Units of History - The Speculatores: Spies of the Roman Army DOCUMENTARY

[@InvictaHistory]

Check out our previous episode which covers the Exploratores: the Scouts of the Roman Army kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4KshWOshZqjeMk What Units of History do you want to see covered next?

[@lucisferre6361]

Please send me a link to your patreon. I looked for it and was not able to find it. I would like to pledge to your excellent services. Thank you.

[@chrisleranthonysilveira5464]

Please make videos on Napoleon army units and the Egyptian empire army units.

[@Armorius2199]

When is What if Caesar Lived Part 3 coming out? #CAESARLIVES #ROMAINVICTA #SPQR #INVADEPARTHIA

[@poeticmic6219]

It's always invaluable to have masses of spies in Total War games :D

[@InvictaHistory]

@@lucisferre6361 Here you go, thanks for asking: www.patreon.com/InvictaHistory

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

Yass. Slingshoters,light cavalry,sacred band,ancient police,scouts and now ancient spies and special op. This channel is a gem.

[@nunyabiznes33]

I'm waiting for the honeypot video LOL.

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

@@nunyabiznes33 Me too.

[@Charlotte-o4x8h]

Slingshooters? I think you mean slingers?

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

@@Charlotte-o4x8h Right. Thanks for correcting me.

[@Charlotte-o4x8h]

@@ktheterkuceder6825 your welcome

[@GeorgeEstregan828]

My name is Bondus, Jamesus Bondus 😎

[@minskghoul]

Jacomus Bondus, angens septimus.

[@tituslabienus01]

Jamicus Bondicus

[@alexeysaphonov232]

Nomen meus Cautio est, Iacomus Cautio.

[@alexeysaphonov232]

@@666mrdoctor Or Catenus (chain), Your Variant is closer to binding something with a rope. And my first is something bound with ties. Anyway, good spy need more names and in Roman Empire they will be in Greek way more frequently than in Latin.

[@pix_d20]

JameSUS??? 😳😳

[@painterforbeginners9613]

You didn’t think we saw those Warhammer miniatures but we did!!!

[@ThaRealElTigra]

Where?!

[@kevinsturgeon8414]

@@ThaRealElTigra in the shades of your culo

[@edwardelric717]

Traitor

[@painterforbeginners9613]

@@ThaRealElTigra 0:45

[@adamh.4933]

By Sigmar you're right!

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

So wait, you mean to tell me that there WASN'T an order of religious warrior-monk-spies called the Arcani who dual-wielded swords and assassinated half the enemy army on the battlefield?

[@ventolus2068]

Bastards

[@LIONED]

I think TW was inspired by Roman Britain (and Arminius' mask). Wikipedia: "The areani or arcani were a force of the Roman Empire, based in Roman Britain during the later part of the Roman occupation of the island. They had played some part in the campaign of Constans in Britain in 343; later they helped to instigate the Great Conspiracy in 367-368. Due to their participation in the Conspiracy, Count Theodosius disbanded them" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areani

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

@@LIONED I'm just joking, but that is genuinely interesting.

[@itarry4]

Warrior Monks were definitely a thing in Japan. They used to play a huge part in the wars for who would be the next Shogun. Aa they were the only warriors who weren't loyal to anyone but themselves and their faith. So they'd often play both sides.

[@xTheacefrehleyx]

That's what THEY want you to think. Wake up, sheep!! Open your eyes!! /jk

[@admiralsquatbar127]

The spy in the thumbnail looks like he has a particular set of skills.

[@danielkover7157]

I was just thinking that! 😃

[@Lebowski69]

I dont get it...

[@darkapollo3463]

Ahhh!!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@Vince-tt1uj]

I was about to write "why does the Roman spy looks like Liam Neeson?" then I saw your comment 🤣

[@NightWanderer31415]

BEAT ME TO IT LOL

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

This needs a series. A speculatore protagonist and important figures and in the series with whom he has interactions and takes part in.

[@thomashendriks6798]

Yes, just like Washington's Spies, but replace Washington with Octavian!!

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

@@thomashendriks6798 Or Aurelius. Or any emperor or senator who used them.

[@thomashendriks6798]

@@ktheterkuceder6825 Agreed

[@praetorianstride5948]

Look into “The emperors knife/axe/spear” book series if you like a read. The plot starting with a scout in Caledonia named Silus who eventually becomes an arcani who travels to other parts of the empire after events that lead up to it.

[@ktheterkuceder6825]

@@praetorianstride5948 And without even looking into it I say it needs a series adaptation.

[@lucisferre6361]

I can stands no more! I am going to Patreon right now to pledge my support for Invicta. No mathematics have yet tabulated the total amount of blissful satisfaction I've gotten from this channel, for free.

[@lucisferre6361]

I can't find your channel to pledge on patreon. Please advise. Thanks

[@BVargas78]

@@lucisferre6361 I guess it's from www.patreon.com/InvictaHistory

[@tituslabienus01]

Check Out Saving History On KZbin You'll Love His Channel

[@lucisferre6361]

I got it right, finally, much thanks to the supplier of the link . I undeniably, satisfyingly pledged $3 per new video. My name varies from my channel pseudonym but I require no recognition for my contribution to such an excellent knowledge source. I will only say "thank you very, very much".

[@cgarcia4487]

“All warfare is based on deception.” Sun Tzu

[@spiffygonzales5160]

Warfare is simply diplomacy by another means. - Carl Von Clauswitz

[@secondhandsmoke10]

“All warfare is based” Sun Tzu

[@kevinsturgeon8414]

Sounds like my dogs breed lol

[@greymarmot4541]

All warfare is based*

[@ZoldarMusic]

Sun Tzu just stole it from Call of Duty

[@MagicalMedic]

Love this. Your takes on history help me flesh out my stories for D&D.

[@jermainereyem7635]

I love it when DnD has historical inspiration and context beyond Medieval Europe!

[@corymoon2439]

Mythology is great for good quests and worldbuilding as well

[@MagicalMedic]

@@corymoon2439 Already on top of it. 😉 I've based an entire one-shot around the Rainbow Serpent of Australia and a minor plot thread for a future campaign based on Chang'E and her husband. That one, I took a pair of elves and turned them to goblins, and they approach the party on the road to beg their aid journeying to retrieve an ingredient from a far mountain they were told is necessary for changing them back.

[@corymoon2439]

@@MagicalMedic I would love to also use minor Norse sagas for more mundane ideas. It's a solid idea but all of my players are pagans so the odds of one or more of them having read that saga are actually pretty high compared to the general population. But you can probably use it, that's a problem very specific for my campaign.

[@MagicalMedic]

@@corymoon2439 I would take this as less of a problem that you can't use Norse-specific lore and more of an opportunity to explore non-Eurocentric stories. The KZbin channel Overly Sarcastic Productions does bite-sized animated takes on mythology that reads like a catalog of inspiration. Pull a Momotaro and have the party find a baby nestled in the heart of a giant piece of fruit, or maybe a volcano goddess challenges the characters to a sled race down the face of a volcano, after which she causes an eruption if they don't let her win.

[@sizzla123]

Magnificent! The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.~Marcus Aurelius

[@scintillam_dei]

I don't know the secret to how to raise a son. -MARCVS AVRELIVS

[@taggebagge]

On the notion of ciphers, one of the most basic substitution ciphers known today is distinctly called the 'Ceasar Cipher' and it is apparently named after Ceasar who used it with a key = 3, meaning he substituted every letter with its corresponding letter 3 shifts to the right in the alphabet, rounding back to 'a' if needed. For decrypting the shift is 3 shifts to the left instead. He can encrypt "CEASAR" -> "FHDVDU", and if we intercept the letter, not knowing the cipher or the key, we cannot know what was said. However, his friend Marcus Antonius can simply shift back every letter 3 positions back, substituting the letters of the cipher text and thus recovering: "CEASAR".

[@scintillam_dei]

Neato.

[@Tsukiakarix]

@@scintillam_dei Qhdwr*.

[@oneonly2762]

@@Tsukiakarix Based and espionagepilled.

[@vitolopoii7981]

I don't get it?

[@taggebagge]

​@@vitolopoii7981 Say you want to write a message to a friend and you just write down what you want to say. Now, I am an adversary and I intercept this message and I see what you have said. You don't want that, especially if it is concerning battle tactics and war. You can encrypt your message, what that means is that your message, which is called the plaintext, becomes a ciphertext, something that is encrypted and unreadable to people without a key. In the example above the ciphertext was "FHDVDU" which is just nonsense but with a key you can decrypt it back to the plaintext which was "CEASAR" Maybe, you want to text "AAA" to your friend, so you look into the alphabet and you see. A B C D 0 1 2 3 With a key of 3, D is three steps away from A, so "AAA" becomes "DDD". That is "AAA" is your plaintext, now you encrypt and "DDD" becomes your ciphertext. Now, your friend has the key which means he KNOWS you shifted 3 steps to the right, but I do not have your key. If I intercept your message I get "DDD" and I have no clue what that means. Your friend, on the other hand, can do the same procedure you did but backward and he simply goes 3 steps back for every D and obtains "AAA". This is a very simple cryptographic scheme called "The Ceasar Cipher". Today it is not very secure simply because the "keyspace" is very small. We have 26 letters in the alphabet, so if I intercept your message I can simply try every key until I find your message (brute-forcing). As I said it is very important to keep information confidential because if we are at war and you send men to a location, and I intercept that message, your men will surely die. So.. historically there has been this race of encrypting messages and decrypting them. If you have ever seen the movie 'Enigma' it is about solving such a problem, where the Germans had an advanced way of encrypting their messages. Today as well whenever you use a banking service or something encryption is being used to make your transactions safer and they are much more complex than the Ceasar cipher.

[@connorgolden4]

Nothing like starting off the day with an Invicta video.

[@awesomehpt8938]

Then out spake brave Horatius, The captain of the Gate: To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late And how can man die better than facing fearful odds for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods

[@Daphne1780]

I love these videos. They are educational and fun at the same time. The graphic of the video is great!

[@nicholas2827]

More of this please, I would be interested to know about the Greek and Persian spies used during the Peloponnesian war.

[@thedirty530]

Wow... This video explains something I've never understood before! I always wanted to know why Hannibal was so effective at reading his opponents and intelligence networks explains that perfectly! I'm not even sure I've ever heard about spies this far back in history....Amazing work!

[@malingmann]

I am sooooo using this in my D&D game!

[@guy_in_ashopping_cart-sfs967]

NERRRRRD

[@geminiwriter8875]

Likewise!

[@WilliamLawrence7]

This is great stuff, you guys are quickly becoming one of my favorite youtube channels. Keep up the amazing and high-quality work!

[@ColaKhanable]

I just wanna say as a huge history fan i enjoy your videos quite alot especially the periods of rome and Alexander. Keep it up man !

[@GrayNeko]

Thanks for another great video, Invictus! This channel is an absolute gem. If anyone out there is teaching ancient history, maybe point your students in this direction?

[@grimkupid8478]

not usually this early to the quality that comes out from this channel

[@thescarlethunter2160]

Livy: we definitely don’t use spies Historians: *Lies!!!!!*

[@Hugin-N-Munin]

Every historically relevant general/commander: "We won because of being superior strategists and tacticians" The truth: "We had spies, which gave us the information to make a decent strategy, and consider tactical options. Then we had a large dose of luck"

[@iagoporto5522]

Such a normie predictable comment.

[@laisphinto6372]

Not really sulla and Caesar are famous of admitting they are very lucky

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

The best Roman spy? The emperor that infiltrated a camp as a cabbage seller.

[@danieleriksson5587]

Underrated

[@SkoomaCat]

XD

[@23trekkie]

Mea brassica! (or however "my cabbages" is in latin)

[@rafaelglopezroman1110]

Who was that?

[@darkapollo3463]

​@@rafaelglopezroman1110 Emperor Galerius. Interesting note, the previous emperor, Diocletian, had grown cabbages after retiring from the throne.

[@robbabcock_]

Thanks for another great episode. There isn't a lot of stuff out there about Roman spies so this is a rare treat.

[@jeremycole1341]

I’m a simple man. I see a new Invicta video and I click on it instantly.

[@phrophetsamgames]

Theres a historical fiction series called "The Agent of Rome" whose main character is a spy. Very well written and resesrched, and its an interesting series that takes place in the 3rd Century. The first book takes place during the Palmyrian conflict.

[@ronaldp7573]

Thanks for the recommendation. Will check it out brother!

[@wayofthewonderer]

Great video. Thank you. I've clicked thumbs up and subscribed

[@sgtrpcommand3778]

Thanks for doing a video on this. I've heard of the speculatores, but couldn't find much more information on them

[@krevin543]

Can you cover Napoleon’s Old Guard? That’d be pretty awesome to learn about their history and equipment!

[@facundobinelli7564]

Every chapter is a masterpiece, love this channel!

[@Earlofpuding]

This was a very interesting subject I didn't know I wanted to know about

[@rhoads2461]

Fantastic video guys!!

[@artman40]

"You must be a spy." "What makes you think of that?" "You're dressed like a chameleon."

[@michaelsaunders2648]

It's like you read my mind, I have been thinking about how Rome's spies worked but you answered the call :) keep up good work

[@maxmalasse]

Invicta! Thank you so much for your dedicated work! I'm gonna be soon in your patreon. Please, could you consider in your next projects to put questions to test the comprehension and learning of every history lesson. It would help people who practice listening comprehension. Thanks in advance :D

[@howzany6832]

This is excellent! A rare topic indeed.

[@annamosier1950]

very good info that we need

[@clarencehopkins7832]

Excellent stuff

[@area609joe7]

Been waiting for this one.

[@stuartbarnhill2795]

Enjoyed 👍

[@deathdeathington]

Been looking forward to this one!

[@akernis3193]

That was an amazing video! Thank you very much for making it, it was by far one of my favourites so far ^^

[@thefisherking78]

This is fascinating stuff! Thank you!

[@wilsmuts]

Love your work mate. I’d love to know what books you read for your research, or all the various topics. Would you be willing to post a list? Cheers.

[@aimatepid6282]

Exactly what I’d like to know as well .

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nicely informative video. Subjects like this are rarely spoken about.

[@caesarshotdogchampion8738]

Seems like you forgot about sending them into Parthia for Caesar...

[@nothingtoseeheremovealong598]

wulpurgis Hot dogs are a required ressource for civilizations of the past

[@chriscormac231]

@wulpurgis yes

[@Armorius2199]

When is What ifCaesar Lived Part 3 coming out? #CAESARLIVES #SPQR #ROMAINVICTA

[@chriscormac231]

@wulpurgis welcome amicus

[@nothingtoseeheremovealong598]

wulpurgis Cold dogs and hotdogs

[@mediacedia3719]

ive always wandered about this! thank you for this video!

[@Coffeeguyzz]

Great vid. Sertorius spent 2 years spying on the Cimbrians. His work may have saved Rome every bit as much as the efforts of Marius Sulla was involved in this intelligence-gathering OP as well.

[@Raz.C]

re - 2:40 That looks very much like a depiction of Horatius Cocles. I can't get enough of stories like his. They're so heroic and yet they don't rely on imbuing the hero with supernatural abilities. edit - Including, of course, the amazing tale of (Gaius Mucius) Scaevola.

[@-RONNIE]

Good video 👍🏻

[@ligidaykurin9106]

Love this video Thank you very much

[@HeathenDelirium]

Thank you for making this 👍🏻

[@Trapatatra]

Great! Last time I asked for Engineers! Can we have it? How they... Julius Cesar built so many forts in the middle of nothing? How did they build bridges? Because we talk so much about these things but there is no sense of time, manpower or planing. I would love to know how the roman military engineers could build the walls within walls that (outmaneuvered) defeated the Gauls. So much to look at... forest destroyed ... the roads... You know, my stepfather used to tell me stories before I went to sleep, I feel the same thing with some of your stories... that is amazing... last night I went to sleep with your Alexander playlist... but Units of The Past is becoming my favorite.

[@samdumaquis2033]

Great video, good work and art !

[@jacobstreets8445]

Great video. Thanks

[@The_Marine708]

Love these videos.

[@yeoldedumbass4487]

The art is so good

[@GilangRabbani]

Any chance you'd cover about the Frumentarii?

[@InvictaHistory]

We are actually working on that and the domestic spy operation used during the imperial era

[@spiffygonzales5160]

Let me guess... New Vegas fan? :)

[@GilangRabbani]

@@InvictaHistory Awesome, could it be possible that Frumentarii of the Roman Imperial era survived up to the Middle Ages in Western Europe? Their network's vast and I don't think Barbarian kings post Western Empire's fall at that time would disregard their usefulness.

[@TimtheEnchanter25]

We Frumentarii are soldiers of a different stripe. Capable in battle, but skilled as infiltrators and agents as well.

[@luckyluciano1623]

I would love to hear more stories about the speculatory

[@meguemil8542]

I hope you get to cover the messagers as well! Great video!

[@anti-Russia-sigma]

Overlooked does not describe my knowledge of such spies. I did not know about them. So thanks for the informative show.

[@johnpinkston3818]

4:30: their account of this story doesn't include the legend, which goes that this spy thrust his right hand into a nearby brazier as he warned the Etruscan King. His expression as he burned his right hand off was enough to assure the king of the Roman resolve. This man went back home; and was actually given his name. "Scaevola" means " lefty" in Latin.

[@r.t.972]

This was excellent! Love it.

[@ghostehh]

Many thanks and well wishes from Estonia!

[@rockyrakovica603]

Great job guys videos on roman special forces are whole new level of history videos and I love it. I have a request for you if you can make a video about transition of roman slave system of classical antiquity to gradual evolution to collones in latw empire and serfs in middle ages, as well as diffreces in barbarian west and roman east in early middle ages in that regard. There are no videos covering that topic and i think it would be very interesting topic to cover. Thank ypu guys for delivering us such a great videos

[@testemunhosdahistoria9688]

My man Julius Caesar in Spartacu's final season is the best, and I guess the only, use of speculatores on TV.

[@inperatieloos]

I would be very interested in whatever is known about Hanibal's intelligence operations. Anyone know where to find more on that?

[@nastynate956]

love your content. a favorite channel of mine!!!

[@praetorianstride5948]

Perfect timing! I’m on the second book of “The imperial Assassin, emperors knife” by Alex Gough. It has a lot of great moments where the narrative focuses around the arcani (and other characters) during the reign of Caracalla and Geta. Each character has a fleshed out role and it is a fulfilling and informing read. Even the humor in the book isn’t too much, nor too little.

[@Wonderwall627]

This was interesting, oddly both more specific and general than I expected. Lots of interesting details. I think the out of chronological order details leaves it a bit confusing though. Was most of speculatores done the same after the punic wars or did it continue to evolve over time.

[@KatherineHugs]

I miss the other narrator's voice (is he Canadian?). He seems more like an academic to me...like an excited university professor. Just has more real excitement about the subject matter IMO

[@greatwolf5372]

American

[@clarkogles3289]

Man this channel has gone a long way since the reach and total war days

[@cullenadasek9119]

You should do a vid on the Bronze Age collapse if you haven’t already, or maybe about the Celtic Tribes in Britain

[@sneedle252]

Would love other videos on pre-modern spies.

[@monkeydluffy3271]

Reminds me has someone any source where you could read about the spies of the mongol Army?

[@gnb_2476]

Another unit to cover in the future perhaps are the Mamluks

[@Armorius2199]

Invicta, when is Caesar Part 3 coming out????

[@richardgonzalez6409]

I swear i thought this unit of spies and scouts where known as the Areanii, but hey you learn something new everyday!

[@50TNCSA]

is there any books on these guys because I would like to know more about them

[@alex_zetsu]

I got the impression that Papus's Scouts were acting basically as what Romans would later call Procursatores in that they were horseback mounted scouts clad in full Roman combat gear (which at this time was whatever you got for yourself) rather than being spies. I think the difference between a spy and a scout is that you can tell what side a scout is on by what they're wearing. So I don't think this one quite counts as an example.

[@user-xq4st9ie7r]

8:16 Wait... Who would risk a bunch of "NCOs" in an operation where they have no access to their full equipment? A lost centurio cripples the whole unit doesn't he? I've never heard of that even but it sounds like a "high risk high reward" kind of thing. Please explain

[@InvictaHistory]

The story goes that Scipio Africanus was in the enemy camp for negotiations during his invasion of Africa and brought with him an entourage. Part of this group were some slaves who were actually disguised centurions that then were able to walk around the camp with less suspicion.

[@user-xq4st9ie7r]

@@InvictaHistory Thank you very very much for answering my question. That makes a lot of sense to me. If the general himself is present, failure is not an option I guess. So you definitely want the absolute greatest possibility of success which means the most capable men you got. PS: The video is another work of art

[@daveirwin6903]

Interesting note from the New Testament: in the original Greek of Mark 6:27, it was a “spekoulatora” that Herod sent to behead John the Baptist.

[@Robert399]

0:27 Wow, Liam Neeson's older than I thought.

[@reieduardorei]

Watching and waiting....

[@AldenHoffman]

This video was amazing!

[@JTL1776]

@Invicta will you be finishing What if Julius Caesar Was Not Assassinated?.

[@Armorius2199]

Invicta when are you going to release What if Caesar Lived Part 3???????

[@MadAtGasCar]

Love the artwork

[@NourishyourBeauty2027]

Congratulations on the videos from Italy a question arises no one has heard of the feared: AGENT IN REBUS

[@EvMund]

19:10 Caesar: what are your orders? Gaetullians: to find out what you’d do if we attacked with elephants C: okay, well what are the Persians planning then? G: to attack with elephants

[@NarayanDas-dd4ho]

Nice!

[@JayzsMr]

Interesting documentary but i like it better without a professional narrator . Makes these more unique and personal

[@fetus2280]

I just received some Roman Coins in the post today.. Coins from the 4th century, a few are Constantine . Perfect mix today, Roman coins and Roman doc on the tube. Cheers

[@kevinsturgeon8414]

HELLO!!! I'm a subscriber ;)

[@Florentinogarcia88]

With each prospective hero shouting "MONEYYYY"

[@galsaa0705]

Just wondering if you could do an episode about Khishigten's of the Mongols.

[@itarry4]

Surely especially early on the units used and how often how well they were utilised totally depended on the temperament and values of the general in charge. How they saw spying, scouting. If they thought it was a useful thing to cultivatie and use in the wars or if they thought they were an unnecessary complication, a waste of manpower or even more stupid against the tradition of war and usless.

[@KiarenGrae]

Awesome

[@KingOskar4]

I needed the info about Speculators yesterday, thank you!! Except in my dictionary, a "Speculator" in Slovak language is a person who puts doubt and questions anything you ever say or do. In other words, a "Troll who never believes you no matter what" in internet language. Odd definition. Edit: Grammar fix and corrections.