Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How effective were ancient Great Walls? Improve your career using my code “INVICTA” for 30% off on all their programs! Sign up for a FREE TripleTen career consultation with my link: tripleten.com/special/free-career-consultation/?utm_channel=influencers&utm_source=influencers&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=influencers_invicta0225&utm_content=youtube
In this history documentary we explore the common tropes of Great Walls. Most often they are portrayed as the edges of civilization, beyond which no one ventures. The defenses boast a single set of massive, long walls whose primary purpose is to serve as a bulwark against invasion and their greatest threat is the inevitable clashing of armies upon them. However upon closer inspection of the historical record we find that these ideas are more myth than fact. We explore each idea in turn by using the frontiers of Rome, Persia, and China as references for how huge empires actually defended their borders.
Bibliography and Suggested Reading:
"Hadrian's Wall" by Adrian Goldsworthy
"Pax Romana" by Adrian Goldsworthy
"The Sassanids" by Kaveh Farrokh
"The Great Wall of China (221 BC–AD 1644)" by Osprey Publishing
"The Archaeology of the Great Wall of the Qin and Han Dynasties" by Xu Pingfang
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:38 Ad Spot
04:37 Edges of Civilization
09:49 Beyond the Wall
13:24 Defensive Designs
16:57 Borders in Action
21:06 Battle for the Walls
25:00 Outro
How effective were ancient Great Walls? Improve your career using my code “INVICTA” for 30% off on all their programs! Sign up for a FREE TripleTen career consultation with my link: tripleten.com/special/free-career-consultation/?utm_channel=influencers&utm_source=influencers&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=influencers_invicta0225&utm_content=youtube
In this history documentary we explore the common tropes of Great Walls. Most often they are portrayed as the edges of civilization, beyond which no one ventures. The defenses boast a single set of massive, long walls whose primary purpose is to serve as a bulwark against invasion and their greatest threat is the inevitable clashing of armies upon them. However upon closer inspection of the historical record we find that these ideas are more myth than fact. We explore each idea in turn by using the frontiers of Rome, Persia, and China as references for how huge empires actually defended their borders.
Bibliography and Suggested Reading:
"Hadrian's Wall" by Adrian Goldsworthy
"Pax Romana" by Adrian Goldsworthy
"The Sassanids" by Kaveh Farrokh
"The Great Wall of China (221 BC–AD 1644)" by Osprey Publishing
"The Archaeology of the Great Wall of the Qin and Han Dynasties" by Xu Pingfang
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:38 Ad Spot
04:37 Edges of Civilization
09:49 Beyond the Wall
13:24 Defensive Designs
16:57 Borders in Action
21:06 Battle for the Walls
25:00 Outro
