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(dramatic music)
Our history

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is no more than a series of incredible events.

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Every one of us can influence it's course.

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(dramatic music)

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The most infinitesimal of our decisions

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can influence the future of humanity.

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To know the past is to foresee the future.

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52 B.C.

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Gaul, opiddum of Alesia.

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In the day following a dreadful night of fighting,

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the Arverne leader Vercingetorix is victorious.

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In the heart of the fray he confronted,

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then killed with his bare hands,

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the enemy leader, King Hasdrubal.

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(crashing)

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After his crushing victory at the Battle of Cannae,

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the general Hannibal attacked Rome.

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The rival city was razed to the ground.

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In Carthage, taking advantage of both

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his great military prestige and his huge war chest,

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Hannibal seized power and proclaimed himself king.

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During the following century the Carthaginian armies

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conquered the rest of the Western Mediterranean,

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even venturing into Gaul.

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But none of that ever happened.

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In 216 B.C. a small grain of sand

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will change the outcome of the conflict

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between Rome and Carthage.

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(ethereal music)

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Eighth century B.C.

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A Phoenician Queen, Dido, landed on the African coasts

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where she founded the city of Carthage.

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Six centuries later, the Carthaginian Hannibal Barca

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invaded Italy and decimated the Roman legions.

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In 146 B.C., finally defeated by Roman armies

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Carthage is pillaged, set ablaze, and razed.

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These three events are key moments of the Carthaginian era.

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They resulted in it's destruction

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by it's great rival the Roman Republic.

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North Africa, eighth century B.C.

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The Phoenician Queen Dido, forced to flee

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from her native city of Tyre on the Lebanese coast,

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finally landed here, on the other side

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of the Mediterranean Sea.

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She asked the local chief for a land

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where she and her people could settle.

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According to the legend, he promised her

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as much land as could be encompassed by an ox hide.

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Dido cut the ox hide into fine strips,

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so that she had enough to encircle

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an entire nearby hill for her new city.

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Diplomacy and negotiation, two mainstays

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of this embryonic city, helped create

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one of the most impressive powers of antiquity.

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Carthage.
(dramatic music)

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Phoenicians were indisputably

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the greatest sailors of antiquity.

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Although they didn't know the compass yet,

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they knew how to find their bearings even at night.

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At the end of the 2nd millennium B.C.

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they turned to maritime commerce,

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and set up trading posts and colonies on the Mediterranean.

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Each new colony was independent,

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but they where all united by a common culture,

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the same language, and the same beliefs.

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Carthage, which means new city, was one of these colonies.

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From the beginning, it's development relied on trading,

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then agriculture and craft production.

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Situated on a peninsula closely linked to the dry land,

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the town quickly extended its zone of influence,

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from Spain to Cyprus.

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It became a real sea empire, an economic confederation.

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At the head of the city, no king or tyrant,

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but two senior officials.

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The Shophets, elected for a period determined by a senate

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and controlled by a popular assembly.

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(electronic beat)

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Welcome to the memory of humanity.

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Every historical event, regardless of how small,

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is recorded and connected.

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You only need to change one to upset all the others.

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Here we are able to control time,

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analyze and compare billions of events

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in order to rewrite history in infinite ways.

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Was Carthage the first republic in history?

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Actually there are only a few sources of that time,

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and we must rely on Roman

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or Greek historians from antiquity.

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But most likely, Carthage was ruled

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by a system both oligarchic and democratic.

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Two judges holding the executive power,

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the Shophet's, were elected for a period

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determined by a senate whose members were themselves born

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into the major Carthaginian families.

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A popular assembly allowed the population

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to express itself and constituted an opposition force.

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According to Aristotle, Carthage,

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founded 300 years before the birth of the Roman Republic,

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would thus be the first republic of history.

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Let's resume.

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(dramatic music)

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Following an argument,

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Remus has just been killed by his twin brother Romulus.

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According to legend, the blood of the son of Mars

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establishes a village on the Palatine hill

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in the heart of the Italian peninsula.

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He gives the village his name, Rome.

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The early days of Rome were as violent as its founding myth,

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made of frequent wars against neighboring cities.

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In 390 B.C. the armies of Rome were wiped out

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and the city was devastated by the Celtic hordes

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of the great chief Brennus.

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The Romans will never forget this traumatic experience.

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Surrounded by enemies, they become obsessed

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with their own survival and continuously build

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a bigger and bigger living space.

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The only guarantor for their security.

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Yet, in the third century B.C.

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there was no shortage of enemies in this part of the world.

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A vast number of peoples, cities and kingdoms

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were in perpetual motion.

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Alexander the Great's shadow

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is still hanging over the Eastern Mediterranean.

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(dramatic music)

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in Western Mediterranean, many Greeks

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live in Sicily, Italy, or Gaul,

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where they had founded numerous colonies.

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Such as Massalia or Syracuse.

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Alliances are formed and broken up,

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each one trying to impose its authority.

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War after war, sacrifice after sacrifice,

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the Roman legions soon control the entire Italian peninsula.

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In 264 B.C., even though it was only a regional power,

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Rome had forged itself an unfailing fighting spirit.

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Its legions of citizen soldiers were devoted

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and ready to die for their country.

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During many centuries, Carthage and Rome

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developed independently.

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Carthage was a sea confederation rooted in Africa,

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while Rome was a mainland power turned towards the lands.

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Both cities even made several trading agreements.

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However, Roma had acquired a taste for conquest and power.

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(dramatic music)

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With Italy conquered and under control,

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new threats could only come from Gaul in the north,

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or Sicily in the south.

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(dramatic music)

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However Sicily, a strategic island

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situated at the crossroads of sea routes,

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was almost entirely under Carthaginian domination.

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Both powers are now facing each other,

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only separated by a strait a few kilometers wide.

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(electronic music)

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The Mediterranean Sea

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is surrounded with lands and sprinkled with islands.

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Whoever wants to control it must own a great naval fleet.

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In the third century B.C. the most powerful warship

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was indisputably the quinquereme.

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An antique galley whose main feature

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was five lines of rowers, as the name indicates.

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It's 300 rowers, twice a standard galley,

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brought the necessary power to charge at enemy ships

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and strike them head on.

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The rostrum, a kind of bronze ram

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situated on the bow, smashed the opposing hull to pieces.

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The Romans, clearly more at ease on land than at sea,

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will develop their own tactics.

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The corvus, a wooden removal bridge

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equipped with an iron post, was designed to strike

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enemy ships and allow boarding, followed by a hand to hand

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fight in which the Legionaries excelled.

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The Romans had found a way

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of turning naval combat into land battle.

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A way to restore the balance of power.

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(ethereal music)
260 B.C.,

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off Malia, the Roman fleet has just defeated Carthage's.

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(ethereal music)

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It came as a shock, one of the greatest navies

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of the whole Mediterranean

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had just been crushed on it's home turf.

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The first major naval victory in

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Roman military history, but not the last one.

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As the terrible war between rival cities drags on for years.

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(men shouting)
(dramatic music)

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From 264 B.C., legions landed in Sicily.

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Since then, one siege followed another,

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each camp scoring points in turn.

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Aware that the conflict would be settled

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by control of the seas, the Roman senate voted

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for the building of a great fleet

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and heavily recruited Greek sailors from the south of Italy.

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On it's side Carthage recruited mass mercenaries

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and in Sicily the troops

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of the brilliant General Hamilcar Barca

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succeeded in thwarting Roman legions.

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(dramatic music)
(men yelling)

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The conflict gets bogged down,

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soon there are thousands of casualties.

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Two super powers are throwing all their strength

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into gigantic combat.

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Off Ecnomus, the Roman fleet is once again victorious

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and lands troops in Africa.

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The road to Carhage is wide open.

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Carthage counter-attacks and sends 200 galleys

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and 100 war elephants in Sicily.

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In Drapana the Carthaginian fleet

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inflicts a dreadful defeat on the Roman galleys.

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Carthage rules the seas, but soon

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has to face an uprising from the Numidian tribes.

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Forced to devote its energies to this revolt,

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the city can't capitalize on its victories.

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In Rome, the last defeats swallow up money

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which allows anti-war forces to bring

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new military expenditure to a standstill.

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At the same time, Carthage is on it's knees,

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tries to obtain credit fro Egypt.

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Trading, the driving force behind

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the Carthaginian economy is deadlocked.

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(dramatic music)

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War is expensive.

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Seeing that the situation is at a standstill,

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Rome is resort to a private loan.

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At their own expense, wealthy citizens

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equip a final naval fleet.

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It must end.

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241 B.C. off Aegatian islands,

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the confrontation, just like the war, is huge.

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The Roman victory is crushing.

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For the Carthaginian senate, dominated by

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major merchant families, this new defeat is the last straw.

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For them, instead of a new military option,

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it is now time for negotiation.

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Mercenaries or citizens,

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war was both expensive and risky.

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The Carthaginian senate chose to get out of

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this conflict using money and diplomacy.

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The city had soon made the pragmatic choice

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to recruit mercenaries, particularly to save

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it's limited manpower resources.

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The Carthaginian armies were thus,

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not permanent and lacked cohesion.

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Libyan's, Numidian's, Iberian's and Celts made up the basis

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of both its infantry and cavalry.

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The Carthaginian generals could also count

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on the tanks of the time, war elephants.

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Led by a mahout, they were trained

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to charge at the enemy ranks to break the first lines,

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and to spread panic by trampling on soldiers.

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Unlike Carthage, Rome owned a land army

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mostly made up of citizens.

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Each legion was composed of 30 maniples

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which were also divided up into two centuries.

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The whole, very flexible and maneuverable,

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made three lines of battle.

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On the front line, the hastati took the first confrontation.

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The principe's came after, followed by the triari,

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the veterans who formed the last bastion.

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A real army of citizens in which

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every Roman less than 46 years old

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could be called up to serve the Republic.

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Two completely different conceptions of an army.

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October, 218 B.C., Northern Italy.

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(marching footsteps)

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Hannibal Barca son of the great Hamilcar,

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00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,880
hero of the last war against Romans,

266
00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,870
has just crossed the Alps.
(elephant trumpets)

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Hannibal, his army and his elephants.

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00:14:53,870 --> 00:14:56,040
Just in front of them is Italy,

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home of the Roman Republic.

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00:14:59,450 --> 00:15:03,110
It is now time for revenge for this Carthaginian general.

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(marching footsteps)
(sorrowful music)

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00:15:07,525 --> 00:15:09,330
(men chanting)

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00:15:09,330 --> 00:15:12,810
At the end of the previous war Carthage was forced,

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00:15:12,810 --> 00:15:15,470
in addition to the payment of a large indemnity,

275
00:15:15,470 --> 00:15:19,100
to give up Sicily and numerous islands.

276
00:15:19,100 --> 00:15:21,880
23 years of armed peace had followed,

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during which Rome had seized Sardinia.

278
00:15:25,470 --> 00:15:29,010
Meanwhile, Carthage had made up for its territorial losses

279
00:15:29,010 --> 00:15:31,453
by the conquest of a large part of Spain.

280
00:15:32,550 --> 00:15:35,640
The oligarchic power of the Carthaginian merchants

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00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:36,890
had seen the emergence

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00:15:36,890 --> 00:15:39,920
of a new dominant family, the Barcids,

283
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:41,763
of which Hannibal was a member.

284
00:15:43,750 --> 00:15:47,010
Deeply devoted to his city, the young Carthaginian

285
00:15:47,010 --> 00:15:48,480
had lived at the dark moments

286
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,019
of the dreadful mutinies of mercenaries.

287
00:15:51,019 --> 00:15:54,780
(peaceful music)
Now a grownup and a general

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00:15:54,780 --> 00:15:57,903
he considers that it is time to make Rome pay.

289
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:01,703
Aware that his fleet is weak,

290
00:16:01,703 --> 00:16:04,770
he decides to attack the Romans bye surprise

291
00:16:04,770 --> 00:16:07,090
and to travel overland to reach Italy

292
00:16:07,090 --> 00:16:09,980
through the natural barrier of the Alps.

293
00:16:09,980 --> 00:16:12,860
(dramatic music)

294
00:16:12,860 --> 00:16:16,510
His goal is to provoke the uprising of the allies of Rome

295
00:16:16,510 --> 00:16:18,483
and to defeat the Roman legions.

296
00:16:19,930 --> 00:16:22,820
When the Roman senators learn about Hannibal's feat,

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00:16:22,820 --> 00:16:24,103
they are panic stricken.

298
00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:27,643
An army is immediately sent to confront him.

299
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:29,683
Then another one.

300
00:16:31,310 --> 00:16:32,929
And so on.

301
00:16:32,929 --> 00:16:36,310
(dramatic music)

302
00:16:36,310 --> 00:16:38,843
Each one of them is defeated.

303
00:16:40,550 --> 00:16:42,990
Showing a true tactical genius,

304
00:16:42,990 --> 00:16:45,900
Hannibal surrounds the legions at Ticinus,

305
00:16:45,900 --> 00:16:48,350
attacks the by surprise at the Trebia,

306
00:16:48,350 --> 00:16:49,840
slaughters them in thousands

307
00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,113
on the misty shores of Lake Trasimene.

308
00:16:55,660 --> 00:16:59,620
The Republic is abandoned by several allies of Rome,

309
00:16:59,620 --> 00:17:02,640
but most of them remain faithful to Rome.

310
00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:05,760
Despite his resounding military victories,

311
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,213
Hannibal has not yet succeeded in raising up Italy.

312
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,690
He is counting on a decisive military victory,

313
00:17:13,690 --> 00:17:17,530
however the Romans now refuse direct confrontation.

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00:17:17,530 --> 00:17:19,810
They understand that for the time being,

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00:17:19,810 --> 00:17:22,273
the Carthaginian is simply invincible.

316
00:17:24,490 --> 00:17:28,840
To force them to fight, Hannibal seizes the Cannae area.

317
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:30,466
The Roman army's granary.

318
00:17:30,466 --> 00:17:32,730
(dramatic music)

319
00:17:32,730 --> 00:17:36,364
Rome has no other choice but to fight with its last army.

320
00:17:36,364 --> 00:17:39,114
(dramatic music)

321
00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:41,933
August 2nd.

322
00:17:42,830 --> 00:17:47,830
In the year 216 B.C. Hannibal's 50,000 mercenaries

323
00:17:48,300 --> 00:17:51,010
are facing the 80,000 Roman Legionaries

324
00:17:51,010 --> 00:17:52,950
who are rushing headlong into the

325
00:17:52,950 --> 00:17:54,603
Carthaginian generals' trap.

326
00:17:55,530 --> 00:17:58,280
Quickly surrounded and attacked from all sides,

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the legions are unable to maneuver and are slaughtered.

328
00:18:01,497 --> 00:18:03,940
(dramatic music)

329
00:18:03,940 --> 00:18:05,720
In the evening of the battle,

330
00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,283
there are more than 45,000 dead.

331
00:18:10,060 --> 00:18:12,853
Hannibal is at the gates of Rome.

332
00:18:17,910 --> 00:18:21,000
We are now at a point of divergence.

333
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,700
A point of divergence is a key moment,

334
00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:25,240
a crossroads in our history

335
00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,503
where our world can swing from one side or the other.

336
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,340
Hannibal had just brought down the Roman armies.

337
00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:36,750
Now, he only had to advance on Rome, take the city,

338
00:18:36,750 --> 00:18:39,750
and nip the Roman ambition in the bud.

339
00:18:39,750 --> 00:18:43,010
If he had done it, we would now live in a world

340
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which would have never known the Roman Empire.

341
00:18:46,648 --> 00:18:48,870
Numerous serious consequences would have

342
00:18:48,870 --> 00:18:51,437
completely changed the face of the world.

343
00:18:53,983 --> 00:18:57,340
From the Empire, the west inherited the Roman law,

344
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the right of property, Latin and Greek art and culture,

345
00:19:00,710 --> 00:19:02,689
but also the Christian religion.

346
00:19:02,689 --> 00:19:05,439
(haunting music)

347
00:19:07,060 --> 00:19:09,823
Carthage might have exerted it's influence to Gaul.

348
00:19:10,830 --> 00:19:14,610
Nowadays, Europeans would be deeply impregnated with the

349
00:19:14,610 --> 00:19:17,130
Carthaginian culture, and might speak

350
00:19:17,130 --> 00:19:20,143
a Semitic language closely related to Arabic.

351
00:19:21,140 --> 00:19:23,810
However, arrived at the gates of Rome,

352
00:19:23,810 --> 00:19:26,120
Hannibal seemed to be hesitant.

353
00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:30,390
His troops were exhausted and he lacked siege equipment.

354
00:19:30,390 --> 00:19:32,324
Hannibal gave up the siege of Rome

355
00:19:32,324 --> 00:19:35,790
and occupied the south of Italy instead.

356
00:19:35,790 --> 00:19:37,900
He thought that the surrender of the Romans

357
00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:40,820
was both inevitable and imminent.

358
00:19:40,820 --> 00:19:44,140
However, sheltered by it's sturdy walls,

359
00:19:44,140 --> 00:19:47,273
the Roman people will decide otherwise.

360
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,457
202 B.C., plain of Zama, North Africa.

361
00:19:52,457 --> 00:19:55,820
(marching footsteps)

362
00:19:55,820 --> 00:19:58,283
Hannibal has just been called back from Italy.

363
00:19:59,150 --> 00:20:02,800
The Roman troops of General Scipio had landed in Africa,

364
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,050
allied themselves with the Numidian Prince Masinissa,

365
00:20:06,050 --> 00:20:07,716
and threatened to take Carthage.

366
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(dramatic music)

367
00:20:09,490 --> 00:20:11,680
What a strange irony of fate.

368
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,410
After having threatened the Roman capital many years ago,

369
00:20:14,410 --> 00:20:18,330
his strategy of isolation had completely failed.

370
00:20:18,330 --> 00:20:20,210
Italy had remained faithful to Rome

371
00:20:20,210 --> 00:20:23,370
and today he is forced to fly to Carthage's assistance.

372
00:20:23,370 --> 00:20:26,700
(dramatic music)
(Hannibal yelling)

373
00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:30,171
The Carthaginian elephants charge General Scipios legions.

374
00:20:30,171 --> 00:20:32,970
(dramatic music)

375
00:20:32,970 --> 00:20:35,400
But Scipio had anticipated the attack

376
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,190
and had ordered his troops to let through the mastodons

377
00:20:38,190 --> 00:20:41,410
to better surround them before slaughtering them.

378
00:20:41,410 --> 00:20:42,593
The soldiers of Rome rapidly had

379
00:20:42,593 --> 00:20:44,423
the advantage over Hannibal.

380
00:20:48,090 --> 00:20:51,763
Hannibal is defeated, the war is lost.

381
00:20:54,190 --> 00:20:57,330
The city is forced to hand over its entire fleet,

382
00:20:57,330 --> 00:21:00,430
its war elephants, and Spain.

383
00:21:00,430 --> 00:21:03,204
Carthage is a mere shadow of its former self.

384
00:21:03,204 --> 00:21:05,820
(dramatic music)

385
00:21:05,820 --> 00:21:09,083
But even if the city is down, it is still living.

386
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,370
Deprived of both political and military roles,

387
00:21:14,370 --> 00:21:16,510
Carthage boosts its trade and puts

388
00:21:16,510 --> 00:21:20,060
the economical situation right in only a few years.

389
00:21:20,060 --> 00:21:24,250
The city gets rich again, after barely 10 years Carthage

390
00:21:24,250 --> 00:21:27,820
offers Rome to pay its war debts in advance.

391
00:21:27,820 --> 00:21:30,690
In the senate, the senators are once more haunted

392
00:21:30,690 --> 00:21:33,680
by the specter of a military recovery of Carthage.

393
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,060
Caton, one of the most virulent ones ,

394
00:21:37,060 --> 00:21:39,660
ends every one of his speeches by the sentence

395
00:21:39,660 --> 00:21:44,560
Carthago delende est meaning, Carthage must be destroyed.

396
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,120
The Romans won't take long to find a pretext,

397
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,450
forced to defend itself against an aggression

398
00:21:49,450 --> 00:21:53,000
from the Numidian Kingdom, Carthage has to rearm.

399
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,880
It doesn't take more.

400
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,600
In 146 B.C. after a long three year siege,

401
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,280
it is the last action of this age old war.

402
00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,998
The Roman troops enter the burning city.

403
00:22:04,998 --> 00:22:08,340
(somber music)

404
00:22:08,340 --> 00:22:12,174
The fighting, house after house, is pitiless.

405
00:22:12,174 --> 00:22:14,603
The streets are strewn with corpses.

406
00:22:16,650 --> 00:22:18,800
The cornered Carthaginians know

407
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:20,493
they are fighting to survive.

408
00:22:21,750 --> 00:22:22,623
In vain.

409
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,430
During six days and six nights

410
00:22:26,430 --> 00:22:30,869
the city is engulfed in flames and given over to pillage.

411
00:22:30,869 --> 00:22:34,410
(somber music)
(people faintly shouting)

412
00:22:34,410 --> 00:22:37,690
The survivors are reduced to slavery.

413
00:22:37,690 --> 00:22:41,670
The land is declared sah sehre, which means cursed.

414
00:22:41,670 --> 00:22:44,683
It is strictly forbidden for anyone to settle there.

415
00:22:46,490 --> 00:22:49,713
Carthage has been well and truly destroyed.

416
00:22:53,030 --> 00:22:55,640
During the same year, Greece is subjected

417
00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,920
by the legions for good.

418
00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,920
The influence of Rome soon expands

419
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,100
to the entire Mediterranean.

420
00:23:02,100 --> 00:23:05,244
However, both this expansion ant this wealth inflow

421
00:23:05,244 --> 00:23:08,060
are about to completely change the stability

422
00:23:08,060 --> 00:23:10,130
of the original city state.

423
00:23:10,130 --> 00:23:12,360
Serious crises would soon be triggered

424
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:14,460
followed by a dreadful civil war,

425
00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:16,930
which would lead to the end of the Roman Republic,

426
00:23:16,930 --> 00:23:19,560
then to the advent of the Empire.

427
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:22,658
But that is another story.

428
00:23:22,658 --> 00:23:25,790
(crowd cheering)
(electronic beat)

429
00:23:25,790 --> 00:23:28,016
Woe to the vanquished.

430
00:23:28,016 --> 00:23:30,860
(eerie music)

431
00:23:30,860 --> 00:23:33,440
During the antiquity it was customary

432
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,163
to plunder the city seized from the enemy.

433
00:23:37,230 --> 00:23:39,700
The capture of Carthage was a tragedy

434
00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:41,340
and an appalling sight.

435
00:23:41,340 --> 00:23:43,290
(soft music)

436
00:23:43,290 --> 00:23:46,670
Its population was enslaved or wiped out,

437
00:23:46,670 --> 00:23:49,260
its archives went up in smoke.

438
00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:52,443
Its magnificent library was devastated.

439
00:23:53,940 --> 00:23:57,410
After a 650 year old existence,

440
00:23:57,410 --> 00:24:00,610
hardly anything is known about this city.

441
00:24:00,610 --> 00:24:03,373
It is as if it had disappeared from history.

442
00:24:04,210 --> 00:24:07,350
It will subsist only through its language and its culture

443
00:24:07,350 --> 00:24:09,693
which survived in its former colonies.

444
00:24:10,980 --> 00:24:12,950
The succession of the three wars

445
00:24:12,950 --> 00:24:14,380
which led to its destruction

446
00:24:14,380 --> 00:24:17,890
are these days known as the Punic Wars.

447
00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:21,310
The word Punic is Latin, not Carthaginian.

448
00:24:21,310 --> 00:24:23,943
It reveals that the conquerors make history.

449
00:24:25,777 --> 00:24:27,920
(somber music)

450
00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,513
Rome is the one which survived a century of wars.

451
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:34,950
Thanks to a stronger demography,

452
00:24:34,950 --> 00:24:38,000
it showed an unfailing resilience.

453
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,930
A tremendous ability to know how to roll with

454
00:24:40,930 --> 00:24:44,640
dreadful punches without ever giving up.

455
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,200
With its armies devastated and Hannibal

456
00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,382
ready to give the death blow, Rome refused every kind

457
00:24:50,382 --> 00:24:52,753
of surrender and prepared their reprisal.

458
00:24:54,053 --> 00:24:55,820
(dramatic music)

459
00:24:55,820 --> 00:25:00,820
Through its long history, it seems that Rome always refused

460
00:25:00,910 --> 00:25:04,764
to negotiate without having secured victory first.

461
00:25:04,764 --> 00:25:06,410
(dramatic music)

462
00:25:06,410 --> 00:25:11,410
The secret of the Roman success may lie in these facts.

463
00:25:12,604 --> 00:25:15,354
(dramatic music)