642. Rome’s Greatest Enemy: Bloodbath in Africa (Part 3)
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What were Hannibal's key strategies during the Punic Wars?
It is impossible to withhold our admiration for Hannibal's leadership, his courage, and his ability in the field, when we consider the duration of his campaigns, and take note of the major and minor battles, the sieges, the defections of cities from one side to the other, the difficulties he encountered at various times, and in short, the whole scope of his design and its execution. For sixteen years he waged ceaseless war against the Romans in Italy, and the whole while, like a good pilot, he kept the love and loyalty of his forces. He had with him Africans, Iberians, Gauls, Carthaginians, Italians and Greeks, men who had nothing naturally in common, neither in their laws, their customs, their language, nor in any other respect.
Nonetheless, the skill of their commander was such that he could impose the authority of a single voice and a single will, even upon men of such totally diverse origins. If only he'd subdued other parts of the world first and finished with the Romans, not one of his projects would have eluded him. But as it was, since he turned his attention first to those whom he should have dealt with last, his career began and ended with them. So that was the Greek historian Polybius. It's one of those passages that seems written precisely to torment 16-year-old schoolboys and schoolgirls in British schools in the 1940s or something, sort of slogging their way through his torturous prose. Polybius, like him or loathe him, he's our best source for the Punic Wars.
And here in this thrilling passage, he is singing the praises of the great Carthaginian general Hannibal.
How did Scipio's leadership influence the Roman invasion of Africa?
Now in today's episode, we are coming to the great showdown of the Punic Wars, one of the most titanic clashes in all history. This is the showdown between the Romans and the Carthaginians at the Battle of Zama. And we'll come to this in a little while. But first, let's have a little chat about Polybius himself, because Tom, he knew Rome well and he knew the subject very well. He'd interviewed leading figures in the war against Hannibal, hadn't he? He admired the Roman system of government. And actually, he was quite a fan of the Roman imperium more broadly.
Yes, even though he was a Greek. And slightly disappointed that you didn't follow up your brilliant impression of Livy in our last episode by doing a Greek accent for Polybius.
I did think about it, but I didn't do it.
What were the circumstances leading to the Battle of Zama?
But you ducked it. Yeah, so Polybius, for reasons that we will come to, He knows Rome very, very well indeed. And he's particularly close to the family of the Scipios. And they are the family that, as we heard in the previous episode, they played the kind of the leading role in the great Rome's great death struggle with Hannibal. So when it comes to the Punic Wars, Polybius is pretty clearly team Rome. But even so, as we heard in that opening passage, he can't help but admire Hannibal. And the reasons are self-evident. Hannibal is the man who has led a great army over the Alps into Italy. He's killed 100,000 Romans, perhaps, in three terrible and tactically brilliant battles.
How did Polybius contribute to our understanding of the Punic Wars?
And who, as Polybius noted in that passage, had kept a force made up of many disparate peoples in the field for a decade and more. in a foreign land separated by the seas from Carthage, his native city. So an unbelievable achievement. Now, the Romans, unlike Polybius, were not generally in the habit of praising Hannibal. And the reason for that is that they feared and hated him too much. But I think with the Romans, if you have their hatred and their fear, they are paying you a kind of compliment.
Of course, yeah.
They know the man they are facing. I mean, they know that they are facing one of the greatest generals of all time. Now, that said, by 204 BC, Hannibal's fortunes, this guy who at one point had seemed on the verge of destroying Roman power for good, his fortunes are much, much diminished.
What role did Massinissa play in Scipio's campaign?
So, by 204 BC... He's been in Italy for 14 years. And that is four times the length of the First World War. So that gives you some sense of what an ordeal this has been.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were Hannibal's key strategies during the Punic Wars?
0:11–2:04
2
How did Scipio's leadership influence the Roman invasion of Africa?
2:04–2:51
3
What were the circumstances leading to the Battle of Zama?
2:51–3:37
4
How did Polybius contribute to our understanding of the Punic Wars?
3:37–4:36
5
What role did Massinissa play in Scipio's campaign?
4:36–5:14
6
What was the significance of Sophonisba in the conflict?
5:14–5:57
7
How did the Battle of Zama change the course of history?
5:57–7:01
8
What were the long-term impacts of the Roman victory over Carthage?
7:01–1:06:04
Speakers
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