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The ENTIRE History of ROME — Transcript

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0:00Before the Roman Empire, there was the
0:02Roman Republic, and before that was the
0:04Roman Kingdom. And all of this actually
0:07didn't start in Rome. It started in Alba
0:09Longa, an ancient city about 25 km away
0:12from nowadays Rome. There, in the year
0:14771 BC,
0:16the king of Alba Longa, Numitor, is
0:18chilling on his balcony enjoying his
0:20Latin Empire when his younger brother,
0:22Amulius, suddenly pushes him into early
0:24retirement. At the same time, Amulius'
0:27followers also kill all of Numitor's
0:29suitable children to make sure he
0:31becomes the new rightful ruler. Only
0:33Silvia, Numitor's sole daughter,
0:35survives the balcony party. And to make
0:37sure she doesn't produce any new heirs,
0:39she gets assigned a fate worse than
0:41death. She was forced to become a Vestal
0:45Virgin, a priestess forbidden from
0:47having children. Well,
0:49that solves that, Amulius thought to
0:51himself. But then, a miracle happened.
0:53Somehow, Silvia gets pregnant even
0:56though she was supposed to be a virgin.
0:58Now, don't get your hopes up since it
1:00wasn't Jesus Christ, just yet, folks.
1:02But, it was Rome's original founders,
1:05Romulus and Remus. After a presumably
1:08very chaotic childbirth and a very
1:11awkward welcome baby gathering, it was
1:13time for the next family drama. How did
1:16you get pregnant while being a virgin? I
1:18was literally raped by the god of war,
1:20Mars.
1:23The god of war, Mars? Yes. That is the
1:28worst excuse I've ever heard. It's not
1:31an excuse. It's literally the myth.
1:34What? But whether Amulius believed it or
1:36not, he now had a much bigger and cuter
1:39problem. With the newborn twin boys
1:41around, his claim for the throne started
1:43to become wobbly as there was a
1:45legitimate heir now. Better call Saul.
1:50Hi, I'm Saul Goodman. Did you know that
1:52you have rights? Constitution says you
1:54do.
1:58And now the part I think everyone knows.
2:00Eventually, the basket of the two babies
2:02crashes into the riverbank, and the
2:04twins roll into the cold, wet sand that
2:06is rough and gets everywhere. Well, this
2:09is it, said Romulus to Remus in a very
2:11manly and sexy voice. Yes, brother. It
2:14was an honor sharing the same womb with
2:16you. And just when they think they are
2:17about to die, a female wolf jumps from
2:20the bushes and sucks the Okay, this is
2:22straight up becoming a Bible story now.
2:23Virgins giving birth, kings ordering to
2:25kill babies, and a wolf feeding two
2:28twins? What's next? The Tower of
2:30Babylon? Well, chronically speaking,
2:32yes, but I get the hint. This all is a
2:35myth. It might or might not have
2:37happened, but it is crucial to the birth
2:39of Rome, which we are about to talk
2:41about, actually. So, why don't you shut
2:42your mouth, sit down, and enjoy the free
2:44entertainment?
2:47Who are you even? Get out of here.
2:49Anyway,
2:50after being raised by the wolf for an
2:52unknown time, the boys grow older and
2:54stronger, like absurdly strong. Living
2:58on protein-rich wolf milk apparently
3:00turns you into ancient JoJo characters.
3:02So, one day, while they're out flexing
3:03in the woods and doing whatever feral
3:05demigod teenagers do, a shepherd finds
3:08them, adopts the twins, and teaches them
3:10presumably how to speak since they were
3:12literal furries till then. And the twins
3:14grow up into two tall, muscular
3:16troublemakers. One day, Romulus and
3:18Remus get into a fight with some thugs
3:20who work for, guess who, King Amulius.
3:23>> [music]
3:23>> And during the brawl, the twins learn
3:25the truth. They are not random forest
3:28boys. They are the lost princes of Alba
3:30Longa, the rightful heirs that Amulius
3:32tried to river delete. So, naturally,
3:36the boys decide to go on a bizarre
3:38adventure. They march straight back to
3:40Alba Longa, gather up the locals, shout
3:42something dramatic like, "Please become
3:43a member of the YouTube channel
3:45Historically." And together with the
3:46people of the city, they overthrow Uncle
3:49Amulius and reinstate their grandpa
3:52Numitor, who apparently survived the
3:54fall. Grandpa gets reinstated as a king,
3:56and everyone's cheering, celebrating,
3:58throwing flowers, etc. Everyone except
4:01Romulus and Remus, because they started
4:03to like this whole army thing. So, they
4:05decided to build a city together a
4:07couple kilometers over. Eventually, they
4:09find a great spot near the Tiber River.
4:11Beautiful scenery, seven hills, perfect
4:14vantage points, a village of a
4:16blacksmith. All was going well. But
4:18then, because this is Roman legend,
4:20disaster strikes. They can't agree where
4:23to put the city. We should put the city
4:25on Palatine Hill. No, Aventine Hill. No,
4:28my location is better. No, mine's
4:30better. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
4:34No. No. No. And suddenly, the founding
4:36of the Roman Empire became a sibling
4:38argument that could have been solved
4:39with, like, I don't know, a coin. But
4:42no, this is ancient Italy, so instead
4:44they go, "Let's just ask the gods." They
4:47hold a contest. Whoever sees more birds
4:49wins divine approval, because why not?
4:52Remus goes, "I saw six birds." Romulus
4:55then responded, "Cool, I saw 12." "You
4:58cheated." "The gods love me more, bro."
5:01"They literally don't."
5:05Romulus decides to just start building a
5:07tiny wall. If his brother won't help
5:09him, he will just make the city himself.
5:11And Remus, being a certified older
5:14brother menace, decides to clown on him.
5:16Remus hops over the wall like it's
5:18nothing and goes, "Oh, no, look, I'm in
5:20your super secure city, brother. What
5:22will you do? Arrest me?"
5:24>> [snorts]
5:26>> "Your city sucks."
5:28"What, you going to found an empire on
5:30my corpse?"
5:32He did. And this is the start of Rome.
5:35Historically extra long facts, part 16.
5:38So, Romulus is now king, right? But Rome
5:42at this point is basically homeless
5:44camp. To attract people, Romulus calls
5:46it an asylum city, and not the medical
5:48kind, the everyone who's on the run from
5:51something, come on in kind. Which means
5:53suddenly, Rome fills up with runaway
5:55slaves, debt dodgers, exiles, guys who
5:58stole goats, guys who are goats,
6:00criminals, and a couple lost tourists.
6:03Romulus looks at this crowd and goes,
6:05"Perfect, a city." But there is a
6:07problem, a huge problem, because Rome
6:10has food, hills, walls, chaotic men, one
6:13king, but exactly zero women to have
6:16children with. This is an issue. Oh, you
6:20think? Shut up. So, Rome hosts a big
6:24festival and invites their neighbors,
6:26the Sabines, and tell them, "Come
6:27celebrate. Bring the whole family. There
6:30will be snacks." Let's be honest, no one
6:32can ignore such a great housewarming
6:33party. So, the Sabines show up, and
6:36everyone's vibing. But then, mid-party,
6:38Romulus gives the signal, and the Romans
6:41just kidnap all the Sabine women. Rome
6:44literally solved its gender imbalance
6:46with an 8th century BC Tinder kidnapping
6:49event. Papa Mars would be proud. The
6:51next morning, the Sabine men wake up
6:53with a hangover and are furious. They
6:55attack Rome, obviously, and we get the
6:57first official Roman war, just one,
7:00three years after the birth of the
7:02place. Bravo. The Sabine women walk out
7:04between the armies and yell, "Stop. We
7:06don't want our new husbands killing our
7:08old families. Stop being stupid. Merge
7:11the kingdoms and continue your lives."
7:13And they do. Just like that, the Sabines
7:16and Romans became one people, which must
7:19have been awkward at the dinner table.
7:20From here, Rome cycles through six more
7:23kings. We still have over a thousand
7:25years of Roman history to cover, so I'll
7:27just speed run us through this. Timer,
7:29please. The first king is Romulus. He
7:31creates the Senate, did all the crazy
7:33stuff we just went over, then disappears
7:36one day in a storm. Romans say he
7:38ascended to heaven, though he probably
7:40just tripped and died. Romulus was
7:42followed by the second king, a Sabine
7:44king who creates the Roman religion,
7:46builds temples, actually does not fight
7:48anyone for a while, and dies peacefully.
7:51The third king was basically the
7:53opposite of his predecessor and decided
7:55religion is cringe and fighting is so
7:57much cooler. So, he attacks and destroys
8:00Alba Longa, followed by absorbing their
8:02population. He dies because he angered a
8:05god, supposedly. So, the fourth king, a
8:07half-Sabine, half-Roman person, takes
8:10power, brings back religion, yet expands
8:12Rome forcefully. He also starts paving
8:14the way for his followers by building
8:16prisons, sports, and bridges. The next
8:18king kept the spirit going and
8:20constructed the massive sewer system we
8:22still applaud Rome for to this day, and
8:24becomes insanely powerful, so he gets
8:27assassinated by his political opponents.
8:29And so did his successor, who was
8:31abusing his power left and right.
8:33Though, he did build a wall, but it
8:35didn't stop the Mexicans. Finally, the
8:37seventh king, who was so incredibly
8:40sinister and cruel that he was expelled
8:42from the city by the people of Rome. And
8:44just to prevent any more idiotic kings
8:47from taking over, the Roman people
8:49turned the place from a kingdom to a
8:50republic. And with that, we enter the
8:53era of the Roman Republic. Yes, still
8:55not Empire, which in theory means no
8:58more kings, ever. We are done. We have
9:01learned our lesson. So, instead of one
9:03king, they elect two consuls, who have
9:06the power of a king, but definitely
9:08aren't kings. They rule at the same time
9:11and can veto each other to, quote
9:12unquote, keep each other in balance.
9:15They also switch out each year. I'm sure
9:17that will go well. Let's see how well it
9:19go Oh my god, it's all burning down.
9:21Ever wondered how Rome became so
9:24militaristic? It wasn't just because
9:26their first king's daddy was the god of
9:28war. It's actually because of what's
9:30happening right here in front of us.
9:32Rome wasn't the only city that liked to
9:34plunder and kill, because the French in
9:36the ancient Gaul region wanted to do it
9:38before them, and the Romans lost to
9:41them. And not just a bit, the Gauls
9:43enter Rome, looted, burned most of it,
9:46sit around like it's a camping trip, and
9:48to leave only after the Romans paid them
9:51a ransom in gold. This event might as
9:53well be Rome's original story of of
9:55villain arc. "Never again can we be this
9:57humiliated." said the Romans to each
9:59other. So, they turn ultra ultra
10:01militaristic. Anything that isn't nailed
10:04to the ground is about to get conquered.
10:06And oh god, were they good at it. They
10:08started with their Latin neighbors, then
10:10some hill tribes, then Greek colonies,
10:13then more tribes, then even more tribes.
10:15Basically, if you live near early Rome,
10:18you were about to receive a very polite
10:20invitation to join the Republic or be
10:22flattened by it. But the real challenge
10:24comes from across the water in the
10:26south, Carthage. They have a massive
10:29navy, with way too much money, a
10:31beautiful city, and elephants. You know,
10:34the kind of neighbor Rome absolutely
10:36can't tolerate. So, the two Republics
10:39start fighting in what historians very
10:40casually called the Punic Wars, which is
10:43basically a trilogy movie about chaos.
10:46In the first movie, Rome goes, "You know
10:48what? We want that island." Carthage
10:50responds by saying that you don't even
10:51have a navy to stop us. And Rome
10:54responds by building a navy by stealing
10:56the design of the Carthaginian ships and
10:58win anyway. 1-0 for Rome. Then the
11:01second war starts, and this is the big
11:04one. Hannibal appears. This man shows up
11:06with 50,000 troops, 37 elephants, and
11:10the determination of many years of
11:12deep-rooted racism. He gathers in Spain,
11:14marches his army over the Alps, which is
11:17insane even today, and absolutely wrecks
11:20Rome for years. Rome eventually wins
11:22because they are Rome, but yeah,
11:25Hannibal made them sweat. That's 2-0 for
11:28Rome. Then the third war is basically
11:31Rome saying, "Carthage still exists, and
11:33that bothers us."
11:35So, they delete the whole city from the
11:37timeline. Boom, gone. Survival of the
11:39fittest or whatever. And just for good
11:42measure, so they won't fight again, they
11:44enslave the whole city. And so, with
11:46their only real rival out of the way,
11:49Rome gets addicted to expansion like the
11:51British got to opium. They conquer
11:53Spain, North Africa, Greece, Turkey, and
11:56of course the Gaul region. Instead of
11:59going to therapy about what happened to
12:01them before, Rome literally conquered
12:0310% of humanity, enslaved another 2%,
12:06and destroyed entire civilizations just
12:08to make sure they were strong enough to
12:10have revenge against the Gauls for what
12:11they did 330 years before. And the man
12:14who gets to deal the final blow to these
12:16Frenchies is Julius Caesar. Caesar is
12:20basically the final boss of the Roman
12:22Republic. He marches into Gaul with a
12:24relatively small army and proceeds to
12:26absolutely dismantle the place. And by
12:29dismantle, I mean defeat tribe after
12:31tribe, conquer all of France, dip into
12:34Belgium, flirt with Germany, and then
12:36casually invade Britain just to see what
12:38they taste like. He comes back to Rome
12:40so powerful that the Senate becomes
12:42afraid of him. So, they order him to
12:45come to Rome alone and to leave his army
12:47behind. He naturally refuses and starts
12:50marching to the capital anyway. The
12:51Senate panics [music] and flee as Caesar
12:54enters the city with little to no
12:56resistance. But that doesn't mean Rome
12:58was his just yet. He still had to defeat
13:00the disputed leader and his allies
13:02before he can legally become, I don't
13:04know, the first dictator Rome has seen
13:06in 500 years?
13:08He fights all across the continent,
13:10boinks Cleopatra on the way because, why
13:13not? And after 4 years, finally gains
13:16control of the Republic. Half the Senate
13:18likes him, the other half wants to kill
13:20him by stabbing him 23 times. But is
13:23that hate justified? Well, kind of, but
13:26also absolutely not. Caesar wasn't the
13:29straight-up evil guy most people portray
13:31him as today. He was actually doing a
13:33lot of stuff that regular Romans loved.
13:36He fixed the calendar so months actually
13:38made sense, and it's why we now have 365
13:41days. July is literally named after him,
13:44so you're welcome. He lowered taxes,
13:46canceled debts, expanded citizenship,
13:49rebuilt half the city, gave lands to
13:51veterans of war, regulated grain supply
13:53so poor people didn't starve, and tried
13:55to keep the army under control so rogue
13:57generals wouldn't create another civil
13:59war. But, and this is the but the Senate
14:02couldn't ignore, Caesar was also
14:04absorbing every political office he
14:06possibly could. Dictator? Yep. Consul?
14:09Sure. Pontifex Maximus, aka the head
14:12priest? Why not? Basically, the man was
14:14collecting powers like they were Pokémon
14:16cards. [music] And the Senate, who spent
14:18500 years being paranoid about kings,
14:20looked at this and went, "Oh god, he's
14:22becoming a king!" So, they decided to
14:25save the Republic by doing the most
14:27Republic-destroying thing possible. They
14:29murder him in the middle of a Senate
14:31meeting. And this might have been the
14:33dumbest thing they could have possibly
14:34done, because tiny problem, everyone
14:37liked Caesar except the senators.
14:39[music] The liberators walk out of the
14:42Senate like, "We did it, guys. We saved
14:44the Republic." While the Roman people
14:46are more like, "You killed the guy who
14:48lowered our taxes and gave us free
14:50grain?" Let's just hope this somehow
14:52doesn't escalate. "Look how they
14:55massacred my boy." This is Mark Antony,
14:58Caesar's bestie, who is apparently
15:01really upset that his friend is dead.
15:03But don't let it fool you. In reality,
15:05he really just enjoys power and is about
15:07to usurp that power all to himself. "Not
15:10on my watch." says Octavius, the adopted
15:1318-year-old grandnephew of Caesar.
15:15Octavius might look like an adorable
15:17baby boy, but in reality, he is a
15:20cunning war criminal. Mark Antony,
15:22Octavius, and some random other guy that
15:24doesn't matter become the new united
15:26leaders of Rome. But in reality, it's
15:28more like Mark Antony and Octavius
15:29trying to become the sole leader. Look
15:32has it for Octavius that Mark is a
15:34massive simp, and he too, just like
15:37Caesar, gets seduced by Cleopatra. So,
15:40Mark leaves for Egypt, showers her in
15:42gifts, and Octavius sees this as the
15:44perfect opportunity to dispose of his
15:46rival. "Look, he's only spending his
15:48time in Egypt with his e-girl. And guess
15:50what? He is definitely planning to move
15:53the capital from to Alexandria. We
15:55should dispose of him." It was a blatant
15:57lie, but the Romans believed it. They
15:59attack Egypt, defeat the Egyptians, and
16:01the love couple takes the easy way out
16:03to avoid being humiliated in Rome. That
16:05leaves Octavius as the sole ruler. He
16:08blatantly steals the plot of the good
16:10Star Wars movies, because he declares
16:12himself first citizen, or imperator, and
16:15usurps all the power to himself.
16:17Finally, by the Senate, or whatever is
16:19left of it after a campaign of revenge
16:21and bloodshed for what a few of them did
16:23to Caesar, he is named Augustus, which
16:26means all kinds of fancy things. And
16:28since this day, in the year 27 before
16:30Christ, yes, all of this happened before
16:32the man himself even spawned in, the
16:34Roman Empire is officially born. Or
16:37wait, I mean, Empire is officially born.
16:42Man, I'm getting hungry. We're at the
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17:51this video. All roads lead to Rome,
17:53which is actually true, unless you live
17:56in any of these continents. But why do
17:58they lead to Rome? Well, that is because
17:59Rome, in its empire phase, started to
18:02learn how to stabilize instead of
18:04endlessly expanding, like for example,
18:05the Mongols used to do. That is also why
18:07their empire fell apart so quickly,
18:09while Rome managed to
18:11longer. Anyway, eyes on me, please, as
18:13we continue our story as we enter Rome's
18:16golden age. Rome has become very quickly
18:19a fully centralized empire, and
18:21Augustus, the first emperor, is the
18:23reason it doesn't immediately collapse
18:26again. The key thing to understand about
18:27Augustus is that he is not trying to be
18:29impressive. He is trying to be
18:31permanent. And because of that, he might
18:33be the single greatest emperor to ever
18:35exist. He knows exactly what a republic
18:38failed. It wasn't because Rome lacked
18:40laws or values or tradition, it failed
18:43because the army stopped belonging to
18:45the state and started belonging to
18:46individual men. Every civil war, from
18:49Marius to Sulla to Caesar, followed the
18:51same pattern. Soldiers fought for
18:53generals, not for Rome. So, Augustus
18:57fixes that first. He turns the Roman
18:58army into a professional standing force.
19:01No more temporary legions raised for
19:03single wars. Soldiers now enlist for
19:05roughly 20 years. They receive regular
19:08pay from the state, standardized
19:09equipment, and a guaranteed retirement
19:11package. Land grants come from the
19:13government, not from a general promising
19:15rewards if his rebellion succeeds. This
19:18one change alone removes the main fuel
19:20for a civil war. Augustus also limits
19:22how much military power any single
19:24governor can control. Provinces with
19:26large armies are separated from
19:28provinces with large wealth. No one gets
19:30both. Generals are rotated, commands are
19:33time-limited, and loyalty flows upwards,
19:36not sideways. Rome now maintains around
19:3825 to 30 legions, roughly 150,000
19:43professional Roman soldiers, backed by
19:45at least as many auxiliary troops,
19:47permanently stationed across the empire.
19:49This is expensive, but it gives Rome
19:52something it never really had before, a
19:54a standby response unit. On top of that,
19:57Augustus changes Roman war strategy.
19:59Instead of endless expansion, Rome now
20:02focuses on securing the borders. Spain
20:04is fully pacified after decades of
20:06resistance. The Alps are conquered to
20:09eliminate raiding routes into Italy. In
20:11the Balkans, rebellions are crushed and
20:13the Danube becomes a hardened frontier.
20:15In the East, Augustus avoids full-scale
20:17war with Parthia. He uses diplomacy and
20:20pressure to recover Roman standards lost
20:22in earlier defeats. He presents this as
20:24victory to the public, even though no
20:26major war was fought. It shows how the
20:28emperor really tries to keep the empire
20:30alive, but that doesn't mean the war
20:32stopped. Along the Rhine and the Danube,
20:34Roman legions are constantly active.
20:37Forts are built every few kilometers.
20:39Roads connect them so troops can move
20:41quickly. These regions were anything but
20:43peaceful, and because of that, it
20:45actually had soldiers living there
20:47permanently. In 9 AD, three Roman
20:49legions march into Germania under the
20:51general Varus. They are ambushed by
20:54Germanic forces led by Arminius, a
20:56former Roman ally trained in Roman
20:58warfare. The legions are wiped out
21:00almost completely in the Teutoburg
21:02Forest. Mind you, that is 20,000
21:05professional soldiers dead just like
21:07that. How could a general fumble so
21:09badly? Well, let's take a look at the
21:11traitor, Arminius. Arminius knows Rome
21:14better than most Romans do. He grew up
21:16around them, served in their army,
21:18earned their trust, and learned exactly
21:20how legions move, fight, and think. He
21:22knows their discipline, he knows their
21:24confidence, and most importantly, he
21:27knows their biggest weakness. Romans
21:29assume everyone wants to become Roman.
21:31But back home, where Arminius is from,
21:33Germania, Roman rule doesn't feel like
21:35order, it feels more like suffocation.
21:38Roman courts replace local customs,
21:41Roman law overrides tribal authority,
21:43taxes are imposed, obedience is
21:45expected. What Rome calls civilization,
21:47Arminius sees as the slow erasure of
21:50everything his people are. To him,
21:52Germania isn't being conquered by the
21:54sword anymore, it's being absorbed
21:56quietly, permanently. And Arminius
21:58understands that once Rome finishes that
22:00process, resistance will be impossible.
22:03So, he decides this is the moment. He
22:06doesn't rebel openly, that would fail
22:08immediately. Instead, he stays loyal on
22:11the surface. To Varus, Arminius is the
22:14perfect Roman ally, calm, cooperative,
22:17warning him about small uprisings that
22:19supposedly
22:21need
22:22to be dealt with. He convinces Varus
22:24that Germania is just going to be a
22:26routine cleanup. Varus believes him. The
22:29legions move as if they are on
22:31administrative duty, not a military
22:33campaign. They march stretched out,
22:35hauling wagons, supplies, and even
22:38civilians through terrain they don't
22:40understand. Forests close in, roads
22:43disappear, rain turns the paths into
22:45mud. This is no place for Roman
22:47formations, and Arminius knows it. Then,
22:51the attacks begin. Not a battle, a
22:53slaughter. Germanic fighters strike from
22:56the forest, disappear when the Romans
22:58try to respond, and then strike again,
23:00harder. Because the legions are strung
23:02out for kilometers in narrow terrain,
23:04units can't form up and orders don't
23:07travel. Roman discipline still exists,
23:09but there is nothing to apply it to.
23:11Rome is used to fighting on open ground,
23:13one army facing another, not conga
23:15lining through the dense forest while
23:17being dismantled piece by piece. Varus
23:20hears reports of attacks, but doesn't
23:21react decisively. He hesitates, assuming
23:24it's just minor banditry causing delays.
23:26He keeps pushing forward, believing the
23:28situation can still be managed, but it
23:30can't. Over several days, the army
23:33collapses. Units are isolated, officers
23:36are killed. By the time Varus realizes
23:38this isn't unrest, but a full betrayal,
23:40there is no army left to save. More than
23:4320,000 career soldiers are dead because
23:46of his blindness. Varus takes his own
23:48life rather than return to Rome as the
23:50man who lost three legions without ever
23:52fighting a proper battle. The Germanic
23:54tribes, Rome's barbarians, slip out of
23:57Roman control thanks almost entirely to
24:00Arminius. The legions number 17, 18, and
24:0319 are never used again, forever locked
24:05away with Rome's unresolved traumas.
24:08More importantly, because of this, Roman
24:10policy changes permanently. Augustus
24:13abandons the idea of conquering
24:14Germania. The Rhine becomes the
24:16frontier. Rome stops pushing outward and
24:18commits fully to defense. This decision
24:20defines the empire's borders for
24:22centuries. It was time for solidifying
24:25ground and making sure no silly little
24:27man would start a world religion.
24:29Spoilers. When Augustus dies in 14 AD,
24:33he leaves behind something
24:34unprecedented, a Roman state that is
24:36stable, defensible, and no longer
24:38tearing itself apart. His actions
24:40single-handedly were the foundation of
24:42the golden age. Now, before we continue
24:45with emperors and wars, it's worth
24:47stopping for a moment and looking at
24:49what living in the peak of Rome's golden
24:51era was really like. For the average
24:53Roman citizen living inside the empire,
24:55especially in Italy or a major province,
24:57life is structured in a way that is rare
25:00for the ancient world. Cities have paved
25:02roads, stone buildings, aqueducts,
25:05public baths, markets, courts, and
25:07written laws. Grain distributions keep
25:09large populations fed, trade moves
25:12freely across thousands of kilometers.
25:14Most people are not wealthy, many live
25:17modestly, and slavery is widespread and
25:19brutal. But there is stability. If you
25:22are inside the empire, you live within a
25:24system that absorbs shocks. Famine,
25:27crime, and violence exist, but there is
25:29an administration to respond to them.
25:31Now, compare all of that to the average
25:33person outside of the empire, often
25:35labeled a barbarian by Roman writers.
25:38Most of these societies are rural and
25:40decentralized. Political authority
25:43depends on the person. There are no
25:44standing armies, no long-distance
25:47infrastructure networks, no permanent
25:48bureaucracies. Life is harder, but more
25:52flexible. Taxes are lower, but
25:54protection is limited. When something
25:55goes terribly wrong, there are no larger
25:58systems to intervene. This contrast
26:00matters [music] because for centuries,
26:02Rome doesn't just defeat and fight these
26:04peoples, it also attracts them. Roman
26:07service offers pay, Roman cities offer
26:09security, Roman citizenship offers legal
26:12rights. Many people outside of the
26:14empire don't want to destroy Rome, they
26:16want access to what it provides, and
26:19that will matter later. For now, it's
26:21time for the next emperor to take power.
26:23Spin the wheel of misfortune.
26:27Wait, good? Oh, this thing is definitely
26:30rigged. Meet the adopted son of
26:32Augustus, Emperor Tiberius. He's a
26:35capable guy, an experienced guy, but
26:37most interestingly, an extremely
26:39introverted guy who is deeply suspicious
26:42of literally everyone and hates being in
26:44public. From the day he took the role as
26:46emperor, which he essentially got forced
26:48into by Augustus, he didn't do anything
26:50too radical. He simply kept himself
26:52secluded to the point he abandons living
26:54in Rome and moves to the island of
26:56Capri, where he reigned the empire from
26:58there. That was a little bit of a
27:00mistake since there was no one in Rome
27:01anymore to enforce orders directly,
27:03though it did come in handy for the
27:05Praetorian Guard, who were originally
27:07created by Augustus as an elite
27:09protective unit. These soldiers are
27:11heavily armed, permanently stationed in
27:13Rome, and loyal not to the state, but to
27:16the emperor personally. Problem is, with
27:18Emperor Tiberius living on an island,
27:21the Praetorian Guard commander becomes
27:22one of the most powerful man in the
27:24city. He controls access to the emperor,
27:27filters information, and increasingly
27:29influences decisions. Behind the
27:30curtains of Rome, power is no longer
27:32flowing through institutions, and the
27:34Senate is always seen as a joke. The
27:36never-ending corruption has begun.
27:39Meanwhile, in the far province of Judea,
27:41a local religious figure named Jesus of
27:43Nazareth is arrested by local
27:45authorities and handed over to the Roman
27:47administration. He's executed for
27:49causing unrest [music]
27:50and refusing to acknowledge Roman
27:51authority in the way expected of him.
27:53The execution is routine, and
27:56crucifixion is standard Roman
27:57punishment. As far as the empire is
27:59concerned, this all is a minor
28:01provincial matter, barely even worth
28:04recording, and Rome moves on. When
28:06Emperor Tiberius eventually dies in 37
28:08AD, the balance of power inside Rome was
28:11already distorted. The Praetorian Guard
28:13actively starts playing a key role in
28:15ensuring the next emperor supports their
28:17wishes and desires. They choose
28:20Caligula, a great-grandson of Emperor
28:22Augustus. At first, he does what they
28:24expect him to do, but long story short,
28:27because I don't want to cover all what
28:2990 emperors Rome had in full detail,
28:31Emperor Caligula gets a bit too cocky.
28:34So, the Praetorian Guard simply kills
28:37the emperor and on the spot immediately
28:39selects a replacement themselves. They
28:42find Caligula's uncle, Claudius, and
28:44declare him the new emperor. Needless to
28:46say, Rome has now crossed yet another
28:48line. The emperor is no longer chosen by
28:51tradition, legitimacy, or public
28:53consensus. He is chosen by the soldiers
28:55standing closest to him. Emperor
28:57Claudius turns out to be more competent
28:59than expected since he expands the
29:01empire, strengthens administration, and
29:03keeps the system functioning. But the
29:05precedent remains. Everyone now
29:07understands that the Praetorian Guard is
29:09not just a protective force, it's the
29:12ruling force. After Claudius, power
29:14passes to Augustus's
29:16great-great-grandson,
29:17Nero. Nero is obsessed with personal
29:20image and is careless about his power.
29:22He's basically the complete opposite of
29:24the legendary first emperor. He caused
29:26rebellions, a financial collapse, and
29:29half of Rome burned down during his
29:31reign. The Senate and the army lose
29:33confidence in him, and those who
29:34actually matter if they support you or
29:36not, the Praetorian Guard, ended up also
29:39giving up their support, which basically
29:41means your time is up. Nero flees Rome,
29:44and as it's clear he's going to get
29:45arrested and executed, he takes his own
29:47life. And with Nero's passing in the
29:50year 68, we not only end the Julius
29:52Caesar dynasty reign, but also end in
29:55the very chaotic year of 69. Very nice.
29:59Also known as the year of the four
30:01emperors. Four men claim and sit on the
30:04throne in a single year. Not because
30:06they are great leaders, but because
30:07different armies across the empire back
30:09different candidates. One emperor gets
30:11murdered, another one gets overthrown,
30:14another rules for a few months. Civil
30:16war breaks out across the entire empire.
30:18Legions that were supposed to defend
30:20borders are now actively marching on
30:22each other. Eventually, one man wins,
30:25Vespasian. Not because he is
30:26charismatic, not because he is loved,
30:29but because he has the strongest army.
30:31He restores order mostly by force, and
30:34hands the empire to his sons afterwards.
30:37So, yay, Rome survives. But now everyone
30:39yet again knows the truth about emperor
30:42legitimacy. Because if you control the
30:44army, you control Rome, no matter how
30:46bad of a leader you are. Naturally, for
30:49the next century, emperors rise and drop
30:51dead like flies every other week. It is
30:54extremely chaotic, and to not that
30:57interesting because it just comes down
30:59to this emperor bad. He gets killed.
31:02This emperor a bit better, but the
31:04Praetorian Guard don't like him, so he
31:06is also killed, etc., etc., etc. So,
31:08just to summarize the next century, here
31:10are a couple highlights. In the year 117
31:13under Emperor Trajan, the Roman Empire
31:16reaches its historical peak with the
31:18capture of what is nowadays Romania,
31:20Jordan, and Armenia. In 193 AD, the
31:24Praetorian Guard, who are, yes, still in
31:26power even 200 years later, literally
31:29sell the title of emperor to the highest
31:31bidder, Emperor Julianus, ended up
31:33reigning for just 66 days until he got
31:36executed in the palace by another
31:38general, aka the next emperor. And in
31:40the beginning of the 3rd century,
31:42Christianity started to spread like
31:44crazy. And that was annoying for the
31:46Roman elite. Christians refused to
31:48worship Roman gods, and instead
31:50worshipped, well, the Christian god. But
31:53that wasn't the only crisis they faced.
31:55The whole 3rd century was hell for the
31:57Roman Empire. Emperors went from
31:59switching monthly to weekly, and most
32:02die violently. The empire nearly
32:03fractures into separate states. Germanic
32:06invasions hit the west, while Persian
32:08armies spread from the east. Meanwhile,
32:10massive plagues tear through cities, and
32:12hyperinflation destroys the economy.
32:14Sounds like 2020 all over again. I can't
32:17make it clearer enough. It was, a
32:19chaotic mess. And eventually, one
32:22emperor accepts the obvious. The empire
32:25is just too big, too unstable, too
32:28complex to be ruled the old way. So, he
32:31makes a radical change. He chops the
32:34empire into pieces. He creates the
32:36tetrarchy, the rule of four. Two senior
32:40emperors, two juniors. And to top of
32:42that, emperors now live in border cities
32:45to be close to the action, and Rome
32:47literally gets abandoned just like that.
32:50It's still there, but the power of the
32:52empire is now at the fronts, among four
32:55of them. After that genius emperor
32:57retires to grow cabbages, yes, he really
33:00did, the rule of four turns into a
33:03battle royale. Who would have guessed?
33:05The winner is Constantine. He somehow
33:08reunites the empire, but he doesn't move
33:10back into the old Roman office. He's
33:13seen the future, and the future was in
33:15the east. In 330 AD, he builds
33:18Constantinople. It's built on a massive
33:21choke point between Europe and Asia.
33:23It's richer than Rome, easier to defend,
33:25and crucially, it's built as a Christian
33:28city. No more old school pagan garbage.
33:31Christianity is now the legalized new
33:33cool thing. Though the empire is whole,
33:35in reality, the split into east and west
33:38had already [music] settled in. All the
33:39rich and intellectual people followed
33:41the emperor to the Greek-speaking world,
33:43[music] while in Rome, the
33:44Latin-speaking folks were left behind as
33:47a ghost province. And I know this is a
33:49bit of a hot take, but at this point,
33:51the Byzantine Empire is real. Some
33:53people like to call it the Western Roman
33:55Empire and the Eastern Empire, but
33:58that's lame. They don't even speak Latin
34:00like the Westerners or live anywhere
34:01close to Rome, you know, the Roman
34:04Empire. The Eastern Roman part of the
34:06empire at this point in history evolved
34:08in the Byzantine Empire, and that is a
34:10hill I'm willing to die on. You can sue
34:12me in the comment section. Anyway, if
34:13you don't think that is when the
34:15Byzantine Empire started, this moment
34:17might have. Because the split between
34:19east and west became finalized when an
34:20emperor who died in 395 AD split his
34:24empire between his two sons. Classic
34:26mistake. And both administrations
34:28immediately ceased working together.
34:30Rome is officially no longer Rome. By
34:32the early 5th century, the
34:34non-Byzantine, aka Western Roman Empire,
34:37is laughably weak, and often ruled by
34:39foreign kings. It was time to put it out
34:42of its misery. It was time for the final
34:45blow. And uh yeah, if you're watching
34:46this video with your political uncle who
34:48has no filter, you might want to click
34:50off now. Because he is most likely going
34:52to quote what happens now each
34:54Thanksgiving dinner till there is no
34:55tomorrow. You ready? The blow that ended
34:58the Roman Empire once and for all was
35:01uncontrolled [snorts]
35:02immigration.
35:04Introducing the last villains for today,
35:07the Huns. They exploded out of the
35:09Eurasian Steppe in the late 4th century,
35:11and they were so dangerous that they
35:13single-handedly caused mass migrations
35:15towards Europe. When the Huns smash into
35:17the Goths north of the Danube, the Goths
35:20very intellectually decide to not stand
35:22still and die, so they run. And why do
35:25they run? Across the Roman border. Tens
35:28of thousands of Goths show up at the
35:30Danube asking for asylum. Rome lets them
35:33in. On paper, this is manageable, but in
35:36reality, corrupt Roman officials starve
35:38and exploit them so badly that the Goths
35:41revolt. As a direct result, two years
35:43later, a Roman army is destroyed, and
35:46the emperor is killed on the battlefield
35:47by the hands of them. That moment is
35:50important because after the events of
35:52Adrianople, everyone learned something
35:54Rome never wanted to teach. If you bring
35:56a whole nation into your borders, and
35:58you can't control them, you are not
36:01integrating them, you are just importing
36:03your future civil war. So, the Western
36:05Roman Empire starts doing what it will
36:07keep doing until it dies, making deals
36:09with armed groups it can't defeat.
36:12Here's some land, please just stop
36:14burning us. It calms them for a bit, but
36:16greed can never be satisfied. And to
36:18know, it doesn't stop with the Goths.
36:20Once the border breaks psychologically,
36:22the chain reaction begins. More groups
36:25move. Some are fleeing the Huns, some
36:26are just following opportunity. The
36:28Vandals go on a rampage across the west,
36:30and eventually take North Africa, which
36:32is catastrophic, because North Africa is
36:35where the west gets grain and money.
36:37Lose Africa, lose Texas. Lose Texas,
36:40lose soldiers. Lose soldiers, yeah, good
36:43luck. In 410, the Visigoths return from
36:46last video and sack Rome. Not because
36:49Rome is militarily important, but
36:51because it's [laughter] really funny.
36:52Then once the Huns are defeated, Rome
36:54the city gets sacked again in 455
36:57because, why not? And by 476,
37:01when the last Roman emperor, Romulus
37:03Augustulus, who has literally the most
37:05ironic name for this moment, since he is
37:07both named Romulus, the name of the
37:09founder of Rome, and Augustulus, named
37:12after the first emperor. Anyway, yeah,
37:13he basically got politely asked by his
37:15Germanic commander to stop being
37:17emperor, and then the Roman Empire is
37:20dead. Yeah, sorry guys, no epic final
37:22battle or anything, just emperor
37:24fatigue. Now, to be realistic about the
37:26Eastern and Western Roman divide, the
37:29term Byzantine is made up by modern
37:31historians. So, if you asked everyone
37:34back then if the Roman Empire is really
37:36dead, they would probably say, "No,
37:38dumbass, it's right there." But this
37:40video is long enough already, and my
37:41pizza is getting cold.
37:43If you really want to know what happened
37:44to them, the Eastern Roman Byzantines
37:46survived for a whopping thousand
37:48additional years, and fought like crazy
37:50to survive. They slowly lost more and
37:53more territory to Persians, Arabs,
37:55Crusaders, and finally to the fearsome
37:57Ottomans, till only the city of
37:59Constantinople remained. In 1453,
38:04the city falls. Gets turned from
38:06Christian to Muslim, and with it, the
38:08last state that still calls itself Roman
38:11fell. Yes, I just skipped a thousand
38:13years of interesting things, but I will
38:14make a Byzantine Empire video one day to
38:16explain it all in more detail. So,
38:18subscribe, become a member, and don't
38:20forget that if you want pizza and make
38:22money by doing simple tasks, to check
38:23out the link in the description. I
38:25really hope you enjoyed the long video,
38:26and we will see you in the next one.
38:28Bye-bye.

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