Deadly Moments in History - The Nika Riots

deadly moments in history the Nika riots a huge thanks is owed to our sponsors the great courses plus for making this video possible on January 12th 532 ad during the reign of Justinian a chariot racing event in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire broke out into riots fanatical fans swarmed the streets in a wave of popular protests the likes of which had never been seen before in the city's history fires raged thousands died and an emperor was brought to his knees this week of chaos crescendoed in a final deadly moment when the nightmare of Kenny was brought to life within a sports stadium these were the Nika riots history of Chariot Racing cheer racing had long been a popular sport in the Mediterranean in fact we have artistic evidence of such races as far back as the Mycenaean period in the 1500s BC in the Iliad Homer even references their inclusion at the funeral games of Patroclus within the Hellenic world Chariot Racing made it big in 680 BC when the Olympics were extended a second day to accommodate their inclusion the sport would make even further strides under the Roman Empire virtually every major city has a racecourse our records show that there were over a hundred and seventy of these Hippodrome across the Empire racers themselves enjoyed huge popularity and could become both rich and influential indeed one of the wealthiest athletes in history was Gaius diocles a Roman charioteer in the second century AD and the eastern Roman Empire Chariot Racing remained extremely popular long after a head declined in the West the great Hippodrome of Constantinople stood as a testament to this fact built in the heart of the city it served as a brilliant stage to demonstrate the Emperor's power wealth and generosity through lavish public entertainment that went on for days the facility was about 400 metres long and 200 metres wide with the ability to draw crowds large enough to rival even our biggest modern stadiums estimates on attendance are speculative but some have placed high-end numbers at around 100,000 events were certainly crowd and just as today good seating was prime real estate VIPs could expect marble seats in the front rows while everyone else filled the wooden benches behind them shading would be provided by overhead installations while cushions might be rented from vendors for the day the race drag itself was an elongated u-shape separated from the crowd by a short wall the turn on the bottom of the U was wide and sweeping while the one on the top part of the U was much more abrupt the central island has monumental sculptures and prizes of war including an Egyptian obelisk from the reign of Tut most the third even more statues of God's heroes and racers lined the racetrack in all sides the Emperor himself looked on as well from a private viewing booth on the eastern side which could be accessed directly from the Royal Palace Racing was a competitive test of skill bravado nerve and luck each seven or five lap race would see numerous horse-drawn chariots maneuver to cut each other off resulting in spectacular and deadly encounters rules were few collisions inevitable and hideous injuries to man and horse extremely come in place large pile ups were certain to occur in one of the 24 events on race day this no doubt added to the appeal of the sport indeed chariot racing drew not only huge crowds but also fanatical adherents these rallied around various racing teams originally there were four major associations the greens blues whites and reds although by the time of Justinian only the greens and blues remained dominant each team was locked in fierce competition this was exacerbated by the fact that they appear to have been aligned with certain political and socio-economic groups thus fostering particularly nasty rivalries increasingly Bluegreen tensions erupted into gang warfare and Street attacks however this atmosphere of violence was just one of several factors contributing to the volatility on that fateful day in 532 we shall now explore the events leading up to the Nika riots themselves a powder keg at the time the Emperor Justinian had been in power for just five years his early reign was not universally popular among the rich his wife the Empress Theodora was a major friction point her lowly origins were not only scandalous but were made worse by her refusal to play the subordinate role in the politics of imperial management such a friends to the upper class were sure to sow the seeds of resentment and disloyalty meanwhile among the working class the royal couple drew the ire of green supporters and thus large swathes of the urban mob due to their support of the blues additionally in the months leading up to the races Justinian had raised taxes significantly to fund expensive military campaigns these policies greatly angered both the rich and poor alike more recently violence had once again broken out in the streets the urban prefect arrested a group of rioters ordering the execution of seven felons convicted of murder among these were a green and a blue supporter they were to be hung the night of Saturday the 10th of January however at the fateful moment when they were raised up the scaffolding broke to summon the crowd it was a sign from God this would have been an opportunity for greens and blues and attendance to protest the execution of their compatriots amidst the commotion monks from the nearby monastery rushed in grabbed the accused men and shelter them in the Church of st. Lawrence the urban prefect dared not inflame the situation further by forcing an entry and instead set a guard around the building the matter would go to the Emperor himself for judgment Justinian meanwhile had been informed of the dilemma and rising tensions would he cave to the cries of Mercy from the mob however to capitulate would show weakness the last thing a new emperor wanted it would also ultimately signal that violence was tolerated a precedent which could quickly get out of hand now was his chance to stand up to troublemakers by showing his dedication to law and order regardless of the team affiliation to guard against the potential backlash to his announcement and to placate the mob Justinian's eclair that chariot races would be held on Tuesday the 13th of January what he did not count on however was that the greens and blues would finally put aside their differences and face him together in a public showdown the match is lit Tuesday January 13th it was morning as thousands of citizens streamed into the seats of the Hippodrome for the first of 24 races the air was filled with the ruckus of crowds but as Justinian looked on from his royal box things were off our sources maintained that from the very start the mood was tense and angry members of the crowd began hurling insults at the Emperor this was not in and of itself unexpected in fact the games often doubled as an outlet for public discontent Justinian was expected to hear the voices of the people and communicate back to them directly using heralds today the dialogue was starting sooner and more gruffly but no matter surely things would die down when the distraction of the games commenced it to Justinian's dismay the rancorous calls only increased as the day went on yells demanding the release of the convicted men were joined by barbed insults aimed at the Emperor himself with each interlude between races the crowd became more hostile by the twenty-second race events reach a boiling point perhaps at the command of ring leaders the chants changed from partisan appeals in support of either faction to a sudden unified cry long lived the merciful blues and greens and with that the crowd began to shout Nika Nika Nika this chant typically reserved to encourage tear tears was now calling for victory of the crowd over the Emperor the Nika riots it is at this point that the mob mentality took over the crowds rose to their feet swarming out onto the racecourse and into the city the Emperor and his associates feared for their lives and quickly retreated to the adjoining Imperial Palace out in the streets the mob was set to take matters into its own hands hordes now streamed towards the urban prefix headquarters to make their demands for the release of the convicted men when these were not answered the crowd broke into the city prison free the inmates murdered the guards and set fire to the Praetorian with nothing resembling a modern police force to contain them the city now belonged to the riders next the angry populace proceeded down the Main Street of Constantinople towards the Imperial Palace setting buildings alight fire spread four the brazen house to the Senate buildings and finally to the Hagia Sophia destroying it completely officials were dispatched by Justinian's the riders what they wanted when they requested dismissals of his top administrators including the head of tax collection Justinian's acquiesced this did nothing the riding continued for another day with no end in sight on Thursday the 15th of January the mob raised cries for another emperor to be named apparently volunteers of suitable stature were hard to come by and it wasn't until the 19th that the people crowned Flavius Hypatia s-- however it appears that initially this was a one-sided arrangement the old commander of the eastern army had been dragged from his home and carried away by the mob to the protests of he and his wife sensing the way the winds were blowing senators and other members of the elite made moves to direct the crowds to their own advantage as more and more players back the riot even flavia's Hypatia s-- began to warm up to his new title as emperor things were going from bad to worse for Justinian the fate of an emperor for five days Justinian had remained besieged within his palace though troops were called in from Thrace they were unable to make any headway in the streets despairing Justinian considered fleeing the capital the fate of the Emperor hung in the balance however at this critical moment the Empress Theodora stood strong were her husband and his counsel wavered our history recounts the following speech my Lords the present occasion is too serious to allow me to follow the convention that a woman should not speak in a man's council those whose interests are threatened by extreme danger should think only of the wisest course of action not of conventions in my opinion flight is not the right course even if it should bring us to safety it is impossible for a person having been born into this world not to die but for one who has reigned it is intolerable to be a fugitive may I never be deprived of this purple robe and may I never see the day when those who meet me do not address me as Empress if you wish to save yourself my lord there is no difficulty we are rich over there is the sea and yonder are the ships yet reflect for a moment whether when you have once escaped to a place of security you would not gladly exchange such safety for death as for me I agree with the adage that the royal purple is the noblest burial shroud she would choose death before cowardice this impassioned speech shamed Justinian strengthening his resolve he rallied those remained loyal and planned to retake the city there will be blood over the course of the day Justinian and his generals Belisarius and Narcisse planned their counter-attack the henbit informed that the rioters were using the Hippodrome as an organizing point to support Hypatia s-- their new emperor it was resolved by Justinian that this is where the true Emperor supremacy would be reinstated with sword and spear the birthplace of the riot would be its deathbed to execute the brutal plan there could be no quarter given therefore loyal Thracian and gothic units with no ties to the racing factions were selected for the operation these advanced under heavy arms towards the entrances of the Hippodrome it is likely that they were met in the streets with some resistance however this proved ineffective they're determined push here the veteran soldiers likely paused inside that would have heard the chatter of the crowd escalate into shouts and yells as news of their arrival spread perhaps at some signal the Hippodrome was now stormed in response the crowd is likely to have been torn between flight-or-fight as those that stood their ground were cut down others would have sought an escape in a panic tripping over one another in the sand and seats of the arena many were surely trampled but as they reach the exits they found that these were blocked by men of the Imperial body yard such crack troops could repel the most determined of barbarian assaults thrown at them in this case there is no escape the civilians were caught between the armies vise and stood no chance what followed will be one of the bloodiest massacres in the city's history Byzantine historians tell us that quote within a few minutes the angry shouts of the great amphitheater had given way to the cries and groans of wounded and dying men soon these two grew quiet until silence spread over the entire arena its sand now sodden with the blood the victims blues greens innocent and guilty would not see another sunrise the death told that day exceeded 30,000 these casualties are staggering Kenny had just taken place within a sports stadium aftermath for amongst the survivors justine it was quick to single out the ringleaders Hypatia s-- was executed senators were exiled and the estates of collaborators were confiscated in the backdrop was the smoldering ruin of constantinople a stunned quiet pervaded the capital people stayed off the streets and many shops remain closed this moment of silence would be the foundation of Justinian's legacy he would go on to reassert his authority and rule for another 33 years from the ashes of Constantinople would rise splendid new buildings in his name including the majestic incarnation of the Hagia Sophia still standing today over the following decades he and his generals would embark on a series of bold campaigns to restore the Roman Empire to its former glory reclaiming the lands of North Africa Spain and Italy as for the Chariot Racing which started it all this was the beginning of the end the races still occurred they saw steady decline over the course of the 7th century alongside them the once powerful green and blue factions faded into history it's moments such as these that late from the history pages they drip with such intensity urgency and human emotion that one can't help but wonder what it would have been like to have actually witnessed these events to have been there in person and lived it I hope this video has offered a small window into the incredible lives of our ancestors but the story doesn't have to end here I'm incredibly pleased to announce that the great courses plus has actually compiled an entire 24 lecture series on such living history now you can transport yourself into the past and experience great events of both the ancient and medieval worlds within this series you can not only experience the Nika riots but also the landing of the Persians at marathon the final days of Julius Caesar and 100 days of games at the Roman Colosseum to name just a few if this is the kind of thing that interests you I strongly recommend you check out our sponsor the great courses plus they offer subscription based on demand lecture videos put together by top professors from renowned universities and specialists from places like the National Geographic and the Smithsonian you get unlimited access to a library of over 9,000 videos which cover topics from history a science math and literature with new content being added every month I've been using their service for the past six months and can't get enough the app I installed on my phone allows me to swap from video to audio mode so I can listen to the series as a podcast every day on my commute right now the great courses plus is offering a free trial which you can start by clicking the link in the description below or visiting the great courses plus comm slash Invicta I highly recommend that you take a look at what they have to offer and dive into the material you are most interested in if you found this topic interesting check out these related videos about our fascinating past be sure to LIKE and subscribe for more history and check out the description for ways to support the channel thanks for watching

Channel: Invicta

Views: 538,585

Rating: 4.9428406 out of 5

Keywords: deadly moment in history the nika riots, deadly moments in history, moments in history, epic moments in history, the nika riots, roman history, byzantine history, history of rome, history of rome documentary, nika riots documentary, invicta history documentary, nika riots justinian, nika riots constantinople, chariot racing, chariot racing history, byzantine empire history, empress theodora documentary

Id: Dm9mscL2qHU

Length: 16min 24sec (984 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 27 2018

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