Elite and Levy Units of the Eastern Roman Army

The Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the evolution of the Roman Army continues with the third episode of the series on the Army of the Eastern Roman Empire - the Byzantine Empire. In this episode, we'll talk about the Elite Tagmata units and feudal levy Thematic troops, as we describe the recruitment, tactics, weaponry, armor, and structure of these troops.

#Documentary #Byzantines #Romans

[KingsandGenerals]

Sharing is caring, I promise. Think about your fellow beings. Maybe one of them ends up finding a portal and drops into the XI century, how will they survive without this knowledge?

[SultanOfAwesomeness]

The ERE really does have one of the most straightforward yet complicated unit structures that I’ve ever studied. So many different types of units with so many similar duties. It’s...quite byzantine, really.

[johng]

I really love the fact that Byzantine or more accurately the Eastern Roman Empire becomes slowly but surely more admired by people and gets them interested in learning about it. Byzantine armours especially of the the skoutatoi and the cataphracts remains some of my favorite European armors. Digenes Akritas story should also become more famous. He is basically a more medieval greek version of Heracles

[armaholic]

I'm Greek and I could understand the purpose of each tagma just by it's name! They never taught us this stuff in school so thank you very much for your effort!

[paolovirtuani]

Kudos for keeping all Greek terms relatively untouched (e.g. Kataphraktoi instead of Cataphracts). It gives a more realistic experience. Also, I can't get enough of these nice graphics, there's something really addictive about them. Thanks!

[HistoryOfRevolutions]

Erich Fromm once wrote:

"Respect is not fear and awe; it is the ability to see a person as he is, to be aware of his unique individuality. Respect, thus, implies the absence of exploitation. I want the loved person to grow and unfold for his own sake, and in his own ways, and not for the purpose of serving me"

[EnnuiPilgrim]

I admire the Romans' ability to adapt and survive to the ages, against the odds. Very fascinating seeing how much they've changed from their predecessors. Imagine if they had survived until the days of WW1?

[Mohammed-vcib]

imagine a Roman army with cannons and guns, cause it existed. Thats what i love most about Romans, They fought against hannibal and Succesors of alaxanders but they also fought against turks with cannons and muskets.

[TorvusVae]

Once upon a time I was a classical Rome fanboy, but as I get older and read more, the ERE and medieval Roman empires are way more interesting

[napoleonibonaparte]

A coverage on the fate of the legions would be interesting.

[pattonramming]

The Solenarion is such a fascinating weapon that it deserves it's own video

[johnypsilantis]

The kataphraktoi of Nikephoros Phokas and John Tzimiskes are one of the greatest military units of all time...glad to see them get some screen time as they are usually forgotten.

[Mrkabrat]

The eastern roman army was a big fan of "If you can't beat them, pay them to join you" strategy, at least by its later years when it relied on mercenary troops quite a bit

[chriskw]

I am from Cyprus and one of our local legends involves the mountainous region of Pentadaktylos ( five figures = five peaks) and Digenis. They say that he grabbed the mountain and rose from the sea to fight the Arabs. That's how important the Akrites were back then!

[SimuLord]

Imperial Vigla Recruits are a welcome sight in villages of Calradia.

It's nice to put a historical face to the name, so to speak.

[sorrybro]

Four uploads in one week!
What a good time to be alive

[kicokyaw]

Omg finally, you have no idea how long I waited for this

[KashouWannabe]

I love this channels work on Roman and related military history. I was never good at the subject, but grew to love the Antiquity Era through the Asterix books. I dabble in various games such as Mount and Blade and Crusader Kings and try and base various units and tactics off what I learn from videos like this. Great work, and always like a fellow fan of MATN.

[vincitomniaveritas]

I'm regularly amazed at how you produce these brilliant videos at such a great pace.

[vincesettineri]

So glad you guys covered this period because very few people cover armor weapons and unit structure of medevil rome