Hannibal

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life and achievements of Hannibal. One of the most celebrated military leaders in history, Hannibal was the Carthaginian general who led an entire army, complete with elephants, across the Alps in order to attack the Roman Republic. He lived at a time of prolonged hostility between the two great Mediterranean powers, Rome and Carthage, and was the Carthaginians’ inspirational leader during the Second Punic War which unfolded between 218 and 202 BC. His career ended in defeat and exile, but he achieved such fame that even his enemies the Romans erected statues of him. Centuries later his tactical genius was admired and studied by generals including Napoleon and Wellington.

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Guests

  • Ellen O'Gorman 5 episodes
    Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Bristol
  • Mark Woolmer 2 episodes
    Senior Tutor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Durham
  • Louis Rawlings No other episodes
    Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at Cardiff University

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Programme ID: b01n6s03

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n6s03

Auto-category: 937 (Ancient Rome)

Hello (First sentence from this episode) Hello. Anybody walking the riverbank near the northern Italian town of Piacenza on a freezing cold morning in December 218 BC would have seen an extraordinary spectacle.