Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Full video: youtu.be/0H2Gs87dTfU
This documentary explores one the most famous units of history: the Varangian Guard. The video begins with a brief history on the rise of the Byzantine Empire, following the fall of Rome. The documentary discusses the history of the Byzantine conflicts with the Kievan Rus which gave rise to the eventual mercenary service of Varangians in the Byzantine army.
#history
Full video: youtu.be/0H2Gs87dTfU
This documentary explores one the most famous units of history: the Varangian Guard. The video begins with a brief history on the rise of the Byzantine Empire, following the fall of Rome. The documentary discusses the history of the Byzantine conflicts with the Kievan Rus which gave rise to the eventual mercenary service of Varangians in the Byzantine army.
#history
![True Size of a Samurai Army [c. 1600] 3D DOCUMENTARY](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/deV34RTyPO8/mqdefault.jpg "True Size of a Samurai Army [c. 1600] 3D DOCUMENTARY
History documentary on the True Size of a Samurai Army! Watch the Assassin’s Creed Shadows trailer (https://ubi.li/1bL6W) and pre-order the game now (https://ubi.li/qF6Fe)! Thanks to @AssassinsCreed for sponsoring this episode.
In this history documentary we seek to bring to life an army of the Sengoku Jidai. Such a task is quite the undertaking given the poorly documented and fast-evolving nature of the eras military forces. Yet we can nonetheless model a typical Samurai army which captures most of the key themes of the period.
We begin with context on the history of Japan from the early Heian period though the Kamakura, Muromachi, and eventual Sengoku eras. Next we establish the general structure of a Daimyo Kashindan and how this network of vassals mobilized its forces. This includes mobilization records of the Koku based system which give us a sense of each vassals obligations. We then inspect each type of soldier which went to war. This includes peasant non combatants, ashigaru troops, and samurai warriors.
Finally, with all these pieces in place we see how the mustered forces were organized into an army. This begins at the smallest level of the Go (squad) and rises up to the tactical unit of the Sonae (battallion). Multiple Sonae would in turn be configured into the major elements of an army in the field. We conclude with a final positioning of such forces as they may have existed in an actual Samurai battle of the Sengoku Jidai.
Sources:
Samurai Armies of the Late Sengoku Period - Volume I by Till Weber
Samurai Armies of the Late Sengoku Period - Volume II by Till Weber
Samurai Armies 1550–1615 by Stephen Turnbull
The Samurai by Stephen Turnbull
War in Japan: 1467–1615 by Stephen Turnbull
Credits:
Research = Sophia Ware and Paul Liu
Script = Invicta
Narration = Guy Michaels
Art = Penta Limited
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:31 Historical Context
05:17 A Daimyos Kashindan
06:59 Systems of Recruitment
09:01 Troop Types
13:02 Ashigaru Go (Squad)
15:34 Samurai Go (Squad)
16:52 Ashigaru Kumi (Platoon)
18:30 Samurai Kumi (Platoon)
20:22 Sonae (Batallion)
21:09 Combat Units
22:17 Command Group
25:01 Banner Group
26:04 Baggage Group
27:35 Sonae Statistics
29:03 Sonae in Battle
32:40 Samurai Army
35:20 Outro
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