Fully equipped, mount and ranged weapons and all, that might be interesting.

[@breaden4381]

The Sabaton is strong in this one.

[@breaden4381]

But I have Polish ancestors, not Greek :(

[@shan9usfc]

It would be no different from fighting ugly Tatars or Cumans. Deus vult on this one.

[@kyleheins]

Winged hussar, 1650's. 1 or 2 pistols of the wheel lock type, capable of piercing armor at 10 to 15 yards at best. 10 ft lance, hollow, made purely for couched lance charges. Koncerz (possibly), 4 ft long, thrust centric blade, far better than katana and nodachi for stabs and less likely to bend in a thrust than most katana or nodachi. Szable, common polish battle saber at the time, 3 ft long, excellent for cuts, can thrust but not narrow enough to pass through small gaps in armor, more curved than katana Samurai, 1650's. 1 tanegashima most likely, matchlock type (more difficult to use on horseback than a wheel lock, and slightly less reliable) capable of piercing armor at 30 yards or pissibly more by then. Yari, 6 to 8 ft long, can be couched or used in melee (do not couch against a weapon 2 ft longer unless you have a death wish) Nodachi (possibly, but not likely on horseback), 5 ft long, or a bit more (I can't remember at the moment) clumsy to use on a horse, but massively advantageous on foot, cuts well, which koncerz can't do at all. Katana, 3.5 ft long, excellent cutter, decent thrusting, but not useful against small gaps in armor, very shallow curve, can be 2 handed.

[@kyleheins]

In a fight, both sides may start with guns or lances. If both fire, the hussar can fire first because wheelocks are faster to prime, but must get closer than the samurai to effectively fire his weapon. I say the samurai will win unless they start close to or within pistol range. With lances, the hussar has a massive reach advantage with the lance, but lances can be parried and the yari is quite good at this, while the hussar lance is incredibly unwieldy. Hussar wins if both couch lances, samurai can win if he quickly parries and the lets the hussar ride into his lance point, though this is no easy feat and the lance may fail to penetrate the hussar armor. This match is only slightly in favor of the hussar unless facing an extremely skilled samurai or his lance is parried and the samurai can turn in time to prevent another charge by the hussar. With yari vs koncerz, I believe the reach is similar, but the yari can be couched, and has more versatility in close battle than a koncerz, though the koncerz can parry a couched yari. This fight is obviously in favor of the samurai. We'll skip the nodachi as it is next to useless on a horse to my knowledge, and this is a mounted fight. Katana vs koncerz, the katana is more versatile and can easily cut or stab any exposed point on a hussar, which there are more of than a samurai has, but the koncerz has better reach and can easily thrust through the gaps in samurai armor, so this really comes down to the individual skill levels, as well as who is more adaptable to the situation. Skill levels were about the same as both were of similar classes and trained incessantly, but the hussar is used to fighting cut and thrust weapons with a koncerz, while a samurai likely never dealt with a koncerz/estoc type weapon before, so I give the hussar a slight advantage here. Katana vs szable, with equal skill levels but drasically different styles, I am inclined to give a slight advantage here to the samurai because he can use the weapon with one or two hands, and has a small reach advantage. HOWEVER the saber can stab the larger of the gaps in samurai armor around a parry because of its strong curvature, thus giving a slight surprise advantage to the hussar. In the end, I think they are evenly matched with their respective sidearms here, with most of this fight relying on who makes use of their advantages first.

[@nika-og4vu]

Coming up next: Plumber vs Sauron

[@mrpoool1015]

Kolboynik 10/10 would fight again

[@DoctorFail]

my moneys on mario. or is it luigie? if so then forget it

[@nika-og4vu]

Dr.Fail Mario vs Gimli. FIGHT OF THE CENTURY.

[@nika-og4vu]

Boromir vs Ned Stark. aka Battle without winner, aka Death Paradox, aka Bean Paradox.

[@Disnamesucksass]

Dont underestimate the man willing to put his hand in a tube full of shit

[@ctam79]

Obviously the airlines would win. The airlines would make a lot of money from the air fare spent by both parties to get to their respective battle sites. Also manufacturers of Deloreans and flux capacitor drives in order to arrive at an agreed upon temporal frame.

[@keykylasofandros5501]

makes sense

[@ottovonbismarck7646]

Lol

[@Paul_Strength]

Damn, you're a *savage* man XD

[@seeker093]

Lollll

[@islamicschoolofmemestudies]

ctam79 i think you put your comment in a wrong video

[@godwar4034]

How about Spartan vs Roman Legionary in one on one combat?

[@manu_spawn]

God War i think he did that

[@godlessheathen3082]

No weapon or armor, spartan wins every single day

[@wizardpepe7039]

Romans weren't trained well for 1v1 combat but an army of Romans would wipe the floor with the Spartans

[@manu_spawn]

matthew freyta nah Spartans were and are poster boys. No chance against Romans or Japanese... or any well trained army. They were good warriors, they were even good as units (instead of individuals) but they weren't that good. In the greek world they ruled, but they werent invencible

[@GCurl]

The spartan would win because he would jump and spin around so fast that the roman wouldn't be able to defend against his high skill levels and all the spells the spartan would cast!

[@lukutiss1324]

Metatron, would you mind talking about the differences between Bushido and the ideals of honour in WWII compared to earlier periods in history?

[@nicholasbenjamin3826]

Sounds like there would be a hell of a lot to talk about in that. The problem would be he'd have to do a hell of legwork on Japanese culture in the 30s before he could even start, and it's hard to do that while doing daily upload.

[@andrewle7429]

Beater up there pretty much summarized the difference. and for people who aren't versed in the subject, there would be a lot of foundation building to understand as Nicholas said, he'd essentially have to cover from the Meiji Revolution until the 1930s. Essentially the way i see it, is that the Japanese military branches of the government used the transcriptions of Yamamoto Tsunetomo in Hagakure and intentionally took the idea of "cult of death" out of context and used it for their own purposes to militarize an entire population, which wasn't too hard seeing as how just 2-3 generations ago (from the point of the 1930s, so round 60 years prior) Japan went through the Meiji Revolution, so several factors were in their favor. One of which i'd say was that Samurai culture to a large extent was forced upon the public. The other was that id say round the start of the 20th century and into the Taisho era (i believe anyway), the huge loss in culture from other classes that weren't samurai and even bits of samurai culture were lost (what do u expect when they industrialized so fast. what took other western nations nearly a century to adapt to and grow into, was achieved in Japan within 1 generation). as a consequence Japan went through a sort of identity crisis, like "what did it mean to be Japanese?" they sometimes asked themselves, novelists from the era give this sort of impression, such as from Natsume Souseki. These made the population pretty malleable for manipulation with statements like "Japanese subjects must obey the Emperor and die for the Emperor" etc. etc. Anyways, what needs to be understood when reading Hagakure is simply that it was written by a samurai who grew up during the very beginning of "peace time" Japan after its own bloody medieval civil wars (buncha clans fighting each other for power). Before then, samurai adapted their warrior code to fit the times and essentially always prepared themselves to die at any moment, which was a real thing they had to deal with in life. But once the wars ended, its like having battle hardened veterans returning to civilian life, its hard. Then u have this generation of samurai who hear of the heroic deeds of their Fathers, Uncles, and Grandfathers, but with no war goin on, they sorta get angsty and dont know what to do with themselves other than serve their lord.

[@Pdor_figlio_di_Kmer]

Nicholas Benjamin there's indeed a lot to say, as Andrew exposed, but its quite difficult to write all there's to say if like me you're are the moment confined to a smartphone with its limited keyboard. =) Andrew though did a magnificent work expanding. Kudos to him.

[@Senbatorii]

Can't seem to remember any acts of Honor during WWII by the Japanese, Nothing on the level on Stigler and the such that's for sure.

[@Pdor_figlio_di_Kmer]

Weizhou Wu Honor is a concept that varies from a people to another, especially in war, when the main objective of a government is to win, better if de-humanizing the enemy along the way. Do you think, to say, Nazi Germany thought to be dishonorable when they sent innocents to be gassed? We know they were no less than monstrous, but they called that justice, and justice in honorable by definition. Real honour in war is something that rarely was ever attained. If at all.

[@justins7183]

Hello Metatron, I'm personally always interested in ancient Chinese armament because of my heritage. Unfortunately, those contents are very lacking in the society that I live in. I have done some research in this area and know a little something about the subject. For example, I believe that the use of crossbows played a vital role in the state Qin's dominance in warring states period. I heard they were even using fire and advance tactic at that time. I'm always fascinated about how mass crossbows would be like when deployed on the battlefield. If you have any additional information to share about how Chinese warfare was conducted in ancient times please do make a video about it. Also it might be interesting to do a vs. video including a type of Chinese warrior/soldier. It does seem, from my perspective, that famous Chinese troops and warriors are unheard-of in western society. Please share whatever you can with us.

[@lucanic4328]

Justin S You might already know this but there is a fantastic blog which deal with Chinese warfare! Search for "Great Ming Military" ;)

[@dongf2618]

I know for a fact that during Han dynasty, the most common crossbow they used were 6 Dan crossbows. 1 Dan is equal to 68.37 pounds. An average horse archer use a bow that is slightly above 1 Dan , a strong archer could use a bow that's around 2 Dan. The highest recorded draw weight an archer was able to pull was 2.5 Dan. Chinese crossbows were actually composite bows that were similar in shape and size to an ordinary bows (If not bigger) that has a much higher draw weight which needed the help of both feet to cock the string. There was also a mechanism for aiming as well, so crossbows were also more accurate than traditional composite bows. Because of this, 60% of the infantry during Han dynasty were actually armed with crossbows. It is obvious the people during the Han dynasty think this is the most powerful weapon of all. It will be very interesting to see this in action against some opponents.

[@HuyGia-wp5tx]

Chinese ancient equipment are quite unfortunately heavy. Iron and leather have been used for an extended time. Steel are the popular choice for weapons. These sword are both stab and slashing but not to the same properly as arming western sword. They are design to be more jingles for strike of stab. Chinese Dao are slashing sword. They may be slightly shorter than the previous sword I mention. They have the better cutting proteintial Thay arming sword, maybe more than katana. They are the equivalent of falchion but slight more compact. Amour are full plate. Heavy armour are quite heavy compare to Japanese armour.

[@nathanwright5543]

The Chinese has some serious fucking weaponry. The Chinese army has always been badass

[@seba9705]

why is your channel so cool? i've been watching your videos for a week almost non stop... for every one i watch i add like 3 or 4 from de "recomended list" to the "watch later" list. i'm loving your videos... (stops fanboying) keep up the good work mr metatron n.n btw, Go legionary! (^o^)/

[@metatronyt]

I'm glad you like my channel :)

[@VietnamWarSummarized]

Ay guys I am about to start a history channel that will cover weapons and armor from Ancient Rome, Viking age, Medieval era, Reneissance period, early modern(18th-19th century), Feudal japan, and World war 1 and 2, I am will do a 2 minute evaluation video so stay tuned

[@ASMProductions1997]

"Ah, just shoot the Roman" - Metatron 2017

[@Warden_Vtel]

ROMA INVICTA

[@keykylasofandros5501]

i think you mean DEUS VULT

[@breadslayer7442]

GET THEM OFF THE WALLS

[@DylanJo123]

LEGIO AETERNA VICTRIX

[@romanparisian4243]

SEMPER FIDELIS

[@elixxon]

Ave. True to Caesar.

[@artspirit7]

Would be awesome to see you and your friends reenact to a fight between these two

[@mikhailvasiliev6275]

"Yes, it became a series!" My day has been made. Keep it up! :D

[@parasitolegendario]

There is a factor that you didn't mention and i think it would actually tip the fight to the Legionary's favor: stamina. If we're talking about equally skilled opponents, they would be stuck in a situation like you described, the Samurai unable to get past the scutum and the Legionary unable to strike a blow through the superior armor, and this would exhaust them quickly, making them slower, sloppier and more prone to mistakes. The Legion training would prepare the Roman better for a prolonged fight even if he's less skilled in combat than the Samurai in combat technique, who himself would be more burdened by his armor(and shoes) too. Also if the Roman has a Pilum he could at least kill the Samurai's horse, or damage his armor, or fight him at spear range.

[@JFields222]

Though not necessarily an accurate judgement of the reality, I'd love to see those duels.

[@Noodles12001]

Psssh, you know damn well a Katana would cut you in half, down to the bone, cutting down to your very genes, ripping space time erasing you from the timeline. That's why samurai don't draw their blades.😑🎎😑

[@JK03011997]

The shooting part would have to be cut unfortunately

[@JK03011997]

@Noodles I know we like to make fun of Katana fanboys, but did you know that there is similar mythology regarding longswords and European knights? Ludwig Uhland "Schwäbische Kunde" for example reads: When Kaiser Barbarossa went crusading there was a large and strong knight [lit. Mr/Lord] from Swabia. He fell behind the army. Suddenly 50 Turkish riders ambushed him. The German got angry. He hit the turk's horse so well, he cuts of with a single hit both front legs at the same time. When he got the horse to fall, he takes his sword with power, he swings it after the turk's head, he cuts down to the saddle, the saddle to pieces and deep into the horses back. To the right and to the left half a Turk sank down. [I am very sorry for the terrible translation, I find it very difficult to translate stuff, haven't really translated anything since I left school, just believe me when I say it is a poem that is incredibly glorifying in tone, the poem is simple is structure, rhyme and meter. It was written in the 19th century, quoted by Otto Bismark and was well known in the generation fighting WWII] "Als Kaiser Rotbart lobesam ins heil'ge Land gezogen kam [...] Nun war ein Herr aus Schwabenland von hohem Wuchs und starker Hand. [...] So blieb er bald ein gutes Stück hinterm Heereszug zurück. Da sprengten plötzlich in die Quer fünfzig türkische Reiter daher! [...] Da wallt dem Deutschen auch sein Blut. Er trifft des Türken Pferd so gut, er haut ihm ab mit einem Streich die beiden Vorderfüß zugleich. Als er das Tier zu Fall gebracht, da faßt er erst sein Schwert mit Macht, er schwingt es auf des Reiters Kopf, haut er durch bis auf den Sattelknopf, haut auch den Sattel noch zu Stücken und tief noch in des Pferdes Rücken. Zur Rechten sah man wie zur Linken einen halben Türken heruntersinken"

[@Maxovile]

Jonas Kr. Yes but these are these are written myths made by poets or writers that people look up to and obviously know that these are not true. Katana fanboys are 13 year old virgins who believe every anime is a documentary of a samurai and that the Katana can cut through anything.

[@JK03011997]

Ok, yes, these are fictionalised literary sources. But I remember having talked about knights with a friend in school, and we really believed stuff like that was possible, that a katana will bend like a cooked spaghetti when hit with a proper longsword, that swords are massive and slow, that knights couldn't fight for longer than ~30min in armour... There is just as much misinformation on the european side, even remains of 19th and early 20th century propaganda like this poem. But yes, it seem to me too that Katana fans are usually if not more prevalent, at least more vocal than people believing in magic powers of western swords I think one should be careful to try to not bunch people unfairly together. (And virgin shaming is a bad habit, stuff like that puts pressure on teens, and is thus in roughly the same ballpark as racial or sexually charged swearing, I do see why you used that, and that it is with a winking eye, but what we make public in writing is more than what we intend it to mean)

[@nicolasbango221]

Good video! I like your unbiased view points as I think people tend to over romanticize the samurai a bit and that's coming from a samurai fanatic. I agree that it would be a close battle and untimely depend on individual skill level but always fun to imagine the clash of two distinct and powerful warriors. Good points and would like to see the battle lol

[@hardface80]

Do you plan on buying hoplite armor or are you not interested, if you are what city state would you like to be from?

[@JK03011997]

^^I think the answer is pretty clear, there is no godess with a more fascinating roman cult that minerva, and few epic poems more engaging than the Iliad and the Odyssee. Who who studies the historical art of war does not love wisdom, knowledge and battle? Which man in this day and age does not look back to the birthplace the principle of democracy for which so many men have died. Which city would one choose but the first city the waring continent, while still divided, could agree on as being the cultural capital. Which army more worth fighting for than the one of the Delian League? [I think I got carried away, but yeah, Athen is pretty awesome, in a vacuum I'd probably pick that, but I'd assume there are already a lot of Athenians out there]

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

*JOLAN TRU!* The samurai would have no chance whatsoever, a romulan warbird has disruptors capable of unleashing several dozen megatons worth of destructive power, they'd literally disintegrate the samurais. They wouldn't even see it coming either because of the romulan's advanced cloaking devices. *LONG LIVE THE ROMULAN EMPIRE!*

[@Toxked]

But the samurai sword could deflect the beam.

[@VietnamWarSummarized]

Ay guys I am about to start a history channel that will cover weapons and armor from Ancient Rome, Viking age, Medieval era, Reneissance period, early modern(18th-19th century), Feudal japan, and World war 1 and 2, I am will do a 2 minute evaluation video so stay tuned

[@Acesahn]

I laughed far more then I should from this...

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

Fallout? What?? No! It's from Halo. Greedo shot first, there can be only one!

[@jt4478]

But u totally forgot that the samurai has the susanoo which can destroy mountains which will leave the Romans with no chance of winning, ha

[@339blaster]

Yes, please do the sparring video!

[@DankNSpank]

I respect how you are first and foremost an academic. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

[@themk4982]

A random video suggestion I have is about how many relatively normal people/soldiers a single knight or a single samurai (any elite fighter really) could take on in a fight to the death, I believe you did a video like the one I'm suggesting but about unarmed fighting. An example would be one knight vs 7 unarmed peasants or one samurai vs 5 average Japanese soldiers, getting rid of the idea that anyone would get afraid and run for their lives.

[@pranavbandhu3861]

Yes metaron please do it.

[@gageriddle1681]

so basically assuming the samurai or knight was fighting unarmed drunks or rabies infected peasants?XD

[@Fandartmartiaux]

Hello Metatron, I noticed that you didn't talk much about the pilum, but I think it would greatly help the roman to use one in close combat. And I believe the roman were trained to pierce the right flank of their ennemies to reach the heart without having to worry about the opponent's shield (that's how someone explained to me why the roman soldier would pierce Jesus' right flank while he was on the cross to make sure he was dead, and also it wouldn't be easy to do in a battle, neither is walking for a whole day with all your equipement), and that would greatly help the legionary to target the weak spots of the samurai armor. Besides, the pilum also compensate for the Yari's reach advantage

[@redwickvalley8436]

English longbow vs Yumi.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Uncle Sam Different weapons for different purposes; the yew longbow used its high draw weight for blasting through mail or the gaps in visors at short ranges, though, because of the draw weight, it had to be loosed almost immediately. The yumi had a low draw weight and could be held whilst waiting for an opportunity to target a face.

[@Cov1ngtonsGhOst]

English longbow, most likely. English longbow is a WARBOW, while a Yumi is a cavalry bow, and had slightly lower draw weights than most english longbows. However, this is on foot. Mounted, Yumi is leagues better.

[@jaelee671]

Well without context, yumi isn't as good as other bows because Japan didn't really have good wood to build bows like yew, which was used to make longbows. This limited Japan from making bows with high draw weight like longbow. They couldn't really make composite bows either, like Koreans or Mongols which is argueably better than bows in a sense that they can create more power with less draw weight, because of Japan's humid nature, which made them pretty useless.

[@Laskadeo]

The Japanese war bow had a draw weight 100 -150lb, English Long bow 100 -185lb. Japanese bows could give a English Long bow a run for its money. By 10th century Japanese had laminate bow learned for the Chinese. Also the shape of the Japanese Daikyū let be use from horseback, I think Japanese might have advantage over English Long bow men, if they can use horse if not long bow has the range.

[@lucanic4328]

There are too many misconceptions here regarding the Yumi (which real name is Wakyuu btw). First of all, here is a good article which talk about the Japanese bows: gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.it/2017/07/yumi-japanese-bow.html?m=1 The Japanese bow was a really powerful bow dedicated to armor piercing. We lack direct draw weight Data, but it was a warbow, with heavy arrows and heavy drawweight. If it wasn't like that, nobody would have dedicated too much effort in practicing horse archery and wearing heavy lamellar armor in the first place. The reason why a "Yumi" is big, recurced and laminated with different types of wood is to achieve more power. Comparing the two bow is somewhat difficult. The arrows would be similar, the draw weight too, the "Yumi" has a longer draw lenght, more reach, could be used on horseback and the asymmetrical shape gives less "trauma" and less stress to the archer hand. It was also the weapon of the nobility until the 16th century. I'll go with the Yumi, but that is just a personal opinion. Both were extremely efficient killer; however I think that the English longbow is really overstimated nowdays, while the Yumi on the opposite is way too understimated because people think that Kyuudo bows (sport bow) are the same as the warbows (which were 5 times thicker in comparison).

[@soundbombing1076]

I like the fact that while you are highly intelligent and educated, you are still willing to discuss some of the more outlandish topics like this. good video. subscribed

[@artix548]

Hi, Metatron! I was wondering how you would write a high fantasy version of Feudal Japan? A Japanese-type setting is not necessarily a common setting in fantasy unless it's the generic Asian empire, and I find this sad because Feudal Japan-like settings have so much untapped potential. You could even answer the question of what the Japanese could've invented if they had better iron to work with for weapons and armor.

[@zanir2387]

One tip: the japanese yokai aré reglamentary to this kind of settling, only look at inuyasha

[@evilmandrake]

I would love to see this Roman vs Samurai spar. You may not be real versions, but your knowledge is close enough for a proof of concept, as it were.

[@JK03011997]

Well the archery part is pretty hard to simulate. LARP arrows fly like shit and anything else (even them tbh) is pretty dangerous. If they really do this, I would suggest bringing a guy with a round shield, maille and an arming sword + spear. This is a pretty generic config and might be able to compete with the roman and a 14th century samurai. If the Metatron knows someone who lives in norther italy and has 14th century European partial plate armour, that with a pole weapon or a longsword would be fascinating to throw in. With the additional effect, that a 14th century knight would know exactly how to fight against a shield and armoured opponents, but he doesn't have a unique benefit, like the scutum or the yami

[@vagabond4576]

There are rarely large samurais. Their mostly 5'3 or smaller in 130 pounds or lighter.

[@SebastianEpicurus]

@@vagabond4576 Roman soldiers were like 5'5-5'10 even so they didn't each that much meat, mostly grains, they would go days without eating in some campaigns. This is inconsistent with someone who would be heavily muscled. You need proteins to build muscle, and plenty of calories. So the Roman's probably didn't weigh that much either probably like 160 lbs at most. The Roman's however were fairly strong and disciplined.

[@lucaalberetto7390]

"I'll come back when you sleep" Cit. A Random roman legionary

[@TeamKhandiKhane]

Your subject at the end is very very true. My academic time in public school made no impression outside of the classes in which we took things into personal projects which were then tested on site and given recommendations and retests. For every by the book teacher I had, at least one other wasn't and did things in a method that would be considered actual teaching. I applaud you for your dedication to this even if the ones above you don't agree. The world needs more teachers like you, end of story.

[@andriesdupreez6126]

A series of Roman legionaries vs other armies, invaded and invading?

[@hadSVK]

your videos are really good for people who could understand it and for the people that can understand context(mat easton here)love you and your stuff

[@mrpoool1015]

A video about the battle of Shiroyama (the last samurai) next please

[@benerdick_cumberbiatch]

An excellent idea.

[@MrWolfman229]

Because of a history teacher like you, I fell in love with the subject and became a much better person for it as I learned a lot more about why the world is the way it is. Please keep pushing for those kind academic changes as it will improve retention of this information in the next generations.

[@ceiling_cat]

Can you pls make playlist with yours VS series?

[@aragmarverilian8238]

I would love to see your take on Byzantine Cataphractarii vs Bulgarian boyar cavalry!

[@Redgoo2]

Legionary would win. Samurai would kill himself before the legionary even showed up

[@GCurl]

The samurai would do a Kamikaze attack on the legionary (Exploding horse included)

[@tibfulv]

The Samurai: Surrendermonkeys of the East? :D

[@Red-S-267]

Don't both have a history of suicide?

[@yungt7723]

the west doesn't know what honorable suicide is.. they only got depress mommy issue suicide xD

[@apatheticsquid5658]

Redgoo2 hahaha very funny

[@Randompyro120]

I think a sparing session would be a very good idea definitely would be an interesting watch.

[@adonisbs]

10:37 >I have a roman set >two actually RUB IT IN METATRON, RUB IT IN

[@Splodge542]

Yes the sparring session sounds like fun. What a good idea.

[@user-lu6hp8nx1j]

Although it also depends on the period (among other factors), the biggest weakness of Roman armour is the lack of 1) Neck armour 2) Hand/finger protection 3) Thigh armour 4) Foot armour (And that's assuming he has manica and greaves equipped) For once the samurai actually has better protected hands (i.e. tekko) and can actually snipe at the vulnerable fingers of his opponent from relative safety thanks to his longer weapon. (Of course this has not taken shield and pilum into consideration)

[@John2r1]

Um depends on a lot of things including rather or not the Roman is wearing gloves which aren't a new thing to them either. Romans also wore pants when in colder area's .. So it depends on a lot of things . And the shield is his number 1 protection if you can't get past that shield you can't hurt the man behind it. And the Romans carried to pila one light and one heavy per legionary . That said the funny thing about the Samurai having a yumi bow is that the Romans also had bows called Sagittarii and they had crossbows or cheiroballistra aka manuballista. These were occasionally used by the Romans. The ancient world knew a variety of mechanical hand-held weapons similar to the later medieval crossbow. The exact terminology is a subject of continuing scholarly debate. Roman authors like Vegetius (fl. 4th century) note repeatedly the use of arrow shooting weapons such as arcuballista and manuballista respectively cheiroballista. While most scholars agree that one or more of these terms refer to handheld mechanical weapons, there is disagreement whether these were flexion bows or torsion powered like the Xanten find. Which is the thing with these debates both sides have quality weapons capable of doing damage to the other . The difference is the Scutum shield which is roughly 42 inch high x 16 inches across by 12 inches deep and about 3-4ft in length going from the shoulder when held up all the way to just above the ankles and being 5-6mm thick constructed of a form of plywood in layers . Making it both relatively light and strong. usually rimed with an iron rim. This shield covers practically the entire body when the Roman holds it up to block an attack. The Romans had the technology to produce articulated plate armor to cover the entire body . They choose not to because in Lorica Segmentata you can run easier and I don't mean backwards . So they could create the type of armor that knights wore in later centuries but didn't need to .

[@john-hu6tt]

I would want too see you guys hire a professional bushido expert wearing the Samurai armor and a professional fencer familiar with Roman fencing wearing Roman lurica armor and have them spar to get a more effective realistic view on how that situation would play out, in my opinion. Love your videos by the way, I'm calling you "KZbin Deadliest Warriors" from now on.

[@godwar4034]

Metatron do you know of pyrric dancing, I heard that it is a ancient greek war-dance that uses weapons in solo-combat and phalanx-combat in a form of a dance.

[@metatronyt]

I don't know anything about it but I'll see what I can find

[@vitoravila9908]

The biggest advantage for the samurai is his experience as a duelist

[@godwar4034]

Can you debunk the monster quest series, metatron?

[@victorribeiro6772]

I first saw your videos yesterday and ever since then I can't stop hearing your videos during work. Thank you for the quality!

[@balghar493]

the samurai dont stand a chance

[@keykylasofandros5501]

doesn't

[@saitamayourdaddy7008]

In ur own thought

[@tartarus500]

The earlier Samurai maybe. The later Samurai's matchlock guns might make it through the legion's armor.

[@joostq.vansantvoort5245]

If it was 1 samurai vs 1 legionar the samurai would definitely win, because roman scutums were so big, they could only stab with their incredibly short sword. Romans were only strong if they were with many, but in a man to man fight they don't stand a chance against a trained samurai.

[@remembertime1018]

@@joostq.vansantvoort5245 and when the knight came with warhammer 😁

[@bazsato6323]

I love these already. I love the history for warriors across time and I love that you know the things you do. Not a lot of people know and your spreading the knowledge

[@archive4058]

Shield piercing arrows? What type of bow are the samurai using or what are the shields made of in that situation?

[@aule10]

Tree shield. rarely coathed with something. and a bow with around 150 LBS.

[@archive4058]

aule10 thanks

[@duchessskye4072]

150lbs? Definitely not. And Tree shields can stop arrows no problem.

[@aule10]

Ohh you havent tried one I see. 150 LBS is the heaviest historical ones we know existed. Now aday they are set to 100-125 LBS for "sport" and thus also meaning it was a lot more draw weight in them when they where used on the battlefield. But you can belive what you want ofc :D

[@archive4058]

Axiomatic early Roman what? Empire, Republic, how much of a technological and design difference do they have to affect it to that degree? What ranged weapons did the Roman face compared to non gunpowder weapons of the medieval period?

[@austinhoward6557]

That sounds like a cool idea, a sparring legionary vs a samurai.

[@demomanchaos]

Japanese armor wasn't really any more protective than the armors the Roman would be used to fighting against nor does it provide all that much more protection that what the Romans wore (Depending on kit it might even cover less). The yumi would be nullified by the scutum. The yari's range advantage is nullified by the scutum. The katana doesn't actually outreach the Gladius (The longer gladii are just a few inches shorter than a katana, 24 vs 27 inches, and using a sword in one-hand provides a reach advantage over using it two-handed) nor can it reliably get around the scutum. Meanwhile the samurai is much more easily struck and the weapons of the Roman are better suited for defeating armor. While skill is important, the two contestants are both well trained so there isn't a skill gap. The fact the samurai lacks experience fighting large shields while Romans fought men with two-handed swords/spears means that in terms of skill/experience the Roman would have the advantage. The Samurai would struggle to get around the shield and would take a gladius blow in one of his exposed areas and be defeated. Short Version- Roman wins because shields are OP.

[@Maxovile]

demomanchaos Wasn't the Spears of the Romans superior too knowing that many of Japans weapon quality was pretty bad?

[@pride2184]

Japan weapons were bad steal why they bend the samurai classic blade so much. Romans were also used to fighting cataphracts of parthia and selucians. I doubt samurai would be harder.

[@shan9usfc]

I would also like to mention that they fought Celts, who wore mail, and acted like heavy cavalry.

[@sephiroaone-of-nine101]

well you fail, and this is wrong - you forgetting the wide range of weapons a samurai can bring to par

[@munstrumridcully]

demomanchaos The only thing that gives me pause is the type of training they each received. The Romans would have been trained mostly for fighting in lines with their comrades, shoulder to shoulder, and not in one on one duels. Roman legionaries had trouble against gladiators in the Sparticus uprising, imo because of how they were trained with different focusses in mind, which might mean a lone Samurai could have the edge over the legionary.

[@MaxSluiman]

I may not always agree with you, but i love the topics you pick and your approach. Nice vid! Greetings from another ken jutsuka and historyfreak.

[@Ken19700]

I just watched a documentary called secrets of the knight in shining armor where they said that mail would protect against bows. It took the crossbow to pierce it. Since mail had remained unchanged for a thousand years I doubt that a Japanese bow could do it.

[@Ken19700]

I trust NOVA documentaries and who did or didn't have it wasn't in question. I was just pointing out that the lorica hamata would protect against arrows. The centurion wouldn't need a segmentata for that.

[@user-lu6hp8nx1j]

It doesn't work like that. Scale and lamellar are literally humanity's oldest form of (metal) armour, and had been used well into nineteenth century and beyond. Yet no one in ther right mind will claim that scale/lamellar can resist this weapon or that weapon based on how long it had been used. Also mail armour did evolve and became increasingly better over time (more coverage, from iron to steel etc), and people still found the mail alone offers insufficient protection, and started to wear stuffs on top of mail (transitional armour, CoP etc), or adding bits and pieces to mail (mail-and-plate armour).

[@Ken19700]

The mail in that documentary was just a shirt with padding behind it. It took a crossbow to pierce it. A hand drawn bow couldn't do the job.

[@user-lu6hp8nx1j]

Whether a weapon pierce or not pierce an armour is highly dependent on what weapon and what armour was used. A hand-drawn bow can be anything from 15 lbs toy to 180lbs monster, plus there's many different bow designs, arrowhead designs, worksmanship etc. An armour that's proof against certain type of bow is not necessary proof against another bow. (And crossbow actually requires several times the draw weight of a bow to achieve the same performance, making it quite inferior, generally speaking)

[@pride2184]

The thing is metal quality. Romans used good for the time steal. But steal in japan sucked why they had to bend the metal so much

[@billuminaticatcipher7554]

History reenactment is just a lot of fun, and a more stimulating I agree.

[@nodosa994]

Samurai will win because they had guns. Instant E Z win.

[@Maxovile]

Nodosa The samurai would have to be given guns meaning rome would have to fall so Portugal can exist to acquire them and samurai did not have guns until pre-reassiance Era meaning as long as rome exist the samurai do not have guns.

[@irtazaazam2573]

Maxovile samurai didn't exist in the Roman period anyway

[@pride2184]

Samurai never used guns. You had the peasants use guns until 1800s. But i am more of a classical age buff then any other age

[@nodosa994]

If your more of a classical age person, then why would you say that Samurai never used guns!? The Samurai did used guns, heavily during the Sengoku period, since the Japanese military was moving from horse archery and heavy weapons, to Pike (Yari) and shot (Tenegashima). So although the peasant class still carried both pike and matchlock, so did the Samurai, but they also had the benefit of being horsemen as well. Once we hit the 1800s, with the arrival of the Americans, many of the Samurai warrior class drop their outdated guns in favor of the new British and French rifles. The Samurai class did hold a few bolt action rifles during the last defense in the Republic of Ezo, but for the most part, it was breech-loading rifles.

[@pride2184]

They didnt start using guns until 1600s which were shit. 1800s they got our america rifles. And depending which samurai clan we can say they use guns. He shown takeda which didn't use guns. Yes they used guns but most clans didnt because its was not honourable. Most use yari ashigaru troops. Ite rare as samurai weren't very abundant in numbers.

[@eraldus6090]

These intor's just keep getting better and more epic every time!

[@Redneck_Technophile]

Omfg, me and a friend were just doing this today. He bought a Roman spatha and I have plenty of katanas so we were sparring with them today lol.

[@godlessheathen3082]

EdgeRunner you're cringy

[@juanpablogonzalez8528]

spatha and no shield?

[@GrammarPaladin]

If he had no shield I assume you won because you used the reach to your advantage?

[@KkkittT]

EdgeRunner i assumed you won since your friend didn't comment, rip.

[@piki68]

Oh my, the warfare comparison between this two factions sounds way too cool. I hope you will make it soon, can't wait. I love your content, its informal, its funny, better than a show on Discovery Channel. Keep up the good work and remember, the Metatron has spread his knowledge. Minden jót!

[@scollyb]

In terms of skill it is very likely the samurai would have an advantage, the Roman's trained for formation fighting, usually with a quite short training period where as the Samurai would have been trained for life including for one on one combat. Roman armour has a huge weakness, the legs and feet aren't protected at all, this is less of an issue for formation fighting where your neighbours protection from your sides and rear and any attacker is threatened by multiple opponents and has limited ability to control distance because taking a step back or to the side is likely to end up hitting someone from his side. In a dual this goes out the window. The Samurai can control distance, feint and try to step round. The Scutum is a big shield but can't defend face and feet at the same time and a nagainata can switch from a feint to the face to a cut to the feet very quickly. And it the Samurai gets to the side or behind the Roman it is all over

[@harrylangton3206]

Samurai would have less experience (if not less training) because their job was not solely to fight unlike the Roman legionnaire also the Samurai doesn't really have a ranged advantage as Romans had spears (Pilum) that they could throw at an effective range of about 15-20m, as well as darts (Plumbata) that had an effective range of about 60m for an overarm throw. The Roman shield is large and strong but also light so it can be maneuvered quickly to help with the feints, the lack of armor on the Roman's legs gives them greater maneuverability too.

[@cristhianramirez6939]

For extra protection,the roman legionary can use a manica for the right arm (a segmented plate brace like the lorica segmentata) and greaves for the calfs

[@wesleymartins5970]

Every roman legionary would have more real fight experience than a samurai. Samurai's job was to show off his social class and sword to intimidate peasants. Fighting was a very small part of it.

[@AmrodOfDale]

Really excited to see that sparring session!

[@fatgirlboy9341]

Roman probably bigger and stronger than Japanese samurai

[@Breaker197]

John Law a decent point, which is why samurai martial arts systems were designed not to rely on strength or size, as most Asians lack these advantages, and instead focused on taking these advantages away from the opponent as quickly as possible. This concept is all but lost in today's practice of martial arts.

[@MrManifolder]

Not really. Only late empire Legionaries who were recruited from the barbarian tribes were larger (on average). The average Roman and average samurai were very similar in height and build for most of their respective time periods.

[@amaethon2117]

The average height of a Roman Legionary was about 5ft 6 during antiquity. People were alot shorter back in those days.

[@John2r1]

Actually it was about 5.5ft not quite 5.6ft .. The average height of a Celt was about 5.7 to 5.10ft max. The average height of a Samurai was 5.3 to 5.5ft in height . So the Romans weren't taller than a Samurai on average and even the axillaries weren't that much taller on average. Depending on what part of the Empire the Legionary is from that is. Now the difference seems to be in weight rather than height. Samurai generally weighed around 135lbs where as a Roman Legionary averaged around 140 to 150lbs So that's a difference that can mean the Roman is a little stronger but doesn't mean much if he can figure out where the gaps are in the Samurai's armor and vice versa.

[@paniskano2422]

@@John2r1 believe it or not a vikings average height was 5.5

[@Sygless]

Yeah a Sparing session would be awesome!!!!

[@keykylasofandros5501]

i love your content but in my opinion when you cosplay as a legionary or a samurai and do a sketch is just cringy

[@metatronyt]

I appreciate the opinion, but it's my style ;)

[@0clock275]

Bung Da Booce It was the best part

[@GCurl]

Cringe is Metatron's second name! XD That's the reason we all love him!

[@JK03011997]

Cringy yes, especially with the serious face, I couldn't help but smile when I cosplayed like that, but let him play man. He is enthusiastic about these periods and places, of course he is going to show is armour whenever he can! If I had a yt channel and full 1200-1225 maille you could bet I would show that off a lot :P And even if you think he shouldn't show off like that, I think it might help less informed people to see these kits before the video, even just for that short amount of time. Knowing how large a scutum is, how short a gladius and what samurai armour coveres is not as common knowledge outside our very small community as one might think.

[@matthewmiller9485]

It's not a Metatron video without the cringe!!!

[@thehackingburger3002]

I love your philosophy on teaching, man! I have always adored history, but oddly the dates have never stuck well. I imagine that if I could live something through reenactment, it just might make me remember!

[@namethatisnottakenyo]

That sparring session might be fun/interesting to watch.

[@NinjaGrimm666]

Do it man! I liked the previous ones you guys did.

[@donovansexton3726]

Love the channel! What I would love to watch is a video describing major Roman victories and defeats throughout its history. I love anything involving the legion 👍 keep up the amazing work =)

[@yourguyrollo2114]

Do it man! We all wanna see it. Plus the other video of roman army against samurai army, in which of course the Romans would win but I wanna hear it from your point of view.

[@__prometheus__]

May you talk about how the romans kept their soldiers fit? As in what was their exercise regimen compared to today.

[@jamil5615]

Oh the battle warfare matchup would be an AMAZING video

[@wanderingstranger8944]

Im a highschool student and I don't normally enjoy history and all that but I'm glad your not like a normal teacher how they expect you to know everything but almost talk about it in a conversation like manner

[@jamesfstokes]

I really like the idea of reenacting a Roman and Samurai sparing together. That would be pretty cool! Thanks for sharing some interesting pieces of information on Roman and Samurai soldiers and how they would fair against each other.

[@thorinsonofthran1053]

I wish I was one of your students a reenactment of an ancient battle would be awesome

[@talionunnamedkys1145]

11:24 trust me, no teacher would approve of the idea of historical re-enactment in school.In my opinion, watching your videos and playing total war has tought me alot more about history than i have learned in 7 years of school.The most exciting the we ever do in history class is maybe occasionally watch a documentary.

[@adude9610]

The sparring session whould be a great practical test of the equipment and style of fighting of the two challengers! The legionary isn't used to fighting fully armored ranged weapon opponents and the samurai is not used to the defensive capability and close-in style fighting of the legionaire. It is questionable if a Pilum whould get through samurai armor and It really depends on wich time period of samurai we're talking About. I do believe It is important to mention the "percusive" capabilities of the kanabo, the Nodachi or my favourite: the nagamaki. Maybe even a well-balanced bokken, Miyamoto Musashi style, against Roman equipment, but the Nodachi or the nagamaki whould be theoreticaly preferable due to the range and the thrusting capabilities, wich Can be devastating against the open-face legionaire helmets. Also, the cutting capabilities could be capitalized in a situation were the samurai avoids a Gladius thrust or even reflects the sword by being hit in a reinforced part of the armor (maybe lower chest, favourite thrusting spot for the roman, wich maybe could underestimate the defensive capabilities of the samurai's chestpiece or even miss and hit that area), having the the whole arm as a target and Just cutting It off. So many situations... Warriors effective in such different ways and such completely different warfare technologies... This fight is One for the ages.

[@matthewneuendorf5763]

I'd be very interested in your take on the medieval Roman cataphract, specifically from c. the Macedonian period (Nikephoros II Phokas and Basil II Bulgaroctonus).

[@tristianpoore2214]

The sparring idea would be awesome!

[@douglashamilton6229]

yes do the sparing. i would vary much enjoy that

[@frankharr9466]

This is really an interesting way to talking about these people.

[@dustikov]

I love this one and i watch all of your stuff. Thank You Metatron!

[@samfirth1592]

Hail and well met Metatron! Thank you for another entertaining video, I am really enjoying these versus comparisons so far - I think you should call the "alternate reality" in which they take place the MetaVers (contracting Metatron and versus, rather than meta and universe). It would be really interesting to hear your thoughts on how small and large group conflicts might play out as well as the one against one scenarios, perhaps even how the societies and military industries of the opposing sides might have dealt with long term conflicts as well. I know that you have compared the Greek and Roman military formations in previous videos but it would be great to see that comparison through the lense of one versus one combat as you have done here - I think it would help to emphasise the differences in their equipment and combat styles. Thanks again for putting out so much great content for us all to enjoy.

[@iosonotrottis8934]

Hey Metatron, apprezzo davvero tanto l'impegno che ci metti nei tuoi video e questo è evidente dalla qualità di questi. Devo però farti un appunto: non so se sia a causa della telecamera (non sono esperto di queste cose) però l'effetto verdognolo che ti resta sulle mani quando le muovi velocemente (immagino sia il green screen) e le sgranature sulle spalle rovinano un po' l'atmosfera del video. Per il resto perfetta, a parer mio, l'analisi oggettiva delle varie e possibili sfumature del combattimento. :D

[@Outforce68]

Great video hope to see more like this

[@justsomeguy3931]

Even in a mutually surprising meeting engagement there are too many random factors like terrain that affect the distance of first contact.

[@SuperDanMega]

Metatron, dude, you rock!. Talk about bumping into big time miracles!. Amazing channel, viva la vechia Roma!.

[@uzernam303]

Interesting series. And I love the idea of bringing something like a historical reenactment into schools, could make History class a heavy favorite among many students.

[@Lee-vk1xy]

I'm fairly new to your channel but one area I haven't seen represented is classical "artillery". When I was in college a good few decades ago I studied it a bit but I'm sure there's more info now. Certainly the amount known about archery in battle has grown considerably in that period and I haven't even caught up with that. Another area I haven't seen much on except for one Myth Busters show is dodging or deflecting arrows. My impression is that as long as we are not talking very close range and very heavy bows a person who is aware of the archer has a decent chance of simply stepping out of the way of the arrow. (Crossbows seem to shoot fast enough to make this more difficult). I'd think the offensive use of the shield could also cause problems for the Samurai. Vs horse archers the Romans won some and lost some the leadership being the critical aspect in my reading.

[@raygiordano1045]

What if's are always tricky and ultimately pure opinion. Suppose Rome and Japan were closer, wouldn't both sides adapt their equipment? Other things that are hard to consider are fatigue. It sounds like the duel would continue for a while, barring a lucky stroke. Which weapon is more tiring to wield? Were there any appreciable physical differences in size at the time?

[@constpegasus]

Always good points Metatron. Keep these videos coming.

[@masterdisaster7013]

Back in my school, we have archaeology as a subject, and there we did exactly what you said in your video. Make roman cloth by ourself and wear them :D

[@DCFHazardRebornChannel]

Great video again man. Ive been binge watching your channel and Shads and some Skalagrim too. Nice :)

[@carlosalbin7706]

Yes please. I am excited by that idea

[@stephenthompson8621]

Thanks so much, your awesome!

[@KhanggiTanka]

YES please do the legionary VS samurai duel

[@ArmchairFundamentals]

I think it would be awesome if you would talk more about the Polish Winged Hussars.

[@trippsmythoftheaurigancoal8155]

Thank you Metatron really enjoyed your videos... And, thank you for doing my suggestion...

[@vladromanyuk6739]

I would love to hear a discussion not about just 1v1 but also a samurai army of 14-15th century vs a roman army of the times of the empire or republic

[@jakeralph2011]

Awesome video Metatron. Love hypothetical scenarios like these :)

[@Markenjiru]

Definitely would love to see the battle comparision and the sparring video!

[@russellnickman8231]

Yes, love the idea. Please do it.

[@kelmoria0068]

Was there any historic reference about samurai fighting opponents with shields and formation? The only information I can find samurai fighting different armies with similar equipment are kublai khan mongols and the joseon korea.

[@justinreilly6619]

Thanks for this post, it's a fun post, interesting and well considered!