Pliska 811 - Byzantine - Bulgarian Wars DOCUMENTARY
Our new animated historical documentary series on the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars will start with the story of the battle of Pliska or battle of Varbitsa pass between the Eastern Roman emperor Nikephoros I and the khan of the First Bulgarian Empire Krum. The story starts right after our video on the Umayyad Caliphate's siege of Constantinople in 717-718, during which the allied Byzantine-Bulgar forces stopped the Muslim expansion in the region.
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The script video was written by Matt Hollis.
This video was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & / @gameworldnarratives )
Machinimas were made on Total War: Attila engine by MalayArcher ( / mathemedicupdates )
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Sources:
Paul Sophoulis - Bulgaria and Byzantium 775 - 831
Dennis B Hupchick - The Bulgarian-Byzantine Wars for Early Medieval Hegemony
R.J Crampton - A Concise History of Bulgaria
Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com
#Documentary #Pliska #Krum
Monetization comes and goes, but the patrons are forever. Hopefully :-) www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals Also! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL GOD!
Question: Will you make battles of Great Northern War for Baltic sea in future?
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
That sounds like a warhammer 40k quote. Also this is actually a source I needed so thanks a ton!
@@TyrannosaurusRex5027 You'd be correct
What if we got a video on the Battle of Kleidion, t h e b u l g a r s l a y e r
Being ambushed and destroyed in a narrow pass somewhere in the mountains literally became a Roman tradition
Seeing as it happened at least 3 times
Indeed, Greeks are not Roman (BTW, did your spellchecker fail?). But the Byzantine Empire (aka. the Eastern Roman Empire, aka. "the Empire of the Greeks") was a legit political continuation of the Roman Empire. Constantinople was "the second Rome". *edit:* I see much confusion in the comments below. To clarify, Greeks are not _ethnically_ Roman. As correctly pointed out, they were *full Roman citizens* (Edict of Caracalla, 212 CE) - and, of course, quite close culturally to the inhabitants of Italy, having extensive contact since the 8th century BCE or earlier. The Italian south, and the entirety of Sicily, were *full* of bustling Greek colonies (see: _Magna Graecia_ ). In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Greek language (and culture) never ceased to be the predominant one, even becoming the official language of the state soon after the split. The inhabitants continued for centuries to call themselves Romans, and their language _ρωμαίικα_ (Romaic) - but the term clearly refers to the Greek language! Other terms for "Greek" (such as _Hellenes/Hellenic_ ) continued to be in parallel use, falling in and out of favor. Seriously, there are dozens of ethnonyms; Achaeans, Danaans, Ionians ("Yunans"), Hellenes, Greeks, etc. These apply to particular groups, but often to the Greeks as a whole. I suspect that's tripping some people up...
@Emre Al you think they were greeks because they were speaking the greek language? Byzantine Empire is Rome. I don't understand why it's called the Byzantine Empire anyway. Historical records shows that they never called themselves that. They were calling themselves Romans. Other countries called them Romans too. I guess at some point one of the modern historians started to call them Byzantine Empire and it became a trend
@@randomuser6175 byzantine empire was called byzantine empire because the name of constantinople (nowadays istanbul) was byzantium, the byzantine emperor constantine I renamed it to constantinople. and byzantine empire was formed as the roman empire had problems managing the whole empire, at first dividing it into 4 (north-west, south-west, north-east and south-east) which then consolidated into 2 separate empires. of which, the western empire fell shortly afterwards, byzantine empire was a part of the roman empire, and it lasted until the 1400s
This is because Bulgaria has a 70% mountains, if the greeks want to fight the bulgarians, they have to fight in the mountains...
15:01 *freezeframe* "So, you're probably wondering how I got myself into this situation." - Nikephoros I
more like 16:21 lol
cut the man (Nikephoros) some slack, he was an accountant, from the beginning he only saw the numerical advantage he had
so he's kind of like the Zack Morris of the middle ages? (sure had the overconfidence part down 😂 )
@@rblossey ahahahaah
vashtalelq i mean he could have prepared at leasts a bit. He did so many mistakes that i was like “i hope he dies. He doesnt deserve to rule”. You just need a bit of brain to realize these heavy mistakes
Officers: We’re walking into a trap Nikephoros: Yes Officers: Should we retreat or prepare for battle? Nikephoros: No
just keep drinking and play dice and see what happens :D
Listen, if you don’t worry nothing will worry you. If you’re not playing dice during wartime you’re doing something wrong 🤣
@@ivanneshkov9363 Stiff upper lip lads, it doesn't do to let the rankers see you worried. Steady the buffs !
He might be in the top 10 of the most incompetent commanders in history. I don't know, but it's close :)
I would hate to be under the incompetent command of Nikephoros, I mean how many signs do you need to see to realise somethings not right here?
12:58 "They saw a fortified log palisade, blocking their path, which Nikephoros dismissed as a means to prevent entry, rather than deny exit" *Foreshadowing intensifies*
LOL, I laughed hard when I heard the line because I know how the story ends :D
Krum: *drinks wine from the emperor's skull * Khorne: that's my boy!
Blood for the Blood god Skulls for the skull throne Let the Byzantine realm burn(dawn of war refference)
Krum is the God Conan the Barbarian prayed to for victory. He even told him "if you're not listening then to hell with you"
@@barbiquearea Crom,not Krum.
@@temistogen Close enough
Српски патриота it is in fact Krum
I never learned about the Byzantine-Bulgarian wars in school, nor do I have any books about said conflicts. Videos likes this, where I get to learn about something I had no prior knowledge of, are why I love this channel.
No one even know in western europe bulgarians had one of the biggest empire of europe back then which is pretty dumb but its because history is focused on the west rather than the east because of renaissance enlightnmenet and all that shit
You can learn more about this wars in any book about Byzantine history : - George Ostrogorsky, History of the Byzantine State (event if it's a bit old now). - Michel Kaplan et Alain Ducellier, Byzance IVe siècle-XVe siècle, Paris, Hachette Supérieur, 2004. - Charles Diehl, Histoire de l'Empire byzantin, Paris, Editions du Trident, 2007.
@@AdriatheBwitch No, don't talk like that. Answer is far more complex, than to say "oH Muh eStern EVroPa is not rElEvent becoz Teh eVil vest".
@@AdriatheBwitch Firstly, history will always remember the victors or the ones that have left a far greater impact, secondly, Bulgaria lost the Second Balkan and the two World Wars, that left it in a rather isolated position next to the world, while it's neighbours reaped the benefits, thirdly it's really not that significant - academics always knew the importance of the history of certain region, be it Bulgaria or another region, people have different phases of evolution, if one group doesn't know about the other due to lack of sources, that's normal and fourthly, as a bulgarian, we haven't translated our books into english or french, even the pseudo-macedonians have, the literature which is worthwhile, that is for bulgarian history, in english, can be counted on your two hands, the foreign authors also (Treadgold).
@@starhawck Well, that is the case actually i mean its the whole point of the "dark ages" hostorians from the 17-18th centuries in the west wanted to promote the renaissance so hard that they even called the eastern roman the "byzantine" even if it was totally dumb, thing is in the west you dont learn anything about the late roman empire you just learn abotu crusade dont even know what role play the romans in it but whatever. Thing is even today you have ppl mostly in the west arguing the "byzantine" arent the roman empire so yeah i mean its a bit their idea to say that europe was great during ancient rome then became shit after west rome fell (476) then became great again after ppl remembered how awesome rome was (even if the knowlodge was mostly stolen durign the 4th crusade but he we are the good guys here ) Am i wrong? =p
Trivia: When the news of the defeat reached Constantinople, the people went to the tomb of emperor Constantine V "the Dung-named" (nick-name given to him by his iconodules enemies) and cried out to rise up from the tomb and save the empire
This truly happened?
Because he was the first emperor to beat the shit outta Bulgayrians
@@stepanpytlik4021 That's what Theophanes the Confessor, a chronicler and enemy of Constantine V, wrote
@@VladTevez Interesting. Do you have some sources?
@@stepanpytlik4021 The chronicle of Theophanes Confessor
They forgot to mention the most famous quote in Bulgarian history: ''Не щеш ли мира на ти секира'' roughtly translated it would be ''if you don't want the peace you get the axe'' which is presumably what khan Krum said to the emperor before he chopped his head off!
Inna Georgieva Doychinova “как се Крум Преславни с Никифора би, и из черепа му руйно вино пи”
I doubt he said that in a slavic language, old bulgarian replaced Bulgar (which was a Turkic language) only in 893
Maor Yevdayev many proto-Bulgarian words have survived to this day. that’s one of the reasons the Bulgarian language is rich in synonyms - both the Slav and bulgar versions survived. Additionally, languages evolve over time, Bulgaria’s last king was sent into exile in 1945 and when he returned in 2001 he could barely understand Bulgarians because the language had changed so much. Lastly, even in a country as small as Bulgaria is today, there are a number of dialects that are very different than classroom Bulgarian. The takeaway is this: we may not be able to understand what Krum said, but whatever he said, he said it in the 9th century version of BULGARIAN, the language of the ruling class of Bulgaria at that time.
@@SKa-tt9nm I totally agree, languages change indeed and are always influenced by other cultures around them. However, I did a quick research and found out Greek was actually the official language until 893, when Old Bulgarian became the official language. As we know languages do not change overnight, and indeed they started using it as a de facto language only around 863, some 50 years after Krum.
Maor Yevdayev I’m sorry but greek has never been the official language of Bulgaria. I’m sure there were laws that were written in greek, as old bulgarian was not really a written language. But the spoken language was always Bulgarian.
In Bulgaria, we call this battle "Battle of Varbitsa Pass" as it did not take place in Pliska. I am sure many more interesting episodes are coming: Battle of Achelous, Trajan's Gates, Kleidion or Klokotnitsa. You can also cover the battle of Adrianople of 1205 between Bulgaria and the Fourth Crusade where the crusader emperor Baldwin faced pretty much the same faith as Nicephoros.
only one corection Battle of Achelous .. should have stated which one since its proven there were like 4,5 huge battles there betwen Bulgarians and Byzantines.Ofc Bulgarians here know which one you are talking about ..The biggest battle in medieval history but others might not
Can I ask you, are you Bulgarian people think you are Slavs or Turkic ?
@@tasbykekerey1203 The official version in the history books (and the one supported by historic sources and archaeological findings) is that today 's Bulgarians are descendants of the Turkic Bulgars and the Slavs inhabiting the Balkans. Some people claim that we are also descendants of the ancient Thracians or that the Bulgars were actually from Indo-Iranian and not Turkic origin but I highly doubt these theories.
@@drashko Genetic studies have already solved this "mystery" you know...
@@drashko According the the statistical data released by My Heritage, only 1,6% of the Bulgarians have some turkic ancestry, which is usually not more than 10%.
Mostly known as "the battle where the emperor became a silver cup"
lmao
Could be worse. Could've become a chamber pot
V. Athanasiou, if this video paints an accurate picture of Nikephoros I's personality and wisdom, he should take solace in the fact that something which was completely empty before his death, had the chance to be (occasionally) filled with wine afterwards.
@@jasondoe2596 He wasn't stupid, he was just an economics minister with absolutely zero talent for military affairs
Part of one's wisdom is knowing their limits (and appointing people suitable for the job instead of trying to do everything themselves). PS. And of course he wasn't really stupid - he was competent enough to scheme (and murder?) his way to the throne, which makes this failure more inexcusable.
Ah yes. The good old tactic of "let's go meme about in unfavorable terrain while not giving a damn about our enemies what could go wrong?"
Cosmopolitan Bay novice mistake to disrespect tactics
To be fair if they were scared of unfavorable terrain then there would be no wars in the Balkans ever.
Finally, for so long, I waited to see an episode about Bulgaria.
Just wondering.. what's your opinion on that fact that ancient Bulgars were Turkic nomadic people that worshipped the Turkic God Tengri? In my experience Bulgarians are super xenophobic about Turks. Although I've befriended a handful of bulgarians very closely
@@3choblast3r4 First of all, Bulgarians are not a Turkish nomad tribe, and having a same god does not make us friends. and that the Bulgarians come from Central Asia through the Great Steppe and have settled in the Balkans. Secondly I hate Turks and if you have a problem with that, I don't care.( I wish you a good day or night ).
@@MirGamesBG 1. I never said Bulgarians were Turk..but BULGARS were Turk. Modern Bulgarians are slavs. And Bulgars were Turkic. 2. Bulgars did not just "share a religion" with Turkic people. They worshipped a Turkic God, they also spoke a Turkic language, had Turkic names and titles.. 3. Listen I don't care a out your petty inferiority complex and hatred for Turks..this is a historical fact acknowledged by all serious historians. *Again you are not Turkic*. But the Bulgars from the Video are. The name of your country and your nationality is Turkic. 4. Empty hatred won't get you anywhere. Hating an entire people Is a sign of stupidity. Especially since toy got the name of your country and nationality from those people. You both claim ancient Turkic Bulgars as your own people and hate on Turks.
@@3choblast3r4 We shared language and religion because we were under Turkish rule for 500 years, the only thing that connects us.
@@3choblast3r4 Bulgarians and Turks never had anything in common, I exclude god Tangra. The fact that Bulgarians had Turkish names and we had one religion is because, Bulgarians, we were 500 years under Turkish slavery 1396-1879.
OH MY GOD,yesterday I was just talking about how the wars between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire have always been one of the most underrated episodes of history in the world. A 700 year long period that is hardly taught in schools around the world but deserves more attention.Damn,absolutely impressed with you guys that you are covering something about my own country.
or we dont hear about ww1 the macedonian front. its a perfect nickname for it""the forgotten front"
Our
@@Daurentius322In this respect B'lgurs are not much more funny than Al Banans who have the very same universalist claims
@@Daurentius322 I have always felt sorry for the stupid. When you are uneducated and low-cultured, you don't have to be proud of that!
Bahahahaha Turkic not Slav🇹🇷🇦🇿🇰🇬🇰🇿🇺🇿🇪🇪🇭🇺🇫🇮🇹🇲🤘🤘🤘🦅🦅🦅🐺🐺🐺🐎🐎🐎
Krum: "If you don't want the peace then you will get the axe"
@@NickStrife Don't forget the fact that Krum is briliant administrator and commander - from his rule until the rule of Petar the Bulgarian empire is only expanding and becoming stronger.
@@NickStrife Says the invader.
True story
@@NickStrife honestly when Byzantine empire is strong - Bulgaria is weak and the oposite - just endless circle untill the 14th century
@@atrides7 wasn't the end tho, also don't forget it was because of the Kievan Rus
BazBattles: *Posts battle of Ongal* K&G: *Posts battle of pliska* All related to the Bulgarian - Byzantine war *COINCiDENCE I THINK NOT*
And yet it is
@@KingsandGenerals can you please make Bulgarian - Byzantine war a Battle of Achelous (917). it is it is the most biggest battle of its time. all the bulgarians army vs all the byzantine empire army. 2 out of 3 of the most strongest and biggest empires in europe in that time(- the 3 one that is obv the frankish empire). with ofc even the greatest and first by the way bulgarian tzar ever Tzar Simeon the Great. ho pretty much outsmarted and killed the entire byzantine army. almost even took constantinople and made his dream to make a empire of a bulgarian and greek lucky for the byzantine empire he died. by the way when it comes to Bulgarian - Byzantine battles there is SO much great material(from 7 century all the way to the end of the byzantine empire around 14 centory :D. you can make a long series out of it.
@@derptrolling4740 Largest ambush in military history.
@@derptrolling4740 No, the Roman Republic 217 bc Hannibal's ambush at lake Trasimine. Largest ambush in history to this day.
A very pleasant coincidence indeed! Anything about how the nomadic plains tribes formed nations is great stuff. Something on the Sogdian empire and the great city of Samarkand would be fascinating!
When I was in school, this story always fascinated me! I remember that when Nikiphor realised that the Bulgar Army was marching fearlessly, his words were: "Even if we had wings, we could not escape!" Thank you, you made my day!
Made my too! ^_^
At least they didn't fight each other over a Stray Dog.
10/10 would fight for the doggo again
Context???
@@konstantinostourl1722 They actually did.
@@konstantinostourl1722 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incident_at_Petrich
Lol 😂😂😂
The Bulgarian-Byzantine wars were fought throughout 7 centuries, I hope you will make more videos about them.
Krum sounds like a God from the Conan novels and movies.
Howard wrote Stories about a certain Krull, who is even closer to Krum. amongst them "By this Axe I rule!". The Kull stories are considered proto-Conan Stories, a lot of elements appear for the first time here: a warrior barbarian turned conquerer and king.
It's Crom, that's the gods name
Crom baby, Crom.
By the Crom!
Novels and movies? Do you mean tv show vikings? Haha thats mostly fictional..
Nikephoros I _'The Logothete'_ : **invades Bulgaria and besieges, then loots Pliska in 811** Khan Krum : *"I'm about to end this emperor's whole career."*
Unfunny meme, get out
Kanasubigi Krum*
@@BoykofanKanas mean Khnyaz, "U bigi" mean "from god" (Knyaz from god)
@@Boykofan Cuz is proturk and prorussian propaganda... we never see anywhere which is the real title of the bulgarians its not "Khan" or "Kan"
@@Boykofan Do u even know bulgarian?
I am a simple man... I see Balkans... I click.
I just love you're shitstorm that the comments always are
@@firstlast5454Always a balcan war in the comments
@@firstlast5454 The shitstorms in your average Balkan related video are just an evidence of the fact that the Balkan countries study their own twisted version of the History.
@@user-th3nx6zj2f True. Unfortunately history can be interpreted and twisted in any way you want to serve a political agenda. Plus everyone here on the Balkans hates each other, everyone thinks their country is the best country in the world, while the truth is that the whole region is a shithole, the armpit of Europe.
14:40 This must have been one of the most badass and terrifying scenerios ever. Amagine having your commanders argue with your leader about what to do while playing games at your camp of operations. Then suddendly a distant howle followed by distant thunderous sound of hooves and shouting followed by clanging metal as you begin to realize your camp is about to be attacked. Then seing an army in the horizon line with thousands of charging troops as dawn breaks and you hasten yourself for battle.
yeah pretty scary to hear War cries from mountains in the dark
very nicely described, sounds like a good story for a film or series :)
This bulgarian guy Krum was totally badass.
If you think Krum was a badass wait until you see Simeon the Great
maybe he was a Turk :D
@@erdikaya363 lmfao what crack are you smoking. During the events of this battle the ancestors of the turks were busy fighting each other somewhere in Central Asia
@@tonit4233 Actually bulgars were turkic and came from central asia
Turks came from Bulgarians. All your food and drinks are Bulgarian
We have a portion of the gate left in Sofia (Serdica) which I love to visit when I go to the Center. Bulgaria has a ton of cool history and I’m happy to see this story play out. I hope to see more videos about the Bulgaria - Roman conflicts. It’s too cool to pass up.
There will be more!
@@KingsandGenerals Will you also cover Kaloyan and his campaigns against both Romans and the Latin Empire?
@@zarni000 Sofia, Bulgaria is where the walls of Serdica still are partially visible.
zarni000 right under the yellow brick road where the entrance to the metro is. The metro stop is even called Serdica
In Bulgaria when we learn about the Byzantine emperors, we have to learn their nicknames as well. For example: Leo 3 "The Syrian" Constantine 5 "Copronymus" Leo 4 "The Khazar" Nikephoros I " Genikos"
Constantine E' Kopronymos Is The First Bulgaro-Slayer.You Know All Of You Bulgarians, The Second.....VASILEIOS B' BOYLGAROKTONOS !
Dont forget Nikephoros = Silverus Cuppus.
In greece too
If I am not wrong, Copronymus means "poo name". That's funny. Unfortunately, here in Brazil, little is known about the Byzantine Empire. At school, I learned a few things about the Justinian Wars and then the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
@@DimitarFCBM It's like "Byzantine" was an ethnicity. That's why I personally despise the name - both Bulgars and "Byzantines" themselves referred to Greek speakers in Middle Ages as Romans. Simple as that.
Khan Krum was a beast. Can’t deny that.
Later he planned on taking Constantinople together with the Arabs. Died choking on bear meat before he was able to do it.
@@silafuyang8675 It's Tsar Simeon the Great who had considered an alliance with the Arabs. Krum had prepared a huge siege park for a siege of his own, but indeed died abruptly before the campaign's start (no mention of bear meat whatsoever though).
If you think he’s a beast now wait till the Battle of Versinikia. Krum was outnumbered 2 to 1 and well just wait and see
@@darthveatay at Battle of Versinikia the Roman-Greek troops said " We will win because we are 10 TIMES more than the Bulgars"
He even implemented the first written laws in Bulgaria which were pretty badass. For example if you are caught stealing you will get your hands chopped off.
Благодаря , велики сте
"such a boomer" i lol'd
Should have sent you to a monastery
Shut the fuck up BOOMER.
I am a Boomer and I'm still laughing.
Campy
Big hug to all bulgarians from Serbia 🇷🇸❤️🇧🇬
Thanks
@Mohamed ali the first Bulgarians were turkic, but they got mixed with the Slavs
@@someonethatdefonitelyexists yes and modern bulgarians have about 15% slavic DNA ... Not much to be honest the rest Thracian pure bulgarian
God bless you bro. Hugs to Serbia
It is not about genetics. It is about heart. Bulgarians are culturally slavic, and that is it. Greetings from Russia!
I asked for this video a year ago, you told me that you were going to make it and you kept your promise! Great video as usual!
"Damn it Nick , you could of just accept the peace when it was the time"
DAMN IT SAMOUHL, I SHOULD HAVE BLINDED THEM ALL AND NOT JUST 15.000 AND LEAVE ONLY ONE WITH ONE EYE FOR EVERY 100 BLINDED SOLDIERS.
@@panagiotischaralampopoulos7152 What is WRONG with you
@@panagiotischaralampopoulos7152 You are welcome for having the byzantine empire even last until 1400s. If Kaloyan hadn't defeated the latins you would be conquered by the turks as early as their arrival to Anatolia
@@panagiotischaralampopoulos7152 bro what is your problem with bulgarian victories if it wasn’t for my ancestors, your ancestors would be worshiping allah
@@DivineOrangewe are still waiting from you to let us know which is this great and decisive victory in which Bulgarians saved Europe from Islam. BE MORE CAREFULL PLEASE . The Byzantines were fighting Persians and Arabs back when Bulgarians were not even formed as a state. Ask ( not of course your local teachers) BUT THE EUROPEAN HISTORIANS toe xplain you which was the role of the Byzantines against Islam. ΟΝ 681 ΤΗΕ ΒULGARINAS DEFEATED THE BYZANTINES AND FORMED THEIR STATE IN THE LAND WE KNOW THEM. THE BYZANTINES FORCED TO PAY TAXES TO ASPAROUX. THIS HAPPENED AS THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE SEVERE FIGHT OF THE BYZANTINES AGAINST THE RAIDS OF THE ARABS Not ot expand to remind you that the living space Bulgaria occuries now ( remember that you came in this pLace and not BORN THERE AS BULGARIANS) now has been reserved by the ancient GREEKS!!!. mY ANCESTORS WAS THE SHIELD AGAINST ISLAM AND TRY NOT TO COMPARE PEOPLE AND EMPIRES WHICH THEIR HISTORY FILLS ALL THE SERIOUS LIBRARIES OF THE WORLD WITH THOUSANDS OF TONS OF BOOKS WITH A NATION WHICH APPEARED. STAY CALM AND TRY AND TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHER'S HISTORY. YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THHE HISTORY BUT NOT SO IMPORTANT AS THE BYZANTINES WERE. ACCEPT IT!!!!!!!
I've been wondering why there were no videos like this about Bulgaria since our medieval history is full of wars and epic battles with many different neighbours (and mostly with our main rival in the Balkans - the ERE). Thank you Kings & Generals for covering this.
What's ERE ?
@@HK-pp9ig eastern roman empire
@@pyroshrimp4073 Thanks, I was absent minded I guess... Thank you
"My father is such a boomer" -Staurakios, year 811
I died of laughing... Good one!
LOLED!
I live in Kotel where the main battle was. Really the best place for ambush. The maintain passage is so difficult to pass even now many people get lost here every year. Old people here say that the Old maintain literally falls over the unworthy :) I love this place with all my 💓
Just finished watching the battle of ongal on bazbattles and you give me this. I love it.
great name
Nobody: Krum: I WILL DRINK FROM YOUR SKULL!
thats a nice head you have on your shoulders
@@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014 Sea Raiders*
"That's a Nice Head You Have On Your Shoulders!"
@@archiebg487 Yeah, but how many get to claim they're drinking from the skull of a Roman Emperor?
@@weldonwin "Less talking ! More raiding!"
A distant voice echos in the pass-"Varus, give me back my legions!"
Fighting in a dense German forest is a children's game compared to doing it in a balkan mountain pass.
Thank you for finally covering the Bulgarian-Byzantine wars! I'm so excited!
I love this channel, especially when it covers parts of history that are not often discussed, but are just as interesting as any other. Please, do more videos on Bulgaria!
As a Bulgarian I have to say, you guys are acing the pronunciation ! Never heard a native English speaker to actually put so much effort in pronouncing words in Bulgarian (or any other language for that matter). Also your content is SPOT ON! Clicking that Patreon link!
Fantastic as always! As a Bulgarian myself I am so happy that you guys decided to make a documentary on this glorious victory. I have never seen other channels doing documentaries on my country's history and you guys are definitely the best
"The first of our videos on the Byzantine-Bulgarian wars" He's coming, boys The Bulgar-Slayer is coming.
Ole Fredrik Skjegstad hype
Basil Hype
@@Dan_Klchv i dont see a bulgarian emipre either.
Look at any law book and the byzantines will show up
Kanasubigi Omortag closest is probably the Greeks nowadays but they have no direct descendant nation-state. But at the same time, modern day Bulgaria isn’t a direct continuation of the Bulgarian empire
Thank you so much for making a video about this subject. It is so rare to see history videos about my country. YOU ARE AWESOME!!
The narration and the music track were beautifully done in this piece. Your narration is always excellent.. but this one just seemed .. special... thank you again.
You are just the best !!! Im so Excited for the following episodes of that series !
You kept your promise Kings and Generals. Thank you
We always do!
The most aesthetically pleasing history explanations that I have ever seen. Thank you!
Good job telling that story mate, our schools fail to tell it so good. I've forgotten it in time, but you brought it back brighter than ever, cheers!
Thank you for being kne of the few to discuss Bulgarian History
Arminius be looking at Krum from Valhalla: "not bad kid, not bad"
Javier Ganzarain hahahahahhahahah :)
Peter Todorov he got more than the three legions, he was the leader in the German wars to follow with Rome even battling his brother who took his son and wife.
So glad that you have released another series. Keep it up! Thanks a lot!!!
For an year I have been following your channel. I was at sea during the time of this video's release but now I saw it and as a Bulgarian I must say: Very, very, very well done!
The soundtrack in this episode was so satisfying. This is easily the best history chanel💯
Finaly Bulgarian history epic thanks!!!!
Awesome series, thanks! Looking forward to the next episode!
Amazing, looking forward the future videos on this series!
Great video finally for Bulgarian history. Amaizing videos as always.
Kings and Generals Why do you allow panTurk spam Why do you allow one spammer SAKLIKOYLU DAYI to spam EIGHT/8 consecutive times?
This last battle even after some time later is still hard to watch. Nice job guys, I buy into anger every time and that's hats off to you in presentation.
I have never thought that watching blocks of different colour move on a map will bring me on the edge of my seat !!! The score of the video and the narrator are just amazing !
Thank youuuuuu❤️❤️❤️❤️ Im bulgarian and my favourite Bulgar Byzintine battle is this❤️❤️ Love youuuuu ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Good work, waiting for the rest of the series!
Amazing! I can't wait for your series to continue. Best Channel in KZhead imo.
wow, hands down best history channel here on youtube, you have my support keep going
Omg thank you from my heart for the video
I love how Charlemagne’s head is just chilling off to the side for most of the video lol.
This is a great channel, goes well with the history of Byzantium podcast.
"Which means are series will continue!" Excellent!
Great video, really enjoyed watcing it. You should make a video on Tzar Simeon The Great's reign and Golden age. It's truly fascinating.
Being proud of my Bulgarian ancestors and our rich history and culture !!! Bulgaria till the end of time !!!
THANK YOU for covering our history ❤
Rewatched this more than 10 times already ^^ Much love from Bulgaria. Would love to see more content on Simeon the Great!
As a bulgarian who studied history for 4 years in university I find it very charming, when i listen to narratives about my own history from outside's point of view. Keep up the good work! P.S. the only criticism i have about the narrative is that the official recognised date of the battle is july 26, not june 26. It's the first historical date i've ever remembered, because i'm born on july 26... :D
Също и интрото е кратко, ако има клип за битката при Онгъла, става. Но за последиците от битката и похода на Крум срещу Константинопол не се споменава.
@@silafuyang8675 Битката при Онгъла я споменава в клипа за обсадата на Константинопол през 717-718г. Предполагам, че за самата битка няма достатъчно информация за да направи подробно пълно видео. То и няма какво повече да добави от това, което споменава: kzhead.info/sun/oZh7pNGKhKmPoK8/bejne.html
Hi, I'm from Bulgaria and I hope you make a movie about the Battle of Edirne 1205. King Kaloyan vs. Baldwin Flanders. Also about King Simeon and the battle of Aheloy in 917.
Yep, both on the list
So proud of this channel!
This amazing video was just played in a Bulgarian school history class and the uproarious ovations it earned would bring a smile on the author team's faces. If only they could see!
Well, Nice to know thx Kings and generals
LONG LIVE Bulgarian EMPIRE ....!!!
Thank you for this great work
Thank you very much for making videos on Bulgarian history. I`m from Bulgaria and a big fan! Keep up the good work!
Krum was very famous for his laws - if you steal you loose a hand, if you lie you loose a tougne, he also forbits the wine in Bulgaria
I'm from Bulgaria.
This is the history. Glory to Bulgaria! 🇧🇬
This is about Turkic bulgarians, not slavic...
Nation that have acceoted islam. They got the mane türkImeni faith iman. The Mongolian race is mixed whit Caucaus. Noty the rece did not speak mongolian. There hore were not Mongols.
@@nuricanmetin9116 dunabe Bulgaria is a mix of bulgars slavs and tracians
@@motex3572 So? Old Bulgars languages,Their culture, to live,Khans,Kurultaıj every elements were Turkıc.Many Scholars believe that but Nowadays Bulgarians not aceppet that. Where do you get the courage to own them when you have nothing in common with them?
That goes directly in favorites!
кат не щеш мира, на ти секира.
А така приятел!
Krum to Nikephoros : "If you don't want pax, have my axe!"
@@youknowbestofall5353 lol, perfect
@@youknowbestofall5353 why does this quote sound better in english than in does in Bulgarian lmao
Пийте дружина от никифоровата картуна!
Looks like Nikephoros I lost his head in that battle. For one so head strong, you'd think he had a good head on his shoulders. Too bad he wasn't a-HEAD of the competition when it came down to it!
I now have a headache, having read this comment.
Funny, now get out!
just no haha
well Krum did give him a "Heads up" 2 times before he beat him :D
All this head talk makes me wanna have a drink :)
I think more videos about Eastern Roman Empire would by nice. It is very interesting topic. Great video!
Bravo for the video about Tsar Kaloyan, excellent work. See also the battle of Tsar Ivan II Asen the battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230.
That is the first out of 4 times when Bulgaria killed or captured an emperor in battle :). Can't wait for the other 3!
Stop killing emperors!
@@KingsandGenerals yeah about that. Krum did have a great start off to it. you should know in this battle not only emperor Nikiforos died but a his son staurakios dead because of it. In the battle Staurakios got horrible injured in the back(probably when he was trying to run away to save himself , and by what? well sources to don't say, so we take a pick by a spear or an arrow in the back. but dosent matter sense he escapees barely alive.After Nikiforos dead Staurakios automatically becomes emperor, but he dead from his wounds after the battle because of his wounds. so technically Krum killed not 1. But 2 emperors with this battle :D. he is not only the first bulgarian ruler to kill a emperor , but he is also the only one who killed two in 1 battle.You have to admit that is pretty badass. i have to ask just out of curiosity, why didn't you mention it?(not trying to piss you off i thank you for making the Video) i'm getting you used more greek sources for this battle.
@@talridisblagoev242 Are there any other sources for the battle besides the Greek/Byzantine ones?
@@NikeBG not any i know of. sad part really. bulgarians at that point still didn't write-historical chronicles that much. there really very little of it.the romans on the other hand had plenty. i have say in this battle at least 80% to even 90% is all greek sources.which is annoying since the romans could of obviously lied about anything they wanted. i can give easy example after nikifor raided Pliska and Krum killed him. he ordered his head to be chopped off but first thing he did was to go in the newly conquered territories and show it to the leaders there(governors really) and show them the head- this is what happened to your emperor, remember it if you are thinking of rebelling against me. something like that way to scary them. = that is 1 bulgarian sourse i read :D good luck finding it in the greeks history books
@@talridisblagoev242 Not only at that time, but even for a long, long time after that, the Bulgarians weren't all too keen on writing down their own history. I think it was sir Steven Runciman in his "History of the First Bulgarian Empire" who said something of the likes of "The Bulgarians were more interested in making history than in writing it down". Thus, the vast majority of our non-modern history is based on foreign, mostly Greek sources. However, that doesn't automatically mean that all biases in those accounts are necessarily anti-Bulgarian or anything like that (this reflects a mostly modern way of ethno-centric thinking, which wasn't really a thing back then). For example, most of the sources about the battle of Pliska/Varbitsa are generally rather hostile to Nikephoros Genikos due to internal reasons (as well as a number of other emperors, like Constantine V). Thus, many historians believe that they've clearly exaggerated his atrocities in Pliska, in order to make him look like less than a good Christian or an outright monster. That's why historians don't just read the primary sources and go "Okay, this guy has written it like that, therefore we'll accept it's really like that". No, the texts undergo critical analysis and the historians then argue (especially about the author's biases) and try to reach a consensus not only on what is written, but also on how it's written, why it's written like that and what is omitted etc. P.S. I've been studying history for nearly 15 years now and have not seen a primary Bulgarian source (which are very few anyway) mentioning any such things about Krum. Honestly, it sounds much more like a modern story being passed around like "history", one of a near infinity of such examples today, sadly. Kinda like that story about Asparuh and the appearance of the martenitsi, which is clearly a story first appearing in the late 19th century, but which many people still believe today (same is even truer for the story of Kubrat and the bundle of sticks - first appeared in the 19th century, but until recently I also hadn't noticed there's no such thing in the primary sources).
Turning Nikephoros into a cup, Krum was really savage
He offered peace but he was denied. Then Krum made an example : "You don't want peace, you get the axe!" It's still a bulgarian saying ("Не щеш мира, на ти секира"!)
@@ugrinovgeorgi Didn't the bulgarians kind of invaded The Byzantine Empire? Doesn't sound like a fair peace
Andrei, I don't know what you have read, the fact is that there are no byzantines anymore but bulgarians. Bulgarians were under byzantine rule for about 170 years (XI-XII centuries). You are talking about savagery. How about Vasily the 2nd, who blinded 15000 bulgarian soldiers, and left one eye on each 100th soldier, so they can guide them?!
@@ugrinovgeorgi So if they are what? I'm talking about history here. And what you said doesn't make any differance that the bulgarians invaded the byzantines
You initial comment is about Krum being a savage. Well, every ruler is.
ah cool. I was waiting for series on that period/topic for a long time.
Finaly a video about Bulgaria! Keep up the good work!
Cuz were in the Balkans
love it! Byzantines are an amazing topic as they fought so much and had so many ups and downs.
*over in Western Europe* "Ahhh! Viking bands are sacking our monasteries and attacking some of our more lightly defended villages! How could it possibly be worse than this?!" *over in Byzantium* "The Arabs are invading! Again! The Bulgars are attacking! Again! The emperor's dead! Again!!! AND LITERALLY EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE!!!"
*(Faint cries of 'Nika' in the distance)*
I mean, was there ever a "chill time" in Balkans.... you kinda get used to it :D
[Meanwhile in China] *_WHY IS EVERYTHING EXPLODING AND BLEEDING YET AGAIN?????? CAN WE PLEASE NOT GET STUCK IN CIVIL WARS EVERY FIVE MINUTES??????_*
Over simplepied ww1 video vibe
@@Vollzer The stronger Bulgarian is, the chiller the Balkans.
Thank you so much for this video
This series will definitely get interesting once it reaches the time period of Basil II. Looking forward to it!
15:33 I haven't seen anything more scary and suspenseful since the final episode of Sea Monsters Btw amazing music, looking forward to the next episode
Although the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars are a 700-years old Game of Thrones, from purely military POV, the Bulgarian wars against Asian invasions is something of another universe. Khazars, The Golden Horde (the same which subjugated the Russians, lol), Arabs, etc - all of them get to reach Bulgaria and no further. This is why some historians call Bulgaria "the black liver of Europe", lol. The Bulgarian army was so successful to deal with such invasions, as the army was capable (we're talking about big formations of 10ns of thousands of men) to disengage completely into very small formations, which would harass the enemy endlessly, while the civilians are completely withdrawn from their own settlements. Deprived of pillaging and food and tired of all the harassment, denied of a battle with a single enemy, the invader would soon look for a way out. In these exact moment, all the forces would unite into a single massive formation which would decimate the enemy. Shockingly effective, this tactic did wonders with world-class armies and it was the Ottomans and the extremely weaken Bulgarian kingdom which would suffer the only and sadly quite brutal defeat.
lol
And I thought we had guerilla warfare in our veins only since the Ottoman period and the Haiduti...
@Voskre Glavincevska There is no historical evidence for a Macedonian history before the middle of 20th century.
@@zarni000 Нищо не са откраднали македонците от гърците,а гърците са откраднали много и от нас и от тях.Предстявят народната музика в гръцката част на Македония за гръцка и в гръцката част от ТРАКИЯ нашите български народни песни се пеят на гръцки език и се обявяват за гръцки. Да не говорим за древността,когато елините са откраднали почти всичко от ТРАКИТЕ--богове,мистерии,легенди и какво ли не друго. Между другото древната Македония е тракийска,а не гръцка държава,само елитът е говорел гръцки език,населението е било тракийско.Елините са живеели в градове--държави по крайбрежието на моретата Егейско Черно Адриатическо и са били морски търговци,а не земеделци и животновъди като ТРАКИТЕ, така че е нямало какво да правят във вътрешността на Балканския полуостров.Принадлежността на древната Македонска дъжава към Гърция е измислена едва в 20 век,когато Гърция присъединява 51% от македонските земи и една трета отТракия.
@Voskre Glavincevska Няма да пиша на английски език,мисля че ще ме разбереш и на български. В древността е имало няколко ТРАКИЙСКИ БЕЛАЗГИЙСКИ държави, които не са имали нищо общо с елините,които са живеели в градове--държави по крайбрежието на моретата Егейско Черно Адриатическо и са били морски търговци,а не земеделци, скотовъдци и конни воини като белазгите траки и не са обитавали вътрешността на Балканския полуостров. Там от 6 век преди новата ера е било ОДРРИСКОТО ЦАРСТВО,от Дунав на север до Егейско море на юг и от Македонското и Дарданско царства на запад до Черно море на изток.На юг от МАКЕДОНСКОТО ЦАРСТВО е било ТЕСАЛИЙСКОТО иЕПИРСКОТО ЦАРСТВО,на запад ИЛИРИЙСКОТО,на север от него ТРИБАЛСКОТО, на север от Дунав ДАКИЙСКОТО и ГЕТСКОТО ЦАРСТВА.Нито едно от тях няма нищо общо с елините.Крайно време е ние да престанем да се караме помежду си,за удоволствие на гърците,тъй като имаме общи корени още от древността, ние сме ТРАКИ БЕЛАЗГИ.
Excellent video as always, Kings and Generals!
Thanks!
It's nice to see some Bulgarian-Eastern Roman content. It's a side of the worlds and aprt of history that is not given the spotlight enough(mostly because none of the factions there are currently among the ruling countries). I was really disappointed with the way Bulgaria's involvement in the channel was so far skimmed fast by(especially Tervel who was a rather big deal for the time and hailed as the saviour of Europe, same as Martell). The episode was great and I'm looking forward to more content on the matter. I do hope the series makes it to the Second Bulgarian Empire aswell since there are some badass battles there and some proper firstclass flexing done on the "almighty" Empire. So far I'm guessing we're gonna get an Episode for Boris and Simeon(You can't really skip past the Emperor of all Bulgarians and Greeks), surely Basil The Bulgar-Slayer, hopefully the Bulgarian rebellion, Kaloyan and Ivan-Asen II(who basicaly dictated what happens on the Balkans like he was some kind of mafia boss, you fall out with him and you lose your status lol). I'm also hoping for some episode that wil surpirse me, i.e not listed here in mu comment. P.S. Ohh as badass as it sound the whole story with Krum drinking his wine from Nikephoros' skull is most likely fiction. We have no historical records of any Bulgarian ruler doing that, we don't have any evidence it was practised at all and the account for said skull cup is not really neutral and is likely made up to make the Bulgarians sound like some kind of primitive evil people in contrast to the Romans. It's s till a cool story doe. Unless Tengrinism is actually a proto-Khorne cultism...in that case... Skulls for the skull throne!
Tervel is called the Saviour of Europe
Wait how did kaloyan and asen II rule like mafia bosses? I know they were really good emporers but wdym