History Characters / UnbiasedHistory

* TheAce: Represented the Roman Empire at its zenith, with UsefulNotes/{{Trajan}} bringing it to its greatest territorial extent, Hadrian solidifying the civilization within its borders, Antoninus Pius maintaining 23 years of peace and Marcus Aurelius holding successful campaigns to the north... which would have stayed the course had Commodus not pissed it all away to pursue his vanity. Nerva didn't do much during his reign, but he's lumped into the Five because he adopted Trajan.

* TrueCompanions: All characters of the first Tetrachy in the series are shown as a close-knit group who fought alongside together and worked towards restoring the Empire.

* DemotedToExtra: Despite given its own section within the intro, Ulpia Severina's reign is rather brief and she disappears shortly after Tacitus takes power.

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A German prince from the Cherusci tribe who was taken at a young age by Drussus, stepson of Augustus, to see if a G*rm can be civilized. It doesn't work and his German heritage leads to him betraying Rome.

* DramaticThunder: This happens when his name is revealed to be Arminius.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Drussus hoped that Arminius would become civilized if [[NurtureOverNature he was raised as a Roman]]. His betrayal eventually leads to the "Battle of Teutoburg Forest" in which countless Romans were slaughtered by his Germanic brothers.

* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Elagabalus is portrayed as a strong-willed young man and independent thinker killed in a conspiracy led by his grandmother because he refused to be her puppet. In reality, he was a crazed hedonist who was assassinated because his debauched and degenerate behavior was getting problematic.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: While the historical Cleopatra VII was no saint, this version of her is considerably worse, being a spiteful reincarnation of Queen Dido who wants to destroy Rome.

* StarterVillian: The first enemies the Trojans/Romans faced.

* FootballHooligans: They're portrayed as such, speaking broken english and often making references to Football Clubs [[AnachronismStew despite them not being invented yet.]]
* ThisMeansWarpaint: They're covered in celtic facial and bodily markings.

* BuxomBeautyStandard: Valentinian's wife Justina is described as WorldsMostBeautifulWoman after her maturity. The main difference between mature and immature Justina is breast size (which people comment on, of course).

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Nymphidius Sabinus first turned on Nero and declared his support for Galba, only for his ambition to get the better of him, leading him to try and make himself emperor. This made him the first self-proclaimed emperor in the Empire's history, and certainly not the last.

** The Goths are portrayed with a demonic goblin-like appereance, and are always wearing spiked metallic armour with human hands and bones nailed to them, as well as helmets resembling skulls. Once they divide into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they are distinguished by the color of their eyes, with the former having [[YellowEyesOfSneakiness yellow]] eyes, and the latter [[RedEyesTakeWarning blood red]] ones.

* PhenotypeSterotype: G*rms are usually depicted with blond hair, fitting for the series' frequent indulgence in stereotypes.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Drussus hoped that Arminius would become civilized if [[NurtureOverNature he was raised as a Roman]]. His betrayal eventually leads to the "Battle of Teutoburg Forest" in which countless Romans where slaughtered by his Germanic brothers.

* AdaptationalVillainy: He was shown to be effective and great Shah in Persian History, but portrayed as literal incarnation of evil due to the show's pro-Roman bias.

* GratuitousGerman: Averted. They speak actual German for the most part.

!!Mythical and Legendary Figures

** Rome conquering Egypt is portrayed as Augustus preventing Dido's reincarnation a second time. [[spoiler: Sadly, this doesn't work as Dido reincarnates as Zenobia and manages to take over the Eastern provinces.]]

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Despite the HistoricalHeroUpgrade he gets, Caracalla is still characterized as an AxCrazy maniac with a penchant for DisproportionateRetribution.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Elagabalus is portrayed as a strong-willed young man and independent thinker killed in a conspiracy led by his grandmother because he refused to be her puppet. In reality, he was a crazed hedonist who was assassinated because his degenerate behavior was getting problematic.

* DemotedToExtra: Despite given its own section within the intro, Ulpia Severina's reign is rather brief and disappears shortly after Tacitus takes power.

* ExtremeDoormat:
** Theodosius, who lets himself get bossed around by Ambrose, Justina, and even ''Alaric''.
** Honorius, who is manipulated by someone every two seconds.

* HyperCompetentSidekick: Stilicho is shown as one of the few capable subordinates trying to maintain the empire as both a general for Theodosius and a regent for Honorius.

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Elagabalus dresses and acts like a woman, takes delight in being called "Hierocles' Queen", and openly suggests getting a sex change at one point, but whether this is an indication of being transgender or just another case of being deliberately outrageous is never made clear.

* ChekhovsGag: Whether it is the "Aurelian... no" from the last words of pre-empire characters, the prophecy that Vespasian ''[[ProphecyTwist thought applied to be him]]'' or Caesar and Vespasian looking at the sun that seemed... divine, these were subtly hinting Aurelian as TheChosenOne.

* PaperThinDisguise: Poorly disguises himself as a judge (complete with a wig) when he sentences Belisarius to life imprisonment in a KangarooCourt.

** Generic G*rms such as the Alamanni, Cherusci, Chatti, and Teutones have blonde hair and slasher uncanny smiles and grins, with ocassional ruffy beards.

* AdaptationalDumbass: They are shown wielding the same crude clubs as the Germs, despite that they mostly utilized sabers and horse archery.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The Sassanids are Zorastrians, and while Zoroastrianism is not a Satan-worshipping ReligionOfEvil, it is depicted as such in this series. {{Justified|Trope}}, because it's from an obviously-biased Roman Perspective.

* AdaptationalVillainy: He was shown to be effective and great Shah in Persian History, but portrayed as literal incarnation of evil due to the show's roman bias.

* NoMereWindmill: One of his favorite tricks is to make the barbarians think that he has a larger force than he actually has, forcing his enemies to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere retreat from the battlefield]].

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Justinian attempts to deal with the Monophysites, Theodora dances around in the background, singing "who's the queen of the heretics?"

* BuxomIsBetter: Valentinian's wife Justina is described as WorldsMostBeautifulWoman after her maturity. The main difference between mature and immature Justina is breast size (which people comment on, of course).

* TheAce: Represented the Roman Empire at its zenith, with Trajan bringing it to its greatest territorial extent, Hadrian solidifying the civilization within its borders, Antoninus Pius maintaining 23 years of peace and Marcus Aurelius holding successful campaigns to the north... which would have stayed the course had Commodus not pissed it all away to pursue his vanity. Nerva didn't do much during his reign, but he's lumped into the Five because he adopted Trajan.

[[folder:Kingdom]]

[[folder:The Five Good Emperors (and c*mmodus)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5good.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
An era with the Emperors that historians both contemporary and modern regard with fondness... [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Marcus Aurelius' good-for-nothing son]].
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* TheAce: Represented the Roman Empire at its zenith, with Trajan bringing it to its greatest territorial extent, Hadrian solidifying the civilization within its borders, Antoninus Pius maintaining 23 years of peace and Marcus Aurelius holding successful campaigns to the north... which would have stayed the course had Commodus not pissed it all away to pursue his vanity. Nerva didn't do much during his reign, but he's lumped into the Five because he adopted Trajan.
* ControlFreak: Hadrian tours around the empire, spreading Greek ideas wherever he goes and insisting that everyone adopt it.
* {{Patricide}}: Following the WholePlotReference to ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', C*mmodus kills his father Marcus Aurelius.
* WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: Nerva adopted Trajan, and Antoninus Pius oversaw twenty-three years of peace without once leaving Rome.

[[folder:Severan dynasty]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/severans.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A BigScrewedUpFamily if there ever was one.]]
Septimius Severus and his family, the end of whose reign ushers in the Crisis of the Third Century.

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Elagabalus dresses and acts like a woman, takes delight in being called "Hierocles' Queen", and openly suggests getting a sex change at one point, but whether this is an indication of being transgender or just another case of being deliberately outrageous is never made clear.
* AttentionWhore: Invoked by Elagabalus, who acts like an insane degenerate to make people pay attention to him so they won't be able to ignore his ideas about religion.
* DisproportionateRetribution: While visiting Alexandria, Caracalla watches a play that blames him for his younger brother's death. This enrages him so much that tens of thousands of people in the city are massacred on his orders.
* DepravedBisexual: Subverted by Elagabalus. While he ''acts'' like this, it's all a performance designed to make sure people listen to what he has to say.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While Caracalla was a brutal mass-murderer, he loved his younger brother Geta (even if that love wasn't reciprocated) and was genuinely devastated by his murder.
* HeroicComedicSociopath: Despite the HistoricalHeroUpgrade he gets, Caracalla is still characterized as an AxCrazy maniac with a penchant for DisproportionateRetribution.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Elagabalus is portrayed as a strong-willed young man and independent thinker killed in a conspiracy led by his grandmother because he refused to be her puppet. In reality, he was a crazed hedonist who was assassinated because his degenerate behavior was getting problematic.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade:
** While the real Caracalla had his younger brother Geta murdered, this version of him loved Geta and had nothing to do with his death; instead, Geta was killed by some Praetorians who were sick of his mother's increasingly boring lectures brought on by his constant fighting with his brother. [[DownplayedTrope That being said]], his portrayal is otherwise a faithful portrait of the infamously violent and wrathful man, albiet played for dark comedy.
** This version of Elagabalus uses his degeneracy to fight Rome's degeneracy and preaches Sol Invictus worship to streamline Roman religious practices. In reality, his unrestrained pleasure-seeking was motivated by nothing more than self-indulgent and unethical hedonism, and he simply placed his namesake Syrian sun god above the Roman pantheon.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Being a bad influence on Geta (while he was alive) or insulting his memory (after his death) is enough to make Caracalla fly off the handle completely.
* MommasBoy: Alexander Severus is a weak-willed boy completely dominated by his mother.
* {{Polyamory}}: Elagabalus married at least five different women while simultaneously carrying on an affair with a charioteer named Hierolces.
* {{Unperson}}: Parodied. After Geta dies, Caracalla orders the removal of all portraits that made him look bad. Unfortunately, since Geta was a Virgin, they ''all'' looked bad.

[[folder:Crisis emperors]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crisisemperors.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
A seemingly endless parade of often short-lived emperors who ruled during the infamously unstable Crisis of the Third Century.

* KlingonPromotion: Many emperors, especially Maximinus Thrax and Decius, often gained power through military take over.
* MommasBoy: Like Severus Alexander before him, Gordian III was a weak-willed young boy dominated by his mother.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Aurelian only reigned for five years which are recounted in a brief montage, but he almost single-handedly turned things around during the Crisis of the Third Century (though he didn't end it, Diocletian did), and his religious reforms would lay the seeds for the dominance of Christianity later on.

[[folder:Tetrachy]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tetrarchy.png]]

A system of four emperors instituted by Diocletian to make administration easier.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The few reforms of Diocletian that don't pan out are brushed off as being too ahead of their time, as opposed to being policies that weren't as great as they may have seemed at first. His and Galerius' persecutions of Christians and Manichaeans, meanwhile, are portrayed as being justified.
* TrueCompanions: All characters of the first Tetrachy in the series are shown as a close-knit group who fought alongside together and worked towards restoring the Empire.

[[folder:Constantinian dynasty]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/constantinians_and_valentinians.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Constantinians and Valentinians, sharing a family photo.]]
Founded by Constantine the Great, this is the dynasty that brings about the rise of Christianity.

* CampGay: Constans was an effeminate twink who enjoyed being dominated by more butch men.
* RealMenLoveJesus: There's a bit of {{Bookends}} with the Constantinian dynasty - Constantine was a convert to Christianity who ended the persecutions, while Julian was a devout Pagan restorationist. Both of these characters of different faiths are badasses who defend the empire.
* TookALevelInBadass: Julian started out as a timid Wojak scholar, but after realizing he was going to become emperor, he worked to become a worthy one, ascending to Chad status.

[[folder:Valentinianic dynasty]]
The successors to the Constantinian dynasty, who intermarried and reigned concurrently with the Theodosian dynasty.

* BuxomIsBetter: Valentinian's wife Justina is described as WorldsMostBeautifulWoman after her maturity. The main difference between mature and immature Justina is breast size (which people comment on, of course).
* {{Polyamory}}: At the request of his bisexual first wife, Marina Severa, Valentinian I legalized polygamy so that he could marry Justina too.
* UnstoppableRage: Valentinian gets so angry at the G*rms and their lies that he goes on a violent rampage, with the only thing being able to kill him being [[spoiler:his anger bursting a blood vessel in hsi brain]].

[[folder:Theodosian dynasty]]

* ExtremeDoormat:
** Theodosius, who lets himself get bossed around by Ambrose, Justina, and even ''Alaric''.
** Honorius, who is manipulated by someone every two seconds.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Like much of Unbiased History's negative takes on historical figures, Theodosius' flaws are exaggerated while omitting the contexts of his decision.
** His whole shilling for Goths was due to much of Eastern Roman Empire's military being devastated. The Goths ([[AdaptationalVillainy who were more nuanced than savage barbarians and too divided to serve under a single force in real-life]]) were only military available in such short notice.
** By the time of Goth's settlement to Illyria, the area has been too depopulated from plague and wars that an orator praised Theodosius' decision to have Illyria be filled with farmers instead of corpses to be a better option.
** While Theodosius' Germanic allies have unreliable loyalty, there were other loyal and competent Germanic officers like Arbogaust, and Bauto (latter of whom being omitted from the series) who turned the tide of Gothic War in Greece that forced the Goths into peace treaty.
** The real reason he undertook the Massacre of Thessalonica was because one of his favorite Gothic generals Butheric ([[TokenHeroicOrc one who was actually completely loyal]])had arrested an roman aristocrat for rape, for which the population rioted and slew the General, which provoked Theodosius so much that he ordered 7000 of the rioters to be butchered, but once his anger had passed, he regretted his decision and prayed for forgiveness to the Bishop Ambrose of Milan.
** His appointment of Stilicho to regent was due to being both a member of his inner circle and a husband to his adopted niece, Serena, rather than his shilling for Barbarians. Furthermore, had Stilicho was appointed as his heir, such action would cause an uproar among anti-Germanic Roman aristocracy due to his Vandal heritage.
** In reality, Theodoisus was a competent emperor, though his role in Massacre of Thessalonica, his decree on making Nicene Creed as official religion at the expense of both Roman Pagans and Arian Christians, and his deeds being undone after his death from having his sons being manipulated by Eastern and Western Roman courts became few-but-consequential mistakes in his life.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: Stilicho is shown as one of the few capable subordinates trying to maintain the empire as both a general for Theodosius and a regent for Honorius.
* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Theodosius mostly listens to Justina because of her boobs. In fact, he doesn't aid Valentinian II when Arbogaust disobeys him because (in his words) "no tits, no care".
* InadequateInheritor: Despite Theodosius himself being far from ideal, his son Honorius is the textbook defenition of incompitent.

[[folder:Usurpers and pretenders]]
"Emperors" whose authority was often widely viewed as illegitimate and/or unrecognized, who generally reigned only briefly and weren't part of a dynasty. This list also includes separatists and those who merely proclaimed themselves emperor.

* AdiposeRex: Deconstructed with Vitellius. He spared no expense to satiate his gluttony, which is part of why many governors in the Eastern provinces turned against him.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Nymphidius Sabinus first turned on Nero and declared his support for Galba, only for his ambition to get the better of him, leading him to try and make himself emperor. This made him the first self-proclaimed emperor in the Empire's history, and certainly not the last.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Zenobia of the Palmyrene Empire is portrayed as another spiteful reincarnation of Queen Dido seeking to destroy Rome.

!!Byzantium
[[folder:Justinian]]
[[quoteright:301:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/justinian_i_the_great.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:301:]]
One of Byzantium's greatest emperors, Justinian ruled the Empire at its territorial height.

* BerserkButton: Anything happening to Rome or Italy. When he's ill with the plague, Theodora begs him to wake up, complaining that [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking too many people have died, the economy is in ruins, and something happened to Italy]]. That last point gets the comatose Justinian to wake up and jump out of bed, yelling for Belisarius.
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Implied by Theodora.
* CharmPerson: Is able to convert any barbarian to civilization using his magic.
* ConspicuousConsumption: When he becomes emperor, he and Theodora can be seen in the background, swimming in a pool of gold.
* CryIntoChest: [[spoiler: After Theodora dies, he starts crying into the robes of a bored-looking Belisarius.]]
* {{Determinator}}: It doesn't matter how difficult his task is, what complications arise, or how much personal tragedy he suffers. He ''will'' accomplish his goals.
* DistractedByTheSexy: During the Nika revolts, he abandons his plan to flee the city after hearing Theodora's "sexy voice."
* EarlyBirdCameo: Appears during the eulogy to Rome, standing on top of the Theodosian Walls.
* HappilyMarried: To Theodora. [[spoiler:Until her death, that is.]]
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: While he's generally seen as one of the better Byzantine emperors, this series dials it up, portraying him as a hyper-competent super-genius who can immediately covert barbarians using his magic powers.
* TheLostLenore: [[spoiler: Theodora is this to him after her death, so much that he [[TearJerker doesn't remarry out of love for her]].]]
* ManlyTears: Sheds these after seeing what the city of Rome has become after years of barbarian rule. [[spoiler: Subverted when Theodora dies and he starts [[InelegantBlubbering sobbing]] into Belisarius's chest.]]
* SiblingRivalry: His foster brother, Khosrow, becomes his enemy after he becomes the Roman emperor. Subverted because Justinian treated Khosrow like a dog because of him being a barbarian.

[[folder:Belisarius]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_03_15_at_124529_pm.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
The head of the Excubitor Guard and a skillful general, Belisarius holds a deep hatred against the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil barbarians]], on account of him being from the now ruined Illyria.

* CadreOfForeignBodyguards: Half of the cavalry in his unit are [[HordesFromTheEast Hunnic cavalry]] who follow him out of a mixture of fear and awe.
* FakeDefector: He and his army pretend to defect to the Goths in order to enter Ravenna, it works.
->'''Belisarius''': See? We can lie too.
* FrontlineGeneral: Personally leads his troops in numerous key battles, including ones where they are [[DarkHorseVictory grossly outnumbered]].
* NoMereWindmill: One of his favorite tricks is to make the barbarians think that he has a larger force than he actually has, forcing his enemies to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere retreat from the battlefield]].

[[folder:Theodora]]
[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_03_15_at_22114_pm.png]]
[[caption-width-right:295:]]
Justinian's wife and Empress during his reign, she is a stubborn bitch who has control over most of the heretics in the empire.

* AdaptedOut: Most of her reign as sole empress during The Plague was AdaptedOut, including the demotion of [[FrontlineGeneral Belisarius]] because of her fears of him staging a coup and taking over the empire. Interestingly, while she's portrayed as a [[HollywoodSatanism Satan-worshipping heretic]] because of her Monophysitism, the depravity Procopius really accused her of in ''The Secret History'' was also cut out, most likely because Procopius is portrayed as being [[DirtyCoward far worse than her]].
* AcceptableFeminineGoalsAndTraits: Very much averted. When Justinian's looking for a bride, Theodora's face is surrounded by numerous warnings, among them "can think for herself" and "used goods, ''very'' used goods." They were HappilyMarried anyway.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Objects to Artabanes marrying her niece, since he's already married. This is despite her own background as a prostitute and other questionable traits.
->'''Theodora''': Away from my niece!
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Justinian attempts to deal with the Monophysites, Theodora dances around in the background, singing "who's the queen of the heretics?"
* HappilyMarried: Despite their differences, she and Justinian have a very loving marriage. [[spoiler:Her death from cancer leaves him absolutely devastated.]]
->'''Justinian''' (sincerely): Dearest pain in the ass... no...
* TheHeretic: Is a follower of Monophysitism, which is a heresy founded by Satan.
* HistoricalDowngrade: Most of her role in Justinian's reign was AdaptedOut, and she's generally portrayed as stubborn and annoying, at least by the standards of the time.
* HollywoodSatanism: Downplayed. She worships Satan as a deity, but is a generally good person. Played straight whenever a bad omen happens, during which her eyes turn [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] and her worst side shows.
* MyGirlIsASlut: Was a prostitute prior to her marriage to Justinian, but it soon mellows out after she marries.
* VaporWear: Exaggerated. She is never seen wearing a bra, even in her Empress garb.

[[folder:Procopius]]
[[quoteright:286:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/procopiushistorian.png]]
[[caption-width-right:286:]]
A chronicler whose intense jealousy against Justinian led him to write the most slanderous account on Justinian's reign known as "Secret History".
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* DirtyCoward: Instead of facing Justinian himself, he writes "Secret History" to make sure he'll be remembered as a [[EvilOverlord cruel tyrant]].
* DrivenByEnvy: Wrote the most slanderous account of [[TheAce Justinian]] due to jealousy.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: He is depicted as writing the Secret History (a slanderous account of Justinian's reign which claimed Justinian and Theodora were actually demons and that Justinian ''killed a trillion people'') out of jealousy at Justinian and his achievements. In reality, he probably wrote the Secret History as insurance in case Justinian was overthrown.

[[folder:Maurice]]
The Emperor who ends up having to deal with the economic fallout of the plagues and wars of Justinian's reign and renewed attacks from the Sassanids and others.

* BigBookOfWar: Compiles the Strategikon, a collection of the military wisdom of the age that will go on to be the Byzantine manual of warfare for centuries afterwards.
* BrokeEpisode: Takes drastic austerity measures to attempt to save the Empire's depleted treasury. This makes him quite unpopular with the people and the army.

[[folder:Phocas]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phocas.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:]]
The successful usurper of Maurice and succeeding Emperor. Is the epitome of plebbery.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: No one liked him, and he was very unpopular with the plebians.
* AssholeVictim: No one mourned Phocas when he was executed, and some even smiled watching Heraclius cut him down.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Is slowly and systematically dismembered alive, his head cut off for last.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Was a mere low-rank officer of the legions before his successful usurpation
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Overthrew Maurice and tortured his family and supporters. Was overthrown and violently dismembered alive, with not one tear being shed.
* TheUsurper: As if it wasn't obvious.

! Barbarian Scum
!!The G*rms
[[folder:In General]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_germanic_tribes.png]]

The most persistent thorn in the side of the Romans, the Germanic tribes are portrayed as barbarians with a persistent desire to destroy Rome and civilization as a whole.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Evil as they are, even they are afraid of the Huns and don't pose as dire a threat.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: No G*rm is ever depicted as a good person during the Roman days, and even among half-Roman half-G*rms Stilicho [[TokenGoodTeammate is the only Chad]]. Even Arminius, who was raised to be civilized inevitably turns on the Romans because of his G*rm nature.
* TheBadGuyWins: Despite the efforts of [[TragicHero Stilicho, Aetius and Majorian]], the G*rms manage to finally overrun the Western Roman Empire and kill countless Romans in the process.
* CensoredForComedy: Referred to as G*rms instead of Germs or Germans to represent their evil.
* ChaosIsEvil: Exist to spread chaos and worship chaotic gods. Often shout "CHAOS" for it's own sake.
* DistinctiveAppearances: Though equally portrayed as barbaric hordes who only exist to destroy civilization and spread their evil, each Germanic tribe has their own unique look to distinguish them.
** Generic G*rms such as the Alamanni, Cherusci, Chatti, and Teutones have blonde hair and slasher uncanny smiles and grins, with ocassional ruffy beards.
** The Vandals generally have long straight blonde hair with goatees, alongside bright red eyes, with some being bald except for a few strands of hair however.
** The Franks have long blonde mustaches, and wear winged helmets.
** The Goths are portrayed with a demonic goblin-like appereance, and are always wearing spiked metallic armour with human hands and bones nailed to them, as well as helmets resembling skulls. Once they divide into the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, they are distinguished by the color of their eyes, with the former having [[YellowEyesOfSneakiness yellow]] eyes, and the latter [[RedEyesTakeWarning blood red]] ones.
** The Burgundians are depicted wearing heavy chainmail armor covering their upper bodies.
** The Saxons all wear the Sutton Hoo helmet, in addition to viking-like armour.
** The Suebi have curly platinum blonde hair, with curly beards also.
** The Lombards wear green shirts and tanned pants, as well as helmets with small horns on them.
* GratuitousGerman: Averted. They speak actual German for the most part.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Being one of Rome's longest-standing enemies IRL, they are hardly ever given any positive traits and (aside from a handful of exceptions) have an unreasonable desire to destroy civilization. Pro-Roman G*rms are only shown sparingly, and are almost always said to be the result of either having mixed ancestry or getting magically civilized (occasionally both).
* TokenGoodTeammate:
** Downplayed with Stilicho, who's only half-G*rm, but he's the only one to flat out deny his evil G*rman half and becomes a TragicHero.
** Played straight with Mundus, Amalasuintha, and Matasuintha in the Justinian episode. Justified through how Justinian's aura leads to them becoming civilized.
** Germanus the Younger, despite being a half-G*rm, is portrayed as a decent person who tried to stop Phocas from taking power when Maurice fell.
* TwoFaced: Half-G*rms are usually half-normal Wojack, half-evil Wojack or in the case of Stilicho, half-normal Chad and half-evil Chad.

[[folder:Arminius]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arminius.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
->"''Kill...murder...destroy...''"
A German prince from the Cherusci tribe who was taken at a young age by Drussus, stepson of Augustus, to see if a G*rm can be civilized. It doesn't work and his German heritage leads to him betraying Rome.

* AdaptedOut: To be consistent with the G*rms being irredeemable monsters, his brother Flavus and his father-in-law Segestes, who were both loyal to Rome, are omitted from the series.
** Flavus '''actually''' became civilized unlike his brother and sided with the Romans and Germanicus [[SiblingRivalry against Arminius]] and the Germanic tribes. His civilized son Italicus actually became the chieftain of the Cherusci since he was the only member of the royal house still alive to lead their tribe.
** Segestes, despite not being civilized was still loyal to Rome and attempted to warn the Romans of the attempted ambush. He ultimately failed due to the Romans believing that Arminius was [[TragicMistake incredibly loyal]] and that Segestes was just angry at Arminius for marrying his daughter without his consent.
* DeathByIrony: Is eventually betrayed and killed by a Cherusci noble, [[KarmicDeath befitting his treacherous nature]].
* DramaticThunder: This happens when his name is revealed to be Arminius.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Drussus hoped that Arminius would become civilized if [[NurtureOverNature he was raised as a Roman]]. His betrayal eventually leads to the "Battle of Teutoburg Forest" in which countless Romans where slaughtered by his Germanic brothers.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: He betrays the Romans in favor of his Germanic brothers and leads countless legionaries to their deaths at Teutoburg Forest. How do the G*rms reward him? [[UngratefulBastard By murdering him]], of course. Double points for his killer belonging to the same tribe as him.

!!The Parthians/Sassanids
[[folder:In General]]
* AdaptationalDumbass: They are shown wielding the same crude clubs as the Germs, despite that they mostly utilized sabers and horse archery.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The Sassanids are Zorastrians, and while Zoroastrianism is not a Satan-worshipping ReligionOfEvil, it is depicted as such in this series. {{Justified|Trope}}, because it's from an obviously-biased Roman Perspective.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The Sassanids, described as hailing from the underworld and servants of chaos.
* TookALevelInBadass: The Parthians were a constant foe to the Romans, but only after their fall and the rise of the Sassanids did they elevate into actually serious threats.

[[folder:Shapur]]
The Sassanid king who reigned after the death of Ardashir.
* AdaptationalVillainy: He was shown to be effective and great Shah in Persian History, but portrayed as literal incarnation of evil due to the show's roman bias.

[[folder:Khosrow II]]
The last great Sassanid king, and the one who faced off against Heraclius.
* TheAntichrist: Specifically named as such, tasked by the devil with destroying civilization.
* PragmaticVillainy: He doesn't betray his word and attack the Byzantines when they help him gain control over Persia, and is generous in ceding them Dara, Martyropolis, and much of Armenia. However, this is due to the current emperor being the competent and skilled Maurice. When Maurice is deposed, he proceeds to attack Antioch and Anatolia.

!!Other Unaligned Barbarians
[[folder:Traits for Unspecified Barbarians]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meanwhile_in_europe.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Europe, like the rest, was a complete shithole"]]
* AdaptationalDumbass: All described and portrayed as drooling Stone-Age Morons.
* BilingualBonus: They each speak their (modern) languages when their comments aren't plot relevant.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: They're little better than the G*rms in this regard, but at least some of them get civilized.

[[folder:The Gauls]]
* HeelFaceTurn: Like the Greeks, Gauls would also be civilized.

[[folder:The Greeks]]
* AdaptationalDumbass: Greeks were shown to be inept at war and technology, which they only obtained from Trojan relics through looting or copying.
* HeelFaceTurn: Eventually was Civilized and in fact, became the last bastion of Rome's influence when the West fell.
* StarterVillian: The first enemies the Trojans/Romans faced.

[[folder:The Britons]]
* FootballHooligans: They're portrayed as such, speaking broken english and often making references to Football Clubs [[AnachronismStew despite them not being invented yet.]]
* ThisMeansWarpaint: They're covered in celtic facial and bodily markings.

[[folder:The Slavs]]
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: They're described as only being functional because they hate civilization more than the concept of working together.

[[folder:The Huns]]
* TheDreaded: They're this to ''everyone.'' Barbarian and Roman alike.
* FaceFramedInShadow: They're [[spoiler: initially]] portrayed as faceless demons.

[[/folder]]

* RealMenLoveJesus: There's a bit of {{Bookends}} with the Constantinian dynasty - Constantine was a convert to Christianity who ended the persecutions, while Julian was a devout Pagan restorationist. Both of these characters are badasses who defend the empire.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: While he's generally seen as one of the better Byzantine emperors, this series dials it UpToEleven, portraying him as a hyper-competent super-genius who can immediately covert barbarians using his magic powers.

* MaliciousMisnaming:

* TrueCompanions: All characters of the first Tetrachy in the series are shown as a close-knit group, which Diocletian was shown to accept Maximian despite being a failure.

* AdaptationalVillainy: The Sassanids are Zorastrians, and while Zoroastrianism is not a Satan-worshipping ReligionOfEvil, it is depicted as such in this series. Justified, because it's from an obviously-biased Roman Perspective.

[[/folder]]
!!The Arabs

The main focus of the series, due to the series being very biased towards the Romans they are portrayed as a godlike race who would be [[AlwaysLawfulGood always lawfully good]] were it not for the occasional bad apple messing things up.

** The abduction of Helen of Troy and the rape of the Sabine women become Helen kidnapping Paris and the Sabine women raping the Roman men.

** The destruction of Palmyra is shown as Aurelian destroying any traces of Zenobia's rebellion, in real life Aurelian originally spared the city but after the elites revolted he burned it to the ground.
** Their conquests as a whole are portrayed as them bringing civilization to various places in the world, even if they destroy or sack the aformentioned places.

* TheEmpire: While its mostly played straight in real life, its inverted in the series. At least until virgin emperors and [[spoiler:G*rms]] take over and then it gets played straight.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Like much of Unbiased History's negitive takes on historical figures, Theodosius' flaws are exaggerated while omitting the contexts of his decision.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Objects to Artabanes marrying her niece, since he's already married. This despite her own background and some questionable traits she has.

* DrivenByEnvy: Wrote the most slanderous account of Justinian due to him being jealous of [[TheAce Justinian]].

* TheUsurper: As if it wasn't obvious