Dominic Sandbrook

I think, you know, backing himself all the way. But he, you know, also he recognizes it's the only way he has any prospect of winning. I mean, he's right in that. He just has to beat them again and again and again and again.

Well, I think we said in the last episode, Fabius's strategy, you know, it's not a long term one. It's all about giving the Republic time to recruit and to train and to arm enough men to provide an army that will be so overwhelming that Hannibal will be powerless to defeat it.

Well, I think we said in the last episode, Fabius's strategy, you know, it's not a long term one. It's all about giving the Republic time to recruit and to train and to arm enough men to provide an army that will be so overwhelming that Hannibal will be powerless to defeat it.

Well, I think we said in the last episode, Fabius's strategy, you know, it's not a long term one. It's all about giving the Republic time to recruit and to train and to arm enough men to provide an army that will be so overwhelming that Hannibal will be powerless to defeat it.

And the emblem of the fact that the time of emergency is over and it's time to resume normal service and basically launch a war of destruction against the invader is the fact that when Fabius lays down his dictatorship, he's only dictated for six months. That's the legal restriction. There are new elections and two new consuls are elected.

And the emblem of the fact that the time of emergency is over and it's time to resume normal service and basically launch a war of destruction against the invader is the fact that when Fabius lays down his dictatorship, he's only dictated for six months. That's the legal restriction. There are new elections and two new consuls are elected.

And the emblem of the fact that the time of emergency is over and it's time to resume normal service and basically launch a war of destruction against the invader is the fact that when Fabius lays down his dictatorship, he's only dictated for six months. That's the legal restriction. There are new elections and two new consuls are elected.

And these consuls, certainly one of them, has definitely been elected on a kind of let's defeat Hannibal and wipe him out in a battle ticket. And this is a guy called Gaius Terentius Varro. He is cast by both Polybius and Livy as being a bit like Flaminius, the guy who had lost the battle at Lake Trasimene. So he is cast as a kind of slightly magger figure. He's a novice homo.

And these consuls, certainly one of them, has definitely been elected on a kind of let's defeat Hannibal and wipe him out in a battle ticket. And this is a guy called Gaius Terentius Varro. He is cast by both Polybius and Livy as being a bit like Flaminius, the guy who had lost the battle at Lake Trasimene. So he is cast as a kind of slightly magger figure. He's a novice homo.

And these consuls, certainly one of them, has definitely been elected on a kind of let's defeat Hannibal and wipe him out in a battle ticket. And this is a guy called Gaius Terentius Varro. He is cast by both Polybius and Livy as being a bit like Flaminius, the guy who had lost the battle at Lake Trasimene. So he is cast as a kind of slightly magger figure. He's a novice homo.

So he's someone from outside the mainstream, outside the conventional political elites. And according to Livy, he's actually the son of a butcher, which I think is improbable, probably reflects Livy's snobbery about people who rise above their station. Because clearly Varro is a very able politician. He actually comes top of the whole roster of people who are campaigning to be consul.

So he's someone from outside the mainstream, outside the conventional political elites. And according to Livy, he's actually the son of a butcher, which I think is improbable, probably reflects Livy's snobbery about people who rise above their station. Because clearly Varro is a very able politician. He actually comes top of the whole roster of people who are campaigning to be consul.

So he's someone from outside the mainstream, outside the conventional political elites. And according to Livy, he's actually the son of a butcher, which I think is improbable, probably reflects Livy's snobbery about people who rise above their station. Because clearly Varro is a very able politician. He actually comes top of the whole roster of people who are campaigning to be consul.

And it means that the guy who subsequently comes to be elected as his colleague, a guy called Lucius Aemilius Paulus, although he's from a very distinguished political dynasty, so much more of a conventional consul, he can't really pull rank because Varro does have the kind of weight of electoral achievement behind him.

And it means that the guy who subsequently comes to be elected as his colleague, a guy called Lucius Aemilius Paulus, although he's from a very distinguished political dynasty, so much more of a conventional consul, he can't really pull rank because Varro does have the kind of weight of electoral achievement behind him.

And it means that the guy who subsequently comes to be elected as his colleague, a guy called Lucius Aemilius Paulus, although he's from a very distinguished political dynasty, so much more of a conventional consul, he can't really pull rank because Varro does have the kind of weight of electoral achievement behind him.

And it's this that enables Polybius and Livy to cast Varro as the guy who's really responsible for the whole strategy. So Polybius in particular casts him as being rash, as being incompetent, as being headstrong. And in part, I think this is because clearly Varro was to a degree, I mean, as we will see.

And it's this that enables Polybius and Livy to cast Varro as the guy who's really responsible for the whole strategy. So Polybius in particular casts him as being rash, as being incompetent, as being headstrong. And in part, I think this is because clearly Varro was to a degree, I mean, as we will see.

And it's this that enables Polybius and Livy to cast Varro as the guy who's really responsible for the whole strategy. So Polybius in particular casts him as being rash, as being incompetent, as being headstrong. And in part, I think this is because clearly Varro was to a degree, I mean, as we will see.

But it's also because Aemilius Paulus, the other consul, is the grandfather of Polybius's Roman patron. So Polybius isn't really going to dis Paulus and Polybius is keen to spare Paulus responsibility for this strategy. And Livy also plays it up, casting Paulus as a man who is very sensible, very balanced, very restrained. But I think that this is nonsense.