How Far Did Rome Explore?

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Edited and Image Curation by Manuel Rubio - check out his amazing channel: @ArtandContext
Original Art by Alex Stoica
Narrated and Script Edited by David Kelly
Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist
Thumbnail Art by Ettore Mazza

References:
McLaughlin, R. Rome and the Distant East (2010)
McLaughlin, R. The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean (2014)
McLaughlin, R. The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes (2016)
McLaughlin, Kim & Lieu, Rome and China: Points of Contact (2021)

Image Credits:

00:00 The Edge of The Empire
06:38 West: Beyond Carthage (146 BC)
17:34 East: Hunting Mithridates (65 BC)
28:11 South: The Incense Trails (25 BC)
37:53 Further East: The Counterlanders (52 AD)
49:17 Further South: The Source of the Nile (61 AD)
01:04:35 North: The Forests of Germania (61 AD)
01:14:48 Further North: Advance and Engage! (43 - 85 AD)
01:23:46 Onward To Thule! (84 AD)
01:35:16 The Map (150 AD)

[vynvalor]

Its incredible how similar these frontiers are to those found in fantasy books. The world must have been so mystical back then.

[noahrotter]

Explores the north: “Too cold”
Explores the south: “Too hot”
Explores the east: “How is it both cold and hot??”

[GlidingZephyr]

A 1 hour and 45 minute long documentary about exploration of the Roman frontiers? Why yes, yes I will.

[ManiusCuriusDenatus]

I really appreciate how this channel mixes in primary sources. I've read a lot of the Roman primary sources, but listening to them opens up the stories to a much wider audience. Well done!

[mr_metal.]

imagine living in an age where you can't tell for sure, where does the world end, and in which direction still lays what. which treasures, landscapes, creatures, folks can be found there where nobody ever from your nation walked... such an amazing feeling one might have amongst all perils, just the mere thought amber could have come further from a northern tropical territory passing albion and the northern frost, amazes me. the possibilities and the excitement these people have felt.. thanks also for this video. it is always a journey beyond time, morals, memories, emotions.

[stoopidapples]

I wonder if when Scipio saw Carthage ruined, knowing it existed for 700 years, he realised the mortality of his own empire.

[intiorozco]

Those final words by Seneca sent shivers down my spine. Imagine if they had explored across the Western Ocean and contacted the Preclassic or Classic Maya civilisation.

[peekaboo]

The narration is always so well spoken. This plus the fascinating subject means I can watch these videos all day.

[namuzed]

2:17 It honestly sounds like he's describing icebergs. While he would have seen ice and snow in parts of Italy, seeing massive sheets of it over water might have been too strange for him to see it as the same thing.

[adivshtein]

I watched the entire video in one breath. It is fascinating how the world used to be much bigger and much more mysterious and scary back then. It is really humbling to know the shape and approximate size of the world, but despite that and all the conquests and expeditions understand that you know only a fraction of it.

[ronkledonkanusmoncher]

Being the first person from your civilization to see such things would bring a feeling of bewildered wonder and amazement that is surpassed by no other, I feel that it is in a humans heart to want to explore, to go out and seek new things and new places, new experiences and peoples and cultures.

[acchillin]

Romes warlike nature, and their reputation may have played a huge part in their inability to expand further. According to these accounts, they didn’t know and no one told them key information on surviving away from the Mediterranean and Greek colonized areas.

[albetroz_]

This documentary is a work of art. The narration, the background art, the sources. Everything here is beyond fantastic.

[simos]

I rarely comment on videos but I just have to say that this was an amazing watch and I really appreciate the effort you put into making these videos. Not just all the the information, but the visuals that go along with it were really well put together! Thank you.

[hugodesrosiers-plaisance]

I fear to imagine how fundamentally traumatizing it must have been for someone to understand and process the fact that they were being enslaved by a mortal enemy.

[GunBreaux]

It's amusing to imagine the four pictures are the same poor Roman soldier on a miserable roadtrip.

[johnnychico]

The logistics to be able to do this is what I’ve always found the most interesting.

[jasonstanley]

My favorite content creator, right here. These videos make me feel like I am sitting by a fireside at a Roman camp, listening to great stories passed on by older soldiers about the world at large.

A true journey into the past indeed

[crapwithanopinion]

I have and never will get past Nero’s neck beard. You know that mf was unbearable to deal with just by that.

[NarlepoaxIII]

A full, feature-length documentary? Talking about moments in Roman history that are rarely covered these days? Providing plenty of primary sources? And having moments to talk about what it was like to be a Roman at the time in question?

This is _such_ a good video. It's really hard to overstate just how good it is.