Roman Military Technology and Tactics

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2000 years ago the Roman army is the best equipped army in the world. While architects have mastered the art of manipulating stone and concrete, military engineers have fashioned metal and wood to create devastating weapons of war.
The Roman foot soldiers main weapon is a fearsome sword called the Gladius, a double edged blade with a sharp point used for stabbing and thrusting, rather than slashing. When not fighting at close quarters, their spear, called a pilum, could kill from a distance with lethal accuracy.
Protecting soldiers from injury is just as important as arming them for attack. Early Roman soldiers wear chainmail, but armourers come up with a far superior form of protection. Articulated plate armour called lorica segmentata, made from overlapping iron plates joined together by leather straps, as flexible as chainmail, but one third lighter.
If the romans weaponry has a modern feel, then so does the tactics they use. The Roman legions know exactly how to fight heavily armed foes. They use the testudo, Latin for tortoise. Legionaries bunch together and lock their shields in formation to create a protective screen, a formation as effective in attack, as it is in defence.
Few examples of Roman artillery survive, but they left detailed clues as to how to recreate them. The Ermine Street Guard Roman Reenactment Society is dedicated to research into the Roman Army and the reconstruction of Roman armour and equipment.
The scorpion fires iron tipped bolts, used in the first stages of attack and during sieges. It fires arrows at incredible speeds, pierces armour, and kills instantly, a bit like a giant crossbow. Although an effective anti-personnel weapon, the scorpion is of little use when attacking a building.
For that the Romans need something with a bit more punch, the onager and the ballista. These pieces of artillery fire large stones at the enemy. During sieges they propel projectiles so high into the air that they can break down enemy walls. The whizzing noise of the stones strikes terror into Rome’s enemies. To increase the fear factor they’re painted black so harder to see.
The ballista works like the scorpion, but is bigger and more powerful. It can fire a 60 pound stone or a 3 foot bolt around 15,000 feet allowing the soldiers to stand well away from enemy archers. The speed of the missile is phenomenal hitting its target at about 115 mph, anyone sustaining a direct hit would be killed instantly.
The onager uses a different principle, it catapults basketball sized stones nearly 100 feet using a single arm and sling. The vertical arm is powered by a large horizontal skein of rope, coiled and twisted to create a rotational force, the skein acts like a spring storing energy to be released on firing.
The combination of technology and tactics makes the Roman army the premier fighting force in Europe for 500 years and influences military tactics for the next 1,500.
Clip taken from our documentary “How Did Roman Tech Work?”
Watch it here - • How Did Roman Tech Work?

[@XyzzTooCold]

“ The Pilum was designed basically to kill” *I thought it saved lives*

[@jj-hb8rq]

Well it did

[@frosttroll3411]

It did save lives but at the cost of ending lives

[@Luis_Facil]

@@frosttroll3411 lol

[@Azwarrior94]

It did. By breaking after ending the life of an enemy combatant.

[@AHMEDALI-vq4vc]

It killed b*rbarians but saved Roman lives

[@isabellaluo2712]

what students actually want to learn in history class

[@therafmaster5958]

Fizz Hobbes I do! It’s my favorite subject!

[@shmeck7413]

facts chief

[@CHUNK3Y141]

Yes

[@CHUNK3Y141]

YES!!!!!!

[@stolenentity4641]

I actually wanna learn about the Romans

[@ClaudeMagicbox]

I'm Italian and remember how my history professor introduced these same knowledges on the Roman army by saying "Imagine being a Franc or Teuton barbarian dressed in animal fur and cowhide with a large heavy iron sword or axe and having no tactical discipline but just forward rushing and sheer violence. Facing the Roman army of the period of the Republic to you seemed to face a science fiction level formation with sorcerer like powers...you would be hit by heavy projectiles already from a distance, then injured by a swarm of pilum and finally get mangled by geometric formations of cubic shape that came forward fearless and deadly".

[@mozartwolfgang4656]

And even like that the romans get kicked.

[@ITALICVS]

@@mozartwolfgang4656 After kicking anyone in their path

[@saptaswapal4064]

@@ITALICVS The Germanic tribes kicked Roman ass in three consecutive battles. But at the fourth battle, their numbers were exhausted and they were defeated by the Romans.

[@auroraflos2498]

@@saptaswapal4064 exactly which string of battles are you referring to?

[@Herb_IsTheWord]

Umm

[@ricardoleite2190]

5:57 Incredible, the romans had cars!

[@realprincephillip]

Ricardo Leite not incredible it’s boring I hate life

[@Ammi553]

@@realprincephillip you good man?

[@realprincephillip]

Ammi no not really mate

[@Ammi553]

@@realprincephillip don't worry im sure whatever you're going through is gonna end soon bruh, after a storm there is always sunshine, don't give up and keep soldiering through it, it'll be worth it trust me

[@BintangGaryo]

@@realprincephillip keep fighting my man :D

[@cbmobile1797]

_"The pilum was designed basically to kill."_ *ah yes... floor is made of floor.*

[@hulriksborg6912]

I-

[@Sams_Stuff1]

Lol

[@romekbednarczyk8599]

yes

[@iwilleatyourentirefamily9694]

lol

[@boshinimperialofficer3250]

I could have swore I heard the woman say "piss people, piss shields, piss armor."

[@demoniqpng8623]

7:55 R.I.P Fly 2016-2016

[@fabiomurraysanchez6062]

The Fly Wars was very popular in Rome.

[@MlokLik]

Flys were invented when Johnatan Fly tried to breed a mosquito with himself. It went well.

[@uhoy1488]

name so a fat mosquito that only knows how to eat

[@MlokLik]

@@uhoy1488 "eat'' wasnt invented yet. It was invented in 2014, when Adam Eattens tried to bite his food.

[@uhoy1488]

name but 2016

[@maxnetirtimon4121]

0:44 the "the pilum is designed basically to kill" no shit i didn't know that what a Genius you are

[@noobdave474]

i was looking for this comment lol... imagine a weapon being designed to kill.

[@gridlock2835]

No it was designed to save lives

[@dreysantillan]

it is also designed to hinder enemies, once it sticks to a shield, the shield gets heavy making it unusable

[@therustedshank9995]

What?! The pilum is designed to kill? I thought it was a cooking utensil!

[@ericle9371]

Weapons could be designed to poke.

[@orhan6929]

For the record,the pilum had two types of pegs:iron and wood.The wooden peg would dislodge on contact, bending the spear at a 90 degree angle.This made it difficult to remove.The pilum is not your typical javelin

[@Concerned_Robot]

watching those pila get thrown, they didn't look effective at all!

[@orhan6929]

​@@Concerned_Robotmaybe in this demo yes but just ask the multitude of Rome's enemies what they made of it

[@nobodykilledme9641]

the whole point of it wasn't to kill someone it was the fuck up their shields , because nobody is just gonna stand there and get hit with that thing they are going to block it with their shield , gets stuck it the shield so now you have to drop your guard and try to pull it out or drag that thing with you , its pretty smart tbh@@Concerned_Robot

[@graham5716]

Pilums aren't like this at all, if they were, Caesar wouldn't have repelled cavalry during pharsalus.​@nobodykilledme9641

[@MostEnvious]

4:22 he looks like he's having fun.

[@We_Roq2021]

40 Miles of Bad Rhoads yes

[@pranabmallick01]

I noticed that

[@b_f_d_d]

Yes

[@papastalin4545]

I would have been happy to be in a testudo rather than in normal formation too

[@evanjuniorfluffy]

They are the naked reg ready to attack with shields protecting them

[@Cristian-vl8pg]

For my foreign friends. 0:23 46 cm 0:39 30.5 m 1:01 1.8 m, 61 cm 2:24 15 kg 7:08 .37 km or 366 m 9:43 27 kg, .9 m, 4.6 km

[@levoGAMES]

7:08 "1200 feet" since one foot is about a third of a meter, that'd make it about 400 meters. I only checked that one conversion, you should check the others if you want to distribute accurate information.

[@user-hr7nm4td1s]

Cristian Thank you Jesus

[@Cristian-vl8pg]

Levo GAMES I accidently put the decimal point in between 3 and 7. The correct conversion is around. .37 km -> 370 meters which is not quite 400 meters but whatever.

[@xyon9090]

*Cristian,* thank you

[@ironmike2010]

Cristian I hope you know that about 80% of the world uses the metric system now

[@wulfloft5805]

"The pilum was basically designed to kill"...

[@yanousse3217]

I thought it was for baking pancakes..

[@fedess3647]

Its main use was actually to pierce the enemy shields, bending on impact and forcing the fighter to drop the shield, disrupting the enemy formation and allowing the legionaries to effectively exploit the gaps in the enemy formation during first impact But yeah, either that or Killing the motherfucker 😂

[@hannibalbarca6878]

HMMM YES THE FLOOR IS MADE OF FLOOR

[@AA-bz1pr]

@@hannibalbarca6878 lmfao

[@hitsugayatoshiro9517]

4HEad

[@MoseyOnout]

0:42 > "It was designed basically to kill," States Mrs. Nokidding, PhD in the Obvious. "This implement you just saw with a frigging long metal point is used for piercing things," She goes on to inform her colleagues at Mensa.

[@ericoberle9671]

And don't forget protecting your soldiers from injury is just as important as giving them weapons to attack

[@bijogxazindagi7545]

7:55 poor little fly, Only one insect was harmed in making this video

[@TheSlashd0t]

This proves once more that Roman weapons were highly accurate and effective during the Fly Wars in 1337 IBC were millions of flies were led to the slaughter in a desperate fight against 1 scorpion. Never again would the Flyninian Empire have the opportunity to recover from this defeat.

[@sukarnos3xy]

Top 10 Brutal Anime Bug Deaths

[@kww178]

THAT NIGGA GOT CAPPED!!!

[@torinlupo7527]

*Brutally Murdered

[@cocostudio278]

Yah

[@thrakerzad5874]

6:05 I love how he keeps a stone serious face as the camera man wildly orbits him like a lunatic.

[@oinkards1143]

Cringe

[@charlielyons8801]

How dose he do it I would have laughed a lot

[@oinkards1143]

You mean tacky and unprofessional.

[@michaelmessina6807]

lol

[@cryptosporidium1375]

Thrakerzad does it make you feel risible?

[@Verciaga]

7:55 RIP Mr fly 2016-2016 *sniff he was so young..... I-I don't know what to say. May you rest in peace. :'(

[@farhanniloy7552]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@willsadventures8418]

this is so sad.

[@ocpopsmoke]

A fly of many words REST IN PARADISE :(

[@sucapuca4384]

Lorica segmentata

[@u.s.citizen9933]

I think it's interest how technology really changes warfare so drastically. Before gunpowder, large and well trained armies won the day but guerrilla warfare becomes a lot more viable with the creation of explosives and long-range rifles.

[@u.s.citizen9933]

@@salted_lizard you are definitely right. Guerrilla warfare definitely had its place back then and it's important not to forget that. It's also important to remember modern deterences to guerrilla warfare that didn't exist before like all the Intel these days with cameras and tracking abilities. That's a massive burden to any guerrilla group. That being said, I'd argue it's still more viable in our modern age with firearms. A hit and run tactic on a group of knights would've been a lot tougher than in recent history with a couple well placed gunmen or sniper shots.

[@zacharykramer8244]

The Pilum wasn't a spear, it was a Javelin. You never throw spears, but you throw javelins(pilums). Great research

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

Exactly

[@zachsmith1676]

apparently there are instances of Pila being used as spears but i hold it to be false since a spear needs to be completely rigid to be effective whereas a Pilum is not completely rigid

[@zacharykramer8244]

Spears are as long as twelve to fourteen feet, do you think anyone could throw that accurately while in formation. I don't think so.

[@jeffery9521]

You can throw a spear. Spears are not necessarily always 12 foot Long. Besides, have you thrown a spear in a Roman formation or seen research about it? It feels like you're assuming

[@brandonwalenter1147]

Negro Joe she's right you don't throw spears you throw javelins though

[@BoarhideGaming]

The Romans didn't conquer half the known world because of their Pila, shields, armor, Gladiai or their Onagers. They conquered the world with supply lines, roads, local governments, incentives to join the empire, incentives to join the legions, great education and profitable citizenship. There were many peoples in ancient Europe, Asia, Arabia and North Africa that were better warriors in many aspects, but with no standing army, no communication and no centralized tacticians, they still lost against the Legions

[@DeezUp4Da3zz]

Better warriors but not better soldiers

[@bitTorrenter]

@@DeezUp4Da3zz Now what's that supposed to mean. Both go to war.

[@DeezUp4Da3zz]

@@bitTorrenter there's a difference between the 2 lol warriors fight together but as single entities and usually when the best warriors die the army would usually lose morale and rout, soldiers fight as a single unit and usually only rout when their formations get fucked or the commander gets killed

[@andrewh7084]

People like the simple view of war, just weapons and tactics instead of the full picture. Alexander the Great, for example, could never have advanced so far into Asia if he didn't have an extremely advanced logistics network.

[@patriot6943]

Fucking excuses. The Romans were superior warriors.

[@geedergworl]

"The pilum was designed to piss people, piss armor, to piss their shields"

[@pellm8272]

@ChinOfTheSisity woooosh

[@We_Roq2021]

RK- 800 Pierce not piss

[@devnull5098]

You mean it designed to cause the enemy to piss their armor and shields :)

[@ivyhealthcare5688]

@@We_Roq2021 wow you missed the joke like these guys missed their targets at 0:52

[@TPS-Ultimate-Soccer69]

She said Pierce but it sounds like “piss”

[@norsethe_horse]

I don't know why people don't like this video! It has given me so much useful info for my history assignment!

[@TPS-Ultimate-Soccer69]

Yup, I should have watched this ages ago when I was learning about romans

[@denji3716]

can we talk about the fly that got killed at 7:55 one like for one prayer

[@mewtwo7588]

Microwave indeed.. Lets get a moment of silence for this fly.

[@ignitionesports6491]

F

[@lamegliogioventu]

that don' t fly

[@silkymilk9663]

F bois

[@alexwood7410]

cool kid

[@mondwolf306]

video name is roman military technology and tactics - does not contain tactics

[@luger9857]

I was here for the tactics

[@torinlupo7527]

There was tactics. KILL EVERYTHING WITH EXTREME BRUTALITY

[@GhoulGoon]

Your profile pic... Perfection

[@eb8827]

tactics are at 3:50

[@liamjm9278]

@joe Recto "Firing a gun is a tactic". "Punching an enemy in the face is a tactic". Testudo is the only real tactic given.

[@mikewilliams258]

"The pilum was designed to kill." Must be great to be a military expert!

[@knotwilg3596]

The testudo was an emergency measure, mostly to temporarily cross under arrow attack. In offence it wasn't used because the coordination when moving required is difficult and makes the soldiers clumsy in combat. They would form a couple of lines instead, with the front row shielding and stabbing, then moving to the back of the cohort while the other rows move one up. This is depicted accurately in the starting scene of "Rome".

[@michaelhawkins7389]

and the 2001 film Gladiator

[@collinfitzp1344]

0:50 "Deadly Accurate"

[@ginka2281]

Yeah that was a terrible throw. I wonder why they kept that shot lol

[@melia3240]

Its wood so its hard to pierce unless its flesh the target would be dead instantly

[@epsilon5733]

“Pierce shields” as 2 spears come in too short, one comes in sideways, and one hits but barely penetrates. Camera man didn’t wanna ask for a second throw I guess.

[@KianIrv]

Storm trooper aim

[@elfrogman1428]

These guys are just reinactors. Real Roman military is deadly accurate

[@Ben-zg5xb]

Few mistakes i'de like to point out: The pilum (plural pila), was not a spear, but an advanced javelin The testudo was not used for attack, and only against enemy archer and missile defense. Similar formations were used for defending gates and streets as well however Onagers were often much larger than what is depicted, many being able to hurl 100-150 pound rocks at enemies. The kind shown in the video were used in Gallic Wars, in which Gallic city walls were only wooden, so they didn't need extreme heavy artillery

[@Justin-hj7sz]

I'm pretty sure there is such thing as "Attacking Testudo" and "Defensive Testudo" A testudo was either used for standing still while taking missile fire and then were disassembled when the enemies got close. And it was used to advance toward the enemy to deflect missiles.

[@bakersmileyface]

I believe the only exception to the idea that 'testudos weren't used for attacking' is when assaulting a wall during a siege. But yeah, generally under most circumstances, wouldn't be used for attacking.

[@lordofdarkdudes]

To quote wikipedia A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. Yes a javlin is spear, stop being smug about how much you know

[@haveiszalfaroqie1628]

The best tactic is obviously to wall in your enemies.

[@karel-de-Grote]

@@Justin-hj7sz the shield is a defense system, the testudo is composed of shields, so it is always a defense system. Like the armor of the tanks, it acts as a defense.

[@claytonchandler7493]

The pilum was a javelin and didn’t have a standard size but were never 8 feet long they were smaller and used 10-25 yards away to break the enemy line before charging

[@royalknight9493]

I really think that the romans were really advanced,deciplined and organized for there time

[@justnoobtoo6352]

True

[@ryforg]

In modern day we just never give ancient civilizations credit for how advanced they were

[@griffin7700]

The claim that the sword was not used for slashing is just false, while slashes aren't particularly effective when in a tight formation the gladius is perfectly capable of slashing. Also the name of the gladius isn't a type of weapon or the title of the weapon it simply means sword in Latin

[@AAthlete34]

MsASpratley a

[@nbkwolverine]

The gladius was primarily a stabbing weapon... yes it could have been used to slash, but that's not its intended use. The Spatha was more of a slashing sword.

[@koerier718]

When you have something sharp, just hit someone in any way you want and you're fine.

[@flamingrubys11]

unlike the greeks somewhat curved swords which 'could take a mans head off with one fell slash'

[@jeffjones7108]

Pretty funny when you get a better explanation for how important the gladius was from a David Gemmell book than from a documentary. Because the gladius was a stabbing weapon it meant the legionaires could stand shoulder to shoulder. Any enemy fighting them using a slashing sword had to stand further apart so they didn't hit each other. Which meant that each enemy soldier was fighting 3 Roman soldiers, even if their army was larger. Guaranteed local superiority right across the line. Pretty smart, and very effective.

[@markiehewitt602]

7:51 my fly boy just minding his own business when a bolt obliterates him and his melon

[@person4595]

Ikr Rip the fly #Save the Flys

[@SeanATron-vr8eb]

Flies

[@artisorak]

2:45: That is wrong. The lorica segmentata was used only for about 250 years and never replaced chain mail armour. The segmentata is more sturdy and lighter, but chain mail is more comfortable and the soldiers are more agile. The segmentata required a lot of maintenance and was a lot more expensive to produce while not giving a huge advantage in battle.

[@humanperson9443]

P

[@hulriksborg6912]

my teacher: sends the class this video me: wow something that's actually interesting for history class-

[@paweandonisgawralidisdobrz2522]

This is butted mail not rivited. Testudo is VERY ineffective in melee. Its for missle protecction White is least visible in sky. Black is very visible.

[@duckster4637]

They were designed for night attacks I suppose.

[@gunnycanimation3465]

Zach Smith As in ships? because i would understand if it was in waters

[@flamingrubys11]

actually the tetsudo was used also for Barbarians, seein how barbarians had this way of charging and not flanking the romans took advantage of this so when the barbarians charged into them it would cause newtons law, the abrupt stop will either cripple them or send them sliding off the top of the shields and possibly resulting in internal bleeding 2 construction, the romans (not the actual legions but some times yes) would use this to help remove the stress of carrying most heavy bricks before it was simplized

[@flamingrubys11]

@alvi syahri it was in the early times it was made yes but after a bit the romans figured out that since the barbarians like charging forth toward them, that they can use that aganist them

[@iisig]

0:51 i'm quite sure that the romans actually practiced spear throwing a bit more. That was just embarassing

[@ee-tq3xu]

Yep lol 😂

[@perfectshadow5740]

Yeah. Most didn’t even penetrate.

[@ducc995]

Even schools' P.E. teachers say that's the wrong way to throw one

[@TPS-Ultimate-Soccer69]

True

[@stormykeep9213]

The pilam need not hit the actual person thrown at. It would stick in the enemy soldier's shield, and essentially weigh it down to where his shield would be useless. He would have to toss it aside. Was a brilliant weapon.

[@CCPvirus141]

10:09 It catapults basketball size stones? Has the narator even seen how big a basketball is? What these guys are shooting are far smaller than any official size basketball.

[@Valin9275]

"pierce armor ar shields" next shot is 10 spears bouncing off wood

[@eventerminator1382]

They’re just re-enactors, not actual soldiers.

[@dododog447]

@CHONG CHEE KAI Moe I think that’s plural for pilum

[@joey_ramone_96]

@@eventerminator1382 wait you're telling me they're not roman soldiers? damn

[@JimmiusCarrelius]

@@eventerminator1382 no shit

[@busterdancy1857]

It's as if it's a bunch of nerds using weaponry designed 2k years ago for trained soldiers.

[@phorewhoresman1897]

Shield usage was like a clay tiled roof for protection from liquid fire, tar, arrows etc. Shields were lower in front than the video shows, they overlapped back to front and to left side (90% of people are right handed hence weapon in right, shield left), Romans incorporated phalanx into their ranks as they learned their enemies' tactics enabling them to win their empire time after time. Ultimately it was corruption from within that doomed them.

[@SamBrickell]

Immigration and "multi-culturalism" is what doomed Rome.

[@jodhod1498]

That's like, the opposite of what happened tho. They started with the phalanx, then left it behind for more manueverable formations

[@sherlockxia3061]

0:02 Most people would think that the Gladius would be worn on the left side, allowing the soldier to draw the sword across their body, but in fact the sword was worn and draw on the RIGHT side, which meant that when being drawn it didn't impact on the holding of the shield, or on the soldier standing next to them.

[@damianhernandez1665]

Testudo wasn't used for attack only for defense and the pilum is a special type of javelin.

[@makeitsonumberone1358]

still no defence againesd a little village in gaul, who drink a magic potion before a battle....sorry couldn't resist 😊

[@patientzero3943]

paper back wrighter lol I got your reference

[@RH-ls5od]

paper back wrighter and like half their army was part of the village they were fighting. They weren't the best at hiring the right people.

[@mike62mcmanus]

The Gauls were previously called the Gomerites according to Flavius Josephus. Gomer was the first grandson of Noah, the Welsh believe they landed on the isle of Brittan from France and the welsh language is called Gomerage after Gomer...Gauls, Galic, were related.

[@diegoveloso3rd]

Magic potion + flying menhirs + a big boned shirtless man + his small witty bestbud + a shield mounted chief + a bard the gods hate + a fishmonger armed with fish + a blacksmith armed with a hammer + a lovable Roman hating dog + a crazy old man with a hot wife = a village of indomitable gauls

[@Alex-eb3cb]

paper back writer lol if you live in greece and like asterix and obelix tommorow theres a movie called asterix in brittania at 9pm

[@tylerrumbarger]

their legs are exposed but weren't people a lot shorter back then? if the shields are sized accurately then they'd prob go all the way to the ground right?

[@DinoArmy13]

yup

[@dixout4harambe38]

They also slightly crouched, and didn't have their hands exposed holding the shield above them. The people demonstrating aren't trained Romans (obviously [and most likely not military either]).

[@ballisticcorporal8205]

tylerrumbarger they would also tilt the top shields down towards the enemy

[@Scuppetta1998IT]

lol I thought about the same thing as well. It wouldn't make any sense to leave your legs not covered by the shield. Tendentially the romans were not high people if compared with the germanic populations (there is a description about them in the "de origine et situ germanorum" which is a book written by Tacitus). When the romans first met the germanic tribes they got surprised about their stature.

[@swisstraeng]

a shield that comes down to the ground is very impractical to use, especially in fields. It would hit the ground and be horrible to keep up in position. The chances your feets are hit are very low, since most thrown objects in this era don't fly straight as bullets do.

[@maximusy8311]

Probably the first tank ever, Roman shield formation

[@christopherjakel1049]

And just as soft underneath. 😳 "Dead fall" trumps "testudo." 😱😵

[@laidbacklifestyle389]

Roman soldier: Throws spear Enemy: Picks up thrown spear Roman soldier: :O

[@emperormiguel8327]

Notice how the Roman spear, the pillum, has a thin end? It’s so that if it hits a target, the tip would snap off, so the enemy couldn’t pick it back up to use it again.

[@dastemplar9681]

Emperor Miguel Not necessarily snap, but bend. It also would weigh down on your shield because you won’t be able to simply pull out the bent pilum out of your shield while you would for arrows or regular javelins. Most men who would catch a pilum with their shield would be forced to discard the shield as well. So making a throwing weapon that not only can’t be thrown back, but even would render your enemy’s shield useless.

[@ansonng211]

LOL

[@joujou264]

8:19 British? Britons. The British are a mix of Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Normans and the original Britons, with sprinkles from various other cultures.

[@bitTorrenter]

You forgot the Frisians. The Romano British were the Brythonic speaking citizens of Roman occupied Britannia. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the movement of peoples what is British is hard to say.

[@southwestsaxon]

British is not an ethnicity. It just means you live in Britian.

[@corbinkirkland883]

So glad we got that action packed instant replay at 1:10.

[@RussUno]

Props to the camera man who travels a thousand years to record this

[@sinisakuzmanovic2233]

The ''Gladius'' sword is just mentioned. Romans had many variations of this foot soldiers swords. But, horseman had one more sword called ''Spata'' much longer, not so heavy with gravity point moved toward tip of the sword, to have better hit effect on foot soldiers. This sword was base for huge medieval swords.

[@finaladvance5085]

The romans may have failed to conquer the British isles, but it seems the British failed to completely evict the romans

[@ironmike2010]

Final Advance you can’t conquer the world. Especially not places so primitive and difficult terrain wise like northern England and Scotland. The people there knew if the Romans would win and kill them then their wives would be raped and their children probably slaughtered or taken in as roman soldiers. And fighting someone who is protecting their family and their home is hard especially when they were as primitive as the celts and Scottish tribes.

[@user-xi8qc9dj4c]

Fluffy Snow doggo

[@user-xi8qc9dj4c]

Final Advance Julius Cesar had conquered Britian. He had armies conquered Britian and History books had been wrong History ADD things that the romans tell the romans didn't say they conquered Britian so Historians. Debunk the idea of romans conquered Britian.

[@Terracecasualx5]

Final Advance the Romans did conquer the British isles apart from Scotland. They would rather build a wall from one coast to another,regularly intercepted with forts and gates as the Picts were a troublesome lot. If the Romans didn’t conquer us why do we have city’s built by them still inhabited today? London,York(although the Vikings started this one). Then there are the forts they built,I use to play on one as a kid..Seguntium to be precise. In fact the saying uttered by Julius Ceaser is attributed to him when he landed ‘Vene,Vidi,Vici’ “I came,I saw,I conquered”. The British Isles was most definitely invaded by the Romans,apart from Caledonia of course.

[@alexanderthegreatsdad.3831]

Lee Bartlett so you are a foreigner? Go home you dirty refugee. Stop stealing out jobs and women. ; )

[@gamergoblin69]

I remember the pilum being for shields,you throw this long big javelin at the shield and it becomes super heavy for the enemy and the shield can't protect them anymore

[@emeraldaaxe7203]

I watched this when it came out, this video is what truely got me interested in history. I’m now in university for a history degree. Thank you for changing my life.

[@BG_Low]

No wonder Roman is the greatest civilization. 2000 years ago they already have this nice HD footage...

[@buzzlightyear6960]

Yeah man

[@Sazan_Jackal]

When you legit did almost no research but get an C+

[@mouadgranderson9618]

These guys are easy pickings for Asterix and obelix

[@stevenbaczkowski6601]

Are you belgian

[@blaccy5991]

@@stevenbaczkowski6601 It's in Denmark too

[@stevenbaczkowski6601]

Blaccy Ah cool did not know that

[@blaccy5991]

@Floron it's still in Denmark...

[@victoriaregina8344]

Funny how that works, the 4 camps been surrounding them forever then!

[@Rickety3263]

Best scorpion construction I’ve seen

[@seamuspink9098]

Were going to Rome! -girls: awww boring, just pizza and old structures -boiss: this video

[@Anna133199]

"awww boring, just pizza and old structures" said no girl ever when she was told she was going to Rome.

[@We_Roq2021]

SeB MaR ahahahahahahahah

[@kadartcostumes9842]

Pilum was not designed to pierce enemies, but to take down shield -walls , first and foremost. This is not a lorica hamata presented in this video, it's butted mail - no wonder the arrow penetrates.... 2,5 minutes in ... let's see how disappointing the rest will be ... Edit, pretty much every Latin word is mispronounced to a point of being barely recognizable :P Shame, but eh. lorica laminata (segementata) was actually not as flexible as hamata, but cheaper to mass produce compared to mail armor. That's why it was the preferred armor of Imperial times. (Many Centuriones still preferred lorica hamata. Next, Unfortunately it's not explained why the arrow doesn't go all the way through the lorica segementata in the shown test. Reason : The plates are partly overlapping, providing double protection at many parts of the armor. but eh... At least the information on the scorpion, ballista and onager is accurate :D

[@ShadeAKAhayate]

You forgot to mention that laminatas were way too expensive to maintain, so they emerged for around 100 years and then were gone from usage... Thus, a legionaire would almost always be packed into a hamata.

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

for that I'm guessing that their "weapon reproduction expert" was the only expert they hired and he's a complete inept about armor as even the most passive of medieval enthusiasts know mail armor was mostly riveted if not also a mixture with welded rings... how do the producers even miss this stuff? a quick google search doesn't cost money, they don't need an expert to know that the mail they're getting a closeup of isn't right! .........

[@ThisWasWhatIThought]

KADArt Cosplay thank you

[@darksideorbit8898]

Did you know that Google isn't always right? Websites have a very high tendency of stating whatever bullshit they believe. I'm not saying that you're wrong. But using Google as your source of information is quite sad.

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

Let's make a quick google search with "mail armor" as keywords and see: -Wikipedia which, while it's not always the best way to gather information, this page is properly made mentioning its great effectiveness against all slashing and most thrusting blows, also mentioning a study of the Royal Armouries, the UK's national museum of Arms, saying "it's almost impossible to defeat mail armor with any conventional medieval weapon"; -Lindybeige's video where he makes mail armor which, even though he's making butted armor he does mention it's not how proper mail armor was made and he's only doing it for roleplaying (cosplay) purposes; -The Metatron's video about mail armor, with the guy being particularly researched about the Roman period making it even more relevant to the video; -Knyght Errand's video, possibly the most researched popular KZbinr about European armor of all kinds; -Scholagladiatoria's video, Matt being a historian by profession himself; -A blacksmith resource website which LITERALLY WALKS YOU TROUGH THE MAKING OF MAIL ARMOR You know the kicker? this was all in the first page and took me less than 5 minutes to gather up all this stuff. This information isn't a secret nor an obscure topic, it's really just a Google search away. We're not in 2001 anymore, Google has become more and more reliable for research exponentially as more people, researchers and historians included, got access to the Internet and information demand increased

[@mrfr87]

They used riveted chainmail but in the demo of a arrow piecing the mail it was butted mail which is useless against anything spiked and historically inaccurate.

[@paulmcdonald2742]

Great comment, in reality that arrowhead isn't going through. It's really hard to pierce proper mail. Skallagrim's slo-mo video with different weapon tests and Shadiversity's "the truth about mail armour" give justice.

[@fwcolb]

Great photo of the tortoise formation, the testuga. Best video lecture on Roman military gear ever!

[@paprskomet]

Its not a photo,its Testudo(although it was also called "Chelone" in greek by roman autors)and this video contains several errors.

[@FrehleyFan3988]

This is what they should be teaching in history

[@Altijdgamervids]

5:12 lol look at how happy that dude is

[@elihays3543]

1:34-1:48 that's what she said

[@pickelhaubekhajiit6530]

Panned Toast boi

[@robbiemeier4351]

Liberals are cancer LIBERALS ARE CANCER

[@someguyfromfinland4239]

Oh please

[@redbluesandmoons7478]

*_B O I_*

[@joel5611]

Good god

[@hawks977]

Ah yes we boys used to do this after school with rubber swords and paper shields

[@InnovativeSparks]

I wish I was you

[@TOGGGAA1]

I remember being 13 years old in 2005, and staying home to watch stuff like this all day with my friend (or by myself). We only had one landline phone in the house and two TVs. I had downloaded Banzai buddy a few years prior and destroyed the home computer. My parents didn’t seem to be interested in another one. They still don’t know how to really use a computer to this day. Anyways at 9am it was challenging to find things on cable television that my 13 year old brain wanted to watch. It was often this stuff, or old Popeye cartoons, because popeye just whooped ass the whole 15min episode.

[@program4215]

"The hard tip penetrates, but the soft shaft bends..."

[@Blackrew]

1:03 the amazing thing is, people are still finding remains of these iron spikes today through metal detecting, etc in Italy and Greece

[@bagelgeuse5736]

2:18 Love how the chainmail is pretty clearly not riveted.

[@sheldor40]

This was really interesting and very informative thank you love to learn about history

[@marquissquinty5711]

You can easily see in the video that the pretend roman legionaries are really bad at throwing the spears.

[@U40N]

when none of spears actually pierce the wooden targets...

[@mike62mcmanus]

Or that some of them are women, look for shaved legs....

[@bestgamerouthereasen1106]

Mega Mech Gaming

[@prismaticbeetle3194]

well they are not legionnaires XD

[@johnshumate8112]

Javelin*

[@Mr.Deleterious]

Seems like the scorpion is a lot of work to take one soldier out of action. I like Maximus's use of his trebuchets, using clay pots full of flammable fluids then hurled at the enemies or trees to spread it around the battlefield. Now that is effective.

[@ryforg]

They could be used to break lines in tight strong formations so the foot soldiers could get in, but also were great against light walls, boats (and yes they did have them on boats) and siege ewuipment

[@Kaiyats]

How did they get stones that size that were so perfectly round?

[@GuerrillaPM]

The same way they've built statues.

[@akkigurjar9592]

भारतवर्ष के महान योद्धा हमेशा सही संसार के सभी योद्धाओं से ऊपर है भारत की फौज बहुत ताकतवर थी इतिहास उठाकर देख लो

[@AndrewMartin600]

Lindy beige, DEBUNK THIS!

[@facecrash24]

Chain mail once worn is equally distributed across the back and shoulders making its weight none too cumbersome and that arrow barely pieced it. No doubt it would eventually mess up the armour, but it would probably save your life multiple times before any significant damage was taken, unless armour piercing or heavy artillery projectiles are used.

[@mad_scientist5597]

he already did. at 10:28 he's cutting the rope.

[@ciaranconnell1848]

the Romans didn't organly make the atilry the Greeks did

[@arcaderust4697]

Andrew Martin I

[@sgtyeary]

Andrew Martin ui

[@godking]

I would pick a well equiped roman legion properly backed up with cavalry and archers/slingers to win most of the time against any pre gun powder army throughout history. The romans basically perfected infantry warfare in the pre gun powder era.

[@theintunity]

Don't understand the dislikes. Very cool and informative video. After Watching the TV-series Rome and Spartacus I've become obsessed with Roman history.

[@will7816]

0:47 "Designed to pierce armor, to pierce their shield"... *Proceed to showing dozens of Pilums failing to pierce a huge ass wooden target*

[@imperioportugues7062]

Really good

[@MrMMazza1]

No. Too many inacuracies. Just, no.

[@machinaowl910]

You forgot the extra c you fucking genius LOL

[@nicholasfrundt4125]

And who the fuck are you a Roman Soldier?

[@nicholasfrundt4125]

Oxycontin Gucci ooh we got ourselves an edge lord.

[@nicholasfrundt4125]

Oxycontin Gucci oh wow you are really trying your hardest now. Slow down or you might hurt yourself.

[@mattfisher3825]

Oxycontin Gucci please be jocking

[@Delao1179]

Wow you did a great job on the video, I am subscribing

[@Spartacus6125]

Using in a public high school world history class today, thank you!

[@cendicate9132]

I like how 80% of the spears thrown at those human cut outs bounced off

[@awesomedonut8228]

I got more information from Rome: Total War, seriously, it’s a really in-depth game, and surprisingly accurate, I used to pitch armies against each other to see which is better, obviously, slow the gameplay down and read the stat to get more immersed. Good times.

[@user-cw6sd6vu8k]

When footage from 2002 starts looking like it’s from the 80s

[@markdanieltorres3283]

2000 years ago the Roman army is the best equipped army in the world. While architects have mastered the art of manipulating stone and concrete, military engineers have fashioned metal and wood to create devastating weapons of war. The Roman foot soldiers main weapon is a fearsome sword called the Gladius, a double edged blade with a sharp point used for stabbing and thrusting, rather than slashing. When not fighting at close quarters, their spear, called a pilum, could kill from a distance with lethal accuracy. Protecting soldiers from injury is just as important as arming them for attack. Early Roman soldiers wear chainmail, but armourers come up with a far superior form of protection. Articulated plate armour called lorica segmentata, made from overlapping iron plates joined together by leather straps, as flexible as chainmail, but one third lighter. If the romans weaponry has a modern feel, then so does the tactics they use. The Roman legions know exactly how to fight heavily armed foes. They use the testudo, Latin for tortoise. Legionaries bunch together and lock their shields in formation to create a protective screen, a formation as effective in attack, as it is in defence. Few examples of Roman artillery survive, but they left detailed clues as to how to recreate them. The Ermine Street Guard Roman Reenactment Society is dedicated to research into the Roman Army and the reconstruction of Roman armour and equipment. The scorpion fires iron tipped bolts, used in the first stages of attack and during sieges. It fires arrows at incredible speeds, pierces armour, and kills instantly, a bit like a giant crossbow. Although an effective anti-personnel weapon, the scorpion is of little use when attacking a building. For that the Romans need something with a bit more punch, the onager and the ballista. These pieces of artillery fire large stones at the enemy. During sieges they propel projectiles so high into the air that they can break down enemy walls. The whizzing noise of the stones strikes terror into Rome’s enemies. To increase the fear factor they’re painted black so harder to see. The ballista works like the scorpion, but is bigger and more powerful. It can fire a 60 pound stone or a 3 foot bolt around 15,000 feet allowing the soldiers to stand well away from enemy archers. The speed of the missile is phenomenal hitting its target at about 115 mph, anyone sustaining a direct hit would be killed instantly. The onager uses a different principle, it catapults basketball sized stones nearly 100 feet using a single arm and sling. The vertical arm is powered by a large horizontal skein of rope, coiled and twisted to create a rotational force, the skein acts like a spring storing energy to be released on firing. The combination of technology and tactics makes the Roman army the premier fighting force in Europe for 500 years and influences military tactics for the next 1,500.

[@beaconofwierd1883]

It's funny how a relatively high budget documentary is more wrong than some random guy on the internet uploading videos x) Guess it's not strange tho, since this is just for entertainment and Lindy beige is just out to say what he knows.

[@sabin97]

hey! the metatron isnt just some random guy.....

[@ramilsepuluh2430]

KM HNJBHD HKKGVLKHBCVJOOHGCCJKUGXFJKCNDJGXGMHSZDHJKJHGFJHDGHJLJDKLHK8U4RDSZTE 87VUNKL6DIO8CVJOTCNLTTXJSDNLOJ76XBP MOYFCNKKLGFXBV, I5TRCVMLKUHCX V7GC NJO, JIHV, GC NML9IUV .KV HI88UFX UHDEZ KHUHB KMMLPOHV K8 LMHV JMKU HO7YRDCJITDDBI865RF JJOOUG KMOB MKIGV I8 MKKIFC HDXD UTX

[@victorious276]

7:05 Narrator: "Once the bow string is released, it fires the arrow 12 hundred feet" Subtitles: Once the bowstring is released it fires the arrow *12,000* feet *1200* sounds more accurate, but someone plz correct me if I'm wrong

[@jamesboulger8705]

Really enjoyed the analogues to modern day events.

[@CIS101]

Good video.

[@Ash-id3oh]

Did I search for this video? *No* Did I sit there at watch the whole thing? *Hell yeah*

[@moh5938]

Her: I wonder what he does when I’m not home Me and the boys: 4:20

[@ee-tq3xu]

Heh great time... (420)

[@suhaali8939]

Now we only need to learn the intelligent people who MADE these inventions. Unbelievable

[@keithwatson8228]

That woman is a genius. "The spear is designed basically to kill." I'm sure glad she told me that. I would have never figured that out.

[@SnotFroth]

2:40 - the historical "expert" is testing arrows against butted mail rather than riveted mail? That seems quite inaccurate historically.

[@historypunkwargames4760]

Yes i thought so

[@Macy_Freya]

2:28 the “weapons expert” uses a pinch grip when drawing the bow, instead of the much easier finger grip.

[@sanderlaureyssens5688]

And the weapons expert also somehow didn't notice that he was shooting at butted mail which you can literally rip appart with your bare hands.

[@animecore9226]

If only school teaches this type of history would be great

[@aldolamberti3855]

The best documentaries i have seen about ancient Rome , are British and American, we Italians only make ''football'' documentary !!!

[@MrSychnant]

The Pilum was also used to great effect when it was lodged in the enemy shield ( either by throwing or stabbing with it) the romans just walked over the shaft and thus pulled the enemy shield down or out of their grasp.

[@The325dmc]

Lol when they say its riveted mail but show budded

[@sanderlaureyssens5688]

Yeah then they called the guy a weapons recreation expert. What a joke!

[@thewafflethatfellover3078]

7:55 Rest in peace fly may be remembered forever - hero of fly empire

[@lancetimothy2739]

This tactic is still been use until now