Tom Holland

He's awarded Fabius by this point is dead.

So the title of Princeps Sonatus chief senator is vacant.

So Scipio takes it and he's given the title of Africanus.

So Scipio the African, meaning that he has essentially defeated the Africans.

And Livy notes that he was the first general in Rome to be celebrated by the name of the people he had conquered.

So Scipio Africanus, I mean, he's clearly a massive, dominating, glamorous, prestigious figure.

But it's interesting that he seems to have adjusted less successfully to civilian life than Hannibal.

And we've been comparing him on and off throughout this episode in the previous one to the Duke of Wellington, who fought a war in Spain and then met with the greatest enemy of his country and defeated him in a climactic battle that ended that enemy's career.

So you could think of Zama as the, you know, the Waterloo of the Punic Wars.

And then like the Duke of Wellington, who became prime minister and was a terrible prime minister, Scipio finds it hard to take the Senate with him.

So there's this brilliant thing, isn't there, of the Duke of Wellington has his first cabinet meeting and is outraged.

He says, I gave them their orders, but they wanted to stay behind and discuss them.

And I think there's a similar feeling with Scipio.

Yeah.

You know, he's got his long hair.

He's very glamorous.

He's, you know, son of a snake.

He can't be bothered with senators sitting on their dignity.

Talking about drainage.

Talking about, well, I mean, probably moaning about him.