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The Layman's Historian is a podcast about interesting periods of history that a layman would appreciate. My first series covers the history of Carthage including the three Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome.
Episodes
Sunday May 20, 2018
Sunday May 20, 2018
With the fall of Acragas, the Romans realized that they now had an opportunity to wrest control of the whole of Sicily away from Carthage. In order to do so, however, they would have to challenge Carthage on her own element – the sea. Using a captured Carthaginian quinquereme as their template, the Romans initiated a startling shipbuilding initiative complete with training their crews to row on land while waiting for the ships to be constructed. Once upon the water, the Romans brought their own ingenuity to bear on the coming confrontation in the form of the corvus, a boarding bridge which turned a naval battle about maneuver into a land battle on floating platforms. With their new device, the Romans scored a decisive victory off the coast of Sicily near the city of Mylae, defeating the vaunted Carthaginian fleet in a head-to-head contest. Despite this, the war still threatened gridlock. A new plan was needed, a plan to strike Carthage on her home soil…
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 22 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Saturday May 05, 2018
Saturday May 05, 2018
Having drifted into the First Punic War, Rome and Carthage both marshaled their forces and shipped them to Sicily. The Carthaginians sought to establish the city of Acragas as their base of operations due to its strategic location in southern Sicily and proximity to Roman-controlled territory. Similarly, the Romans besieged Acragas to cut off the Carthaginians from this vital port. Under Hanno, a Carthaginian relief army complete with sixty elephants met the Roman legions in a full-scale battle which resulted in a costly Roman victory. As the Carthaginians retreated westward, the Roman Senate realized that Rome now had the opportunity to wrest Sicily from Carthage forever. Before she could do that, however, Rome would have to challenge Carthage on her own element: the Mediterranean Sea.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 21 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Saturday Apr 07, 2018
Saturday Apr 07, 2018
The day has arrived. After Pyrrhus's retreat from Italy in 275 BC, Carthage and Rome found themselves to be new neighbors with only a two mile stretch of water in the Strait of Messina separating them from each other. Although it is debatable whether the First Punic War was inevitable, its causes were rooted in many things, including the Romans’ belief that they stood alongside the Greeks against the barbarian world and its inhabitants such as Carthage as well as political rivalry and fear. Sparked by a local quarrel between Syracuse and the Mamertines, a group of rogue mercenaries who had seized control of the city of Messana, the First Punic War escalated from a regional skirmish into a full-scale conflict which would become one of the longest and costliest wars of Antiquity.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 20 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Mar 25, 2018
Sunday Mar 25, 2018
In Part II of our overview of the career of Pyrrhus of Epirus, we pick up with Pyrrhus's campaigns in southern Italy. After whipping his Tarentine allies into shape, Pyrrhus defeated the Romans in two brutal battles, although both battles cost him so many of his own men that the term "Pyrrhic Victory" became proverbial. Following a brief stint in Sicily fighting against the Carthaginians, Pyrrhus returned to continue his wars in Greece. Despite the fact he failed in his efforts to carve out a new Greek empire in the West, his campaigns in Italy and Sicily set Rome and Carthage on a collision course that would result in the longest continuous war Antiquity would ever see.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 19 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Mar 11, 2018
Sunday Mar 11, 2018
Resuming our narrative of the history of Carthage, we turn to one of the successor realms in the West. Pyrrhus, a second cousin of Alexander the Great, rose to become King of Epirus after a tumultuous and eventful childhood. After distinguishing himself by his skill as a military commander and his personal bravery, Pyrrhus invaded Italy in 280 BC at the invitation of the Greek city-state of Tarentum to support the western Greeks against the rising power of Rome. The resulting Pyrrhic War would be an epic clash between the dynamic Pyrrhus and the solid, relentless Romans, and the conflict would eventually draw Carthage's involvement due to its importance. In this episode, we cover the rise of Pyrrhus up until he sets foot in Italy. In Part II, we will cover the Pyrrhic War in detail and how Pyrrhus's actions set the stage for the Punic Wars to come.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 18 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Feb 25, 2018
Sunday Feb 25, 2018
Completing our tour of the Mediterranean circa 300 BC, we finish with the history of the upstart city-state of Rome. Born into the harsh and competitive world of ancient Italy, Rome from the start was an aggressive, warlike, and proud civilization intent on not only surviving but thriving in the chaos which surrounded her. Her history is one of constant struggle, disaster, and triumph, but by 300 BC, through sheer grit and determination, Rome stood as the mistress of Italy, a formidable and relentless power in the Mediterranean.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 17 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Feb 11, 2018
Sunday Feb 11, 2018
Continuing our tour of the Mediterranean circa 300 BC, we now turn to the squabbling Hellenic successor kingdoms in the East. Alexander the Great and his Macedonians succeeded in building a world empire that stretched from Greece to India in twelve short years, but Alexander's sudden death threw his newly-acquired realm into chaos. Following nearly twenty years of constant warfare, Alexander's generals, the Diadochi, managed to impose some order on the situation by divvying out the empire for themselves. However, the instability of the times as well as the mythos and legacy of Alexander would spill out into the Western Mediterranean, setting both Carthage and Rome on a collision course which would lead to the First Punic War.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 16 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Jan 28, 2018
Sunday Jan 28, 2018
Having explored the peoples of North Africa and Spain, we move north to examine one of the most feared peoples of Antiquity: the Keltoi. Centered on Gaul, modern-day France, the Keltoi or Celts were renowned for their ferocity in battle as well as their great physical stature and strength, the prototypical barbarians. Yet they built well-organized and well-populated cities, crafted beautiful and intricate art, and traded vigorously all across the Mediterranean. Their achievements make them a paradox in the ancient world, simultaneously savage and sophisticated, but their legacy of terror and triumph lives on to our days.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 15 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Jan 14, 2018
Sunday Jan 14, 2018
Continuing our tour of the Mediterranean around 300 BC, we look at the peoples of North Africa, specifically the Libyan tribes including the fierce Garamantines, the stern Mauri, and the nimble Numidians. From there, we briefly touch on the Liby-Phoenician colonies in North Africa and Spain before finishing with the Iberian tribes of Spain. If you get a chance, check out the new Facebook page and website for the Laymen's Historian for extra pictures and news regarding the podcast. Also, make sure to subscribe via iTunes to keep up with the latest episodes.
Link to the Layman's Historian website
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to the Episode 14 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Leave a like or comment on the Facebook page
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Saturday Jan 06, 2018
Saturday Jan 06, 2018
With the close of the Sicilian Wars, we have a perfect opportunity to pause in our narrative and take a look around at Carthage and the surrounding civilizations. In this episode, we will cover the city of Carthage in detail as she stood in the early 200s BC before covering what the everyday Carthaginian looked like as well as the different social classes in the city. Finally, we will discuss the culture or soul of Carthage, what they believed and how those beliefs molded them into the people they were.
Link to my Map of the Mediterranean World Circa 300 BC
Link to an overhead diagram of the City of Carthage on the episodes page
Link to the Episode 13 page on the Layman's Historian website
Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes
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