There was an era in Roman history when they changed emperors so frequently that the sculptors couldn't keep up with their portraits -so they would just do a standard body sculpture and add a new head when it was needed.
Some of them were related, like the Severan dynasty. But for the most part they weren't. The Romans weren't as obsessed with bloodlines as later rulers, adoption was totally normal and accepted.
@@ahippy8972 Actually they are just like were portayed here. Italians in in the North Rome are ghostly white.In Italy Sun is heavy in most parts of Italy and people can get a bit bronze .
@@ahippy8972 those were colored based on the paint still left on the statues, septimus severus and caracalla were north africans and as such, have a darker complexion
@@GenosGlory It's really crazy how many trolls or ignorant folks are obsessed with Italians or other Southern Europeans being brown- skinned. They always complain about "too white" looking Romans. Actually, you find even pale Southern Italians, too. The thing is, that the recreated Roman emperors here don't look "ghostly white" but have A normal Southern European skin tone. Besides, some of the native Roman emperors were blue- eyed with blondish or reddish hair.
You can read it as intimidating, but also as energetic and combative. He doesn't strike me as a patient man so it's not surprising that he let his mum handle running the state. It seems like all he wanted to do was fight, but to do this he extended citizenship to everyone in the empire, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@ceegesange9904 thank you. I was just crucified for daring to say on an earlier comment that the vid should have used Italian people with olive skin . I was corrected by various people saying Marcus was pale and white. Caesar was pale white too . Why would English people determine the Roman generals and Caesar’s all look as ghostly as English people? It’s ludicrous. Go look at the comment where someone said Marcus should have deep eyes and Caesar more wrinkles. I said they should all be olive skinned and I was litterally cancelled for saying how us Latin people look.
@@ahippy8972 Yeah, I was surprised to see this video depicting some of these guys with blonde hair. Roman women had to import blonde wigs from Germanic tribes or bleach their hair blonde because so few Romans had natural blonde hair. And Italians usually have thick curly hair, as can also be seen in the sculptures of these Roman emperors themselves; but the reconstructions in the video generally have thin straight hair.
Forget about the roman emperors, just the textures and how real these all look is astonishing and amazing. They litterly look like someone took a video camera and recorded a real life person's face in live action. I'm amazed at both the technology and the artist skill that it takes to create these.
@Charlotte Bruce. Have you seen his boyfriend, Antinous? Absolutely gorgeous. They must have been a very handsome couple. But sadly it ended in a tragedy to rival Romeo & Juliet.
My first tour of Rome in 2004 consisted in visiting Caracalla’s baths, amongst many other historical sites, it was quite the eerie experience (for me anyway), I was lost on my own thoughts as I walked through its walls thinking of the people who were murdered within, spooky, but worth it if you love history as I do.
Trajan declared that he would not accept confessions obtained under torture. He would also not confiscate the property of those accused of being Christian unless they were found guilty of other crimes.
He was born in Hispania (current Spain). It doesn't have to be related but Spain did the same under the Laws of Burgos banning slavery in 1512. So nice of them.
That made me cry becuz I started thinking wow what kind of person they were and crying cuz they been dead so long it's like they came back to lifethis is amazing and absolutely breathtaking kool loved it
The fact that the 5 good emperors were all chosen rather than inheriting the throne simply because they’re the son of the emperor is very telling. Goes to show that even though Marcus Aurelius was one of the “good” emperors, he really destroyed this legacy by passing the empire to his shitty (no pun intended) son Commodus. Perfect example of why nepotism is the worst. It kills me when hardworking and self made people decide to give all their wealth and opportunities to their unworthy brats instead of choosing people, like they themselves once were, who are actually deserving of opportunities who don’t have any connections.
@@MysteryScoop Just some fun facts. The ancient Roman emperors went to hairdressers. They used curling irons, and all kinds of cosmetics, to style, enhance their hair. So, the Romans had different fashions and trends for hairstyles. For instance, wearing a beard, having a hairstyle that made the hair look more puffy and curly became fashionable with Hadrian. In contrast to that, in early imperial Rome, the times of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, etc. straight, cropped hair and being clean-shaven was very trendy and en vogue.
So it was Hadrian who started the full beard trend🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Damn, you really got Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, and most especially, Caracalla. Big ups to you man.
@@BABYMONSTER_RORA_RAMI_AHYEON Armenian and Asyrian Genocides are unrelated with Ottoman Emperors. The Young Turks(secular, anti-monarchists, ultra-nationalists) comitted the Armenian Genocide. They took power in 1908 after dethroning Sultan Abdulhamid II. Considering Germany's heavy influence on The Young Turks and the empire through WW1, it's most likely that Germans gave the idea.
Those videos are very interesting, thank you very much. If you have more please make a video about the 3rd siecle Roman emperors and others. Egypt could be interesting too !!
I love how gloomy the music gets when they show Commodus. It's fitting because he was batshit insane and a horrible megalomaniac that ended Pax Romana and started the empire's (just the Western half) long ass free-fall.
Definitely one of the most disappointing sons in human history, considering his father was an outstanding emperor and one of the wisest men to ever live.
Bro those faces there is a lot of them in Mediterranean countries including arab countries we have the same face features especially the nose I’m half arab half berber which is Mediterranean race we pretty much look like that not all of us of course but the sun here it’s very strong it makes our skin red or bronze skin
Most of them were very cultured and bilingual, Hadrianus in particularly was very deep into Greek culture and philosophy being a writer and aspirant philosophe himself.
I stopped watching the video after I noticed "BCE" and "ACE" replacing "BC" and "AC". This "Common Era" is common to what? We need less ideology and more HISTORY.
@@barbaraskinner4924 Your so right Barbara, alongside Richard Harris who played the title role in the film "Cromwell". Sir Alec Guinness really was a phenomenal actor who wore his characters well.
Commodus dressed like Hercules as he thought he was him reincarnated and statues of himself as Hercules put all over Rome which really annoyed everyone 😄😄
@@jonasjasikevicius8780 Wow...you like Roman history as I do, Great! 👏🏻👏🏻 Both were important in different ways ; Hadrian was one of the five good ones because he was a pacifist; Caralla was a revolutionary,probably the precursor to human rights.But.. you already know that 😉
I think the best depiction was Caracalla. In many other cases saw a real trouble interpreting curly hair, and also young age. Very entertaining indeed.
@@KimberlyLetsGo .. isn't that funny?! How we'll never know what people throughout history *really* looked like?! For example.. years ago there was an accurate rendering of Helen of Troy ..that wouldn't have launched a matchbox car let alone a thousand ships ..hahaha.. no disrespect intended.. I also watched something else explaining that Napoleon wasn't short.. he was the exact average height for men in his era!
Imagine some 20 yo guys instead of University, were war veterans or even extremer Spartians, where combat training started when they were 7 years old. Probably every 15 year old ordinary Spartian would kick ass compared to nowadays :-I
I wish many world heads of state would grow their beards, as the Spartans said " it adds beauty to a comely face and terror to an ugly one,plus its free!"
@@Artby_Katina It was the lead cups they drank out of. It gave the wine a sweeter flavour, but at the same time affected their brains. Lead poisoning, not good for the brain.
@@davidszabo1618 Yes I know the effects of lead, my father use to line acid tanks with lead for work, he was a lead burner. But I didn’t know that they drank from lead cups. It’s sad they might have been much nicer and smarter people if they used wooden goblets.
Marcus Aurelius particularly looks right. They all look like young men thanks to lack of age wrinkles in the stone. Interesting in the slight differences of hair and beard make a difference.
From all the works of art that we see in Italy (Italia), from the images, statues, studies, we have to admit that the Romans were really good looking men, handsome, with a statuary body type, strong face, intelligent look, and they had a lot of knowledge in construction, impressive architecture, law, art. The Empire had its good and bad aspects.
I think the Americans here are not prepared to this truth: European are white from North to South.... I was in US and when I said I was Spanish they told me he can't be true because I am white.... I think they misunderstood south American and south European 😂
@بطرس حسان yes that's right , but there is a lot of interpretations to white race ,, there are those which are extremist who limits the white race into German race and there is who consider white race is the north west Europeans Germanic race + Nordic race and there is those who consider white race all north others says they are all Europeans other says they are Europeans and Mediterraneans it mean they include Berbers and near-easterns (Lebanese -Syrians-turkish ....) To me as Berber with light skin I don't consider my self white with the meaning of white race I do also consider the Amazigh as independent ethnical group but I don't have any problem to be reffered as white especially if the meaning of white is getting more opened and not as much as extremist and limited
@بطرس حسان hawwara or houwara is in all north Africa not only Sudan and those who are right now in Syria Palestine Lebanon and Jordan they are actually from Algeria Koutama is Berber tribe from the east of Algeria and Koutama is Houwarian tribe because houwara is the mother tribe of several tribes ,, the koutamis conquered almost all the Islamic world they created the fatimi empire dawla fatimiyya and they reached the Sham and a lot of houwarians still there to nowadays
Remember that they were emperors so it was normal that their sculptors had to cheat a little, mainly if the dude was ugly. I also believe that one wanted his face to be reworked.
Well. What have you expected. Some of they ruled young, were rich and actually on the ultimate top of THE empire. Just imagine an handsome bad boy Caracalla being president of Italy or Spain. Politics would be sexed up and interesting again! :'-D
Alot of Italian people have the genes for thick ,curly hair. Good hair is an italian trait.....I'm Sicilian, Italian-american and my hair grows like crazy, was born a blonde.......people from the Mediterranean area seem to have alot of hair!
@@deirdreevangelista856 Greetings! Nice to meet you. I am also Sicilian-Italian-American. Agreed for women, but not necessarily for men. I started going bald in my late 20's. Now I am a Hair Club client!! LOL Many relatives also have thinning hair. Boy did we get the bad hair genes!! LOL So while I think some had great hair, others likely wore wigs, OR the artists were probably under penalty of death to make the most flattering sculptures.
@@deirdreevangelista856 The Roman emperors went to hair dressers and spent lots of time with curling and styling their hair. That being, said some had naturally curly, thick hair. Caesar, Caligula had thin hair.
Sculptors deliberately made the emperors more idealistic. Hadrian, for example, had very bad acne (which is why he was the first emperor to grow a beard). This was in stark contrast to traditional Roman sculpture, which was well known for its realism. This change was first made by Augustus, who depicted himself like the god Apollo (whom the emperor imported to Rome).
@@ZephLodwick Nah. I can post plenty of busts of Roman emperors that are not idealistic at all. The Roman sculptors depicted the faces of the emperors realistically, albeit the body like a God when they wanted portray a certain God. Augustus depicted himself with his real face but only of the young Augustus.
I like how the Praetorian guards and the Senate always knocked off their emperor's if they didn't like them. Geez. The most dangerous place in the world was the imperial seat of Rome. 🙄😣
@@baggetto2940 The city Italica refers not to italy but modern Seville in present-day Spain, an Italic settlement in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica
I agree, the hair colour is off for the purposes of this recreation. It could be accurate as plenty of men start balding and greying in their twenties.
@@michellebyrom6551 I agree with this comment. Many men bald and grey even in their early to mid twenties. It does look like there is some blond in there maybe? Regardless, I do agree he looks too okd
@@KimberlyLetsGo true but that’s likely be more their actual skin quality from sun damage and vitamin deficiency rather than the broader, more mature face
@@ocdplaylistmaker7032 Exactly. People seem to forget that white statues reflect shadows and highlight some features that color and angles hide in real people.
it was typical for an emperor to "adopt" those that they have chosen as an heir years before they were to come to power, even if they were already like 30. More so to better ensure a smooth transition of power and trust, and familial transitions of power were just tradition. And less so them *actually* being a "son"
When imperial regime was ruled by pure meritocracy of Five Good Emperors, Roman Empire experienced its best Golden Age, which will never ever again experience, until at least Justinian, or Macedonian dynasty.
You need to read about the history of the Roman Empire, women were the true power behind the throne, their children were only tools for them to archive the power.
Back then adopted sons were often times even favored more than the own children you had, that was the case in a lot of cultures and civilizations in the past.
Though I've been collecting coins for more than 20 years now, I still feel that sense of historical wonder every time I hold a denarius or aureus minted during the reigns of some of these emperors. (Almost as amazing is how inexpensive they are, too, with some going for as little as a few dollars.) There's something about holding a 2,000-year-old coin that might once have been held by the person whose likeness is etched onto it. Or even, in the case of coins from Tiberius's rule, might have been held by Jesus (as remote as that possibility might be.) If nothing else, coins from the Roman Empire -- and even earlier -- were definitely held by dozens or more people who lived and worked in the Roman Empire at that time. The connection to history is so tangible, it's incredible to think how many homes, coliseums, centuries and historical events these coins have passed through.
Pertinax also needs eyelid work, as do Didius and Septimius. As an artist and medical illustrator, I'm thinking that the graphic artist himself may have hooded eyelids that he is subconsciously projecting onto his subjects. Otherwise nice work.
The work is impressive, for sure, yet I was distracted by the eyebrows that seemed the same for the most part, and didn't reflect the statuary. I too wondered if it was a projection of the artist's own eyebrows. I also wondered why the haircuts and beards seemed so modern. It seemed as if curly locks might be difficult to recreate?
