Descubre la fascinante historia de la Guardia Varega, un grupo de guerreros de origen vikingo que se convirtieron en los fieles protectores de los emperadores bizantinos en Constantinopla desde el siglo X. Animados por la búsqueda de riquezas y gloria, estos combatientes letales destacaron por su experiencia militar y juramento de fidelidad, convirtiéndose en la élite de su época. Acompáñanos en este viaje educativo que revela cómo la lealtad y ferocidad de la Guardia Varega los llevaron a ser los hombres de confianza de líderes como Basilio II. Explora la influencia de estos guerreros en el Imperio Bizantino y su legado en la historia militar. ¡Sumérgete en la leyenda de estos guerreros salvajes y descubre su impacto en la Constantinopla medieval! #GuardiaVarega #GuerrerosVikingos #EmperadoresBizantinos
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#GuardiaVarega, #GuerrerosVikingos, #EmperadoresBizantinos
Guardia Varega, Guerreros Vikingos, Emperadores Bizantinos, Constantinopla, Riquezas, Gloría, Lealtad, Basilio II, Historia Militar, Imperio Bizantino
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# Hashtags:
#GuardiaVarega, #GuerrerosVikingos, #EmperadoresBizantinos
Guardia Varega, Guerreros Vikingos, Emperadores Bizantinos, Constantinopla, Riquezas, Gloría, Lealtad, Basilio II, Historia Militar, Imperio Bizantino
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00:00They are vikings who work by order, ruthless mercenaries who instill fear in the enemy.
00:10It is the most brutal version of war in the dark years.
00:16Axes, swords, shields, spears.
00:22They are elite special forces at the service of a foreign ruler.
00:27They conquer rebel territories throughout the great Byzantine Empire.
00:34They are known as the Vargas Guard.
00:38But it will be a man in particular who consolidates the place of this group in history.
00:44Harald Hardrad is the Viking prototype of his empire.
00:50He will employ tactics that will transform the art of war throughout the Mediterranean.
00:56No one in his right mind would want to assault a walled city.
01:00He was usually doomed to failure.
01:03The chain of victories of Hardrada will place the Vargas Guard as one of the most extraordinary special forces of all time.
01:16Almost a thousand years after the birth of Christ, the Byzantine Empire constitutes the largest, richest and best organized state in Europe.
01:27It extends from Italy to the west, passing through Greece and the Balkans, until reaching Asia Minor in the east.
01:40Its leader is the emperor Basil II, the most powerful man in the world.
01:51But the Empire of Basil is in danger.
01:57Like in all empires, and I suppose in the case of all politicians, one must watch his back.
02:04There were a series of very important revolts against his legitimacy.
02:09What Basil needs is a group of experienced warriors who can repress internal revolts and guarantee the security of his empire.
02:18So an agreement is reached.
02:27He sells his sister to the great prince of Kiev in Ukraine, Vladimir the Great.
02:37Vladimir descends from the Swedish Vikings and governs what is known as Larus.
02:45Vladimir the Great was a repulsive warrior.
02:50He was the prototype of a Viking.
02:53He embodied everything that could be unpleasant in an individual.
03:00He had 800 concubines.
03:03He had dozens of wives.
03:06He made human sacrifices, just for whim, to intimidate his aggressors.
03:11That is, there was nothing positive in that man.
03:15In exchange for his sister, Basil gets exactly what he needs.
03:216,000 of the most fearsome warriors on the planet.
03:28They will become known as the Varangian Guard.
03:33The best special forces of the end of antiquity.
03:36The best special forces of the end of antiquity.
03:45Originally, the Vikings of Scandinavia, their ancestors,
03:50had forged a reputation that had spread throughout Europe,
03:54until it reached the ears of the emperor himself.
03:57Most of them were the same who were sowing chaos in Western Europe.
04:01Speaking of the Vikings, we almost always think of the attacks against England
04:06and the Vikings who crossed the North Sea.
04:10For about 200 years, the Vikings have terrorized the north and west of Europe,
04:16becoming famous for their search for wealth and their insatiable appetite for violence.
04:21Ah!
04:27The men of Scandinavia were tough.
04:30They wore tattoos, they were virile, they had hot blood.
04:35They were ruthless warriors who did not stop at anything
04:39when it came to slaughtering their opponents.
04:44But not everyone is dedicated to looting the north and west of Europe.
04:51The smartest Vikings did not go west, they went east.
05:01They are attracted to the possibility of earning huge amounts of money
05:05traveling along the vast rivers of what in modern age we call Russia.
05:09Those river systems are like arteries
05:12that bring talent from Scandinavia to Russia, looking for work.
05:17They can be sold as soldiers of fortune,
05:21mercenaries for the powerful lords of the war in the region.
05:27Like the Vikings who wreak havoc in much of Europe,
05:31they bring with them a terrible diversity of weapons.
05:34Your weapon of choice was a longsword,
05:37which, in reality, looked more like a butcher's knife than an axe.
05:44The famous Danish axe,
05:47which has a single thread of 30 centimeters long
05:50that can sever the head of a man in a single blow.
05:54It is the most powerful weapon in the world.
05:57It is the most powerful weapon in the world.
06:00It is the most powerful weapon in the world.
06:03It is the most powerful weapon in the world.
06:06It was a lethal weapon.
06:10They also used the double-edged sword,
06:13brutally effective.
06:18And the spear.
06:23The spear is very easy to transport, it does not weigh much.
06:27It is manufactured in a very cheap and very fast way.
06:30That makes it an excellent weapon.
06:33As an expert in Viking weapons,
06:36Martin Holman knows all the advantages of using a spear in combat.
06:46The spear was very useful.
06:49You could use it behind a shield, holding the shield yourself
06:52and trying to nail it to the height of the leg or head.
06:56You could also fight without a shield.
06:59If he were my friend, he could be behind the line of combat
07:02and he would be covering me.
07:05I could nail this long spear to the enemy.
07:09I move and attack.
07:12I move and attack.
07:15From behind the line.
07:26The real one would have a stop here,
07:29so that when you throw it against another person,
07:32it does not escape completely.
07:35So you could easily recover it again.
07:39And keep fighting.
07:51These Vikings of the Rus,
07:53became known as the Varegos.
07:56They received that nickname
07:59because they were famous for staying together.
08:02It is an old Nordic word,
08:05which probably designates some kind of company
08:08to classify a community of people with common interests.
08:11They are people who take care of the backs of others.
08:14It is a very brutal, masculine and virile world,
08:17of very successful guys.
08:20They are men who have put their sights on prestige
08:23and wealth.
08:30But for these men,
08:33serving in the cold and harsh lands of Ukraine
08:36is not enough.
08:39For this united clan of mercenaries,
08:42the possibility of serving the richest man in the world,
08:45Basil II, is irresistible.
08:48In Constantinople, they had the opportunity
08:50to accumulate more wealth
08:53than they could even imagine.
08:57The Varegos join the service of the emperor
09:00as their elite combat unit.
09:07And they begin to repress the internal revolts.
09:12He had a basic problem,
09:15with a rebellion against him,
09:17led by a man named Bardas Phocas,
09:20who claimed the throne to become emperor.
09:23And his own Greek escort had gone to the other side.
09:26So he needed some troops
09:29in which he could trust to suffocate this internal rebellion.
09:35In a matter of months,
09:38Basil manages to get rid of his last remaining rivals.
09:41For Basil, it is a short-term victory.
09:44After helping Basil to protect his vast empire,
09:47the Varegas guards are assigned the following task,
09:50to take charge of the capital of the empire.
10:01The current Istanbul, Constantinople,
10:04located in the Bosphorus,
10:07at the junction of the continents of Europe and Asia,
10:10constitutes an important commercial market.
10:14In the 11th century,
10:17its magnificence is unmatched.
10:22Constantinople is the most impressive,
10:25beautiful and relevant city in the Mediterranean.
10:30It is a sensation, it is a coveted city.
10:33It has churches of enormous size and beauty.
10:37From the year 500 to the year 1500,
10:40it is the largest city in Europe.
10:43In relation to the European Christian cities,
10:46there is absolutely nothing like in terms of size,
10:49with a population of half a million people.
10:52If we analyze it from the perspective of the English cities
10:55in the same period,
10:58maybe London could reach 10,000 people.
11:01It was a crystal of people, of languages, of sounds.
11:04But Constantinople is also a dangerous place,
11:07especially for an emperor.
11:10We don't talk about Byzantine politics, because yes.
11:13The Byzantine Empire is legendary
11:16for its twisted intrigues.
11:19Although pleasant to the eye,
11:22the Byzantines are not the only ones
11:25who are interested in Byzantine politics.
11:28The Byzantines are not the only ones
11:31who are interested in Byzantine politics.
11:34Despite appearing pleasantly chaotic and colorful on the outside,
11:37under that facade,
11:40the city was a labyrinth of power changes
11:43and political maneuvers.
11:46That made everyone suspect everyone.
11:49There were those who enjoyed the emperor's favor
11:52and quickly aroused envy.
11:55And there were those who felt they should receive more for what they did
11:57by setting up taverns, planning what would be their next step.
12:01Everyone was sealing deals,
12:04keeping friends close and enemies even closer.
12:10It is, above all,
12:13to avoid the horrible fate of some of their predecessors,
12:16so Basilio needs the Vargas Guard.
12:19Byzantine emperors often ended up murdered and overthrown.
12:28THE VARGAS GUARD
12:39Thus, the Vargas Guard becomes
12:42the protection team of Basilio II.
12:45They have the mission to watch over all the important public buildings
12:49and are always stationed in the emperor's imperial palaces.
12:53They accompany him when he attends church
12:55and on other formal occasions.
12:58They are close to the emperor.
13:01They can form a ring around him and move him through the palace,
13:04like the cordon of special services that surrounds our leaders today,
13:07like the president of the United States.
13:17But the Vargas Guard has another sinister task.
13:21They are the emperor's assassins.
13:24They are the people that the emperor sends
13:27to deal with the suspects of treason.
13:34They also do the dirty work.
13:41They become the secret police of Basilio,
13:44responsible for arresting the suspicious criminals
13:47and the political enemies
13:49who are locked up in the gloomy prison of Constantinople,
13:52which quickly becomes famous for its extraordinary brutality.
14:01There were many cases of intimidation and torture.
14:05It was common to cut their nose or cut their ear.
14:10There were even cases in which they collected human excrement
14:14and put it in their eyes, nose and mouth.
14:18The deprivation of sight
14:21is one of the favorite punishments of the Vargas.
14:25It is believed that they did not physically tear their eyes
14:28or use objects to extract them.
14:31It is believed that they actually used acid.
14:37And they used it to damage the cornea.
14:40It is believed that they used it to damage the cornea.
14:43It is believed that they used it to damage the cornea.
14:45It is believed that they used it to damage the cornea.
14:48In this way, people suffered, in a way, a functional blindness,
14:52but they were not 100% blind.
14:55They could probably perceive the difference between night and day.
15:00Castration was another popular Byzantine punishment.
15:04There is no doubt that when it was carried out,
15:07they were probably the ones who took out the scissors to walk.
15:16When they are not doing the dirty work of the emperor in Constantinople,
15:20the members of the Vargas Guard enjoy a good life.
15:24There are numerous activities in the city
15:27to keep the young and virile Vikings occupied.
15:31Constantinople offered a lot of fun.
15:35The chariot races were the most popular.
15:39It was the place where the chariot races took place.
15:43The chariot races were the most popular of all the activities.
15:47I suppose they would be something like professional footballers,
15:51women, booze ...
15:54For men raised in the cold and harsh lands of Scandinavia and Russia,
15:59this is like paradise.
16:02I think we can not imagine the cultural shock
16:05that these Scandinavians must have experienced.
16:08These Vikings from the snowy lands,
16:10when they stepped on Constantinople for the first time.
16:15Keep in mind that they lived in cabins.
16:19Now they came to an exuberant and tropical climate,
16:22and to their delight, with an endless supply of good wine.
16:32For the aristocratic Byzantine elite,
16:35the rough behavior of the imperial guard is scandalous.
16:38The alcoholic habits and the entertainment of the Varangians
16:42make them lose the nickname of the Emperor's Wine Boots.
16:46The ordinary people of Constantinople
16:49watched the Varangian guard with distrust.
16:52And they could not be blamed for it.
16:55They were drunk 24 hours a day, they were drunkards.
16:58There was a famous historian and poet who was imprisoned.
17:01He wrote a poem about the fact that he could not sleep at night,
17:04because those guys were screaming and screaming,
17:06causing a terrible uproar.
17:14That behavior could explain why, even today,
17:18you can see a strange Viking graffiti
17:21engraved on the balustrade of the Cathedral of Santa Sofía,
17:24the largest of its time.
17:27I guess we already know how the football hooligans behave
17:30when they go on a trip.
17:32If you've had enough to drink and you're in a place
17:34where you don't want to leave your mark,
17:37recording something with a chisel on a wall is a way to show
17:40that you've been there and to show your colleagues that you've done it.
17:43The inscription says,
17:46Haftan was here.
17:49He could have left his mark anywhere.
17:52Why did he choose to do it in the great cathedral?
17:55I guess if there's a good way to show
17:58that you've been in a place, it's that one.
18:05The Varega Guard may be causing a stir in Constantinople,
18:09but Basil II has another mission for them.
18:14Now that he has stabilized the empire, he wants to expand it.
18:24The Varega Guard joins the Byzantine army.
18:27They are divided into companies of 500 men.
18:30Each company is under the command of a regular officer,
18:33known as a Colouzos.
18:36This means that the Varegas,
18:39unlike the typical Vikings,
18:42must be instructed in the discipline.
18:45The Varegas have to be very organized,
18:48very aggressive, but at the same time,
18:51they have to be able to fulfill their duties.
18:53But there is another key difference
18:56in the way they are used.
18:59While most Vikings are assigned
19:02to carry out urgent charges in the battlefield,
19:05the emperor uses his Varegas in a different way.
19:08He keeps them in reserve.
19:11They would have preferred to occupy
19:14a more advanced position.
19:17They would have preferred to be able to exercise
19:20some kind of control and command,
19:23during the course of the battle,
19:26and come up with tactics to respond
19:29to the enemy's movements.
19:32Only when combat enters its most incarnated phase
19:35is when the emperor uses his best troops.
19:44They start by hitting their shields.
19:50And then they launch into the charge.
19:54The information we have received from the Varegas repeatedly
19:57is that they were incredibly brave in combat.
20:12They never gave up.
20:15They always fought for the others,
20:18and their intensity was so enormous
20:20that they never stopped fighting.
20:28Their swords always ended up dripping with blood,
20:31and they always fought until the very end.
20:43The Varegas are not only violent,
20:46they also dominate the tactics.
20:49A key to their success is the use of the shield wall.
20:56Basically, they intertwined their shields.
20:59They could be used for defensive purposes,
21:02against cavalry, archers, infantry.
21:07We have to imagine that there were
21:10several people placed like this,
21:13and that their shields were overlapping in this way.
21:15They had a very strong formation,
21:18and they could even advance like this.
21:21But the shield wall of the Varegas
21:24offers something more than protection.
21:27They can deploy an exclusive tactic of the Vikings
21:30to pierce enemy lines.
21:33The boar's snout.
21:42To break a shield wall,
21:45they used something similar to a wedge,
21:48and they placed the strongest men in the front.
21:51By placing one of their warriors
21:54of greater size and fierceness in the center of the wall,
21:57and charging against the shield wall of the opponent,
22:00their weight and impetus not only serve
22:03to cross enemy lines,
22:06but also to unleash panic among their ranks.
22:09They were probably bigger,
22:12and they had very heavy weapons,
22:15so that if you hit an enemy, you can open a hole.
22:33Under the banner of Emperor Basil II,
22:36the Varega Guard achieves success after success.
22:41It has often been suggested that the reign of Basil II
22:43really constituted the golden age of the empire,
22:46and that was largely due to the Guard.
22:52He keeps his army occupied,
22:55pushing the borders in small waves
22:58constantly towards the exterior.
23:01They fight valiantly and gloriously for their emperor,
23:04and intervene from the front
23:07in a series of victories in Syria,
23:10Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece,
23:13Macedonia, and southern Italy.
23:16They not only crush the rebellious factions of the empire,
23:19but also increase their influence throughout the East.
23:22In Scandinavian literature,
23:25the Varegas are described as incredibly important people.
23:31They are the ones who keep the empire united
23:34and win all the battles, in the West, in the East and in the Center.
23:44The victories turn the members of the Varega Guard
23:47into very rich men.
23:50They were paid the equivalent of between 17,000 and 32,000 pounds a year.
23:57If a Varego had wanted to have a young virgin slave
24:00and very beautiful for himself,
24:03he would have gone to the slave market
24:06and bought it for about 360 pounds.
24:09Even the best estimate is that
24:11it would have given them a huge purchasing power
24:14in Constantinople.
24:17In addition to their monthly salary,
24:20the Varega Guard usually receives gratifications
24:23and a third of all the war booty.
24:26And there are even more advantages.
24:29The food is paid,
24:32they give you all the weapons,
24:35and they are also of the best quality
24:38because the emperor wants you to look magnificent.
24:41And what do they do with these war booty?
24:44They spend them.
24:47In the market in Constantinople,
24:50everything is sold.
24:53It is something unimaginable.
24:56There are spices, there are metals, gold, silver, etc.
24:59There is no limit to the money you can spend
25:02buying those things.
25:05The Varega Guard becomes the envy
25:08of their relatives and friends.
25:11who live in Scandinavia and Ukraine.
25:14After the Guard,
25:17after completing their service,
25:20they would go home and reach those northern lands
25:23with incredible riches
25:26that you could not imagine that anyone had,
25:29except an emperor.
25:32We can imagine the hysterical emotion
25:35they must have generated in their homeland.
25:38Soon, all the young Vikings
25:41will become members of the Varega Guard.
25:44The Varegas who have been in Constantinople have returned
25:47and they have been told about it, and that encourages others to go.
25:51Because the men who saw all that
25:54thought, yes, please, I also want to be part of the action.
26:07In the early years of the 11th century,
26:09there are more and more
26:12Viking mercenaries willing to join the club.
26:15The success they enjoyed
26:18proved to be the best possible impulse for hiring.
26:25The young Scandinavians who went to Constantinople
26:28were looking for something like a sabbatical and glamorous year
26:31in which to earn their wages.
26:34They could know the world, perceive visions and sounds
26:36that they had never seen before.
26:39They could become military profiles
26:42because of their tattoos and their skill.
26:46The basic idea is that if you are loyal,
26:49if you are good, you can earn your livelihood
26:52and rise in the hierarchy of the system.
26:55Among those who make their way from Russia
26:58is a Viking warrior
27:01who will lead the Varega Guard to completely new heights.
27:07With more than 180 in height,
27:10this muscular young man with his long blond hair
27:13represents a striking figure.
27:16Her name is Harald Hardrada.
27:20Harald Hardrada
27:23is the Viking prototype of his time.
27:26He is a rock star.
27:29He is the guy from the calendar, from the Varega period.
27:33Hardrada, to fight for his country,
27:36has been fighting since he was 15
27:39when he witnessed the death of his brother, King Olaf,
27:42at the hands of the insurgents in Norway.
27:47Olaf was killed in the middle of the battle by the rebels
27:50and Harald saw it with his own eyes.
27:53It was not only his brother, the king,
27:56it was also the mirror in which he looked.
27:59That was etched in his memory.
28:02A bad battle changes his life.
28:05Exiled from Norway,
28:08Harald escapes to Sweden
28:11and travels to the safe refuge of Kiev,
28:14the home of the Russian Vikings.
28:17There he is hired as a mercenary
28:20by the new ruler of Kiev,
28:23Prince Jaroslav I,
28:26the son of Vladimir the Great,
28:29and quickly shows his courage.
28:31His skill and his services are highly valued by Jaroslav,
28:34who identifies in Harald a brave and very competent man,
28:37ambitious and with good contacts,
28:40who has a chipped spine.
28:43He is a man who really feels the pain
28:46of having been excluded from power
28:49by men he considers less valuable than he is.
28:51But finally,
28:54he can not resist the charms
28:57of the offer of the Byzantine Empire.
29:00Being a man of royal blood,
29:03he had charisma.
29:06People would have followed him just for that.
29:09So he could have traveled to Constantinople
29:12with an incipient force of armed followers.
29:15But Harald,
29:18he was not alone.
29:21He did not go to Constantinople just for the money.
29:24He has never forgotten that he is a Viking prince.
29:27His plan
29:30is to return one day to Norway
29:33under the command of a huge army
29:36to recover his crown.
29:44Around the year 1033 AD,
29:47Harald and his men embark on a journey
29:49for a year along the Russian rivers
29:52with the purpose of joining the emperor's guard.
29:59They arrive just at the right time.
30:08Basil II has died
30:11and has been replaced by his niece,
30:14Empress Zoe and her husband Miguel IV.
30:16The new rulers are under great pressure
30:19and need to reaffirm their authority.
30:22Harald is just what they need.
30:25He is trustworthy, he is effective,
30:28he knows how to do things, he is smart,
30:31it is good to have someone like that by your side.
30:34He is so much better than the rest
30:37and he has practice.
30:40He has participated in the most brutal battles,
30:43so he knows what it takes to win,
30:46to mutilate, to torture, to create alliances and truce
30:49and then to break them.
30:52He would be capable of anything
30:55in order to be victorious.
30:59Fighting with the Varangian guard throughout the empire,
31:02Harald leaves his mark.
31:04But the problem with Zoe and Miguel
31:07is that they need something more
31:10to keep the empire together.
31:13In comparison with Basil II,
31:16they seem to be drifting.
31:19If they want to silence the sceptics,
31:22they need to reach greatness.
31:25That means expanding the empire.
31:28If they want to silence the sceptics,
31:31they need to reach greatness.
31:34So Miguel sets his sights on the west,
31:37Sicily.
31:51The objective of attacking Sicily
31:54is to recover the western provinces of the Byzantine Empire.
31:57For centuries, Sicily had been under the Byzantine government.
32:00Sicily is the wheel that turns the Mediterranean.
32:03It is a great meeting point
32:06between the Islamic, Greek and Latin worlds.
32:09It controls the access to the east and west of the Mediterranean
32:12and is an extremely important commercial area.
32:27But now, the island of Sicily
32:30is in the hands of the Arabs.
32:33Sicily is very important strategically.
32:36They must capture it.
32:39If they want to control the transports to the west of the Mediterranean,
32:42Sicily is essential.
32:45And for the Byzantine Empire,
32:48trade is essential,
32:51also for the prestige of the empire.
32:54It is better to conquer and capture
32:57than to fall defeated and lose.
33:00It is a great opportunity.
33:06Harald disembarks
33:09and discovers that the Arabs are prepared.
33:12Aware of the effectiveness of the Vargas in the battlefield,
33:15they have devised a plan.
33:18They have retreated behind solid fortifications.
33:21From a military point of view,
33:24it is a very hard place to conquer.
33:27The cities are well built, well fortified,
33:30with large walls and ditches in many cases.
33:33And a citadel that can resist for a long time.
33:36In the Middle Ages,
33:39they built walls because they worked.
33:42The castles, the cities, the fortifications,
33:45were built by the Arabs.
33:47In terms of strategy,
33:50the Arabs have taken the lead.
33:53In an age before the gunpowder,
33:56the defender enjoyed all the advantages.
33:59So the attacker had to wait,
34:02sitting and trusting that,
34:05because of a long siege,
34:08perhaps a disease would spread
34:11or the city would run out of provisions.
34:14Nobody in Susano-Juarez knew
34:17who would jump a walled city
34:20with people throwing stones,
34:23pouring boiling water and throwing wool.
34:26It was something absolutely full of dangers
34:29and almost always doomed to failure.
34:40This situation poses a serious problem for Harald.
34:44The classic Vargas tactics
34:47including the Havallí ditch
34:50are useless against a solid wall.
34:53He must come up with something new.
34:57It is a usual test
35:00for the special forces of today.
35:03The ability to improvise and use everything
35:06that the environment and circumstances put at your disposal.
35:09The ability to think differently
35:12and come up with a creative plan is absolutely essential.
35:14Harald begins to wonder
35:17what the Arabs could have gone through.
35:20What could be their weak points?
35:24And then,
35:27while observing a fortified city,
35:30he realizes that if he can't go over the walls,
35:33he will do it underneath.
35:36Harald develops the idea
35:39of digging a tunnel under the wall
35:41that will lead to the city.
35:47Far from the sight of the city walls,
35:50Harald chooses a place near a river
35:53and his Vargas guards get down to work.
35:56Instead of leaving huge piles of soil everywhere
35:59that would reveal his intentions,
36:02they spread the soil in the current
36:05so that the current drags it and destroys all the evidence.
36:08At the crucial moment,
36:11the city guards wait.
36:15There's a moment of respite.
36:22The guards are waiting for the perfect moment
36:25to catch their unprepared enemy.
36:29In this case,
36:32it's dinner time.
36:36The local Saracens were eating and drinking,
36:38doing what they always did,
36:41because they thought those people
36:44would never be able to enter their castle.
36:48According to Harald's Scandinavian saga,
36:51while the Arabs enjoy their dinner at dusk,
36:54he and his men emerge through the limestone floor
36:57of the great banquet hall.
36:59The Vargas carry out their deadly work.
37:09The defenders are completely astonished.
37:12Those wolves have entered their city without invitation.
37:30They just started slaughtering those people.
37:36It was over.
37:39And the city was theirs.
37:47It's the first of a series of extraordinary victories.
37:56Faced with a new fortification,
37:59Harald's stories are even more astute.
38:02On this occasion,
38:05he borrows an idea from the ancient Greeks.
38:08One of the stories is similar
38:11to the famous story of the Trojan horse.
38:14He created the impression
38:17that something is not what it seemed.
38:20In other words, he created the impression
38:23that he was dying.
38:26Harald pretends to be sick.
38:29He goes to a Byzantine camp
38:32so that the defenders can see the soldiers
38:35entering and leaving the tent constantly.
38:38Harald's trick works like a charm.
38:43The Arab defenders,
38:46confused by the interruption of the attacks against their city,
38:49even send their own spies to investigate.
38:53They discover that Harald has died.
39:00A delegation of barracks is sent to the city
39:03to make a surprising request.
39:08They tell the citizens,
39:11it is important for us to bury our leader as it should be,
39:14and we would like to bury him in your church.
39:17We are willing to pay generously if you agree.
39:21For the Arabs who are in the fort,
39:24the opportunity to have such a famous soldier
39:26buried inside their walls
39:29represents an honor and something irresistible.
39:31The barracks transport the coffin through a religious ceremony,
39:34with priests and other people from the city.
40:02According to the saga, the doors were opened
40:05and the carriers of the coffin entered solemnly,
40:08walking slowly.
40:16They leave the coffin on the ground
40:19and thus prevent the doors from closing.
40:22At that decisive moment,
40:25Harald makes his trap jump.
40:34The Balearic Guards take out their weapons
40:37from under their ceremonial clothes.
40:41They make the battle horn sound.
40:52Chaos breaks out.
40:59The Vikings destroy absolutely everyone.
41:02It turns into a massacre.
41:05But it is in another fortified city
41:08where Harald comes up with the most ingenious
41:11of all the plans.
41:16Harald has besieged the city with no luck.
41:20The Balearic Guards
41:23take out their weapons
41:26from under their ceremonial clothes.
41:29The Balearic Guards
41:31destroy the city with no luck.
41:35Once again, he faces a strong,
41:38firmly defended city,
41:41with stone walls wide and high.
41:44And what is worse,
41:47his Arab enemy enjoys abundant provisions.
41:50It is impossible for hunger to force them to surrender.
41:53Again, Harald needs to use the brain
41:56and not the muscle.
41:58He just sits for days
42:01and observes.
42:05Any intelligence information
42:08that can help you in an assault is essential.
42:15He just observes the town,
42:18looking for inspiration
42:21on how to conquer it.
42:24Any good work of surveillance or recognition
42:26always seeks weaknesses or strongly consolidated routines.
42:35Harald looks at two things.
42:38The homes that are inside the city walls
42:41have straw ceilings.
42:44And second,
42:47the birds are nestling in the wings of these houses.
42:51He observes that the eagles fly
42:53every day,
42:56from the straw ceilings in the village
42:59into the fields
43:02and back again at night.
43:06He comes up with such a creative and cruel plan.
43:10He orders them to capture as many birds as possible.
43:15Once captured,
43:18they tie small wooden sticks to their legs
43:20and then beat them with an alkytran.
43:24Harald sets fire to the wooden sticks
43:27and frees the birds.
43:36Burning,
43:39the birds return inside the walls,
43:42towards their nests, on the straw ceilings.
43:51It's a brilliant strategy,
43:54and it works.
44:00In a short time,
44:03the houses are on fire.
44:15As Harald had foreseen,
44:17the Arab inhabitants flee terrified
44:20and surrender without resisting.
44:24The defenders were obviously terrified,
44:27seeing their whole city on fire,
44:30and surrendered to the barrages.
44:37Harald, full of courage,
44:40forgives the lives of the inhabitants of the city.
44:44Sicily represents a great triumph for Harald.
44:47And for his barrages.
44:50They have proved to be more than just brutes
44:53who carry axes.
44:56They have also become masters of tactics.
44:59Harald's success
45:02represents the apex of the barrage guard,
45:05and places it among the best special forces of its time.
45:08But after nine long years of service,
45:11Harald's career does not end well.
45:15He is imprisoned for embezzling imperial wealth.
45:20Harald finally escapes from Constantinople to Kiev,
45:23and later to Norway,
45:26where he becomes king in 1046.
45:31In the meantime,
45:34Harald is assassinated
45:37when he tries to regain the throne of England
45:40in the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
46:00Without Harald Hardrada,
46:03the barrage guard continues to fight,
46:06but it will never reach the same levels.
46:10In the following years,
46:13they gain numerous victories,
46:16but the arrival of the heavy cavalry
46:19makes their tactics outdated.
46:22In the 14th century,
46:25what once was the squadron of the emperor's invincible
46:28has become little more than a ceremonial group.
46:30However,
46:33his years of glory with Harald Hardrada and Basil II
46:36have ensured that the barrage guard
46:39is remembered as one of the most devastating
46:42and successful special forces in history.
46:46There is something brilliant, I think,
46:49in the initiative and the adventurous spirit
46:52of these people who left their homes,
46:55which were so far away in the north.
46:57These barrages are pioneers,
47:00they are explorers, men who open horizons.
47:06The members of the barrage guard
47:09will not be remembered as mere mercenaries,
47:12but as a noble tradition of warriors
47:15who combined brain and muscle,
47:18pride and desire,
47:21to do what was necessary
47:24in order to achieve victory.
47:27To be continued...