Gregory Aldrete

So this is a bloodshed of an almost unimaginable scale. Yeah. It's also brutal. Yes. Just the slaughter. I mean, it's just mind-boggling to think of that. So now this is Rome's darkest hour. This is why the Second Punic War is important because there's that Nietzsche phrase, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This is the closest Rome comes to death in the history of the republic.

So this is a bloodshed of an almost unimaginable scale. Yeah. It's also brutal. Yes. Just the slaughter. I mean, it's just mind-boggling to think of that. So now this is Rome's darkest hour. This is why the Second Punic War is important because there's that Nietzsche phrase, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. This is the closest Rome comes to death in the history of the republic.

Hannibal almost kills Rome. But – No, it's not much of a spoiler. Rome's going to survive. And from this point on, they're going to be unbeatable. But this is the crisis. This is the crucible. This is the furnace that Rome passes through that is the dividing point between when they're one more up-and-coming empire and when they're clearly the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

Hannibal almost kills Rome. But – No, it's not much of a spoiler. Rome's going to survive. And from this point on, they're going to be unbeatable. But this is the crisis. This is the crucible. This is the furnace that Rome passes through that is the dividing point between when they're one more up-and-coming empire and when they're clearly the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

Hannibal almost kills Rome. But – No, it's not much of a spoiler. Rome's going to survive. And from this point on, they're going to be unbeatable. But this is the crisis. This is the crucible. This is the furnace that Rome passes through that is the dividing point between when they're one more up-and-coming empire and when they're clearly the dominant power in the Mediterranean.

So what do they do about Hannibal? Well, they're smart. We're not going to fight Hannibal. We're not going to give Hannibal the chance to kill more Romans. So they adopt a strategy that they'll follow Hannibal or they raise a couple more armies, follow Hannibal around. But whenever Hannibal turns and tries to attack them, the Romans just back off. No, thank you.

So what do they do about Hannibal? Well, they're smart. We're not going to fight Hannibal. We're not going to give Hannibal the chance to kill more Romans. So they adopt a strategy that they'll follow Hannibal or they raise a couple more armies, follow Hannibal around. But whenever Hannibal turns and tries to attack them, the Romans just back off. No, thank you.

So what do they do about Hannibal? Well, they're smart. We're not going to fight Hannibal. We're not going to give Hannibal the chance to kill more Romans. So they adopt a strategy that they'll follow Hannibal or they raise a couple more armies, follow Hannibal around. But whenever Hannibal turns and tries to attack them, the Romans just back off. No, thank you.

We're not going to let you – give you a chance. Meanwhile though, they're not scared of other Carthaginians. So they raise a couple more armies and they send these to Spain, for example, and start attacking the Carthaginian holdings there. And by luck or necessity, Rome comes up with its own brilliant commander at this point, a guy named Scipio. And he wins victories in Spain, conquers Spain.

We're not going to let you – give you a chance. Meanwhile though, they're not scared of other Carthaginians. So they raise a couple more armies and they send these to Spain, for example, and start attacking the Carthaginian holdings there. And by luck or necessity, Rome comes up with its own brilliant commander at this point, a guy named Scipio. And he wins victories in Spain, conquers Spain.

We're not going to let you – give you a chance. Meanwhile though, they're not scared of other Carthaginians. So they raise a couple more armies and they send these to Spain, for example, and start attacking the Carthaginian holdings there. And by luck or necessity, Rome comes up with its own brilliant commander at this point, a guy named Scipio. And he wins victories in Spain, conquers Spain.

Then he crosses into North Africa and starts to conquer that and ends up threatening Carthage directly. Poor Hannibal, undefeated in Italy, has now been walking up and down Italy or marching up and down Italy for 12 years looking for another fight, and the Romans won't give it to him. They've been attacking all these other areas and chipping away at Carthaginian power.

Then he crosses into North Africa and starts to conquer that and ends up threatening Carthage directly. Poor Hannibal, undefeated in Italy, has now been walking up and down Italy or marching up and down Italy for 12 years looking for another fight, and the Romans won't give it to him. They've been attacking all these other areas and chipping away at Carthaginian power.

Then he crosses into North Africa and starts to conquer that and ends up threatening Carthage directly. Poor Hannibal, undefeated in Italy, has now been walking up and down Italy or marching up and down Italy for 12 years looking for another fight, and the Romans won't give it to him. They've been attacking all these other areas and chipping away at Carthaginian power.

So finally, after more than a decade in Italy, Hannibal is called back to defend the homeland, defend Carthage from Scipio. The two meet in a big battle. This should be one of the great battles of all times, the Battle of Zama. But Hannibal's guys are kind of old by this point. Scipio has all the advantages. He wins. Carthage is defeated. So that's pretty much the end of Carthage.

So finally, after more than a decade in Italy, Hannibal is called back to defend the homeland, defend Carthage from Scipio. The two meet in a big battle. This should be one of the great battles of all times, the Battle of Zama. But Hannibal's guys are kind of old by this point. Scipio has all the advantages. He wins. Carthage is defeated. So that's pretty much the end of Carthage.

So finally, after more than a decade in Italy, Hannibal is called back to defend the homeland, defend Carthage from Scipio. The two meet in a big battle. This should be one of the great battles of all times, the Battle of Zama. But Hannibal's guys are kind of old by this point. Scipio has all the advantages. He wins. Carthage is defeated. So that's pretty much the end of Carthage.

The city survives, and then 50 years later, the Romans wipe it out, but that's not much of a war. But from this moment on, from the Second Punic War, which ends in 201 BC, Rome is undisputably the most powerful force, nation in the Mediterranean world. Having conquered the West, they're now going to turn to the East, which is the Greek world. The Greek world is older. It's richer.

The city survives, and then 50 years later, the Romans wipe it out, but that's not much of a war. But from this moment on, from the Second Punic War, which ends in 201 BC, Rome is undisputably the most powerful force, nation in the Mediterranean world. Having conquered the West, they're now going to turn to the East, which is the Greek world. The Greek world is older. It's richer.

The city survives, and then 50 years later, the Romans wipe it out, but that's not much of a war. But from this moment on, from the Second Punic War, which ends in 201 BC, Rome is undisputably the most powerful force, nation in the Mediterranean world. Having conquered the West, they're now going to turn to the East, which is the Greek world. The Greek world is older. It's richer.