Hannibal: The Man Who Hated Rome (2001) - full transcript
Narrator: HANNIBAL--
\h\h\h\h\hONE OF HISTORY’S
MOST BRILLIANT LEADERS...
COMMANDER OF A LEGENDARY ARMY.
\h\hMan: 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hABOUT THE MAN.
HOW DID HANNIBAL ASSEMBLE
\h\h\h\hAND HOLD TOGETHER
AN ARMY OF 90,000 MEN
AND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS?
WHAT DID IT TAKE
TO GET THAT ARMY
\h\hOVER ONE OF EUROPE’S
MOST TREACHEROUS RIVERS?
Woman: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY,
\h\h\hTO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: AND HOW DID HE ACHIEVE
WHAT NO OTHER GENERAL
\h\hHAD DONE BEFORE--
LEAD THAT ARMY ACROSS THE ALPS
TO STRIKE AT ROME’S HEARTLAND?
Woman: THEY SAW IT BASICALLY
\h\h\hAS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: NOW, NEW DISCOVERIES
\h\h\h\hAND MODERN TECHNOLOGY
ARE CUTTING THROUGH
\h\h\hTHE LEGEND...
TO REVEAL THE TRUTH.
♪
\h\h\h\h\hEric Adler:
HANNIBAL’S REMEMBERED
\hAS ONE OF THE GREATEST
MILITARY MEN IN HISTORY.
HE WAS A GENIUS.
HE WAS A STRATEGIC GENIUS,
HE WAS A LOGISTICAL GENIUS,
\h\h\hHE WAS A GREAT LEADER,
AND HE CAME CLOSEST
\hTO DESTROYING ROME
IN ITS REPUBLICAN PRIME.
Narrator: EVEN 2,000 YEARS
\h\h\h\h\hAFTER HIS DEATH,
HANNIBAL IS STILL A ROLE MODEL.
Sarah Brown Ferrario:
\h\h\h\h\hWAR COLLEGES
AND EVEN PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS
\h\h\h\hOF THE MILITARY TODAY
STILL STUDY HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\h\hGREAT BATTLES
FOR THEIR IMAGINATIVE TACTICS,
THEIR QUICK RESPONSE TO CHANGES
IN CIRCUMSTANCE,
AND THEIR UNIQUE ABILITY
\h\h\hTO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE WEAKNESSES
OF HIS OPPONENTS.
HANNIBAL WAS THE ROMANS’
\h\h\h\hWORST NIGHTMARE.
Narrator: BUT WE ONLY KNOW
\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL’S STORY
FROM HIS ENEMY’S PERSPECTIVE.
\hKelcy Sagstetter:
ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS
IN ASSESSING THE RELIABILITY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE SOURCES
IS THAT ALL OF OUR ACCOUNTS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hARE PRO ROMAN.
AND IT’S A CASE OF THE VICTORS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWRITING HISTORY.
BUT THE SOURCES SHOW A SORT
\h\hOF RELUCTANT ADMIRATION
FOR HANNIBAL,
\hBECAUSE, LET’S FACE IT,
HE WAS A MILITARY GENIUS,
AND YOU CAN’T HIDE THAT
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN HISTORY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S STORY
\h\hBEGINS IN CARTHAGE...
A CITY ALL BUT FORGOTTEN TODAY,
BUT A SUPERPOWER IN 270 B.C.
\hEric: CARTHAGE WAS
THE WEALTHIEST POWER
IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
AS A RESULT OF THEIR GREAT
\h\h\h\hSUCCESSES IN TRADE
\h\hTHAT GOES BACK
CENTURIES, REALLY.
\h\hBUT THIS ALSO MEANS
THAT THEY ARE VERY GOOD
AT CONTROLLING THE SEA.
\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AND IT REAPS
HUGE PROFITS FROM BOAT BUILDING
\hAND ITS CONTROL
OF SHIPPING ROUTES
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
\h\h\hSarah: THIS WAS
A FULLY SOPHISTICATED
MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY
WITH A HIGHLY, HIGHLY DEVELOPED
AND EXTREMELY WEALTHY
\h\h\h\hCIVILIZATION.
Narrator: CARTHAGE HAS AMBITIONS
\h\h\h\h\h\hOF SEIZING CONTROL
OF THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN.
\h\h\hBUT AS CARTHAGE EXPANDS,
SO DOES ANOTHER RISING POWER--
ROME.
AND ROME IS RESTLESS.
ONCE A TINY VILLAGE,
\h\h\hIT’S NOW A THRIVING CITY
THAT CONTROLS MOST OF ITALY--
\h\h\h\h\h\hA POSITION GAINED
THROUGH ITS POWERFUL MILITARY.
Sarah: THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
\hBY THE THIRD CENTURY BC
\h\hWAS 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...
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND THEY ARE
THE PREEMINENT LAND POWER.
Kelcy: ROME HAD BEEN EXPANDING
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHROUGHOUT
THE ITALIAN PENINSULA,
CONQUERING ALL OF THE TRIBES
\h\h\hAND FORMING ALLIANCES,
\h\hAND 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.
\hCARTHAGE, FOR NOW,
MUST BOW TO ROME...
PAY A HUGE TRIBUTE...
AND DREAM OF REVENGE.
THE DEFEATED CARTHAGINIAN
\h\h\h\hLEADER, HAMILCAR,
SWEARS TO ONE DAY
\hDESTROY HIS FOE.
HE DEDICATES HIS LIFE--
\h\h\h\hAND HIS SON’S--
TO ROME’S DESTRUCTION.
THAT BOY IS HANNIBAL.
\h\hHIS FATHER’S HATRED OF ROME
SHAPES YOUNG HANNIBAL’S DESTINY.
\h\h\hSarah: WHEN HANNIBAL WAS
A YOUNG BOY, ABOUT 9 YEARS OLD
AND ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR SPAIN
\hWITH 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
\h\h\h\h\hTHROUGHOUT HIS LIFE
AN ENEMY TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE.
Kelcy: WHETHER OR NOT THIS OATH
EVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED,
\hTHE ROMANS WANTED
TO PORTRAY HANNIBAL
AS ALMOST A PREDESTINED ENEMY.
\h\h\h\h\hTHEY WANTED TO SHOW
THAT THIS ENMITY WITH HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\h\hWAS ALMOST PREORDAINED
IN AN ALMOST MYTHOLOGICAL SENSE.
♪
Narrator: TO REBUILD THE WEALTH
AND STATUS OF CARTHAGE,
\h\h\hHAMILCAR INVADES
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA,
KNOWN TODAY AS SPAIN.
HAMILCAR’S GAMBLE
\hPAYS OFF RICHLY.
\h\h\h\h\hKelcy: SPAIN WAS
A VERY ATTRACTIVE PROSPECT
FOR THE CARTHAGINIANS
BECAUSE IT POSSESSED
\h\hFABULOUS WEALTH
IN SILVER MINES ESPECIALLY.
BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE TIMBER
\h\h\h\hAND FURS AND AMBER.
\h\h\hNarrator: BUT HAMILCAR
HAS TO CONQUER LOCAL TRIBES.
HE ASSEMBLES A FEARSOME ARMY...
AND WIELDS THE ANCIENT WORLD’S
\h\hVERSION OF BATTLE TANKS--
WAR ELEPHANTS.
\h\hEric: ELEPHANTS
WERE TYPICALLY USED
CHIEFLY TO FRIGHTEN THE ENEMY.
SOLDIERS WHO HAVEN’T
\h\hSEEN ELEPHANTS,
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE,
\h\hPANIC AS A RESULT,
AND ANIMALS THAT HAVEN’T SEEN
\h\h\hELEPHANTS BEFORE PANIC.
\hAND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE
THEY WERE UNPREDICTABLE
AND THEY WERE CAPABLE
\hOF TRAMPLING PEOPLE,
THEY COULD CAUSE GREAT FEAR
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN AN ENEMY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL LEARNS
\h\h\hHOW TO LEAD AN ARMY
AND HANDLE ELEPHANTS
\h\hFROM HIS FATHER.
AND FROM HIS GREEK TUTOR,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSOSYLUS,
HE LEARNS THE ART AND HISTORY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF WARFARE.
SOSYLUS TEACHES HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\h\h\hABOUT MYTHIC
AS WELL AS REAL HEROES--
\h\h\hGENERALS LIKE
ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
\hWHO LED HIS ARMY
THOUSANDS OF MILES
ACROSS VAST RIVERS
\h\hAND MOUNTAINS.
\h\hKelcy: AT AGE 10 HANNIBAL
WENT WITH HIS FATHER TO SPAIN,
AND WE HEAR THAT SOSYLUS
\h\h\h\hACCOMPANIED HIM,
AND HE STILL WOULD HAVE TAUGHT
\h\hHIM ABOUT ANCIENT GREEKS,
BUT FROM 235 ONWARD
HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE
APPOINTED HIM A TUTOR
IN THE ARTS OF WAR.
\hHE WOULD HAVE LEARNED
SWORDSMANSHIP, ARCHERY,
HORSEBACK RIDING,
AND SINCE HE WAS PARTLY RAISED
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN MILITARY CAMPS,
HE PROBABLY TOOK TO THIS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH EASE.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S EDUCATION
\hWOULD HAVE COVERED
ALL ASPECTS OF WAR,
FROM HOW TO HANDLE WEAPONS
TO THE TACTICS AND STRATEGIES
\h\h\h\hOF SUCCESSFUL ARMIES.
\h\h\hAND HE WAS CLEARLY
A NATURAL-BORN WARRIOR.
Kelcy: THE ROMAN HISTORIAN LIVY
\h\h\hTELLS US THAT
HANNIBAL’S ADMIRERS
\hREFERRED TO HIM
AS A SECOND MARS,
THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR.
Sarah: FROM THE BEGINNING,
\h\h\h\h\hHIS BEING THERE
ACCLIMATED EVERYONE TO THE FACT
THAT HE REALLY WAS SOME KIND
\h\h\h\hOF AN HEIR APPARENT,
AND THAT WHEN HE CAME OF AGE
HE WOULD PUT CARTHAGE
\h\h\hBACK ON THE MAP
AND HELP RETURN HIS CITY
TO SOME OF ITS FORMER INFLUENCE
AND PROSPERITY
BY TAKING THE WAR RIGHT BACK
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO THE ROMANS.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AT 26,
AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER,
\h\h\hHANNIBAL TAKES CHARGE
OF THE CARTHAGINIAN FORCES.
HE HAS ONE GOAL IN SIGHT--
\h\hFULFILL THE OATH
HE MADE TO HAMILCAR
AND DESTROY ROME.
IN 219 BC, HANNIBAL GATHERS
\h\h\h\h\hAN ENORMOUS ARMY--
PERHAPS AS LARGE AS 90,000 MEN
\h\h\h\hAND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS--
AND PREPARES FOR WAR WITH ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL CAUGHT
THE ROMANS OFF GUARD.
\h\h\h\h\hTHEY DIDN’T REALIZE
UNTIL IT WAS A LITTLE TOO LATE
\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL HAD GROWN
CARTHAGINIAN POWER IN SPAIN
TO THE DEGREE THAT HE HAD.
Narrator: UNAWARE OF HANNIBAL’S
GROWING POWER,
\hROME IS CONFIDENT
IN ITS OWN STRENGTH.
ALTHOUGH A REPUBLIC,
ONLY A FEW NOBLE FAMILIES
\h\hCONTROL KEY POSITIONS.
CHIEF AMONG THESE--
THE HOUSE OF SCIPIO.
\h\h\h\h\hTHE PATRIARCH--
LUCIUS CORNELIUS SCIPIO--
\hFOUGHT AND BEAT
THE CARTHAGINIANS
IN THE EARLIER WAR.
NOW HIS SON, PUBLIUS,
\h\h\h\h\hAND 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.
\h\h\h\h\hEric: IT IS LIKELY
THAT HANNIBAL WAS IRRITATED
BY THE FACT THAT ROME HAD
A KIND OF ALLIANCE OR FRIENDSHIP
OR SOMETHING WITH SAGUNTUM,
\h\h\hBECAUSE THIS WAS
THE TERRITORY IN SPAIN
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
\h\h\h\h\h\hCARTHAGE’S,
\h\h\hAND SO IT’S LIKELY
THAT HE ATTACKS SAGUNTUM
\hIN PART BECAUSE
OF HIS IRRITATION
THAT ROME WAS MEDDLING
IN CARTHAGE’S AFFAIRS IN SPAIN.
\h\h\hKelcy: WHEN HANNIBAL TOOK
SAGUNTUM AFTER AN 8-MONTH SIEGE,
\h\h\hPOLYBIUS TELLS US THAT HE
OFFERED TO SPARE THE POPULATION
IF THEY LEFT THE TOWN
\h\h\hWITH NO WEAPONS
AND NO MORE THAN TWO GARMENTS,
AND WHEN THEY REFUSED, HE PUT
\h\hALL OF THE MALES TO DEATH
AND SOLD THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
INTO SLAVERY.
Eric: ROME SEEMS
TO HAVE EXPECTED
THAT THE SECOND PUNIC WAR
\hWAS GOING TO BE A LOT
LIKE THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
IN WHICH ROME WAS LARGELY
\h\h\h\h\h\hON THE OFFENSE
AND ATTACKING WHERE IT WANTED,
AND HANNIBAL CAUGHT THEM
\hCOMPLETELY OFF GUARD.
Narrator: WHEN NEWS ARRIVES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM SPAIN,
IT’S NOT WHAT THE ROMANS EXPECT.
HANNIBAL, THE MESSAGE SAYS,
\h\h\h\h\h\hIS ON THE MOVE.
HE PLANS TO BRING THE WAR
\h\h\h\h\hTO ROME ITSELF.
ALREADY HE HAS THE ROMANS
\h\h\h\hON THE DEFENSIVE.
Kelcy: ONE OF THE REASONS
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL
WAS SO SUCCESSFUL
AGAINST THE ROMANS
IS THAT HE ALWAYS DID
\h\h\hTHE UNEXPECTED.
HE WAS USUALLY ONE STEP AHEAD
\hOF THE ROMANS AT EVERY TURN.
Narrator: THE EASIEST ROUTE
\h\hWOULD BE THE DIRECT ONE,
BY SHIP.
INSTEAD, HANNIBAL
\hWILL GO BY LAND,
\hA ROUTE ROME THINKS
IS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE.
\h\h\hSarah: THE ROMANS
CERTAINLY DID NOT EXPECT
THAT NEARLY THE FIRST THING
\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL 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
\h\h\hFIGHTING FORCE.
\hEric: THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY
WAS LARGELY A MERCENARY ARMY,
\h\h\h\hTHAT IS TO SAY,
IT’S SOLDIERS FOR HIRE.
NOT ONLY WAS IT GOING TO BE
\h\h\h\hDIFFICULT AND COSTLY
TO RUN SUCH AN ARMY,
BUT IT WAS GOING TO BE
\hEXTREMELY DIFFICULT
\h\h\h\hTO GET THE KIND
OF CAMARADERIE NECESSARY
FOR THE WAR THAT WAS GOING
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO TAKE PLACE.
AND THAT SHOWS THAT HANNIBAL
\h\hWAS A LEADER OF GENIUS.
Sarah: THIS ARMY WAS NOT
\h\hFOLLOWING CARTHAGE;
THIS ARMY WAS FOLLOWING
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL.
Narrator: NUMIDIAN CAVALRY
\h\h\h\hFROM NORTH AFRICA
ARE THE SHOCK TROOPS.
\h\h\hON THE FRONT LINES,
SLINGERS DELIVER A BARRAGE
OF HIGHLY ACCURATE, DEADLY
\h\h\h\hLEAD PROJECTILES.
\h\h\h\hTHEY 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,
\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL CREATES
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ARMIES
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Sarah: HANNIBAL’S INVASION
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF ITALY
\hWAS AN ENORMOUSLY
COMPLICATED PROJECT.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HANNIBAL,
\hWE TEND TO THINK ABOUT DRAMA
AND FURY AND POTENTIALLY
\h\h\hTHINGS LIKE ANGER,
BUT HANNIBAL HAS TO HAVE BEEN
A METICULOUS, METICULOUS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hCRAFTSMAN
OF EVERYTHING THAT HE PLANNED
\h\h\hIN ORDER FOR SOMETHING
THIS COMPLICATED TO SUCCEED.
Narrator: IN MAY 218 BC,
HANNIBAL MUST SAY GOODBYE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HIS WIFE
AND LEAVE HIS LIFE
\hIN SPAIN BEHIND.
\h\hTHERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW
WHEN, IF EVER, HE’LL RETURN.
♪
THE ARMY SETS OUT
FROM NEW CARTHAGE,
WHAT IS NOW CARTAGENA, SPAIN.
\h\hTO MARCH OVERLAND,
HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY
WILL HAVE TO CROSS
TWO OF EUROPE’S GREATEST
\h\h\hNATURAL BARRIERS--
\h\h\hTHE RHONE RIVER AND
THE ALPINE MOUNTAIN RANGE.
Eric: HANNIBAL NEEDED
\h\h\h\h\hTO MAINTAIN
THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.
AND SO, IT WAS OF GREAT VALUE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HANNIBAL
\hTO MAKE SURE HE COULD SHOW UP
IN ITALY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IT WAS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING,
\hONE OF THE GREATEST
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
END-TO-END ON THE MARCH,
THE ARMY STRETCHES
ROUGHLY 25 MILES,
ALMOST TWICE THE LENGTH
\h\hOF MANHATTAN ISLAND.
HANNIBAL IS LEADING THEM
MORE THAN A THOUSAND MILES
\h\h\h\h\hFROM THEIR HOMES
INTO WHAT MUST HAVE FELT
\h\h\hLIKE THE UNKNOWN.
TO MOVE QUICKLY,
HANNIBAL MARCHES WITH AS LITTLE
BAGGAGE AS POSSIBLE.
THIS MEANS HANNIBAL MUST TIME
\h\h\hHIS ROUTE EXACTLY RIGHT.
Eric: FIRST, HANNIBAL
\h\h\hHAS TO MAKE SURE
THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY GET
\h\h\h\hTHROUGH THE ALPS
AND THAT HE’S GOING TO HAVE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSUFFICIENT
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
\hWOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONSET
OF TRUE WINTER IN THE ALPS.
HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CALCULATE
\h\h\hBACKWARDS FROM THAT TIME
\hTO FIGURE OUT HOW LATE IN THE
SEASON HE COULD AFFORD TO LEAVE.
IF HANNIBAL LEFT TOO SOON,
\h\h\hHE WOULD HAVE FOUND
THE HARVEST NOT COMPLETED,
THE MARKETS NEARLY EMPTY,
THE GRANARIES OF THE FARMS
\h\h\h\h\hNOT YET FILLED.
Narrator: AT LEAST IN SPAIN,
\hHE CAN COUNT ON ALLIES
PROVIDING FOR HIS ARMY.
HARDEST OF ALL TO FEED--
\h\h\h\h\hHIS ELEPHANTS.
EACH ELEPHANT CAN CONSUME OVER
300 POUNDS OF FOOD EVERY DAY.
IN 1959, BRITISH RESEARCHERS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWANTED TO TEST
HOW WELL ELEPHANTS WOULD FARE
ON A MOUNTAIN CLIMB
\h\hLIKE HANNIBAL’S.
Newsreel announcer: THE ELEPHANT
CHOSEN BY AN EXPEDITION
FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
TO FIND HOW HANNIBAL
\hCROSSED THE ALPS.
Narrator: THEY BORROWED
AN ELEPHANT NAMED JUMBO
\h\h\h\h\hFROM THE TURIN ZOO
AND HIKED HIM INTO THE ALPS.
Newsreel announcer:
\hTHIS WAS THE SCENE
AS THE PARTY LEFT MONTMÉLIAN,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN FRANCE...
\h\h\hNarrator: UNLIKE HANNIBAL,
THE RESEARCHERS HAD PAVED ROADS
\h\h\hAND WILLING VOLUNTEERS
WHO PROVIDED FOOD AND WATER.
\h\h\h\hNewsreel announcer:
THE 12-DAY JOURNEY PROVOKED
TREMENDOUS ENTHUSIASM
\hALL ALONG THE ROUTE.
ELEPHANTS ARE EXCITING ANIMALS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEVEN TODAY,
BUT THINK HOW THEY MUST HAVE
\h\hSTAGGERED THE ROMAN ARMY
WHEN THEY APPEARED...
\hNarrator: AT THE END
OF THEIR TEN-DAY TREK,
\hTHEY’RE CHEERED
BY ITALIAN CROWDS.
\h\h\h\hNewsreel announcer:
WHETHER THE CAMBRIDGE THEORY
WAS RIGHT OR WRONG...
Narrator: JUMBO MADE THE TRIP...
\h\h\h\hBUT IN JUST 12 DAYS,
HE’S LOST 10% OF HIS WEIGHT.
\h\hHANNIBAL’S ROUTE IS
MUCH ROUGHER AND LONGER.
IT TAKES ALMOST FOUR MONTHS
TO CROSS NORTHERN SPAIN
\h\hAND SOUTHERN FRANCE.
THERE, HE COMES UP AGAINST
\h\h\h\hA NATURAL BARRIER
THAT BRINGS HIS MARCH
\h\h\h\h\hTO A HALT--
THE RHONE RIVER.
Sarah: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY
\h\hTO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: TODAY, THE RHONE RIVER
LOOKS CALM...
TAMED BY CANALS AND DAMS.
BUT IN 218 BC, IT WAS WILD,
\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH STRONG,
UNPREDICTABLE CURRENTS.
Sarah: NOT ONLY DID HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\hNEED TO GET HIS ARMY
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY
\hDANGEROUS RHONE RIVER,
BUT HE NEEDED TO GET
\h\h\h\h37 ELEPHANTS
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY
\hDANGEROUS RHONE RIVER.
Narrator: IN THE WILD, ELEPHANTS
ARE COMFORTABLE IN THE WATER...
\h\h\h\hBUT HANNIBAL’S ELEPHANTS
MAY HAVE BEEN BRED IN CAPTIVITY
AND NEVER LEARNED TO SWIM.
\hHE CAN’T BE SURE
HOW THEY’LL REACT
TO THE RHONE’S SWIFT CURRENTS.
\hON THE DANUBE RIVER,
HISTORIAN BORIS DREYER
\h\hWANTS TO TEST HOW HANNIBAL
WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE HIS FEAT.
HE PLANS TO BUILD A RAFT
THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE
\h\h\h\h\hAS HANNIBAL’S,
\h\hBASED ON THE ACCOUNTS
OF THE HISTORIAN POLYBIUS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Boris Dreyer, translated: YOU
CAN STUDY THE ANCIENT SOURCES
AT YOUR DESK,
\h\h\h\h\hFILTER OUT THE DATA
AND EVEN FIND THEM CONVINCING,
BUT WHEN IT COMES
TO RE-ENACTING IT,
THAT’S QUITE A DIFFERENT MATTER.
\h\h\hNarrator: BUT DREYER’S
RECREATION ONLY GOES SO FAR.
\h\h\h\hUNLIKE HANNIBAL, HE HAS
THE ADVANTAGE OF MODERN GEAR...
LIKE A GRAPPLE CRANE TO LIFT
AND PLACE THE HEAVY LOGS...
AS WELL AS CHAINSAWS
\h\h\h\hTO CUT THEM.
ALSO, HE’S NOT SURROUNDED
\h\hBY HOSTILE TRIBESMEN.
IN FACT, LOCAL BOAT OWNERS
AND THE SECURITY SERVICES
COME OUT IN DROVES TO HELP.
WITH A MODERN CONCERN
\h\h\h\h\hFOR SAFETY,
DREYER HAS THE FIRE BRIGADE
\hAND LIFEGUARDS STANDING BY
IN CASE THERE’S AN EMERGENCY.
IT TAKES ROUGHLY 40 LARGE LOGS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLASHED TOGETHER
\h\h\h\hTO BUILD ONE
OF HANNIBAL’S RAFTS.
[CHAINSAWS ROARING]
THE CARTHAGINIANS TOPPED THEIR
\hRAFTS WITH BRANCHES AND DIRT
\h\hTO FOOL THE ELEPHANTS INTO
THINKING IT WAS SOLID GROUND.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDreyer:
THE RAFT WE HAVE RECREATED
IS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE
\hAS THOSE OF HANNIBAL.
ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES,
\hHE HAD 16 OF THEM BUILT.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ALSO BUILT
\h\h\hPIERS OUT INTO THE RIVER
\hTO GET THE ELEPHANTS OVER PART
OF THE WATER AND ONTO THE RAFTS.
\h\hTHE HANDLERS LIKELY LED
THE DOMINANT ELEPHANTS FIRST
TO GET THE OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
Eric: THE CROSSING OF THE RHONE
WAS GOING TO BE,
\h\h\h\h\hFOR HANNIBAL,
A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE.
\h\hHE WAS GOING TO
HAVE TO BUILD RAFTS
IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET ELEPHANTS
ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER,
AND EVEN GETTING ELEPHANTS
\hTO STEP FOOT ON A RAFT,
\hAS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE,
IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING
THAT’S VERY DIFFICULT
\h\h\h\hTO ACCOMPLISH.
Narrator: TODAY, DREYER RELIES
\h\hON HEAVY MOVING EQUIPMENT
TO EASE THE RAFT INTO THE RIVER.
[CREAKING]
IT WEIGHS 15 TONS BY ITSELF,
\h\h\h\h\hAND IT’S NOT CLEAR
\h\h\hIF THE CURRENT
WILL PULL IT UNDER.
IT RIDES LOW IN THE WATER,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBUT FLOATS.
IN HANNIBAL’S TIME, SOLDIERS
WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTROL IT
WITH NOTHING MORE
THAN MUSCLE POWER.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTODAY, 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.
\h\h\h\hLOW IN THE WATER,
THE RAFT IS HARD TO MOVE.
TO REPLICATE HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\h\h\hLIKELY METHOD,
\h\h\h\hDREYER AND HIS TEAM TRY
TO PUSH IT ACROSS WITH POLES...
AND PULL IT ACROSS
\h\hWITH ROWBOATS.
EVEN A GENTLE CURRENT
\h\h\h\hIS TOO STRONG,
AND THE POLERS AND ROWERS
\hSTRUGGLE TO KEEP
THE RAFT ON TRACK.
♪
IT THREATENS TO SPIN
\hOUT OF CONTROL...
\h\h\h\h\hSO THE LIFEGUARDS SNAP
TO ATTENTION, READY FOR ACTION.
ACCORDING TO POLYBIUS,
MANY OF HANNIBAL’S TROOPS
\hDROWNED 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDOWNRIVER
FROM WHERE THEY WANTED TO LAND.
AND DREYER HAS IT EASY
COMPARED TO THE CHALLENGES
\h\h\hHANNIBAL DEALT WITH.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Dreyer: WE’VE MADE IT.
WE’VE GOT THE WEIGHT
\h\h\hOF AN ELEPHANT
ACROSS TO THE OTHER BANK.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
IT GIVES DREYER INSIGHT
\hINTO WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE COST
HANNIBAL TO MAKE THE CROSSING.
\hDreyer: IT TELLS US
THAT HANNIBAL ACHIEVED
\h\hA TRULY ENORMOUS
ORGANIZATIONAL FEAT,
WITHOUT CHAINSAWS, MOTORBOATS
\h\hOR ANYTHING OF THAT KIND.
AND ALL THIS WITH
LIVING ELEPHANTS.
Narrator: FOR HANNIBAL, NOT
EVERYTHING WENT AS PLANNED.
\h\h\h\hACCORDING TO POLYBIUS,
THE CROSSING TOOK SEVEN DAYS.
♪
Dreyer: WE KNOW THAT ALL 37
ELEPHANTS GOT ACROSS ALIVE.
SOME, HOWEVER, LOST HOLD
\h\h\hAND SURVIVED ONLY
THANKS TO THEIR TRUNKS,
\hWHICH ALLOWED THEM TO BREATHE
UNDERWATER LIKE WITH A SNORKEL.
\hBUT ALL THE MAHOUTS WHO FELL
OVERBOARD WITH THEM PERISHED.
Narrator: ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER
AT LAST, HANNIBAL’S ARMY
\h\hHAS BEEN ON THE MARCH
FOR ALMOST FOUR MONTHS...
AND THE GREATEST BARRIERS
\h\h\h\h\hSTILL LIE AHEAD.
ROME PLACES A MASSIVE ARMY
\h\h\h\h\hALONG THE COAST,
BLOCKING HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\hEASIEST ROUTE.
BUT, AGAIN, HANNIBAL
DOES THE UNEXPECTED.
INSTEAD OF WAITING
\hFOR THE ROMANS,
HE SETS OUT ON THE MARCH AGAIN.
Eric: THE ROMANS HOPED THAT THEY
WERE GOING TO BE ABLE
\h\hTO STOP HANNIBAL
AT THE RHONE RIVER,
\h\h\h\hAND HANNIBAL,
ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD,
GAVE THE ROMAN ARMY THE SLIP.
Narrator: LED BY SCIPIO,
\h\h\h\hTHE ROMANS SEARCH
FOR HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY.
THEY’RE DETERMINED TO TRAP
\h\h\h\h\hAND DESTROY HIM
BEFORE HE CAN EVEN REACH ITALY.
BUT HANNIBAL ELUDES THEM.
Sarah: THE ROMANS ARE ALREADY
\h\h\h\h\h\hON THE DEFENSIVE.
\h\hTHEY 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
\h\h\hIS 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,
\h\h\h\h\h\hEUROPE’S TALLEST,
MOST DAUNTING MOUNTAIN RANGE.
\hSNOW-COVERED PEAKS
STRETCH 15,000 FEET
TO THE ROOF OF EUROPE,
CREATING A NATURAL FORTRESS
\hPROTECTING ITALY AND ROME.
NO ONE HAS EVER TAKEN
\h\h\h\h\hA LARGE ARMY
THROUGH ONE OF ITS
\h\hNARROW PASSES.
\hTHE ROMANS THINK IT WOULD BE
SUICIDE FOR HANNIBAL TO TRY...
AND HANNIBAL’S OWN TROOPS AGREE.
IN 218 BC, HANNIBAL FACES
\h\hTHE GREATEST OBSTACLE
ON HIS MARCH TO ROME--
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE ALPS.
Sarah: ANCIENT PEOPLES VIEWED
\h\h\hTHE ALPS AS A FORTRESS.
THEY FORMED AN ALMOST
\h\hIMPENETRABLE WALL.
Eric: NO ARMY IN ANTIQUITY
\h\h\hGOT ACROSS THE ALPS,
\h\h\h\h\hAND YET IT SEEMS
AS IF HANNIBAL RECOGNIZES
\h\hTHAT HE’S THE GENERAL
WHO CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS.
Kelcy: HIS ARMY WAS RELUCTANT
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO CROSS THE ALPS
BECAUSE THEY SAW IT BASICALLY
\h\h\h\hAS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: THEY’VE ARRIVED
\h\hAT THE EDGE OF WINTER,
WHEN LANDSLIDES OR AVALANCHES
\h\hCOULD TRAP THEM
IN A MOUNTAIN PASS.
THERE, THEY COULD FREEZE
\h\hOR STARVE TO DEATH.
BUT IF THEY’RE TO REACH ROME,
\h\hTHEY MUST SCALE THE ALPS.
[TROOPS CHEERING]
HANNIBAL RALLIES HIS TROOPS,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTELLING THEM:
"NO MOUNTAIN IS TOO HIGH
\h\hFOR 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,
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE ALPS
IS ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST
\h\h\h\hUNSOLVED MYSTERIES.
\hNO ONE EVEN KNOWS
WHAT ROUTE HE TOOK.
\hTHERE ARE THREE
POSSIBLE PASSAGES,
AND MOST HISTORIANS CONSIDER THE
NORTHERN TWO THE MOST LIKELY.
\hTHE 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
\h\h\h\h\h\hRULED IT OUT.
BILL MAHANEY DISAGREES.
HE’S SPENT THE LAST 15 YEARS
\h\h\hSEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE
\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL CROSSED
AT THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE.
MAHANEY IS A GEOMORPHOLOGIST,
\h\hWHICH MEANS HE’S AN EXPERT
IN UNDERSTANDING HOW A LANDSCAPE
CHANGES OVER TIME.
HE SEARCHES FOR SPOTS
\h\h\hALONG THE ROUTE
\hWHERE HE THINKS HANNIBAL
MIGHT HAVE RESTED HIS ARMY
MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO.
\h\h\h\hBill Mahaney: I GOT VERY
INTERESTED IN THE HANNIBAL STORY
WHEN HISTORIANS WERE TELLING ME
THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED
\h\hIN FINDING THE ROUTE--
THAT WAS IT.
BUT FOR ME, IF WE COULD
\hNARROW THE ROUTE DOWN,
THEN WE COULD FOCUS
ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY.
Narrator: MAHANEY’S HOPING
\hTO FIND ENOUGH EVIDENCE
\h\h\hTO 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,
\hAND THEY REALLY DON’T LIKE
THE IDEA OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
THEY THINK IT’S TOO HIGH.
Narrator: IN 2011,
MAHANEY TEAMED UP
\hWITH UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST
MICROBIOLOGIST CHRIS ALLEN.
TOGETHER, THEY SEARCH
\h\h\hFOR ANY BACTERIA
\hOR 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.
\h\hAND I KNEW THAT HE HAD
LOTS OF ANIMALS WITH HIM.
AND ANYBODY WHO HAS WORKED
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH ANIMALS
KNOWS THAT THEY PRODUCE
\h\h\h\h\hLOTS OF FECES.
SO AS A MICROBIOLOGIST
I KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE
\h\h\h\h\hBACTERIA THERE,
\hAND 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,
\h\hMAHANEY FOUND WHAT HE THINKS
MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MOUNTAIN LAKE
2,000 YEARS AGO.
\h\hIT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AN IDEAL RESTING SPOT
AND A WATERING HOLE
FOR THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY
\hAND ITS THIRSTY HORSES.
Mahaney: I STARTED TO FOCUS
\h\h\h\h\h\hON DEPRESSIONS,
\h\h\hAND I THOUGHT
IN THESE DEPRESSIONS
\h\hYOU MIGHT HAVE HAD WATER AT
THE TIME HANNIBAL WENT THROUGH.
SO I THOUGHT THEY WERE
\h\h\h\hWORTH CORING,
\h\hJUST TO SEE WHAT KIND
OF IMPRESSION THE ANIMALS,
THE MULTIPLE OF ANIMALS,
\h\hHAD ON THE SEDIMENT.
Narrator: THEY TAKE SAMPLES,
\h\h\h\hLOOKING FOR BACTERIA
THAT’S NOT TYPICALLY FOUND
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN THIS SOIL.
ONE FOCUS IS A TYPE OF BACTERIA
CALLED CLOSTRIDIA
\h\h\hTHAT LIVES ONLY
IN HORSES’ INTESTINES.
LONG AFTER THE CELL HAS DIED,
ONE PART, CALLED AN ENDOSPORE,
\h\h\h\hCAN STILL BE DETECTED.
♪
Allen: THAT’S A REALLY NICE ONE.
IT’S GREAT LAYERING.
REALLY LOVELY LAYERS.
\h\h\hIF AN ENDOSPORE
FROM THE HORSE’S GUTS
\h\h\hFINDS HIS WAY
INTO THIS SOIL HERE,
\hIT IS GOING TO SURVIVE
FOR ABOUT 10,000 YEARS.
Narrator: EVEN IF THEY FIND
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAN 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.
\h\hFOR MAHANEY, THE RESULTS
COULD STRENGTHEN HIS THEORY
WITH HARD SCIENCE,
SOMETHING HE THINKS IS LACKING
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN OTHERS’ WORK.
Mahaney: THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
\h\h\h\hVIRTUALLY HAVE DONE
\h\hVERY LITTLE TO NOTHING
IN TERMS OF THIS QUESTION.
\h\h\hIT’S ALL BEEN
WITH THE HISTORIANS.
\h\hTHEY BASICALLY ARGUE
OVER THEIR OWN THEORIES.
\h\h\h\hAND MANY OF THEM
HAVE SHIFTED DISTANCES,
TIME MOTION HAS BEEN PLAYED WITH
\h\hTO FIT THEIR THEORY
OF WHICH PASS WAS USED.
\h\h\h\h\hAND IN MY CASE,
THIS IS A FORENSIC THING,
\hA FORENSIC EXERCISE, WHERE I’M
USING ENVIRONMENTAL MILESTONES,
\hIF YOU LIKE, TO TRY
TO PINPOINT THE ROUTE.
\h\h\hNarrator: IF HANNIBAL
DID CHOOSE THE TRAVERSETTE,
\h\h\h\h\hIT WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE MOST CHALLENGING ROUTE.
HEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS
\h\h\h\h\hIN LATE OCTOBER,
\hTHERE’S THE RISK OF SNOW
SHUTTING DOWN THE PASSES.
EVEN IN THE BEST WEATHER,
\hTHE PATHS THROUGH THE ALPS
ARE NARROW AND TREACHEROUS.
THE LAND BECOMES MORE BARREN
\h\hTHE HIGHER THEY CLIMB...
\h\h\hAND THE ANIMALS
WILL BEGIN TO STARVE.
THE ELEPHANTS HAVE TO SQUEEZE
THROUGH SOME OF THE PASSAGES.
AND THEY SUFFER MOST
\h\h\h\hIN THE COLD.
BELOW FREEZING, THE TIPS
OF THEIR EARS AND TAILS
ARE PRONE TO FROSTBITE.
Eric: GETTING ELEPHANTS
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE ALPS
\hMUST HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST
DIFFICULT LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES
\h\hIN ANTIQUITY, CERTAINLY
UNDERTAKEN BY ANY COMMANDER.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
HANNIBAL LEADS BY EXAMPLE.
Sarah: HE WAS ABLE TO ENDURE
\h\h\h\h\h\hHARSH 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.
\hNarrator: STILL,
HANNIBAL’S GAMBLE
BECOMES A PUNISHING TREK...
AND FOR SOME, IT TURNS
\hINTO A DEATH MARCH.
\h\h\hIT’S BELIEVED
THAT THOUSANDS DIED,
MAKING THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE
THEIR ICY GRAVE.
Kelcy: SUPPLIES ARE
\h\hALREADY SCARCE,
AND THE WEATHER WAS
A VERY REAL THREAT.
\h\h\hAND IN FACT, HANNIBAL LOST
NEARLY HALF OF THE 40,000 TROOPS
THAT HE STARTED OUT WITH ON THAT
JOURNEY OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
\hNarrator: IT TAKES THEM
15 GRUELING DAYS TO CROSS.
BUT EVEN TODAY, IT’S NOT CLEAR
EXACTLY WHERE HANNIBAL EMERGED
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM THE ALPS.
IN 2017, CHRIS ALLEN SEARCHED
\h\hTHE EASTERN SIDE
OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.
AGAIN, HE FOCUSED ON AN AREA
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN ALPINE
\h\h\hLAKE IN HANNIBAL’S TIME.
TODAY IT’S A SWAMPY AREA
\h\h\h\hKNOWN AS A MIRE.
Allen: ON PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS,
WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY
\h\h\h\h\hA VERY LARGE MIRE ON
THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
THE THEORY THAT WE NOW HAVE
\h\h\h\hIS THAT IF THIS EVENT
REALLY OCCURRED AT THE SITES,
THEN THESE HORSES SHOULD BE
\hBASICALLY THE SAME HORSES.
SO IF WE CAN LOOK
AT THE CLOSTRIDIA
IN EQUINE GUT BACTERIA,
OR FROM EQUINE GUT BACTERIA
\h\h\h\h\hIN THE TWO SITES,
\h\h\hTHEY SHOULD BE
VERY, VERY SIMILAR.
SO, IN 2017 WE BASICALLY
\h\hSTARTED THAT PROCESS
ON THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL’S ARMY,
WITH ITS THOUSANDS OF HORSES,
CROSSED OVER THE TRAVERSETTE,
\h\hALLEN THINKS THE SAMPLES
FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PASS
SHOULD MATCH.
ALLEN TAKES THE SOIL SAMPLES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HIS LAB
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST.
HE’S LOOKING FOR KEY MARKERS.
\h\h\hAllen: SO, TO NOW, WE’RE
JUST STARTING THE PROCESS NOW
OF DNA EXTRACTIONS.
Narrator: ALLEN FACES LONG ODDS.
HIS TESTS HAVE TO REVEAL
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE PRESENCE
OF A TYPE OF CLOSTRIDIA
\hFOUND ONLY IN HORSES.
THEN HE HAS TO MATCH THE SAMPLES
\h\hFROM BOTH SIDES
OF THE TRAVERSETTE.
AND THEN HE HAS TO PROVE
\hTHE BACTERIA ARE FROM
THE CORRECT TIME PERIOD.
Allen: THE BIGGEST SURPRISE
\h\hFROM 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,
\h\h\hWHICH WE FOUND IN FRANCE
\h\hWHERE WE EXPECTED HANNIBAL
AND HIS ARMY TO PASS THROUGH,
WE ACTUALLY FOUND
\hTHAT THERE WERE
\h\h\hUP TO 20% OF THE BACTERIA
IN THE SAMPLES WERE CLOSTRIDIA.
AND THIS WAS REALLY SURPRISING.
YOU WOULDN’T SEE THIS
\h\h\h\h\hVERY OFTEN,
\h\h\h\hBUT WHAT WAS
EVEN MORE SURPRISING
\h\hIS THAT WE COULD TIE THIS
INCREASE IN RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
TO THE TIME PERIOD WHEN HANNIBAL
CROSSED THROUGH THE ALPS.
Narrator: NOT ONLY ARE THERE
\h\h\h\hHIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF HORSE CLOSTRIDIA,
THE SAMPLES AT BOTH SITES
\h\h\h\h\h\hSEEM TO MATCH.
THIS MEANS THEY VERY LIKELY CAME
FROM THE SAME ANIMALS--
ONES THAT CROSSED
\hTHE TRAVERSETTE.
\h\h\h\h\hAND, MOST AMAZINGLY,
CARBON DATING PUTS THE SAMPLES
IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD
\h\hAS HANNIBAL’S MARCH.
\h\hCHRIS ALLEN IS NOW
MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER
THAT WHEN HE STANDS AT THE END
\h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE TRAVERSETTE
\h\hAND LOOKS INTO
ITALY’S PO VALLEY,
HE’S SEEING THE SAME VIEW
\h\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL HAD.
AND WHILE MANY MODERN HISTORIANS
\h\hSTILL DISAGREE
WITH BILL MAHANEY,
\hHE 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
\h\h\h\hTO PARTLY TO LIVY
BUT MAINLY TO POLYBIUS,
AND OUT OF THE ANCIENT TEXT
CAME THINGS LIKE PERMAFROST,
\h\h\hFROZEN GROUND, SOIL--
FROZEN SOIL OF A THIN LAYER,
THIS KIND OF THING.
THE VISION INTO THE PO RIVER
\h\h\h\h\h\hIS A MAJOR THING
BECAUSE THE ONLY COL
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PO RIVER
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM ANY HEIGHT
IS THE TRAVERSETTE.
YOU CAN’T SEE IT FROM ANY OTHER.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL EMERGED
\h\h\h\h\hAT THE TRAVERSETTE,
ITALY LAY AT HIS FEET.
THE CARTHAGINIAN AND HIS ARMY
\h\h\h\h\h\hHAVE ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE.
THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE MARCH
\hFOR MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS
AND OVERCOME EVERY OBSTACLE--
NOW THEY SEEM UNSTOPPABLE.
Eric: WE’RE NOT SURE WHAT ROUTE
HANNIBAL ACTUALLY TOOK.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO SOME DEGREE
IT’S A KIND OF MOOT POINT,
INSOFAR AS THE ABILITY
TO GET TROOPS ACROSS THE ALPS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO BEGIN WITH
IS SUCH AN AMAZING FEAT,
IT DOESN’T MAKE THAT MUCH
\h\h\h\h\hOF A DIFFERENCE.
IF IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT HE
TOOK THE MOST DIFFICULT PASS,
THE HIGHEST, THE NARROWEST,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND SO FORTH,
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU EVEN MORE
THE KIND OF MILITARY GENIUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL WAS.
Sarah: YES, IT WAS HOW HE
\h\h\hHAD TO GET TO ITALY,
BUT THE SHEER FACT THAT HE WAS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWILLING TO DO IT
UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD HAVE TERRIFIED
\h\h\h\hHIS ENEMIES.
\h\h\hHANNIBAL’S ARMY PAUSED
FOR A TIME IN NORTHERN ITALY
TO REBUILD ITS STRENGTH
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND REST.
\hBUT IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE
HE WAS READY TO FIGHT AGAIN.
Narrator: HANNIBAL HAS CONQUERED
THE ALPS...
AND ONCE IN ITALY,
\h\hTHE CARTHAGINIANS ADVANCE
QUICKLY AND GO ON THE ATTACK.
\h\h\h\h\hWITH HIS ELEPHANTS,
HANNIBAL CRUSHES ROMAN ARMIES
AT THE TICINO RIVER
\hAND AT THE TREBIA.
THIS BATTLE IS THE LAST RECORD
\h\h\hOF HIS USE OF ELEPHANTS
IN THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.
A BITTERLY COLD WINTER
\hKILLS MOST OF THEM.
\h\h\hTHE NEXT YEAR, HE BEATS
ONE ROMAN ARMY AFTER ANOTHER,
\h\h\h\h\hSKIRTS ROME ITSELF,
AND LEADS HIS ARMY TO CANNAE.
OF ALL HANNIBAL’S
\hACCOMPLISHMENTS,
NOT EVEN CROSSING THE ALPS
COMPARES TO WHAT HE ACHIEVES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAT CANNAE.
\hHIS BATTLE STRATEGY
IS STILL TAUGHT TODAY
AS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT
MANEUVERS IN ALL OF HISTORY.
\h\hHE FACES OFF AGAINST
THE ROMAN GENERAL VARRO.
Sarah: WHEN THE ROMANS
\hLINED UP FOR BATTLE,
VARRO’S INFANTRY ULTIMATELY
\h\hENDS UP CLOSING TOGETHER
IN THE CENTER.
HE HAD MORE FOOT SOLDIERS MASSED
IN THE CENTER OF HIS ARMY
THAN WAS USUAL FOR HIM.
\hAT THE SAME TIME,
ON HANNIBAL’S SIDE,
HIS CENTER WAS SHALLOWER,
\h\hWITH FEWER MEN THERE.
\h\hAND THE ROMANS, EXCITED THAT
THEY SEEM TO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE,
PUSHED AGAINST THE CARTHAGINIANS
BACK, BACK, BACK.
\h\h\h\hAND IT WAS AT THAT POINT
THAT HANNIBAL’S WINGS CLOSED IN.
\h\h\hTHE ROMANS WERE ENCIRCLED
FROM THE LEFT AND FROM THE RIGHT
\h\h\hUNTIL THEY WERE
COMPLETELY SURROUNDED.
\h\hAND WHAT ENSUED THEN
WAS OUTRIGHT SLAUGHTER.
TENS OF THOUSANDS
\hOF ROMANS FELL.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ACHIEVES
\h\h\h\h\hONE OF HISTORY’S
MOST BRILLIANT VICTORIES,
AND HE SENDS AN EMISSARY
\hTO ROME TO TALK PEACE.
BUT ROME REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
HANNIBAL WILL DEFEAT THE ROMANS
IN EVERY FUTURE BATTLE,
BUT HE CANNOT TAKE
\hTHE CITY ITSELF.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE VERY THING
THAT MAKES HANNIBAL’S ARMY
SO LETHAL IN THE FIELD--
\h\h\h\h\h\hITS QUICK,
HARD-HITTING CAVALRY--
IS POORLY SUITED TO LAY SIEGE
\h\hTO 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF ROME’S ALLIES
TO TURN ON ROME AND TO JOIN
\h\h\hTHE CARTHAGINIAN SIDE.
Narrator: THE WAR RAGES
\h\h\h\h\hFOR 15 YEARS,
\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH HANNIBAL
ALWAYS WINNING BATTLES...
BUT NEVER SUBDUING ROME.
YOUNG PUBLIUS SCIPIO TAKES
COMMAND OF THE ROMAN ARMY,
\hAND HE DELIVERS A BLOW
WORTHY OF HIS OPPONENT.
HE LEADS THE ROMAN ARMY
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE OCEAN
TO HANNIBAL’S HOMELAND.
DESPERATE, THE CARTHAGINIANS
\h\h\h\h\h\hRISK THEIR FLEET
AND BRING HANNIBAL BACK.
Sarah: WHEN ROME INVADED AFRICA,
HANNIBAL WAS QUICKLY RECALLED
TO DEFEND HIS HOME CITY.
\h\h\h\h\h\hHE LEFT ITALY
AND RETURNED TO CARTHAGE.
HE WAS IN COMMAND AT THE FINAL
\h\h\hBATTLE THERE IN AFRICA,
THE BATTLE OF ZAMA.
Narrator: AT ZAMA,
OUTSIDE CARTHAGE,
\h\h\hHANNIBAL LOSES TO ROME
FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME.
ROME IS AN UNFORGIVING FOE.
CARTHAGE IS DRIVEN
\h\hTO BANKRUPTCY,
\hAND ROMAN SENATORS
TAKE UP THE REFRAIN,
"CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED!"
\h\h50 YEARS AFTER
HANNIBAL’S DEFEAT,
THE ROMANS SACK AND DESTROY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE CITY
AND SOW ITS FIELDS WITH SALT
TO MAKE IT UNINHABITABLE
\h\h\h\hFOR GENERATIONS.
HANNIBAL HELD THIS ENEMY
\h\hAT BAY FOR 15 YEARS,
BUT EVEN HE COULD NOT STOP
\h\h\hTHE ASCENDANT ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL’S LEGACY IS
ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF 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
\hHE’S STILL REMEMBERED
IN THE ROMAN IMAGINATION
\h\h\h\hAS THE ONE PERSON
WHO NEARLY DESTROYED THEM.
Narrator: ROME WILL NOT REST
\h\hUNTIL HANNIBAL IS DEAD.
\h\hHE FLEES TO THE EAST,
BUT THE ROMANS PURSUE HIM.
FINALLY, CORNERED, HANNIBAL
\hFACES CAPTURE OR SUICIDE.
HE CHOOSES DEATH.
ONE OF HISTORY’S
GREATEST LEADERS
SLIPS OUT OF MEMORY
\h\hAND INTO MYTH...
\h\h\hONLY RECREATIONS
OF HIS GREATEST FEATS
\hAND EVIDENCE OF WHAT WAS
ONCE CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE
\h\hARE ALL THAT’S LEFT TO BRING
THE REAL HANNIBAL BACK TO LIFE.
♪
♪
\h\h\h\h\hONE OF HISTORY’S
MOST BRILLIANT LEADERS...
COMMANDER OF A LEGENDARY ARMY.
\h\hMan: 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hABOUT THE MAN.
HOW DID HANNIBAL ASSEMBLE
\h\h\h\hAND HOLD TOGETHER
AN ARMY OF 90,000 MEN
AND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS?
WHAT DID IT TAKE
TO GET THAT ARMY
\h\hOVER ONE OF EUROPE’S
MOST TREACHEROUS RIVERS?
Woman: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY,
\h\h\hTO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: AND HOW DID HE ACHIEVE
WHAT NO OTHER GENERAL
\h\hHAD DONE BEFORE--
LEAD THAT ARMY ACROSS THE ALPS
TO STRIKE AT ROME’S HEARTLAND?
Woman: THEY SAW IT BASICALLY
\h\h\hAS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: NOW, NEW DISCOVERIES
\h\h\h\hAND MODERN TECHNOLOGY
ARE CUTTING THROUGH
\h\h\hTHE LEGEND...
TO REVEAL THE TRUTH.
♪
\h\h\h\h\hEric Adler:
HANNIBAL’S REMEMBERED
\hAS ONE OF THE GREATEST
MILITARY MEN IN HISTORY.
HE WAS A GENIUS.
HE WAS A STRATEGIC GENIUS,
HE WAS A LOGISTICAL GENIUS,
\h\h\hHE WAS A GREAT LEADER,
AND HE CAME CLOSEST
\hTO DESTROYING ROME
IN ITS REPUBLICAN PRIME.
Narrator: EVEN 2,000 YEARS
\h\h\h\h\hAFTER HIS DEATH,
HANNIBAL IS STILL A ROLE MODEL.
Sarah Brown Ferrario:
\h\h\h\h\hWAR COLLEGES
AND EVEN PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS
\h\h\h\hOF THE MILITARY TODAY
STILL STUDY HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\h\hGREAT BATTLES
FOR THEIR IMAGINATIVE TACTICS,
THEIR QUICK RESPONSE TO CHANGES
IN CIRCUMSTANCE,
AND THEIR UNIQUE ABILITY
\h\h\hTO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF THE WEAKNESSES
OF HIS OPPONENTS.
HANNIBAL WAS THE ROMANS’
\h\h\h\hWORST NIGHTMARE.
Narrator: BUT WE ONLY KNOW
\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL’S STORY
FROM HIS ENEMY’S PERSPECTIVE.
\hKelcy Sagstetter:
ONE OF OUR PROBLEMS
IN ASSESSING THE RELIABILITY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE SOURCES
IS THAT ALL OF OUR ACCOUNTS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hARE PRO ROMAN.
AND IT’S A CASE OF THE VICTORS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWRITING HISTORY.
BUT THE SOURCES SHOW A SORT
\h\hOF RELUCTANT ADMIRATION
FOR HANNIBAL,
\hBECAUSE, LET’S FACE IT,
HE WAS A MILITARY GENIUS,
AND YOU CAN’T HIDE THAT
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN HISTORY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S STORY
\h\hBEGINS IN CARTHAGE...
A CITY ALL BUT FORGOTTEN TODAY,
BUT A SUPERPOWER IN 270 B.C.
\hEric: CARTHAGE WAS
THE WEALTHIEST POWER
IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
AS A RESULT OF THEIR GREAT
\h\h\h\hSUCCESSES IN TRADE
\h\hTHAT GOES BACK
CENTURIES, REALLY.
\h\hBUT THIS ALSO MEANS
THAT THEY ARE VERY GOOD
AT CONTROLLING THE SEA.
\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AND IT REAPS
HUGE PROFITS FROM BOAT BUILDING
\hAND ITS CONTROL
OF SHIPPING ROUTES
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
\h\h\hSarah: THIS WAS
A FULLY SOPHISTICATED
MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY
WITH A HIGHLY, HIGHLY DEVELOPED
AND EXTREMELY WEALTHY
\h\h\h\hCIVILIZATION.
Narrator: CARTHAGE HAS AMBITIONS
\h\h\h\h\h\hOF SEIZING CONTROL
OF THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN.
\h\h\hBUT AS CARTHAGE EXPANDS,
SO DOES ANOTHER RISING POWER--
ROME.
AND ROME IS RESTLESS.
ONCE A TINY VILLAGE,
\h\h\hIT’S NOW A THRIVING CITY
THAT CONTROLS MOST OF ITALY--
\h\h\h\h\h\hA POSITION GAINED
THROUGH ITS POWERFUL MILITARY.
Sarah: THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
\hBY THE THIRD CENTURY BC
\h\hWAS 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...
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND THEY ARE
THE PREEMINENT LAND POWER.
Kelcy: ROME HAD BEEN EXPANDING
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHROUGHOUT
THE ITALIAN PENINSULA,
CONQUERING ALL OF THE TRIBES
\h\h\hAND FORMING ALLIANCES,
\h\hAND 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.
\hCARTHAGE, FOR NOW,
MUST BOW TO ROME...
PAY A HUGE TRIBUTE...
AND DREAM OF REVENGE.
THE DEFEATED CARTHAGINIAN
\h\h\h\hLEADER, HAMILCAR,
SWEARS TO ONE DAY
\hDESTROY HIS FOE.
HE DEDICATES HIS LIFE--
\h\h\h\hAND HIS SON’S--
TO ROME’S DESTRUCTION.
THAT BOY IS HANNIBAL.
\h\hHIS FATHER’S HATRED OF ROME
SHAPES YOUNG HANNIBAL’S DESTINY.
\h\h\hSarah: WHEN HANNIBAL WAS
A YOUNG BOY, ABOUT 9 YEARS OLD
AND ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR SPAIN
\hWITH 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
\h\h\h\h\hTHROUGHOUT HIS LIFE
AN ENEMY TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE.
Kelcy: WHETHER OR NOT THIS OATH
EVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED,
\hTHE ROMANS WANTED
TO PORTRAY HANNIBAL
AS ALMOST A PREDESTINED ENEMY.
\h\h\h\h\hTHEY WANTED TO SHOW
THAT THIS ENMITY WITH HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\h\hWAS ALMOST PREORDAINED
IN AN ALMOST MYTHOLOGICAL SENSE.
♪
Narrator: TO REBUILD THE WEALTH
AND STATUS OF CARTHAGE,
\h\h\hHAMILCAR INVADES
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA,
KNOWN TODAY AS SPAIN.
HAMILCAR’S GAMBLE
\hPAYS OFF RICHLY.
\h\h\h\h\hKelcy: SPAIN WAS
A VERY ATTRACTIVE PROSPECT
FOR THE CARTHAGINIANS
BECAUSE IT POSSESSED
\h\hFABULOUS WEALTH
IN SILVER MINES ESPECIALLY.
BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE TIMBER
\h\h\h\hAND FURS AND AMBER.
\h\h\hNarrator: BUT HAMILCAR
HAS TO CONQUER LOCAL TRIBES.
HE ASSEMBLES A FEARSOME ARMY...
AND WIELDS THE ANCIENT WORLD’S
\h\hVERSION OF BATTLE TANKS--
WAR ELEPHANTS.
\h\hEric: ELEPHANTS
WERE TYPICALLY USED
CHIEFLY TO FRIGHTEN THE ENEMY.
SOLDIERS WHO HAVEN’T
\h\hSEEN ELEPHANTS,
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE,
\h\hPANIC AS A RESULT,
AND ANIMALS THAT HAVEN’T SEEN
\h\h\hELEPHANTS BEFORE PANIC.
\hAND ESPECIALLY BECAUSE
THEY WERE UNPREDICTABLE
AND THEY WERE CAPABLE
\hOF TRAMPLING PEOPLE,
THEY COULD CAUSE GREAT FEAR
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN AN ENEMY.
Narrator: HANNIBAL LEARNS
\h\h\hHOW TO LEAD AN ARMY
AND HANDLE ELEPHANTS
\h\hFROM HIS FATHER.
AND FROM HIS GREEK TUTOR,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSOSYLUS,
HE LEARNS THE ART AND HISTORY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF WARFARE.
SOSYLUS TEACHES HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\h\h\hABOUT MYTHIC
AS WELL AS REAL HEROES--
\h\h\hGENERALS LIKE
ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
\hWHO LED HIS ARMY
THOUSANDS OF MILES
ACROSS VAST RIVERS
\h\hAND MOUNTAINS.
\h\hKelcy: AT AGE 10 HANNIBAL
WENT WITH HIS FATHER TO SPAIN,
AND WE HEAR THAT SOSYLUS
\h\h\h\hACCOMPANIED HIM,
AND HE STILL WOULD HAVE TAUGHT
\h\hHIM ABOUT ANCIENT GREEKS,
BUT FROM 235 ONWARD
HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE
APPOINTED HIM A TUTOR
IN THE ARTS OF WAR.
\hHE WOULD HAVE LEARNED
SWORDSMANSHIP, ARCHERY,
HORSEBACK RIDING,
AND SINCE HE WAS PARTLY RAISED
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN MILITARY CAMPS,
HE PROBABLY TOOK TO THIS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH EASE.
Narrator: HANNIBAL’S EDUCATION
\hWOULD HAVE COVERED
ALL ASPECTS OF WAR,
FROM HOW TO HANDLE WEAPONS
TO THE TACTICS AND STRATEGIES
\h\h\h\hOF SUCCESSFUL ARMIES.
\h\h\hAND HE WAS CLEARLY
A NATURAL-BORN WARRIOR.
Kelcy: THE ROMAN HISTORIAN LIVY
\h\h\hTELLS US THAT
HANNIBAL’S ADMIRERS
\hREFERRED TO HIM
AS A SECOND MARS,
THE ROMAN GOD OF WAR.
Sarah: FROM THE BEGINNING,
\h\h\h\h\hHIS BEING THERE
ACCLIMATED EVERYONE TO THE FACT
THAT HE REALLY WAS SOME KIND
\h\h\h\hOF AN HEIR APPARENT,
AND THAT WHEN HE CAME OF AGE
HE WOULD PUT CARTHAGE
\h\h\hBACK ON THE MAP
AND HELP RETURN HIS CITY
TO SOME OF ITS FORMER INFLUENCE
AND PROSPERITY
BY TAKING THE WAR RIGHT BACK
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO THE ROMANS.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator: AT 26,
AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER,
\h\h\hHANNIBAL TAKES CHARGE
OF THE CARTHAGINIAN FORCES.
HE HAS ONE GOAL IN SIGHT--
\h\hFULFILL THE OATH
HE MADE TO HAMILCAR
AND DESTROY ROME.
IN 219 BC, HANNIBAL GATHERS
\h\h\h\h\hAN ENORMOUS ARMY--
PERHAPS AS LARGE AS 90,000 MEN
\h\h\h\hAND 37 WAR ELEPHANTS--
AND PREPARES FOR WAR WITH ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL CAUGHT
THE ROMANS OFF GUARD.
\h\h\h\h\hTHEY DIDN’T REALIZE
UNTIL IT WAS A LITTLE TOO LATE
\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL HAD GROWN
CARTHAGINIAN POWER IN SPAIN
TO THE DEGREE THAT HE HAD.
Narrator: UNAWARE OF HANNIBAL’S
GROWING POWER,
\hROME IS CONFIDENT
IN ITS OWN STRENGTH.
ALTHOUGH A REPUBLIC,
ONLY A FEW NOBLE FAMILIES
\h\hCONTROL KEY POSITIONS.
CHIEF AMONG THESE--
THE HOUSE OF SCIPIO.
\h\h\h\h\hTHE PATRIARCH--
LUCIUS CORNELIUS SCIPIO--
\hFOUGHT AND BEAT
THE CARTHAGINIANS
IN THE EARLIER WAR.
NOW HIS SON, PUBLIUS,
\h\h\h\h\hAND 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.
\h\h\h\h\hEric: IT IS LIKELY
THAT HANNIBAL WAS IRRITATED
BY THE FACT THAT ROME HAD
A KIND OF ALLIANCE OR FRIENDSHIP
OR SOMETHING WITH SAGUNTUM,
\h\h\hBECAUSE THIS WAS
THE TERRITORY IN SPAIN
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
\h\h\h\h\h\hCARTHAGE’S,
\h\h\hAND SO IT’S LIKELY
THAT HE ATTACKS SAGUNTUM
\hIN PART BECAUSE
OF HIS IRRITATION
THAT ROME WAS MEDDLING
IN CARTHAGE’S AFFAIRS IN SPAIN.
\h\h\hKelcy: WHEN HANNIBAL TOOK
SAGUNTUM AFTER AN 8-MONTH SIEGE,
\h\h\hPOLYBIUS TELLS US THAT HE
OFFERED TO SPARE THE POPULATION
IF THEY LEFT THE TOWN
\h\h\hWITH NO WEAPONS
AND NO MORE THAN TWO GARMENTS,
AND WHEN THEY REFUSED, HE PUT
\h\hALL OF THE MALES TO DEATH
AND SOLD THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
INTO SLAVERY.
Eric: ROME SEEMS
TO HAVE EXPECTED
THAT THE SECOND PUNIC WAR
\hWAS GOING TO BE A LOT
LIKE THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
IN WHICH ROME WAS LARGELY
\h\h\h\h\h\hON THE OFFENSE
AND ATTACKING WHERE IT WANTED,
AND HANNIBAL CAUGHT THEM
\hCOMPLETELY OFF GUARD.
Narrator: WHEN NEWS ARRIVES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM SPAIN,
IT’S NOT WHAT THE ROMANS EXPECT.
HANNIBAL, THE MESSAGE SAYS,
\h\h\h\h\h\hIS ON THE MOVE.
HE PLANS TO BRING THE WAR
\h\h\h\h\hTO ROME ITSELF.
ALREADY HE HAS THE ROMANS
\h\h\h\hON THE DEFENSIVE.
Kelcy: ONE OF THE REASONS
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL
WAS SO SUCCESSFUL
AGAINST THE ROMANS
IS THAT HE ALWAYS DID
\h\h\hTHE UNEXPECTED.
HE WAS USUALLY ONE STEP AHEAD
\hOF THE ROMANS AT EVERY TURN.
Narrator: THE EASIEST ROUTE
\h\hWOULD BE THE DIRECT ONE,
BY SHIP.
INSTEAD, HANNIBAL
\hWILL GO BY LAND,
\hA ROUTE ROME THINKS
IS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE.
\h\h\hSarah: THE ROMANS
CERTAINLY DID NOT EXPECT
THAT NEARLY THE FIRST THING
\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL 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
\h\h\hFIGHTING FORCE.
\hEric: THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY
WAS LARGELY A MERCENARY ARMY,
\h\h\h\hTHAT IS TO SAY,
IT’S SOLDIERS FOR HIRE.
NOT ONLY WAS IT GOING TO BE
\h\h\h\hDIFFICULT AND COSTLY
TO RUN SUCH AN ARMY,
BUT IT WAS GOING TO BE
\hEXTREMELY DIFFICULT
\h\h\h\hTO GET THE KIND
OF CAMARADERIE NECESSARY
FOR THE WAR THAT WAS GOING
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO TAKE PLACE.
AND THAT SHOWS THAT HANNIBAL
\h\hWAS A LEADER OF GENIUS.
Sarah: THIS ARMY WAS NOT
\h\hFOLLOWING CARTHAGE;
THIS ARMY WAS FOLLOWING
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL.
Narrator: NUMIDIAN CAVALRY
\h\h\h\hFROM NORTH AFRICA
ARE THE SHOCK TROOPS.
\h\h\hON THE FRONT LINES,
SLINGERS DELIVER A BARRAGE
OF HIGHLY ACCURATE, DEADLY
\h\h\h\hLEAD PROJECTILES.
\h\h\h\hTHEY 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,
\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL CREATES
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ARMIES
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Sarah: HANNIBAL’S INVASION
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF ITALY
\hWAS AN ENORMOUSLY
COMPLICATED PROJECT.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HANNIBAL,
\hWE TEND TO THINK ABOUT DRAMA
AND FURY AND POTENTIALLY
\h\h\hTHINGS LIKE ANGER,
BUT HANNIBAL HAS TO HAVE BEEN
A METICULOUS, METICULOUS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hCRAFTSMAN
OF EVERYTHING THAT HE PLANNED
\h\h\hIN ORDER FOR SOMETHING
THIS COMPLICATED TO SUCCEED.
Narrator: IN MAY 218 BC,
HANNIBAL MUST SAY GOODBYE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HIS WIFE
AND LEAVE HIS LIFE
\hIN SPAIN BEHIND.
\h\hTHERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW
WHEN, IF EVER, HE’LL RETURN.
♪
THE ARMY SETS OUT
FROM NEW CARTHAGE,
WHAT IS NOW CARTAGENA, SPAIN.
\h\hTO MARCH OVERLAND,
HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY
WILL HAVE TO CROSS
TWO OF EUROPE’S GREATEST
\h\h\hNATURAL BARRIERS--
\h\h\hTHE RHONE RIVER AND
THE ALPINE MOUNTAIN RANGE.
Eric: HANNIBAL NEEDED
\h\h\h\h\hTO MAINTAIN
THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.
AND SO, IT WAS OF GREAT VALUE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HANNIBAL
\hTO MAKE SURE HE COULD SHOW UP
IN ITALY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
IT WAS A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING,
\hONE OF THE GREATEST
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
END-TO-END ON THE MARCH,
THE ARMY STRETCHES
ROUGHLY 25 MILES,
ALMOST TWICE THE LENGTH
\h\hOF MANHATTAN ISLAND.
HANNIBAL IS LEADING THEM
MORE THAN A THOUSAND MILES
\h\h\h\h\hFROM THEIR HOMES
INTO WHAT MUST HAVE FELT
\h\h\hLIKE THE UNKNOWN.
TO MOVE QUICKLY,
HANNIBAL MARCHES WITH AS LITTLE
BAGGAGE AS POSSIBLE.
THIS MEANS HANNIBAL MUST TIME
\h\h\hHIS ROUTE EXACTLY RIGHT.
Eric: FIRST, HANNIBAL
\h\h\hHAS TO MAKE SURE
THAT HE CAN ACTUALLY GET
\h\h\h\hTHROUGH THE ALPS
AND THAT HE’S GOING TO HAVE
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSUFFICIENT
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
\hWOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONSET
OF TRUE WINTER IN THE ALPS.
HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO CALCULATE
\h\h\hBACKWARDS FROM THAT TIME
\hTO FIGURE OUT HOW LATE IN THE
SEASON HE COULD AFFORD TO LEAVE.
IF HANNIBAL LEFT TOO SOON,
\h\h\hHE WOULD HAVE FOUND
THE HARVEST NOT COMPLETED,
THE MARKETS NEARLY EMPTY,
THE GRANARIES OF THE FARMS
\h\h\h\h\hNOT YET FILLED.
Narrator: AT LEAST IN SPAIN,
\hHE CAN COUNT ON ALLIES
PROVIDING FOR HIS ARMY.
HARDEST OF ALL TO FEED--
\h\h\h\h\hHIS ELEPHANTS.
EACH ELEPHANT CAN CONSUME OVER
300 POUNDS OF FOOD EVERY DAY.
IN 1959, BRITISH RESEARCHERS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWANTED TO TEST
HOW WELL ELEPHANTS WOULD FARE
ON A MOUNTAIN CLIMB
\h\hLIKE HANNIBAL’S.
Newsreel announcer: THE ELEPHANT
CHOSEN BY AN EXPEDITION
FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
TO FIND HOW HANNIBAL
\hCROSSED THE ALPS.
Narrator: THEY BORROWED
AN ELEPHANT NAMED JUMBO
\h\h\h\h\hFROM THE TURIN ZOO
AND HIKED HIM INTO THE ALPS.
Newsreel announcer:
\hTHIS WAS THE SCENE
AS THE PARTY LEFT MONTMÉLIAN,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN FRANCE...
\h\h\hNarrator: UNLIKE HANNIBAL,
THE RESEARCHERS HAD PAVED ROADS
\h\h\hAND WILLING VOLUNTEERS
WHO PROVIDED FOOD AND WATER.
\h\h\h\hNewsreel announcer:
THE 12-DAY JOURNEY PROVOKED
TREMENDOUS ENTHUSIASM
\hALL ALONG THE ROUTE.
ELEPHANTS ARE EXCITING ANIMALS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEVEN TODAY,
BUT THINK HOW THEY MUST HAVE
\h\hSTAGGERED THE ROMAN ARMY
WHEN THEY APPEARED...
\hNarrator: AT THE END
OF THEIR TEN-DAY TREK,
\hTHEY’RE CHEERED
BY ITALIAN CROWDS.
\h\h\h\hNewsreel announcer:
WHETHER THE CAMBRIDGE THEORY
WAS RIGHT OR WRONG...
Narrator: JUMBO MADE THE TRIP...
\h\h\h\hBUT IN JUST 12 DAYS,
HE’S LOST 10% OF HIS WEIGHT.
\h\hHANNIBAL’S ROUTE IS
MUCH ROUGHER AND LONGER.
IT TAKES ALMOST FOUR MONTHS
TO CROSS NORTHERN SPAIN
\h\hAND SOUTHERN FRANCE.
THERE, HE COMES UP AGAINST
\h\h\h\hA NATURAL BARRIER
THAT BRINGS HIS MARCH
\h\h\h\h\hTO A HALT--
THE RHONE RIVER.
Sarah: FOR AN ANCIENT ARMY
\h\hTO CROSS A LARGE RIVER
WAS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHINGS IT COULD DO.
Narrator: TODAY, THE RHONE RIVER
LOOKS CALM...
TAMED BY CANALS AND DAMS.
BUT IN 218 BC, IT WAS WILD,
\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH STRONG,
UNPREDICTABLE CURRENTS.
Sarah: NOT ONLY DID HANNIBAL
\h\h\h\hNEED TO GET HIS ARMY
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY
\hDANGEROUS RHONE RIVER,
BUT HE NEEDED TO GET
\h\h\h\h37 ELEPHANTS
ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONALLY
\hDANGEROUS RHONE RIVER.
Narrator: IN THE WILD, ELEPHANTS
ARE COMFORTABLE IN THE WATER...
\h\h\h\hBUT HANNIBAL’S ELEPHANTS
MAY HAVE BEEN BRED IN CAPTIVITY
AND NEVER LEARNED TO SWIM.
\hHE CAN’T BE SURE
HOW THEY’LL REACT
TO THE RHONE’S SWIFT CURRENTS.
\hON THE DANUBE RIVER,
HISTORIAN BORIS DREYER
\h\hWANTS TO TEST HOW HANNIBAL
WAS ABLE TO ACHIEVE HIS FEAT.
HE PLANS TO BUILD A RAFT
THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE
\h\h\h\h\hAS HANNIBAL’S,
\h\hBASED ON THE ACCOUNTS
OF THE HISTORIAN POLYBIUS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Boris Dreyer, translated: YOU
CAN STUDY THE ANCIENT SOURCES
AT YOUR DESK,
\h\h\h\h\hFILTER OUT THE DATA
AND EVEN FIND THEM CONVINCING,
BUT WHEN IT COMES
TO RE-ENACTING IT,
THAT’S QUITE A DIFFERENT MATTER.
\h\h\hNarrator: BUT DREYER’S
RECREATION ONLY GOES SO FAR.
\h\h\h\hUNLIKE HANNIBAL, HE HAS
THE ADVANTAGE OF MODERN GEAR...
LIKE A GRAPPLE CRANE TO LIFT
AND PLACE THE HEAVY LOGS...
AS WELL AS CHAINSAWS
\h\h\h\hTO CUT THEM.
ALSO, HE’S NOT SURROUNDED
\h\hBY HOSTILE TRIBESMEN.
IN FACT, LOCAL BOAT OWNERS
AND THE SECURITY SERVICES
COME OUT IN DROVES TO HELP.
WITH A MODERN CONCERN
\h\h\h\h\hFOR SAFETY,
DREYER HAS THE FIRE BRIGADE
\hAND LIFEGUARDS STANDING BY
IN CASE THERE’S AN EMERGENCY.
IT TAKES ROUGHLY 40 LARGE LOGS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLASHED TOGETHER
\h\h\h\hTO BUILD ONE
OF HANNIBAL’S RAFTS.
[CHAINSAWS ROARING]
THE CARTHAGINIANS TOPPED THEIR
\hRAFTS WITH BRANCHES AND DIRT
\h\hTO FOOL THE ELEPHANTS INTO
THINKING IT WAS SOLID GROUND.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDreyer:
THE RAFT WE HAVE RECREATED
IS EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE
\hAS THOSE OF HANNIBAL.
ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES,
\hHE HAD 16 OF THEM BUILT.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ALSO BUILT
\h\h\hPIERS OUT INTO THE RIVER
\hTO GET THE ELEPHANTS OVER PART
OF THE WATER AND ONTO THE RAFTS.
\h\hTHE HANDLERS LIKELY LED
THE DOMINANT ELEPHANTS FIRST
TO GET THE OTHERS TO FOLLOW.
Eric: THE CROSSING OF THE RHONE
WAS GOING TO BE,
\h\h\h\h\hFOR HANNIBAL,
A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE.
\h\hHE WAS GOING TO
HAVE TO BUILD RAFTS
IN ORDER TO TRY TO GET ELEPHANTS
ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER,
AND EVEN GETTING ELEPHANTS
\hTO STEP FOOT ON A RAFT,
\hAS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE,
IS GOING TO BE SOMETHING
THAT’S VERY DIFFICULT
\h\h\h\hTO ACCOMPLISH.
Narrator: TODAY, DREYER RELIES
\h\hON HEAVY MOVING EQUIPMENT
TO EASE THE RAFT INTO THE RIVER.
[CREAKING]
IT WEIGHS 15 TONS BY ITSELF,
\h\h\h\h\hAND IT’S NOT CLEAR
\h\h\hIF THE CURRENT
WILL PULL IT UNDER.
IT RIDES LOW IN THE WATER,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBUT FLOATS.
IN HANNIBAL’S TIME, SOLDIERS
WOULD HAVE HAD TO CONTROL IT
WITH NOTHING MORE
THAN MUSCLE POWER.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTODAY, 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.
\h\h\h\hLOW IN THE WATER,
THE RAFT IS HARD TO MOVE.
TO REPLICATE HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\h\h\hLIKELY METHOD,
\h\h\h\hDREYER AND HIS TEAM TRY
TO PUSH IT ACROSS WITH POLES...
AND PULL IT ACROSS
\h\hWITH ROWBOATS.
EVEN A GENTLE CURRENT
\h\h\h\hIS TOO STRONG,
AND THE POLERS AND ROWERS
\hSTRUGGLE TO KEEP
THE RAFT ON TRACK.
♪
IT THREATENS TO SPIN
\hOUT OF CONTROL...
\h\h\h\h\hSO THE LIFEGUARDS SNAP
TO ATTENTION, READY FOR ACTION.
ACCORDING TO POLYBIUS,
MANY OF HANNIBAL’S TROOPS
\hDROWNED 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDOWNRIVER
FROM WHERE THEY WANTED TO LAND.
AND DREYER HAS IT EASY
COMPARED TO THE CHALLENGES
\h\h\hHANNIBAL DEALT WITH.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Dreyer: WE’VE MADE IT.
WE’VE GOT THE WEIGHT
\h\h\hOF AN ELEPHANT
ACROSS TO THE OTHER BANK.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
IT GIVES DREYER INSIGHT
\hINTO WHAT IT MIGHT HAVE COST
HANNIBAL TO MAKE THE CROSSING.
\hDreyer: IT TELLS US
THAT HANNIBAL ACHIEVED
\h\hA TRULY ENORMOUS
ORGANIZATIONAL FEAT,
WITHOUT CHAINSAWS, MOTORBOATS
\h\hOR ANYTHING OF THAT KIND.
AND ALL THIS WITH
LIVING ELEPHANTS.
Narrator: FOR HANNIBAL, NOT
EVERYTHING WENT AS PLANNED.
\h\h\h\hACCORDING TO POLYBIUS,
THE CROSSING TOOK SEVEN DAYS.
♪
Dreyer: WE KNOW THAT ALL 37
ELEPHANTS GOT ACROSS ALIVE.
SOME, HOWEVER, LOST HOLD
\h\h\hAND SURVIVED ONLY
THANKS TO THEIR TRUNKS,
\hWHICH ALLOWED THEM TO BREATHE
UNDERWATER LIKE WITH A SNORKEL.
\hBUT ALL THE MAHOUTS WHO FELL
OVERBOARD WITH THEM PERISHED.
Narrator: ACROSS THE RHONE RIVER
AT LAST, HANNIBAL’S ARMY
\h\hHAS BEEN ON THE MARCH
FOR ALMOST FOUR MONTHS...
AND THE GREATEST BARRIERS
\h\h\h\h\hSTILL LIE AHEAD.
ROME PLACES A MASSIVE ARMY
\h\h\h\h\hALONG THE COAST,
BLOCKING HANNIBAL’S
\h\h\hEASIEST ROUTE.
BUT, AGAIN, HANNIBAL
DOES THE UNEXPECTED.
INSTEAD OF WAITING
\hFOR THE ROMANS,
HE SETS OUT ON THE MARCH AGAIN.
Eric: THE ROMANS HOPED THAT THEY
WERE GOING TO BE ABLE
\h\hTO STOP HANNIBAL
AT THE RHONE RIVER,
\h\h\h\hAND HANNIBAL,
ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD,
GAVE THE ROMAN ARMY THE SLIP.
Narrator: LED BY SCIPIO,
\h\h\h\hTHE ROMANS SEARCH
FOR HANNIBAL AND HIS ARMY.
THEY’RE DETERMINED TO TRAP
\h\h\h\h\hAND DESTROY HIM
BEFORE HE CAN EVEN REACH ITALY.
BUT HANNIBAL ELUDES THEM.
Sarah: THE ROMANS ARE ALREADY
\h\h\h\h\h\hON THE DEFENSIVE.
\h\hTHEY 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
\h\h\hIS 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,
\h\h\h\h\h\hEUROPE’S TALLEST,
MOST DAUNTING MOUNTAIN RANGE.
\hSNOW-COVERED PEAKS
STRETCH 15,000 FEET
TO THE ROOF OF EUROPE,
CREATING A NATURAL FORTRESS
\hPROTECTING ITALY AND ROME.
NO ONE HAS EVER TAKEN
\h\h\h\h\hA LARGE ARMY
THROUGH ONE OF ITS
\h\hNARROW PASSES.
\hTHE ROMANS THINK IT WOULD BE
SUICIDE FOR HANNIBAL TO TRY...
AND HANNIBAL’S OWN TROOPS AGREE.
IN 218 BC, HANNIBAL FACES
\h\hTHE GREATEST OBSTACLE
ON HIS MARCH TO ROME--
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE ALPS.
Sarah: ANCIENT PEOPLES VIEWED
\h\h\hTHE ALPS AS A FORTRESS.
THEY FORMED AN ALMOST
\h\hIMPENETRABLE WALL.
Eric: NO ARMY IN ANTIQUITY
\h\h\hGOT ACROSS THE ALPS,
\h\h\h\h\hAND YET IT SEEMS
AS IF HANNIBAL RECOGNIZES
\h\hTHAT HE’S THE GENERAL
WHO CAN ACTUALLY DO THIS.
Kelcy: HIS ARMY WAS RELUCTANT
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO CROSS THE ALPS
BECAUSE THEY SAW IT BASICALLY
\h\h\h\hAS A SUICIDE MISSION.
Narrator: THEY’VE ARRIVED
\h\hAT THE EDGE OF WINTER,
WHEN LANDSLIDES OR AVALANCHES
\h\hCOULD TRAP THEM
IN A MOUNTAIN PASS.
THERE, THEY COULD FREEZE
\h\hOR STARVE TO DEATH.
BUT IF THEY’RE TO REACH ROME,
\h\hTHEY MUST SCALE THE ALPS.
[TROOPS CHEERING]
HANNIBAL RALLIES HIS TROOPS,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTELLING THEM:
"NO MOUNTAIN IS TOO HIGH
\h\hFOR 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,
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE ALPS
IS ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST
\h\h\h\hUNSOLVED MYSTERIES.
\hNO ONE EVEN KNOWS
WHAT ROUTE HE TOOK.
\hTHERE ARE THREE
POSSIBLE PASSAGES,
AND MOST HISTORIANS CONSIDER THE
NORTHERN TWO THE MOST LIKELY.
\hTHE 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
\h\h\h\h\h\hRULED IT OUT.
BILL MAHANEY DISAGREES.
HE’S SPENT THE LAST 15 YEARS
\h\h\hSEARCHING FOR EVIDENCE
\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL CROSSED
AT THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE.
MAHANEY IS A GEOMORPHOLOGIST,
\h\hWHICH MEANS HE’S AN EXPERT
IN UNDERSTANDING HOW A LANDSCAPE
CHANGES OVER TIME.
HE SEARCHES FOR SPOTS
\h\h\hALONG THE ROUTE
\hWHERE HE THINKS HANNIBAL
MIGHT HAVE RESTED HIS ARMY
MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO.
\h\h\h\hBill Mahaney: I GOT VERY
INTERESTED IN THE HANNIBAL STORY
WHEN HISTORIANS WERE TELLING ME
THAT THEY WERE INTERESTED
\h\hIN FINDING THE ROUTE--
THAT WAS IT.
BUT FOR ME, IF WE COULD
\hNARROW THE ROUTE DOWN,
THEN WE COULD FOCUS
ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY.
Narrator: MAHANEY’S HOPING
\hTO FIND ENOUGH EVIDENCE
\h\h\hTO 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,
\hAND THEY REALLY DON’T LIKE
THE IDEA OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
THEY THINK IT’S TOO HIGH.
Narrator: IN 2011,
MAHANEY TEAMED UP
\hWITH UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST
MICROBIOLOGIST CHRIS ALLEN.
TOGETHER, THEY SEARCH
\h\h\hFOR ANY BACTERIA
\hOR 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.
\h\hAND I KNEW THAT HE HAD
LOTS OF ANIMALS WITH HIM.
AND ANYBODY WHO HAS WORKED
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH ANIMALS
KNOWS THAT THEY PRODUCE
\h\h\h\h\hLOTS OF FECES.
SO AS A MICROBIOLOGIST
I KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE
\h\h\h\h\hBACTERIA THERE,
\hAND 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,
\h\hMAHANEY FOUND WHAT HE THINKS
MIGHT HAVE BEEN A MOUNTAIN LAKE
2,000 YEARS AGO.
\h\hIT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AN IDEAL RESTING SPOT
AND A WATERING HOLE
FOR THE CARTHAGINIAN ARMY
\hAND ITS THIRSTY HORSES.
Mahaney: I STARTED TO FOCUS
\h\h\h\h\h\hON DEPRESSIONS,
\h\h\hAND I THOUGHT
IN THESE DEPRESSIONS
\h\hYOU MIGHT HAVE HAD WATER AT
THE TIME HANNIBAL WENT THROUGH.
SO I THOUGHT THEY WERE
\h\h\h\hWORTH CORING,
\h\hJUST TO SEE WHAT KIND
OF IMPRESSION THE ANIMALS,
THE MULTIPLE OF ANIMALS,
\h\hHAD ON THE SEDIMENT.
Narrator: THEY TAKE SAMPLES,
\h\h\h\hLOOKING FOR BACTERIA
THAT’S NOT TYPICALLY FOUND
\h\h\h\h\h\hIN THIS SOIL.
ONE FOCUS IS A TYPE OF BACTERIA
CALLED CLOSTRIDIA
\h\h\hTHAT LIVES ONLY
IN HORSES’ INTESTINES.
LONG AFTER THE CELL HAS DIED,
ONE PART, CALLED AN ENDOSPORE,
\h\h\h\hCAN STILL BE DETECTED.
♪
Allen: THAT’S A REALLY NICE ONE.
IT’S GREAT LAYERING.
REALLY LOVELY LAYERS.
\h\h\hIF AN ENDOSPORE
FROM THE HORSE’S GUTS
\h\h\hFINDS HIS WAY
INTO THIS SOIL HERE,
\hIT IS GOING TO SURVIVE
FOR ABOUT 10,000 YEARS.
Narrator: EVEN IF THEY FIND
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAN 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.
\h\hFOR MAHANEY, THE RESULTS
COULD STRENGTHEN HIS THEORY
WITH HARD SCIENCE,
SOMETHING HE THINKS IS LACKING
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hIN OTHERS’ WORK.
Mahaney: THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS
\h\h\h\hVIRTUALLY HAVE DONE
\h\hVERY LITTLE TO NOTHING
IN TERMS OF THIS QUESTION.
\h\h\hIT’S ALL BEEN
WITH THE HISTORIANS.
\h\hTHEY BASICALLY ARGUE
OVER THEIR OWN THEORIES.
\h\h\h\hAND MANY OF THEM
HAVE SHIFTED DISTANCES,
TIME MOTION HAS BEEN PLAYED WITH
\h\hTO FIT THEIR THEORY
OF WHICH PASS WAS USED.
\h\h\h\h\hAND IN MY CASE,
THIS IS A FORENSIC THING,
\hA FORENSIC EXERCISE, WHERE I’M
USING ENVIRONMENTAL MILESTONES,
\hIF YOU LIKE, TO TRY
TO PINPOINT THE ROUTE.
\h\h\hNarrator: IF HANNIBAL
DID CHOOSE THE TRAVERSETTE,
\h\h\h\h\hIT WOULD HAVE BEEN
THE MOST CHALLENGING ROUTE.
HEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS
\h\h\h\h\hIN LATE OCTOBER,
\hTHERE’S THE RISK OF SNOW
SHUTTING DOWN THE PASSES.
EVEN IN THE BEST WEATHER,
\hTHE PATHS THROUGH THE ALPS
ARE NARROW AND TREACHEROUS.
THE LAND BECOMES MORE BARREN
\h\hTHE HIGHER THEY CLIMB...
\h\h\hAND THE ANIMALS
WILL BEGIN TO STARVE.
THE ELEPHANTS HAVE TO SQUEEZE
THROUGH SOME OF THE PASSAGES.
AND THEY SUFFER MOST
\h\h\h\hIN THE COLD.
BELOW FREEZING, THE TIPS
OF THEIR EARS AND TAILS
ARE PRONE TO FROSTBITE.
Eric: GETTING ELEPHANTS
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE ALPS
\hMUST HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST
DIFFICULT LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES
\h\hIN ANTIQUITY, CERTAINLY
UNDERTAKEN BY ANY COMMANDER.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNarrator:
HANNIBAL LEADS BY EXAMPLE.
Sarah: HE WAS ABLE TO ENDURE
\h\h\h\h\h\hHARSH 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.
\hNarrator: STILL,
HANNIBAL’S GAMBLE
BECOMES A PUNISHING TREK...
AND FOR SOME, IT TURNS
\hINTO A DEATH MARCH.
\h\h\hIT’S BELIEVED
THAT THOUSANDS DIED,
MAKING THE COL DE LA TRAVERSETTE
THEIR ICY GRAVE.
Kelcy: SUPPLIES ARE
\h\hALREADY SCARCE,
AND THE WEATHER WAS
A VERY REAL THREAT.
\h\h\hAND IN FACT, HANNIBAL LOST
NEARLY HALF OF THE 40,000 TROOPS
THAT HE STARTED OUT WITH ON THAT
JOURNEY OVER THE MOUNTAINS.
\hNarrator: IT TAKES THEM
15 GRUELING DAYS TO CROSS.
BUT EVEN TODAY, IT’S NOT CLEAR
EXACTLY WHERE HANNIBAL EMERGED
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM THE ALPS.
IN 2017, CHRIS ALLEN SEARCHED
\h\hTHE EASTERN SIDE
OF THE TRAVERSETTE,
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS.
AGAIN, HE FOCUSED ON AN AREA
THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN ALPINE
\h\h\hLAKE IN HANNIBAL’S TIME.
TODAY IT’S A SWAMPY AREA
\h\h\h\hKNOWN AS A MIRE.
Allen: ON PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS,
WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY
\h\h\h\h\hA VERY LARGE MIRE ON
THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
THE THEORY THAT WE NOW HAVE
\h\h\h\hIS THAT IF THIS EVENT
REALLY OCCURRED AT THE SITES,
THEN THESE HORSES SHOULD BE
\hBASICALLY THE SAME HORSES.
SO IF WE CAN LOOK
AT THE CLOSTRIDIA
IN EQUINE GUT BACTERIA,
OR FROM EQUINE GUT BACTERIA
\h\h\h\h\hIN THE TWO SITES,
\h\h\hTHEY SHOULD BE
VERY, VERY SIMILAR.
SO, IN 2017 WE BASICALLY
\h\hSTARTED THAT PROCESS
ON THE ITALIAN SIDE OF THE ALPS.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL’S ARMY,
WITH ITS THOUSANDS OF HORSES,
CROSSED OVER THE TRAVERSETTE,
\h\hALLEN THINKS THE SAMPLES
FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PASS
SHOULD MATCH.
ALLEN TAKES THE SOIL SAMPLES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO HIS LAB
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST.
HE’S LOOKING FOR KEY MARKERS.
\h\h\hAllen: SO, TO NOW, WE’RE
JUST STARTING THE PROCESS NOW
OF DNA EXTRACTIONS.
Narrator: ALLEN FACES LONG ODDS.
HIS TESTS HAVE TO REVEAL
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE PRESENCE
OF A TYPE OF CLOSTRIDIA
\hFOUND ONLY IN HORSES.
THEN HE HAS TO MATCH THE SAMPLES
\h\hFROM BOTH SIDES
OF THE TRAVERSETTE.
AND THEN HE HAS TO PROVE
\hTHE BACTERIA ARE FROM
THE CORRECT TIME PERIOD.
Allen: THE BIGGEST SURPRISE
\h\hFROM 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,
\h\h\hWHICH WE FOUND IN FRANCE
\h\hWHERE WE EXPECTED HANNIBAL
AND HIS ARMY TO PASS THROUGH,
WE ACTUALLY FOUND
\hTHAT THERE WERE
\h\h\hUP TO 20% OF THE BACTERIA
IN THE SAMPLES WERE CLOSTRIDIA.
AND THIS WAS REALLY SURPRISING.
YOU WOULDN’T SEE THIS
\h\h\h\h\hVERY OFTEN,
\h\h\h\hBUT WHAT WAS
EVEN MORE SURPRISING
\h\hIS THAT WE COULD TIE THIS
INCREASE IN RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
TO THE TIME PERIOD WHEN HANNIBAL
CROSSED THROUGH THE ALPS.
Narrator: NOT ONLY ARE THERE
\h\h\h\hHIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF HORSE CLOSTRIDIA,
THE SAMPLES AT BOTH SITES
\h\h\h\h\h\hSEEM TO MATCH.
THIS MEANS THEY VERY LIKELY CAME
FROM THE SAME ANIMALS--
ONES THAT CROSSED
\hTHE TRAVERSETTE.
\h\h\h\h\hAND, MOST AMAZINGLY,
CARBON DATING PUTS THE SAMPLES
IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD
\h\hAS HANNIBAL’S MARCH.
\h\hCHRIS ALLEN IS NOW
MORE CERTAIN THAN EVER
THAT WHEN HE STANDS AT THE END
\h\h\h\h\h\hOF THE TRAVERSETTE
\h\hAND LOOKS INTO
ITALY’S PO VALLEY,
HE’S SEEING THE SAME VIEW
\h\h\h\h\h\hHANNIBAL HAD.
AND WHILE MANY MODERN HISTORIANS
\h\hSTILL DISAGREE
WITH BILL MAHANEY,
\hHE 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
\h\h\h\hTO PARTLY TO LIVY
BUT MAINLY TO POLYBIUS,
AND OUT OF THE ANCIENT TEXT
CAME THINGS LIKE PERMAFROST,
\h\h\hFROZEN GROUND, SOIL--
FROZEN SOIL OF A THIN LAYER,
THIS KIND OF THING.
THE VISION INTO THE PO RIVER
\h\h\h\h\h\hIS A MAJOR THING
BECAUSE THE ONLY COL
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PO RIVER
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFROM ANY HEIGHT
IS THE TRAVERSETTE.
YOU CAN’T SEE IT FROM ANY OTHER.
Narrator: IF HANNIBAL EMERGED
\h\h\h\h\hAT THE TRAVERSETTE,
ITALY LAY AT HIS FEET.
THE CARTHAGINIAN AND HIS ARMY
\h\h\h\h\h\hHAVE ACCOMPLISHED
WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE.
THEY HAVE BEEN ON THE MARCH
\hFOR MORE THAN FIVE MONTHS
AND OVERCOME EVERY OBSTACLE--
NOW THEY SEEM UNSTOPPABLE.
Eric: WE’RE NOT SURE WHAT ROUTE
HANNIBAL ACTUALLY TOOK.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTO SOME DEGREE
IT’S A KIND OF MOOT POINT,
INSOFAR AS THE ABILITY
TO GET TROOPS ACROSS THE ALPS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTO BEGIN WITH
IS SUCH AN AMAZING FEAT,
IT DOESN’T MAKE THAT MUCH
\h\h\h\h\hOF A DIFFERENCE.
IF IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT HE
TOOK THE MOST DIFFICULT PASS,
THE HIGHEST, THE NARROWEST,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND SO FORTH,
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU EVEN MORE
THE KIND OF MILITARY GENIUS
\h\h\h\h\hTHAT HANNIBAL WAS.
Sarah: YES, IT WAS HOW HE
\h\h\hHAD TO GET TO ITALY,
BUT THE SHEER FACT THAT HE WAS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hWILLING TO DO IT
UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD HAVE TERRIFIED
\h\h\h\hHIS ENEMIES.
\h\h\hHANNIBAL’S ARMY PAUSED
FOR A TIME IN NORTHERN ITALY
TO REBUILD ITS STRENGTH
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAND REST.
\hBUT IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE
HE WAS READY TO FIGHT AGAIN.
Narrator: HANNIBAL HAS CONQUERED
THE ALPS...
AND ONCE IN ITALY,
\h\hTHE CARTHAGINIANS ADVANCE
QUICKLY AND GO ON THE ATTACK.
\h\h\h\h\hWITH HIS ELEPHANTS,
HANNIBAL CRUSHES ROMAN ARMIES
AT THE TICINO RIVER
\hAND AT THE TREBIA.
THIS BATTLE IS THE LAST RECORD
\h\h\hOF HIS USE OF ELEPHANTS
IN THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.
A BITTERLY COLD WINTER
\hKILLS MOST OF THEM.
\h\h\hTHE NEXT YEAR, HE BEATS
ONE ROMAN ARMY AFTER ANOTHER,
\h\h\h\h\hSKIRTS ROME ITSELF,
AND LEADS HIS ARMY TO CANNAE.
OF ALL HANNIBAL’S
\hACCOMPLISHMENTS,
NOT EVEN CROSSING THE ALPS
COMPARES TO WHAT HE ACHIEVES
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAT CANNAE.
\hHIS BATTLE STRATEGY
IS STILL TAUGHT TODAY
AS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT
MANEUVERS IN ALL OF HISTORY.
\h\hHE FACES OFF AGAINST
THE ROMAN GENERAL VARRO.
Sarah: WHEN THE ROMANS
\hLINED UP FOR BATTLE,
VARRO’S INFANTRY ULTIMATELY
\h\hENDS UP CLOSING TOGETHER
IN THE CENTER.
HE HAD MORE FOOT SOLDIERS MASSED
IN THE CENTER OF HIS ARMY
THAN WAS USUAL FOR HIM.
\hAT THE SAME TIME,
ON HANNIBAL’S SIDE,
HIS CENTER WAS SHALLOWER,
\h\hWITH FEWER MEN THERE.
\h\hAND THE ROMANS, EXCITED THAT
THEY SEEM TO HAVE THE ADVANTAGE,
PUSHED AGAINST THE CARTHAGINIANS
BACK, BACK, BACK.
\h\h\h\hAND IT WAS AT THAT POINT
THAT HANNIBAL’S WINGS CLOSED IN.
\h\h\hTHE ROMANS WERE ENCIRCLED
FROM THE LEFT AND FROM THE RIGHT
\h\h\hUNTIL THEY WERE
COMPLETELY SURROUNDED.
\h\hAND WHAT ENSUED THEN
WAS OUTRIGHT SLAUGHTER.
TENS OF THOUSANDS
\hOF ROMANS FELL.
Narrator: HANNIBAL ACHIEVES
\h\h\h\h\hONE OF HISTORY’S
MOST BRILLIANT VICTORIES,
AND HE SENDS AN EMISSARY
\hTO ROME TO TALK PEACE.
BUT ROME REFUSES TO SURRENDER.
HANNIBAL WILL DEFEAT THE ROMANS
IN EVERY FUTURE BATTLE,
BUT HE CANNOT TAKE
\hTHE CITY ITSELF.
\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE VERY THING
THAT MAKES HANNIBAL’S ARMY
SO LETHAL IN THE FIELD--
\h\h\h\h\h\hITS QUICK,
HARD-HITTING CAVALRY--
IS POORLY SUITED TO LAY SIEGE
\h\hTO 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
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF ROME’S ALLIES
TO TURN ON ROME AND TO JOIN
\h\h\hTHE CARTHAGINIAN SIDE.
Narrator: THE WAR RAGES
\h\h\h\h\hFOR 15 YEARS,
\h\h\h\h\h\hWITH HANNIBAL
ALWAYS WINNING BATTLES...
BUT NEVER SUBDUING ROME.
YOUNG PUBLIUS SCIPIO TAKES
COMMAND OF THE ROMAN ARMY,
\hAND HE DELIVERS A BLOW
WORTHY OF HIS OPPONENT.
HE LEADS THE ROMAN ARMY
\h\h\h\hACROSS THE OCEAN
TO HANNIBAL’S HOMELAND.
DESPERATE, THE CARTHAGINIANS
\h\h\h\h\h\hRISK THEIR FLEET
AND BRING HANNIBAL BACK.
Sarah: WHEN ROME INVADED AFRICA,
HANNIBAL WAS QUICKLY RECALLED
TO DEFEND HIS HOME CITY.
\h\h\h\h\h\hHE LEFT ITALY
AND RETURNED TO CARTHAGE.
HE WAS IN COMMAND AT THE FINAL
\h\h\hBATTLE THERE IN AFRICA,
THE BATTLE OF ZAMA.
Narrator: AT ZAMA,
OUTSIDE CARTHAGE,
\h\h\hHANNIBAL LOSES TO ROME
FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME.
ROME IS AN UNFORGIVING FOE.
CARTHAGE IS DRIVEN
\h\hTO BANKRUPTCY,
\hAND ROMAN SENATORS
TAKE UP THE REFRAIN,
"CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED!"
\h\h50 YEARS AFTER
HANNIBAL’S DEFEAT,
THE ROMANS SACK AND DESTROY
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hTHE CITY
AND SOW ITS FIELDS WITH SALT
TO MAKE IT UNINHABITABLE
\h\h\h\hFOR GENERATIONS.
HANNIBAL HELD THIS ENEMY
\h\hAT BAY FOR 15 YEARS,
BUT EVEN HE COULD NOT STOP
\h\h\hTHE ASCENDANT ROME.
Eric: HANNIBAL’S LEGACY IS
ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOF 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
\hHE’S STILL REMEMBERED
IN THE ROMAN IMAGINATION
\h\h\h\hAS THE ONE PERSON
WHO NEARLY DESTROYED THEM.
Narrator: ROME WILL NOT REST
\h\hUNTIL HANNIBAL IS DEAD.
\h\hHE FLEES TO THE EAST,
BUT THE ROMANS PURSUE HIM.
FINALLY, CORNERED, HANNIBAL
\hFACES CAPTURE OR SUICIDE.
HE CHOOSES DEATH.
ONE OF HISTORY’S
GREATEST LEADERS
SLIPS OUT OF MEMORY
\h\hAND INTO MYTH...
\h\h\hONLY RECREATIONS
OF HIS GREATEST FEATS
\hAND EVIDENCE OF WHAT WAS
ONCE CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE
\h\hARE ALL THAT’S LEFT TO BRING
THE REAL HANNIBAL BACK TO LIFE.
♪
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