Plamen Stoev You're right but at the same time, in the 10th century the Byzantine emperors were kicking ass in the Middle East, retaking Antioch and almost reaching Jerusalem. So even if they didn't focus on the western border, it was still a pretty glorious century.
Alexios is really master mind of their era. -Got helped by Seljuk Turks to beating Normans. -Still influential to Latin Catholic West even there was Great Schism happened yet. -Got helped by Normans in Crusades to save lands that Romans lost to Turks. -Old and still dangerous rival Bohemond beaten by Turks again plus captured and thrown into dungeon for a while. It is victory wherever you are looking from.
Alexios was a true Roman to the core. Pragmatic. Relentless. Always willing to Adapt. The Alexiad deserves a series of its own IMO. He and his son John (probably Iovanness) Komnenos restored the Empire's prestige so it could live another half a Millenium in spite all the odds
@Vasileios Morossidis "The word "serve" that you used is not in my imagination." Every Emperor served Rome. From Augustus to Constantine XI Palaiologos. This was the Roman mindset. Compare the last words of Augustus Caesar to that of Basil Bulgaroktonos and despite belonging to entirely different eras and cultures, they talked about how they served Rome (or New Rome, depending on the context). "I would be more spesific saying that Greeks (or whatever ethnicity in the Empire) as Roman citizens served their (Roman) emperor well" But this is not at all what I was trying to say. I was talking about the Emperors' great services to the nation of Rome in the same way I'd laud Aurelian serving the nation in its time of need or Augustus for consolidating Roman authority in the Mediterranean. The Greeks provided soldiers, statesmen as well as rulers who all served Rome pretty well
A truly fascinating family and arguably the first to rule as a family unit rather than an individual. Alexios' mother, Anna Dalassene, allowed him to take the throne and retain it through her intrigues and influence over him. Whilst his brother, Isaac, proved to be a highly capable administrator who kept the empire running whilst Alexios was off fighting these wars. Without them, Alexios' victories would've been in vain. Excellent last name you have @HELLAS59 - I'm jealous!
@Rex Galilae The word "serve" that you used is not in my imagination. This is the main disagreement that i have in your comment. The way you have stated this i believe leaves misinterpretations. In fact i agree with the things that you've said but if I had to say the same thing you mentioned I would be more spesific saying that Greeks (or whatever ethnicity in the Empire) as Roman citizens served their (Roman) emperor well.
@Vasileios Morossidis I never said or implied such a thing. It's all in your imagination, my friend. The Byzantine empire as we like to call it retained its original Roman (Rhomioi) identity as a nation well till the end. Culturally, Roman emperors have been Etruscans, Iberians, Illyrians and Greeks, hell, there was even an Arab Emperor of Rome, but it didn't change the fact that Roman identity had transcended what used to be a single city to a political identity way before the split even happened.
It's pretty impressive that Alexios inherited the Empire in such a weak state and in spite of facing crises after crisis, ended his reign by improving the Empire's footing on virtually every front (upgrading the army, expanding the empire's borders, filling the treasury, subduing most of the Empire's enemies etc.) If he had inherited the Empire in the state it was after the death of Basil II, Alexios's accomplishments would have been even more impressive.
Man, Alexios Komnenos was one iron willed man. Got defeated several times but never gave up and adapted. He is no Alexander level genius but man did he have some guts.
@Aadharsh 7 His conquests are no mean feat. The Greeks had a good army, the Romans had a good army, so did the Byzantines, the Ottomans (seriously OP at that), and yet none of them took the East - it was a logistical and tactical nightmare. The Achaemenid army's cavalry was also deadly, and was NOT outclassed. Not only did Alexander take care of that, he went beyond, campaigning in the Hindu Kush and the Indus valley, where nearly anyone else who went in with a phalanx got wrecked. While his father's reforms are significant, it was he who came up with half the other reforms (esp. logistics). I suggest you look up some academic sources; they go into details. Popular history oversimplifies it too much and makes it look easy.
@Aadharsh 7 dude, back then the technology and logistics where what you see is what you have. If instead of macedon, it was the romans with Caesar's level of logitics, armor, road and bridge construction, then yes a persia almost 300 years behind in tech, would have fallen in months. What Alexander accomplished, again, for his time period is a Great fit.(pun intended) You can argue attacking over a river in the first battle at Granicus was reckless and many died, but he had no way of going around since he had no supplies. his army would've starved and deserted or reinforments coming for the persians which would make the crossing even harder.
Alexios Komnenos is more comparable to Seleucus or Ptolemy. Alexander the Great was a true military genius with few equals, in that sense Alexander's only equal in the East is Khalid ibn Walid, even Belisarius isn't comparable.
These Norman series were fantastic, I enjoy watching them a lot! And it was interesting to be told about battle plans, witch not always works as planned. Would love to see video/or series about how Romans retok Balkans later in same period..
The planned retreat at Lykosimion. It seemed like a certain Seljuk mercenary commander educated Alexios on the various types of feigned retreats and suggested that specicifc tactic in this engagement. Alexios learned and finally changed his tactics. Still, he lost way more battles than winning them.
@Murad Acar Romans and the Greeks write more about their defeats than anyone else. They're more pragmatic than western european barbarians. Always have been.
Even though I’m pretty sure my ancestors are Norman, I cried tears of joy when Alexios surprise attacked them. Perhaps it’s because I like the Eastern Roman Empire, and the previous video where Alexios was wounded made me sympathetic to his cause. I’m glad Alexios’ reign was a good one for the Byzantines.
If you take into account that this was Bohemond’s maiden campaign in independent command, then you can have nothing but admiration for his exploits; and understand why Guiscard chose to hand over leadership of this great army to his youthful son over elder commanders.
Guiscard just encontered what the Byzantine Empire had always encountered. Multiple enemies in multiple fronts, not a single target to charge at with your war horses. The Latin Emperors of later years realised that keeping Constantinople and the Empire required immense skill in dealing with multiple enemies all at once. It wasn't the same as ruling France or Britain.
The Normans vs the Turks feels a bit like stone vs paper. Just the perfect counter to the Norman mastery of melee. Run away and shoot. Must be annoying charging against an enemy that you can never reach.
@علي ياسر Burned in Sicily? they conquered it, the Hauteville ruled until the crown passed on to the Hohenstaufen (Germans). At what time did they burn?
Imperator Aureliano Think we agree for the most part. This was the first experience with horse archers for Normans. They were not used to an enemy that runs away but still is deadly. Horse archers have the tactical advantage when it comes to mobilety that makes it easier for them to deside the tactics of the battle. However as the Normands learned from their mistakes and managed to force the Turks into melee they could rip them apart with their teeth so to speak.
@Lion King The Normans probably were few in numbers compared to the byzantine mixed group. And could not afford that much casualties. At this early time the Normans did not have that much protection on their horses vs arrows. Battles vs arrows in western Europe would mostly be charging towards archers. Thus the limited time window would make archers less of a threat. Here they are swarmed with arrows and javelins from all sides after they have charged for a while and probably considerable slower than their potential, thus stuck down in a valley being big fat targets. Considering the arrow shower later it seems like the Turks had much ammunition.
Thank you for the detailed description of the course of the battle of Larissa. It nicely clarifies what Anna Komnene wrote in 'The Alexiad'. Pity that Brian didn't bring his own foot and horse archers: they worked a charm at Hastings.
Alexios: Uses various anti-cavalry strategies in an attempt to negate the Norman heavy knights, including the use of fortifications and traps on his front line. Bohemond: Lets just go around them and hit them in the flanks again lol .
07:35 Let us give a standing applause to Larissa's city defenders and their captain Leo for holding out under siege by the Normans that long, buying just enough time for Alexios to muster his relieving army in order to lift the siege, especially when the siege happened during the winter season.
Or maybe a competent commander wouldnt lose a battle because he didnt expect the enemy to encircle him jesus. He then gave concessions and took loans yo hire mercenaries what a legend....
From the History of Byzantium podcast, regarding the start of Alexios reign: "He must have a pretty good idea about what he was up against, but allow me to lay it out for you: almost the whole of Anatolia was out of Roman hands, and with it went at least half of the empire's revenues. Tribes of Pechenegs still lived north of the Balkans now allied with the cities on the Danuebe, that had thrown off imperial control. And Robert Guiscard, an extremely though and experienced military commander, was about to assault the city of Dyrrachium as a prelude to invading the Balkan provinces. If successful, it could easily lead ad whole Balkan uprising among Serbians and Bulgarians whose alliegance to the empire depended on Roman strenght. That strenght was ebbing away. The armies were shattered by two decades of constant was and civil war. Every time an experienced Roman died, he had to be replaced either by a raw reclute or a barbarian mercenary. Usually the best mercenaries were either Normans or Turks. At the capital, the honor system that had bound the elites to the emperor for centuries, was bankrupt. The byzantine gold coin, the nomisma, was about to be debased to just 10% gold content in order to meet the empire's expenses. And for most people, Alexios was just the latest man to achive control among the chaos. Why him, and not me? More attempts are on their way."
Damn, I never realized how effective lightly armored Seljuk horse archers were, they were so versatile and had the advantage of both superior range and mobility.
@Martin Well you are talking about the two bad emperors who ruled over the empire during that time,Andronikos ii and Alexios iv,The first one dismantled the Byzantine navy that was created by the previous laskarian emperor and his dad,let corruption loose and killed alexios philanthropenos,might I mind you a competent general who beat the turks soo hard that they were debased in value as slaves and not equal to sheeps,and alexios iv angelos,his dad was in this and theu both made up excuse to take back from alexios iii,which lead to the fourth crusade All in all both were dogshit at there job as ruling emperor Another fun fact:The reason why the 150 ship Byzantine navy just suddenly disappeared out of nowhere is because of a certain Michael decided it was a great idea to dismantle the sail of the ship for some schrutebucks
@Neutron Alchemist every normal people have a problem about ,so called, nicknames in the internet . I wouldn't call them nicknames. That's something your friends calls you at school. I would call them false profile that's more accurate! Someone who's hiding behind a false profile and maybe many other profiles can't argue seriously with someone who writes under his own name! Except if you are a famous rapper! Are you?Also because you are continuing to insult me first with my age and now about my schooling knowledge it shows that you are out of this conversation and you have no real arguments so even though you are one of the very few Italians who can speak the English language and I have enjoyed it for a while now I am board and have no interest for you so this conversation is over nitro or nuttro or whatever haha.
Even though Byzantine History is one of the biggest parts of Greek history lessons in Greek schools and Universities, i’ve never heard about the war between Robert Guiscard and Alexios Komnenos, yet I already knew who they were before this series. I think it’s about these minor conflicts of the past that we can better understand the character of the individuals that have participate in them and see their personalities unfold ⚔️🛡
I really like how Alexios was never seeking concessions or giving up the war, he always kept going, trying new creative things to counter the Normans. And finally succeeding when he just spammed horse archers.
This time period is just really awesome all around. It's one of the most exciting time periods in human history in my honest opinion. It's shocking how nobody really covers it in the mainstream today - even with just documentaries. This was the height of the Holy Roman Empire in my opinion. The electors, Princes and other palatine lords fought with each other constantly. Matilda of Tuscany, one of my favorite historical figures, was alive during this time period. She had skirmishes with Henry as well, in fact, at once point I think she even captured him and held him prisoner for a year in Tuscany LOL. Iberia was in a constant state of war between the Muslims and Christians. The Norman invasion saw the overthrow of Anglo-saxon England. The Byzantine Empire was still around defending itself from threats all around it. Honestly, someone could make an awesome show almost like Game of Thrones of this time period if they wanted to and I bet it would be a massive hit if it was promoted well. Too bad that will probably never happen though : (
But why let unprovoked acts of naked aggression and the near-unseating of the very ruler you are now supposed to go help get in the way of a good crusade?
This whole campaign pretty clearly showed what mess was left behind after the theme system of the roman empire collapsed. If alexios would have had trained disciplined theme soldiers he would probably have won far sooner. What i like about the komnenids is that they saw in which catastrophic situation the army was and tried to reform the it. The komnenid army was maybe not on the same high discipline level like during the theme system was active, but he was successful into creating an semi discipline army which brought the komnenids many wins in their following campaigns.
Gauls: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut. Goths: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut. Vandals: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut. Huns: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut. Normans: Rome? A joke...we might just be mercenaries, but we cracked that nut. Hannibal: I'm one of the greatest Generals of antiquity, just defeated the largest army Rome could muster on her soil, killed many Roman nobles and politicians, have the Romans shitting their pants, but Rome...Rome soooooooooooo scwary.
Alexios, one of the last true Romans... Able to see battles aren't wars and one must have to use everything, mercenaries, whispers, rumors, bribes, and even double dealings to win a war! This was brilliant fellas, thanks!
@ΑΝΤΩΝΗΣ ΔΡΙΛΛΙΑΣ it was paradise on Europe not Earth, the audicity concluded the whole world. You forget China and India were much richer than Byzantine
@Joella Z take a look at the map! it was the passage of the west to the east and vice versa! also north to south! all goods from east to west passed through Byzantium! also possessed one of the most fertile and temperate regions of the eastern Mediterranean! It was a paradise on earth where everyone wanted to settle
TheMrgoodmanners Yeah these guys seemed to have been attacked by everyone. Muslims, Pagan Vikings and the catholic crusaders have all attacked them. Why did everyone like attacking them so much? Poor Byzantium. Couldn’t get a moment of peace from anyone.
This truly needs to be followed by Sicilian history. From the rise of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily to Federich II, to the Vesper War... Guiscars just setted the base for what will follow in the next couple of centuries.
If you know Alexios, you had to know he would surely get the final laugh through thick and thin. Great to see the Romans during this period doing well. Hope we see a docu about Anna Komnenos as well. uwu.
Excellent video. Alexios wins out because he didn't quit. He was adaptive and not afraid to seek alliances with the Turks. He understood the fragility of his army and did his best to hide it from the Norman's. His biggest ally was the Norman's themselves who thought in terms of loot. The Norman's never changed their methods and it was a matter of time before Alexios figured out the puzzle. Finally, like their Viking ancestors, when it got tough it became every Norman for themselves.
Imagine if the Empire had more Emperors like Alexios or his son John. Although those trade concessions to Venice did cripple the empire in the long run, even without the 4th Crusade.
Alexios, first two battles: "Nooooo , you can't defeat my foot army over and over again by flanking their sides, you're supposed to charge into my lines and fall for my traps! Noooooooooo!!" Bohemond: "Haha, cavalry go brrrr"
Can you imagine all the crap Alexios has to deal with in his life? This is generally considered the part to minor too mention. The man had an enviable determination.
I think you should do one like this for Thutmoses III, he is the most underated pharaoh of egypt in my opinion. 17 military campaigns never lost a battle.
As a Greek, I have to say, Alexios is a really underated figure in our history. I mean yeah he was no Alexander the Great, but he saved Byzantium in a time of crisis, where enemies invaded our motherland from every angle!
Alexios here just feels like a cartoon villain who screams "I'll get you next time!" after every defeat, coming back again and again even as he keeps on getting defeated. Luckily, he actually succeeds, eventually.
If you're sympathetic to his enemies. From the Roman side of things he is the goddamn medieval Rocky Balboa, and even if he gets beat down, he gets up again. And wins.
@LazyLife IFreak The Normans usually learned quickly. Bohemond's experience in this battle against Turkic cavalry, allowed him to be very successful in Anatolia during the First Crusade. So successful that he effectively became the leader of that Crusade. Which caused the actual elected leader, Stephen of Blois, to go home because he "felt sick". Bohemond was made the official leader of the Crusade. The original purpose of the Crusade was to reclaim ex-Byzantine territory in Anatolia. Bohemond didn't care about the Crusade and intended to use the Crusade as an opportunity to capture Constantinople (what he dreamed of doing since 15 years prior). But the other Crusader leaders were genuinely fanatical refused to attack the Empire they volunteered to help. Then Alexios offered him rulership of Anatolia as a vassal, if he swore to be loyal. Bohemond accepted. But that didn't work out, because the rest of the Crusader army were fanatical. They completely forgot why they were there, decided to ignore the Seljuks and then decided to go off an an unplanned tangent to capture Jerusalem instead (which belonged to the Fatimids...starting a war with them too...causing everyone to become involved.)
@provocateur83 I think mostly he was referring to Alexios's intended use of chariots at Ioanna, which I guess would agree with in the sense that it seemed too complicated. Like, hiding riders under the chariots? The time taken for them to mount and get ready would take away some of his flexibility if the Normans' didn't attack as he planned (which they did just that). I do agree though that Alexios was seriously let down by troops with low morale.
@pokeman5000 No, the meta always shifts around from time to time. In the first world war with dug in lines your cavalry mobility didn't worth a damn. They realized, that tanks and armour can break the status quo, so they prepared with that for the second one, then logistics and more reasonable ideology won the day. I mean mobility is an important strategic aspect, but most of the time you have to sacrifice protection for it. If it was rendered useless other aspects could became dominant(range, firepower, manpower, logistics).
If you are interested in more like this the podcast " the history of byzantium" recently finished their episodes on the norman invasion of byzantium and in now covering the first crusade.
Everybody's talking about Alexios, but I feel like Bohemond deserves some recognition here. The man was left to fill his father's shoes, with an army consistently outnumbered and deep in enemy territory. He was without any major reinforcements and always but a single battle away from total defeat while Alexios could try, try again every time he was beaten. Still he managed to outmanoeuvre his (very competent) foe again and again and even at Larissa it was Brienne who lost him the campaign, while Bohemond was clever enough to head back to camp. There's a reason even Alexios' own daughter recognised Bohemond as the emperor's greatest adversary.
I thougt the same thing. People in comment seems to love Alexios and his abnegation but Guiscard and his son Bohemond did so much with less ressource. They are the definition of ambitious and talented warrior that gain everything by the sword and political machination. Even thought i like Alexios and his rivalty with Bohemond later, i think Guiscard and Bohemon are the impressive man. Sorry for my broken english.
Number of troops didn’t play any significant role since the byzantine army at the time was in a catastrophic state and would require years of reforms to build it back to strength. So the Normans clearly had an advantage in all those battles against those low quality hastily lebied armies of untrained unskilled Romans and unreliable light mercenary troops.
If this channel has taught me anything, it's that having a big wealthy city is both a blessing and a curse, as it inevitably attracts those wanting to take it's wealth.
There's a mistake on the map at 8:02. Kingdom of Hungary's western border reaches as far as Prague, which wasn't the case. Eastern vassal region of Bohemian kingdom was Moravia, which was still very much under the rule of Bohemian kings.
i knew alexios plan during the first battle was going to fail the moment you explained his plan before the battle started same happens in all movies everytime someone mentions the plan before doing it the plan never happens as one wish it to be.
It doesn matter how many times you fall, what it does matter how many times you RISE!!! each time you will be stronger and better than the last time ,Alexios !!!!
Alexios, John and Manoueil were some of the best emperor's the empire had. By the end of their reign they had restored much of the empire (Anatolia) and made it again a regional power. If they didn't exist I believe the empire would last way less.
I know Alexious is getting kick around a lot in this serise but at least hes actually learning and trying a lot of other leaders who should have known better didn't
I don't know how to spell her name correctly, but you have to do a piece on Shikelgrubia, my favorite Norman Princess warrior. I'm not even sure if I remember her name correctly and trying to find anything about her on the web is a frustrating chase for nothing. She was the wife of a Norman prince and was in command of the right flank of her husband's army during a battle in southern Italy against the Byzantines. I'm a subscriber and will see the video if you do one. Please. She was awesome and if you don't know of her you will love her story. Unfortunately I don't remember her husband's name.
11:12 I felt like the Byzantines got the idea of missile fire with hit and run tactics from the Turks. This is one of the reasons they lost in the battle of Manzikert. Now with the Turks' help, they used this strategy to their advantage.
Basically they had employed before the Turkish a number of huns and according to legend General velisarius was the one who came to the idea of combining projectiles with heavy cavalry tactics although similar tactics were used also by the Persians
The Byzantines always had a unique mix of Western and Eastern fighting styles. Their Kataphraktoi(heavy calvary) did fire arrows from horseback to soften an infantry line before a trotting charge
LMAO, Alexios is like the Anti Sulla. The enemy was smart enough to just bypass traps and defenses, as opposed to Pontus who consistently felt the need to charge or drive straight into them.
Imperator Aureliano I think it was less about manpower and more about the enemy they faced. The English lost 1 decisive battle and lost but The Byzantines lost multiple decisive battles and won. The same Roman Tenacity that defeated Pyhrrus and Hannibal won this war as well.
I was going to ask where Alexios got chariots and charioteers from but then I remembered there should be a lot of them racing around the Hippodrome in Constantinople.
I think the Hippodrome and the big palace were pretty much derelict at this point, with the emperors choosing to live in the Blachernae Palace. I could be wrong though.
Alexios had to deal with so much shit, it’s a testament to his will and wits that he still managed to beat them all off and kickstart a 100 year renaissance.
It's funny, 13 years later Bohemond would swear fealty to Alexios and join the first crusade, only to ultimately double cross the emperor by keeping Antioch for himself. The two would clash again in the 12th Century over the status of Antioch, and Alexios would finally defeat Bohemond at the the 2nd Seige of Dyrachium in 1113
I can't believe the Normans fell for the feigned retreat. I thought that was one of their signature moves. Maybe it wasn't until later that they began doing this.
What’s crazy is reading what Alexios’ daughter thought of Bohemond when he visited Constantinople during the first Crusade, wouldn’t have known he was her father’s bitter rival.
Bohemond was a worthy son of his father and his house. He was the heir his father deserved (instead of that weakling Roger Borsa). As the eldest son--and a magnificent and ferocious warrior/commander--Bohemond’s right to the duchy of Apulia should have been guaranteed. If not for the machinations of Sikelgaita (Guiscard’s second wife and the mother of Roger Borsa) and Count Roger of Sicily, he would have succeeded to his father’s power and proved himself invincible.
Their determination was amazing. The saddle and stirrup innovation really changed the game. The Kataphraktoi had been around for centuries and because they were fighting a wide range of different enemies, they kept their skills well rounded. But when faced with the Norman cavalry they knew they had to change their approach. In two generations they had added those innovations to their Kataphraktoi/Klibanarioi and the results were evident in the battle of Battle of Demetritzes, against the Hungarians and the Serbs, as well as the Crusader states and the German knights passing through Constantinople.
The Norman/Swabian king of Sicily, Frederick II called "Stupor Mundi" (wonder of the world); was a charismatic figure of his time (13th century); man of great culture (he spoke six languages including fluent arabic), fond in art, literature, architecture, anatomy and more; even excellent diplomatic and politician! Check on yt: "Frederick II liked a strange, mysteriuos geometry"
It is easy to lose hope or feel down, but know that every one of you is valued and that asking for help is fine.
If Alexios can come back from the brink like this, surely we can, too!
Which videogame do you use for your videos?
@goldenfiberwheat238 same cheered me up 6 months later :)
Man, Alexios seems like a terrible tactician.
Thanks. I needed that
I just gotta admire the determination of Alexios "I didn't hear no bell" Komnenos after getting his ass kicked over and over and over.
@shadow a tale as old as time
But after these defeats he proved that he was a great General and politician.
Plamen Stoev You're right but at the same time, in the 10th century the Byzantine emperors were kicking ass in the Middle East, retaking Antioch and almost reaching Jerusalem. So even if they didn't focus on the western border, it was still a pretty glorious century.
Plamen Stoev bulgarian was more lucky !!!!
Plamen Stoev Lol Byzantine was at its peak in 10th and early 11th century. Your claim that they were losers for 3 centuries is nonsensical.
Alexios is really master mind of their era.
-Got helped by Seljuk Turks to beating Normans.
-Still influential to Latin Catholic West even there was Great Schism happened yet.
-Got helped by Normans in Crusades to save lands that Romans lost to Turks.
-Old and still dangerous rival Bohemond beaten by Turks again plus captured and thrown into dungeon
for a while.
It is victory wherever you are looking from.
@Fulcrox Lol. Pretty much sums up, Bohemond tactical prowess.
Bohemond: Cavalry goes cav
Alexios was a true Roman to the core. Pragmatic. Relentless. Always willing to Adapt.
The Alexiad deserves a series of its own IMO. He and his son John (probably Iovanness) Komnenos restored the Empire's prestige so it could live another half a Millenium in spite all the odds
Never accepting defeat and somehow winning after getting your ass kicked is the most Roman thing ever
@Vasileios Morossidis
"The word "serve" that you used is not in my imagination."
Every Emperor served Rome. From Augustus to Constantine XI Palaiologos. This was the Roman mindset. Compare the last words of Augustus Caesar to that of Basil Bulgaroktonos and despite belonging to entirely different eras and cultures, they talked about how they served Rome (or New Rome, depending on the context).
"I would be more spesific saying that Greeks (or whatever ethnicity in the Empire) as Roman citizens served their (Roman) emperor well"
But this is not at all what I was trying to say. I was talking about the Emperors' great services to the nation of Rome in the same way I'd laud Aurelian serving the nation in its time of need or Augustus for consolidating Roman authority in the Mediterranean. The Greeks provided soldiers, statesmen as well as rulers who all served Rome pretty well
A truly fascinating family and arguably the first to rule as a family unit rather than an individual.
Alexios' mother, Anna Dalassene, allowed him to take the throne and retain it through her intrigues and influence over him. Whilst his brother, Isaac, proved to be a highly capable administrator who kept the empire running whilst Alexios was off fighting these wars. Without them, Alexios' victories would've been in vain.
Excellent last name you have @HELLAS59 - I'm jealous!
@Rex Galilae The word "serve" that you used is not in my imagination.
This is the main disagreement that i have in your comment.
The way you have stated this i believe leaves misinterpretations.
In fact i agree with the things that you've said but if I had to say the same thing you mentioned I would be more spesific saying that Greeks (or whatever ethnicity in the Empire) as Roman citizens served their (Roman) emperor well.
@Vasileios Morossidis
I never said or implied such a thing. It's all in your imagination, my friend.
The Byzantine empire as we like to call it retained its original Roman (Rhomioi) identity as a nation well till the end. Culturally, Roman emperors have been Etruscans, Iberians, Illyrians and Greeks, hell, there was even an Arab Emperor of Rome, but it didn't change the fact that Roman identity had transcended what used to be a single city to a political identity way before the split even happened.
It's pretty impressive that Alexios inherited the Empire in such a weak state and in spite of facing crises after crisis, ended his reign by improving the Empire's footing on virtually every front (upgrading the army, expanding the empire's borders, filling the treasury, subduing most of the Empire's enemies etc.) If he had inherited the Empire in the state it was after the death of Basil II, Alexios's accomplishments would have been even more impressive.
If his father inherited the empire from his uncle Isaac I. in 1059 or if Isaac lived longer this would have happened.
Man, Alexios Komnenos was one iron willed man. Got defeated several times but never gave up and adapted. He is no Alexander level genius but man did he have some guts.
One of the most memorable Byzantium rulers, absolutely. Dude knew how to place the right bets/bribes! : )
@Aadharsh 7 His conquests are no mean feat. The Greeks had a good army, the Romans had a good army, so did the Byzantines, the Ottomans (seriously OP at that), and yet none of them took the East - it was a logistical and tactical nightmare. The Achaemenid army's cavalry was also deadly, and was NOT outclassed. Not only did Alexander take care of that, he went beyond, campaigning in the Hindu Kush and the Indus valley, where nearly anyone else who went in with a phalanx got wrecked. While his father's reforms are significant, it was he who came up with half the other reforms (esp. logistics). I suggest you look up some academic sources; they go into details. Popular history oversimplifies it too much and makes it look easy.
@Aadharsh 7 dude, back then the technology and logistics where what you see is what you have. If instead of macedon, it was the romans with Caesar's level of logitics, armor, road and bridge construction, then yes a persia almost 300 years behind in tech, would have fallen in months.
What Alexander accomplished, again, for his time period is a Great fit.(pun intended)
You can argue attacking over a river in the first battle at Granicus was reckless and many died, but he had no way of going around since he had no supplies. his army would've starved and deserted or reinforments coming for the persians which would make the crossing even harder.
Alexios Komnenos is more comparable to Seleucus or Ptolemy. Alexander the Great was a true military genius with few equals, in that sense Alexander's only equal in the East is Khalid ibn Walid, even Belisarius isn't comparable.
Alexios is a true roman Emperor: he failed multiple times, but always came back and in the end he needed one win. Like Rome vs Hannibal.
@Máté *Grecoroman.
@Justin Rossi ok
@Konstantinos Roman my brother
@Konstantinos *roman
@shadow pechenegs?
These Norman series were fantastic, I enjoy watching them a lot! And it was interesting to be told about battle plans, witch not always works as planned.
Would love to see video/or series about how Romans retok Balkans later in same period..
@Theodoros Gkountoulidis If I want to see what? Rom?
Gio D / K&G: Do you want to see Rom...
Me: YES
The History of Byzantium podcast is now covering this period, I highly recommend it as it is very good.
The planned retreat at Lykosimion. It seemed like a certain Seljuk mercenary commander educated Alexios on the various types of feigned retreats and suggested that specicifc tactic in this engagement. Alexios learned and finally changed his tactics. Still, he lost way more battles than winning them.
So Alexios used the turks to beat the normans, than used the normans to beat the turks...
Old day political
@Eric Agos Thanks to the Crusaders, he got those lands back. He invited the crusaders for this.
@Murad Acar Romans and the Greeks write more about their defeats than anyone else. They're more pragmatic than western european barbarians. Always have been.
That a big brain move
Divide and conquer
Even though I’m pretty sure my ancestors are Norman, I cried tears of joy when Alexios surprise attacked them. Perhaps it’s because I like the Eastern Roman Empire, and the previous video where Alexios was wounded made me sympathetic to his cause. I’m glad Alexios’ reign was a good one for the Byzantines.
If he had inherited a stronger empire I have no doubt the Romans would've had even reconquered Italy and the Levant.
Same! Alexios was such a beast.
Top 10 anime characters who never gave up on their goals
1. Alexios Komnenos
*Cough* First Crusade *Cough* Siege of Antioch *Cough*
*Shounen protagonists liked that.*
If you take into account that this was Bohemond’s maiden campaign in independent command, then you can have nothing but admiration for his exploits; and understand why Guiscard chose to hand over leadership of this great army to his youthful son over elder commanders.
Guiscard just encontered what the Byzantine Empire had always encountered. Multiple enemies in multiple fronts, not a single target to charge at with your war horses. The Latin Emperors of later years realised that keeping Constantinople and the Empire required immense skill in dealing with multiple enemies all at once. It wasn't the same as ruling France or Britain.
The Normans vs the Turks feels a bit like stone vs paper.
Just the perfect counter to the Norman mastery of melee. Run away and shoot.
Must be annoying charging against an enemy that you can never reach.
@علي ياسر Burned in Sicily? they conquered it, the Hauteville ruled until the crown passed on to the Hohenstaufen (Germans). At what time did they burn?
@ᛒᛃᛟᚱᚾ No, the Normans lost and were burned in Sicily
Imperator Aureliano Think we agree for the most part. This was the first experience with horse archers for Normans. They were not used to an enemy that runs away but still is deadly. Horse archers have the tactical advantage when it comes to mobilety that makes it easier for them to deside the tactics of the battle. However as the Normands learned from their mistakes and managed to force the Turks into melee they could rip them apart with their teeth so to speak.
Bohemond would get his revenge at...
Shit how do you spell it
EDIT: Dorylaeum, in the First Crusade
@Lion King The Normans probably were few in numbers compared to the byzantine mixed group. And could not afford that much casualties. At this early time the Normans did not have that much protection on their horses vs arrows. Battles vs arrows in western Europe would mostly be charging towards archers. Thus the limited time window would make archers less of a threat. Here they are swarmed with arrows and javelins from all sides after they have charged for a while and probably considerable slower than their potential, thus stuck down in a valley being big fat targets. Considering the arrow shower later it seems like the Turks had much ammunition.
Thank you for the detailed description of the course of the battle of Larissa. It nicely clarifies what Anna Komnene wrote in 'The Alexiad'. Pity that Brian didn't bring his own foot and horse archers: they worked a charm at Hastings.
Alexios: Uses various anti-cavalry strategies in an attempt to negate the Norman heavy knights, including the use of fortifications and traps on his front line.
Bohemond: Lets just go around them and hit them in the flanks again lol .
Alexios was a good general but at this time the majority of his army was mercenaries and therefore were unreliable
07:35 Let us give a standing applause to Larissa's city defenders and their captain Leo for holding out under siege by the Normans that long, buying just enough time for Alexios to muster his relieving army in order to lift the siege, especially when the siege happened during the winter season.
Damn, Alexios komnenos was probably one of the best Roman rulers. Where others may have given up and let the empire sink, Alexios refused to give up
Emperor Justinian the great.
@pornometanastis And don't forget that Rome was albanian, that's dictated from the legendary capital city of Alba Longa... Big Laughter...
Or maybe a competent commander wouldnt lose a battle because he didnt expect the enemy to encircle him jesus. He then gave concessions and took loans yo hire mercenaries what a legend....
Aki sartini Emperor Shputrim I. Romanovic? 😁
From the History of Byzantium podcast, regarding the start of Alexios reign: "He must have a pretty good idea about what he was up against, but allow me to lay it out for you: almost the whole of Anatolia was out of Roman hands, and with it went at least half of the empire's revenues. Tribes of Pechenegs still lived north of the Balkans now allied with the cities on the Danuebe, that had thrown off imperial control. And Robert Guiscard, an extremely though and experienced military commander, was about to assault the city of Dyrrachium as a prelude to invading the Balkan provinces. If successful, it could easily lead ad whole Balkan uprising among Serbians and Bulgarians whose alliegance to the empire depended on Roman strenght. That strenght was ebbing away. The armies were shattered by two decades of constant was and civil war. Every time an experienced Roman died, he had to be replaced either by a raw reclute or a barbarian mercenary. Usually the best mercenaries were either Normans or Turks. At the capital, the honor system that had bound the elites to the emperor for centuries, was bankrupt. The byzantine gold coin, the nomisma, was about to be debased to just 10% gold content in order to meet the empire's expenses. And for most people, Alexios was just the latest man to achive control among the chaos. Why him, and not me? More attempts are on their way."
Damn, I never realized how effective lightly armored Seljuk horse archers were, they were so versatile and had the advantage of both superior range and mobility.
Those Roman Emperors need not worry you can always trust the Venetians. ALWAYS!!!!
@Martin Well you are talking about the two bad emperors who ruled over the empire during that time,Andronikos ii and Alexios iv,The first one dismantled the Byzantine navy that was created by the previous laskarian emperor and his dad,let corruption loose and killed alexios philanthropenos,might I mind you a competent general who beat the turks soo hard that they were debased in value as slaves and not equal to sheeps,and alexios iv angelos,his dad was in this and theu both made up excuse to take back from alexios iii,which lead to the fourth crusade
All in all both were dogshit at there job as ruling emperor
Another fun fact:The reason why the 150 ship Byzantine navy just suddenly disappeared out of nowhere is because of a certain Michael decided it was a great idea to dismantle the sail of the ship for some schrutebucks
@Darren Black why not? He conquered! End of the day your sense of morality and fairness does not matter to those in power.
ALWAYS
@Neutron Alchemist every normal people have a problem about ,so called, nicknames in the internet . I wouldn't call them nicknames. That's something your friends calls you at school. I would call them false profile that's more accurate! Someone who's hiding behind a false profile and maybe many other profiles can't argue seriously with someone who writes under his own name! Except if you are a famous rapper! Are you?Also because you are continuing to insult me first with my age and now about my schooling knowledge it shows that you are out of this conversation and you have no real arguments so even though you are one of the very few Italians who can speak the English language and I have enjoyed it for a while now I am board and have no interest for you so this conversation is over nitro or nuttro or whatever haha.
One of the most dedicated men of all times: Alexios
I think there is a mosaic of him in Hagia Sophia
Even though Byzantine History is one of the biggest parts of Greek history lessons in Greek schools and Universities, i’ve never heard about the war between Robert Guiscard and Alexios Komnenos, yet I already knew who they were before this series. I think it’s about these minor conflicts of the past that we can better understand the character of the individuals that have participate in them and see their personalities unfold ⚔️🛡
Can’t deny the Normans definitely left a lasting impact on the world. Another great video Kings
Changes in france, britain, italy, sicily greece and levant. Not to mention their daughter countries.
Please do more videos on the Komnenoi and their restoration of the Empire!
I really like how Alexios was never seeking concessions or giving up the war, he always kept going, trying new creative things to counter the Normans.
And finally succeeding when he just spammed horse archers.
This time period is just really awesome all around. It's one of the most exciting time periods in human history in my honest opinion. It's shocking how nobody really covers it in the mainstream today - even with just documentaries. This was the height of the Holy Roman Empire in my opinion. The electors, Princes and other palatine lords fought with each other constantly. Matilda of Tuscany, one of my favorite historical figures, was alive during this time period. She had skirmishes with Henry as well, in fact, at once point I think she even captured him and held him prisoner for a year in Tuscany LOL. Iberia was in a constant state of war between the Muslims and Christians. The Norman invasion saw the overthrow of Anglo-saxon England. The Byzantine Empire was still around defending itself from threats all around it. Honestly, someone could make an awesome show almost like Game of Thrones of this time period if they wanted to and I bet it would be a massive hit if it was promoted well. Too bad that will probably never happen though : (
A few years later...
*At the gates of Constantinople*
Bohemond: I heard you needed some help with the Turks
Alexios: Ah here we go again....
Bohemund: I can do the oath but why dont make me the leader of the crusade?
I don't think awkward begins to describe that conversation
@Luke Danger Extra Credits!
But why let unprovoked acts of naked aggression and the near-unseating of the very ruler you are now supposed to go help get in the way of a good crusade?
This whole campaign pretty clearly showed what mess was left behind after the theme system of the roman empire collapsed. If alexios would have had trained disciplined theme soldiers he would probably have won far sooner. What i like about the komnenids is that they saw in which catastrophic situation the army was and tried to reform the it. The komnenid army was maybe not on the same high discipline level like during the theme system was active, but he was successful into creating an semi discipline army which brought the komnenids many wins in their following campaigns.
Normans: we attacked Rome.
Asked others: which one?
Normans: both. (Byzantine and the city)
@VvVincent none of them outlasted Rome though 😉
@Ashton Haggitt well, to be fair to Thom. They maybe were mercenaries in the past but they settled and became a proper county->duchy->kingdom
@VvVincent Normans weren't mercenaries
Gauls: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut.
Goths: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut.
Vandals: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut.
Huns: Rome? A joke...we might just be barbarians, but we cracked that nut.
Normans: Rome? A joke...we might just be mercenaries, but we cracked that nut.
Hannibal: I'm one of the greatest Generals of antiquity, just defeated the largest army Rome could muster on her soil, killed many Roman nobles and politicians, have the Romans shitting their pants, but Rome...Rome soooooooooooo scwary.
Alexios is the definition of "You might have one a battle, but not the war!"
Alexios, one of the last true Romans... Able to see battles aren't wars and one must have to use everything, mercenaries, whispers, rumors, bribes, and even double dealings to win a war! This was brilliant fellas, thanks!
i feel bad for byzantium. they had to fend off attacks from every single side, amazing they survived as long as they did
@ΑΝΤΩΝΗΣ ΔΡΙΛΛΙΑΣ it was paradise on Europe not Earth, the audicity concluded the whole world. You forget China and India were much richer than Byzantine
@Joella Z take a look at the map! it was the passage of the west to the east and vice versa! also north to south! all goods from east to west passed through Byzantium! also possessed one of the most fertile and temperate regions of the eastern Mediterranean! It was a paradise on earth where everyone wanted to settle
@Joella Z Wealth and prestige at that time resided in the Byzantine Empire. Everyone wanted a piece of it.
TheMrgoodmanners
Yeah these guys seemed to have been attacked by everyone. Muslims, Pagan Vikings and the catholic crusaders have all attacked them. Why did everyone like attacking them so much? Poor Byzantium. Couldn’t get a moment of peace from anyone.
The world felt like nothing to do better attack the byzantine empire
Really nice series ! As a Norman I greatly enjoy our forebears adventures and epic deeds. Thanks for that amazing content :)
No thing to be proud of 😡
This truly needs to be followed by Sicilian history. From the rise of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily to Federich II, to the Vesper War... Guiscars just setted the base for what will follow in the next couple of centuries.
Looking forward to more Norman history in Italy. I hope you discuss Frederick II who was the grandson of both Barbarossa and Roger II. Fantastic work.
If you know Alexios, you had to know he would surely get the final laugh through thick and thin. Great to see the Romans during this period doing well.
Hope we see a docu about Anna Komnenos as well. uwu.
Excellent video.
Alexios wins out because he didn't quit. He was adaptive and not afraid to seek alliances with the Turks. He understood the fragility of his army and did his best to hide it from the Norman's. His biggest ally was the Norman's themselves who thought in terms of loot. The Norman's never changed their methods and it was a matter of time before Alexios figured out the puzzle. Finally, like their Viking ancestors, when it got tough it became every Norman for themselves.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different results
Alexios : *YES*
No black hand go GLOBAL DEFENSE INITIAVE
He did different things over and over again, but got defeated by the same move...
Yeah Vaas would have liked Alexios
Imagine if the Empire had more Emperors like Alexios or his son John. Although those trade concessions to Venice did cripple the empire in the long run, even without the 4th Crusade.
a story of norman knights , emperors of Byzantium and military history in all its glory! whats not to love about this episode [and the one before] :P
Poderia colocar legendas em português, gosto muito dos seus vídeos
Alexios, first two battles: "Nooooo , you can't defeat my foot army over and over again by flanking their sides, you're supposed to charge into my lines and fall for my traps! Noooooooooo!!"
Bohemond: "Haha, cavalry go brrrr"
Can you imagine all the crap Alexios has to deal with in his life? This is generally considered the part to minor too mention. The man had an enviable determination.
That was actually very roman of Alexios to keep fighting after several crushing defeats and win in the end.
I think you should do one like this for Thutmoses III, he is the most underated pharaoh of egypt in my opinion. 17 military campaigns never lost a battle.
That portrait of Bohemond is one of the best ones i seen it kind of looks like a comic book cover who ever painted it was a true master
Gotta love the Byzantines, even at this late stage. Champions find a way.
We need the Battle of Demetritzes, and the decisive defeat of the Normans by Alexios Branas.
Alexios is like a commander who wants to use advanced tactics like he read figures like Ptolemy using but it just never works out.
As a Greek, I have to say, Alexios is a really underated figure in our history. I mean yeah he was no Alexander the Great, but he saved Byzantium in a time of crisis, where enemies invaded our motherland from every angle!
Damn Normans, they are so criminally underrated 😟, what an epic history they had
Nice! Here’s also hoping that y’all will put the finale to the 30 Years War series soon! Can’t wait to see how it ended!
Alexios here just feels like a cartoon villain who screams "I'll get you next time!" after every defeat, coming back again and again even as he keeps on getting defeated. Luckily, he actually succeeds, eventually.
If you're sympathetic to his enemies. From the Roman side of things he is the goddamn medieval Rocky Balboa, and even if he gets beat down, he gets up again. And wins.
Alexios: complex military tactics and tenacity.
Norman knights: HaHa horses go brrrrrr
Wow, armchair generals everywhere that probably struggle to motivate themselves to make a sandwich
@LazyLife IFreak The Normans usually learned quickly.
Bohemond's experience in this battle against Turkic cavalry, allowed him to be very successful in Anatolia during the First Crusade. So successful that he effectively became the leader of that Crusade. Which caused the actual elected leader, Stephen of Blois, to go home because he "felt sick".
Bohemond was made the official leader of the Crusade.
The original purpose of the Crusade was to reclaim ex-Byzantine territory in Anatolia. Bohemond didn't care about the Crusade and intended to use the Crusade as an opportunity to capture Constantinople (what he dreamed of doing since 15 years prior). But the other Crusader leaders were genuinely fanatical refused to attack the Empire they volunteered to help.
Then Alexios offered him rulership of Anatolia as a vassal, if he swore to be loyal. Bohemond accepted.
But that didn't work out, because the rest of the Crusader army were fanatical. They completely forgot why they were there, decided to ignore the Seljuks and then decided to go off an an unplanned tangent to capture Jerusalem instead (which belonged to the Fatimids...starting a war with them too...causing everyone to become involved.)
@Sniper2008009 "Japanese cartoons" lmao my man you can say Anime you know.
@provocateur83 I think mostly he was referring to Alexios's intended use of chariots at Ioanna, which I guess would agree with in the sense that it seemed too complicated. Like, hiding riders under the chariots? The time taken for them to mount and get ready would take away some of his flexibility if the Normans' didn't attack as he planned (which they did just that). I do agree though that Alexios was seriously let down by troops with low morale.
@pokeman5000 No, the meta always shifts around from time to time. In the first world war with dug in lines your cavalry mobility didn't worth a damn. They realized, that tanks and armour can break the status quo, so they prepared with that for the second one, then logistics and more reasonable ideology won the day.
I mean mobility is an important strategic aspect, but most of the time you have to sacrifice protection for it. If it was rendered useless other aspects could became dominant(range, firepower, manpower, logistics).
Alexios finally won one. Good for him. My compliments to all those who made this video a reality.
If you are interested in more like this the podcast " the history of byzantium" recently finished their episodes on the norman invasion of byzantium and in now covering the first crusade.
The empire strikes b... (cough!)
The empire strikes b... (atchoooo!)
The empire strikes b... (burp!)
The empire strikes BACK! finally!
Everybody's talking about Alexios, but I feel like Bohemond deserves some recognition here. The man was left to fill his father's shoes, with an army consistently outnumbered and deep in enemy territory. He was without any major reinforcements and always but a single battle away from total defeat while Alexios could try, try again every time he was beaten. Still he managed to outmanoeuvre his (very competent) foe again and again and even at Larissa it was Brienne who lost him the campaign, while Bohemond was clever enough to head back to camp.
There's a reason even Alexios' own daughter recognised Bohemond as the emperor's greatest adversary.
I thougt the same thing. People in comment seems to love Alexios and his abnegation but Guiscard and his son Bohemond did so much with less ressource. They are the definition of ambitious and talented warrior that gain everything by the sword and political machination. Even thought i like Alexios and his rivalty with Bohemond later, i think Guiscard and Bohemon are the impressive man.
Sorry for my broken english.
Number of troops didn’t play any significant role since the byzantine army at the time was in a catastrophic state and would require years of reforms to build it back to strength. So the Normans clearly had an advantage in all those battles against those low quality hastily lebied armies of untrained unskilled Romans and unreliable light mercenary troops.
As always thanks for the hard work and inspiration! Appreciated!
If this channel has taught me anything, it's that having a big wealthy city is both a blessing and a curse, as it inevitably attracts those wanting to take it's wealth.
These vids are awesome by themselves, but the soundtrack choices make them even better. Nicely done
Do you know the name of the soundtrack at the beginning?
There's a mistake on the map at 8:02. Kingdom of Hungary's western border reaches as far as Prague, which wasn't the case. Eastern vassal region of Bohemian kingdom was Moravia, which was still very much under the rule of Bohemian kings.
i knew alexios plan during the first battle was going to fail the moment you explained his plan before the battle started same happens in all movies everytime someone mentions the plan before doing it the plan never happens as one wish it to be.
Can we get a series on Byzantiums most glorious times in the middle ages with the Komnenoi line ? Full detailed of course. Thanks in advance
It doesn matter how many times you fall, what it does matter how many times you RISE!!! each time you will be stronger and better than the last time ,Alexios !!!!
Robert Guiscard and Roger of Hauteville are some of the best conquerors of this timeperiod they were nearly always outnumbered
Bohemond was a worthy son of the former and nephew of the latter
Alexios, John and Manoueil were some of the best emperor's the empire had. By the end of their reign they had restored much of the empire (Anatolia) and made it again a regional power. If they didn't exist I believe the empire would last way less.
Alexios is the guy who rolls like 9 "1's" on the start of the dnd campaign and rolls all 20's at the very end
I know Alexious is getting kick around a lot in this serise but at least hes actually learning and trying a lot of other leaders who should have known better didn't
I don't know how to spell her name correctly, but you have to do a piece on Shikelgrubia, my favorite Norman Princess warrior. I'm not even sure if I remember her name correctly and trying to find anything about her on the web is a frustrating chase for nothing. She was the wife of a Norman prince and was in command of the right flank of her husband's army during a battle in southern Italy against the Byzantines. I'm a subscriber and will see the video if you do one. Please. She was awesome and if you don't know of her you will love her story. Unfortunately I don't remember her husband's name.
Kings & Generals, would you ever do a collaboration video/series with an other big history channel? It would be awesome.
11:12 I felt like the Byzantines got the idea of missile fire with hit and run tactics from the Turks. This is one of the reasons they lost in the battle of Manzikert. Now with the Turks' help, they used this strategy to their advantage.
Basically they had employed before the Turkish a number of huns and according to legend General velisarius was the one who came to the idea of combining projectiles with heavy cavalry tactics although similar tactics were used also by the Persians
The Byzantines always had a unique mix of Western and Eastern fighting styles. Their Kataphraktoi(heavy calvary) did fire arrows from horseback to soften an infantry line before a trotting charge
Completely agree.
@Frater That was a 1000 years ago.
No, as the romans were faced with such tactics when doing battle against the persians.
This is the first time i see Skopje mentioned ever in a KNG video, feels good man.
Please do Samuil vs Basil II next, that is one epic bloody battle.
LMAO, Alexios is like the Anti Sulla. The enemy was smart enough to just bypass traps and defenses, as opposed to Pontus who consistently felt the need to charge or drive straight into them.
so the holy *roman* emperor abandoned *rome* to warlords who had just been defeated by the *roman* emperor?
Dont forget the Sultan of Rum (Rome) gave troops to the Romans.
@Magna Jota they are english
@Magna Jota communicate with god? Which God?
Unholy German Confederation
Alexios is one of the most underrated emperors in Roman history. The east would have collapsed much sooner without him.
Imperator Aureliano I think it was less about manpower and more about the enemy they faced. The English lost 1 decisive battle and lost but The Byzantines lost multiple decisive battles and won. The same Roman Tenacity that defeated Pyhrrus and Hannibal won this war as well.
his son was even better.
Alexios: “I’m planning to use hidden chariots on you!!”
Bohemond: “I know!”
I was going to ask where Alexios got chariots and charioteers from but then I remembered there should be a lot of them racing around the Hippodrome in Constantinople.
i think they were simple carriages with flameable substances to be rolled down the hill to the Normans
I was surprised though, I thought they'd disappeared from real warfare completely by this point
I think the Hippodrome and the big palace were pretty much derelict at this point, with the emperors choosing to live in the Blachernae Palace. I could be wrong though.
Alexios had to deal with so much shit, it’s a testament to his will and wits that he still managed to beat them all off and kickstart a 100 year renaissance.
What I got from this series is that if Guiscard is your general you’ll most likely win
It's funny, 13 years later Bohemond would swear fealty to Alexios and join the first crusade, only to ultimately double cross the emperor by keeping Antioch for himself. The two would clash again in the 12th Century over the status of Antioch, and Alexios would finally defeat Bohemond at the the 2nd Seige of Dyrachium in 1113
"His little side quest of sacking the heart of the catholic world"
the place were Guiscard died its remembered today in kephallonia with the name Fiskardo.
The normans are such a random part of italian history, I love it
Swabian Sicily - even more random
I can't believe the Normans fell for the feigned retreat. I thought that was one of their signature moves. Maybe it wasn't until later that they began doing this.
What’s crazy is reading what Alexios’ daughter thought of Bohemond when he visited Constantinople during the first Crusade, wouldn’t have known he was her father’s bitter rival.
You have to make a miniseries on all the times alexios didn’t give up
Bohemond was a worthy son of his father and his house. He was the heir his father deserved (instead of that weakling Roger Borsa). As the eldest son--and a magnificent and ferocious warrior/commander--Bohemond’s right to the duchy of Apulia should have been guaranteed. If not for the machinations of Sikelgaita (Guiscard’s second wife and the mother of Roger Borsa) and Count Roger of Sicily, he would have succeeded to his father’s power and proved himself invincible.
The most wholesome video ever. Long live Rome, Vivat imperium, laudate Roma!
I feel like things between Beaumont and Alexios are gonna be "...a little bit awkward" by the time of the crusades.
To add to this, Alexios' daughter, Anna, had a huge crush on Bohemond as well.
but remember, this is Emperor Alexius Comnenus we're talking about, and he was always a crafty guy
We need more videos on Alexios Komnenos dang it!
Their determination was amazing. The saddle and stirrup innovation really changed the game. The Kataphraktoi had been around for centuries and because they were fighting a wide range of different enemies, they kept their skills well rounded. But when faced with the Norman cavalry they knew they had to change their approach. In two generations they had added those innovations to their Kataphraktoi/Klibanarioi and the results were evident in the battle of Battle of Demetritzes, against the Hungarians and the Serbs, as well as the Crusader states and the German knights passing through Constantinople.
"They see me rolling..."
I love this stuff!
Said it before, I'll say it again; more jokes and humorous references!
It is almost criminal negligence NOT to mention the first Crusade, during which, the same Alex, hired the same Bohemon, to fight the same Seljuk.
Alexio was like a villain from a cartoon, doing something new every week but cav goes cav in the end foiling his schemes
Ah yes, another video about Alexios "Not gonna give up" Kommenos
He did kinda invent Rickrolling lol
@A P Oh wait, its let me love you that im thinking about........still, there is a dont give up in there though
@A P Lol, me too
I immagine him now singing never give up by Sia...
Alexios' plan is to fight until you win. A true Roman indeed
The Norman/Swabian king of Sicily, Frederick II called "Stupor Mundi" (wonder of the world); was a charismatic figure of his time (13th century); man of great culture (he spoke six languages including fluent arabic), fond in art, literature, architecture, anatomy and more; even excellent diplomatic and politician! Check on yt: "Frederick II liked a strange, mysteriuos geometry"
Alexius Komnenos was the definition of a "determinator."