Constans II Pogonatos
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2024
- February 641 AD, emperor Heraclius was dead and the roman state faced a massive threat. The Arabs, and their new Islamic faith had taken the fertile crescent by storm defeating Roman and Persian field armies in their respective provinces of Syria and Mesopotamia. While the imperial government struggled to contain the advance of the muslims, unstable finances and religious strife brought further destabilization.
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⏰ Timestamps
0:00 - Early reign
4:14 - Western opposition
8:37 - Warfare and Respite
13:44 - Going West
18:20 - Conclusion
🎵 Music
www.epidemicsound.com/
📚 Main sources
- John Haldon, The Empire That Would Not Die: Harvard; 2016
- Jean-Claude Cheynet, Le Monde Byzantin II - L'empire byzantin (641-1204): puf; 2012
🌐 Internet sources
- Wikipedia fr eng, 2023
- World History Encyclopedia, 2023
- The History of Byzantium Podcast thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
- Byzantine Battles : byzantium.gr/battles.html
One of the most underrated Heraclians. Would’ve been interesting if he ever achieved some of his visions, like moving the capital.
If he indeed had moved the capital then the Eastern Roman Empire would’ve ended in 800 AD
@@ImperatorAugustus no it would mean a shift in focus from just the east to the entire empire, constantinople was beneficial when the enemy was in iran but when the enemy was in the mare nostrum a central capital was needed, if the capital was moved back to italy then the romans would have eventually retaken all of italy like they did with the balkans
Excellent video, thanks for showing that the best bearded Emperor was actually active on every front of his Empire in crisis and not just being responsive and ineffective as some people believe.
at the beginning and end of each video, can you zoom out slightly more to include all the ex-Roman territories so we can see how the different factions changed? I think that'll be cool to see how the empire evolved along with its former provinces.
Good idea, I will see about this
Such an underated emperor, having taken the throne at the age of 11 constans really embodies the idea that the youth have to take up the mantle in order to face major problems and I believe if he had not killed his brother he would have been remembered more positively
As usual on this channel, a spectacular video, full of details and an illustrative map so we don't get lost in words. Your channel is one of the best history channels I've seen on CZcams, congratulations and thank you very much for your magnificent work!
Thanks a lot for your comment ! I am glad the video met your expectations
When the empire is reduced to mostly Anatolia and we're dealing with smaller areas of focus, are you going to add more details like include the theme boundaries? I think that'll make the narrative easier to understand.
Yes, I plan of using a new, smaller scaled and more detailed map once Africa is lost to the empire for good.
@@ancientsight Just wanna state that while how long the Byzantines controlled the Balearics is up in the air, governor seals(Gordio Archonti Maiourikoi) prove it was at least up till the mid 700s, mentioning that cause youtubers love to use the 707 date where the arabs merely collected tribute as proof that Byzantine rule ended, so don't shrink it too soon lol.
Also minor but the Empire controlled less of Calabria at the beginning and infact Constans restored the border up to Crotone , fortifying the Isthmus of Catanzaro and replenishing the local mint during his campaign.
Finally, dang, no mention of Theophanes saying that he was gonna move the capital to Rome itself? And no mention that he used the strip Roman treasures to build up and restore the defenses and economy in Calabria and Sicily.
Source: "A companion to Byzantine Italy" for both and "Continuity and Discontinuity in the Balearic Islands during the byzantine period" plus "Nests of Pirates? ‘Islandness’ in the Balearic Islands and
la-Garde-Freinet."
Yay! Thanks for these bios. Schwerpunkt just made a video about Constants II, I strongly recommend his Byzantine playlist. Anyone interested in a coop or even criticism?
Another great video keep up the great work! Constans definitely gave it his best and while he did not achieve all of his goals the empire still edured. Great job highlighting the themes that was cool
Very good video. Only discovered the channel today, and it's like a treasure grove about fundamental times in History, which are, at the same time, very frequently overlooked, unfortunately. Thank you! And subscribed :)
Welcome !
good video. but 1 more thing u should have added is the last sassanian shahan shah who fled to china. and asked the tang for help, later he would become part of an elite chinese cavelry wing.
Rip Constans, good ass energetic Emperor that lived in the worst possible time.
Without him The Byzantine west would have collapsed a century sooner and with it the grain supply and tax that was used to fund the Empires remaining soldiers and feed Constantinople during the Arab sieges.
Africa and Sicily were now the Empires 2nd and 3rd wealthiest provinces. Constans Knew that if the Roman Empire was to survive he would have to stabilize its western provinces.
What people forget is that the Bronze he stripped from Rome was used to replenish the Mint in Sicily and pay for soldier recruiting and fortification building in southern Italy. His campaign halted and reversed Lombard expansion in Calabria.
He’s much like Saladin in that despite being defeated multiple times, he still managed to succeed and improve the situation regardless.
Being an orphan at 11 had an affect, he was just like his sassanid counter part Yazdegerd, young energetic but badly advised .
I also would like to think he became the "bearded one" because he was so busy trying to stabilize the empire that he had little time for personal grooming.
This is what actual problems look like.
People that believe we live in a very difficult time have no historical perspective.
I think you're being a bit silly. Everyone who says life is difficult is obviously not saying they have it worse than people who lived in the black plague period or a Chinese civil war or something to that effect. Its in the context that amount of resources, wealth and productive capacity we have per person is almost infinitely greater than what the Ancient world had. For example 10 million people still starve to death per year globally and yet we throw away 1.3 billion tons of edible food every year. When a famine happened in the Ancient world then government and charity could provide some aid, but ultimately there was little they could do about it. Whereas nowadays we know we have the productivity and capacity to make a problem like world hunger functionally eliminated. That's the difference, complaints about the difficulty of life now exist in a material context where most social and economic problems could be solved if we actually tried.
@@DmitriPolkovnik I see your point, I just can't bring myself to care about it.
First of all, the people that I refer to in no way refer to things like them having it equally bad/worse than the Black Death or WW2 -- because these people literally have no historical perspective whatsoever. I don't think you appreciate fully how little a history uninterested 95 IQ person knows. All they digest day after day is hyperavailable news from mainstream or social media, which paints a picture of the world literally being in flames, when we currently have it pretty good.
Returning back to my original point: I don't care that there are still some people dying to famine, I just care about a) the overall state, and b) trajectories.
What I mean with a) is already obvious -- overall, it's a great time to be alive, especially if you only regard material factors.
b) might not seem very related to this, but it informs my deeply pessimistic view about the future, and here I mean both the short-term and long-term. Short-term the crisis of young hopeless males and iPad raised kids will eventually reach a boiling point.
Long term this species has no future. Us humans will make us go extinct due to us replacing ourselves via full robotic and AI automation, including lifelike androids, the latter being an important factor because they sufficiently mask low fertility eventually causing this species to go extinct due to low population numbers. But androids will still maintain the appearance of a working society, even as a mere facsimile.
The lightning expansion of the Muslims was truly impressive, especially when knowing that the Byzantines and the Sassanians were the two superpowers at that time, and that Arabs were considered as semi-Barbarians incapable to pose a single threat to those two massive empires
another great video, as usual, I hope more people will learn about you in the future!
It'd be interesting if Constans was successful with his campaigns in Egypt and Italy, or if he had been better at managing the western half of of the empire, but things didn't pan out for him in the end.
Good game well played Constans. You did your sacred work almost perfectly.
Great video!
YOOOO LETSSSS GOOOOOO can’t wait for the video!
This channel is a gem. Can't wait for the next video.
Great video, keep it up!
Love the series love the youtube channel.
Great video, one of my favorite history channels
Excellent video very informative thank you for the algorithm.
Thank you for this video !
Thank you for watching !
Excellent video.
Your channel is amazing. Please continue with your videos bringing knowledge for us
Thank you for your kind words
I heard youre doing this till 1453 are you really gonna document all of byzantine/eastern roman history?
Hopefully I will
Great video
Thanks ! Never missing a video I see
@@ancientsight Of course,never miss my history lesson
The map and animations were one of the best ones I’ve seen yet! Good job! What did you use to make the map, and then to make the animations?
Maps -> Photoshop
Animations -> After Effects
@@ancientsight Ah! Thanks for the answer!
Your content and map is Top.
However, let me note you that in the Dalmatian coast, would be nice if you mark the areas of Jadera (current Zadar), Tragurium (Trogir) and Spalatum (Split) as Roman territory. These fortified cities survived the slavic invasions and were latin speaking cities for centuries. They considered themselves part of the Roman Empire, until and even when Venice took them at the end if the X century.
You are right, I forgot them. I will add these cities to the map. By the way, there will be a new, smaller scaled and more detailed map in one or two episodes, the details will be easier to see
Finally i m so excited and long wait is over
I like that the year is always in the top left corner
Bravo
Are you doing this until 1453?
Hopefully yes
Definitely an underrated emperor. He spent his entire reign defending and strengthening his empire. And while the Battle of the Masts was a draw, he ensured that the Byzantine islands in the Aegean and Mediterranean would remain safe for nearly two centuries. Sure, his religious policy was one of brute force, but Constans was trying to unify the remains of the empire in order to put up a strong defense against the Arabs. The number of usurpers this guy had to deal with puts him on par with Gallienus. Constans was essential the Byzantine empire's Gallienus.
Really good video, i wonder, why they lost so many battles, economy seems to be good, even after so many incursions and pillaging of lands, they were sending army after army to be crushed by enemies...
Because Arabs introduced new kind of warfare
Typical armies in antiquity preferred strength over mobility but Arabs ditched armor and strength for speed and maneuverability which took Romans decades to adapt to
@@baha3alshamari152 but, it's not only arabs, they kept losing on west and north also, as far as i know, only against arabs they had some success in reclaiming lands, like africa and numidia, then arabs after few times decided to totally destroy Carthage...
I'm not crying, my eyes are sweating😭😭
Am i the only one with a problem where youtube randomly unsubscribes me from this channel and many more? great video btw
No idea about that. I heard some people experience this as well. You may have subscribed with another account thinking you were on this one ?
@@ancientsight Probably not as last time i entered my other account was almost a year ago, But either way i subscribed back, Love your content
@@rakita1389 Glad you like the videos. Do not hesitate if you have suggestions about them, I appreciate any feedback
byzantine history really grinds my gears
Byzantium was so utterly decadent that it makes it actually interesting and fascinating to learn about.
YES
If he decided to trust Theodosius, will Emperor Constans II lived longer? I mean, Syracuse will be fortified and proclaimed as the new capital. And this also means Mezezius will never be able to launch a rebellion on Sicily and upon hearing about the Arabs launched a siege on Constantinople, his return with a fleet from Sicily will definitely boost the morale of the defenders and the successful defense will lead to his taxing policy to be justified because Constantinople's inhabitants will be left shaken in the aftermath of the Arabs besieging the city.
He seems like he did more harm than good. It wont be until Leo the III that stuff finally gets under control. Feel like Heraclius did such a good job his descendents were given more leeway.
Is it exaggeration to say he is as bad as Yazdegerd III?
Sassanid have an unfavorable geographical situation unlike Roman that's why they were totally destroyed but Byzantine survive (for then).
@@chakraborty1989 I'm talking about romans, not Persians
@@TonyFontaine1988 I am talking about how 2 young emperor of 2 superpower deal with the existential crisis like Arabs.
He did well enough for the situation at hand. We have the benefit of hindsight. Remember that through the worst events of his reign he was still a minor with the Senate acting as a regent council.
It just blows my mind how they survived these catastrophes
Yes, massively interesting isn't it ? I suggest the book "The Empire that would not die" by John Haldon, it asks this specific question and gives some very good answers. Also, that is the main source for this video and the next 3 episodes.
They held long enough until the Arabs were no longer unified politically
If Arabs remained unified till the 10th century at least then the empire wouldn't be able to survive nor will the Mediterranean Europe either
On the other hand Constantinople walls were impossible to conquer before gunpowder and the theme system proved efficient at defending Anatolia
Will the next video feature both the reigns of Constantine IV and Justinian II, or just Constantine IV?
It will cover part or all of Justinian's reign
@@ancientsight if it covers his entire reign, will it include both of his reigns?
No, only the first reign
Chad Emperor, Nice Beard.
Yo channel content creator costant the second died in 668 ad not 669 ad
Yes indeed, Constans died in 668. But the video covers until the year 669 for narration purposes
@@ancientsight to Constantine the 4th ?
Yes, Constantine's first year
It just boggles my mind. You got more ships, you got your own Emperor with you for motivation, you got more sailors, you got more experience as an established naval power, you fight in your own home turf with superior knowledge of terrain, and you still manage to fumble a naval engagement to historic desert dwellers. How can you have so much going for you and lose every single time? Also, by the end of the vid, it should already have been Umayyads, right? The map still says Rashidun.
Actually the Romans were doing better during the beginning of the battle since they had better experience in naval warfare so the Arabs decided to tie the ships with ropes thus connecting the ships and turning the naval battle into land battle which turned the tide of the battle in Arabs favor
@@baha3alshamari152 That makes it more bearable. Funny how history repeats as the Romans use the corvus to convert naval engagement to a land engagement during the First Punic War against their established naval adversary.
Yes indeed, mistake here. I forgot to change the name to Umayyad
You are deeply mistaken. They were not muslim arabs romans were fighting against, Arab muslim navy was mostly manned by christian sailors from levant who were expert at building ships and sailing. maybe even better than Romans from Anatolia. Because they were serving Romans prior to arabic invasions.
Honestly this feels like an Islamic sidequest, the raids and all.
Tens of thousands of men in the 7th century and you're calling this a sidequest😂
He is like mediocre emperor
He did great on things a screw up so bad on others
At least he contact the tang dynasty to held the arab in east using gok turk
Had been a little savy like leo 3 Egypt might had been saved the damage would be not that bad
Also Africa was lost in 649 to 650
Why parts of Caucasus are called "Iberia" and "Albania" ?
These were two ancient kingdoms which existed until the early middle ages. They have nothing to do with modern day Albania or Iberia
@@ancientsight Thank you !
We want Kingdom of Franks 💙
That's on the radar for sure
He lost the the battle of mast wish huge disaster true he didn't lose land but the Byzantine lost dominace on sea wish is huge mistake on the long run now all islands and Sicily are threatened by arab pirates
This is way to high quality to just have 3k views
W!!!
I hate when creators do this. Why would I need to know you putting out a video 2-3 days ahead of time?. Just put the fucking thing out then message on your community page etc. All your do is clunk up people subs feed. Please take this advice to heart. I just want you to know how I feel. For what it is worth
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