History WebAnimation / UnbiasedHistory

** Within the Roman Empire, Livia is portrayed as similar to her ''Series/IClaudius'' portrayal in being an EvilMatriarch who offs Augustus' heir and later him, and Commodus is portrayed like he is in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' with him [[{{Patricide}} killing Marcus Aurelius]]. More generally, the senators are usually portrayed as a bunch of scheming, spineless figures who resent and bend over backwards to the new emperor.

* ArtShift: The entirety of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAdNFhWFdE Israel: Unbiased History]]" doesn't have the art style of all of the other episodes, instead using a compilation of internet memes and clips from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''. The format carried on in reviews of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' and ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', only using clips from the respective media in lieu of ''Fallout''.

** The [[WebOriginal/VirginVsChad Chads]] are typically used to represent the Patricians, elite soldiers and favorable leaders of Rome. They have also been used for their Trojan forebears, the inhabitants of Alba Longa and an occasional non-Roman such as Hannibal (as the gods felt the Romans needed a challenge after the first Punic War) and Josephus (a Jewish historian who favored the empire and became a citizen).

** [[WebOriginal/VirginVsChad Virgins]] are used to represent weak-willed/disloyal military men and senators on the Roman side, as well as some unflattering rulers. Among non-Romans, they fill in for the various Greekoids.

** Plenty of barbs were made towards communism throughout the series. In the very first video, where the Trojans figured out economics among other issues, they surmised that it works when they use magic, and even then it's still worse than capitalism.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Multiple significant figures disappear from the narrative without any indication of their fate, due to gaps in the historical record. Dovahhatty says to assume that when somebody vanishes with no explanation, it's because a historian died prematurely.

* BadassSanta: Saint Nicholas is depicted as a Chad version of Santa Claus who defeats the heretical bishop Arius in a physical fight.

** UsefulNotes/{{Cleopatra}} and Queen Zenobia are depicted as [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnations]] of [[Literature/TheAeneid Dido]], seeking vengeance on the Trojan-descended Rome [[WomanScorned for being rejected by Aeneas]].

** Whereas Emperor Theodosius was commonly regarded with respect by contemporary historians for his reforms and the necessity of splitting administrative duties of the two halves of the Empire, here he was portrayed as a Virgin who actively patronized the chaotic, uncompromising Goths even as he ordered them to slaughter several Romans in Thessalonica, then heavily clamped down on all non-Nicaean religions and tearing down the Statue of Victory from the Roman Senate. He then left his empire to his useless son Arcadius (East) and his cowardly son Honorius (West).

'''Unbiased History''' is a web animation series by Dovahhatty on Website/YouTube (and other platforms), which started with Rome on May 22, 2019. In spite of the name, it actually is blatantly biased towards particular factions for laughs, sometimes even reinterpreting entire events in their favor. The entire Rome series can be watched in chronological order [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EOzr15h8S8&list=PLp5VE4P1YBhc05cDqiOazzTTu1WSh8MHg here]], and Dovah has finished on a mini-series on the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire up to Heraclius' war with the Sassanids, and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89ggZVlG_o 6-hour livestream of the rest of the Byzantine emperors]].

'''Unbiased History''' is a web animation series by Dovahhatty on Website/YouTube (and other platforms), which started with Rome on May 22, 2019. In spite of the name, it actually is blatantly biased towards particular factions for laughs, sometimes even reinterpreting entire events in their favor. The entire Rome series can be watched in chronological order [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EOzr15h8S8&list=PLp5VE4P1YBhc05cDqiOazzTTu1WSh8MHg here]], and Dovah is currently working on [[https://www.youtube.com/post/UgyzAu5GDVAhRbHw6aR4AaABCQ a mini-series]] on the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire up to Heraclius' war with the Sassanids.

** “The Roman Mythology” has a Virgin with a chad-like body push Remus off the Roman walls, killing him. He turns out to be a time-travelling Orestes acting until Attila’s orders, as revealed in “The Fall of Rome”.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: A collective version occured when the Praetorian Guard, as generations of betraying the empire and general corruption arrived to demand bribes from Constantine. He responded by abolishing the entire organization and [[KillThemAll purging every single one of them]].

* FateWorseThanDeath: Diocletian detested the Praetorian Guard and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder their habitual tendency to turn on their employers]], and upon consolidating his rule alongside Maximian, he relegated them to guarding an irrelevant fort near the Milvian Bridge as a more fitting and humiliating punishment than putting them to death. That proved to not be enough, so Constantine wound up having the post [[KillEmAll abolished]].

* ArtShift: The entirety of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAdNFhWFdE Israel: Unbiased History]]" doesn't have the art style of all of the other episodes, instead using a compilation of internet memes and clips from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy:
** UsefulNotes/{{Cleopatra}} and Queen Zenobia are depicted as [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnations]] of [[Literature/TheAeneid Dido]], seeking vengeance on the Trojan-descended Rome [[WomanScorned for being rejected by Aeneas]].
** UsefulNotes/{{Caligula}}'s AGodAmI delusions are interpreted as him actually becoming a god due to his sickness, with his sister Julia's death caused by her body failing from receiving the same apotheosis.
** While major Roman enemies like the G*rms are still portrayed as human, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardashir_I Ardashir]] and his descendants are [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon lords]] who create their heirs with dark rituals and laying eggs.
** And Khosrow II is depicted as TheAntichrist.
** The Huns have assumed a lichlike appearance, and Attila himself used the powers of sorcery, one of which causing earthquakes in Constantinople which necessitated the rush to repair the Theodosian Walls.
* BerserkButton:
** Cato had such a deep-seated anger towards Carthage's very existence (even while still a fetus) that he ended his statements in "Carthago delenda est"[[note]]Carthage must be destroyed[[/note]].
** Hadrian despised any lack of Roman civilization. A later one got pressed after he loses his favorite twink on a fishing trip in Egypt, then Bar Kokhba led a revolt in Judea. He was in no mood to talk, and sent twelve legions to utterly flatten Judea.
** Even while he couldn't get his brother Geta's affection in return, suggest that Caracalla murdered Geta at your own peril. Several plebs and the whole city of Alexandria learned that [[DisproportionateRetribution the hard way]].
** Valentinian hated G*rms so much, he actually had to restrain himself while still launching punitive campaigns. Their openly defying the terms of his treaty sent him into a rage that unsettled the Chad Palatini Guard and scared the G*rms. Just as he killed some in rage and started to throttle the remaining two, [[CriticalExistenceFailure the anger became so much he popped a blood vessel in his brain]].

* DirtyCommunists: The plebbery amongst Romans was portrayed as protocommunist revolts, and actual communists were portrayed as Virgins that [[DestinationDefenestration tossed Czechoslovak foreign minister Jan Masaryk out the window]].

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The Sassanids are interpreted as literal demons who worship chaotic gods, with Shapur creating his heir through laying an egg.

* EvilIsBurningHot: Shahin, a Persian commander under Khosrow II, is made out of flames.

* ArtShift: The entirety of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSAdNFhWFdE Israel: Unbiased History]]" doesn't have the art style of all of the other episodes, instead using a compilation of internet memes and clips from ''VideoGame/Fallout''.

* ArtShift: The entirety of "Israel: Unbiased History" doesn't have the art style of all of the other episodes, instead using a compilation of internet memes and clips from ''VideoGame/Fallout''.

* ItsPronouncedTropay: Often opts to use the classical Latin pronunciations for characters, but sometimes even throws a bone to the popular pronunciations like that of Julius Caesar or Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony).

--> '''Dovahhatty''': Today, we'll discuss one of the worst barbarian races ever to plague the earth, [''a silhouette appears to give the appearance of the [[GreedyJew Happy Merchant]]''] a group of merchants who migrated across the Levant many years ago, deceitfully manipulating others to further their greedy interests. You know what I'm talking about. [''the silhouette reveals itself as two Punics making poses to appear like the silhouette''] Punics!

'''Unbiased History''' is a web animation series by Dovahhatty, which started with Rome on May 22, 2019. In spite of the name, it actually is blatantly biased towards particular factions for laughs, sometimes even reinterpreting entire events in their favor. The entire Rome series can be watched in chronological order [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EOzr15h8S8&list=PLp5VE4P1YBhc05cDqiOazzTTu1WSh8MHg here]], and Dovah is currently working on [[https://www.youtube.com/post/UgyzAu5GDVAhRbHw6aR4AaABCQ a mini-series]] on the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire up to Heraclius' war with the Sassanids.

** Spurdo Spärde is used for elephants and flies, though he also represented Labienus (to make him "le benis") as well as nomadic tribes such as the Iazyges, Sarmatians, [[spoiler:Huns (after meeting Pope Leo)]] and Khazars.

* CatchPhrase "AVE MEEE!" for any usurper, typically unsuccessful ones who quickly get dispatched by Chad emperors.

* OneSteveLimit: Historical versions are PlayedForLaughs.

** Before he became emperor, Claudius was subject to some humiliations in his life, [[RunningGag but such is life for Uncle Claudius]]. Even as he became emperor and did as good a job as a non-Chad can get, this misfortune still can show.
** The same is true for Dioclecian's Co-Emperor Maximian, who despite being his equal in theory, in practice, he is portrayed as an absolutely failure in everything he does, be it his failed invasion of Britannia, or the persecution of Christians, not to mention that he has an ugly bust.

* {{Greed}}: Some of the assassinations are about wanting money and bribes, notably [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax Pertinax]] who gets killed because he couldn't bribe the Praetorian Guard, who then put the position of emperor up for auction in order to get the money they want.

* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: The ManlyGay Hadrian's dearest love was an effeminate twink named Antinous. To a lesser extent there's Nero and his new "wife", the eunuch Sporus.

--> '''Dovahhatty''': Today, we'll discuss one of the worst barbarian races ever to plague the earth, a group of merchants who migrated across the Levant many years ago, [''a silhouette appears to give the appearance of the [[GreedyJew Happy Merchant]]''] deceitfully manipulating others to further their greedy interests. You know what I'm talking about. [''the silhouette reveals itself as two Punics making poses to appear like the silhouette''] Punics!

!!Contains examples of:

* AdaptationalHeroism:
** 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.
** Roman mythology has [[CainAndAbel Romulus end up killing Remus]] or one of his supporters doing it. Here, Remus is pushed off the city wall by a disguised barbarian and Romulus [[MercyKill puts him out of his misery]].

* AnachronismStew: Slavs are depicted as Gopniks, complete with the stereotypical wardrobe of tracksuits and baseball caps.
* AppealToAudacity: Elagabalus' hedonistic and over-sexed activities are depicted as [[RefugeInAudacity him trying to get the attention of everyone]] in order to address the degeneracy problem and get the plebs' attention to understand the nature of Sol Invictus.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
** During his occupation of Antioch, Koshrow I slaughters civilians, destroys much of the city, enslaves tens of thousands, and holds rigged chariot races.
** When he walks into [[UnholyGround Adur Gushnasp]], Heraclius is tempted by the voices of demons inviting him to lying, murder, destruction, treason, heresy, heathenism, anti-natalism, atheism, envy, barbarity, taxation, smoking among non-smokers, reboots, fiat currency, and pineapple on pizza.

* AssholeVictim: Most emperors killed by the corrupt Praetorian Guard are portrayed as Chads, even more notorious ones like Caligula, but some like Pupeinus and Balbinus and to a lesser extent Geta are portrayed as lousy Virgin emperors so their deaths are no real loss.

* BadassFamily: While there are [[BlackSheep some]] [[LikeFatherUnlikeSon exceptions]], characters depicted as Chads are likely to have their relatives also depicted as Chads. Notable examples are the Julio-Claudian dynasty (with few exceptions like Tiberius [[ButtMonkey and Claudius]]), the Vespasians and the father-son duo of Valerian and Gallienus.
* BaitAndSwitch: To begin the Punic Wars:
--> '''Dovahhatty''': Today, we'll discuss one of the worst barbarian races ever to plague the earth, a group of merchants who migrated across the Levant many years ago, [''a silhouette appears to give the appearance of the Happy Merchant''] deceitfully manipulating others to further their greedy interests. You know what I'm talking about. [''the silhouette reveals itself as two Punics making poses to appear like the silhouette''] Punics!

* BlackComedy: The whole series to be exact, with certain moments, such as the destruction of Carthage, Caesar's conquest of Gaul, and Hadrian's suppression of Judea, are shown like a musical montage in particular.
* BookEnds: The series begins and ends with "A dream to purge this rotten world of the barbarians that infested it! A dream called Rome."
* ButtMonkey:
** In the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was relegated to this role compared to Octavian and Mark Antony. He was denied a governing role in Hispania, largely watching paint dry in Africa. After Octavian reclaimed the islands from Sextus Pompey, Lepidus did try to claim Sicily for himself, only to be quickly denied and kicked out of the Triumvirate. He lived out the rest of his days as Pontifex Maximus, doing nothing as he did before.
** Before he became emperor, Claudius was subject to some humiliations in his life, [[RunningGag but such is life for Uncle Claudius]]. Even as he became emperor and did as good a job as a non-Chad can get, this misfortune still can show.
** The same is true for Dioclecian's Co-Emperor Maximian, who despite being his equal in theory, in practice, he is portrayed as an absolutely failure in everything he does, be it his failed invasion of Britannia, or the persecution of Christians, not to mention that he has an ugly bust.
* CampGay: While many elite Romans (especially Hadrian) were portrayed as ManlyGay, Emperors Elagabalus and Constans were more effeminate. Elagabalus used the flamboyant display and debauched acts as a means of preaching of Sol Invictus, while Constans was portrayed as an Ideal GF like the twinks before him.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Julian.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Despite being portrayed as a Virgin, Romulus Augustus didn't do anything too awful. He was just a little kid made a PuppetKing who had the misfortune of being the last Western Emperor when the G*rms finally overran the empire.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Dovah noted from their very inception that the Praetorian Guard never stays loyal for very long. They would inevitably become Virgin and assassinate an emperor over a missed payment or as a simple power grab.
* {{Cincinnatus}}: quite literally.
* ColdBloodedTorture
** Shapur ends up humiliating and torturing Emperor Valerian for years when imprisoned. When he asks to capitulate just so he can see his son, Shapur [[FlayingAlive flays him alive]] [[DeadGuyOnDisplay and puts his corpse on display]]. When his successor asks the Romans to be magnanimous in victory Dicoletian [[GrievousHarmWithABody uses Valerian as an example]] for why he has no right to say so.
** The fate of Aurelian's assassins is to be brutally tortured for the severity of killing [[TheAce arguably the best emperor]]. It only stops when they need to use the food keeping them alive for more important manners, though one soldier suggests they could feed them their own shit.
* CompositeCharacter: While the Zeno who was a general who fought against Attila and the one who became Emperor were two different people, Unbiased History combines both of them into a single figure (it doesn't help both of them were Isaurians).
* ControlFreak: Hadrian micromanaged affairs throughout the empire. At one moment he appeared out of a toilet to tell a civilized Gaul to get back to work.

* DepravedHomosexual: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Elgabalus, who acts like a depraved and slutty bottom so he can get the plebs' attention and explain his new religion.
* DestinationDefenestration: The topic of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipmj9KrLR7k The Defenestrations of Prague]]'', where the Chad Hussites throw the Virgin Papists out of windows. Though eventually a Chad Jan Masaryk was thrown out his own window by Czechoslovak communists shortly after World War II.
* DirtyCommunists: The plebbery amongst Romans was portrayed in this manner, and actual communists were portrayed as Virgins that [[DestinationDefenestration tossed Czechoslovak foreign minister Jan Masaryk out the window]].

* DoubleStandard: While the show claims to be unbiased, Dovahatty holds many. For example, massacres of Romans by non-Romans are portrayed as utterly heinous, while massacres of non-Romans by Romans are often glorified.
* DrivenByEnvy: A number of [[BodyguardBetrayal Praetorian betrayals]] are depicted as being down to jealousy at the emperor, such as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Chaerea Cassius Chaerea]] who felt his masculinity threatened by Caligula being a Chad
* DrivenToSuicide: As in Roman history a number of Roman figures kill themselves. The most somber example is Diocletian[[note]]in history it's unclear whether he killed himself or died of natural causes[[/note]], who [[DeathByDespair hangs himself in despair]] after witnessing the Tetrarchy he worked so hard on fall apart.

* EpicFail: Two moments in particular made Dovah borrow the Bibulus Award from ''WebVideo/HistoriaCivilis''. The first occurred when the namesake failed to blockade Julius Caesar's crossing of the Adriatic Sea, and died in his attempt at doing so. Nine episodes later, Constantine II lusted for the entire Roman Empire, and was threatening war with Constans unless he handed over all of Africa. When Constans refused to hand over Carthage, Constantine II followed through on his threat before being ambushed and killed in Aquileia
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The very first line in the very first video establishes what's in store for the History of Rome:
-->'''Dovah''': There once was a dream...a dream to purge this rotten world of the barbarians that infested it! A dream called Rome.
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: "Evil" is a bit of a stretch, but Geta is portrayed as a bratty asshole who doesn't like his brother Caracalla. Still, Caracalla mourns his assassination and [[BerserkButton is set off]] by anything that insults his memory or claims he killed him (the latter being what actually happened).
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Played with regarding the Vandal king Gelimer. While he mourns his younger brother's death in battle against Belisarius, [[UnreliableNarrator Dovah]] insists he was mainly upset that such a major evildoer had died and the world was a better place.
* EvilIsBurningHot: Shahin, a Persian commander under Khosrow II, is made out of flames.
* EvilMentor: Livia is depicted as this to Agrippina the Younger, with Livia teaching Agrippina the Younger "how a Roman viper should get ahead in life".
* EvilerThanThou: The G*rms and later Sassanids are portrayed as fearsome and evil foes of the Romans, however they end up fearing and are overshadowed by the Huns. [[spoiler:That is, until Pope Leo convinces them to stop their attack, leading to most of them being Spurdo Sparde.]]
* FaceHeelTurn:
** Brutus' betrayal of Julius Caesar is portrayed as this since unlike most betrayers, he's a Chad but eventually ends up being convinced by the corrupt senate to kill him. He eventually [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes he screwed up]] and is DrivenToSuicide.
** Organization-wide, the Praetorians start as competent and loyal Chads during Augustus' reign. Come Sejanus' influence and they become increasingly corrupt Virgins. Even when they're purged with competent new members replacing them like during Septimius Severus' reign, they soon fall back into ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
** At first, Licinius assisted Constantine in defeating Maximinus Daia. Then after being victorious and maintaining hold of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, he turned on Constantine, with his hair curling up to form HornsOfVillainy.
* TheFaceless:
** When Aurelian is onscreen, there's never a good look above his nose, and where he's fully visible, he's wearing the mask of Sol Invictus.
** The Huns had a lichlike appearance where their faces aren't seen... [[spoiler:before the talk with Pope Leo revealed them as Spurdo Spärdes]].
** King Arthur and Mordred's face are also shadowed.
* AFamilyAffair: Attempted by Fausta, who attempts to seduce her step-son Crispus however he rejects his advances. Unfortunately [[FalseRapeAccusation she accuses him of rape]] and Constantine is forced [[OffingTheOffspring to execute him]] because of it.
* FalseRapeAccusation: The controversy surrounding Fausta and Crispus that led to Constantine OffingTheOffspring is depicted as her accusing him of raping her [[WomanScorned when he rejected her advances]]. After the execution Constantine is enraged and has Fausta executed for doing so.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Drusus's attempt to raise a civilized G*rm results in Arminius (his brother Flavus, who stayed loyal to Rome, is AdaptedOut).
* FatBastard:
** Tarquinius Superbus' son Sextus was portrayed as one, and his rape of Lucretia proved to be the last straw that angered Romans enough to overthrow the monarchy and start the Republic.
** In the Year of Four Emperors, Vitellius was a fat, lazy guardsman who spent a great deal of his post eating and partying at great expense. He convinced his colleagues to rebel against Galba, and had an army sent southward by the time Galba was replaced by Otho. After the latter committed suicide, [[AdiposeRex he proclaimed himself emperor]], planning to rape Sporus in a brutal gladiatorial display before the latter [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled committed suicide to deny this]]. Many Eastern governors were disgusted with the idea of a him being Emperor and spending a lot of money to feed his gluttony, and eventually he was beheaded and thrown into the Tiber River, making way for Vespasian.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Diocletian detested the Praetorian Guard and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder their habitual tendency to turn on their employers]], and upon consolidating his rule alongside Maximian, he relegated them to guarding an irrelevant fort near the Milvian Bridge as a more fitting and humiliating punishment than putting them to death. That proved to not be enough, so Constantine wound up having the post [[KillEmAll abolished]].
* FliesEqualsEvil: Domitian's habit of pinning flies is explained as him knowing they were up to no good, which he's proven right when [[WomanScorned Berenice]] uses a fly to kill Titus with a fever.
* FootballHooligans: True to their portrayal as Norf F.C.s, the Britons had at more than one occasion had conversations which amounted to "Londinium F.C." "Nonce, Eburacum City".

* FreudianExcuse: Constantius II had a notoriously dim view of humanity derived from his upbringing by Fausta.
* GodEmperor: Caligula's [[AGodAmI god delusions]] are depicted as him becoming an actual god from his illness, complete with gaining [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]] eyes. And while Elagabalus isn't a god, ''per se'', he is treated like a divine being due to his devotion to Sol Invictus.
* {{Greed}}: Some of the assassinations are about wanting money and bribes, notably [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pertinax Pertinax]] who gets killed because he couldn't bribe the Praetorian Guard, who then put the position of emperor up for auction in order to get the money they want.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: Diocletian was so furious with the Sassanids' request that the Romans be "magnanimous in victory" that he beat all of Narseh's minion's to death with Valerian's skeletal remains.
* HeartbrokenBadass: Hadrian becomes severely depressed after his lover Antinous drowns himself and never fully recovers.

** As a whole, the Greeks. Initially portrayed as barbarians and AlwaysChaoticEvil, they mellow out over the course of the series and by the time of the Roman Empire they're usually just Virgins, Wojaks, [[TheTwink or ideal GF twinks]]. There's even the occasional Greek Chad.

* HeroicComedicSociopath: Despite a HistoricalHeroUpgrade regarding his brother, Caracalla is still portrayed as AxCrazy, killing thousands of plebs [[DisproportionateRetribution for being a bad influence on Geta or claiming he killed him]], and slaughters the Parthians he was supposed to have a marriage with.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade
** In-universe example in the PreviouslyOn segment in the Severan Dynasty video that's otherwise more accurate to real history than Dovah's ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' retelling, where Commodus is a Chad who was a stud in the Colosseum instead of it being a ridiculous spectacle like in real life. Dovahhatty then ends by saying [[BlatantLies he was just kidding about that]].
** In real life, Elagabalus was a PuppetKing. Here, he's portrayed as an independent thinker and semi-divine who [[OffingTheOffspring was assassinated under his grandmother's orders]] because he refused to be her puppet(in actuality she likely did so because his reckless hedonism was problematic).
* HistoricalBeautyUpdate:
** Coins minted during Nero's reign show that while he started out fairly attractive, he became increasingly [[AdiposeRex obese]] as his rule went on. However, the show's version of him is depicted as a muscular Chad until the day he dies.
** Inverted with Otho. While he was a noted PrettyBoy in reality, he's drawn as a plain-looking Wojak here.

* HypocriticalHumor: This line from the episode "Justinian the Great":
--> '''Dovah''': Now, Procopius would spread lies that [John the Cappadocian] was [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade corrupt]] and all that, but who would ever pay attention to such a biased teller of history?
* IgnoredEpiphany: Licinius starts persecuting Christians and massacring his rivals' families ''after'' being led to victory by an angel.
* IRejectYourReality: The Praetorian Guard Constantly did this to justify killing emperors, most notably Aurelian, who they convinced themselves that he cannot be allowed to exist being so perfect.

* JesusWasCrazy: In "The Mad Emperors", he was barely mentioned as "some Jew with god delusions" who got nailed to a cross in the course of Tiberius' reign. Christians had since become a thorn to subsequent emperors' sides, which led to Diocletian's Great Persecution. [[spoiler:Ultimately becomes subverted when in Constantine's dream, Jesus and the Roman Gods were revealed as one and the same]].
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: While most Chads [[BadassFamily have other Chads as kids]], Chad characters like Septimius Severus and especially Marcus Aurelius have corrupt virgin sons like Geta and ''especially'' C*mmodus as "failed prodigies". To a lesser extent, Emperor Vitellius is a [[FatBastard corpulent]] Wojak while his dad is a Chad.
* LoserDeity: Unlike the other gods who are portrayed by Chads, Neptune is portrayed as a Wojak and gets owned by Caligula in his conquest of the sea.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Played with; while Hadrian isn't portrayed his evil, his violent rampage against Judea is caused by despair and anger from losing his favorite twink Antinous.
* ManlyGay: Quite a few Patricians were rather fond of their twinks. In regards to the Emperors, Nero stayed loyal to the castrated servant Sporus, and Hadrian was portrayed as fucking many twinks. His favorite twink Antinous was distraught thinking he'd lose Hadrian to a woman (though Hadrian detested them), and committed suicide during a fishing trip. This sent the Emperor into deep sorrow that culminated eventually to the brutal suppression of Judea.
* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: The ManlyGay Hadrian's dearest love was an effeminate twink named Antinous. To a lesser extent there's Nero and his new "wife", the eunuch Sporus.
* MildlyMilitary: Deconstructed with the Praetorian Guard. They're notorious for their love of wealth and luxury, as well as their independence from the conventional chain of command and frequent disobedience. Because of this, combined with their corruption problems, attempts to instill military discipline in them or bring them to heel often cause them to react with violence.
* MindControlEyes: Mark Anthony's eyes become yellow when falling under the mind control of Cleopatra, who uses the romancing of Roman Chads like Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony as a means for [[SexMagic her sorcery]].
* MoralMyopia: When negotiating with Diocletian after he defeated them, the Sasanians demand that he be magnanimous in victory, despite their many KickTheDog moments towards defeated foes.

* OffingTheOffspring: Like in history Constantine has his son Crispus killed, however both are portrayed as Chads and he only does it because [[FalseRapeAccusation Fausta accuses him of raping her]]. He's horrified learning of this and has her executed for it.
* OneMythToExplainThemAll:
** Elagabalus comes to the conclusion that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus Sol Invictus]] is the one true god, with the Roman pantheon being aspects of his divinity[[note]]in reality Elagabalus worshiped another sun god who he gets his name from[[/note]]. He acts like a degenerate in order to get people's attention on this matter, and Aurelian later embraces this belief.
** Taken further with Constantine the great, who in a divine revelation, discovers that all gods and divine figures such as Zeus, Apollo, Minerva, Sol Invictus, and even Jesus Christ himself, are nothing but different aspects of the one true God, and so, it doesn't matter who you worship, since it's the same god overall. He uses this to legitimize Christianity in the eyes of the empire.

* {{Patricide}}
** Being a retelling of ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' Commodus is depicted as killing Marcus Aurelius. The PreviouslyOn segment has Aurelius die of the plague like he did in reality.
** Dovahhatty subscribes to the belief that Brutus was Caesar's illegitimate child, so his assassination is this. Unlike Commodus Brutus is treated as a Chad because he was roped into it by the conspirators and [[DrivenToSuicide kills himself out of guilt]] after his defeat.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: The Sun is attributed to a number of victories by the Romans, with Elagabalus eventually coming to the realization that Sol Invictus is the one true god, something Aurelian embraces.
* PreviouslyOn: The Severan Dynasty begins with one of those, only with Commodus being portrayed as a Chad who succeeded Marcus Aurelius after the latter died of more or less natural causes, being a stud in the gladiatorial ring and being strangled in his bath by his Virgin sparring partner Narcissus. Dovahhatty then says he was kidding about the whole thing, that his degenerate rule really ended the Antonine Dynasty and by extension weakened Rome.
* PyrrhicVictory: Inevitably brought up in The Conquest of Italy, where Pyrrhus of Epirus would wind up close to losing on more than one occasion, that he only won because he utilized his twenty Indian war elephants. It was getting to the point where he would curse his "victories".
* RealMenLoveJesus: Started with Constantine, although this trope is used much more with Heraclius - whose war with [[TheLegionsOfHell the forces of Khosrow]] is depicted as a war between Christ and Satan.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: A collective version occured when the Praetorian Guard, as generations of betraying the empire and general corruption arrived to demand bribes from Constantine. He responded by abolishing the entire organization and [[KillThemAll purging every single one of them]].
** To a lesser extent, All of Aurelian's murderers were rounded and subjected to the worst tortures possible.

* SexMagic: Cleopatra uses the divine Julian semen to mind control Mark Anthony, and later Livia uses Augustus' to off potential heirs who might succeed her husband instead of her son Tiberius.
* ShootTheShaggyDog: Heraclius takes control of an already exhausted Roman Empire beset on all fronts and on the verge of collapse, and spends almost two decades personally leading the last Roman field armies against the Sassanids at the apex of their power in a desperate attempt to retake what was lost. He succeeds and returns to Constantinople in triumph with the Sassanids in a death spiral of infighting and the end of the centuries-long conflict between Rome and Persia in sight, but will live to see the [[OutsideContextProblem Muslims]] permanently overrun everything that was was retaken within a few years.

* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Justinian's cousin Germanus dies while his civilized Gothic wife is pregnant with their first child.

* TokenGoodTeammate:
** Despite the senators eventually portrayed as a bunch of scheming state parasites, some notable senators are portrayed as Chads, notably Antoninus Pius who becomes one of the Five Good Emperors and leads a peaceful regime, and Decius who is depicted as one of the more capable emperors in the Crisis Of The Third Century.
** Half-G*rms were typically portrayed as having half their face be Wojak and the other as a grinning G*rm, with chaotic thoughts being tempered by their Roman halves from time to time. Half-Vandal Stilicho was portrayed as a Chad, and though he still had the side of his face resembling a red-eyed G*rm, he resented the Vandal side of his family and gave Alaric a run for his money.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Unbiased History's "Imperial Wrath" episode had Julian The Apostate transformed a weak Wojack into a masculine Chad art after the tutelage of Ursicinus during his tenure as a Caesar in the western parts of the Roman Empire.
** Aetius' training montage turned the hapless Wojaks into muscular Chads, not to mention turning Barbarian like Theodoric to appreciate civilization based on his lack of mask and yellow eyes.
* TragicHero: The finale of the Rome series has major examples of heroic Chads whose life was cut short as Dovahhatty stated it as "These were the times of Tragic Heroes".
** Stilicho, a half Vandal, who served the Western Empire loyally even refusing to overthrow his patron Honorius even if his death led to the sack of Rome.
** Aetius used his skills and will to turn back Attila's Hunnic horde with the Germanic tribes yet Emperor Valentinian III murdered him before being avenged by Petronius Maximus (who actually instigated Aetius' murder to make his usurpation of Valentinian III justifiable) and Aetius' friends.
** Majorian managed to retake Gaul and Hispania along with setting reforms to strengthen the empire. The loss of his fleet to retake Africa along with the assassination by Ricimer dashed any hope for the restoration of Western Roman Empire.
* ToughActToFollow: Invoked with the Senate, who felt unworthy of picking Aurelian's successor.
* TrueCompanions:
** The series' portrayal of Diocletian and other co-emperors of his Tetrarchy (Maximian, Galerian, and Constantius) were portrayed as close friends, which made it unique for the time due to the number of backstabbings and infighting during the Third Century Crisis to the point of Diocletian's patience and support to Maximian despite his many setbacks.
** Augustus was this with Agrippa and Gaius Maecenas.
* TheTwink: Several appear in the series, including Hadrian's lover Antinous and the emperor Constans. They're usually depicted as Ideal [=GFs=].
* {{Unperson}}: PlayedForLaughs when Caracalla destroys the portraits that make his late brother Geta look bad. Unfortunately, since Geta was a total Virgin, they ''all'' look bad.
* UnstoppableRage: Valentinian had one that [[OhCrap even G*rms dreaded]] and can be felt throughout the empire. What stopped the fury though was that he popped a blood vessel and died on the spot.
* VestigialEmpire: Like in history, Roman Empire suffered in later episodes set after Constantine The Great with many Romans becoming less competent and corrupt.

* WimpFight:
** The Christians flailing at each other over theological differences, to Constantine's annoyance.
** Squabbling between Athens and Sparta within the Panhellenion.

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: During his occupation of Antioch, Koshrow I slaughters civilians, destroys much of the city, enslaves tens of thousands, and holds rigged chariot races.

*** Stilicho, a half Vandal, who served the Western Empire loyally even refusing to overthrow his patron Honorius even if his death led to the sack of Rome.
*** Aetius used his skills and will to turn back Attila's Hunnic horde with the Germanic tribes yet Emperor Valentinian III murdered him before being avenged by Petronius Maximus (who actually instigated Aetius' murder to make his usurpation of Valentinian III justifiable) and Aetius' friends.
*** Majorian managed to retake Gaul and Hispania along with setting reforms to strengthen the empire. The loss of his fleet to retake Africa along with the assassination by Ricimer dashed any hope for the restoration of Western Roman Empire.

* WimpFight: The Christians flailing at each other over theological differences, to Constantine's annoyance.