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But it's limited edition, so once it's gone, it's gone. So go and buy it now! Hey! What are you still doing here?
I said go and buy it now! Alright, our beloved mercenaries. Let's hear it! Okay! Thank you one and all for your hard work fighting in the First Punic War.
Would have been nice if you'd won. Maybe tried a little harder? But this isn't the finger-pointing convention.
I know you all have one thing on your minds. Hey! When are we all getting paid?
Yeah! Send it in! Lost your... Okay.
Jim, why don't you tell them? I'm not telling them, you tell them. Ugh. Look, you're not getting paid.
What? We lost the First Punic War, and owe the Romans a ton of reparations. Of course we can't pay you in full. Let's burn this place to the ground! Yeah!
Don't burn this place to the ground! Come on, fellas. Will killing us really make you feel better about your money?
Yes. Way to go, sir. Shut up, Jim.
You're fired. I guess that makes two of us. Huh?
In the aftermath of the First Punic War, Carthage's disgruntled mercenaries left unpaid for all their hard work, revolted, and Carthage found itself caught up in an extremely destructive mercenary war. The panicked Carthaginians hired more mercenaries to fight the mercenaries they couldn't afford to pay, and Carthage came dangerously close to collapse. All the while, across the water, there was Rome. Ha! Look at those morons!
We just kicked their asses. in the First Punic War, and now their own mercenaries are revolting. Haha, yeah. Wait, First Punic War? You mean there's going to be a second one?
Well, we're definitely taking advantage of this situation. So almost certainly, yes. The Romans did, in fact, take advantage of this situation.
Amongst the chaos, rebels on the Carthaginian island of Sardinia sent out a cry for help to Rome. Hot diggity dog, said the Romans. That's free real estate.
And so in they went. Whoa, That's our island! Get the hell off!
Hey, they requested our help. We're simply... helping. Oh no you don't! Look, we're sending our own army to deal with the rebels, okay?
But just to be clear, we're not trying to start a fight with you. So, you know, don't declare war on us or anything. War!
Blah! We surrender! Great! And as part of the peace treaty, we get to keep these islands.
NOOOO- The Carthaginians were hopping mad. As if their humiliating loss in the First Punic War wasn't bad enough, the Romans now took advantage of their mercenary problem and stole their islands. This shocking land grab was pretty hard to justify, even by Roman standards.
Additionally, the Romans now demanded Carthage pay them even more money on top of what was already owed. If Rome was trying to make Carthage as mad as possible, they were doing a fantastic job. The seeds of a second Punic War were being sown, and they were being watered with Carthaginian tears.
Resentment in Carthage only continued to grow. Eventually, Carthage solved their mercenary problem thanks to Carthaginian military genius and hero of the First Punic War, Hamilcar Barca. He sorted those naughty mercenaries out with some good old-fashioned atrocities, and the destructive mercenary war was over.
Still? All was not well in Carthage. Mere decades ago, they were the top dogs in the western Mediterranean. Now, after the crushing defeat in the First Punic War, and a huge bill to pay the Romans, Carthage was well and truly under Rome's thumb. What on earth were they supposed to do?
If they wanted any chance at regaining their former strength, there was one thing they needed now, more than anything, money. But as long as they owed Rome a bazillion dollars, there was nothing they could do. Fortunately for them, amongst their ranks, there was one big hunk of a man, with one big clump of a brain. Me!
Hunker Barker! Yes! Wait, why do you all have the exact same voice?
Ah! I have it too! That's right. Hero of the First Punic War, Greatest General Alive, and the poster above my bed. Hamilcar Barca had an idea.
All right. We need money? Well, I've got one word for you.
Spain. An area filled with lucrative silver mines, from which the silver would flow like a river, and our pockets would be stuffed, like Tony's mother at a buffet. Hey!
So here's my proposal. You send me with an army to Spain. I'll expand our territory, get those silver mines up and running, and we'll be able to pay the Romans back in no time.
Okay. But, just to check, you're not secretly raising the money to go on a bloodthirsty revenge spree against Rome, are you? Because we can't afford that. Hanno, my dear, I'm simply going to pay them.
Well, that wasn't reassuring. Few in Carthage were as- bitter about their loss in the First Punic War as Hamilcar Barca. 98% of his brain matter had been reallocated to thoughts of revenge.
He was also fed up with the Carthaginian politicians for what he deemed a cowardly betrayal when they surrendered at the end of the last war. And so for Hamilcar, going to Spain meant being able to act independently from the weak Carthaginian government, building his own strength, and then perhaps somewhere down the line, Revenge! However, he wasn't going to Spain by himself.
Hannibal? Yes, father? Would you like to come with me to build an empire in Spain?
Oh boy, would I! Barbara, mind if I take our nine-year-old son with me? I want to implant an intense hatred of Romanym and prepare him for a glorious campaign of vengeance.
Just try not to traumatize him, dear. No promises. The young boy Hannibal would accompany his father.
Watching, learning. Boy, you see that city over there? Yes, Father?
That is Rome. Do you know what we do to Romans? No, Father. We hate them, Hannibal.
We hate them with every fiber of our being. But why, Father? Can't I just play with my Digimons?
No, son! They took everything from us. Our land, our wealth, our pride.
Those animals. I'll tear them limb from limb. I'll burn their pathetic city to the ground.
Dad? I'm sorry son, I've just never been so proud. Keep going.
I'll slaughter their people! I'll cut off their faces and wear them as masks! I love you son! After taking Hannibal to the Temple of Baal and having him swear an oath never to be a friend of Rome, off dad and son went for their lovely beach holiday in Spain. But Spain was already inhabited by many tribespeople, and when Hamilcar suddenly showed up in their territory, they were like, Hey, who the hell are you?
What are you doing here? I'm teaching my son how to become a warrior like me. Aww, well that's sweet.
Well then little guy, let's see what you got. Good boy. As Hamilcar got to work fighting the tribes of Iberia and expanding Carthaginian influence, Hannibal became a child of war, even earning battle scars from a young age. And he grew to become a great military leader himself, making his father very proud.
I love you so much, son. Dad! not in front of the enemy. You killed that guy so well, son.
The Barkas successfully consolidated Carthaginian power, got those silver mines up and running, and were sending buckets of cash back to a money-starved Carthage. And symbolizing Carthage's regrowing strength, a beautiful new city would eventually be founded in Spain. New Carthage, with a magnificent palace at its center. Carthage is back, baby!
What in the name of Apollo is going on here? Ah! Romans!
Flowing silver mines? Dancing elephants? What are you up to, Hamilcar?
I'm simply gathering the money to pay you back. Oh. Okay, then. Or are you rebuilding strength to go on a bloodthirsty revenge spree? Like I said, Claudius.
I'm simply trying to pay you back. Aw, you guys are hugging. No, we're not.
I was. I was hugging. Hamilcar had practically carved out a kingdom for himself in Spain, free from the meddling Carthaginian politicians. His power was becoming immense.
But dad... Yes, my son? I'm confused. Are we really simply paying the Romans back?
We're not gonna go on a bloodthirsty revenge spree? Of course we are! I'm just saying that to get the Romans off our backs.
Listen, here's the most important life lesson I have for you. Vengeance is everything. An all-encompassing thirst for vengeance is great for your mental health. Are you still confused? No, no.
I get it now. But what if the Romans find out what we're up to? They won't find out.
Why? Well, Hannibal? Because I use NordVPN! I'm confused again. Do you like your computer being hacked, all your passwords being stolen, and used to create a fake virtual you who drains your mom's bank account?
Me neither. And that's why I use NordVPN. These days, hackers are only getting smarter, while you're only getting dumber.
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That's nordvpn.com slash oversimplified. And as always, you'll be supporting my channel. So thank you. Now where were we? Oh yeah.
Carthaginian Tears, a Child of War, and the Carthaginian Conquest of Spain. The Carthaginian recovery had been staggeringly quick. and Rome was seriously alarmed. But they were also preoccupied with ongoing wars elsewhere, including an expansionist war to the north where they were enslaving thousands of northern Celts. So for now, to keep Carthage in check, the Romans insisted on a new treaty.
See this river. The two sides agreed that everything above it was in Rome's sphere of influence, while beneath it was Carthage. Under no circumstances were the Carthaginians to expand north. of that river.
But for now, Hamilcar and son were living it up. Well son, here's to many more years of successful campaigning in Spain. Now if you'll excuse me, I just have to go fight those guys. See you later son.
I love you. What the? Oh crap, I drowned?
Oh well. Always remember, son. You are vengeance.
Also delete my browsing history. Hamilcar Barca was tragically ambushed at a river and drowned. His son-in-law, and possibly also his lover, no further questions, took charge for a while.
But he too was later assassinated, leaving finally at 26-year-old Hannibal. In charge of the Carthaginian armies in Spain. Sources say the men readily accepted him as their leader.
He chose to suffer the same hardships as his men. He lived in the same conditions, was often the first into battle and the last one out. And it also helped that he looked a lot like his dad.
He had the total respect of his men. If he said jump, they said how high. If he said tuck me in, they said how tight. If he said talk to a girl without peeing your pants.
They said that's impossible. Nobody can do that. An army that would follow him anywhere would be crucial for exacting his vengeance against Rome. Hannibal's army had become a strong and loyal fighting force, and that was making a certain nation very uncomfortable.
Seeing Carthage restrengthen so quickly was not something Rome had expected. Yet here they were, paying off their debts and expanding their territory. It didn't feel very much like Carthage was under Rome's thumb at all, and Rome wanted to put an end to it.
Tensions were strung tighter than your liar's G-string, and all it would take was one incident to trigger all out war. And in 219 BC, a city in Spain would find itself at the very center of that fateful incident. Saguntum. Remember that treaty declaring everything south of this river to be Carthage's sphere of influence? Well, Saguntum should therefore obviously be Carthaginian, right?
Wrong! Saguntum had actually scored itself an informal alliance with Rome, after Rome had helped it with an internal dispute. With Carthaginian encroachment, Saguntum began to fear for its independence, and Rome declared itself Saguntum's protector. But this clearly went against the Ebro River Treaty.
So what on earth? Was Rome doing? Were the Suguntins and the Romans truly just BFFs?
It's possible. Or was Rome deliberately trying to interfere with Hannibal's Spanish expansion and maintain a staging post for a future war with Carthage? More likely.
And Hannibal certainly viewed this Rome-Suguntum alliance as an outrage. Yet another example of Roman arrogance. At first, he left Saguntum alone. But having learned from his father to hate all things Roman, and having inherited his father's dream of bringing Rome to its knees more and more, Hannibal may have begun to see Saguntum as an opportunity. Could this controversial alliance be just what devilish little Hannibal needed to kickstart a second war with Rome and restore Carthaginian dominance.
It's even possible that Rome were also using Saguntum to goad Hannibal into a fight, so they could go and kick him out of Spain. And as the two giants began gearing up for round two, the poor people of Saguntum had no idea that they were about to be crushed in the collision. Hey! Your alliance with Saguntum is an insult, and we won't stand for it.
They're our friends, Hannibal, and if you lay a finger on them, It'll be an act of war. Yeah, Hannibal! Back.
The. Hell. Off. War, eh? I was thinking I might just besiege their city.
And massacre their people. I hope you do, Hannibal. Find out what happens.
Yeah! We hope you do, Hannibal- Wait, what? Maybe I will.
Go ahead. Kill them all. Uh...
Okay then. Fine. Fine. Okay.
Guess I'll do just that. Consul? We look forward to it.
Consul? You're gonna protect us though, right, Consul? Consul! Oh no! To top it all off, when the Saguntine people made the genius decision of raiding into Carthaginian territory, enough was enough.
In an action that was guaranteed to provoke the Romans into war, Hannibal besieged the city. The siege of Saguntum lasted eight cruel months before Hannibal broke through the city defenses and turned Saguntum into a killing field. It was a massacre. What the hell?!
Tell me I didn't just catch you massacring our friends, the Suguntis! Well, Consul, if you like the Suguntis so much, perhaps you should sug on these nuts! Hearing word of the attack on Suguntum, Rome was understandably in an uproar, and all eyes were now fixated on what would happen next as Rome sent a delegation to Carthage.
Led by one of the most highly esteemed Roman senators, Fabius Maximus. He demanded an answer for Hannibal's sins. Alright, listen up, scum.
You've got a rogue general in Spain attacking a Roman ally. What are we supposed to do about it? Well, there shouldn't have even been a Roman ally in Spain. You're the aggressor here.
Hand Hannibal over to us as a criminal so we can punish him severely. No. Yes.
No. Yes. No.
Look, I hold in the folds of my toga both peace and war. Which one should I let drop? Whichever one you want, then I choose. War!
The Second Punic War had begun. Pack it up, boys! We've got them! We already destroyed these clowns once, and we were the underdogs. Now, we're the overdogs?
Hot dogs. Exactly. This is gonna be easy. Here's the plan.
Consul Longus, you take your army and sail straight for Carthage. Burn that city to the ground! And Consul Scipio, you just head on over to Iberia and make sure this Hannibal guy doesn't do anything crazy.
I mean, what's he gonna do? Cross the Alps? We're going to what? Cross the Alps. We're going to what?
I just told you, Hannibal will freeze to death. Trust me Jerome, the Romans are expecting us to fight the same way we did last time. Passively.
Taking no initiative. They think it's gonna be E-Z. So this time, we have to be aggressive. We have to go on the attack!
It sickens me to say this, but this time, we have to be a little more Roman. You mean we're gonna take poops and baths together? But I'm insecure about my hairy legs! No! I'm saying this time we're gonna take the fight to them.
Think about it. Rome thinks they're simply going to invade us and win the war. So when they suddenly find themselves being invaded from the north, they'll freak out.
Like Tony's mother when the buffet runs out of shrimp. Hey! I got to admit, it's actually kind of genius.
And my hairy legs will insulate me from the cold. That's the spirit, Hannibal. You have my sword. And my spear. And my legs.
Buh! Hannibal's plan, a daring alpine trek to surprise the Romans, was a bold but risky strategy. If it paid off, he could catch the Romans with their pan stem, but he could also end up losing a ton of men and supplies in the hostile mountain conditions.
Nevertheless, in 218 BC, with a fire in his eyes and some vengeance in his belly, Hannibal brought his force of almost 100,000 men across the Ebro River. They spent months on the road. trekking through the cold, hostile mountain conditions.
And when they finally reached the other side, they said, Hooray! We did it! We crossed the Alps!
No, those were the Pyrenees. Those are the Alps. After crossing the Pyrenees, the army then had to pass through Southern Gaul, a vast territory filled with tribespeople, many of whom were hostile to Hannibal's presence. His journey to the Alps was an ordeal in itself, as he was forced to fight his way through and incurred pretty hefty losses before even reaching the mountains. His plan was almost stopped in its tracks entirely, as the Roman consul Scipio, on his way to Iberia, discovered Hannibal was right on his doorstep.
Suddenly, Hannibal's journey became a race, as he rushed to get his massive army across the vast Rhone River before the Romans could intercept him. The crossing was chaotic, with the panicking elephants causing several men to drown. And the first combat of the war occurred when small scouting parties from each side encountered one another.
When Scipio finally caught up to Hannibal's position, what he found was an empty Carthaginian camp. Hannibal had slipped through his fingers. The Roman consul Scipio felt the weight of the situation. Quite unbelievably, Hannibal was going to cross the Alps.
into Italy, and the Romans had no idea where he would emerge. For the first time, a Carthaginian force had the Roman homeland under threat. Scipio sent his men onto Iberia as planned, but he himself rushed home to raise a new army so that if Hannibal survived the crossing, Scipio would be there, waiting. Would you look at that, boys! We're here!
The Alps! Although it is a little later than I expected. Yeah, it's kind of chilly. We'll set up camp here and wait for spring, right?
It's way too cold, right Hannibal? Hannibal's famous crossing of the Alps was brutal. It was already autumn and the men suffered terribly. It was cold. Men would fall off the sides of icy cliffs.
They starved. They fell off the sides of icy cliffs. Some sources say they had to eat their pack animals.
and would finish off dying comrades in order to take their clothes for extra warmth. And then they would fall off the sides of icy cliffs. Imagine an army of 50,000 men with all of their horses, supplies, and 37 elephants trying to navigate the most hostile mountain range in Europe.
And it wasn't just nature that they were up against. Tribes' people lived in the mountains, and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. A tribe approached Hannibal and said, Hey man, Geez, that's some nice armor. What is that, gold? Man, I'd really like that armor.
Hey boss! They've got food as well! Shut up!
Be cool! Hey, why don't you let us guide you through this narrow gorge? We're not gonna kill you or nothing. Just walk right on through there.
We're not gonna kill ya. It's just right this way. We're not gonna kill ya. Hannibal's army were forced to fight their way through the gorge, as massive boulders rained down on them from above.
Some clever reorganization of his line helped them survive, and they were able to fend off the opportunistic tribes. But losses from the constant attacks were heavy. As the journey continued, men who went over the sides would get stuck on the ice sheets below, and had to make a grisly choice between starving to death or just getting it over with. When the deeply demoralized army reached the summit and rested for a couple days, Hannibal tried to lift their spirits with a rousing speech. Look men, down there!
It's Rome. These plains stretching out in front of you are bountiful with food to eat and Romans to kill. Move Bessie!
Look! You have just climbed the walls of Rome. The hard part is over. From here on out, it's all downhill and nobody else will die.
Except for them. The rest of us here? No one dies. Starting now!
Okay, let's go! OH FOR GOD'S SAKE! As it turned out, the descent was as deadly as the way up. With the cold really starting to set in, the path became even more narrow. And at one point, the men spent three days in the freezing cold, repairing a collapsed road.
When they finally reached the bottom, Hannibal said, Look, guys, we did it! Well, I thought it went really well. When Hannibal left Spain, he had about 100,000 men.
By the time he reached the Italian plains, his numbers... had dwindled to about 26,000. He was now caught in enemy territory without a supply line or source of reinforcements, and any elephants who had survived to this point were almost certainly traumatized. So what on earth was Hannibal up to? This supposed military genius had just led a starving and weakened army right into enemy territory.
Any modern general who lost half their men to mountains would be immediately fired. and possibly even de-pantsed on live TV. Here's the thing. While Hannibal may not have planned on losing quite so many men, he had almost certainly expected considerable losses.
And he always had a plan for how to replace them. Need men? Northern Italy was full of men.
Big, burly Celtic men. All the men Hannibal would ever need to beat off Rome. These Celts were filled with resentment, having only recently been conquered by Rome.
Hannibal hoped to be seen as a liberator, convince the Celts to cut ties with Rome, and instead join him in crushing Rome. That way, he could gain a source of reinforcements and supplies right in Rome's backyard. But sir, in order to win the loyalty of the Celts, we would need to make a seriously favorable impression on them. How do we get them to like us?
Hmm. Kill them. One of Hannibal's first actions in Italy.
was to obliterate a nearby tribe who wouldn't join him. This sent a clear message to all the other tribes. It was his wrath they should fear, not Rome's.
The realization that a Carthaginian army had just invaded them must have been shocking for the Romans. But when they looked at this ragtag group broken by the Alps, they couldn't have felt very intimidated. However, Hannibal was now in Italy, and he... was about to embark on one of the most astonishing military campaigns in all of human history.
The Romans may not have known it yet, but there was now a monster loose in their territory, and he was vying for Roman blood.