With Dr. Eireann Marshall

Trying to vindicate Carthage’s defeat in the First Punic War, Hannibal expanded his city’s power in Spain before famously crossing both the Pyrenees and the Alps with elephants and a powerful army which he hoped would bring Rome to its knees. His victory over Romans at the famous battles of Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae are still studied today for Hannibal’s audacious tactics. Terrified of his skill, Romans defeated Hannibal by not fighting him and allowing him to flounder in Southern Italy. Had more Italians defected to him and had his brother Hasdrubal succeeded in bringing him reinforcements, the course of Roman history, and with it European history, may have been very different.