Tom Holland

So, you know, a brilliant catch for Hannibal.

It effectively becomes his capital.

But by 211, the Romans feel that they are ready to advance on Capua and to try and take it back.

And they start the siege at a time when Hannibal is distant, besieging another city in the south of Italy.

And the news comes to him that the Romans are besieging Capua.

Rather than march directly to the rescue of Capua, he decides instead that he's going to adopt a diversionary tactic.

Five years on from the Battle of Cannae, he decides, at last, I am going to march on Rome and hope that this will so alarm the Romans that they will pull their troops back from Capua and pull them back to their home city.

He arrives in front of the walls of Rome.

And of course, it throws the inhabitants of the city into complete disarray.

There is widespread panic.

There is this famous cry, Hannibal ad portas, Hannibal at the gates, which becomes one of the most famous phrases in Roman life and culture.

But the Senate.

unlike the mass of the populace, refuse to panic because they know the situation.

As you said, Hannibal doesn't have siege equipment.

There's no prospect that he'll be able to storm the walls.

And what is more, by great good fortune, it so happens that two legions are present in Rome at the time when Hannibal appears before the walls.

And that's about 10,000 men.

So there is actually, in the upper echelons of the Roman elite, they're not panicking.

And in fact, there is a famous story, which regrettably is very late, and so therefore it's probably made up, but it's a good one anyway, that even as Hannibal is camped out on the estates and lands beyond Rome, the Senate are auctioning off the land on which he's camped, and that there are lots of buyers for it.

So a nice statement of Roman pluck.