Fall of The Roman Empire...in the 15th Century: Crash Course World History #12
In which John Green teaches you about the fall of the Roman Empire, which happened considerably later than you may have been told. While the Western Roman Empire fell to barbarians in 476 CE, the Byzantines in Constantinople continued the Eastern Empire nicely, calling themselves Romans for a further 1000 years. Find out what Justinian and the rest of the Byzantine emperors were up to over there, and how the Roman Empire dragged out its famous Decline well into medieval times. In addition to all this, you'll learn about ancient sports riots and hipster barbarians, too.
Chapters:
Introduction: The Fall of Rome 00:00
Why Did the Roman Empire Fall? Barbarians at the Gates 0:30
Why Did the Roman Empire Fall? Barbarians Inside the Gates 2:07
An Open Letter to Pants 4:10
Constantine and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire 5:10
Comparing the Eastern & Western Roman Empires 6:57
Emperor Justinian 8:08
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches Split 10:38
Credits 12:06
Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at / crashcourse
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook - / youtubecrashcourse
Twitter - / thecrashcourse
Instagram - / thecrashcourse
CC Kids: / crashcoursekids
Its summer, I have no school, no tests, there is absolutely no reason I should be watching this. However I'm a sad person and I watch these for entertainment.
I do tio
+Kelvin Ubaechu *too
this is what makes you awesome
Watching them because you enjoy them is a much better reason than because some random person or teacher told you to. It's not at all sad if you enjoy it. What could be sad about that?
exactly!
And those who did not adopt pants became the Scottish.
pugfugly1989 The Scots were the the remnant of the Celts who survived the Roman conquest of the British Isles by hiding in Ireland. By the time they migrated back to the big island they had been Romanised by Patrick.
Robert Schuster Wow, no, not at all, the Scottish people were originally the Picts, and never left. Sure, they were Celtic in the way that they were Barbarians, other than that, they were a distinctly different group from say, the Gauls, Goths, Icenians, etc. The Romans never conquested into Scotland either, they tried an failed miserably, which is why they built TWO walls to keep the Scots out of the rest of the island, Hadrian's Wall and the Antonine Wall. I suggest you at least do some research the next time you decide to ruin a joke.
pugfugly1989 My mistake Yes Picts.
+pugfugly1989 a friend of my mine asked a tour guide if they wore underwear beneath the kilts; all she said was that only the children of scotland were beneath the kilts.
Carlos Luque Lol, there's a great song about that, look up The Drunk Scotsman, by Bryan Bowers
You are the adult version of Blues Clues.
Omg
Omg yes XD
"He was like the David Tenant of doctors" , I love CrashCourse
If only my world history class had been this exciting.... I would have actually learned.
I learn more stuff from the internet than school.
+Anon Y. Mous ikr
+Anon Y. Mous same knew shit before being required to know it
you should watch the extra history series on the extra credits channel for more information over justinian
Scools have the unfortunate quality of being the quikest way to stomp out the flame of natural curriosity.
If you think about Rome didn't fall until 1453 when the Byzantine Empire fell. So Rome lasted from 753 BC to 1453 AD. That's 2206 years!
+racine0486 sorry, but "Rome" died when it split between east and west. It does not mean that each side wasn't awesome. East even more so.
Eh I don't think about like that
racine0486 Nah man. You have to consider steps between as well. First the Monarchy, then the Republic and then the Empire. If you are speaking of Rome alone, then it most certainly died before 1953 and fall of Constantinople. Around 900 AD. Byzantine resembled more a medieval version of Greek than a Roman state. Still, awesome running time.
No man that's different. They just said they were Roman like the Russians did. The only Romans were the western and eastern.
+Sayyid Mohammed Elmi True, don't forget about the Sultanate of Rum.
7:40 Borat wearing a 'mankini" LOL He must have pranked Constantine too!
Another funny thing I noticed at this timestamp as well was that if you look the woman in the back has her drink disappear and before it switches frames multiple characters vaporize.
Who else is bingeing this series just for the fun of it?
As a history teacher, I am always really enthusiastic about these videos. However, today, one of my students, Leonardo, pointed that he was pretty sure that Constantine was born in Serbia. Actually, in Leo's natve town of Niš. I tought I would mention it... :)
“That lady, me from the past, is Emperor Justinian, we’ll get to him in a minute.”
Nice😂
We saw the video
Concept: People with tests tommorow and people who watch these for fun face each other off blue vs green style.
LOL I was thinking about Vampire Diaries when he said Alaric as well 😂
If people want to argue that Rome fell when the Western Empire fell. Feel free to comment here and we'll discuss it. However, I believe that it fell in 1453 when the Ottoman Turks lead by Mehmet II took over Constantinople. They lost for two major reasons. 1. Several years earlier when Pope Innocent III called for the fourth Crusade. Now you (for those who don't know) might be wondering why this mattered? The Crusades were to attack the land of Canaan and Jerusalem, right? Wrong. The fourth Crusade ran out of money so they decided to sack Constantinople. The weakened Constantinople could still fight off major armies, except.... 2. Except for the invention of artillery. The Ottoman Turks had besieged Constantinople twice before winning. The first time they were held off even though they outnumbered there enemies 10 to 1 (8k to 80k). The second time they were held off again. Mehmet II's army was on the verge of routing and Mehmet needed a spur of the moment, brilliance. Now, before this moment, the Romans (Byzantines) had held off every attack. The Romans had the Bosporus into the Golden Horn River (strait of Bosphorus) blocked off with a chain. Mehmet losing for this very reason (some argue indirectly), dismantled his ships, and dragged the pieces to the other side of the chain and rebuilt the ships. Now the Romans were surrounded. With victory in sight. Mehmet aimed all of his cannons at one spot and let his warriors loose. Rome, my friends, has now fallen. The Emperor (Constantine XI Palaiologos) with disbelief that the Roman Empire was falling, was last seen throwing himself into battle. I don't know why none of this was included...
*Ottoman Turks
727Tolga Ooops. My bad. The Suljuq turks were falling. The rising Ottoman's won. Let me fix it.
Michael T hahah it's fine. but the last selcuk state ended in 1307.
727Tolga Yeah, mixed up my empires... Sorry 'bout that.
***** No. That's not what happened. I explained perfectly why here.
For anyone wondering why John thanked Thought Bubble for putting he and Stan in the Green side, the Green side during the Nica Riots was the side that lived after Justinian called out the army.
Hilarious, and enlightening. I did not believe history can be so enthralling to learn, and so educational as well. Thank you and your team so much for this. Prayers and best wishes from Bangladesh!
Title: fall of the roman empire. Doesn't tell about the fall of the Byzantine empire
He does for like 3 seconds
Eatern Roman Empre. No one called it "Byzantine Empire".
7:42 look in the top right corner. The woman had a glass of wine, but it then disappears :O
ILLUMINATI
the woman disappears too
grej w0ah your right
Foung you
Romeball huh
Watching since the beginning, and this show is a classic! Thank you John, and the whole team.
The irony is that you showed those two different architectures at proof of how the byzantine empire differentiates from the western empire while both buildings have Greek origin.
lmao the Pantheon is probably the most Roman temple in the world. it is a fantastic synthesis of latin, greek and etruscan architecture, a perfect example of the syncretic nature of Roman civilisation, which learnt and reinterpreted everything it came across with
@@michaelgamba7674 if only it was the original Pantheon. Luckily the one Hadrian built survived the test of time...and didn't suffer a fiery death haha
I must’ve watched this 10 times and I just noticed the not-so-subtle dig at the college girlfriend. Nicely done. I can imagine John calling the folks at the animation studio and saying “put the college gf animation up on the screen when I talk about adultery... JUST DO IT!!”
9:09 Hagia Sophia is not a mosque at the moment. It used to be a mosque during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. However, after the Turkish Republic was established it was turned into a museum so that believers of both faiths can visit freely and without intimidation.
+Tunç Öztemir is that cause of Atatürk?
+Robinson Jones it became a museum in 1935 after the decision of the council of ministers. (Ataturk was the president meanwhile)
Yeah, but the original Christian paintings are all covered or damaged D:
This is brilliant. While I'm well past the years of needing to know this information for a test or similar, I do enjoy still reading about and refreshing my memory on various topics in history and this is a great format for it. Love the animation as it is eye pleasing, but wish you'd tell more if the story through animation. That would make a great thing even better. Congratulations on earning a new subscriber ;)
Watched this when it first came out in 2012, watching it now in 2019 before a Byz art history midterm...bless the Greens and this channel.
I'm so happy you brought up Theodora !!! She's one of my favourite historical figures ever. I wish we knew more about her.
"Did you know: Constantine is dead." XD
LMAO
Thanks for making these videos they're really nice and have kept me alive in way. :) They're well made videos and you guys do a job of making them. I appreciate them.
"Like the David Tennant of Doctors" Brilliant! XD
#PeopleWithATestTomorrowSquad
Luis Garcia not a test just homework
yes, same fren
yep
Luis Garcia oh my god I have a paper due yesterday🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Nah test in 1 hour XD
Day 12 of social distancing. I graduated high school two years ago. I'm not in college and have no reason to be watching this. But the quarantine boredom is hitting hard. So here we are.
Of course this gets recommended to me when Italy is put on nationwide lockdown due to Coronavirus
Yes
Anyone else here cramming for AP world tomorrow?
Pssst there hasn't been an laq on periods 3 and 4 in the past couple years
Literally me
Bailey Ann Freeman 😭😭😭😭
@@NathanWhite22 kind of funny that we got one this year
More like today. In 2 hours. I'm totally screwed, aren't I?
5:44 Correction: Constantine the great was born in a Serbian town Niš, known as Naisus in time of the Roman empire
soph yyeet Thank you! I was thinking about this for a long time
Mr Green. Hagai Sofia is a museum now. Thank you.
@Hit Stoner I live in Istanbul and it's still a museum, which Istanbul do you live in?
@Hit Stoner Buddy we would be rioting right now if something like that ever happened.
Erdogan has said he wants it to be a mosque. Wanting something and actually making it happen are different things.
I used to live in Istanbul, it's pretty cool!
What does it matter? it will be Constantinople again in the next 50 years
I really enjoyed the "did you know?" for Constantine. Really glad I learned that.
Super helpful while I try to understand my world history class. Thanks!
i was playing Assasin's Creed and thought "what empire ruled rome during this time?" and ended up here.
nah, it was the templars
Who said games aren't awesome?
Which one?
Was playing assassins creed to and ended up herew
@@BlakeTimmonsArt brotherhood, don't judge me
Hagia Sophia is not a mosque now! That's such a huge mistake. It has been turned to a museum in 1935, shortly after the foundation of the Turkish Republic and it has remained so ever since.
Does it hold Muslim artifacts or Christian artifacts? Because it would be a huge disappointment if it holds Muslim artifacts.
+Nobblk Praetorian As far as I know, it doesn't really "display" any collection of artifacts. It is just a museum on its own, with all its Roman and Ottoman history on its walls and all.
Başak Özkara Eh, at least people won't forget that it is a Roman creation.
+Nobblk Praetorian How would it be a disappointment? Islamic art is just as beautiful as Christian art. Yes there Islamic art in Hagia Sophia.
They did in the time of the Crusades when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem and turned it's Signature mosque into a Barn.
I love your show. Thanks so much for expanding my knowledge and adding a little spark of fun to it. :D
Gotta say this is one of crash courses strongest videos. Even given the short time limit this one is way better than the other videos.
john Green how often do you think about the Roman Empire?
Hey Mr. Green! Congrats on this channel. I subcribed to mental floss over a year ago and followed it like religiously. I will follow this one as well. Thanks for putting things like this on youtube and never ever forget to be awesome!!
Hey. I'm a teacher and I'd like to say. You're doing a great job here. Keep it up.
Wow! That was awesome! You seriously always make history fun
I have to watch this for school in Canada so every time you are part of my online lessons it's a treat :)
The Haghia Sophia is now a museum not a mosque
*Hagia Sophia
It was made a World Heritage site by the UN
good luck with that ;)
Beau Bassett amen
Beau Bassett yeah lets liberate the city of 15 million muslims and make it an orthodox city, sounds perfectly logical to me. And it is not racist idea at all. I wish you knew a little bit more about history.
That Vampire Diaries reference... just awesome! Also, as to my knowledge, the Hagia Sofia is not a mosque anymore, but serves as a museum.
Hey this video really help I was out sick and I had to watch it thanks!!
I absolutely love this channel evidenced by refusal to put my phone down at work when I'm ya know. At work! Wish I was rich enough to support but until that day I'm forced to leave the old verbal tip! Keep killing it guys and gals! Much love
He is awesome. Wish I had history teacher like him
Agreed
I wish John Greene was my history teacher, and I wish Micheal from Vsauce was my science teacher; or Bill Nye as my science teacher.
Yeah he would make every class fun and interesting :D
^
Haha agreed
The They Might Be Giants reference made me really happy
Videos like this prove why history repeats itself. Because we can know, but we never learn.
Everyone is here for their AP tests, meanwhile I'm just a homeschooler who is very behind and trying to catch up before the end of school.
okay my teacher set this as homework and i am forever grateful like thank you this makes learning fun
avni yeah me too because I couldn’t have done all this work without him
I am a Roman Catholic. We view the Orthodox Church as legitimate, and they view us the same way. There is the leadership issue is there, and the split was caused by un-diplomatic people rather than a real issue with Church teaching.
My knowledge of Roman and Greep history comes from the Percy Jackson series ( and maybe a bit from school).
Asian Power Ranger SAMMMEE
Greep? I think you mean Greek. Also, Percy Jackson Gods are Greek, not Roman. (Roman Gods are Plagiarised and Copied off Greek Gods anyway...)
GD SwiFT yeah I meant Greek,😅and I actually meant the the pjo series as in hoo as well and that includes both roman amd greek mythology.
*greek🤣😂
I love your videos you make history so much more fun keep up the great work.
1. Constantine didn't just rename Byzantium into Constantinople, he founded a new city on top of the ruins of an old greek colony. 2. He was born in modern-day Serbia, not Croatia. 3. Justinian was also born in modern-day Serbia. 4. The 'riot' between the blues and the greens was actually the 532. Nika rebellion. Justinian was, as you mentioned, about to flee the city when his wife, queen Theodora ordered the massacre in which 30000 rebels were killed in the hippodrome. 5. Hagia Sophia is a museum nowadays, not a mosque as it used to be. 6. Justinian wasn't really all that badass. He was kind of a pushover actually. I'm sure there's more to be corrected I just couldn't be bothered...
Yeah Crash Course and TED-Talks take liberties to make history more entertaining or simple. It's a shame :/.
+TCC Just what I thought. He tries to be entertaining, but in my opinion, he just comes off as a douche who researched this stuff 15 minutes before making this video. His jokes aren't even funny, I don't know what people find entertaining about this guy. It was a struggle for me to watch the entire thing...
+volimNestea He is trying to keep the mood light by cracking jokes, even if they are kind of dumb. If he taught blandly like most teachers do, atleast in terms of history, nobody would be interested.
They aren't just dumb, they're annoying. There are better ways to be entertaining.
Well aren't you just wet blanket
This is great! Thank you so much! It makes me think about how similar America is to Rome: vast and lacking a unifying culture. Thank you for this video along with the rest!
I didn't think I'd have to try so hard to understand an explanation.
Particle Man. Birdhouse in your soul. Boss of me. Lucky Ball and Chain. TMBG had a couple of mainstream hits.
Well done! I am currently reading Sailing from Byzantium: How a lost Empire Shaped the world. It would be nice to see a video that talked more about the translation of Greek and Roman (Plato, Homer....) texts into Latin before the fall of the Byzantine empire, and including the influence it had on the Renaissance......
The fall of Rome is so bloody complicated
Jack J no just bloody
You can't simply take down a Behemoth
Jack J The North remembers
@ΣΑΜΠΑΝΗΣ Except no, it is complicated, the mix of christian insurgency, barbarian invasion and destablizing region is the source for the fall of Rome
Centuries, several problems, internal, external, split up, expanded too far, etc.
Such a cool overview and production. Inspiring.
i swear u make me want to learn even more about history your theme is actually funny
dating a history professor, and really want this to work......
Max S.F. how did it go?
It's been well over a year now, so what happened?
Max S.F. Yeah tell us !!!
I dont consider myself a historian but he said 15th century which is 1400's so he is right
no he is incorrect the Roman empire did fall, the eastern empire went on through the crusades. they spoke greek in the eastern empire and considered themselves more greek not Roman.
10:18 When he reads "... adulterous women should not be executed." The animated girl with teeth brace weaving on the right probably is a representation of John Green's ex. That's how I remembered from previous episodes.
It's really hard for me to get anything out of these vids despite the beautiful animations because they are so fast paced.
I really enjoy these videos keep it up man
Constantine was born in Naissus which is modern day Nis, which is in Serbia...
Thank you! Scrolling down a mile to find thic coment.
And you and your people came in Naissus land ThreeHoundred yours later. if you're saying that Constantine is Slav, i accept that as a joke.
+Hieronymus MCMXCII I am Serbian and I would never say Constantine was Slavic, even if he was born in Nis
he is mother was greek
Slavs did migrate later but that fact has nothing to do with the fact that Naisuss is in modern day Serbia not Croatia.
Hagia Sophia is a museum now.
Just watched this video as part of an assignment for a history of western civilization course at my college!
This channel gets me through my western civilization course...
when he said warm genitals my social studies class lost it
Yet I wonder why the Scotts were so far up yet they wear kilt.
+Christian Djami they're just insane.
Thanks for this wonderful explanation and info based on the Roman Empire and fall of Rome. Helped me understand h/w (:
Just watching reviewing for my test yup 😂👌🏻 thanks John green!
your content is amazing and so helpful
4:18- left leg is over the right leg 4:21-right leg is over the left leg
The Hagia Sophia is actually now a museum, not a mosque! It's located in the "museum"esque district in Turkey and now operates as a museum with a set fare to get in as well as audio guides. They also have removed some of the plaster that covered up Christian mosaics and now the Hagia Sophia is one of the few museums (if not the only one?) that has Christianity and Islam peacefully side by side.
Noor Jehan If it was restored to its former glory then we can say it was fully converted into a museum with its original art restored. And by peacefully you mean one group wanting it back at all cost while the other group still considering itself owning it; then yes peace..... It seems you forget that Hagia Sophia is like St. Peter's Basilica except for the Eastern Orthodox. Imagine if Mecca was conquered by the Hindus and the Mosque made into a Hindu palace. (That's right feel guilty)
Noor Jehan the year if the video... look at it.
8:47 I understood that reference. *runs around house, singing* DOOWEEDOOOOOO
Nikki Miller hahaahaha it makes you loook like you liked your on comments
@@PeaceEcho_ take that
YEsSS
Watching this in self isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic for a test due tonight
7:35 Borat was Byzantine? I thought he's a Kazakh Barbarbarbarbarian.
YES! TVD!!! Finally, a history video that is funny and yet very educational and accurate.
John Green ladies and gentlegerms, the greatest author
You guys are great. The pace is perfect....why did I waste so many years in a text book?
IDEAS FOR NEW CRASH COURSE (MYTHS AND CULTURE): 1. STONE AGE 2. IRON AGE 3. CELTIC CULTURE 3. CELTIC MYTHS 4. NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN MYTHS 5. GREEK MYTHS 6. MYTHS IN GENERAL (JOSEPH CAMPBELL / JUNG)
Caesar over pope never forgetting that one
WoonPlayz - Minecraft and Other Junk From Outer Space Caesar was so boss he WAS the Pope of his time
Dean Cutler there were no popes during Caesar's time.
SIEGE He was the Pontifex Maximus, head of the Roman priesthood before they converted to Christianity. That's why the Pope is sometimes called a pontiff.
Badr al-Baraq He was reffering to to orthodox Christian belief that Ruler > pope/bishop which caused the great schism
its like a historical fraction
2 types of people watch this: 1. test-tomorrow people 2. nerds who watch for fun (me) edit: 135 likes!? wow... edit 2: 181 !? holy fuzzy!
I'm th number 1
Game Guy you’re number one right
Test in 30 minutes lmao
number 1
Number 2
Love the TMBG shout out. Oh, and the history.
My teacher put this on a few years ago when we were studying the history of medicine part of our history course. I'm now revising as my exam is on the 1st June, and this is really helpful. Thank you John Green
Rome when it’s leader does something they don’t like You have lost living privileges
No-one's hair: CrashCourse's hair: Bush
luca panozzo ha
As a Glaswegian, I can testify to that football rivalry thing. Blues and Greens, indeed 😉
Omg I was laughing so hard when he mentioned Alaric from vampire diaries. It's so true. Haha
i was like WHOA
Really ??
yes! haha
Dang crazy !
Wonder what the world would be like if Byzantium managed to at least survive to the modern day with its Greek holdings.
Indeed. I imagine with the rise of nationalism in the 1800s, it would have started to call itself the Greek Empire instead of the Roman Empire.
Burhan TheSomali The world could actually be vastly different. The reason Europeans searched for new trade routes to India because Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. In other words, the New World may have been never found (or only much later and perhaps by different people) if Constantinople didn't fall to the Ottomans.
Burhan TheSomali The otomans in america sounds like unfunded bullshit and the vikings were not a naval power at the time of the fall of Constantinopla. You forget that the reason for the spanish to send Columbus was to find a new trade rute.
The evidence that the Malians made it to the New World is kinda flimsy and based largely on heresay. We know for a fact the Vikings sailed to the New World, due to the artifacts and abandoned settlements they left behind. I can't speak for the Ottomans, because we'd have to quantify what it meant to 'know' about the New World. Did they speculate there was a large continent out west before anyone else? Because that idea had been around a long time.
I heard that the chinese knew something about America, but then there was that emperor who burnt the fleet, so neither would them.
Did anybody notice the Did you know fact that just said "Constantine is dead."
I love this video. Thank you!
Ooh, close but no cigar. The Hagia Sophia is now a museum. It was a mosque, but it became a museum in 1935
avalanche170 Yeah, good luck with that. Turkey has too many fanatical muslims in it. Letting them into the EU would be the last straw in handing over Europe to the muslims, who are already proving to be a giant pain in the ass to western civilization thanks to being allowed in and literally protected from criticism by the pissant politically-correct "leaders" whose worst fear in all the world is to be labeled "racist," even though islam, aka PISSlam, is a *religion*, not a race! Even our own feminists won't criticize PISSlam's tradition of female circumcision and its rampant misogyny, because that would be "racist," don'tcha know. Fucking IDIOTS!!
Everybody gangsta til the ships start walking
Everybodys a gangster until Gandhi hits half your civ with ICBMs
These videos give me so much home work! haha