Narrator: HANNIBAL--
ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST BRILLIANT LEADERS...
COMMANDER OF A LEGENDARY ARMY.
Man: HANNIBAL WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS OF ANTIQUITY,
AND IN FACT ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS WHO EVER LIVED.
Narrator: BUT WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT THE MAN.
HOW DID HANNIBAL ASSEMBLE AND HOLD TOGETHER
AN ARMY OF 90,000 MEN AND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS?
WHAT DID IT TAKE TO GET THAT ARMY
OVER ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST TREACHEROUS RIVERS?
Woman: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY, TO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: AND HOW DID HE ACHIEVE
WHAT NO OTHER GENERAL HAD DONE BEFORE--
LEAD THAT ARMY ACROSS THE ALPS TO STRIKE AT ROME’S HEARTLAND?
Woman: THEY SAW IT BASICALLY AS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: NOW, NEW DISCOVERIES AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY
ARE CUTTING THROUGH THE LEGEND...
TO REVEAL THE TRUTH.
♪
Eric Adler: HANNIBAL’S REMEMBERED
AS ONE OF THE GREATEST MILITARY MEN IN HISTORY.
HE WAS A GENIUS.
HE WAS A STRATEGIC GENIUS,
HE WAS A LOGISTICAL GENIUS, HE WAS A GREAT LEADER,
AND HE CAME CLOSEST TO DESTROYING ROME
IN ITS REPUBLICAN PRIME.
Narrator: EVEN 2,000 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH,
HANNIBAL IS STILL A ROLE MODEL.
Sarah Brown Ferrario: WAR COLLEGES
AND EVEN PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS OF THE MILITARY TODAY
STILL STUDY HANNIBAL’S GREAT BATTLES
FOR THEIR IMAGINATIVE TACTICS,
THEIR QUICK RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN CIRCUMSTANCE,
AND THEIR UNIQUE ABILITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE WEAKNESSES OF HIS OPPONENTS.
HANNIBAL WAS THE ROMANS’ WORST NIGHTMARE.
Narrator: BUT WE ONLY KNOW HANNIBAL’S STORY
FROM HIS ENEMY’S PERSPECTIVE.
Kelcy Sagstetter: ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS
IN ASSESSING THE RELIABILITY OF THE SOURCES
IS THAT ALL OF OUR ACCOUNTS ARE PRO ROMAN.
AND IT’S A CASE OF THE VICTORS WRITING HISTORY.
BUT THE SOURCES SHOW A SORT OF RELUCTANT ADMIRATION
FOR HANNIBAL,
BECAUSE, LET’S FACE IT, HE WAS A MILITARY GENIUS,
AND YOU CAN’T HIDE THAT IN HISTORY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S STORY BEGINS IN CARTHAGE...
A CITY ALL BUT FORGOTTEN TODAY, BUT A SUPERPOWER IN 270 B.C.
Eric: CARTHAGE WAS THE WEALTHIEST POWER
IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
AS A RESULT OF THEIR GREAT SUCCESSES IN TRADE
THAT GOES BACK CENTURIES, REALLY.
BUT THIS ALSO MEANS THAT THEY ARE VERY GOOD
AT CONTROLLING THE SEA.
Narrator: AND IT REAPS HUGE PROFITS FROM BOAT BUILDING
AND ITS CONTROL OF SHIPPING ROUTES
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
Sarah: THIS WAS A FULLY SOPHISTICATED
MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY
WITH A HIGHLY, HIGHLY DEVELOPED
AND EXTREMELY WEALTHY CIVILIZATION.
Narrator: CARTHAGE HAS AMBITIONS
OF SEIZING CONTROL OF THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN.
BUT AS CARTHAGE EXPANDS, SO DOES ANOTHER RISING POWER--
ROME.
AND ROME IS RESTLESS.
ONCE A TINY VILLAGE,
IT’S NOW A THRIVING CITY THAT CONTROLS MOST OF ITALY--
A POSITION GAINED THROUGH ITS POWERFUL MILITARY.
Sarah: THE ROMAN REPUBLIC BY THE THIRD CENTURY BC
WAS LARGELY DOMINATED BY THE INFLUENCE OF PATRICIAN FAMILIES
WHO HAD CONTRIBUTED TO ROMAN POLITICAL AND MILITARY LIFE
FOR MANY GENERATIONS.
Narrator: EVERY ROMAN CITIZEN IS EXPECTED TO SERVE IN THE ARMY...
AND THEY ARE THE PREEMINENT LAND POWER.
Kelcy: ROME HAD BEEN EXPANDING
THROUGHOUT THE ITALIAN PENINSULA,
CONQUERING ALL OF THE TRIBES AND FORMING ALLIANCES,
AND CARTHAGE WAS THE GREAT SEA POWER.
THE MEDITERRANEAN WASN’T BIG ENOUGH
TO HOLD BOTH ROME AND CARTHAGE.
Eric: THE GROWING POWER OF CARTHAGE AND OF ROME
IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
WERE ULTIMATELY GOING TO LEAD TO WHAT IS CALLED THE PUNIC WARS.
Narrator: FOR CARTHAGE,
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR ENDS IN A HUMILIATING DEFEAT.
CARTHAGE, FOR NOW, MUST BOW TO ROME...
PAY A HUGE TRIBUTE... AND DREAM OF REVENGE.
THE DEFEATED CARTHAGINIAN LEADER, HAMILCAR,
SWEARS TO ONE DAY DESTROY HIS FOE.
HE DEDICATES HIS LIFE-- AND HIS SON’S--
TO ROME’S DESTRUCTION.
THAT BOY IS HANNIBAL.
HIS FATHER’S HATRED OF ROME SHAPES YOUNG HANNIBAL’S DESTINY.
Sarah: WHEN HANNIBAL WAS A YOUNG BOY, ABOUT 9 YEARS OLD
AND ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR SPAIN WITH HIS FATHER, HAMILCAR,
THE STORY IS TOLD THAT HAMILCAR CALLED HANNIBAL TO HIS SIDE
AND ASKED THE YOUNG BOY TO SWEAR THAT HE WOULD REMAIN
THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE AN ENEMY TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE.
Kelcy: WHETHER OR NOT THIS OATH EVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED,
THE ROMANS WANTED TO PORTRAY HANNIBAL
AS ALMOST A PREDESTINED ENEMY.
THEY WANTED TO SHOW THAT THIS ENMITY WITH HANNIBAL
WAS ALMOST PREORDAINED IN AN ALMOST MYTHOLOGICAL SENSE.
♪
Narrator: TO REBUILD THE WEALTH AND STATUS OF CARTHAGE,
HAMILCAR INVADES THE IBERIAN PENINSULA,
KNOWN TODAY AS SPAIN.
HAMILCAR’S GAMBLE PAYS OFF RICHLY.
Kelcy: SPAIN WAS A VERY ATTRACTIVE PROSPECT
FOR THE CARTHAGINIANS
BECAUSE IT POSSESSED FABULOUS WEALTH
IN SILVER MINES ESPECIALLY.
BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE TIMBER AND FURS AND AMBER.
Narrator: BUT HAMILCAR HAS TO CONQUER LOCAL TRIBES.
HE ASSEMBLES A FEARSOME ARMY...
AND WIELDS THE ANCIENT WORLD’S VERSION OF BATTLE TANKS--
WAR ELEPHANTS.
Eric: ELEPHANTS WERE TYPICALLY USED
CHIEFLY TO FRIGHTEN THE ENEMY.
SOLDIERS WHO HAVEN’T SEEN ELEPHANTS,
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, PANIC AS A RESULT,
AND ANIMALS THAT HAVEN’T SEEN ELEPHANTS BEFORE PANIC.
AND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THEY WERE UNPREDICTABLE
AND THEY WERE CAPABLE OF TRAMPLING PEOPLE,
THEY COULD CAUSE GREAT FEAR IN AN ENEMY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL LEARNS HOW TO LEAD AN ARMY
AND HANDLE ELEPHANTS FROM HIS FATHER.
AND FROM HIS GREEK TUTOR, SOSYLUS,
HE LEARNS THE ART AND HISTORY OF WARFARE.
SOSYLUS TEACHES HANNIBAL
ABOUT MYTHIC AS WELL AS REAL HEROES--
GENERALS LIKE ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
WHO LED HIS ARMY THOUSANDS OF MILES
ACROSS VAST RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS.
Kelcy: AT AGE 10 HANNIBAL WENT WITH HIS FATHER TO SPAIN,
AND WE HEAR THAT SOSYLUS ACCOMPANIED HIM,
AND HE STILL WOULD HAVE TAUGHT HIM ABOUT ANCIENT GREEKS,
BUT FROM 235 ONWARD
HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE APPOINTED HIM A TUTOR
IN THE ARTS OF WAR.
HE WOULD HAVE LEARNED SWORDSMANSHIP, ARCHERY,
HORSEBACK RIDING,
AND SINCE HE WAS PARTLY RAISED IN MILITARY CAMPS,
HE PROBABLY TOOK TO THIS WITH EASE.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S EDUCATION
WOULD HAVE COVERED ALL ASPECTS OF WAR,
FROM HOW TO HANDLE WEAPONS
TO THE TACTICS AND STRATEGIES OF SUCCESSFUL ARMIES.
AND HE WAS CLEARLY A NATURAL-BORN WARRIOR.
Kelcy: THE ROMAN HISTORIAN LIVY
TELLS US THAT HANNIBAL’S ADMIRERS
REFERRED TO HIM AS A SECOND MARS,
THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR.
Sarah: FROM THE BEGINNING, HIS BEING THERE
ACCLIMATED EVERYONE TO THE FACT
THAT HE REALLY WAS SOME KIND OF AN HEIR APPARENT,
AND THAT WHEN HE CAME OF AGE
HE WOULD PUT CARTHAGE BACK ON THE MAP
AND HELP RETURN HIS CITY
TO SOME OF ITS FORMER INFLUENCE AND PROSPERITY
BY TAKING THE WAR RIGHT BACK TO THE ROMANS.
Narrator: AT 26, AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER,
HANNIBAL TAKES CHARGE OF THE CARTHAGINIAN FORCES.
HE HAS ONE GOAL IN SIGHT--
FULFILL THE OATH HE MADE TO HAMILCAR
AND DESTROY ROME.
IN 219 BC, HANNIBAL GATHERS AN ENORMOUS ARMY--
PERHAPS AS LARGE AS 90,000 MEN AND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS--
AND PREPARES FOR WAR WITH ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL CAUGHT THE ROMANS OFF GUARD.
THEY DIDN’T REALIZE UNTIL IT WAS A LITTLE TOO LATE
THAT HANNIBAL HAD GROWN CARTHAGINIAN POWER IN SPAIN
TO THE DEGREE THAT HE HAD.
Narrator: UNAWARE OF HANNIBAL’S GROWING POWER,
ROME IS CONFIDENT IN ITS OWN STRENGTH.
ALTHOUGH A REPUBLIC,
ONLY A FEW NOBLE FAMILIES CONTROL KEY POSITIONS.
CHIEF AMONG THESE-- THE HOUSE OF SCIPIO.
THE PATRIARCH-- LUCIUS CORNELIUS SCIPIO--
FOUGHT AND BEAT THE CARTHAGINIANS
IN THE EARLIER WAR.
NOW HIS SON, PUBLIUS, AND GRANDSON
ARE EAGER FOR THEIR CHANCE.
AND THAT CHANCE COMES
WHEN HANNIBAL ATTACKS ROMAN ALLIES IN SPAIN.
THE CITY OF SAGUNTUM IS DEEP
IN CARTHAGINIAN TERRITORY...
A ROMAN ALLY...
AND A THORN IN HANNIBAL’S SIDE.
HANNIBAL LAYS SIEGE TO THE CITY.
Eric: IT IS LIKELY THAT HANNIBAL WAS IRRITATED
BY THE FACT THAT ROME HAD
A KIND OF ALLIANCE OR FRIENDSHIP OR SOMETHING WITH SAGUNTUM,
BECAUSE THIS WAS THE TERRITORY IN SPAIN
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CARTHAGE’S,
AND SO IT’S LIKELY THAT HE ATTACKS SAGUNTUM
IN PART BECAUSE OF HIS IRRITATION
THAT ROME WAS MEDDLING
IN CARTHAGE’S AFFAIRS IN SPAIN.
Kelcy: WHEN HANNIBAL TOOK SAGUNTUM AFTER AN 8-MONTH SIEGE,
POLYBIUS TELLS US THAT HE OFFERED TO SPARE THE POPULATION
IF THEY LEFT THE TOWN WITH NO WEAPONS
AND NO MORE THAN TWO GARMENTS,
AND WHEN THEY REFUSED, HE PUT ALL OF THE MALES TO DEATH
AND SOLD THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN INTO SLAVERY.
Eric: ROME SEEMS TO HAVE EXPECTED
THAT THE SECOND PUNIC WAR
WAS GOING TO BE A LOT LIKE THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
IN WHICH ROME WAS LARGELY ON THE OFFENSE
AND ATTACKING WHERE IT WANTED,
AND HANNIBAL CAUGHT THEM COMPLETELY OFF GUARD.
Narrator: WHEN NEWS ARRIVES FROM SPAIN,
IT’S NOT WHAT THE ROMANS EXPECT.
HANNIBAL, THE MESSAGE SAYS, IS ON THE MOVE.
HE PLANS TO BRING THE WAR TO ROME ITSELF.
ALREADY HE HAS THE ROMANS ON THE DEFENSIVE.
Kelcy: ONE OF THE REASONS THAT HANNIBAL
WAS SO SUCCESSFUL AGAINST THE ROMANS
IS THAT HE ALWAYS DID THE UNEXPECTED.
HE WAS USUALLY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE ROMANS AT EVERY TURN.
Narrator: THE EASIEST ROUTE WOULD BE THE DIRECT ONE,
BY SHIP.
INSTEAD, HANNIBAL WILL GO BY LAND,
A ROUTE ROME THINKS IS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE.
Sarah: THE ROMANS CERTAINLY DID NOT EXPECT
THAT NEARLY THE FIRST THING HANNIBAL WOULD DO
WAS STAGE AN INVASION OF ITALY, MUCH LESS DO IT OVERLAND.
Narrator: FEW IMAGINE THAT HANNIBAL CAN TURN SOLDIERS
FROM DOZENS OF DIFFERENT TRIBES
INTO A SINGLE COHESIVE FIGHTING FORCE.
Eric: THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY WAS LARGELY A MERCENARY ARMY,
THAT IS TO SAY, IT’S SOLDIERS FOR HIRE.
NOT ONLY WAS IT GOING TO BE DIFFICULT AND COSTLY
TO RUN SUCH AN ARMY,
BUT IT WAS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT
TO GET THE KIND OF CAMARADERIE NECESSARY
FOR THE WAR THAT WAS GOING TO TAKE PLACE.
AND THAT SHOWS THAT HANNIBAL WAS A LEADER OF GENIUS.
Sarah: THIS ARMY WAS NOT FOLLOWING CARTHAGE;
THIS ARMY WAS FOLLOWING HANNIBAL.
Narrator: NUMIDIAN CAVALRY FROM NORTH AFRICA
ARE THE SHOCK TROOPS.
ON THE FRONT LINES, SLINGERS DELIVER A BARRAGE
OF HIGHLY ACCURATE, DEADLY LEAD PROJECTILES.
THEY ARE BACKED UP BY HEAVILY ARMORED CAVALRY
FROM SPAIN AND FRANCE.
AND FORMING THE ARMY’S CORE, FOOT SOLDIERS FROM CARTHAGE.
FROM THIS DIVERSE FORCE, HANNIBAL CREATES
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ARMIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Sarah: HANNIBAL’S INVASION OF ITALY
WAS AN ENORMOUSLY COMPLICATED PROJECT.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HANNIBAL, WE TEND TO THINK ABOUT DRAMA
AND FURY AND POTENTIALLY THINGS LIKE ANGER,
BUT HANNIBAL HAS TO HAVE BEEN
A METICULOUS, METICULOUS CRAFTSMAN
OF EVERYTHING THAT HE PLANNED
IN ORDER FOR SOMETHING THIS COMPLICATED TO SUCCEED.
Narrator: IN MAY 218 BC,
HANNIBAL MUST SAY GOODBYE TO HIS WIFE
AND LEAVE HIS LIFE IN SPAIN BEHIND.
THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WHEN, IF EVER, HE’LL RETURN.
♪
THE ARMY SETS OUT FROM NEW CARTHAGE,
WHAT IS NOW CARTAGENA, SPAIN.
TO MARCH OVERLAND, HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY
WILL HAVE TO CROSS
TWO OF EUROPE’S GREATEST NATURAL BARRIERS--
THE RHONE RIVER AND THE ALPINE MOUNTAIN RANGE.
Eric: HANNIBAL NEEDED TO MAINTAIN
THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.
AND SO, IT WAS OF GREAT VALUE TO HANNIBAL
TO MAKE SURE HE COULD SHOW UP IN ITALY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IT WAS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING,
ONE OF THE GREATEST IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Narrator: END-TO-END ON THE MARCH,
THE ARMY STRETCHES ROUGHLY 25 MILES,
ALMOST TWICE THE LENGTH OF MANHATTAN ISLAND.
HANNIBAL IS LEADING THEM
MORE THAN A THOUSAND MILES FROM THEIR HOMES
INTO WHAT MUST HAVE FELT LIKE THE UNKNOWN.
TO MOVE QUICKLY,
HANNIBAL MARCHES WITH AS LITTLE BAGGAGE AS POSSIBLE.
THIS MEANS HANNIBAL MUST TIME HIS ROUTE EXACTLY RIGHT.
Eric: FIRST, HANNIBAL HAS TO MAKE SURE
THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY GET THROUGH THE ALPS
AND THAT HE’S GOING TO HAVE SUFFICIENT
OR POTENTIALLY SUFFICIENT PROVISIONS FOR HIS TROOPS
UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Sarah: HANNIBAL’S DROP DEAD DATE IN EVERY SENSE OF THE TERM
FOR THE COMPLETION OF HIS EXPEDITION
WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONSET OF TRUE WINTER IN THE ALPS.
HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CALCULATE BACKWARDS FROM THAT TIME
TO FIGURE OUT HOW LATE IN THE SEASON HE COULD AFFORD TO LEAVE.
IF HANNIBAL LEFT TOO SOON,
HE WOULD HAVE FOUND THE HARVEST NOT COMPLETED,
THE MARKETS NEARLY EMPTY,
THE GRANARIES OF THE FARMS NOT YET FILLED.
Narrator: AT LEAST IN SPAIN,
HE CAN COUNT ON ALLIES PROVIDING FOR HIS ARMY.
HARDEST OF ALL TO FEED-- HIS ELEPHANTS.
EACH ELEPHANT CAN CONSUME OVER 300 POUNDS OF FOOD EVERY DAY.
IN 1959, BRITISH RESEARCHERS WANTED TO TEST
HOW WELL ELEPHANTS WOULD FARE
ON A MOUNTAIN CLIMB LIKE HANNIBAL’S.
Newsreel announcer: THE ELEPHANT CHOSEN BY AN EXPEDITION
FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
TO FIND HOW HANNIBAL CROSSED THE ALPS.
Narrator: THEY BORROWED AN ELEPHANT NAMED JUMBO
FROM THE TURIN ZOO AND HIKED HIM INTO THE ALPS.
Newsreel announcer: THIS WAS THE SCENE
AS THE PARTY LEFT MONTMÉLIAN, IN FRANCE...
Narrator: UNLIKE HANNIBAL, THE RESEARCHERS HAD PAVED ROADS
AND WILLING VOLUNTEERS WHO PROVIDED FOOD AND WATER.
Newsreel announcer: THE 12-DAY JOURNEY PROVOKED
TREMENDOUS ENTHUSIASM ALL ALONG THE ROUTE.
ELEPHANTS ARE EXCITING ANIMALS EVEN TODAY,
BUT THINK HOW THEY MUST HAVE STAGGERED THE ROMAN ARMY
WHEN THEY APPEARED...
Narrator: AT THE END OF THEIR TEN-DAY TREK,
THEY’RE CHEERED BY ITALIAN CROWDS.
Newsreel announcer: WHETHER THE CAMBRIDGE THEORY
WAS RIGHT OR WRONG...
Narrator: JUMBO MADE THE TRIP...
BUT IN JUST 12 DAYS, HE’S LOST 10% OF HIS WEIGHT.
HANNIBAL’S ROUTE IS MUCH ROUGHER AND LONGER.
IT TAKES ALMOST FOUR MONTHS
TO CROSS NORTHERN SPAIN AND SOUTHERN FRANCE.
THERE, HE COMES UP AGAINST A NATURAL BARRIER
THAT BRINGS HIS MARCH TO A HALT--
THE RHONE RIVER.
Sarah: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY TO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: TODAY, THE RHONE RIVER LOOKS CALM...
TAMED BY CANALS AND DAMS.
BUT IN 218 BC, IT WAS WILD,
WITH STRONG, UNPREDICTABLE CURRENTS.
Sarah: NOT ONLY DID HANNIBAL NEED TO GET HIS ARMY
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS RHONE RIVER,
BUT HE NEEDED TO GET 37 ELEPHANTS
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS RHONE RIVER.
Narrator: IN THE WILD, ELEPHANTS ARE COMFORTABLE IN THE WATER...
BUT HANNIBAL’S ELEPHANTS MAY HAVE BEEN BRED IN CAPTIVITY
AND NEVER LEARNED TO SWIM.
HE CAN’T BE SURE HOW THEY’LL REACT
TO THE RHONE’S SWIFT CURRENTS.
ON THE DANUBE RIVER, HISTORIAN BORIS DREYER
WANTS TO TEST HOW HANNIBAL WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE HIS FEAT.
HE PLANS TO BUILD A RAFT
THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AS HANNIBAL’S,
BASED ON THE ACCOUNTS OF THE HISTORIAN POLYBIUS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Boris Dreyer, translated: YOU CAN STUDY THE ANCIENT SOURCES
AT YOUR DESK,
FILTER OUT THE DATA AND EVEN FIND THEM CONVINCING,
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO RE-ENACTING IT,
THAT’S QUITE A DIFFERENT MATTER.
Narrator: BUT DREYER’S RECREATION ONLY GOES SO FAR.
UNLIKE HANNIBAL, HE HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF MODERN GEAR...
LIKE A GRAPPLE CRANE TO LIFT AND PLACE THE HEAVY LOGS...
AS WELL AS CHAINSAWS TO CUT THEM.
ALSO, HE’S NOT SURROUNDED BY HOSTILE TRIBESMEN.
IN FACT, LOCAL BOAT OWNERS AND THE SECURITY SERVICES
COME OUT IN DROVES TO HELP.
WITH A MODERN CONCERN FOR SAFETY,
DREYER HAS THE FIRE BRIGADE AND LIFEGUARDS STANDING BY
IN CASE THERE’S AN EMERGENCY.
IT TAKES ROUGHLY 40 LARGE LOGS LASHED TOGETHER
TO BUILD ONE OF HANNIBAL’S RAFTS.
[CHAINSAWS ROARING]
THE CARTHAGINIANS TOPPED THEIR RAFTS WITH BRANCHES AND DIRT
TO FOOL THE ELEPHANTS INTO THINKING IT WAS SOLID GROUND.
Dreyer: THE RAFT WE HAVE RECREATED
IS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THOSE OF HANNIBAL.
ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES, HE HAD 16 OF THEM BUILT.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ALSO BUILT PIERS OUT INTO THE RIVER
TO GET THE ELEPHANTS OVER PART OF THE WATER AND ONTO THE RAFTS.
THE HANDLERS LIKELY LED THE DOMINANT ELEPHANTS FIRST
TO GET THE OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
Eric: THE CROSSING OF THE RHONE WAS GOING TO BE,
FOR HANNIBAL, A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE.
HE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO BUILD RAFTS
IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET ELEPHANTS ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER,
AND EVEN GETTING ELEPHANTS TO STEP FOOT ON A RAFT,
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING
THAT’S VERY DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH.
Narrator: TODAY, DREYER RELIES ON HEAVY MOVING EQUIPMENT
TO EASE THE RAFT INTO THE RIVER.
[CREAKING]
IT WEIGHS 15 TONS BY ITSELF, AND IT’S NOT CLEAR
IF THE CURRENT WILL PULL IT UNDER.
IT RIDES LOW IN THE WATER, BUT FLOATS.
IN HANNIBAL’S TIME, SOLDIERS WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTROL IT
WITH NOTHING MORE THAN MUSCLE POWER.
TODAY, LOCALS, IN THEIR MOTORIZED BOATS,
PUSH IT BACK UP ONTO THE BANK.
WITHOUT AN ELEPHANT HANDY,
DREYER USES 9,000 POUNDS OF SAND AS A SUBSTITUTE.
LOW IN THE WATER, THE RAFT IS HARD TO MOVE.
TO REPLICATE HANNIBAL’S LIKELY METHOD,
DREYER AND HIS TEAM TRY TO PUSH IT ACROSS WITH POLES...
AND PULL IT ACROSS WITH ROWBOATS.
EVEN A GENTLE CURRENT IS TOO STRONG,
AND THE POLERS AND ROWERS
STRUGGLE TO KEEP THE RAFT ON TRACK.
♪
IT THREATENS TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL...
SO THE LIFEGUARDS SNAP TO ATTENTION, READY FOR ACTION.
ACCORDING TO POLYBIUS,
MANY OF HANNIBAL’S TROOPS DROWNED IN THE CROSSING.
WHEN AN ELEPHANT SHIFTED ITS WEIGHT, OR PANICKED,
THE WHOLE RAFT WOULD GO OVER.
♪
Dreyer: IT’S VERY EXHAUSTING.
Narrator: THE CURRENT KEEPS PUSHING THE RAFT DOWNSTREAM,
AND FATIGUE STARTS TO SET IN.
THE RAFT REACHES THE FAR BANK,
BUT SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS DOWNRIVER
FROM WHERE THEY WANTED TO LAND.
AND DREYER HAS IT EASY
COMPARED TO THE CHALLENGES HANNIBAL DEALT WITH.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Dreyer: WE’VE MADE IT.
WE’VE GOT THE WEIGHT OF AN ELEPHANT
ACROSS TO THE OTHER BANK.
Narrator: IT GIVES DREYER INSIGHT
INTO WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE COST HANNIBAL TO MAKE THE CROSSING.
Dreyer: IT TELLS US THAT HANNIBAL ACHIEVED
A TRULY ENORMOUS ORGANIZATIONAL FEAT,
WITHOUT CHAINSAWS, MOTORBOATS OR ANYTHING OF THAT KIND.
AND ALL THIS WITH LIVING ELEPHANTS.
Narrator: FOR HANNIBAL, NOT EVERYTHING WENT AS PLANNED.
ACCORDING TO POLYBIUS, THE CROSSING TOOK SEVEN DAYS.
♪
Dreyer: WE KNOW THAT ALL 37 ELEPHANTS GOT ACROSS ALIVE.
SOME, HOWEVER, LOST HOLD
AND SURVIVED ONLY THANKS TO THEIR TRUNKS,
WHICH ALLOWED THEM TO BREATHE UNDERWATER LIKE WITH A SNORKEL.
BUT ALL THE MAHOUTS WHO FELL OVERBOARD WITH THEM PERISHED.
Narrator: ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER AT LAST, HANNIBAL’S ARMY
HAS BEEN ON THE MARCH FOR ALMOST FOUR MONTHS...
AND THE GREATEST BARRIERS STILL LIE AHEAD.
ROME PLACES A MASSIVE ARMY ALONG THE COAST,
BLOCKING HANNIBAL’S EASIEST ROUTE.
BUT, AGAIN, HANNIBAL DOES THE UNEXPECTED.
INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR THE ROMANS,
HE SETS OUT ON THE MARCH AGAIN.
Eric: THE ROMANS HOPED THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE ABLE
TO STOP HANNIBAL AT THE RHONE RIVER,
AND HANNIBAL, ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD,
GAVE THE ROMAN ARMY THE SLIP.
Narrator: LED BY SCIPIO,
THE ROMANS SEARCH FOR HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY.
THEY’RE DETERMINED TO TRAP AND DESTROY HIM
BEFORE HE CAN EVEN REACH ITALY.
BUT HANNIBAL ELUDES THEM.
Sarah: THE ROMANS ARE ALREADY ON THE DEFENSIVE.
THEY KEEP TRYING TO GUESS HANNIBAL’S LIKELY NEXT MOVE...
AND THEY KEEP GUESSING WRONG.
Narrator: ONCE AGAIN, THE ROMAN ARMY UNDERESTIMATES HANNIBAL.
♪
THE MIGHTY ROMAN REPUBLIC IS UP AGAINST A FOE
LIKE NO OTHER IT’S FACED BEFORE.
[HORSE NEIGHS]
♪
IN THE FALL OF 218 BC, HANNIBAL ARRIVES AT THE FOOT OF THE ALPS,
EUROPE’S TALLEST, MOST DAUNTING MOUNTAIN RANGE.
SNOW-COVERED PEAKS STRETCH 15,000 FEET
TO THE ROOF OF EUROPE,
CREATING A NATURAL FORTRESS PROTECTING ITALY AND ROME.
NO ONE HAS EVER TAKEN A LARGE ARMY
THROUGH ONE OF ITS NARROW PASSES.
THE ROMANS THINK IT WOULD BE SUICIDE FOR HANNIBAL TO TRY...
AND HANNIBAL’S OWN TROOPS AGREE.
IN 218 BC, HANNIBAL FACES THE GREATEST OBSTACLE
ON HIS MARCH TO ROME-- THE ALPS.
Sarah: ANCIENT PEOPLES VIEWED THE ALPS AS A FORTRESS.
THEY FORMED AN ALMOST IMPENETRABLE WALL.
Eric: NO ARMY IN ANTIQUITY GOT ACROSS THE ALPS,
AND YET IT SEEMS AS IF HANNIBAL RECOGNIZES
THAT HE’S THE GENERAL WHO CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS.
Kelcy: HIS ARMY WAS RELUCTANT TO CROSS THE ALPS
BECAUSE THEY SAW IT BASICALLY AS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: THEY’VE ARRIVED AT THE EDGE OF WINTER,
WHEN LANDSLIDES OR AVALANCHES
COULD TRAP THEM IN A MOUNTAIN PASS.
THERE, THEY COULD FREEZE OR STARVE TO DEATH.
BUT IF THEY’RE TO REACH ROME, THEY MUST SCALE THE ALPS.
[TROOPS CHEERING]
HANNIBAL RALLIES HIS TROOPS, TELLING THEM:
"NO MOUNTAIN IS TOO HIGH FOR MAN TO CONQUER.
IF A SMALL GROUP CAN CROSS THEM, SO CAN AN ARMY."
BUT HOW HANNIBAL MANAGED TO GET
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN AND HORSES,
AS WELL AS 37 ELEPHANTS, ACROSS THE ALPS
IS ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.
NO ONE EVEN KNOWS WHAT ROUTE HE TOOK.
THERE ARE THREE POSSIBLE PASSAGES,
AND MOST HISTORIANS CONSIDER THE NORTHERN TWO THE MOST LIKELY.
THE SOUTHERNMOST, ACROSS THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE,
IS THE MOST DIFFICULT.
RISING TO ALMOST 8,000 FEET,
IT’S THE HIGHEST ROUTE
AND CONTAINS NARROW PASSES.
HISTORIANS HAVE GENERALLY RULED IT OUT.
BILL MAHANEY DISAGREES.
HE’S SPENT THE LAST 15 YEARS SEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE
THAT HANNIBAL CROSSED AT THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE.
MAHANEY IS A GEOMORPHOLOGIST, WHICH MEANS HE’S AN EXPERT
IN UNDERSTANDING HOW A LANDSCAPE CHANGES OVER TIME.
HE SEARCHES FOR SPOTS ALONG THE ROUTE
WHERE HE THINKS HANNIBAL MIGHT HAVE RESTED HIS ARMY
MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO.
Bill Mahaney: I GOT VERY INTERESTED IN THE HANNIBAL STORY
WHEN HISTORIANS WERE TELLING ME
THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN FINDING THE ROUTE--
THAT WAS IT.
BUT FOR ME, IF WE COULD NARROW THE ROUTE DOWN,
THEN WE COULD FOCUS ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY.
Narrator: MAHANEY’S HOPING TO FIND ENOUGH EVIDENCE
TO PROMPT OTHERS TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
AT THE TRAVERSETTE.
Mahaney: THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS AREN’T COOPERATING TOO MUCH
IN THIS RESPECT.
THEY HAVE FOLLOWED MORE OR LESS THE HISTORIANS,
AND THEY REALLY DON’T LIKE THE IDEA OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
THEY THINK IT’S TOO HIGH.
Narrator: IN 2011, MAHANEY TEAMED UP
WITH UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST MICROBIOLOGIST CHRIS ALLEN.
TOGETHER, THEY SEARCH FOR ANY BACTERIA
OR OTHER CHEMICAL EVIDENCE OF HANNIBAL’S PRESENCE FROM 218 BC.
Chris Allen: I STARTED THINKING AS A MICROBIOLOGIST
WHAT COULD WE LOOK FOR, WHAT DID HANNIBAL HAVE.
AND I KNEW THAT HE HAD LOTS OF ANIMALS WITH HIM.
AND ANYBODY WHO HAS WORKED WITH ANIMALS
KNOWS THAT THEY PRODUCE LOTS OF FECES.
SO AS A MICROBIOLOGIST
I KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE BACTERIA THERE,
AND THAT THE BACTERIA COULD BE DETECTABLE 2,000 YEARS LATER ON.
AND THAT’S HOW I GOT INVOLVED.
Narrator: IN 2013,
ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
MAHANEY FOUND WHAT HE THINKS MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MOUNTAIN LAKE
2,000 YEARS AGO.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN IDEAL RESTING SPOT
AND A WATERING HOLE
FOR THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY AND ITS THIRSTY HORSES.
Mahaney: I STARTED TO FOCUS ON DEPRESSIONS,
AND I THOUGHT IN THESE DEPRESSIONS
YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD WATER AT THE TIME HANNIBAL WENT THROUGH.
SO I THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH CORING,
JUST TO SEE WHAT KIND OF IMPRESSION THE ANIMALS,
THE MULTIPLE OF ANIMALS, HAD ON THE SEDIMENT.
Narrator: THEY TAKE SAMPLES, LOOKING FOR BACTERIA
THAT’S NOT TYPICALLY FOUND IN THIS SOIL.
ONE FOCUS IS A TYPE OF BACTERIA CALLED CLOSTRIDIA
THAT LIVES ONLY IN HORSES’ INTESTINES.
LONG AFTER THE CELL HAS DIED,
ONE PART, CALLED AN ENDOSPORE, CAN STILL BE DETECTED.
♪
Allen: THAT’S A REALLY NICE ONE.
IT’S GREAT LAYERING.
REALLY LOVELY LAYERS.
IF AN ENDOSPORE FROM THE HORSE’S GUTS
FINDS HIS WAY INTO THIS SOIL HERE,
IT IS GOING TO SURVIVE FOR ABOUT 10,000 YEARS.
Narrator: EVEN IF THEY FIND AN ENDOSPORE,
THEY NEED A WAY TO PROVE IT CAME FROM A HORSE IN HANNIBAL’S ARMY.
ALLEN WILL TAKE THE SOIL BACK TO HIS LAB IN BELFAST FOR TESTING.
FOR MAHANEY, THE RESULTS COULD STRENGTHEN HIS THEORY
WITH HARD SCIENCE,
SOMETHING HE THINKS IS LACKING IN OTHERS’ WORK.
Mahaney: THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS VIRTUALLY HAVE DONE
VERY LITTLE TO NOTHING IN TERMS OF THIS QUESTION.
IT’S ALL BEEN WITH THE HISTORIANS.
THEY BASICALLY ARGUE OVER THEIR OWN THEORIES.
AND MANY OF THEM HAVE SHIFTED DISTANCES,
TIME MOTION HAS BEEN PLAYED WITH
TO FIT THEIR THEORY OF WHICH PASS WAS USED.
AND IN MY CASE, THIS IS A FORENSIC THING,
A FORENSIC EXERCISE, WHERE I’M USING ENVIRONMENTAL MILESTONES,
IF YOU LIKE, TO TRY TO PINPOINT THE ROUTE.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL DID CHOOSE THE TRAVERSETTE,
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING ROUTE.
HEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS IN LATE OCTOBER,
THERE’S THE RISK OF SNOW SHUTTING DOWN THE PASSES.
EVEN IN THE BEST WEATHER,
THE PATHS THROUGH THE ALPS ARE NARROW AND TREACHEROUS.
THE LAND BECOMES MORE BARREN THE HIGHER THEY CLIMB...
AND THE ANIMALS WILL BEGIN TO STARVE.
THE ELEPHANTS HAVE TO SQUEEZE THROUGH SOME OF THE PASSAGES.
AND THEY SUFFER MOST IN THE COLD.
BELOW FREEZING, THE TIPS OF THEIR EARS AND TAILS
ARE PRONE TO FROSTBITE.
Eric: GETTING ELEPHANTS ACROSS THE ALPS
MUST HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES
IN ANTIQUITY, CERTAINLY UNDERTAKEN BY ANY COMMANDER.
Narrator: HANNIBAL LEADS BY EXAMPLE.
Sarah: HE WAS ABLE TO ENDURE HARSH CONDITIONS
RIGHT ALONGSIDE HIS MEN.
BEING SEEN BY HIS MEN SUFFERING THE SAME THINGS THEY DID,
TRIUMPHING ALONGSIDE THEM WHEN THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL,
WOULD HAVE MADE THEM LOVE HIM,
AND THAT WAS SUPREMELY IMPORTANT TO HIS SUCCESS.
Narrator: STILL, HANNIBAL’S GAMBLE
BECOMES A PUNISHING TREK...
AND FOR SOME, IT TURNS INTO A DEATH MARCH.
IT’S BELIEVED THAT THOUSANDS DIED,
MAKING THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE THEIR ICY GRAVE.
Kelcy: SUPPLIES ARE ALREADY SCARCE,
AND THE WEATHER WAS A VERY REAL THREAT.
AND IN FACT, HANNIBAL LOST NEARLY HALF OF THE 40,000 TROOPS
THAT HE STARTED OUT WITH ON THAT JOURNEY OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
Narrator: IT TAKES THEM 15 GRUELING DAYS TO CROSS.
BUT EVEN TODAY, IT’S NOT CLEAR
EXACTLY WHERE HANNIBAL EMERGED FROM THE ALPS.
IN 2017, CHRIS ALLEN SEARCHED
THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.
AGAIN, HE FOCUSED ON AN AREA
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN ALPINE LAKE IN HANNIBAL’S TIME.
TODAY IT’S A SWAMPY AREA KNOWN AS A MIRE.
Allen: ON PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY
A VERY LARGE MIRE ON THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
THE THEORY THAT WE NOW HAVE
IS THAT IF THIS EVENT REALLY OCCURRED AT THE SITES,
THEN THESE HORSES SHOULD BE BASICALLY THE SAME HORSES.
SO IF WE CAN LOOK AT THE CLOSTRIDIA
IN EQUINE GUT BACTERIA,
OR FROM EQUINE GUT BACTERIA IN THE TWO SITES,
THEY SHOULD BE VERY, VERY SIMILAR.
SO, IN 2017 WE BASICALLY STARTED THAT PROCESS
ON THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL’S ARMY, WITH ITS THOUSANDS OF HORSES,
CROSSED OVER THE TRAVERSETTE,
ALLEN THINKS THE SAMPLES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PASS
SHOULD MATCH.
ALLEN TAKES THE SOIL SAMPLES TO HIS LAB
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST.
HE’S LOOKING FOR KEY MARKERS.
Allen: SO, TO NOW, WE’RE JUST STARTING THE PROCESS NOW
OF DNA EXTRACTIONS.
Narrator: ALLEN FACES LONG ODDS.
HIS TESTS HAVE TO REVEAL THE PRESENCE
OF A TYPE OF CLOSTRIDIA FOUND ONLY IN HORSES.
THEN HE HAS TO MATCH THE SAMPLES
FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE TRAVERSETTE.
AND THEN HE HAS TO PROVE
THE BACTERIA ARE FROM THE CORRECT TIME PERIOD.
Allen: THE BIGGEST SURPRISE FROM OUR INITIAL STUDIES
WAS JUST THE SHEER QUANTITY.
SO NORMALLY IF WE LOOK IN SOIL
YOU MIGHT GET MAYBE LESS THAN 2% OF THE BACTERIA PRESENT
ARE CLOSTRIDIA.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK IN OUR SITE, WHICH WE FOUND IN FRANCE
WHERE WE EXPECTED HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY TO PASS THROUGH,
WE ACTUALLY FOUND THAT THERE WERE
UP TO 20% OF THE BACTERIA IN THE SAMPLES WERE CLOSTRIDIA.
AND THIS WAS REALLY SURPRISING.
YOU WOULDN’T SEE THIS VERY OFTEN,
BUT WHAT WAS EVEN MORE SURPRISING
IS THAT WE COULD TIE THIS INCREASE IN RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
TO THE TIME PERIOD WHEN HANNIBAL CROSSED THROUGH THE ALPS.
Narrator: NOT ONLY ARE THERE HIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF HORSE CLOSTRIDIA,
THE SAMPLES AT BOTH SITES SEEM TO MATCH.
THIS MEANS THEY VERY LIKELY CAME FROM THE SAME ANIMALS--
ONES THAT CROSSED THE TRAVERSETTE.
AND, MOST AMAZINGLY, CARBON DATING PUTS THE SAMPLES
IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD AS HANNIBAL’S MARCH.
CHRIS ALLEN IS NOW MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER
THAT WHEN HE STANDS AT THE END OF THE TRAVERSETTE
AND LOOKS INTO ITALY’S PO VALLEY,
HE’S SEEING THE SAME VIEW HANNIBAL HAD.
AND WHILE MANY MODERN HISTORIANS
STILL DISAGREE WITH BILL MAHANEY,
HE THINKS THE ANCIENT CHRONICLERS BACK HIM UP.
Mahaney: I FIRST STARTED OUT BY LOOKING AT ALL THE COLS,
ALL THE APPROACH ROUTES, OKAY.
AND FREQUENTLY GOING BACK TO PARTLY TO LIVY
BUT MAINLY TO POLYBIUS,
AND OUT OF THE ANCIENT TEXT CAME THINGS LIKE PERMAFROST,
FROZEN GROUND, SOIL-- FROZEN SOIL OF A THIN LAYER,
THIS KIND OF THING.
THE VISION INTO THE PO RIVER IS A MAJOR THING
BECAUSE THE ONLY COL
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PO RIVER FROM ANY HEIGHT
IS THE TRAVERSETTE.
YOU CAN’T SEE IT FROM ANY OTHER.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL EMERGED AT THE TRAVERSETTE,
ITALY LAY AT HIS FEET.
THE CARTHAGINIAN AND HIS ARMY HAVE ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE.
THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE MARCH FOR MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS
AND OVERCOME EVERY OBSTACLE--
NOW THEY SEEM UNSTOPPABLE.
Eric: WE’RE NOT SURE WHAT ROUTE HANNIBAL ACTUALLY TOOK.
TO SOME DEGREE IT’S A KIND OF MOOT POINT,
INSOFAR AS THE ABILITY
TO GET TROOPS ACROSS THE ALPS TO BEGIN WITH
IS SUCH AN AMAZING FEAT,
IT DOESN’T MAKE THAT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE.
IF IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT HE TOOK THE MOST DIFFICULT PASS,
THE HIGHEST, THE NARROWEST, AND SO FORTH,
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU EVEN MORE
THE KIND OF MILITARY GENIUS THAT HANNIBAL WAS.
Sarah: YES, IT WAS HOW HE HAD TO GET TO ITALY,
BUT THE SHEER FACT THAT HE WAS WILLING TO DO IT
UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD HAVE TERRIFIED HIS ENEMIES.
HANNIBAL’S ARMY PAUSED FOR A TIME IN NORTHERN ITALY
TO REBUILD ITS STRENGTH AND REST.
BUT IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE HE WAS READY TO FIGHT AGAIN.
Narrator: HANNIBAL HAS CONQUERED THE ALPS...
AND ONCE IN ITALY,
THE CARTHAGINIANS ADVANCE QUICKLY AND GO ON THE ATTACK.
WITH HIS ELEPHANTS, HANNIBAL CRUSHES ROMAN ARMIES
AT THE TICINO RIVER AND AT THE TREBIA.
THIS BATTLE IS THE LAST RECORD OF HIS USE OF ELEPHANTS
IN THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.
A BITTERLY COLD WINTER KILLS MOST OF THEM.
THE NEXT YEAR, HE BEATS ONE ROMAN ARMY AFTER ANOTHER,
SKIRTS ROME ITSELF, AND LEADS HIS ARMY TO CANNAE.
OF ALL HANNIBAL’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS,
NOT EVEN CROSSING THE ALPS
COMPARES TO WHAT HE ACHIEVES AT CANNAE.
HIS BATTLE STRATEGY IS STILL TAUGHT TODAY
AS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT MANEUVERS IN ALL OF HISTORY.
HE FACES OFF AGAINST THE ROMAN GENERAL VARRO.
Sarah: WHEN THE ROMANS LINED UP FOR BATTLE,
VARRO’S INFANTRY ULTIMATELY ENDS UP CLOSING TOGETHER
IN THE CENTER.
HE HAD MORE FOOT SOLDIERS MASSED IN THE CENTER OF HIS ARMY
THAN WAS USUAL FOR HIM.
AT THE SAME TIME, ON HANNIBAL’S SIDE,
HIS CENTER WAS SHALLOWER, WITH FEWER MEN THERE.
AND THE ROMANS, EXCITED THAT THEY SEEM TO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE,
PUSHED AGAINST THE CARTHAGINIANS BACK, BACK, BACK.
AND IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT HANNIBAL’S WINGS CLOSED IN.
THE ROMANS WERE ENCIRCLED FROM THE LEFT AND FROM THE RIGHT
UNTIL THEY WERE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED.
AND WHAT ENSUED THEN WAS OUTRIGHT SLAUGHTER.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ROMANS FELL.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ACHIEVES
ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST BRILLIANT VICTORIES,
AND HE SENDS AN EMISSARY TO ROME TO TALK PEACE.
BUT ROME REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
HANNIBAL WILL DEFEAT THE ROMANS IN EVERY FUTURE BATTLE,
BUT HE CANNOT TAKE THE CITY ITSELF.
THE VERY THING THAT MAKES HANNIBAL’S ARMY
SO LETHAL IN THE FIELD--
ITS QUICK, HARD-HITTING CAVALRY--
IS POORLY SUITED TO LAY SIEGE TO HEAVILY FORTIFIED ROME.
Eric: ROME ULTIMATELY NEUTRALIZES HANNIBAL.
EVEN THOUGH HE HAD WON A NUMBER OF VICTORIES AGAINST THE ROMANS,
HE HAD BEEN INCAPABLE
OF GETTING A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF ROME’S ALLIES
TO TURN ON ROME AND TO JOIN THE CARTHAGINIAN SIDE.
Narrator: THE WAR RAGES FOR 15 YEARS,
WITH HANNIBAL ALWAYS WINNING BATTLES...
BUT NEVER SUBDUING ROME.
YOUNG PUBLIUS SCIPIO TAKES COMMAND OF THE ROMAN ARMY,
AND HE DELIVERS A BLOW WORTHY OF HIS OPPONENT.
HE LEADS THE ROMAN ARMY ACROSS THE OCEAN
TO HANNIBAL’S HOMELAND.
DESPERATE, THE CARTHAGINIANS RISK THEIR FLEET
AND BRING HANNIBAL BACK.
Sarah: WHEN ROME INVADED AFRICA, HANNIBAL WAS QUICKLY RECALLED
TO DEFEND HIS HOME CITY.
HE LEFT ITALY AND RETURNED TO CARTHAGE.
HE WAS IN COMMAND AT THE FINAL BATTLE THERE IN AFRICA,
THE BATTLE OF ZAMA.
Narrator: AT ZAMA, OUTSIDE CARTHAGE,
HANNIBAL LOSES TO ROME FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME.
ROME IS AN UNFORGIVING FOE.
CARTHAGE IS DRIVEN TO BANKRUPTCY,
AND ROMAN SENATORS TAKE UP THE REFRAIN,
"CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED!"
50 YEARS AFTER HANNIBAL’S DEFEAT,
THE ROMANS SACK AND DESTROY THE CITY
AND SOW ITS FIELDS WITH SALT
TO MAKE IT UNINHABITABLE FOR GENERATIONS.
HANNIBAL HELD THIS ENEMY AT BAY FOR 15 YEARS,
BUT EVEN HE COULD NOT STOP THE ASCENDANT ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL’S LEGACY IS
ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS OF ANTIQUITY,
AND IN FACT ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS WHO EVER LIVED.
Sarah: HANNIBAL WAS THE ROMANS’ WORST NIGHTMARE.
AND EVEN HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER
HE’S STILL REMEMBERED IN THE ROMAN IMAGINATION
AS THE ONE PERSON WHO NEARLY DESTROYED THEM.
Narrator: ROME WILL NOT REST UNTIL HANNIBAL IS DEAD.
HE FLEES TO THE EAST, BUT THE ROMANS PURSUE HIM.
FINALLY, CORNERED, HANNIBAL FACES CAPTURE OR SUICIDE.
HE CHOOSES DEATH.
ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST LEADERS
SLIPS OUT OF MEMORY AND INTO MYTH...
ONLY RECREATIONS OF HIS GREATEST FEATS
AND EVIDENCE OF WHAT WAS ONCE CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE
ARE ALL THAT’S LEFT TO BRING THE REAL HANNIBAL BACK TO LIFE.
♪