One also needs to remember that Roman homes and fortifications were in a different era. Medieval Europe was defined by violence, so private residences had to be fortified in some way, with the wealthy building castles. The Pax Romanus, on the other hand, which literally has the word "peace" in it, was largely peaceful once you moved away from the borders. Castra were found along the Roman borders, where wars were common, but move into Iberia, Gaul, or Italia in the Pax Romanus and there just isn't any need for fortified structures to be residences.

@shadiversity

5 жыл бұрын

I had this very thing in my notes for the video but it got accidentally overlooked through filming and only remembered after the video went live to my annoyance, so very glad you mention it. Although I wouldn't say the medieval period was defined by violence exactly, only that state authority was decentralized and less powerful, requiring local areas to protect themselves rather than a state military. This fragmentation and localisation of judicial authority, as well as a rise in viking and middle eastern aggression, caused these local areas to fortify themselves more. And when building a local fortification you might as well make it your home.

@frogsgottalent1106

5 жыл бұрын

WayneGlew R.A.M.

@ItRemindMeOfHome

5 жыл бұрын

@@shadiversity, the reason I say Medieval Europe is defined by violence is for that very reason. Local populations couldn't rely on a state authority to protect them, so things on the local level had to be militarized. In the Pax Romanus, the average Roman didn't need to think for a moment that they'd have to defend their home from attack, since (in their mind) the entire world was Roman and the barbari on the frontiers were kept at bay by the Legions.

@shadiversity

5 жыл бұрын

@@ItRemindMeOfHome Agreed, especially that with the decentralization of power you could suddenly be attacked by your neighbors lord if they felt they had cause. I guess I was just cautious of the idea people might get that there was never peace in medieval times.

@ItRemindMeOfHome

5 жыл бұрын

@@shadiversity, I understand your caution, it's a frustratingly common notion that people carry.

Me "Finally a definite answer to whether the Romans built castles." Shad "Maybe."

@flipflierefluiter5665

5 жыл бұрын

Perhaps

@sentimentalmariner590

5 жыл бұрын

Possibly

@dbzfanexwarbrady

5 жыл бұрын

Plausible

@Sophia-vk5bq

5 жыл бұрын

Hypothetically.

@bcn1gh7h4wk

5 жыл бұрын

solid no. they didn't have.... *MACHICOLATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNSSSSS!!!*

In the house: "Where's dad?" "MACHICULATIOOOOOONZZAA!!!" "Found him!"

@masterchief3007

4 жыл бұрын

Legend has it, it you stand in front of a mirror and turn off all the lights, you can say three times “what are the overhangs on castle walls called?” And Shad will appear behind you with a longsword and scream “MAAAACHIIIIICOOOLAAAATIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNZZZZ!”

@limbekcs

4 жыл бұрын

I've just found the correct Hungarian Term (which in fact is a cirumscription : ), it sounds way more musical then the French original (click on the tiny icon): szotar.sztaki.hu/search?searchWord=machicolation&fromlang=eng&tolang=hun&outLanguage=hun

@limbekcs

4 жыл бұрын

that is, "lőrés" is simply embrasure, while the "gyilokjáró" part simply means allure or wall-walk, but it literally translates murder-walk (brrr! : ) (well, the point, that the openings look downwards, seem to be lost in this translation, but never mind! Shad already showed it! : )

Metatron's classical prononouciation of Latin in phenomenal. It shows the fine tonality (when spoken correctly) and the reason why modern Italian became such a beautiful language.

@metatronyt

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the compliment

When Metatron makes an appearance *Noble one-ness intensifies*

@michelguevara151

5 жыл бұрын

indeed it does, Noble One

@theArab__

4 жыл бұрын

Tactical Aioli da fuq?

What Im getting: Romans in a sense made 'Proto-Castles'. Something not quite a castle, but early castles probably took influence from, (because why reinvent the wheel) while expanding on the ideas to fit the needs, architecture of the era, and someone actually living there... At least not until somebody decided that the 'abandoned roman tower over there' would make a great place to call home.

@LuisAldamiz

5 жыл бұрын

Romans made stuff that was in most aspects much greater than castles, the Middle Ages are for the most part a degeneration from that starting point, although in the Late Middle Ages things began getting a bit more complex again.

@DeadSomething

4 жыл бұрын

@@LuisAldamiz exactly. having a big governmental structure which provided savety by having a clear law codex and a standardized military and with only few family feuds of rich roman families is a big contrast to all those knights with a homestead having pledged loyalty to a lord, who might have pledged loyalty to a king or not and even if, they were still allowed to fight their neighbour for their holdings even if they both served the same lord. of course that is degenerated compared to the roman empire.

@LuisAldamiz

4 жыл бұрын

@@DeadSomething - Disorganized at least, degenerate? Unsure... depending what do you mean by that: if morally corrupt, then not, if less organized, structurally degraded, then yes. In any case always remember that it was the Late Roman Empire which invented Feudalism, notably some of the sometimes referred as the last "great" emperors: Diocletian, Constantine and Theodosius. Each of those took decisive steps towards Feudalism and the Dark Ages, notably Diocletian, who basically designed the Middle Ages with his orientalizing barbarian mentality and disrespect for the importance of the city of Rome (and of Italy) in the structural solidity of the Roman Empire.

@DeadSomething

4 жыл бұрын

@@LuisAldamiz i didn't mean morally, but the extremely decentralized structure that lead to centuries of struggles between neighbouring lords and cities.

@LuisAldamiz

4 жыл бұрын

@@DeadSomething - Fair enough. All that began with the aristocratic ruralization of the Roman Empire ill-designed by Diocletian, who also took the capital away from Italy and first divided the Empire into pieces, enforced hard currency (what would lead to less currency, to a return to bartering and tribute in species), made compulsory to inherit the father's profession and the establishment of what we'd later get to know as "serfdom": colonatus. The barbarians were just opportunist thugs playing at the service of Roman aristocrats (at least to a large extent, they took their share of the lion in due time).

Re: roof design. Roman design was born in the Mediterranean where the snow load is much lower than in northern parts of Europe. Roof design is much more about weather than defense.

@jean-louispech4921

5 жыл бұрын

Very good point. The roof of roman tower is the same than Mediterranean house. And big falls of snow are rare and short under the Mediterranean climate. The fall of the roman empire comes at the same time than a general cooler climate in Europe , with the Rhine river covered by ice allowing barbarians to pass on the roman side. The end of the middle age comes with a cooler climate too, with cold winters. I guess that is why all great post or late medieval castles have a more slopping roof.

@adamboyd1132

5 жыл бұрын

@@jean-louispech4921 For more details on why the medieval castles had the roof designs they did, you can check out another Shad video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/hIZ71ZKaiceqidI.html

@2adamast

3 жыл бұрын

Until you see a swiss chalet: low angle roofs because slates prefer that angle and snow is just snow. Roof design is about materials

@Aatell764

3 жыл бұрын

@@2adamast You must be the kind of guy who builds a flat roof. "We used mahogany there's no way a bit of snow will cause a collapse."

I have a hypothesis why those Roman fortresses had larger windows than medieval castles. To my knowledge, Romans didn't use bows very much in war (at least in earlier periods) and were much more fond of javelins. Throwing a javelin out of a very narrow window or arrow loop might be a bit tricky, hence the need for larger windows. This is just a guess though.

@Bogdan-uu5oe

3 жыл бұрын

I don't think so. Romans had auxiliary archers and they could used them if need. The real reason is that Romans used those fortifications against people that doesn't used siege weapons. Windows weakens the building resistance and middle ages had a lot of siege warfare. Also smaller windows meant that the rooms were easier to be warmed up.

@seneca983

3 жыл бұрын

@@Bogdan-uu5oe I think the Romans didn't use archers at least during the Republic.

@Bogdan-uu5oe

3 жыл бұрын

@@seneca983 Romans used auxiliary archers even in the time of republic, they were named sagittari. The difference between middle ages and antiquity is that in antiquity very few civilizations had access to siege weapons to attack forts.

@seneca983

3 жыл бұрын

@@Bogdan-uu5oe At least Wikipedia says that sagittarii appeared in Roman armies during the early Empire.

@Bogdan-uu5oe

3 жыл бұрын

@@seneca983 They were used, for example Crassus used Cretan archers in his campaign in Parthia.

"we need to get the Italian man himself" Wait... Is the?! "a modern day roman" I think he is! "metatron" YES!

@damienrichards7216

5 жыл бұрын

Isn't it metatron

@JaelaOrdo

5 жыл бұрын

Always awesome to hear the proper pronunciations and stuff

@eDumke87

5 жыл бұрын

Vince Moon thanks

@GothicElf68

5 жыл бұрын

That was pretty much my thought process lol

@nicholasvalenti5359

5 жыл бұрын

im a italian italian american

*The Two Noble Channels have collaborated* Truly a feast for the eyes

@TheDraco877

5 жыл бұрын

they have done a couple over the years always good stuff. I have enjoyed them. They did have a civil difference of opinion where neither was wrong or right on one topic, best medieval weapons for women.

@seneca983

5 жыл бұрын

If you like these specific two collaborating, then you might like the video on comparison of European and Japanese castles even more (if you haven't already seen it). kzread.info/dash/bejne/qaSOtpurd9DFfrA.html

@SapioiT

5 жыл бұрын

@@TheDraco877 What's the name of the video, please?

11:02 "The Romans were rather complex people *sigh*" Somehow that made me laugh way more than it should xD

@NoctuaOW

5 жыл бұрын

I don't get it but okkkk

@alfredorotondo

4 жыл бұрын

Try the parrot or the flesh fish and then repeat it

The rounded half towers on Carcassonne are roman towers btw and most of the towers on the theodosian walls are rounded aswell. It's not so much that the romans didn't make these kinds of towers regularly so much as the rounded tower replaced the square tower in the later period of the western roman empire. The main reason why they're relatively rare is because the square towers had been built for a relatively long time compared to the rounded towers which were only built for about 200~ years before the western empire fell. It's kinda like this: Before 300~ ad the romans built mostly square towers and after that the majority of their towers were rounded. There was more "roman empire" (since we're apparently not counting the byzantines as roman) before 300 ad than there was after which is why there are more square roman towers than there are rounded ones. It is also generally speaking harder to confirm whether or not a rounded tower is roman since they continued to be made long after the western empire had fallen and so alot of those towers could have been made by the successor kingdoms. What I guess I'm trying to say is that rounded towers were not uncommon in roman architecture, it's just that they were a characteristic of the later period generally speaking.

@kranjcalan

5 жыл бұрын

good comment, one picture of round Roman tower: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castra_ad_Fluvium_Frigidum

@xouxoful

5 жыл бұрын

Look here for pictures of Carcassonne‘s roman half towers, and also a drawing from Violet-le-duc (who made these towers restored) : humanhist.com/culture/patrimoine/les-remparts-romains-de-carcassonne/

@michelguevara151

5 жыл бұрын

vous etes Audois? je me suis repatriee il y a que quel ques annees, j'ai visitee tout les chateaux et forteresses de l'Aude quand j'etait petit, Carca est formibable, mais mon favorit reste toujours Queribus, j'ai meme dormi une fois dans le grand tour, impressionante

When Shad uploads a new video, I don't waste time Roman around the internet! I have to stop this.

"So, youw fathew was a woman..." "No, no... a ROMAN." *Slap*

@hugojardmo4746

5 жыл бұрын

XD great! #montypythonisthebest

@evo_is_confused

5 жыл бұрын

Hahahahaaaaaa Brian had a good life!

@tusken8158

5 жыл бұрын

I will refer this terrible pun to my friend in Rome !

@aurex8937

5 жыл бұрын

@@tusken8158 What is this insolence! You will find youwself in gladiatow school wevy quickly... with a wotten behaviouw like that!

@telebread1416

5 жыл бұрын

@@aurex8937 Wait til Biggus Dickus hears of this!

Hearing Metatron's perfect Latin/Italian accent brought joy to my ears 💗

@metatronyt

5 жыл бұрын

Grazie ^_^

I clicked on this without looking at the uploader or thumbnail thinking it was a Metatron video, then I was happy when I saw it was actually Shad talking about something a bit different and then surprise Metatron. Well played, Gentlemen.

What's important to remember, friends, we're using modern ideas and terms to define ancient buildings in such a way we can classify and understand. People built the defensive structures they could afford to defend what they deemed important to themselves. Castles or forts or villas, it's all the same. A man defending his home, his army, his food, etc.

@neomcdoom

4 жыл бұрын

Man or woman

"It's complicated" If you EVER think this is not the right answer to a question chances are, you don't know enough about a subject ;)

@2adamast

3 жыл бұрын

Or you're clearly overthinking stuff, analysis paralysis is a thing

@CollinBuckman

3 жыл бұрын

IDK I can think of a few questions where "it's complicated" isn't the right answer.

A little fun fact reason why Romans loved straight lines on their fortified forts/towns cause they invented a little gadget called the groma that was a metal pole with 4 metals weights hanging off on two crossed rods at the top with the same amount of string. The purpose of this was to allow the overseer that was building the structure could place it up against the wall and have his workers map out long completely straight lines even with hills and valleys in the way. Ps this is how hardrains wall was made so well over the area it was built on

@2adamast

3 жыл бұрын

In practice many camp walls were straight but not square or parallel

@mittens1225

11 ай бұрын

Underrated comment that’s so cool!

I was glad to see Diocletian's Palace shown in the video, but it's a shame Shad didn't mention it by name. Especially since it's the most castle like roman fortress that i know of, intended to be an emperor's retirement home with a garrison of soldiers.

@xebioz7919

Жыл бұрын

Diocletian's palace I think definitely qualifies as a castle, and by medieval standards it's really huge too. Been there multiple times, such a beautiful structure even today after all this time.

Shadiversity; addressing issues we didn't even know existed! Seriously, thanks for the definition of "castle" as a "medieval" domicile. I had never thought about this before and it is a very useful category definition. And as for the Romans; it makes sense that they did not have "castles" because they had a national army for protection, not a local lord. Great stuff dude!

As a professional historian focused on ancient history, I very much enjoy coverage of this era :D

Shadiversity, regarding the Japanese castle (e.g. Himeji or Matsumoto Castle) - the "Medieval" part of the definition of "castle" is definitely a thing. In addition to that, Japan did also have its own feudal/medieval era in the _Sengoku Jidai,_ which has a significant overlap with the European Medieval period in a wide variety of ways. However, I see few people dispute that Himeji or Osaka Castles are, in fact, castles, even though they're of a different geography and design entirely. As you note, Himeji and the like are all private residences of any given _daimyo,_ or feudal warlord, and are fortified for military use, and are likely to have been built either A) during the European medieval period chronologically, or at least B) during a feudal period with strong parallels to the European medieval period. I would like to say, "Well, _technically correct_ is the best kind of correct!", but in real discourse, that's nearly never true. That being said, there's much more than mere technicality to saying a Japanese castle is in fact a valid use of the word castle, there's numerous criteria you discuss which _absolutely do apply_ to Japanese castles. I would love for you to explore this (possibly with the Metatron again!) in a future video. I know you did a collab with Metatron a while back where you compared and contrasted the Japanese and European castle, but I find the categorization of "What is a castle?" particularly interesting.

@canmufu3923

5 жыл бұрын

I agree with you, but I want to say that the Sengoku Jidai is only the end of the Japanese Medieval period, from the late 15th century to the beginning of the Edo Jidai at about 1600. Feudal/medieval-period Japan started in 1185 at the end of the Heian Jidai, or as far back as 1100 or 900, according to newer viewpoints based on changes in the societal hierarchy around those times.

@TheAsvarduilProject

5 жыл бұрын

@@canmufu3923 Didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

In Spanish "Castillo" just means anything fortified but it's like the general word since there is a ton of words to specific define any kind of castle pretty much like in italian.

Oh damn. I saw the notification while doing dishes. I'll have to rmember to turn off the water at one point

@395leandro

5 жыл бұрын

Hey, one hour has passed since you commented, so just a reminder to turn off the water if you still didn't so far.

@marekbykowy1107

5 жыл бұрын

@@395leandro Shit, thanx man!

@395leandro

5 жыл бұрын

@@marekbykowy1107 anytime

@bcfb21

5 жыл бұрын

Did you do it yet bro?

@marekbykowy1107

5 жыл бұрын

@@bcfb21 Yeap, I was lucky the video wasn't longer.

Before he popped up and spread his wings I was just about to say; Why hasn't Metatron covered this yet?!

@TheLeaderX1

5 жыл бұрын

because Metatron has always been more focus on way of life(?) than architect like Shad

@aBerlin1945

5 жыл бұрын

I assumed it was a Metatron video when I first saw it

I'm not very familiar with the exact regulations of the roman legions, but considering people served up to 25 years I can very well imagine that some of these watchtowers may have become "private residences" in all but a legal sense if a particular unit stayed stationed on the same post for a while

@seneca983

5 жыл бұрын

Though I would imagine that most of the time people wouldn't serve all of those 25 years in a single location.

@AtheistIII

5 жыл бұрын

Probably not, but if you belong to a garrison Legion in some backwater province I see no reason why you wouldn't stay in one place for several years, maybe going on campaign in the summer and coming back to "your" castellum in the winter. Five to ten years can be quite enough to make yourself at home somewhere. All assuming of course that the romans didn't have policies in place to rotate units or entire legions on a regular basis or for some reason had other regulations to prevent legionairies from settling in in some place

@maxdecphoenix

3 жыл бұрын

@@AtheistIII Oh i doubt it. the colonial nature of the campaigns into the external 'provinces' were designed to do precisely that. Get the legionnaires content with settling in a foreign place.

@positroll7870

3 жыл бұрын

No, not really. Roman (and auxiliary) soldiers served as part of cohorts (batallions) and usually remained in them. Guarding such a tower was a task that was done by the batallion, with constantly rotating troops (at least along the European frontier; not giving any guarantees for Northern Africa). Those cohorts, or the legions they were part of, had their fort (castrum) a bit further back. Usually, a small village grew up at a short distance from that fort, where long serving auxiliaries/legionaries often had houses with (inofficial?) local wifes: "vici differed from the planned civilian towns (civitates), which were laid out as official, local economic and administrative centres, the coloniae, which were settlements of retired troops, or the formal political entities created from existing settlements, the municipia. Unplanned, and originally lacking any public administrative buildings, vici had no specific legal status (unlike other settlements) and often developed in order to profit from the presence of Roman troops. As with most garrison towns, they provided entertainment and supplies for the troops, but many also developed significant industries, especially metal and glass working. Some vici seem not to have had direct connections to troop placement (e.g., the Vicus Martis Tudertium). Vici is the term used for the extramural settlements of forts for military units (e.g. alae and cohorts), while canabae is generally used to describe extramural settlements of the major legionary fortresses (e.g. Eboracum, Vindobona, Durostorum) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicus One excavated example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saalburg#Vicus

10:00 aaaahh !!! That's why in french " a water tower" is called "un château d'eau" (a castle of water) thanks Metatron !

@metatronyt

5 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome

"headphone warning" dude, you are the MVP youtuber! Seriously nice heads-up and nice follow-up execution as well.

Please make a video about Chinese Castles. Eagerly waiting.

@fattiger6957

5 жыл бұрын

Seconded

@globin3477

5 жыл бұрын

That would be cool, but I think Japanese castles were more impressive. Actually, a comparison would be really interesting.

@globin3477

5 жыл бұрын

Derron Ong I see. I’ll have to look at that later.

@angeloauditore8895

5 жыл бұрын

@@thundermarkperun1083 i think kremlins could be considered more like citadels. As far as i know all kremlins are surrounded by a town or city.

@epic0wnag

5 жыл бұрын

China had walled cities, fort, and communities everywhere. Castles not so much.

hey shad, you may be interested in the curious case of the "Castel dell'ovo", a neapolitan castle. This castle started off as a domus, the Licinio Lucullo vilae, on a very small island off the shore of naples. During the fifth century A.D. the villae was properly fortified (as a castle) and was, actualyl, priate property of some emperors. It was properly fortified in the sense that during middle ages the villa was not further fortified, and whoever happened to reign in naples used it againist naval invasion.

Man, these collaborative videos between Shad and The Metatron are fantastic. Love it when you guys find a reason to do these. Keep up the good work, guys!

For those who want to know the difference between classical Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin (aka "church Latin"), classical Latin pronounces certain letters differently than church Latin, but there honestly isn't much to talk about when comparing the two. Modern English is much more similar to church Latin because we pronounce the letter C either like a K or an S, typically depending on what vowel comes after the C. Usually, if there is an E or I after the C in church Latin, it's pronounced like an S. There are exceptions of course, like "Caesar", which has an A following the C. However, in classical, it's ALWAYS pronounced like a K. So in classical Latin, the word "centurion" is pronounced like "kenturion". "Et cetera" is pronounced, in classical Latin, like "et ketera". Another distinct difference between the two is how the letter V is pronounced. In English, we all know how a V is pronounced, but in classical Latin, they only use the "soft" pronunciation, which is the sound we make when pronouncing a W. For example, "victrix", Latin for "winning" or "victory", is pronounced like "wictrix". Or the phrase "veni vidi vici", Latin for, "I came, I saw, I conquered", is pronounced, "wenny, weedy, weeky". Some modern European languages pronounce their V's like this too. Funny enough, I learned that from playing Fallout: New Vegas. I love it when games teach you neat little things like that. :D

@fattiger6957

5 жыл бұрын

TBH I'm so used to hearing latin pronounced in ecclesiastical style, classical style sounds kinda silly to my ears. Kai-sar instead of Cee-ser is just weird. The V/W thing always throws me through a loop. Invictus vs Inwictus.

Collaborations between my favorite KZread channels are always Epic! Hail to our King Shadiversity and may the Metatron always spread his wings! Thanks for this awesome and noble video! Embrace your Dreams and Protect your Honor!

>implying 'medieval' and 'Roman' are mutual exclusive terms Shad, the Eastern Roman Empire would like a few words.

@tylerellis9097

5 жыл бұрын

More like the Roman Empire after 480 would like a word.

@neomcdoom

4 жыл бұрын

Riiigggghht the Greek speaking Roman Empire that isn’t based in Rome and the accidentally destroyed rome

@2adamast

3 жыл бұрын

@@neomcdoom The Greek Speaking Julius Ceasar accidentally started a civil war against Rome, Romans did claim to be Greeks. Later on Ravenna was the last capital of the Western Roman Empire and became later part of the Eastern.

Hey Shad, good video as allways. I kind of were surprised that you didn't include "burgi" (sing.: burgus). Together with the fortified villae of the late antiquity you have got a kind of predecessor of the later medieeval castle. A burgus could be a fortified watchtower or other buildings, even like a fortiefied little village (vicus). Furthermore: in the later Roman Empire (and of course in the transition to the early Middle Ages) the burgi in the border regions like the Rhinelands, were populated not only by military but also semi-military, milita kind of units. Limitatenses later sometimes had a craft too, and also their families lived nearby... And last but not least: the German word for castle literally is "Burg". Coincidence? I don't think so. ^^ So the burgus and other fortified buildings and little settlements of the 4th and 5th century would kind of quallify as roman castles. Ofcourse I would always call the by their (proper) latin name, because than everybody should exactly know what you are talking abot. Again: you could also argue that they (burgi) were (in those areas occupied by the Romans) the predecessor of that phenomen, what later would develop into the Medieval castle.

Hey Shad and all who may find this interesting! Random fact, but if we take most Welsh castle names, e.g. Caerwent, Caerleon, Caernarfon, Caerphilly etc, Caer is the Welsh word for Fort, and we pronounce it the same way that they do in the Witchers Caer Morhen (They use Welsh language a LOT in that game) ! And the reason that these towns get their names is because of these castles. So Caerwent Castle actually had its name before the town around it did, and the town around it inherited the name from the castle. This is true of most Welsh castles that follow this structure. I'm also blessed to Live in Wales, which boasts more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world, around 600 :)

Never thought about this, now I am very curious.

Having served for years on active duty with the US Army, I can assure you that the barracks where soldiers are bunked are their "homes". The weird alternate being that they're ... homeless? Yeah, that just doesn't work. The barracks were my home. By this definition, those medieval military fortifications with permanently bunked soldiers would be a castle.

Ever since I did an education for architectural draughtsman, I have been intrigued by Roman design, and now with so much reference in one video, were I ever to win a large amount of money or inherit a large amount of money and I would be able to design my own home, I would design a modern-style Roman Domus/Villa. Maybe I'd built a Roman Castle, just so that Shad can go: now this is a Roman Castle, complete with Machicolations!

when talking about roman, there must be distinguished between the early latin era and the late greek era aka byzantine . the roman had castles ofc especially in the late era . there is still much confusion by many ppl about the roman empire. the roman empire started in 30 bc by augustus and ended officially in 1453 ad with the fall of constantinople. the roman empire outlasted the whole early and late middle ages, even though its highest point was reached around 1000 ad makes it the longest empire ever existed on earth. what most ppl find confusing is that the narrative of the fall of rome (the city) was the end of the roman empire, when in fact rome (the city) was not important anymore since the 300s and pretty much abandoned and in 330 emperor constantine changed the capital of the roman empire to his new city constantinople , on top of the former city of byzantium. the roman empire lasted for more than 1100 years with the capital in constantinople. the byzantines was in fact the roman empire, they were reffered as roman empire and they themselve was refferd as romans, their emperors was the emperors of the roman empire . only in late 19th century, historians tried to distinguish between the latin and greek era of the roman empire by refering to the greek era as the byzantine empire , but in fact it was allways the same roman empire .

@neomcdoom

4 жыл бұрын

horror11 Will people please stop pretending the Byzantine empire wasn’t just a bunch of Greek weebs

Interesting thought! I'd be interested in a video talking about Byzantine castles vs. fortresses around Constantine I's time.

@daisan5859

5 жыл бұрын

more ancient fortress to castle comparisons videos please and thanks :)

@Xel3_Keravnos

Жыл бұрын

Big agree

love these recent collab videos with metatron. love both your channels. good informative content!

I am terribly late, sorry for that, but I'll share a few things anyway: First, Herod the Great built two fortified palaces (The Herodium and Masada) that are fortified residences, but it is debatable as whether they are Roman or not. Second, about machicolations, romans favoured firing on the side of the enemy with artillery pieces from regularly spaced towers protruding from the walls (much like later renaissance fortresses). There are hints in the War of the Gauls that hoardings were used to some extents. (Extra: the walls of Pompeii had special crenelation, adding a second perpenticular "merlon" to protect archers from side fire). Finally, regarding the tower shapes, while the roman indeed used a lot of square towers, Vitruvius vouched for round or at least hexagonal tower as corners are a weak point in the structure. Thanks for the great video!

You know, it'd be really cool if all of these similar channels (Shad, Skallagrim, Metatron, etc) got together and made a single channel where they do colloborative content☺

My thoughts coming to this video: "Shad talking about ancient Roman structures? I wonder if Metatron is in this one." 2:40 - I wasn't disappointed. :D Nice and informative stuff, as always!

damn i love the vids from these guys, awesome seeing a colab of sorts! Keep up the nice stuff! Cheers

In Russia, there are fortified buildings called Kremlin which means "Fortress" in Russian. most people are familiar with the Moscow Kremlin, but there are a lot more.

thanks for the heads up on MATRICULATIONS!!!! great vid!

Shad, the Roman Domus was not designed to protect against enemy armies, nor thieves, but against riots and, potentially, armed rivals. So they did not have to build them to withstand a Hunnic horde, but they did need enough fortifications that a small group of house guards could deter a large group of poorly armed men (if only to make them seek out an easier target.) Remember that for anyone rich enough to build a single-family residence of this size, civil strife would be their only safety concern.

That's my Vindolanda that I created at 8:25 - 8:30. Love that you used it, didn't know you did. A nod would be most appreciated! Love your vids.

Always love your collabs with Metatron. Two of my favorite youtubers! COMBINED!

I think you should put more emphasis on the fact that most fortified structures that aren't used as a residence should be called forts.

@eugenohanka

4 жыл бұрын

Not in Europe.

@2adamast

3 жыл бұрын

But, any good fort is a usable residence. And if you're goog in war or politics, you get more than one castle

Also, there's a thing to say about roman fortifications which is very similar the medieval Europe: It is a large place and a long time. Results varied.

Really useful information here. I'm running a D&D campaign and my players are going through the ruins of a roman-like civilization's fort. Nice to know I wasn't too wide of the mark on it.

Extremely nice vid as always!

What about Diocletian's Palace? It was designed as a military camp but was meant as a residence for the Emperor.

@majacovic5141

5 жыл бұрын

He shows it at 4:50

The roman villa while not an actual castle could very well be its precursor. After the fall of the western half of the empire people in the countryside where at the mercy of the bandits and armies that roamed the territory, many aristocrats who fleed in their villas had fortified them and hired men to defend them, so farmers started heading there asking for protection in exchange of a tribute, in few centuries this will lead to feudalism and the triumph of castles

Hey Shad, relatively new Subscriber here. Thanks for your content. I have a keen interest in history mainly as a hobby. The details on life many generations back are very descriptive and insightful. So have my humble thanks and warm greetings from Finland.

Historia Civilis uploads, Shad uploads regarding Roman Castles pairing with Metatron IS THIS A CROSS-OVER EPISODE FOR CHRISTMAS? DAMN I AM FANBOYIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Shad, Great video! I am just curious, what about the medieval Eastern Roman (Byzantine) fortifications? They had the continuity from the Roman Empire, but they were also Medieval. Did they have castles as well?

I read the title and gasped at the realisation that I've never thought about this. Noice.

Love your architecture videos. Even more then your weapon video's. Or other broader history. Very detailed.

This is by far my favourite channel I've found this year, fuck yes.

@BozheTsaryaKhrani

4 жыл бұрын

Same

Shad: “There’s an important question we should ask ourselves before addressing this subject...” Me: “WHAT. ABOUT. DRAGONS?!” Shad: “... Did Roman castles even exist?” Me: “... Oh... right. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

@LukeVilent

5 жыл бұрын

You: “WHAT. ABOUT. DRAGONS?!” Shad: "Romans had no need to protect themselves against dragons"

With all of this talk about context I'm really surprised that you didn't reach out to Matt Easton for help on this video. He is, after all, the master of context, well context and innuendo.

I love the giggle after stumbling through your words. I do the same haha! Loved this topic and your thorough explanation.

Nice videos mate, always enjoy watching them. History is one of the most important subjects one can learn. You make a good video and it's a fun way to learn. Much more fun than my high school AP history teacher who was a total bore.

Can't wait for the in depth shadiversity analysis of the Winterfell defence in the next GoT episode ;)

@NerdJourneys

2 жыл бұрын

And we all know how that turned out. *sad sigh*

Hey Shad, speaking of CASTLES, can you please review Bowser and/or Peach Castle? That'd be really interesting!

@havoc3742

5 жыл бұрын

well peach's castle isn't really a medieval castle since it's easier to break into than a 7/11. and bowser's castle doesn't really seem to, well, obey the laws of 3 Dimensional space or physics.

@angeltales748

5 жыл бұрын

@@havoc3742 Ah, but bowser's castle isn't alone there if it comes to castles outside reality

@havoc3742

5 жыл бұрын

@@angeltales748 yes but Shad's only reviewed castles that obey 3 dimensional space. I don't see him reviewing a castle that doesn't obey linear spacetime, conservation of mass, and physics. and furthermore, WHICH Bowser castle are we talking about, since bowser's had dozens!

@angeltales748

5 жыл бұрын

@@havoc3742 I don't think Shad did, I think some of the fantasy castles he reviewed would collapse under their own weight because they're so huge (Disney Castle). When it comes to which bowser castle, I think that of BIS, because that one actually makes sense, if you don't count the stuff Fawful added to it. Also we have a map of that one

Yes!!! Shows a picture of Conisbrough castle. One of the finest Norman keeps in England. Just up the road from Doncaster (Danum) a former Roman fort.

every shad video explaining stuff: well you see there's nuance. proceeds to explain every detail. This is why we love you shad. Details matter. Thank you :D

The late Roman Vulgar Latin version of the word castra was "chaestero" which is supposedly the root of the "chester" at the end of place names in England.

@LuisAldamiz

5 жыл бұрын

Per Wikitionary: "From Middle English Chestre, from Old English Ceaster, from ceaster, a borrowing from Latin castrum". So essentially correct but apparently wrong in the detail.

Shad! I will make sure to come and see you! I will be there at that time! Aite! Popcorn is here...on to the video...you go Shad😊

Finally! Been looking for this kind of info for so long thanks Shad!! And Thanks Mettatron. My 2 most reliable Historians among many :-)

Thanks for the headphone warning, and for the shout, it'd been a while, needed my fix! :P

"Infinity War is the greatest crossover event in history" Shad: Hold my machicolations!

@imperatorhanseatic1274

5 жыл бұрын

Also, Shadows Die Twice in the title of Sekiro is kinda referencing a story event regarding a different character than the character you play as. (though it did originate as a phrase from the reveal, which was later integrated into the title to confirm that it was indeed the same project, but I digress)

*Read in British narrator voice* Shadiversity: exists and makes cool historical and fictional lectures that are worth everyone's time and interests. Me: Yes. #diversitycantexistwithoutShad #ShadisloveShadislife #Shadiversityisbetterthanuniversity #betteroffdonatingtoShadiversitythanpayingsomeivyleagueofassholesforfouryears Edit: Thank you so much, Shad!

Thank you very much for cooperation with Metatron. Also thanks for short view of Malbork castle (it is pretty decent). Romans builds awesome fortresses.

@metatronyt

5 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked It :)

At least you gave a warning before the "hillbilly scream"!!!;-) I find these coops between you guys a very good idea, your content gets more complete, they get visibility and we get even better videos...I love win-win situations:-)

The moment I saw the title I knew that the Metatron will be in the video.

had to comment, kudos on the headphone warning, well done on your battle cry and might i say, MACHICOLATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Always awesome to see content talking about Rome 😄👍🏻

Raph is a gift and we should all be grateful for his highly specific education.

@metatronyt

5 жыл бұрын

Why thank you pal

Castles are force-mulitpliers that are obviously supposed to favour the defender. Since people in power had less soldiers in medieval times than the Romans did during the Empire somebody had to become creative with these force-multipliers. I mean, imagine medieval knights had been able to support a garrison equal to the size of a Roman legion and then imagine these soldiers were as professional as the Romans were. Would they have bothered with an elaborate castle, or would they have relied on numbers? Also, a castle for an entire legion? How much resources would it have cost to build a medieval castle for such a huge army? And would it have been worth it?

@jasondoe2596

5 жыл бұрын

Very good point!

@positroll7870

3 жыл бұрын

The knightly orders did. See the huge fortresses built by the crusaders in the holy land. Or, as an extreme example, the Marienburg of the Teutonic knights. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork_Castle

Everytime my eyes see U post something about castle, I found my hand clicked on it before my consciousness fully kick in. Haha

Thanks for the volume warning =D Great video you two!

I almost got dissapointed by the title of the video, but after watching it, I am relieved. Thank you for your content :D

The Byzantines were what remained of the Eastern Roman Empire right? They were in Europe and during the medieval period and likely had castles. So technically those would be Roman castles.

@fattiger6957

5 жыл бұрын

For some reason the Byzantines often get neglected when talking about Roman history. The common people would be very surprised to learn that Rome survived into the 15th century.

@sfsin3380

5 жыл бұрын

Dispute being the cintuatuon of the Eastern roman empire most people seem to consider the Byzantine empire as a separate entity

@sfsin3380

5 жыл бұрын

I suspect that this view came from the Renaissance at the time Europe especially formerly Roman Europe was very fond of the idea that they where Rome's successors. The fact that Rome had only crumbled in their part but continued to flourish in an other part would have contradicted this view. I have no prof mind you but that my theory

@SterbenCyrodill

5 жыл бұрын

@@sfsin3380 Moslty because, by Christian scripture, the last and fourth Empire was Rome. There would be no other. Therefore, any Empire at the time had to be Rome. The Pope eventually moved the Imperial Title from the Greek East to the more Latinized West. Of course, it terms of continuation, they were the Romans. They spoke Greek and were Christians, but they called themselves Romans and were a direct political continuation of the classical Rome. Calling them Byzantines was a product of the West disliking the ortodox greeks and downplaying their importance in history.

@apotato6278

5 жыл бұрын

@@sfsin3380 it also kinda ties in with the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks. As Mehmet II took the city of world's desire the west had a problem: A bunch of bombard building Muslims suddenly seemed to be the heirs of Rome! The ottoman sultans were suddenly, by right of conquest, roman emperors. Well that couldn't stand. They didn't conquer the Roman Empire....they just took Byzantium! And since then we've had a distinction. Despite the Byzantine empire being roman in every way imaginable they couldn't let the title of "The Third Rome" slip to the ottomans. Many other countries would also claim to be roman. Russia, France, Spain, Italy and Greece have all at some point claimed the title not to mention the holy roman empire. You'll have to excuse the poor english and this mess of a comment but it's like 12 am, i've got a loooooong night shift ahead of me and the coffee isn't nearly enough.

It's so nice to hear proper Latin pronunciation for once

This is particularly interesting to me because I play Rome: Total War, so to see that those Roman walls and fortifications were indeed historically accurate (at least from what we can find) brings just a little more enjoyment to the game, and Metatron's comments on the different types of cities give some further interesting context to what you see and do in-game. A commenter lower mentionned that late Western Roman fortifications started using round towers, and it just so happen that in-game, the best fortifications replace square towers with round ones, so that's just a little more fun details that show that despite some questionable decisions, the devs did try to go for accuracy where they could. Also that Sekiro joke was gold, I couldn't stop myself from giggling out loud at work.

Still enjoying this, nice one shad.

Wouldn't we just look to the eastern roman empire aka the byzantines during the medieval period for roman castles. Costantinople was like a giant castle city since the emperor lived in the main keep, the city was sectioned was heavily fortified etc, but the architecture is there for what the Romans would build due to the byzantines being roman, with later middle Eastern influences since a lot of their empire was in the middle east.

@tylerellis9097

5 жыл бұрын

Roman Empire not Eastern the Codivision was Legally ended in 480 when Eastern Emperor Zeno who had received the Western Sigil from Rex Odoacer in 476 disbanded the CoEmperorship with Legal Recognition from the Senates in Rome and Constantinople. Eastern Roman is more modern then Byzantine and more false.

The Romans lacked MaChicoLations! Hence they weren't castles.

@dlwatib

5 жыл бұрын

I know you're probably just kidding, but there are lots of examples of undisputed castles that lack machicolations. There are even more that are in such a ruined state we no longer can tell whether they once had machicolations or not.

@justinblocker730

5 жыл бұрын

@@dlwatib True according to shad a castle is basically a fortified structure, that is someone's "private" residence. I thought what was in the video was closer to a citadel, basically a fortified village/town. Terms are so hard because they've changed so much.

@jean-louispech4921

5 жыл бұрын

@@justinblocker730 Carcasonne in France is a good example. You have the fortified citadel that surrounds the old city. And inside the citadel you have a castle where the lord where living, and it is an inside fortification. And close to the castle you have ... half rounded roman towers on one part of the inner wall of the citadel. Meaning that at Roman time you had a wall surrounding the city already. But no castle i guess.

@histguy101

5 жыл бұрын

@@justinblocker730 what are...midichlorians?

@historiculgeomocule5569

4 жыл бұрын

They really didn't have fortified dwellings that I'm aware of during the ancient Roman period

So cool you are friend with metatron!! Great video.. LOVE IT.

I love your cooperations with the Metratron! Keep them coming! Would also like to see you working with Skal or Lindybeige, you gotta keep up those international relations in times like this!

Behold! A surprise Metatron appears!

So they had castles, not "castles". Got it.

probably not the video to comment this, but thank you so much Shad for all the videos! Your videos inspired me to take an intensive Medieval Architectural History class and your videos have helped so much!

thanks for doing this video, it was very interesting