While I've enjoyed some of the historical reality television shows over the years, I do miss the specials and documentary series that explained the real historical periods and events that formed the basis of the network. Luckily, we're getting a brand new game , Barbarian Rise , starting Monday, June 6th at 9pm ET. As you watch this four-part documentary, though, it's natural to wonder how much of "Barbarians Rising" is true.
While this series about the fall of the Roman Empire is told through the eyes of the leaders of the barbarian rebellion that ultimately led to its downfall, it is supposed to be a completely accurate account of history. "This four-part documentary reveals the true story of a 700-year battle for supremacy, a fight for freedom that would shape the world for the future," History describes the series on its website. The nine main barbarian leaders in the show were real people who helped overthrow the Roman Empire.
The "thoroughly dramatized portrait" of the Savage leaders, as History calls it, will be accompanied by expert commentary including historians, military leaders and civil rights activists. The network said in a press release about the new series that they will help "reveal the fact-based history behind the legend." This contemporary commentary not only helps Barbarians Rise tell the true story of the past, but it should also help us understand why our world is the way it is today.
Of course, Barbarians Rising may not be 100% accurate, as history is based on a variety of sources and narratives that not all historians agree with, and new discoveries may be made over time. would change those sources and narratives. But the story of these nine barbarian chiefs should be broadly consistent with what we have learned about them over the years. Without further ado, let’s first understand the history of these “legends” that “Rise of the Barbarians” will introduce below.
hannibal
According to the history website, "The Rise of the Barbarians" begins with the story of Hannibal of Carthage in North Africa, the son of the general Hamilcar who fought against the Romans in the First Punic War. The Romans were forced to leave Sicily after destroying the Carthaginian fleet. . Hamilcar made his son swear revenge on the Romans, and when he himself became a general, he began to do the same.
With an army of approximately 100,000 men and the now famous use of elephants, Hannibal eventually led his army over the Alps and into Italy. Although most of his fleet was destroyed by then, the remaining forces wreaked havoc on the Roman Empire, even destroying a Roman army at Cannae, which, according to the Histories, was Rome's worst defeat of the war.
But after the army led by Hannibal's brothers was defeated and the Romans attacked Carthage, the general negotiated a peace treaty with Rome before being forced into exile. When Hannibal heard that the Romans were coming to capture him, he poisoned himself to prevent his old enemy from catching him, probably in 181 or 183 BC.
Viriatus
Barbarians Rising 's next target is Viriatus in Lusitania, which according to his description on the history website is located in what is now Portugal and parts of western Spain. Around 151 BC, the Romans broke their peace treaty with the Lusitanians and killed or enslaved all men of fighting age, reportedly around 30,000 of them. Viriatus escaped and went on to lead a rebel army of fellow survivors against the Romans.
Viriatus pitted his troops to use guerrilla warfare against well-trained Roman soldiers, and they were so successful that neighboring tribes also used this tactic against the Romans. In 139 BC Viriatus tried to make peace with the Romans, but they turned his emissaries against him and assassinated the rebel leader while he slept.
Spartacus
Spartacus is a historical figure who is perhaps best known for his dramatic portrayals, such as in the 1960 epic film of the same name (the trailer for which can be seen above), and the more recent Starz series, but the man was very reality. Spartacus was born in Thrace (in what is now Eastern Europe) and is said to have served as an auxiliary in the Roman army before being captured and enslaved by the Romans, according to accounts on history websites.
After Spartacus was cast as a gladiator, we knew it wasn't a very good job, and although it was glorified in movies like 2000's Gladiator , Spartacus was associated with dozens of A fellow gladiator organized an escape. After Spartacus and his army defeated the Romans at Mount Vesuvius, the army continued to grow. Three powerful Roman generals (Marcus Licinius Crassus, Pompey, and Lucullus) eventually united with their armies to suppress Spartacus and his rebels. Spartacus was said to have been wounded during the battle, but his body was never found. As for the survivors of the battle, they were crucified along the Appian Way to Rome as a warning to anyone who wanted to challenge Rome in the future.
Arminius
According to the history website, the Romans defeated Cheru and fell behind in the west, and Arminius and his brother Fraus were sent to Rome as hostages. There they were forced to assimilate into Roman culture, receive education, train as soldiers, and become Roman citizens. Shown above is a statue of Arminius, now in Detmold, Germany, who eventually rose through the ranks in the Roman army.
But when Arminius returned to his native Germania and found his people taxed heavily and treated as slaves by the Roman governor Varus, he decided to lead a rebellion. From then on, he acted as a double agent, gathering intelligence on the Romans while forming a Germanic alliance to drive them away.
Arminius and the rebels ambush the Romans and use guerrilla tactics. The History described it on its website as "one of Rome's most humiliating defeats," and a great victory for the barbarians. Arminius then became leader of the Cherusci, and he again gave full allegiance to the Germanic tribes. Arminius fought against the Romans for more than two years before they kidnapped his wife and he was wounded in a battle on the Weser River. According to the Histories, his retreat meant the end of his rebellion, and he was betrayed and murdered by a member of his own family.
Boudica
Boudicca is the only female rebel leader in Rise of the Barbarians , but man, is she fierce. According to the history website, she was born into a royal family and married Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, a tribe of Celtic warriors in the Roman province of Britain. Despite the differences between the Romans and the Iceni, they eventually made peace, and Prasutagus agreed to make the Roman emperor, his wife, and two daughters co-heirs to his kingdom.
But when Prasutagus died, the Romans did not fulfill this promise. The history website explains that the Romans annexed Prasutagus' lands, beat Boudicca, and violated the former queen's daughters when she protested. The king's relatives were enslaved.
After all this, Boudicca had the idea to take revenge, and she united the British tribes to resist the empire. As described on the History website, she led her army in a "slash-and-burn" campaign against Roman settlements on the island, destroying three major centers of Roman power and murdering "Romanized" civilians and an army of Roman legions.
However, Boudicca's army was eventually defeated by the Romans on the plains near Londinium. There are different accounts of Boudicca's fate. Some say she fled the fighting, others believe she committed suicide by poisoning, and another record says she died of an illness while planning a new attack. However, most historians agree that she was the first person to unite the British people.
frittigan
Now we come to the Goths, thanks to Fritigern, who hailed from what is now Romania, according to the history website. After his tribe converted to Christianity, he asked the Christians and the Roman Emperor Valens to grant asylum to his people so that they could escape the Huns, and in return she would give Roman army soldiers. Valens allowed the Goths to cross the Danube and settle in Thrace, but his general Lupisinus took advantage of the Goths' desperation by charging them high prices but providing only meager rations in return. What's more, Lupisinus invited the Gothic leaders to dine in the Roman camp, only to betray them, killing their bodyguards and taking them prisoner.
According to the Histories, the Romans released Fritigern on the condition that he pacify the angry Gothic masses, but he devoted himself to revenge, attacking Lupisinus's army and gaining support from other rebellious barbarians. Fritigern's army eventually faced off against the legions of the Eastern and Western Emperors, and the Goths defeated the Romans. They settled back in Thrace and were no longer under Roman rule. Fritigern died soon after, but the victory was sweet for his tribe.
Alaric
After Freegan's death, Alaric became the leader and eventual king of the Visigoths, according to the history website. Alaric wanted to make his warriors full members of the Roman army, but the Romans' malice and treachery turned him against them forever. Over the years, his forces repeatedly faced off against the forces of the semi-barbarian general Stilicho.
History websites say that after Stilicho was captured and executed because the Romans suspected him of being an enemy of the state, the remainder of his barbarian army joined Alaric's army. Alaric and the Goths entered Rome, demanding the release of 40,000 Gothic slaves and command of the Roman army. The Romans freed the slaves and gave Alaric a large sum of gold, but they refused to appoint another barbarian as commander of their army.
In 410 AD, the Goths attacked Rome for the third time in three years, but Alaric died of illness in the same year. Nonetheless, according to the Histories, his reign showed that Rome was no longer invincible.
Attila
Attila is one of the most famous rebel leaders in Rise of the Barbarians , and for good reason. As the leader of the Huns in Central Asia, Attila basically wanted to conquer the world, according to history websites. In AD 445, Attila became the sole ruler of the Huns after the mysterious death of his brother Bleda, who was viewed by the Romans as a major threat.
The Huns' raids into Eastern Europe created a refugee crisis, which prompted the barbarian tribes to make peace with their enemies, the Romans, just as the aforementioned Fritigen did with the Goths. Attila eventually teamed up with the Vandal king Geiseric after the Huns developed siege weapons to capture the city walls, making the Huns' invading army a force to be reckoned with, according to the history website. Some incredibly bloody fighting ensued.
However, the Huns' threat to the Roman Empire diminished when Attila died mysteriously after marrying an Ostrogothic princess, the history website describes.
Gaiserik
According to the history website, Geiseric was the king of the Vandals, a traditional wandering tribe who were eventually allowed to settle in Roman-ruled North Africa. Upon their arrival, they were told to return to Spain, but Gaiseric refused. The Vandals defeated the Roman army, conquered the coastal territory, and then successfully led their army into Carthage. As history goes, Gaiseric then turned "his Vandals into the most powerful pirates in the Mediterranean" and captured and sacked Sicily. While Rome was busy fending off Attila and the Huns, Gaiseric and the Vandals raided southern Europe with ease.
According to the Histories, in the 450s, Geiseric simultaneously made peace with the Roman Empire and bribed Attila to attack the Romans. After Emperor Valentinian died in a palace coup, Gaiseric and the Vandals sacked Rome in 455, essentially driving the final nail in the coffin of the once-powerful empire. Gaiseric lived for more than 20 years and died in 477 after reigning for nearly 50 years.
Obviously, Game of Thrones has nothing to do with the history of the barbarian leader.
Photo: Elena Nenkova or Simon Vasano/HISTORY (6)
