![Episode 41 - Cannae: Rome’s Darkest Day]()
January 30, 2021
Fabius the Delayer may have saved Minucius from disaster at Geronium, but he would not always be there to protect his impetuous colleagues from rushing into trouble. Following Fabius's relinquishment of the dictatorship, one of the newly-elected consuls, Gaius Terentius Varro, accused Fabius and the patricians of intentionally prolonging the war. Instead of continuing to follow Fabius’s delaying tactics, Varro urged the Romans to immediately engage Hannibal to obtain decisive victory. Despite the protests of his fellow consul, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Varro's counsel won out. The Senate raised four new legions in addition to the four which typically served. Fielding the greatest army she had ever raised - 87,000 men total - Rome challenged Hannibal for the third time at the small Apulian town of Cannae.
Link to the Episode 41 page on the Layman's Historian website which includes pictures and diagrams of the Battle of Cannae
Recommended further reading:
The Histories by Polybius
Hannibal's War by Titus Livius
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Hannibal's Dynasty by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes or Spotify
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![Episode 39 - The Delayer: Part I]()
September 26, 2020
Following the disaster at Lake Trasimene, the Roman Senate took the drastic step of appointing a dictator - a single man with full military powers - to meet the crisis. The man chosen - Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus - differed greatly from the typical Roman aristocrat of his day. Cool-headed and steady handed, Fabius implemented a strategy of delay and harassment against Hannibal, hoping to whittle down the Carthaginian forces without risking another devastating defeat in open battle. Although effective at stabilizing Roman morale, the dictator's strategy proved extremely unpopular among soldiers in his own camp. His second-in-command, Marcus Minucius Rufus, soon became the ringleader of a growing band of dissidents, and the tension between the dictator and his lieutenant would lead to an open breach which Hannibal would be quick to exploit.
Recommended further reading:
The Histories by Polybius
Hannibal's War by Titus Livius
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Hannibal's Dynasty by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Link to the Episode 39 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
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![Episode 37 - First Blood]()
July 12, 2020
Having narrowly skirted disaster in the Alps, Hannibal and his army regrouped in the Po Valley of northern Italy while the Roman Consuls, Scipio and Sempronious, scrambled to intercept him. After thrashing the Romans under Scipio at the River Ticinus, Hannibal pursued Scipio’s retreating legions to the River Trebia. Here, Sempronious - proud, headstrong, and impetuous - would seek to meet the Carthaginians in decisive battle. In the December, 218 BC, the two armies would clash at the Battle of the River Trebia - the first major battle between Hannibal and the Roman legions.
Recommended further reading:
The Histories by Polybius
Hannibal's War by Titus Livius
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Hannibal's Dynasty by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Link to the Episode 37 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
Leave a like or comment on the Facebook page
Follow on Twitter.
Contact me directly through email
![Episode 36 - Making a Way]()
May 30, 2020
In early October 218 BC, Hannibal performed his most famous - and controversial - feat: the crossing of the Alps. Fighting hostile tribes, freezing cold, blinding snow, treacherous paths, and even the solid rock which barred his way, Hannibal forged a path across Europe’s tallest mountain range, elephants in tow. When he emerged into Italy, his forces had been drastically reduced, but the men who remained formed the nucleus of what would become the Roman's worst nightmare.
Recommended further reading:
The Histories by Polybius
Hannibal's War by Titus Livius
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Hannibal's Dynasty by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Link to the Episode 36 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
Leave a like or comment on the Facebook page
Follow on Twitter.
Contact me directly through email
![Episode 33 - The Lion’s Brood]()
February 15, 2020
Returning to the narrative, Hamilcar Barca, continuing his campaigns into the Spanish interior, died suddenly battling against hostile tribes in 228 BC. With Hamilcar's eldest son, the famous Hannibal, still in his teens, Hamilcar's son-in-law, Hasdrubal the Fair, succeeded the great Barcid leader in Spain. Charming, sophisticated, and diplomatic, Hasdrubal consolidated Hamilcar's foothold in southern Spain by a series of treaties, guest-friendships, and political marriages along with occasional judicious campaigns. His newly-established capital, New Carthage, quickly grew to be one of the greatest cities of the burgeoning Carthaginian empire due to its natural harbor and ready access to the markets of Spain and North Africa. By the time of Hasdrubal's own death in 221 BC, the Carthaginian army and cities in Spain had been forged into a formidable power base which would serve the young Hannibal well in the trials to come.
Recommended further reading:
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Link to the Episode 33 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
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![Episode 32 - All the Nations of the Earth: The Carthaginian Army under Hannibal]()
December 29, 2019
Ever since the disastrous Battle of the Crimissus in 339 BC, Carthage proved reluctant to send her own citizens to war, preferring instead to pay others to do her fighting for her. Thus, her recruiters scoured the earth in search of the best mercenaries money could buy to supplement her native North African contingents of Libyans and Numidians. Although on paper, Carthage's polyglot armies appeared inferior to Rome's more homogenous organization, in practice, if well-equipped and well-led, Carthaginian soldiers could, and did, prove themselves the equals of their legionary opponents. Under Hannibal, Carthage's mercenary soldiers reached their zenith of effectiveness, maintaining their ethnic fighting styles while being unified by the iron will of their commander, forming a flexible, stubborn fighting force which would be a nightmare to Rome for years to come.
Can't quite picture what a Numidian cavalryman or Gallic warrior looked like? Click here to see an example with 28mm miniatures!
Recommended further reading:
A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos
Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles
Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers
Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 32 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
Leave a like or comment on the Facebook page
Follow on Twitter.
Contact me directly through email
