The Arab Siege of Constantinople: The Ancient War That Introduced Greek Fire

[@badluck5647]

The Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 would be a great topic. It is like the prequel to the current crisis in Ukraine.

[@thedustyrob]

Discovered Simon about a week ago and quickly realized he puts out some of the best content on youtube. Keep it up!

[@teabagginelite7030]

You've got alot of content to catch up on, but be wary of the casual criminalist. Some of those episodes get fucking brutal. That's where you watch Simon's soul slowly die

[@threestepssideways1202]

I agree, there is a lot of quality content over Simons channels. I will add this caveat though, oft times when watching videos about things that I know a lot about, I find that there are often glaring holes or mistakes. This is likely down to the research element, leaning heavily on popular but perhaps questionable sources. Normally it's mostly right, but the errors can be problematic and skew a subject considerably. It makes me wonder how much is wrong when watching things of which I know nothing at all. I really enjoy all these videos, learning things about which I normally wouldn't even have thought to take an interest in, however, if something really grabs my interest in Simon and his teams videos, I always make sure to go and find out after the fact from primary sources what the actual evidence is that the video was based on. Happy viewing, and of course learning.

[@Kiefsti]

@@teabagginelite7030 Even his beard looks sad in Casual Criminalist sometimes...

[@sandybarnes887]

Good thing he has 13 channels for you to enjoy.

[@quasarsavage]

go be a legend and check out his brain blaze ;)

[@rayf8730]

"What have the romans ever done for us?" Always love those Python callbacks!!!

[@jesseshaum2628]

I really want to see a video of the Battle of Verdun, the longest and one of the most hellish battles of WW1. It was to the French what the Battle of the Somme was to the British. Even though it had fewer casualties than others (still mind-boggling huge), it paints one of the most vivid pictures of the devastation and entirely new horrors modern warfare would bring.

[@saintmichael5253]

Fields of verdun! And the battle has begun Nowhere to run Father and son Fall one by one Under the gun Thy will be done And the judgement has begun Fields of verdun!

[@oliverpartington5334]

Check out the Sabaton history channel about Verdun, titled fields of Verdun. If you enjoy history content the host of that show is named Indy Nidel and he does incredible coverage of military history specifically first and second world wars.

[@nigelhornberry8062]

I'm sure they'll do one.

[@1001SHAD]

‘The paths of glory lead but to the grave.’

[@mitchellneu]

@@saintmichael5253 a fellow Sabaton fan, I see

[@a.robertson730]

Great work again guys. Would love to see a vid about the War of the Two Peter's, mainly in the hope of hearing Simon shout "am I right, Peter?" on a different channel

[@rebeccachrystal162]

A warographics video on the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I and what it meant to NZers and Australian, especially the August Offensive would be fantastic!

[@MY-hh5fj]

Came here to say please make a video about the Czechoslovak Legion in WW1. Such a badass story of an army without a country riding the Trans-Siberian railway the wrong way around the world during the Russian Revolution to make it home. It took around 3 years, via the port of Vladivostok and America! Their activities near Yekaterinburg led to the last Tsar and his family being murdered. Eventually they returned to their new country, formed after the breakup of Austria-Hungary. Would make a great video! Have a great day, love your work! Cheers

[@georgewojcik2546]

I would like to see Simon do a video of Battle of Jutland, the Gulf War, Bosnian or Kosovo War. You doing a great job, Simon.

[@Ali-bu6lo]

The inhabitants of the empire never ever used the term Byzantine, they called themselves the Roman empire to the end, in Greek of course. The same is true for their eastern neighbors like Arabs, Turks and Persians.

[@bonzobanzi1137]

Qqq

[@DegnaDings]

FINALLY SOMEONE. Byzantine is a stupid name, it’s clearly Eastern Rome. It always was and it always would be until then.

[@WhydoIsuddenlyhaveahandle]

Thank you! Rome fell in the 1400s to the Ottomans. Not in the 5th century. Drives me crazy when they call it the Byzantine Empire.

[@thibeaultdemulder8422]

@@WhydoIsuddenlyhaveahandleI always considered it’s end the 3rd crusade

[@kuroazrem5376]

A little correction: The Kharijites broke off from Ali during the Battle of Siffin because they refused to abide by the ceasefire between him and Muawiyah. He later fought them at Nahrawan and was later assassinated by a surviving and angry Kharijite.

[@EmilyJelassi]

Another extremely well done and fascinating video. Well done Simon and team!

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:10 - Chapter 1 - Historical background 4:05 - Chapter 2 - What have the romans ever done for us ? 7:30 - Chapter 3 - Schism & conflict , the early arab conquests 12:25 - Chapter 4 - The early arab conquests 16:00 - Chapter 5 - The battle of the masts 18:10 - Chapter 6 - A failed rebellion 20:15 - Chapter 7 - Greek fire, late antiquity's napalm 23:20 - Chapter 8 - The 1st arab siege of constantinople

[@chesbaret]

thank you legend

[@shanesmith9309]

Can u do a biographics about Constantine I please I think it would connect a lot of your previous videos that mention him and a pivotal person in history

[@lehammsamm]

I feel like every time Simon says he's tired of doing Roman videos, he just uploads another one. 😅 I'd love to see a video on the Anglo-Zanzibar war. Apparently it only lasted about 40 minutes and was basically centered around a change in leadership.

[@bremnersghost948]

36 Minutes of Bombardment then 4 Minutes to Boil up a Brew when "Cease Fire, Tea Break" was Called :)

[@MysticWanderer]

Would be really funny if Simon could make the video the same length as the war

[@jrssae]

So many great episodes on this channel

[@kerbalized]

You should cover the Battle of Tarawa during WWII at some point. Tiny island in the Pacific theater, so low that Naval bombardment overshot it and US landing craft got stuck on the surrounding reef because they attacked on the lowest low tide of the year. Doesn't get much coverage compared to Wake or Iwo Jima, but pretty fascinating

[@kerbalized]

@@seawind930 I did a combat report years ago during a military history course. Navy parked too close to the island and their guns couldn't get enough elevation for high-angle arcs so they basically tried to shoot directly at it and missed almost every shot. Then most of the landing craft got beached on the reef, stranding Marines too far from shore to attempt swimming but in pre-sighted range of the Japanese emplaced machine guns. It was a shit show

[@ian4175]

@@kerbalized With a report like that I’m not surprised it’s not talked about too much.

[@kerbalized]

@@ian4175 "we learned a lot about island warfare from that battle" "Which battle?" ".... Uh, idk don't worry about it"

[@ian4175]

@@kerbalized exactly lol, just like the landings at Deippe. At least we learned.

[@titisuteu]

Constantine named the city New Rome. Only later did the city acquire the name of Constantinople, most likely when people started to name it the city that Constantine built or the City of Constantine or Constantinople.

[@makinapacal]

It is my understanding that the usual name given for Constantinople by ordinary Byzantines was simply The City.

[@titisuteu]

@@makinapacal Later, closer to the fall to the ottomans.

[@ippokratissokoutis7388]

Exactly. Constantine named the city Nova Roma (New Rome)

[@-MarcusAurelius]

That Life of Brian reference 😂 well done

[@gabrielpartanen1194]

I was beginning to think nobody got it reading through the comments.

[@81killstizenx]

Oooo nothing like finding a new Simon channel a month late and having some new videos to watch

[@frstysnowman]

Hey Simon, another great battle one could cover is Ayn Jalut, mongols vs the mamelukes in 1260..

[@malcolmphillips6936]

I’m currently reading Destiny Disrupted, Tamin Ansary…..and do so enjoy integrating you catalogue as supportive reference. Thank you for your fine work.

[@armandotalampas4800]

The Byzantine empire is not a pushover! Its main archenemy, Sassanid Persia quickly fell to hordes of Arabs. The Saracens finished off the Sassanids. It should be noted that both the Byzantine empire and the Sassanids are both exhausted from their long and bloody intermittent wars. The Byzantines managed to stay alive despite losing Egypt and its provinces in the Levant. Still, remarkable!

[@mhd2680]

Hahaha being tired 😓 That notion again

[@armandotalampas4800]

One more thing, the Byzantine empire is still remarkable for its longevity! It lasted 1,123 years (330AD - 1453)! The Arab Caliphate existed from 750 - 1517. The Eastern Roman Empire even has a longer life span than the Ottoman empire (1300-1918)

[@armandotalampas4800]

I love this video! This is truly the one of the most significant battles in world history! I'm glad the Eastern Orthodox Church remains intact despite the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. I think if Constantinople and Asia Minor was conquered by the Arabs, the Papacy would do the evangelization of eastern Europe. Roman Catholicism would be likely the dominant religion in Russia, not Orthodoxy.

[@ericponce8740]

The Arab conquest of the Levant and Egypt was a blessing in disguise for Eastern Rome. The empire would consist of the Balkans, Islands in the Aegean and Anatolia. Most of the people were Greek speaking Orthodox Christians and would be more loyal to Eastern Rome than to the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.

[@armandotalampas4800]

@@ericponce8740 I'm afraid to say I don't agree with you. The language barrier is a minor factor. The Balkans have their own language and alphabet: Serbo-Croatian and the Cyrillic alphabet. Before the Crusades, these regions are hotspots of rebellion and unrest. The "Kings and Generals" channel recently made a video about that. And the Byzantine empire lost its rich provinces, notably Egypt, which supplies grain to the empire. Economically, the Arab conquest was a huge blow to Constantinople And the demographics was changed forever in the Levant and Egypt. Many Eastern Christian denominations were almost extinguished. The Coptic Church in Egypt remained intact and is the largest Eastern Christian denomination in the Middle East. The Catholic, Orthodox and Armenian Churches remains intact but are reduced to a minority in the region. The Middle East and North Africa is predominantly Muslim until this day. I'd rather see a Christian Levant divided into many sects than a Muslim Levant

[@mhd2680]

@@armandotalampas4800 In your dream Muslims will grow bigger and bigger and by the way that’s thé Arab originally shared with aramic and Assyrians as well as the Jews

[@armandotalampas4800]

@@mhd2680 😆 Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the African continent. And it is believed that there are now 300 million Christians in China practicing in secret

[@EdrethMaximus]

How cool would a seres on the Byzantine Empire be? This would probably be the best battle to portray🤩

[@peterkirby1753]

I love the smell of Greek fire in the morning 🤠

[@theawesomeman9821]

Burns even when in water, its a good thing that the knowledge of Greek Fire has been lost to time.

[@williammobley2110]

Constantine renamed Byzantium as New Rome. It was popularly called Constantine's City.

[@williammobley2110]

It was called the Eastern Roman Empire. "Byzantine Empire" is a modern term never used in Rome's history.

[@williammobley2110]

@@mrfact03s Byzantine is a modern term that refers to the Eastern Empire- the one that survived the fall of imperial authority in the West (though they held Western lands for centuries after 476). The Holy Roman Empire was Charlagmagne's Frankish Empire rebranded by the Pope in hopes of restoring Roman customs and laws in the West.

[@ProvidenceNL]

@@mrfact03s Byzantine Empire is a term thought up by western scholars only after the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire, they never called themselves Byzantine.

[@idiotwidowmaker8932]

Wake up at 1:30am and can't fall back asleep, need to burn time to make a 9am apt. Open KZbin and what do I see? A new Simon whistler channel with over 4 hours of content ready and waiting

[@TheBLGL]

It would be cool if y’all did a video on the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 now that you’re doing wars and battles.

[@HistorySkills]

Very cool. Keep up the great work.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@trophies1968]

As always, fantastic.

[@megawackoking]

Once again another well of information on mankind's history thank you Simon!

[@GerSanRiv]

New secret channel that was only once referenced as a crazy Side project? Neat

[@j-koch]

Found it interesting that Simon called the three Abrahamic religions as “cults”.

[@mikeg2306]

What’s the difference between a religion and a cult? About 100 years.

[@austin8775]

His writers are all gender benders who paint their nails and color their hair green what do you expect. Also funny how the west thinks its so cool to mock religion but at the same time keep the Middle East balls in their mouth. News flash Muslims don’t play that soyboy western stuff

[@DeliveryMcGee]

Hey, Fact Boy! This channel needs more feel-good stories, like Franz Stigler's compassion for Charlie Brown (yes, that was the man's actual name) and their becoming BFFs 40 years after they first met as enemies. One flew a fighter plane for Nazi Germany, one flew a B-17, I'm sure you can figure out which was which based on the names,

[@hewhoshallnotbenamed5168]

It should be noted that the term "Byzantine" wasn't coined to refer to Eastern Rome until a century AFTER Constantinople's fall to the Ottomans and wasn't formerly adopted by academics for another century after that.

[@joeyr7294]

It's snowing here in the south east us, which doesn't happen often....so I'm enjoying the shit out of sitting by my fireplace and listening to Simon and Co.

[@Kiefsti]

I'm in Alberta! It's a bright sunny morning at 1°C (33°F). Usually in a blizzard and about -20°C this time of year 😁

[@d.c.8828]

@@Kiefsti Thank you for converting the temperature into 'Merican units for me!

[@Kiefsti]

@@d.c.8828 My pleasure, neighbour 🤗

[@Dibz105]

Please find a way to include comeuppance in more of your videos please and thank you. Legend

[@Wyrsa]

Sigh The first use of the term “Byzantine” to label the later years of the Roman Empire was in 1557, when the German historian Hieronymus Wolf published his work, Corpus Historiæ Byzantinæ, a collection of historical sources.

[@andyyang3029]

Love this new channel! All banger episodes so far!

[@beachboy0505]

excellent video 📹 👏

[@domi6026]

4:12 was that a Life of Brian reference?

[@hliaspapanikolaou8017]

Byzantion was the Previous.Name of Costandinopole as was a City founded by Megarian Greeks and their Leader Byzas or Byzas ,Costandine sThe ' Grate " who Make the city Capital of the Empire was Helen a Greek from Birhenia and Justinian's wife Theodora wife A Greek fro Cyprus.and Emperor Heraclius (his nameeans in Greek the one Who has Hercules Grace) make .. Greek official language of the Empire was half Greek Cappadocian half Armenian

[@mrbaab5932]

For West African fans, 4:36 notice that original Ghana kingdom is not on the coast or near the current country of Ghana 🇬🇭. The country was named after the old kingdom longer after the original disappeared.

[@johnrussell3652]

Please do a video about the Coal Creek War that took place in Tennessee.

[@a-man2246]

I noticed Simon seems to think "abu" is Abu Bakr's first name. Abu bakr translates to father of Bakr and abu simply means "father of". Abu bakr is a title of sorts and his real name is Abdul-Kaaba, later changed to Abdullah after his conversion to islam

[@jameslugh3641]

best intro ever!

[@amori11100]

great video

[@BigGahmBoss]

4:04 is the title card and the following list a Life of Brian reference? It feels like a Life of Brian reference

[@Matkin222]

How about a video of Juno Beach on D-Day? Canada's contributions in war are always overlooked, and Juno is practically forgotten compared to the beaches taken by the British and Americans.

[@30secondsflat]

Simon, how many channels are you running right now? Not a complaint, just worried that you may not be sleeping well churning out all this content

[@FandersonUfo]

Simon is half the content and channels on this platform

[@DuncTh3Monk]

Thanks for the Monty Python reference, I watched the film this week. Life of Brian if anybody is wondering and at least 2 points better than the Princess Bride LOL

[@enesozel]

If I recall correctly, eastern part of the empire was never called "Byzantine" until 16th century, about two centuries after its collapse. To them, they were the "Rome".

[@nejcpilih]

loved the video.✌ but this one had really a lot of information. From dfifferent names (especiall from the Arabs) to many different years, I had to slow down the speed of the video just to get all the facts in order. 😅 And even now I am not sure I can remember all 🙈

[@danielm3711]

Excelent video! Side note, rise of Islam also direclty correlates with the plague pandamic (Justinian plague). The fifth wave of the pandamic (Sheroe plague) happend just few years before fall of Sasanian empire to Islamic arab forces. Socio-economic pressure of pandamic coupled with the impact of 25 year war with Rome caused riots and fracturing of Sasanian houses. Sasanian empire saw 10 kings in 10 years, killing stoped when the last prince in line was a kid.

[@alexandru.onofrei77]

Nice Life of Brian reference there

[@TheRealJaded]

Simon is the MVP

[@sabbathunter]

The Khazars were a Turkish people, but they are not the ones we would come to know as the Turks. The Khazars elite converted to Judaism in the 8th century, along with some of the citizens. When their empire fell they dispersed in to numerous peoples, such as the Hazaras, Hungarians, the Kazakhs, the Cossacks of the Don region and of Ukraine, Bukharan Jews, the Muslim Kumyks.

[@kaloarepo288]

Some people including Arthur Koestler argued that eastern European Jews (the Ashkenazi)were descended from the Khazars-this theory is to some extent plausible as the Khazars fell to the Kievan Rus which eventually became the Russian empire and today's Ukraine and Belarus.The region was also ruled for a long time by the Polish-Lithuanian empire.All these countries had big numbers of Ashkenazi Jews.

[@moritamikamikara3879]

Either way, the Khazars are now extinct.

[@theawesomeman9821]

Its hard to believe that Simon called Christianity a cult.

[@kairakuwaeldreor3868]

Why? It is 👍

[@austin8775]

Not just Christianity. He called every religion a cult. Pissed me off. I want to meet simons writers to see which color they painted their nails and hair that month and which gender they’re currently identifying with😂

[@justbarley2876]

Good lord Simon how many channels do you have?!

[@markhough1027]

Love this channel. How about the battle of the Somme 1916

[@kyleclark4449]

4:05 Now, where have I heard this before?

[@ryanrozwadowski8708]

I'd like to see a video about the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth

[@cerberus0225]

I have to make a minor correction over a big pet peeve of mine with the nomenclature. The name "Byzantine Empire" was never used by contemporaries, and only became a common name by the 19th century. Words like "Byzantine" were used by contemporaries to refer specifically to the inhabitants of Constantinople, and "Byzantium/Byzantion" appears sporadically in documents referring to what seems to be a specific part of the city, though its not entirely clear what. The so-called Byzantine Empire always referred to itself as the Roman Empire, or Romania, and its only from about the 8th century onward that we see contemporaries who protested Constantinople's claim to being the heirs of Rome referring to them as "The Greek Empire". Other contemporaries, especially the Muslim world, just called them Rome, or Rum.

[@stevovondivo2326]

Nowhere near as self aggrandizing or unimaginative as Alexander the Great and the Alexandrias named after him (mostly not by him, in fairness..) Well done on another great production, WG team! 😁

[@cgt3704]

Do the battle of Vaslui please. It was the biggest ottoman defeat in the 15th century

[@Ali-bu6lo]

1:05 Constantine actually named the city Nova Roma or "New Rome" the name Constantinople stuck around later.

[@RHCole]

So even more basic

[@zersky495]

@@RHCole Just like Americas largest city

[@RHCole]

@@zersky495 Yes. Curious why you think I care tho?

[@timsmith1323]

@@zersky495 I’m guessing you mean New York named after my home town York and New York was new Amsterdam before that typical Americans=unimaginative

[@charleslarrivee2908]

Nice Monty Python nod at 4:06 😊

[@Dman8s]

Once again thank you for Nuclear weapons, the only thing that stops this from continuing everywhere. The fire ? It was probably some kind of air pump using gas or oil, a flame thrower. I suppose they would have been familiar with air pumps linked to sword making or pumping water. If they could spray water then they could spray a liquid or gas through a fire at the top of a pipe. It was probably air since I doubt they could transport gas back then. Its just like a common water pistol , like a super soaker except with oil

[@Lottie-Lou]

Please do the Turkish invasions of Cyprus and Greece. It involves both the British and the Ottoman Empire as well as the US.

[@pushing2throttles]

Simon O-Whistler the story telling history O- teacher. The man of a thousand O- channels. I ain't mad at cha, I'm just mocking ya for grins! Sarcasm for the sake of humor! Honestly, when I heard of this channel I thought it was going to be a graphically animated story with Simon's voice-over narrating a visual experience. War-o-graphics... hence the graphics part. Good stories as usual but could have come up with a better channel name or format that is more in line with the title. Kinda like what The Operations Room does which I might add is a great channel too.

[@michaelbenkstein7972]

Please do a video on Yip Man or Moy Yat.

[@aidynsbestyoutubemoments]

what is that ringing in the background

[@larry40]

2:11 looks like emperor Sylvester Stallone lol

[@canadianbacon9819]

Beautiful this epic!!!

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

Constantine, "I'll name this city after myself" Alexander the overcompensating, "That's cute" (something like 7 cities named after him!).

[@histguy101]

Like 23, except for the one he named after his horse.

[@BaldingClamydia]

Ah! A Monty Python reference that's not Holy Grail related :D 4:00

[@pawemach8811]

Nice Monty Python reference:)

[@perd3252]

Please do the anglo boer war

[@Woodsmoke22]

I see your Python reference there :P

[@michaelsinger4638]

Greek Fire must have been terrifying to witness.

[@valeriejames4675]

Smells like. Victory!

[@d.c.8828]

Pls cover the Thirty Years' War

[@AKAZA-kq8jd]

Greek fire baby!!!

[@DiracComb.7585]

4:02 Awesome reference

[@vasilerogojan4520]

This video is the proof that the superior technology matches superior armies.

[@AdamMeredithMusic]

I'd love to hear you talk about "monotheistic cults" and reference Judaism or Islam ❤

[@austin8775]

Nah Simons writers need to keep their lib soyboy thoughts to themselves. I don’t wanna some dweeb call every religion a cult and Simon repeat it. Every video they make sure to let you know how left they are

[@ricbaker351]

Someone reads Dan Jones at this channel. Nice.

[@mitkodimitrov8396]

you didnt mention in 717 bulgars help romans to stop this invasion with more than 100000 arab warriors,was not so simple invasion :)

[@aniruddhbhatkal1834]

Yep... it's another Simon Whistler channel. Subscribes at once. Hopes he can handle this. Good luck Simon!

[@rangler90]

Constantine named the city Nova Roma but it didnt catch up, it's the people that named it Constantinople in his honour.

[@ehrldawg]

Up next;Belleau Woods

[@juliusfishman7222]

Bro has balls calling them cults

[@theawesomeman9821]

Its too bad that the besiegers didn't have an arsenal of gunpowder.

[@ProvidenceNL]

Good video, but they never called themselves Byzantine Empire, that was a term that scholars came up with only AFTER the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. They always called themselves Romans.

[@davidbest4908]

Persians used to fighting densely packed Roman legions who didn't change? By this time Roman armies were cavalry oriented and they had defeated the Persians. They didn't use triremes but dromons which up until approx 9th century had one row of oars.

[@EdrethMaximus]

wait what? by the way you say it, it seems “Byzantine Empire” was a used term at the time, but it was invented after the fall of the Empire. They were called romans (by themselves and by everyone else)