Tom Holland

Because Hamilcar dies in battle in 229, and Hannibal proves a very, very worthy heir to his father.

And by the 220s BC, he's built on the foundations laid by his father, and he has fashioned Spain into a very formidable launchpad for attacking Rome and for launching what he obviously sees as a kind of war of vengeance.

Yes.

And so it's called Carthage, but the Romans will call it New Carthage.

And I think it's easier for us to follow the Roman example.

And as you say, it is modelled on the original Carthage and it is impressive in the way that the original Carthage is.

And people may be wondering, well, how can this be afforded?

Well, it can be afforded because Spain is massively rich in mineral wealth.

There is gold, there is silver, there is copper, there is tin, there is lead.

There's basically everything that you could possibly want.

And the gold and silver in particular can be used to recruit mercenaries.

So infantry from Spain, the Spaniards are very proficient fighters.

Infantry from Libya, cavalry from Numidia, which is basically now Algeria, which is by far the best light cavalry in the world.

And Hannibal by 218 is ready to take the Romans on.

And very famously, he does this by taking the land route from Spain to Italy, complete with elephants, and he crosses the Alps.

And this is probably the one thing that everyone knows about Hannibal.

And he has with him his youngest brother, Mago.

He leaves Hasdrubal, his younger brother, to garrison Spain.

And he also takes with him someone we've met in the reading that you gave at the start of this program, Mahabal, who is probably Hannibal's nephew.

And these are all very battle-hardened, seasoned, able men.