The Insane Wealth of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire's Economy was Massive and Elusive. Through trade, markets, warfare, and finance The Roman Economy provided a standard of living for some that would not be matched again until the emergence of modern national economies in the 17th century. In this video we cover and overview the early empires economy, its workings and structure, compare it to other ancient and modern economies and discuss its major limitations and inequalities.
-Contents of this video-------------------------------
00:00 - The Roman Empire's Economy
01:13 - Evidence of Economic Activity
04:49 - Structure of the Economy
06:20 - Roman Markets
07:23 - Roman Banking
08:01 - Roman Warfare
08:36 - The Size of the Roman Economy
09:50 - Income's by Class
10:22 - Inequality in the Roman Empire
11:56 - Standards of Living
15:07 - Technological Advancements/Productivity
16:01 - The Shortcomings of the Economy
19:37 - Summary and Final Thoughts
Support the Channel! / casualscholar
-Other Videos You May Enjoy!--------------------
-The Soviet Economy Explained: • Soviet Style Economics...
-Fastest Growing Economy Ever: • Why Botswana Is the Fa...
-Sources used--------------------------------------------
-Acemoglu, Daron, and James A Robinson. 2012. Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty (1st). 1st ed. New York: Crown, 529.
-Temin, Peter, “The Economy of the Early Roman Empire.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 20, no. 1, American Economic Association, 2006, pp. 133-51. www.jstor.org/stable/30033637.
-Scheidel, Walter, and Friesen, Steven J., “The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire.” The Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 99, [Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, Cambridge University Press], 2009, pp. 61-91. www.jstor.org/stable/40599740.
-Harris, W. V., 2011. "Rome's Imperial Economy: Twelve Essays," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199595167.
-Milanovic, Branko, Lindert, Peter, and Williamson, Jeffrey. 2007. “MEASURING ANCIENT INEQUALITY” NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138
#RomanEmpire #RomanEmpireEconomy #RomanEconomy #RomanEconomics #Economics

Пікірлер: 1 000

  • @CasualScholar
    @CasualScholar2 жыл бұрын

    Reply to this comment and I will respond! Did you enjoy the video, and do you have any information that you felt was left our or missing from the analysis?

  • @ferblancart8669

    @ferblancart8669

    2 жыл бұрын

    YES! Just recently found this chanel but the quality is very good i hope those almost 10k subs soon become some 100k this chanel has a lot of potential this particular video stand out for me in topic and structure and would be interesting to continue it with eastern roman and feudal europe, there are not enough information on historical economics out there! i think that nothing is missing for the duration of the video, i tend to listen podcast of tens hours about history that may deep dive on some point on the economic of x civilization and some oddities but this video is very complete and well organized to give a representative look of clasical roman economy ( as far as i know of roman economy, im no historian just a historybuff ) it wouldnt be fair to compare the information able to fit in 20 mins with for example 'the fall of rome' of patrick wyman the only criticism i can think of is that the roman economy becouse of spaning so much time and becouse of the changes it suffered over time specially the last centuries should have been exploried in more detail, and how the elites and other economic actors changed over time in its focus role and strategies. Again is not that is missing but it could help to organize the evolution of the roman economy better and reinforce what is said for people less familiarized with roman history

  • @jamesspinner7764

    @jamesspinner7764

    2 жыл бұрын

    i very much enjoyed this video and would suggest a possible collab with Metatron .. cause .. he is cool that way ... and he may have informed things to say about the subject...

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @Hans Layola Thank you!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jamesspinner7764 Really appreciate the kind words! Unfortunately probably cant get a Collab with only 10k subs but that would be amazing!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ferblancart8669 Wow, really appreciate such a nice comment, Glad you enjoyed and I think that's a fantastic idea! I also agree with your last point, I focused by attention on the early Roman economy as that's what I feel most comfortable talking about, I do think that part could have defiantly improved and therefore it would make sense for me to make a part two when I can do more research! I will defiantly look into the "fall of Rome", thanks for suggesting something I can look more into!

  • @ernimuja6991
    @ernimuja6991 Жыл бұрын

    Reminds me of that meme Modern historians: after reading multiple transcripts about the economics of the time and cross referencing them with other documents we still can't come to a conclusion on how things worked back in the day. Ancient historian: my brothers' friends' cousin had a dream about how it happened.

  • @nailil5722

    @nailil5722

    Жыл бұрын

    all of bronze age's history is pretty much this lmao

  • @christianblair8663

    @christianblair8663

    Жыл бұрын

    Herodotus: Yes, I was there at the battle... some 50 km away, but a friend of a friend, who knows a duck that was there, vows that he, indeed, saw a dragon.

  • @someone-wh2rb

    @someone-wh2rb

    Жыл бұрын

    dont forget he was on shrooms before falling asleep

  • @1994mrmysteryman

    @1994mrmysteryman

    Жыл бұрын

    Modern historians are equally as unreliable. You have good and bad ones from every era. I mean they turned Cleopatra black and made her into an icon of feminism, backed by a ton of "historians".

  • @meshio3060
    @meshio30602 жыл бұрын

    It should be illegal for someone that pumps out such high quality videos to have such few subs…. Great video once again good sir

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Really appreciate your support!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@tim3837 lol the burden of proof is on you for such a serious claim

  • @craigcampbell7638

    @craigcampbell7638

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree so I subscribed

  • @peterfmodel

    @peterfmodel

    2 жыл бұрын

    I have found the higher the data density, the less people seem interested. Instead they click on "What doctor's don't want you to know about bananas" link, which is generally information free. Saying that i want as much data as possible and this is a good analysis of the roman economic system, so i am happy.

  • @uhtmilk5032

    @uhtmilk5032

    2 жыл бұрын

    jail him

  • @nestorsaronte3387
    @nestorsaronte3387 Жыл бұрын

    While in history uni, I briefly studied the roman wheat economy during the 1st centuries BC and AD. And let me tell you, it was far more complex than what I could have expected. I might not remember everythingwell, but here you go : You had several different models of centralized distribution depending on the province of origin. Sicily for instance was one of the biggest sources of grain, and a percentage of said grain was directly seized to be state property ; the rest was distributed to the rest of the market. The supplying wasn't directly made by the roman power though, but rather outsourced by third-party private companies, who had to bid for the lowest costs and profit rates ; the lowest and most credible bidder would gain the annual contract of exclusive rights to organize harvesting, transport and distribution. Problem is, these companies would often hold their cargo and let a few people starve in order to let the prices go up. This was also a big open window for corruption, and one of Cicero's first big cases as a lawyer was about that system. And that was just for Sicily! Imagine that intertwined in a complex, cross-continental economy, with million of lives at stake.

  • @jaredhayward5760

    @jaredhayward5760

    Жыл бұрын

    I can just only imagine the devastation a corrupt official in charge of the grain shipments from Egypt could cause given it was the biggest breadbasket and prize the Romans could ever ask for.

  • @mohamedb737

    @mohamedb737

    Жыл бұрын

    well nothing has changed haha

  • @greeses5482

    @greeses5482

    Жыл бұрын

    If I am not mistaken, the Romans had a similar system for their taxes

  • @Theodorivs

    @Theodorivs

    Жыл бұрын

    Cool

  • @walli6388

    @walli6388

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@greeses5482 yes, they did

  • @dominicg3311
    @dominicg33112 жыл бұрын

    Though economic data is scarse for Ancient Rome to get a GDP, agriculture economies are basic enough that data from similar, more documented eras can help fill in the gaps. We can't compare the GDP of agriculture economies to modern industrial economies, but it is amazing the production Rome was able to create. This video was as entertaining as it was informative. Awesome.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Glad you enjoyed!!

  • @Uzair_Of_Babylon465

    @Uzair_Of_Babylon465

    2 жыл бұрын

    Don't forget about the Abbasid Caliphate and Mughal empire

  • @SmashingCapital

    @SmashingCapital

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Uzair_Of_Babylon465 what?

  • @jasonhaven7170

    @jasonhaven7170

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes, but India and China had far larger economies and a higher GDP per capita

  • @SmashingCapital

    @SmashingCapital

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jasonhaven7170 source?

  • @Arbiter099
    @Arbiter0992 жыл бұрын

    "[Economic transactions of the era were recorded on a medium] which, while effective at the time, was extremely perishable," Economic historians of the 5000s trying to piece together what happened in the 2000s…

  • @keltongillanders5736

    @keltongillanders5736

    2 жыл бұрын

    Bold of you to assume we as a species will make it to the year 5000. I give us another 1-2 hundred years at best. Tomorrow at worst if putin goes nuclear.

  • @Marcusjnmc

    @Marcusjnmc

    2 жыл бұрын

    mm, to be fair, for millenia information was preserved via copying it over & over in writing, & digital fulfils that purpose more efficiently than ever making the preservation of information easy, it is though undoubtedly the case that in the last 2 decades a gargantuan amount of information has been outright lost instead of being preserved

  • @constantinekorkousky3363

    @constantinekorkousky3363

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Marcusjnmc none of these drives will be accessible in the far future though. I guess it’s like that with every form of record keeping though

  • @Marcusjnmc

    @Marcusjnmc

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@constantinekorkousky3363 yes, continuos copying of information onto new means of holding information is required to preserve it.

  • @Jake007123

    @Jake007123

    2 жыл бұрын

    I believe that as long as we just keep using our machines to copy everything on to the new mediums without human error, humanity will have access to their past (our present).

  • @marcushendriksen8415
    @marcushendriksen8415 Жыл бұрын

    The biggest thing I've learned from this video is that if you've made a breakthrough an and authority figure asks you if anybody else knows about it, the safe answer is always "yes"

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    That must be the INSANE part ???

  • @ashtonbarwick6696
    @ashtonbarwick6696 Жыл бұрын

    Don't forget that Trajan's conquest of Dacia was in large part incentivized by the lucrative gold mines in Dacia (modern day Romania). The Roman empire's economic philosophy probably had its medieval, renaissance, enlightenment, and modern era equivalent: the Spanish empire. The Spanish empire, out of all of the European colonial empire's, was the most similar to Rome. This economic outlook was characterized by prioritizing the maintenance and acquisition of precious metals which can be turned into coinage. This makes sense as the Iberian peninsula was made apart of the Roman Republic after the wars with Carthage (which had lands in Iberia for mining silver). Rome looked at those mines as something that would give Carthage the decisive advantage in the race for control over the Mediterranean, and thus sought to crush the young republic (which Carthage overall was and was oddly similar to Rome i.e. two suffetes/two consuls+senate like institution with Generals who have large amounts of gravitas in the political realm. (The barca family had a real shot at doing what the Julio Claudians did in Rome) it is difficult to look back at early and late antiquity with our modern outlook on economics getting in the way. It's almost like you have to take those lenses off but we have no way of methodologically discerning what is correct and what is not. It's like the modern worlds economics are so fundamentally different due to our conceptions of private property being somewhat anachronistic to apply to Roman society because all was the property of the State/Tribe/Monarch

  • @XxLIVRAxX

    @XxLIVRAxX

    Жыл бұрын

    It was true of the Spanish Empire until the 18th centhury when commodities export such as cacao and coffee became the norm, this allow the creation of a bourgoise that would contribute to the independence wars of the 19th C.

  • @triggerdon2148

    @triggerdon2148

    Жыл бұрын

    I ain't reading alla that. I'm happy for you/Sorry

  • @szymonbaranowski8184

    @szymonbaranowski8184

    11 ай бұрын

    wasn't the same, whole Carthaginian army was outsourced Rome wasn't so oligarchical, it had a middle class that felt being Romans despite not being or royal class blood Carthage operated more like a Hansa cities unions with hired french style foreign legions...

  • @generalmarkmilleyisbenedic8895

    @generalmarkmilleyisbenedic8895

    5 ай бұрын

    @@triggerdon2148and that is why youre lesser.

  • @jakemckeown9459
    @jakemckeown94592 жыл бұрын

    Great video, but the comments you’re making about the transition from republic to empire seem misleading to me. You gave a quote about how Caesar sewed the seeds of Rome’s collapse, and later mentioned “if the republic was restored.” These statements imply that the empire was a misstep, and led to collapse. But the empire lasted about 500 (arguably ~1500) years. The republic was not working; they had experienced over a century of civil wars, all respect and gravitas for Roman laws and traditions were lost by that point, and the senate proved inadequate to face the challenges.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    That’s a very good point. Perhaps it would have been better to say, restored to the republic when pluralistic institutions were not corrupted. No doubt the first emperors expanded the empire to its max extent but that power In the hands of a single man always leads to overextending, increased corruption, and questionable economic practices. In my studies the Roman Empire appeared to somehow managed to have more or less competent leaders for the first couple hundred years, then Trajan overextended the boarders and years of financial rot started to see Rome slowly decline over another 3 centuries.

  • @jakemckeown9459

    @jakemckeown9459

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CasualScholar thank you for considering my criticism, I loved the video!

  • @Moebius-M

    @Moebius-M

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CasualScholar As you mentioned the key issue was slavery. An economy that is based on slavery has no insentive to industrialies. The concept is simple: the leading elite is able to buy large areas of land and let their slaves work on them. This leads to more unproductiv practices since they have no incentive to become more productive. If you would have wanted to increase your profit all you had to do was buy more slaves and land not increase the outcome of the land you already own. This leads to things like stagnant foodsupply. At the same time is your "free" population not able to earn much since they aren´t able to get any jobs. So they get into larger cities in search of new jobs, become desperate and start revolting. That is basically what happend at the time of the gracchi brothers. Instead of actually solving the problem the romans started civilwars every ten or so years until the fall of the republic where Ceaser actually tried to prevent this problem by outlawing large landowners from having only slaves as the working force. But this didn´t really helped nor solved the crisis which lead to the concept of "bread and circuses" basically saying keep the lower classes fed and happy with games and they wont revolt. This actually worked for a while but at the same time just postponed the problem. At the same time the leading elites had to waste a ton of resources on the useless undertakings like gladiatorial games. When later after the "goldenage" of rome the expension of the empire halted and the influx of slaves was reduced as well they actually had to implement laws which made it easier to become a slave. For example the romans had a huge pirate issue but did´t really do much about it since they actually helped by enslaving their own population. So key problem that destroys societies is slavery. It is like a plague that lurks under the surface of a once great society.

  • @seamusfinnegan1164

    @seamusfinnegan1164

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CasualScholar Id argue it has less a risk of corruption then the oligarchy that was ancient democracies especially the Roman Republic.

  • @NikephorosCaesar

    @NikephorosCaesar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Caesar didn’t sow the seeds the one who did was Sulla

  • @vice_santos
    @vice_santos2 жыл бұрын

    awesome...looking forward to more of these types of videos....this channel can stay a long time if you add modern economies with past economies and future economies....alot of channels fall short with no ideas for content while these types of videos have at the very least hundreds of economies to explore...looking forward to the next video.

  • @samuelfeder9764
    @samuelfeder97642 жыл бұрын

    Just a tip: Numbers for me are a LOT easier to consume visually that via audio. The discussion about Gini coefficients 10:50 was almost impossible to follow... Seeing the numbers written on the screen would have helped a lot! 😊

  • @gbnelson5146

    @gbnelson5146

    Жыл бұрын

    agree

  • @roman1771

    @roman1771

    Жыл бұрын

    Turn on subtitles!

  • @Martinit0

    @Martinit0

    Жыл бұрын

    Agree. Even better than numbers: graphs !

  • @balabanasireti

    @balabanasireti

    Жыл бұрын

    Learn how to listen better

  • @ernst_stvs
    @ernst_stvs2 жыл бұрын

    Great video. Really impressive that you were able to not only demonstrate data but how the economic systems of Rome actually operated, the wealth distributions and create a solid group of conclusions regarding the political stimulations while maintaining a fidelity to the lack of information and trustful sources. My congratulations.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Wow! thank you so much for such kind words. I really appreciate it and comments like these really keep the channel going!

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    Incomplete analysis

  • @War4Skills
    @War4Skills2 жыл бұрын

    I love how much in depth you go into this research, also explaining the flaws of 'evidence' we have. Most other people would just skip this whole part and go straight into conveying that evidence as truthful or high of quality while this is definitely not the case. Also, how do you not have more subs??

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for such a nice and detailed comment! I really appreciate it and glad you enjoyed!

  • @AD-kv9kj

    @AD-kv9kj

    Жыл бұрын

    Um, literally every scholar of classical civilisation discusses the lack of hard evidence of all kinds of things... The whole of academia is focused on trying to work out more accurate details about history based on reading between the lines of vague evidence and positing all sorts of hypotheses to explain many things. If you're only getting your history or any other studies from youtube/the internet then of course you'll come across a lot of amateurish and dodgy analyses by random dopes.

  • @War4Skills

    @War4Skills

    Жыл бұрын

    @@AD-kv9kj aight relax dude

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    Are you sure you don't also find it INSANE !!!!!!!

  • @evanhuizenga8626
    @evanhuizenga8626 Жыл бұрын

    One of the main problems that we have in modern times is the inability to compare the past with the past; everything must be viewed from a modern point of view, and this causes a general disdain of all past societies. Rome was staggeringly powerful and advanced for its time. The idea that almost all of its population would be above subsistence levels is crazy, especially at such a huge scale. And that one part of the empire would have access to goods, postal services, etc from the very opposite side of the empire, also an astonishing feat. These people had no planes for travel, no machines for farming, no tech for instant long distance communication, and they were able to not only conquer, but improve nearly all of Europe, Turkey, half the middle east, and the entire northern coast of Africa.

  • @andrewhughes7181

    @andrewhughes7181

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, it’s not like no one else had achieved this *cough* china *cough* pre Alexander persia

  • @evanhuizenga8626

    @evanhuizenga8626

    Жыл бұрын

    @@andrewhughes7181 ...Ok, yes? This video is about Rome lol

  • @Lobos222

    @Lobos222

    Жыл бұрын

    LoL, that is not true though. There are PLENTY of modern regulation that is a direct cause from lessons learned from the Roman Empire. Example, why are generals moved around rather than keeping their command for as long as they want? Hmm, constant civil war in Roman Empire and soldiers becoming more loyal to the commander they know and pays them rather than the nation they are supposed to serve? That is just one example, but I have read several similar aspects within justice system (laws not being regressive for example, aka roman treason trials etc) that are a direct lesson from what the Roman empire did wrong. :)

  • @evanhuizenga8626

    @evanhuizenga8626

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Lobos222 That is not the sort of thing I am talking about. You are talking about traditions carried over from the Romans, and yes, there are a huge number of them. We get a shocking number of our laws, languages, and other things from Rome. What I am referring to is the modern person's general inability to appreciate the past. If you talk to people today, many will consider the Romans barbaric, or evil, or cruel, etc. Why? "Slavery is wrong", "They oppressed their neighbors", "They killed tons of people and waged tons of war". I'm willing to bet many people might even say that they think the world would be better off if Rome hadn't existed, without realizing the implications it would have on our modern lives. That is what I am talking about; All of the lessons you are talking about that we learned from our past are taken for granted and not attributed to the ones who learned them, instead modern people take the credit themselves and then condemn their ancestors for the mistakes that allowed them to learn those lessons.

  • @Lobos222

    @Lobos222

    Жыл бұрын

    @@evanhuizenga8626 There will always be idiot out there. :)

  • @baldurelitraustason662
    @baldurelitraustason6622 жыл бұрын

    Damn you're really pumping out these new videos :), Good job and keep them coming 👍

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Will do! appreciate your continued support !!

  • @haggishighways
    @haggishighways Жыл бұрын

    Think KZread has realised that these videos are the types of videos people want. Been popping up in my feed for a few days. Glad I finally clicked on one. Top tier content, dude

  • @sebastianrivera9122
    @sebastianrivera91222 жыл бұрын

    you gained a subscriber, I really love the breakdown. really nice to watch/listen to while I work

  • @cmdrtianyilin8107
    @cmdrtianyilin81072 жыл бұрын

    This is a very underrated channel with so little subs. Excellent and very well researched video.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Greatly appreciated :) comments like these really increase my motivation to put more time and effort into the channel!

  • @mrcookies409

    @mrcookies409

    2 жыл бұрын

    Agreed, I hope because it’s new and it grows in the future.

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    It is INSAME how underrated !

  • @rogersledz6793
    @rogersledz67932 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'm really happy you enjoyed! Thank you for such a nice comment.

  • @brandonhenley3597
    @brandonhenley35972 жыл бұрын

    Keep making videos! I love subscribing to channels when they are new and watching them grow!

  • @chiptenor
    @chiptenor23 күн бұрын

    The Roman experience (of approx. a thousand years) never ceases to fascinate. Your documentary on the Roman economy is in-depth, and articulate. Great job. I hope our modern world, here in the 'west', is wise enough to wake up to current challenges, many of which are illustrated in Roman history. Many know that this is a contemporary 'parallel', and must be taken seriously, if we're to survive as a healthy and free 'western society'.

  • @danesovic7585
    @danesovic75852 жыл бұрын

    I find some of the stories of emperors Tiberius and Vespasian discouraging innovation a bit hard to believe. If someone discovered unbreakable glass, it would make sense that glassmakers would start producing it on their own, just like there were privately owned pottery manufacturers. Same goes for new innovative ways to transport heavy objects. I believe granite and marble were excavated in Egypt and transported to other parts of empire. It would make sense to offer those innovations directly to stone traders. In fact, I'm more willing to believe that in the case of Tiberius, but Vespasian, his son Domitian and the good five emperors seemed as pretty sensible rulers for their time.

  • @richardthomas598

    @richardthomas598

    2 жыл бұрын

    He made the mistake of taking or presenting apocryphal stories as stone, cold fact. For example, given that Vespasian spent most of the loot gained from sacking Judea on the Colosseum, he would have leapt at any truly labor saving innovation and simply done more building programs with the savings.

  • @blacksage2375

    @blacksage2375

    2 жыл бұрын

    This "unbreakable glass" sounds rather fanciful, like if it dented instead of shatter was it supposed to be metallic then? What was it really and when did we rediscover it? If we don't know for a fact what it was I am inclined to dismiss the whole incident as fantasy. Doubly so with this magic transportation method, I rather doubt something like innovative suspension would really save all that many animals/men when pulling a cart though reduced wear and tear on product and equipment could be substantial on a larger scale it wouldn't be this ancient "robots took our jerbs" luddite kneejerk. And I am a total loss for what it could otherwise be. In either case neither of these rigorously describes a bureaucratic system of approvals that would prevent someone from just you know starting to make their product. If there's any truth to these tales its more likely the men were fraudsters out to try and weasel some imperial patronage for a BS invention.

  • @SamSepiolTheHeretic

    @SamSepiolTheHeretic

    2 жыл бұрын

    Remember the Greeks invented mirror weapons to reflect sunlight on wooden ships to start fire… annnndddd never used them because they thought that new technology was “purest” in idea forms or within your imagination

  • @danesovic7585

    @danesovic7585

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@SamSepiolTheHeretic Greeks invented many other things that they did not leave in just "idea form". I just don't think they were anti-innovation. But what came after the classical period certainly was.

  • @BoxStudioExecutive

    @BoxStudioExecutive

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@SamSepiolTheHeretic Except that 1) the Greeks didn't invent it, it was just Archimedes who supposedly invented it. And since Archimedes died shortly after inventing it, nobody could have learned what it was or how to make it, and 2) there are very serious questions about whether or not such a thing even existed.

  • @vejovis1248
    @vejovis12482 жыл бұрын

    Why do you say that the rise of Caesar brought about the decline of Rome and its economics? The history proves to be rather different, and it seems you're biased by the virtues of democracy that modern global powers pray. In fact, Caesar and Augustus, were the result of the Republic and its elites, constantly fighting over power as the empire grew. Admittedly, Caesar or more specifically Augustus and his successors, demolished the supposed "virtuous" institutions that comprised the roman republic, yet it was a consecquence of how broken they already were by the time Caesar was even born. How many civil wars were fought in Rome before Pompey became popular? Would the Gracchi brothers have been sabotaged and murdered in the hypothetical case where these institutions were running properly? The roman republic was a failed democracy, a mere joke that favored the 1% of the population at the expense of the impoverished masses. Hence Caesar. Your point is totally invalid as you're taking data from the time when the empire took place. Which is worth to mention, was the most prosperous era throughout Rome's history. The pax romana. Go back in time when the Republic was at its peak and you would probably find more poverty than the roman gaul during the reign of Aurelius.

  • @william9922

    @william9922

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, I’ve noticed that as well. There is ALOT of discrepancies in this video.

  • @teddyhelfire9094

    @teddyhelfire9094

    2 жыл бұрын

    Based as fuck

  • @Shovi_

    @Shovi_

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yea, i was thinking something along these lines as well. Caesar, although he was a mass murderer, was a great boon for the masses when he took power. Until he became emperor the roman elite and politicians just hoarded land and kept a lot of it unworked, and forced the poor into the cities which became overcrowded. Caesar gave them land and made them get out of the cities and work their bit of land to sustain themselves. That's why he was very loved by the masses but hated by the elite. This is what the documentaries i've watched have taught me.

  • @RomanFanboy

    @RomanFanboy

    2 жыл бұрын

    Augustus tariffs and tax reforms is the reason why Rome became so rich

  • @ThePurplePassage

    @ThePurplePassage

    Жыл бұрын

    The video didn't say that Caesar brought about the decline of the Roman empire - just that he planted the seeds of its demise. The rationale of emperors and the elite gradually becoming more economically rent seeking is explained in the video, and of course as the empire aged and became more politically unstable with internal military competition to put a favoured emperor in place this would intensify. The system, when power was more distributed was less susceptible to this. Granted there were several good emperors who could use the concentration of power to good effect, but it was always a matter of time before mad and bad ones would come which would progressively weaken the empire over time.

  • @spoton7683
    @spoton7683 Жыл бұрын

    EXTRAORDINARILY insightful and 'information dense'... I shall be SURE to spread the word of thine fine work... A BIG thank you from New Zealand! 👍

  • @KayKay114
    @KayKay114 Жыл бұрын

    I'm glad to see that only 8 months ago you were at 10k and now 100k. You deserve it! I just watched three of your videos in a row. Good work!!

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    It is INSANE isn't it ? !

  • @sebytro
    @sebytro Жыл бұрын

    This is an incredibly well made video, easy to follow and understand and well structured. I wish all my history lessons were like this in school

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    I know... like it is INSANE eh ? That captures the intended meaning.

  • @kaniskkumar4473
    @kaniskkumar44732 жыл бұрын

    Very detailed knowledge keep it brother

  • @9ser_gio461
    @9ser_gio4612 жыл бұрын

    Incredibly well done! Liked the video and subscribed to the channel. Keep up the good work!

  • @AbdulGoodLooks
    @AbdulGoodLooks2 жыл бұрын

    This is a very informative and educational video! I'm surprised how it only has 36k views

  • @richardthomas598
    @richardthomas5982 жыл бұрын

    There is a lot of good and bad here. The bad weighs most heavily, though. There is a profound misunderstanding of just what kind of political entity the Roman Republic was; and a pronounced tendency to pin the failure to apply new technology to the fullest to political rather than social or economic forces.

  • @Tsuruchi_420

    @Tsuruchi_420

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's especially disturbing because this implies that capitalism must then be the perfect system for inovations to spread, and that's why the economy keeps growing, Wich is a: just not a logical conclusion? And b: not necessarily a good thing

  • @Tsuruchi_420

    @Tsuruchi_420

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@cin806 alright, first of all, capitalism does shit to inovation, it is literally the same example this video gave about an emperor dictating what can be made or not, but a thousand times over every corporation decides what they do with their products based on how much they'll gain from it, this incentivizes them to do only what is the most profitable, not just a comfortable profit, the maximum one, this will come at our expense 100% of the time Sadly, not every "inovation" is that profitable for capitalists, some things that might make their product better might also make it cheaper, harder to produce, or might be too experimental to be sure about, none of these necessarily drive a corporation into bankruptcy, but their money comes from 3rd parties that only want more money, and God save you from corporations that literally just agree to not compete with each other and this lose all incentive to better any service, companies that operate alone in an area (happens a lot with large scale ones) or industries completely dominated by mega corporations that can obliterate smaller competition (see, the original standard oil or Amazon nowadays) And you might say that inovation has happened, so capitalism wins, but look at the fuck you're comparing capitalism to, communism in a specific, perpetually dictatorial state, constantly isolated from the outside since it's begging, preceded by an empire that never came close to the level of liberalism of the other European states at the time (Wich is saying something since it was the 1920's). Your only thing to compare capitalism to could be the source of half of all the world's distopias before communism even started! and it never got breathing space to get better at all Also, fuck your vr argument, the soviets fell in 91, 2 thirds of the stuff you mentioned didn't exist anywhere at the time

  • @smokeyhoodoo

    @smokeyhoodoo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Tsuruchi_420 Capitalism isnt a thing

  • @inigobantok1579

    @inigobantok1579

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Tsuruchi_420 corporatism is a form of anarchism

  • @Tsuruchi_420

    @Tsuruchi_420

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@inigobantok1579 i don't think i said the word corporatism in my comments, but if i did, it was a mistake, it was very much about corporations in our current capitalist system

  • @kevinshepard7796
    @kevinshepard77962 жыл бұрын

    This awesome content. It's really, really tough to shorten up a synopsis of an empries economic success but you did a great job! Great video. So much information.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, I really appreciate the kind words! glad you enjoyed.

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    at what point did you find it INSANE !!!

  • @davidw3083
    @davidw30832 жыл бұрын

    Just subbed, I hope the Quality Standards stays like this

  • @kev.s5104
    @kev.s5104 Жыл бұрын

    So glad I found this channel on a Saturday, I've been binge watching you lol

  • @miguelpereira9859
    @miguelpereira98592 жыл бұрын

    What this video is phenomenal it's a crime this doesn't have more than 2k videos o.O

  • @maxtravers1314
    @maxtravers13142 жыл бұрын

    What a lot of people miss about the rise of Caesar is, from where the populace was standing, there wasn’t much of another choice: if they sided with the principle of democracy, the senate would continue the upward wealth extraction and impoverishment, that defined and destabilized the late republic, and reverse existing reforms: if they sided with Caesar, there was a very real danger of losing their democracy entirely, but they would finally have a leader actually addressing the crisis rather than continuing to allow their small farms to be consumed by landed elite

  • @asjaosaline5987

    @asjaosaline5987

    2 жыл бұрын

    you are not accurate. The Whole government system was not explotanary. People gathered they wealth acording they capapilitys. So poor people wasent exploited system was just that thouse who are wealthy had better oportunitys to rise their wealth. Roman Economy was based on low taxes so state benefited on economic activity not by exploiting people. So there was no impoverishment. But todays world its compleatly oposite. High taxes, enforced inflation will leaks away people money to upward. Some people get richer and others will get poorer. Base reason for this is enforced inflation. So people can only have bad option. If you keep your money and not spend it, it will lose value, if you dont want to lose purchase power you spend it now and have no money. And ofcouse there is third option you try to invest. But investing always means there are winners and there are losers so someone always loses so its gamble, if you have more luck and skill you win this gamble, but someone will also lose there. And money that poor people spend, becouse they dont wish to lose its value will be accumulated by AMazon and other corporation who dont care about inflation couse they increase their totaly value more than is inflation rates, so wealth moves upward. In roman times rich people didnt get more rich that easily and it didnt come on expense on poor people, it wasent rare when some rich family overspended and bankrupt itself. And it wasent rare, when poor hardworking family made right choices and invested they money ofter on expense of food or entertainment and rised on wealth on few generation. ROman economy was not based on high taxes ak exploitation of people but rather trade tarrifs, so righ people didnt get that rich easily and every one had equal change. There wasent also that socialist ideology where richpeople were punished for they better staus with higher taxes.

  • @petekdemircioglu

    @petekdemircioglu

    Жыл бұрын

    @@asjaosaline5987 I think you’re wrong. Rome was the first war mashine when there was no US. It had all its power based on its Army. Hence the people who brought its Power Were the most powerful.

  • @KyleTheDrywallDestroyer
    @KyleTheDrywallDestroyer Жыл бұрын

    I can’t believe this is free content on the internet

  • @B.tt.ne_A
    @B.tt.ne_A2 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely amazing and informative video - keep up the good work mate 👍

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! Really Appreciate it :)

  • @Vienna3080
    @Vienna3080 Жыл бұрын

    Would love to see a similar video on the economy of the Tang Dynasty who at the time also held 20% of the world’s population

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    It will likely be labelled " THE INSANE ECONOMY OF THE TANG DYNASTY "..

  • @GanJinLan

    @GanJinLan

    7 ай бұрын

    Not Tang Dynasty..... Song Dynasty.....

  • @blueguy5588
    @blueguy55882 жыл бұрын

    Great content, thanks!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Glad you liked it!

  • @connorphilipp
    @connorphilipp2 жыл бұрын

    Loved the video very well produced and researched! I'd suggest making your audio less "wet". There're a lot of smacks in the audio that can distract from your content 💓 It should be an easy fix like making sure you're hydrated when recording or some plugin

  • @ajones3038
    @ajones30382 жыл бұрын

    Gold, pure gold. I'm subbed now in hopes you have more economic history on the way

  • @calebcrisp5656
    @calebcrisp56562 жыл бұрын

    That was a really interesting video. I quite enjoyed it. I do think that laying the stagnation of the economy and innovation at the feet of Caesar is a bit lopsided. It seems to fail to acknowledge the serious problems that the republic was undergoing at the time of the Civil War. For example, the high levels of corruption and the fact that, in many ways, Caesar had the support of the people. Personally, I doubt that the, at that time, corrupt Senate would have made different decisions than Tiberius or Vespasian. The beginnings of the empire were heavily focused on preserving the state itself as opposed to growth.

  • @stschneg71

    @stschneg71

    Жыл бұрын

    I can only agree with your analysis. The roman republic was a very disfunctional system - it somewhat worked as long as people had a common enemy. But when Carthage fell and Rome became the hegomone of mediterianiean sea, there biggest competition was within. Cesear was just the guy to finially put it into the graveyard. Sidenote: in the "early" part of the republic, plebeians often used war as a bargain chip in order to mass rights. So the whole Roman republic was just a compromise over a very, very long time - corrupt and actually flawed in many basic principles (e.g. only rich people could work in politics, as politicans had to live from their own income) In addition his point isnt very thought through. If an auotocratic ruler is supported by "numbing the masses by work", oligarchies would work the same way.

  • @Iconoplastt
    @Iconoplastt2 жыл бұрын

    Great video and channel!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    I Appreciate it and glad you enjoyed!

  • @hulktown_hero
    @hulktown_hero Жыл бұрын

    Awesome video, I’m really glad the algorithm showed me your channel!

  • @romaboo9772
    @romaboo97722 жыл бұрын

    Yo, Bro. You're underrated, like seriously.

  • @baldurelitraustason662
    @baldurelitraustason6622 жыл бұрын

    Hey, congratulations on getting 10K views On your channel. See you at 100k ;)

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Really Appreciated it! new video coming next week and I think its the best one yet!

  • @brunovieira2314
    @brunovieira23142 жыл бұрын

    Fuck yeah new history channel, love it brooo keep it up

  • @RizzyTizzyLando
    @RizzyTizzyLando2 жыл бұрын

    Amazing quality. You just earned another sub ❤

  • @TheScroll
    @TheScroll2 жыл бұрын

    Didn't realize you only had 13k subs until comments pointed it out. Liked and subscribed, you deserve a lot more

  • @vesuvyan
    @vesuvyan2 жыл бұрын

    Great video that goes into amazing detail about all the nuances surrounding the Roman Economy, and even playing around with certain decisions and concepts that may have contributed to the overall fall of Rome. One single complaint; I'd recommend turning down the flowery sentence structure and vocabulary. The last 2 minutes of the video or so are hard to follow because it sounds kind of just like Word-Salad. Other than that, fantastic work, keep it coming :)

  • @johntravolta3235
    @johntravolta32352 жыл бұрын

    You do realize that this is an ancient economy not an modern industrial economy, correct? Frequent creative destruction of modern era has to do with the Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. Creative destruction of the Classical Era did wane during the Imperial times but it seems to me like it has more to do with path dependence rather than the change in political structure: Ancient Greeks surely explained many phenomena reasonably. Moreover, if the expansion of political power led to the fall of the civil economic sphere, it has more to do with the Senate of the late Republic. The reason behind the advent of the Imperial form of Government was that the Senate oppressed Plebs economically. Senate’s oppression took in many forms such as taking down the Gracchus brothers; Senate’s intent was to retain its economic supremacy over the Plebs to ensure the checks-and-balances of the Republic. On the contrast, Emperors gave plebs to become leading members of the society based on their skills. Some members of lower class became Emperors even. Emperors could only remain in office when they had popular support, so such claim of republican institution does not work.

  • @richardthomas598

    @richardthomas598

    2 жыл бұрын

    He clearly doesn't realize any of those things.

  • @jasonhaven7170

    @jasonhaven7170

    2 жыл бұрын

    India and China had far larger economies and a higher GDP per capita so the Roman Empire could've been richer

  • @CR7GOATofFootball

    @CR7GOATofFootball

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jasonhaven7170 no they had large economies as well. But it wasn't larger than the Romans. More or less the same.

  • @jasonhaven7170

    @jasonhaven7170

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@CR7GOATofFootball No it was larger than the Romans

  • @CR7GOATofFootball

    @CR7GOATofFootball

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jasonhaven7170 no

  • @Geopoliticus
    @Geopoliticus2 жыл бұрын

    Great presentation. Very informative.

  • @Sero12245
    @Sero122452 жыл бұрын

    Your subs shall climb. Keep sharing history, it must never be forgotten. Lest we repeat ourselves.

  • @Rnankn
    @Rnankn2 жыл бұрын

    This is not accurate history. It is more like superimposing contemporary neo-classical economics theory backward in time. Rome was first and foremost, a householding economy. The majority of production was done at the household level, substituted by slaves among the wealthy. The etymology of the word economy is from the latin oeconomia, which literally means household management. Household surplus was brought to market, but the market was not the primary mode of production. There was also a significant public economy from foremost wages to legions, who in turn expanded the republic and then empire, adding new wealth through appropriation. Senatorial and Imperial public works were sources of employment, but also services such as baths, temples, amphitheatres and infrastructure such as aqueducts for sanitation, roads and ports. This transfer in kind were huge public benefits for the citizenry. And there were direct transfers such as grain allotments for citizens. And there were wealthy family estates that produced cash crops or resource extraction such as mining for trade. This was not a ‘private sector’, it was an aristocracy that had close ties to political interests and military protection. Economy was not a separate sphere of social life, that is a modern manifestation. It was bound within ceremonies and rituals, and governed by households within collegia and finally, empire.

  • @lucabohn

    @lucabohn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! That was my main issue with the rhetoric of this vid! Also the beginning part about Rome being the best/most important civilization just is not right and just sounds like straight up imperialist dogwhistles.

  • @schroederscurrentevents3844

    @schroederscurrentevents3844

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@lucabohn Rome was an incredibly important civilization in world history and that’s impossible to deny

  • @Rnankn

    @Rnankn

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@lucabohn The importance of Rome can’t be understated, its ubiquitous in language, law, government, engineering, military, and on and on. They even invented hamburgers. Of course, Rome was also the culmination of the many foundations it was built on, but it put it al together in a very vibrant and successful society that was literally emulated by the founding fathers. For better or worse.

  • @jhordyjimenez6283

    @jhordyjimenez6283

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@lucabohn tell us which african civilizations you have in mind my lgbt friend

  • @wilhelmu

    @wilhelmu

    2 жыл бұрын

    the video is bullshit

  • @0utc4st1985
    @0utc4st19852 жыл бұрын

    You could say that the Roman government became very Byzantine over time.........

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    Byzantine is a negative word in that instance: Cut-throat politics and bureaucracy. But people forget that the late principate was the same if not more so, before Diocletian's reforms. Btw, the eastern empire was neglected in this analysis.

  • @TUGAN_ETH
    @TUGAN_ETH Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the research and documentation

  • @sym9266
    @sym9266 Жыл бұрын

    This is the best stock footage I’ve ever seen only a minute into this video. Kudos

  • @MrThedumbbunny
    @MrThedumbbunny Жыл бұрын

    Interesting. I did quite a lot of looking into the economics of ancient rome looking for broad economic data but found very limited documentation. This explained much of why it is so difficult to do economic comparisons between times.

  • @Dinkas2
    @Dinkas22 жыл бұрын

    Good video, respectfully disagree with the all-but-spoken assertion that the Roman collapse was inevitable due to a centralized economy 20:30.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed and respect your disagreement.

  • @blackb1rd

    @blackb1rd

    Жыл бұрын

    Hi, I have almost no knowledge about the roman empire and would like to learn. Why did you disagree?

  • @Dinkas2

    @Dinkas2

    Жыл бұрын

    @@blackb1rd my disagreement is more so an economic one than a historical one. I felt as though the creator made a very good and well-thought-out piece, but inserted his own economic values into an otherwise unbiased work. Centralized economies, especially ones valuing laborers, have worked quite well in the past, and in America our unmitigated economy is wracked with monopolies. Rome’s collapse was facilitated by mass migration, plagues, incompetent leadership and overextension, the fact that the economy valued labor over innovation was not one of them.

  • @teoe9910
    @teoe99102 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your effort to make the analysis.

  • @aleferrari227
    @aleferrari2272 жыл бұрын

    Great video brother keep it up 💪🔥

  • @maxis2k
    @maxis2k2 жыл бұрын

    What I expected: Rome is rich! What I got: Rome stagnated itself to control political power, not unlike many nations of today.

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    Rome didn't end in 476.

  • @jasonhaven7170

    @jasonhaven7170

    2 жыл бұрын

    India and China had far larger economies and a higher GDP per capita so the Roman Empire could've been rich

  • @NoVisionGuy

    @NoVisionGuy

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Michael_the_Drunkard Rome ended in 1453

  • @NoVisionGuy

    @NoVisionGuy

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jasonhaven7170 Agreed

  • @youarereadingmyname

    @youarereadingmyname

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jasonhaven7170 No

  • @christianrodier3381
    @christianrodier33812 жыл бұрын

    Economic history is so cool!

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Could not agree more!

  • @younes2415
    @younes2415 Жыл бұрын

    Subscribed before watching the video, that is how good the quality of your work is!

  • @donofon1014

    @donofon1014

    Жыл бұрын

    At last .. Something close to INSANE regarding his work.

  • @alterious1
    @alterious1 Жыл бұрын

    1 minute in and i already know this is going to be a banger

  • @zakyeeet5731
    @zakyeeet57312 жыл бұрын

    Lest goo another video

  • @williamcrawford7621
    @williamcrawford7621 Жыл бұрын

    Interesting analysis indeed. I think that the republic was indeed a period of innovation, but innovation is disruptive as stated, and given the many civil wars of the republic, the people came to prefer stability over innovation. This question of progress vs stability and order is still one that we wrestle with today. Not to get overly controversial, but I once watched am interview between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson. The former believed in innovation and free markets. He was horrified to learn that Carlson would ban self driving cars in an instant if it meant more jobs for lower class men. Also, in the the video game Fallout New Vegas there is actually a faction based on the Roman empire called "Caeser's Legion." The Legion despise a lot of technology and forbid many of their soldiers from using anything more advanced than swords and spears, due to believing that the rash use and advancement of technology came to destroy the fallout universe. The brotherhood of steel faction of the same franchise had a similar philosophy. Finally, many sci fi worlds, like Dune and Warhammer 40k, depict societies that have rejected certain types of technology that they consider dehumanizing, like AI. Even in Star Trek the use of gene manipulation is banned due to the war with Kahn.

  • @Intranetusa

    @Intranetusa

    Жыл бұрын

    Tucker Carlson has painted himself into a dark corner by being (or at least pretending to be) a Trump-supporting populist. That means a combination of restrictions on social liberties with restrictions on economic liberties. He ironically combines the backwards economic populism of self proclaimed socialists like Bernie Sanders with backwards social populism of religious ultra conservatives.

  • @williamcrawford7621

    @williamcrawford7621

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Intranetusa Spoken like a true libertarian, but it all depends on what you value. If social freedoms and GDP are what you value most, then Carlson is terrible. If social stability and traditional morality are what you value, then he is an ally.

  • @WilfredTVO
    @WilfredTVO2 жыл бұрын

    Wow, your content is very understandable- I applaud you, for being able to make history nerd speak sound natural.

  • @GP7brBaller
    @GP7brBaller2 жыл бұрын

    Great video, I already subbed before the Why Nations Fail reference and wish I could sub twice

  • @PeterWolniewicz
    @PeterWolniewicz2 жыл бұрын

    Can you please do this video but on the Mongolian empire? I’d like to see how/ what the economy was like for the largest land empire ever considering that and it’s hight( sometime during the reign of Kublia Khan after he took over Southern China and before a huge civil war with his cousin.) its ruler the great khan was probably the richest most powerful human ever to walk on earth.

  • @Intranetusa

    @Intranetusa

    Жыл бұрын

    By the time Kublai Khan finished taking over Southern China/Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongol Empire had already fractured into 4 separate nations. The fracture of the Mongol Empire began around 1259 after the 4th Great Khan, Mongke Khan, died during the war against the Song Dynasty. The Mongol conquest of the Song Dynasty wasn't completed until around 1279.

  • @georgeweissmann9095
    @georgeweissmann90952 жыл бұрын

    One key element of the Roman economy which you didn't mention is the trade with India and other eastern regions. Raoul McLaughlin has estimated that perhaps one-third of the empire's total annual revenue was derived from tariffs levied on this trade passing through Egypt. Good video nonetheless.

  • @HeroHoundoom

    @HeroHoundoom

    2 жыл бұрын

    The author of this video seems to believe the Romans were self-sufficient in every aspect.

  • @bingobongo1615

    @bingobongo1615

    Жыл бұрын

    Oh really? I never heard that the Indian trade was this large. Does that mean archaeologists also found lots of Indian made objects in the remains of the Roman Empire? Never seen that either.

  • @georgeweissmann9095

    @georgeweissmann9095

    Жыл бұрын

    @@bingobongo1615 There have been some incredible finds of Indian origin in the Roman Empire. You can look up the Pompeii Lakshmi, which is probably the most famous. There are also many amazing objects coming from the excavations at Berenike, Egypt (sacks of Indian pepper, Buddha statues, even a Sanskrit dedication on the Temple of Isis). It is a very exciting field!

  • @El.Duder-ino
    @El.Duder-ino Жыл бұрын

    15:07 and 16:01 are particurly excellent parts which clearly show how goverment halts creative destruction which is driving technological progress and economical growth. Thank you for making these vids👍

  • @Briguy1027
    @Briguy1027 Жыл бұрын

    Fascinating -- here so many people want to create Empires, and yet throughout history, democracy is better for advancements in technology.

  • @booradley6832
    @booradley68322 жыл бұрын

    "No one institution can overrule and ruin progress" The Supreme Court: Hold my prune juice.

  • @fakeemail4005

    @fakeemail4005

    Жыл бұрын

    Looks like somebody is unhappy about Roe vs Wade

  • @ender1111
    @ender11112 жыл бұрын

    Dude, I swear, every time I see this vid in the feed, the thumbnail is a bit different

  • @johnpantelakis6292
    @johnpantelakis62922 жыл бұрын

    Ok wow this is an amazing video. So professional.

  • @robbabcock_
    @robbabcock_2 жыл бұрын

    Awesome video, as usual!

  • @jaredfox2533
    @jaredfox25332 жыл бұрын

    Is there any place to be able to do studies like this on early African empires? I've seen that there are vast archives of early literature and records in libraries in Timbuktu. I would like to know more about early African empires besides Egypt.

  • @bighands69

    @bighands69

    Жыл бұрын

    There are very few african empires and what there was were fleeting and difficult to study. They did not have written language, forums or any sort of social cohesion so it means there is little evidence to examine. It is a similar case with celts and greater Asia. The Roman culture was unique in that it has left us lots of evidence due to their writings, military tactics, infrastructure, economic structure and so on.

  • @dimitrijejovanovic5939
    @dimitrijejovanovic59392 жыл бұрын

    I just ran into this channel... Take my subscription!

  • @Harkness197
    @Harkness1972 жыл бұрын

    Just subbed, such awesome content!

  • @caesumcrimson6381
    @caesumcrimson63812 жыл бұрын

    As a Historian and History Teacher I find it hilariously misguided whenever certain KZread "historians" talk about sources! They always use a term like "these sources can't be used because they're biased" or something to that effect. It makes me cringe! Every source is biased! You are biased when analysing sources! It's the point of history to try and recognise, understand the bias and then assess the sources overall usefulness and reliability. Those to features are the most important not biased. Is the source biased? Yes. But is it still reliable? Yep. Then we can use it. Is the source reliable? Yep. But is it useful? Nope. Then we can use it but shouldn't as it is not related! This is the system historians use... now it seems like you throw out the literary tradition not because it isn't useful but because it is unreliable... sure but you would know that many of this stuff is actually quite reliable... especially the actual annals and edicts of Roman treasury, much of which we have. I think the more important reason is that you have simply too many sources to choose from... you didn't even account for which actual period you were studying? Early Republic? Late? Early Empire? Late Empire? There were vast differences in a particular period of Rome... let alone the different periods themselves 800 years the difference.... for example in the middle to late Republic, land ownership and slave overpopulation was a chief economic factor. This was a bit of an oversight and kind of diminishes your credentials. Also "we don't know the true, hard facts". This is the worst Von Rankean statement. History is not about truth or facts... especially ancient history. You will never know the truth. We have moved past Von Ranke's idea of history... history is about making meaning from sources and estimations! Not fact. This isn't a crime scene or bloody da Vinci code hahahaa.

  • @HeroHoundoom

    @HeroHoundoom

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree wholeheartedly. People throw around the word "bias" to seem credible but they themselves often have biases already.

  • @hamboharambe9982

    @hamboharambe9982

    2 жыл бұрын

    Based

  • @Yajna007
    @Yajna007 Жыл бұрын

    00:14 India had a bigger nominal G·D·P than China till circa 1000 C·E.

  • @Yajna007

    @Yajna007

    Жыл бұрын

    circa ≡ roughly

  • @Yajna007

    @Yajna007

    Жыл бұрын

    Indian economy was clearly ahead of the Chinese economy till the year 1000 A∙D∙. India's *share* of the world's G∙D∙P∙ fell behind that of China only after the start of the new millennium.

  • @khalidalali186
    @khalidalali186 Жыл бұрын

    A multi-national/ethnic, cross-continental Empire, with a shared culture, set of values, and identity. Rome was fascinating.

  • @wrex509
    @wrex509 Жыл бұрын

    Outstanding video! Very solid analysis of very limited information.

  • @CasualScholar

    @CasualScholar

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

  • @Joe-po9xn
    @Joe-po9xn2 жыл бұрын

    Hold on. The Romans understood comparative advantage but not inflation?

  • @neildalessandro8196
    @neildalessandro81962 жыл бұрын

    I can understand Tiberius and Vespasian's objections because debasing the currency and putting people out of work due to technology would are terrible for everyday people economically speaking. Technological innovation is good, but if it is done too rapidly it will be too disruptive of people's livelihood. It needs some boundaries to contain it, like fire in a fireplace. Free enterprise is good, but not if it lacks responsibility. Also the argument about Rome falling because it went from a republic to an empire centuries prior is rather weak, especially since...it lasted and thrived for centuries. As an empire. The Roman republic was notoriously corrupt, so much so that they changed the calendar to shorten the terms of enemies and lengthen those of their allies. Not to mention representative government wouldn't be able to be maintained well over as large of an area as the empire ruled over in those days. Especially not with that kind of mess. Its change to an empire was inevitable. So to say Rome was stunted and fell because it wasn't democratic and freely innovative enough isn't really a solid premise.

  • @sushidope1701

    @sushidope1701

    2 жыл бұрын

    I mean factories did the same to the labors of before yet it benefitted humanity as a whole so I’m not to sure there. Robots replacing more jobs in the future might do the same

  • @neildalessandro8196

    @neildalessandro8196

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@sushidope1701 Why would robots replacing human workers be a net positive unless if there were other jobs created that those people could have? If an economy is to live up to its name (law of the household), then its first priority needs to be greater power and wellbeing to each home and family. Maximizing employment is essential for that. Innovation and growth aren't all there is to good economics. It's also important to ensure stability and sustainability for households and social institutions to thrive. Otherwise creative destruction will bring more destruction than creativity.

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    You're only talking about the Western Empire.

  • @neildalessandro8196

    @neildalessandro8196

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Michael_the_Drunkard Your point?

  • @NyalBurns
    @NyalBurns2 жыл бұрын

    What an amazing video. Full of incite.

  • @degustablegerbil
    @degustablegerbil2 жыл бұрын

    Keep it up man. It’s just a matter of time until the algorithm picks you up

  • @Joe-po9xn
    @Joe-po9xn2 жыл бұрын

    "Hyperinflation? Is that some new peasant god I'm too noble to understand? Haha money printer go brrrrr" - Rome, 222 AD "Hyperinflation? Is that some new peasant god I'm too noble to understand? Haha money printer go brrrrr." - Romerica 2022 AD

  • @smorcrux426
    @smorcrux4262 жыл бұрын

    Nice video, but one part I dislike and think is misleading is your constant mentioning of how the Roman empire was bad and the republic was good. Obviously in modern times democracy works relatively well, but the Roman Republic was massively dependent on slavery as its main economic engine, and was horribly corrupt and oligarchic. The roman empire lasted for an extremely long time, and if anything helped rome survive for longer, and it was most prosperous during the early empire.

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    Dude, the west is oligarchic. Just look at the Covid restrictions, press freedom (which is limited), a corrupt banking and lobbying system. The West in its current form is corrupt and decadent. The Roman Republic would in fact be much better.

  • @smorcrux426

    @smorcrux426

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Michael_the_Drunkard I actually wrote a sentence in that comment about how people misinterpret and misconstrue the Roman Republic and empire in order to have it fit into a modern perspective, and derive incorrect conclusions from it so that they will fit into and further their ideologies, but I decided to delete it because it felt out of place. I think that's quite relevant to you.

  • @hellowow892
    @hellowow8922 жыл бұрын

    Quality content

  • @Alpha_Marketing_Boss
    @Alpha_Marketing_Boss2 жыл бұрын

    Subscribed. Great content

  • @MrLanguageFanatic
    @MrLanguageFanatic2 жыл бұрын

    Actually western civilization would probably be more advanced if Carthage wound up winning the Punic wars. If Carthage won, then perhaps the Gauls, the Iberians would be able to come together to form their own states without ever having come under Roman domination. Rome would still exist as a political entity but perhaps just control all or part of the Italian peninsula. Thus with Carthage, Rome, Gaul and the Iberians being seperate and rivial entities, it would have created incentives for each group to best the other thus leading to something we know if as near-modern European history but starting as way back as the 100's B.C

  • @KraNisOG

    @KraNisOG

    2 жыл бұрын

    It was utterly impossible for Carthage to win anything more than a status quo, in any of the Punic Wars, Also those tribes would never unite unless one of the tribes came around conquering the others, thus bringing the ire of Carthage, or Rome, and bringing about the destruction even harsher than in our timeline. It would have made a small boost, but in the end Rome still would come out on top, and would conquer the others, though the integration would ironically be easier as their would be less cultures to decimate. Ironically this would cause Rome to live on longer, or at least the western half living longer than in our timeline, living past 1453 would be pretty difficult for many changes.

  • @catalyst772

    @catalyst772

    2 жыл бұрын

    As if Rome didn't have the Germans and Persians to fight with

  • @thegodfather_8455

    @thegodfather_8455

    2 жыл бұрын

    I highly doubt that, civilizations especially in the ancient times put very little emphasis on technology, the Roman's were such pioneers because they had no real threats

  • @GoDLiKeKakashi

    @GoDLiKeKakashi

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@thegodfather_8455 That's not strictly true, though. Romans were just obsessed with practicality and the physical world. There's a reason the amount of great written texts by Romans number at like 1 or 2 despite dominating the known world for centuries. Greeks engaged in philosophy and the abstract, Rome can't build a functioning public works system out of books or philosophy. It's why actors and musicians were even lower than slaves as a demographic, they produced nothing of value. Romans loved entertainment, sure, but entertainers were the lowest of the low because they give nothing tangible to the state. Slaves produce food and valuable goods at the very least. Roman engineering and innovation especially in architecture are a result of their cultural views. These practices started long before they had no threats and it's the reason they took useful ideas from the cultures around them.

  • @kcufhctib204

    @kcufhctib204

    2 жыл бұрын

    Press x to doubt.

  • @mariogalindez7427
    @mariogalindez74272 жыл бұрын

    I think calling China an 'exception' is quite an understatement. They were larger and more advanced in this period.

  • @GoDLiKeKakashi

    @GoDLiKeKakashi

    2 жыл бұрын

    That's a debate scholars have had for decades. Not really something you can just put out there as a blanket statement. For example China has always had a severe defecit in good quality horses. This wasn't as much an issue for the Romans, especially at the time of Pax Romana. I'd say they had different strengths and were roughly evenly balanced. Chinese bureaucracy was probably more efficient, but Roman armies were far more professional and logistically advanced than the mass conscripts of China. Development is based on many variables.

  • @mxn1948

    @mxn1948

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@GoDLiKeKakashi i dont think the horse part is particularly true. china "lacked" quality horse only in comparison to northern nomads. and it was only really true in like one case, as ever since the Han dynasty under emperor Wu, china has access to good horses so long as it controlled the hexi corridor( for example he fielded 100,000 cavalrymen against the xiongnu, and each cavalrymen was a match for the nomads). The only notable dynasty to lack quality horses was the Song dynasty, who never controlled the Hexi corridor(every other unified dynasty since the Han controlled this area) but it was a generally militarily weak dynasty. Rome, did not face mongol-like nomad powers and was also helped by having an internal water way for fast travel. Roman armies were more"professional" but was not "far more" so. China has had standing professional armies since the beginning of its imperial age, with the Qin dynasty. The perception that chinese armies was just a mass conscript army was due to the fact that china also did have mass conscripts and usually fielded a bonkers amount of men in war. but the core was very much professional, the Han for instance had a long standing professional army as large as rome did, but also bolstered by twice the number of conscripts in times of war. Rome was also not "logistically" advanced in anyway to china. they had an advantage in having an internal waterway and that was it. in fact it could be argued that china was more logistically advanced, having invented the wheel barrel allowing them to carry large amount of supplies over mountains and bad terrain.

  • @bighands69

    @bighands69

    Жыл бұрын

    China was not an empire like Rome. It was a collection of individual kingdoms that paid fealty to the emperor. It was very similar to Holy Roman Europe and was not an empire like the classical Roman Empire. Looking at it on a map and thinking it was larger means nothing and they were not more advanced in science and technology.

  • @JMB_focus

    @JMB_focus

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@bighands69they were in many fields centuries ahead of everyone else during that time do you even know the history of china to say that lol

  • @JMB_focus

    @JMB_focus

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@bighands69and china is nothing like the HRE lol it is very centralized for all it's time when united you have absolutely 0 knowledge about the history of china

  • @hernandoarturoporrasgalvez3957
    @hernandoarturoporrasgalvez39572 жыл бұрын

    Azome video, my new favorite history chanel, greetings from Colombia.

  • @bryanalbert447
    @bryanalbert4472 жыл бұрын

    Great content 👍

  • @anderarmould
    @anderarmould2 жыл бұрын

    Going by the population being so small by today's standards, the amount of money the Roman Empire generated was astonishing for an agrarian power. A superior financial and spiritual system, if only christianity didn't rise, they probably would've industrialized.

  • @JoeMartinez18

    @JoeMartinez18

    2 жыл бұрын

    And that is a sentences in itself is wrong.

  • @daryllndemmayah4874

    @daryllndemmayah4874

    2 жыл бұрын

    Christianity didn’t destroy the empire lol, it was due to thier bad corrupt leaders and horrible morals. One could make an Argument Christianity extended the life span of the empire by bringing in more morality and standards to the empire.

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard

    @Michael_the_Drunkard

    2 жыл бұрын

    xtIaNiTy iS aNtI sOyEnCe

  • @nioniosospeed550

    @nioniosospeed550

    2 жыл бұрын

    Christianity along with feudalism was a better system or at least the old one was unsustainable. They main reason Rome reached such heights was the constant supply of cheap slaves. The had so many that they didn't care to even keep them alive and overworked them to death cause the military and trade systems could always supply more. Furthermore, if you lived back then you would most likely be a slave or pleb living barely above subsistence.

  • @pyro7358

    @pyro7358

    2 жыл бұрын

    Atheist detected

  • @nathanh1582
    @nathanh15822 жыл бұрын

    It's weird that you said "of the american south" when you should have said "american or chattel slavery" slavery existed in all of the colonies in roughly the same capacity until 10 years before the civil war when a lot of the northern states had moved far enough into industrialization that it made more sense financially to pay crappy wages than it did to cloth, house and feed slaves. Most slaves of the trans Atlantic slave trade went to south america anyway and slavery wasnt much different there....

  • @nathanh1582

    @nathanh1582

    2 жыл бұрын

    I'm just saying, it makes me suspicious of your biases when you obfuscate the facts based on what amounts to northern usa states propaganda. It may seem small but it definitely isnt and shows you may be working on a basis of modern woke interpretations of american history and if you do it with something so close in our past than how can I trust you not to fall for the same thing when it comes to things much further in the past.

  • @juwebles4352

    @juwebles4352

    2 жыл бұрын

    I don't find it that wierd, when most people in the modern day think of slavery they think of Large southern cotton plantations that required hours of back breaking work not the Barbados sugar plantations that required hours of back breaking work or the slaves back in africa who were being used for hours of back breaking work instead of being sold on the coasts to Europeans or arabs for you guessed it hours of back breaking work

  • @Lusa_Iceheart

    @Lusa_Iceheart

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@nathanh1582 America wears it's past sins on it's sleeve and we have a population that is locked in a state of self-flagellation over the past. makes it pretty easy for people to ignore the comparable atrocities committed by other nations right next door to the US, and instances where the US was mild if not tolerant compared to it's neighbors. Just look at the treatment of Native Americans. The US has been culturally stuck in a guilt ridden mess for decades now, but we actually have indigenous populations here that we can feel sorry for. Canada? Genocided the natives to the point there's hardly any natives left. Mexico and other Spanish colonies? Total purge of the natives, those that didn't get wiped out to plagues or worked to death in silver mines were assimilated into a stratified, caste system based on ethnic background that made Jim Crow seem mild. Natives were below those mixed with Spanish who were below full-blooded Spanish who were in turn below full-blooded Spanish born in Spain not the colonies with different legal rights for each caste level. The fact that the US even has a Native American population that has retained it's culture to even the minimal degree it has is proof the US was the most mild in the Western hemisphere. Also, fun fact: one of the few possessions that the Cherokee brought with them on the Trail of Tears (that was technically illegally ordered by Jackson, the Supreme Court ruled it Unconstitutional, so if the system had been respected it wouldn't have happened) was their slaves Yup, the Cherokee had a sizable slaveowner class that brought along their 'investments' on the trip out to Oklahoma. And the last places to relinquish their African slaves after the Civil War wasn't Texas, it was the reservations. Some of them held on till 1867, after Lincolns assassination. So much for a morally clear picture. Turns out the world is all shades of grey.

  • @Bubajumba

    @Bubajumba

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Lusa_Iceheart Mexico have 17 million natives. 14 million more than the US. And the US was far from the most mild in the west.. If you exclude europe from the west, maybe.

  • @Nasrudith

    @Nasrudith

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@nathanh1582 Obfuscate the facts based upon "Northern propaganda"? Your revisionism is showing with your inclusion of the moronic ur-whataboutism of the South and attempt to spread the burden of their guilt. You also conspicuously excluded some major details in before '10 years before' namely the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the second of its kind that forced the other states to respect their slave hunters and even gave them the ability to draft the local populace to assist! They did this after the first one in 1790s got countered by widespread personal liberty laws in response, outlawing slave hunters in service of wannabe aristocrats. The Northern Underground railroad became exclusively to Canada as a result but long only needed to reach Free States. Pennsylvania had a law abolishing it in 1780, 81 years before the start of the civil war and four years after the establishment of the damned country. It isn't a "modern woke" interpretation of history it is documented fact. To lump all of the United States as 'essentially in agreement up until ten years before' is misleading and offensively wrong.

  • @lucasmohaupt4066
    @lucasmohaupt40662 жыл бұрын

    Subbed. Great video

  • @gjbuyken
    @gjbuyken Жыл бұрын

    Thanks learned a lot !