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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
Saturday Dec 16, 2017
Saturday Dec 16, 2017
After the stunning Greek victory at White Tunis, Agathocles began leisurely pillaging the Carthaginian countryside, amassing riches and terrorizing the inhabitants. Back in Sicily, Hamilcar Gisco was not so lucky, ultimately losing his life in a disastrous night attack. Now, with her armies crippled, a foreign invader at her gates, and traitors within her walls, Carthage would have to summon all her strength and resourcefulness to survive the coming days. As a special Christmas present to you all, I have uploaded a map of Carthage and the surrounding civilizations to the notes of this episode. Merry Christmas!
Update: As I feared, the map did not show up in the episode notes on iTunes. Until I get it sorted out, I have attached a link to the map here. Enjoy!
Link to the Episode 12 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Dec 03, 2017
Sunday Dec 03, 2017
After driving the Greeks back to Syracuse in the Battle of the River Himera, Hamilcar Gisco and his Carthaginians settled in to besiege the city. However, Agathocles refused to remain cooped up within the walls. Conceiving of a bold gamble likely inspired by his hero Alexander, Agathocles determined to invade North Africa and take the war to Carthage herself. Secretly gathering his forces and building a fleet, Agathocles outwitted the Carthaginians and landed on the shores of Cape Bon, becoming the first European to ever invade North Africa.
Link to the Episode 11 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Wednesday Nov 15, 2017
Wednesday Nov 15, 2017
Following Agathocles's bloody and tyrannical rise to power, Carthage dispatched an army under Hamilcar Gisco to put down this new upstart regime. After committing more atrocities at Gela for good measure, Agathocles met the Carthaginians at the Battle of the River Himera. Although he almost took the Carthaginian camp by storm, his forces were driven back by Hamilcar Gisco using his Balearic slingers. After this devastating defeat, Agathocles and Syracuse stood alone against the full might of Carthage in Sicily.
Link to the Episode 10 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Monday Nov 06, 2017
Monday Nov 06, 2017
After Timoleon's death, Sicily enjoyed an unprecedented twenty-year period of peace and prosperity. Things were not so quiet in the East, however. The Macedonians, under Philip II and his son Alexander, soon to be known as the Great, had forged in twelve short years an empire that covered the known world from Greece to India. In the wake of Alexander's sudden demise, a host of would-be successors vied to share in the Great Macedonian's glory, including Agathocles, last and most brutal of the tyrants of Sicily.
Link to the Episode 9 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Wednesday Nov 01, 2017
Wednesday Nov 01, 2017
With Dionysius out of the way, Carthage, despite internal struggles, began to extend her authority over most of Sicily through strategic alliances and concentrated military actions. Syracuse had almost immediately returned to her old ways after Dionysius's death, and her people were divided in endless squabbles and feuds. With Syracuse temporarily out of the picture, it looked as if Carthage would finally be able to establish order on the turbulent island. However, it wasn't to be, for an obscure Corinthian general now appeared on the scene, handing Carthage its greatest defeat in Sicily to date and revitalizing Syracuse to fight another day.
Link to the Episode 8 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Thursday Oct 26, 2017
Although Carthage had scored some resounding victories against Syracuse, in the fourth century BC, she came up against a significant challenge in the person of Dionysius, Tyrant of Syracuse. A former mercenary captain, an ambitious ruler but a mediocre poet, Dionysius would rule Syracuse for 38 years. Ambitious, bold, and cunning, Dionysius revitalized Syracuse into a fighting machine, fielding a massive army and navy to challenge Carthage's rule over in Sicily. Through fierce fighting both on sea and land, Dionysius succeeded in placing Carthage on the defensive and humiliating the Magonids, although he never achieved his goal of driving the Carthaginians from Sicily. Nonetheless, his preparations and institutions allowed Syracuse to fight Carthage to a standstill, no mean feat considering the wealth and power Carthage could bring to bear in the conflict.
Link to the Episode 7 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Oct 15, 2017
Sunday Oct 15, 2017
During the seventy year peace with Syracuse, Carthage regrouped by instituting government reforms and overhauling its tremendous infrastructure. Meanwhile, Syracusan factions squabbled internally, fluctuating between democratic and autocratic governments. Despite this, Syracuse won a stunning victory against Athens in the Sicilian Expedition, only to watch its allies be trounced by the Carthaginians commanded by Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, the general who fell at Himera. Yet, with Syracuse reeling from battle, the Carthaginians spared the city and made peace, a decision that they would later rue in the coming years.
Link to the Episode 6 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Sunday Oct 08, 2017
Sunday Oct 08, 2017
When Carthage expanded its reach into the western coast of Sicily, it became neighbors with the powerful Hellenic colonies of Greece on the eastern side of the island. The Greeks had their own impressive civilization, and Hellenic ingenuity and military innovation made the Greeks a formidable force in Mediterranean politics. The Greek colony of Syracuse, the most powerful and wealthy colony in Magna Graecia, was to prove to be a thorn to Carthaginian plans for Sicily for centuries to come.
Link to the Episode 5 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Monday Oct 02, 2017
Monday Oct 02, 2017
Following the growth of Carthage into a commercial, political, and technological power, the Carthaginians began to expand outwards from their city. Delving into North Africa and across the Mediterranean, Carthage formed an informal empire for itself using trade, diplomacy, and concentrated military force. Meanwhile, Carthaginian ships sailed further and further afield, exploring the coasts of Africa, Northern Europe, and...America? That can't be right...
Link to the Episode 4 page on the Layman's Historian website
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Saturday Sep 16, 2017
Saturday Sep 16, 2017
After Dido's founding, Qart-Hadasht, or Carthage, grew exponentially, quickly establishing itself as a commercial powerhouse in the Western Mediterranean. Not only did it become a major industrial center like its Tyrian forebear, Carthage also led the way in pioneering agricultural techniques. However, a shadow fell over the city, for the Temple of Ba'al-Hammon, chief god of Carthage, was filled with blood and horror.
Link to the Episode 3 page on the Layman's Historian website
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