Roman Military Intelligence - How Good Was It? (Scouts, Spies, Secret Agents)

Documentary on Rome's Military Intelligence Units. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code Invicta at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/invicta We continue to look at the most famous units of history from across ancient history. While previous episodes have focused on the combat roles of units like the Spartan Royal Guard or the Immortals, in this episode we look at the critical role a unit could play in the intelligence game. When it comes to the Roman military intelligence forces, these were composed of multiple layers of units. These are as follows: The Procursatores - Close range screen of patrols The Exploratores - Medium range ring of scouts The Specualtores - Far range spies The Frumentarii - Information courriers and secret agents What Units of History do you want to see covered next? Credits Research: Chris Das Neves Writing: Invicta Narration: Guy Michaels Artwork: Penta Limited Editing: Penta Limited Sources and Suggested Reading The Roman Army by Adrian Goldsworthy Roman Warfare by Adrian Goldsworthy Intelligence Activities in Ancient Rome by Rose Mary Sheldon Exploratio: Military & Political Intelligence in the Roman World from the Second Punic War to the Battle of Adrianople By N. J. E. Austin, N. B. Rankov Spies and spying in Caesar’s “Bellum Gallicum” by Jane Crawford The "Missing Dimension" of C. Julius Caesar by Amiram Ezov The Scouts of the Late Roman Army and a Disputed Etymology by Philip Rance Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:03 Origin of Roman Scouts 04:14 The Procursatores 07:59 The Exploratores 16:55 Origin of Roman Spies 22:03 Intelligence Failings 24:40 The Speculatores 26:50 Spy Missions 31:00 Infiltrations 33:00 Secret Reports 34:13 Enemy Spy Networks 35:53 Origin of the Frumentarii 41:47 Organization 45:46 Equipment 47:00 Roles 48:44 Doemstic Spies 50:25 Assassins 52:38 Law Enforcement 54:35 Fall of the Frumentarii 55:43 Outro #history #documentary #Rome