Most Terrifying Warriors Throughout History

Aug 10, 2023

Most Terrifying Warriors Throughout History

History is filled with stories of barbaric warriors who cause wanton destruction. They have been titled by ancient historians as “savages,” “uncivilized,” and even “the Scourge of God.” But what makes them the most terrifying warriors in history? What sets apart the supposedly well-trained soldier of the Roman Empire from the bestial Goths? Or the noble samurai from the ruthless Mongol? Some could argue they were terrifying only because they weren’t the ones writing the history - they were the outsiders. But they would be giving only a partial answer.

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Content

0 -> History is filled with terrifyingly fierce warriors

3.66 -> who not only knew they were scary

5.43 -> but used that knowledge to their advantage.

8.37 -> Striking fear into the hearts of those

10.5 -> they faced in battle, the brutal tactics of these fighting

13.68 -> forces could almost win battles on their reputation alone.

17.31 -> Today we're going to talk about some

19.11 -> of the most feared warriors throughout history.

21.95 -> But before we get started, be sure to subscribe to the Weird

24.45 -> History channel and let us in the comments below what

27.51 -> other aspects of ancient warfare you would like to hear about.

31.18 -> OK, time to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.

35.31 ->

38.91 -> It is no secret that Genghis Khan, ruler

41.82 -> of the Mongol Empire, was one of history's most

44.4 -> brutal dictators.

45.66 -> Together with his army, he was responsible

47.91 -> for the mass extermination of over 40 million people.

51.15 -> That's roughly the population of Canada.

53.28 -> But a murderous dictator is only as effective as the army

56.76 -> he commands.

57.87 -> And boy oh boy were the Mongols effective.

61.2 -> The Mongols were master bowmen, diplomats, and spies.

65.069 -> They could adapt to any situation,

66.9 -> incorporate foreign technology, and didn't flinch away

69.72 -> from brutality when the situation called for it.

72.36 -> At their peak, they controlled a section of territory

74.88 -> roughly the size of Africa.

76.89 -> Rumors of their cruelty, such as drinking their horse's blood

80.04 -> when they got thirsty, would spread

81.87 -> faster than their ill fated horses could ride.

84.69 -> Italian Bishop Master Roger, who had miraculously

88.35 -> survived a Mongol invasion of Hungary,

90.57 -> wrote that upon hearing the approaching army,

92.7 -> his hair "stood up on end, body shivered with fear,

96.03 -> and tongue stuttered miserably" and that his body "exuded

100.02 -> the cold sweat of death."

102.13 -> They were so hardcore that the mere sound of their approach

105.3 -> gave the bishop a panic attack.

106.755 ->

110.69 -> With a ruthless and efficient military

112.61 -> known for its impressive chariot, bow, and lance skills,

115.82 -> Assyria quickly expanded into the world's very first empire.

119.51 -> Assyrians were incredible engineers,

121.34 -> inventing movable siege towers equipped

123.41 -> with ramps and battering rams.

125.18 -> Kind of like a roller coaster that

126.77 -> is guaranteed to maim someone.

128.72 -> Using their superior battlefield skills,

130.94 -> the Assyrians conquered cities and used

132.71 -> the captured population to grow their armies,

135.11 -> eliminating anyone who resisted.

137.33 -> Eventually, they grew into a well-trained professional army

140.48 -> at a time when that was unusual.

142.49 -> And it did wonders for their reputation.

144.41 -> In addition to the ferocity of their army,

146.51 -> neighboring city-states were also

148.22 -> treated to tales of their brutality.

150.29 -> One Assyrian king recorded his own victory

152.51 -> and brags about his conquest of the city, the thousands of men

155.9 -> he'd offed, the wide array of limbs he'd removed,

158.87 -> and his habit of using severed heads as conversation pieces.

162.6 -> Another king who conquered the city of Suru

164.75 -> had memorialized the event by building

166.88 -> a flaying pillar, which is exactly what it sounds like.

170.345 ->

173.408 -> While there were many reasons for the fall of the Roman

175.7 -> Empire, one of the biggest thorns in Rome's side

178.55 -> were the Huns.

179.87 -> Ancient writers like Ammianus Marcellinus

183.08 -> painted the Huns as bestial savages

185.93 -> and thought the mass migrations they

187.61 -> caused contributed to the eventual fall of the Roman

189.86 -> Empire.

190.58 -> The Huns enjoyed striking swiftly and without warning,

193.7 -> laying siege to cities and sparing no man, woman,

196.46 -> nor child in the process.

198.17 -> Marcellinus wrote that these terrible warriors

200.9 -> fought at a distance using missile weapons

203.24 -> with sharpened bones fastened to them.

205.37 -> They were reported to fight without regard

207.53 -> to their own bodies and used tactics

209.93 -> such as catching enemies in nets to limit

212.12 -> the use of their limbs.

213.35 -> Attila, the leader of the Huns, was only

215.87 -> defeated by his own vices, perishing on his wedding

218.75 -> night due either to alcohol poisoning or a hemorrhage

221.9 -> that caused him to choke on his own blood.

223.97 -> Either way, that sounds like one hell of a party.

226.445 ->

230.7 -> Befitting their reputation as ruthless raiders,

233.43 -> the Vikings weren't shy about looting and destroying

235.92 -> monasteries to gain their riches and upset the status quo.

239.34 -> When you practice a scorched Earth philosophy

241.59 -> of stealing everything that isn't nailed down,

243.6 -> you're not exactly going to clutch your pearls

246.03 -> over robbing a church.

247.5 -> One monk who had the misfortune of confronting

249.99 -> the wrath of the Vikings firsthand

252 -> had written his thoughts on the subject.

253.95 -> According to him, they attacked in an endless stream,

256.98 -> burning, plundering, and otherwise mowing down

259.56 -> everything in their path.

260.94 -> Viking attacks were described as "an evil that

263.55 -> grows in the whole region," casting them

265.59 -> more as a force of nature than a band of warriors.

268.56 -> Some Vikings even had a word named

270.9 -> after their particular flavor of fury.

273.21 -> If you've ever heard the word berserk,

274.8 -> it comes from the legend that some Vikings

276.69 -> called berserkers rampaged so hard they often

280.14 -> believe they would turn into wolves with superhuman powers

283.5 -> on the battlefield.

284.62 -> There's no evidence that any actual shapeshifting ever

287.46 -> occurred, but honestly, it's pretty cool to believe it did.

291.54 -> In addition to their battlefield prowess,

293.73 -> the Vikings were also known for their incredible

295.89 -> craftsmanship-- particularly their shipbuilding.

299.22 -> They were such skilled sailors that Leif Eriksson is even

302.58 -> credited with being the first European to set

304.71 -> foot in America, beating old Christopher

306.9 -> Columbus by about 500 years.

308.64 ->

312.55 -> Since the Aztecs operated in a constant state of warfare

315.82 -> where collecting prisoners for sacrifice was the end goal,

318.85 -> children as young as five were drafted into the warrior ranks,

322.33 -> but they could only really earn the name warrior after they

325.45 -> captured their first sacrificial victim--

327.61 -> like the world's worst game of hide and seek.

330.13 -> Warriors would use clubs, bows, spears, or darts

332.89 -> to disable their captives, who would then

334.81 -> be subjected to some pretty intense sacrificing.

337.78 -> So intense we can't really give you any details.

340.9 -> Suffice it to say that limb, organ, and skin removal

344.38 -> were pretty standard.

345.52 -> To gain technology and resources,

347.53 -> Aztecs commonly prepared for attacks

349.45 -> by sending in spies dressed as local merchants

351.94 -> to gather intel before striking.

353.8 -> A Spanish conquistador wrote that "anyone facing them

356.86 -> for the first time can be terrified by their screams

359.41 -> and their ferocity."

360.73 ->

364.29 -> The Gauls were a warrior crew made up

366.81 -> of a diverse group of people who gathered together

369.27 -> to destroy the Romans.

370.95 -> Rome spent several centuries making a whole lot of enemies,

374.13 -> so a supergroup like the Gauls was inevitable.

377.01 -> As far as warriors go, the Gauls were loose cannons.

380.64 -> They terrorized their adversaries

382.5 -> with loud horns and war cries, they

384.69 -> rode into battle drunk and naked,

386.28 -> laughing and gesturing loudly as they advanced into the fray--

389.43 -> so like a bunch of Red Sox fans.

391.5 -> One Roman historian described them as "madly fond of war,

395.19 -> high spirited, and quick to battle."

397.183 -> They were said to be ready to battle at the drop of a hat,

399.6 -> even if they were armed with nothing more

401.308 -> than their own strength and courage.

403.17 -> As proof of their victories, the Gauls

405.06 -> would keep the heads of their most notable enemies,

407.67 -> refusing to return them even for vast amounts of gold.

410.43 ->

414.41 -> The Germanic Goths were not a single tribe but rather

417.95 -> a migratory people with proximate cultures

420.2 -> who banded together to protect their Gothic settlements.

423.05 -> Although they once held an alliance with the Romans,

425.54 -> they were no stranger to surprise, treachery, and siege

428.09 -> warfare and weren't afraid to betray anyone who crossed them.

432.02 -> The Goths played their own part in ensuring

434.21 -> the fall of the Roman Empire.

435.8 -> At the Battle of Adrianople, the Goths

438.11 -> waited until the Romans were tired, thirsty,

440.3 -> and vulnerable before attacking, taking out

442.76 -> 2/3 of the Roman forces in the process.

445.16 -> Striking during snack time?

447.08 -> That is diabolical.

448.61 -> Medieval historian Herwig Wolfram

451.25 -> wrote that the Goths were "barbarians dominated

454.22 -> by a horrible death wish.

455.75 -> The men and women are possessed by demons and resemble animals

459.08 -> more than humans."

460.31 -> In other words, the Goths scared the absolute [BLEEP]

463.43 -> out of their enemies, and they did a lot of work

465.83 -> to earn their reputation.

467.14 ->

470.67 -> Spanish Explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado

474.36 -> described the Apache as "proud, fierce, and independent,

478.11 -> but gentle if left alone."

479.98 -> But if the 50 years long Apache War is any indication,

483.42 -> they weren't left alone too often.

485.34 -> The Apache people are said to have been peaceful

487.65 -> before the Spanish arrived in what is now North America.

490.5 -> They kept their ranks by training at an early age

493.44 -> and grew by taking captive members of other tribes.

496.92 -> The need for Apache raids began to increase

499.23 -> during the westward expansion of the United States

501.96 -> as native lands were swallowed up by a growing nation.

504.69 -> Native American people were fighting for their lifestyle,

507.09 -> traditions, and homelands, adding

509.04 -> to the already high stakes of life and death.

511.41 -> Their knowledge of the land frequently gave them

513.87 -> the upper hand in battle.

515.28 -> Sergeant Albert J. Fountain wrote

517.44 -> of the Battle of Apache Pass in 1862

519.96 -> that "the surprise was complete.

522.12 -> Not an enemy was to be seen" as a torrent of arrows

525.45 -> rained down on the infantry from all sides.

527.715 ->

531.56 -> The Comanche people lived in the American Southwest

534.47 -> since as early as the 1500s.

536.67 -> They were believed to be the first of the Plains Indians

539.3 -> to tame and ride horses.

541.04 -> But the Comanche didn't just ride horses into battle,

544.04 -> they perfected mounted combat.

546.35 -> Mexican general Manuel de Mier y Teran

549.47 -> wrote about his admiration of their war techniques.

552.11 -> "Their speed and battle prowess allowed

553.85 -> them to take as many as 20,000 captives as slaves."

557.24 -> If your horse or men were taken by the Comanche,

559.82 -> your best bet was to buy them back rather than

561.98 -> try to win them back by force.

563.75 -> You did not want to make an enemy of the Comanche.

566.48 -> In one raid, a band of Comanche warriors

568.88 -> plundered a warehouse in Texas and paraded through the streets

571.49 -> wearing the hats and clothing they'd

572.99 -> looted while simultaneously slaughtering

575.09 -> all the nearby livestock.

576.38 -> Parades are always more fun in theory than in practice,

580.23 -> especially if you're livestock.

582.26 ->

586.03 -> Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Persians

588.04 -> described the Scythian Warriors as "a deceitful lot,"

591.75 -> which is really just another way of saying

593.5 -> they were superior strategists.

595.6 -> Scythians were fond of using so-called cheap tactics

598.63 -> to ambush their enemies.

600.04 -> One practice, called fainting, saw the Scythians

602.83 -> retreating from their front lines,

604.42 -> allowing their enemies just enough time

606.16 -> to relax before an even bigger company returned

608.62 -> to finish them off.

609.82 -> They were called invisible menaces

611.92 -> who starved their enemies by preemptively scorching

614.71 -> their lands and then attacking during mealtime and sleeping

617.47 -> hours.

618.13 -> It's hard enough to clock into a shift at Panera

620.26 -> on zero sleep on an empty stomach,

622.25 -> so winning a battle under those conditions

624.46 -> has to be impossible.

625.97 -> The Scythians didn't care about land or riches.

629.02 -> All that would do is bog them down.

631.12 -> They valued their ability to roam

633.22 -> and kept as few belongings as possible

635.47 -> to allow swift getaways and little reward

637.93 -> for any attacking enemies.

639.64 -> Ancient historian Herodotus pointed out

641.77 -> that the Scythians' inability to be destroyed

643.99 -> was directly tied to the fact that they essentially

646.48 -> had nothing to be conquered.

647.92 -> Warriors with nothing to lose are the most dangerous of all.

651.295 ->

655.74 -> When you're naming your warriors,

657.47 -> it always helps to pick a cool, flashy name.

660.2 -> The Persian Immortals, known as the 10,000 Immortals,

663.83 -> got two cool names--

665.33 -> and for good reason.

666.53 -> They're the army that wiped out Leonidas and the Spartans

669.41 -> in the movie 300, although the film is a--

672.41 -> let's say, highly fictionalized version of the true life

675.44 -> events.

676.13 -> To outsiders, it appeared the Persian warriors truly

679.19 -> were immortal.

680.33 -> For instance, their numbers never fell below 10,000.

683.63 -> But it wasn't because of some supernatural Lazarus Pit.

686.6 -> Rigorous training and preparation

688.37 -> ensured that when one soldier fell,

690.65 -> another would be ready to take his place.

692.93 -> Ancient historian Herodotus wrote

694.91 -> that the Immortals were taught only one thing from the age

697.85 -> of five to the age of 20--

699.56 -> "to ride, to use the bow, and to speak the truth."

703.163 -> Although that actually seems like three things

705.08 -> that they were taught.

706.29 -> I guess when you're immortal you don't have to worry about math.

708.957 -> And by speaking the truth, Herodotus

711.14 -> was referring to religion and not

713.27 -> that the Immortals were training in podcasting.

715.79 -> Whew, thank goodness.

717.14 -> The reward for such determination

719.3 -> was armor made of solid gold.

721.44 -> And at the height of their power,

722.87 -> they even had war elephants from North Africa and India.

726.11 -> Gold threads and your very own elephant

727.94 -> are some pretty appealing signing bonuses.

730.56 -> So what do you think?

731.88 -> Which group of ancient warriors do you

733.58 -> think was the most formidable?

735.26 -> Let us in the comments below.

736.57 -> And while you're at it, check out some of these other videos

739.07 -> from our Weird History.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yjsMm4wqDY