Battle of the Gates of Trajan, 986 ⚔️ Basil II, the Bulgar Slayer (Part 1) ⚔️ Byzantium Documentary
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🚩 Basil II Playlist: • Basil II, the Bulgar S...
🚩 Over the past decade, Bulgarian armies under Samuel had conquered much of the European possessions of the Byzantine Empire. In 986, Basil II led the campaign personally with 30,000 soldiers. This much larger than average Roman field army showed the importance the Emperor placed on the threat from Bulgaria and the intent to subdue the Bulgarians with one strike...
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📢 Narrated by David McCallion
🖌 Thumbnail image of Basil II by Theodoros Giannakopoulos
🎼 Music:
EpidemicSound.com
Filmstro
#byzantine #history #historymarche
🚩 Keep exploring at brilliant.org/HistoryMarche/. Get started for free, and hurry-the first 200 people get 20% off an annual premium subscription. 🚩 Basil II Playlist: kzhead.info/channel/PLWwyDn76LiH1ILQgm32Kyqj3-_FBluiPW.html
and people say that Basil II is invincible the greatest and never lost. Yes he was beaten by Bulgarians.
Why dont you make content on Indian history anymore?
There is a profile trying to fool that there is giveaway and to write on Telegram. It is on one of my comments I will go and report.
Great channel but I have to say the sound mixing was terrible in this video. The background music was way too loud to the point where I had trouble hearing you. Frankly, I firmly believe background music is annoying, distracting, and unnecessary (especially for educational videos). I also believe people want to hear you speak and get information and not hear background music that they have to mentally filter out.
your map is incorect because on place in Balkan where is suposed to be Bosnian kingdom u place serbian and croatian (they do not have kingdoms in that time )
Ambushed in a narrow pass: A Roman tradition.
I'm suprised Romans didn't have a massive fear of doors and hallways
@@damoncrossan3827 they did thats why their doorways/hallways are so big
@@thegamingwolf5612 ofcourse how could I neglect these facts 😅
Hence why they built roads everywhere
I can't think of any besides trasameine. What others were there?
Byzantine royal court drama feels like the true story. They could have won so many wars, if they weren't busy murdering each other and then going to war with each other over the murders.
Game of thrones in real life
Witout internet n' shit, murdering you relatives sounds like a good pass time activity.
Have you even seen the Chinese Palace intrigue... This is children's games compared to that
@@caniblmolstr4503 ok ...
@@caniblmolstr4503 Not as crazy as Byzantine court drama!
When a Bardas revolts against you, counter with another Bardas you have in your back pocket. Which is why you never leave home without at least one Bardas.
VARDAS THE HARD ,bruh mimagine veing called hard/tough in middle ages . It means this guy really was a tough motherfucker . I wouldnt mess with a guy whose name is this
And then have both Bardases revolt against you...
@@Perceval777 True. I'll update my Bardas policy to have at least 4-6 ready to go in case cumulative Bardas problems arise. :D
@@zoliking 6 Bardoi is a disaster waiting
@@histguy101 Sorry, zoliking is not available from now. This is Bardas. Can I help youi?
Imagine how loyal those Armenians were to the Emperor to not only hold their own in battle at night, but realize the situation, and act with all possible effort to save their leader at any cost. Those men are what history is made of, we don't and never will know their names, but they changed the course of history that night.
Well said, in many theatres of History, plus Armenians and Georgians have also been great characters in the European and the Roman Empire's History. They deserve their honor.
The fact they had to die was weak
That part that they cut down their own tho...
@@nickdg507 They were at the heat of battle, and did what they saw was necessary.
@@Voivod23 yeah no arguments there, i guess anyone would have done the same to stay alive. Imagine being one of the other guys tho.... such a wasteful death
Basil Lack-a-penois is the best name ever for a Eunuch Uncle. I can't stop laughing.
True🤣
It's like something out of a Monty python skit
Real life is a Big comedy !!
Funny playword indeed. Lhe-kha-pee-noos is the correct pronunciation.
I was hoping people noticed that 🤣
As a bulgarian I'd still have to admit that what follows is one of the most hardcore moments in medival history. Basil II not only didn't forget this defeat, but made sure to have a payback served COLD. Can't wait for next episodes of the series.
"Payback is a bitch" - Kaloyan Romanslayer
So the eunuch uncle's name is Lakapenus. Guess that fits.
Now I cannot unsee that
I was hoping someone else caught that too😂
Those Armenian soldiers deserve credit for rescuing Basil II in a very difficult situation. They literally changed history by saving him.
Well for sure Nikifors guards didn't do the same. In a matter of facts, in Bulgarians schools we learn much more for the battle of "vurbishki prohod" than this battle.
Basil II himself is Armenian descent and is the best warrior of Armenian descent
@@yaqubleis6311 no its not!
@@Elenril_ read about is ancestors and origin is origin is Armenian
@@yaqubleis6311 nope he wasn't sorry
Most underrated rivalry in history
Agree
@Vrvodec basil saw Samuil as nothing as the yet another rebel he had to deal with nothing personal actually and Samuil had no chance of taking the roman empire anyway within the first bulgarian empire empire only simeon the great had a chance and the empire during his time actually had a chance of taking the city
the 5th longest rivalry in the history of mankind
@@yoghurtmaster1688 that is just false, they tried to overtake Bulgaria for decades with no avail and it was thanks to the usual backstabbing and dirty tactics that led to the breakthrough of the fortress at Kliuch village Basil hated Samuil with all his soul and he committed one of the biggest atrocities in mankind's history - he blinded nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers, something that is just a big NONO to do to another christian nation, a heinous crime He was one evil man and should not just be remembered as a great ruler, u have to take the good, the bad and the downright ugly And Bulgaria is well and alive now even after 500 years of ottoman yoke while the greeks pretty much stole all the history they could lmao
@@aleksk4151 Hi Alexandros, I find you here AGAIN :) Hehehe….you like this Hellenic History? Boulgaroktonos is the MAN 😃
Absolutely love learning about the Byzantine empire, so much luscious culture and history 👍
How many times does the Byzantine empire get wrecked for stupid reasons? The Byzantine Empire seems to not deserve survival purely because of the constant backstabbing.
@@ParleLeVu on the other hand, its amazing for how long the Eastern Rome surivived with all those incompetencies, betrayals, and defeats.
Roman power, baby 💪
@@freedombro6502 Never said they did. Said they didn't deserve to.
😅😅😅😅😅
The old romans should've started a new genre for their books called military horror in which a lot of of them started with "during the march in the narrow pass ..."
I like hearing anything about the Byzantine and Basil II. He's an interesting character. Can't wait to see the next episode of this series. I just hope we also see the next episode of the Hannibal series too.
There are two Byzantine emperors that I can't get enough of. One is the Bulgar Slayer and the other Alexios Komnenos. The guy was Rocky in real life. Never heard the bell ring
@@caniblmolstr4503---Yeah I heard him compared to Rocky. And I get what you mean.
Thank you for this great and accurate video on Bulgarian and East Roman Empire history! I look forward for the second part!
Thank you for the support. You are very kind.
I really love your videos about the bulgaro-byzantine wars, a topic of history that I believe is neglected by most people and I am so happy to see someone talk about my country's history. Some fun facts: about Arons execution. Samuel ordered the death of him, his wife and all of his children, trying to wipe out that branche of the family for good, but Samuel's own son, Gavrail Radomir, stepped in to save his childhood friend, the son of Aron, Ivan Vladislav. I will not spoil how the latter two will become important, but they will be. The four brothers who continued the war, also known as the Komitopul, were of unknown descent. We know that their father was the ruler of Sredets, Nikola, but some scholars believe that the brothers were a minor branch of the Krum dynasty, to which tzar Petar, Simeon and khan Krum belong(and others), which might be where their legitimacy came from. When tzar Boris II was brought to Constantinople, he was ritualistically stripped of his regalia and humiliated as to show that the Byzantines were now the rulers of his domain, afterwards his brother Roman was castrated. I will not spoil what happens to them.
Honestly I was a bit shocked when I read the Byzantines destroyed the Bulgarian Empire (I read history chronologically). Like the Bulgarians were up and coming and were pretty strong but the Romans under good leadership straight up wiped them within a few years.
@@zippyparakeet1074 They conquered it by bribing the regents. After Samuel dead his son Gavrail Radomir become king.Ivan Vladislav assassinated him (the one who saved him). The Bulgarian kingdom continued to expand under ivan Vladislav until he died in the siege of Durres,stracked by an arrow. The successor ,his son was 6 years old . Basil rashed to bribe all regents to be . They chose him as Emperor. Nobody wiped Bulgarians. Their kingdom revived as strong as before 160 later. In 1165 than was made up the nickname Bulgarslayer as propaganda. Bulgarian king was called Romanslayer, defeated the crusaders in 1205.
@@zippyparakeet1074 it is a number of factors that contributed to this, mainly the fact that Simeons wars exhausted the country and under Petar, they didn't really have time to recover. The Serbian uprising, followed by the rebellion of 2 of Peter's brothers, whilst the pechenegs and magiars invaded from the north, raiding almost constantly, exhausted the kingdom, but the real kicker was the invasion of Svatoslav and the following mess. It wasn't really a couple of years, resistance continued until 1018 and afterwards many uprisings would rack the empire, including in 1040, 1072, some others and the famous one of 1185. In conclusion, while the Byzantine empire recovered because of the peace, Bulgaria just couldn't recuperate that quickly
@@zippyparakeet1074 few years?You call 40 years of various campaigns few years?
I think its a huge oversight not mentioning Nikephoros' conquest of Antioch.
Maybe if he wasn't Murdered..
This'll be a great series! looking forward to part2
Thanks! Balkan history is always fascinating and you did it justice with a fine retelling! Awaiting part II ...
Thank you for your support! Very kind of you. Part 2 coming later this month or early February.
History Marche always introduces informative, excellent historical videos.. thanks for sharing 👍🏻
This trinity, Nikephoros Phokas, John Tzimiskes, and Basil the II, was the greatest in the Byzantine History!!! Hope that you cover Phokas and Tzimiskes' story, after Basil's!
Phokas carrier was much more glorious as a general though. "the pale death of the saracens" "
Justinian would have something to say about that claim
In my humble opinion Ioannis (John) II Komnenos certainly was among the greatest, if not the greatest.
The soldiers emperors
Imagine if all these greats of different dynasties- Nikephoros Phokas, John, Basil II, Alexios and John Komnenos succeeded each other like the five good emperors of old Rome with some other decent emperors sprinkled in between. Maybe the Empire would've regained Justinian's territories of Italy, the Levant, Egypt Libya, Africa and maybe even Hispania. What a glorious timeline that would be.
huge respect of putting the Byzantine empire as the Roman Empire
"With the collapse of the empire in the west, its eastern counterpart became, in reality, an entirely new and independent state, at once Greek by language and Roman in name: 'A Greek Roman empire'." Roderick Beaton, "The Greeks: a global history", New York: Basic books 2021, pp. 212
The GREEKS are the Romans
Damn, what an in extremis escape for the King and his retinue. Just barely managing to go through a side pass to escape the battle, leaving everyone else to die behind you. Harrowing thing.
Bitch move, he hated Bulgarians to his core. Did all the dirty tactics he could and later commited one if the most heinous war crimes in human history - the blinding of nearly 15000 bulgarian soldiers after the breach of the fortress in Kliuch village ( which also couldnt be done without bulgarian traitors) The man was a great ruler but he was also a monster
@@tsvetomirsheev3882 Sure but that's not related to my comment.
@@resileaf9501 it is tho, its all connected He tried underhanded tactics, all his people died and he barely escaped. U have to be objective and remember the good and the bad
Awesome video as usual! Can’t believe we’re getting this quality of content for free
Most excellent! Great storytelling.. Go team History Marche..!
Can't wait. Keep up the good work.
great video man! the narration is done so well
The Elite Armenian Bodyguard who saved Basil had been put together by John Tzismiskes. They certainly did their job. John was a better general than Basil but he did not live long and some think he was poisoned.
Great presentation! The narration is excellent and the animations are clear, beautiful and abstract enough to leave space for imagination!
cant wait for the next episode on this. Thank you! liked and subscribed as always.
As a Serb I sometimes wonder if there's any other people on the Balkans that have mastered the level of surprise attacks as our Bulgarian brothers and yes, if you sense a slight insinuation in this joke for what happened back in 1915 then you are absolutely right, lol, though jokes aside you guys really are good at ambushes and surprise attacks and that truly deserves respect and recognition as it is not easily pulled off, though I hope you guys can understand that my stereotypical Serbian inat-o-meter requires that I make a lighthearted reference all the while I show my admiration for you guys.
The Balkans are providing such opportunities! Its a thick forest and high hills everywhere across Bulgaria and Serbia. Very beautiful.
When you mention 1915, you should never forget 1885. Serbia was the first country to attack us shortly after our liberation from the Ottomans. The funny thing was that almost all of our army was on the southern border because we expected a Turkish attack. Instead, we received a brother backstab.
Well, it is proven that nobody is better at backstabbing as Serbian King Milan and nobody works better with the enemy than Stefan Lazarevich by helping the Ottomans to actually survive the following crusade. So you have contributed plenty to backstabbing and betrayal....dear brother :) I'm saying this with the best feelings in my heart :)
@@user-ls1pq3oj8r I bet he never studied in school this part of Serbian history.
@@user-ls1pq3oj8r 🎯
Love your videos keep them up mate!
love your byzantine vids man keep them coming
As always, great work!
“The blind leading the half blind.” Best podcast episode title ever from History of Byzantium by R. Pearson
I am really glad you are doing docs on this time, thank you
Absolutely love eastern roman empire history guys, keep it going!
Great video as always!
Back here so I can remind myself of what happened before, now that the second video about Basil is released. Loving the content, as always!
another great video as always!
Greetings from Sredets/Serdica (nowadays Sofia).
Very informative ❤
Благодарим ви!
Thank you so much for supporting the channel, you so very kind!
Great stuff. I live in Bulgaria. Always interested to learn more history of this country.
Bulgaria has some of the richest history in the WORLD, and bulgarians have existed waaay before the country's official inception in 681. Every Bulgarian should be proud of their heritage
Wow very Informative and also inspiring video! I will illustrate this whole battle in my Basil II comic.
What a marvellous channel. Quite astonishing.
Great stuff, thanks!
After this battle the byzantine author John Geometres wrote: ,,Ister grabbed the wreath of Rome- the Bulgarian arrows are stronger than the Roman spears."🇧🇬
waiting for the next! thank you
Amazing content keep it up
Another great video. Intro to a legendary ruler, the calm before the storm lol
Great video!⚔
Again amazing video,thank you for good videos,respect from Türkiye,u are loved
It is indeed an interesting documentary. Thank you
Great videos as always.
The most underrated emperor ever👏
😂 In the official list of "rated emperors"?
Underated ....... by who ??? He's the most talked about ....
@@user-iy6oe9kp4f what manner?
The bulgarslayer underrated? No mate, he was glorious and is known to everybody who knows byzantine history. It's one of the best emperors, if not the best.
@@christospanagopoulos5821 agreed.
These videos make me love the game Crusader Kings 3 even more haha
Excellent video as always and l think the battles of arcadiopolis and dorystolon diserve their own video
This is going to be your greatest series.
That was awesome!
Please continue this is excellent
I know this series probably isn’t first priority but I’m really looking forward to you finishing it. I think Basil should get more attention.
These videos are as good as a cup of coffee in the morning!
Insert puerile comment:"Basil's eunuch uncle, Basil Lackapenis." Superb presentation as always good sir. You are definitely one of the best history channels on this platform.
Basil the based!! “The Bulgar Slayer” is one of the coolest monikers ever.
200 yrs later they’ve got revenge.Kaloyan, the Roman slayer
Bulgar slayer is just english interpretation, original sounded much cooler.
It is Bulgaroktonos.
respect to Bulgaria for being the only one to defeat Basil the Bulgarslayer . Nobody else did that
good content thanks
This chanel always deliver
Interesting as per usual.
The end was just great!
Great video!
Yesssss i was waiting for basil II
Thank you!
Though defeated, Basil showed in the following decades that he learned his lesson. And the bulgarians would know this in a horrible and unforgetable way
Thank you very much for the video and for the Bulgarian subtitles. My father is big fan of yours and all the time I have to translate for him. This time I passed 😂
Oh. I have been waiting for one on Basil.
"Bulgar-Slayer" !!! Can't wait for the next episode!! Peace and Lots of Love from Mumbai India ❤️💯👌✨
Amazing!!
Congrats for 700k subscriber
Thanks!
Thank you very much for the support!
Please continue this series! I'd love to know better on basil and you always put out vids on how the eastern roman empire lost haha, would love to see when did they win actually
Why did you revolt against Heraclius? What did Chosroes II offer the Judeans? Just kidding
Great video
great explaination
great content
Basil made the escape of the ages. If he was caught and killed like Nikephoros 1 the fate of ERE and Bulgaria would've been totally different.
great thank you - for the range ;)
Oh, my God! I’ve always wanted a series about Basil… Can’t wait for the whole documentary!
Increíble que a pesar de dicha derrota tan catastrófica Basilio II pudo mantener su trono y prevalecer, debemos de dar a conocer mucho mas la Roma Oriental.
Arabs I exist
Love you work even though im not intersted in this topic
Love this guy.
La historia del imperio romano de oriente o bizantino es tan increíble que podrían hacer varias series o películas, excelente video.
Basil II and Alexios must be two of the best Eastern Roman emperors ever in terms of revitalizing the state both externally and internally especially since the dismal condition the state were at their respective reigns.
Well during basil the second reign the empire was stronger than the one alexios had inherited
so Bulgarians have beaten "the greatest Byzantine warrior emperor" in history. That's something to be proud of and is indicative of Bulgaria's immense strength. Although small in size , Big in heart
He almost became a drinking cup....
@@aleksk4151 we are small in size now cause we've been robbed and backstabbed by everyone, but sooner or later our glory will be back
@@user-hx2xl2km2e but instead Tsar Samuel lay 6ft underground.
This narrator is so good!
Usually other than minor details, dates and other small peices of information, I'm never really finding out anything I haven't already known. As I'm fairly educated on the period. However I had NO idea the RUS were going into the Balkans this early on. The bribery by the Eastern Roman's was stunning and quite interesting. Love this channel, good voice, good graphics, just a great all around program. Keep it up. 👍🏻
Russians is not an accurate name for the period. This population was called by Byzantium, Scythians. and those who have been bribed are the Scythians of Prince Svetoslav from the Russian Principality of Galicia. In other words, from the territory of today's Ukraine. The Muscovite Russian Principality would later conquer the remaining small Scythian (Russian small state entities) principalities
@@radislavrashev7266 I didn't call the period "Russians." I'm aware how they were founded, and what they were referred to as.
Nothing surprising about New Rome's "divide and conquer:" foreign policy ... they invented it more than 1000 years before and applied it better than anyone. Their diplomacy was truly in a class by itself in those times.
Excelente!
Pretty awesome video! Beside I am bulgarian really like Byzantine-Sassanide wars, before theyre total exhaustion.
nice!!
Perfect
I look forward to new HistoryMarche videos like it's Christmas and the voice guy is Santa Claus 🤣
Nice video Made me love the eastern roman/ Byzantine than Western romans
Bulgarian military tactics: 1. Ambush in a montain pass 2. Attack with litght cavalry, lure, ambush Repeat
Only when Bulgaria didn't have a bigger or better army, and even then they could beat anybody, like the battle of Acheloy
These videos are so well made that even commanders Phuk-ass and Lak-of-penus couldnt distract me from learning some interesting history.