Armies and Tactics: Roman Legion Against Carthage and Hannibal

00:11:44
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8SXiwDzXp8

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses the Roman legions and their encounters with the Carthaginian army during the Punic Wars, focusing on the unique characteristics of both military forces. The Roman legions were known for their discipline, flexibility, and standardized formations, while the Carthaginian army was a diverse mix of citizen soldiers, mercenaries, and allies, allowing for varied fighting styles. Key battles such as Cannae and Zama are highlighted, illustrating the tactical differences that led to Roman victories. The video also touches on the use of war elephants and the evolution of military strategies in response to defeats.

Takeaways

  • ⚔️ Roman legions had a unique structure and discipline.
  • 🛡️ Carthaginian forces were diverse and allowed varied fighting styles.
  • 🐘 War elephants were used for psychological impact in battles.
  • 📜 The Battle of Cannae showcased Hannibal's tactical genius.
  • 🔄 Romans adapted their strategies after defeats to improve future outcomes.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The Roman military, transitioning from Greek warfare, developed a flexible and disciplined structure, leading to successes over formidable enemies like Carthage and Macedon. With a standardized legion formation, the Roman infantry was complemented by an array of light infantry and cavalry, while Carthaginian forces featured a diverse mix of citizen soldiers, allies, and mercenaries, trained in their national styles, posing unique challenges in battle.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:11:44

    The Carthaginian army, marked by their effective use of diverse cavalry and unique mercenary units like Macedonian phalanx and renowned war elephants, clashed with Rome’s standardized legions. Hannibal's tactical genius often exploited Roman rigidity, leading to significant victories, notably at Cannae. The evolution of warfare during the Punic wars set the stage for future Roman encounters, such as their engagement with the Macedonian phalanx.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What was the structure of the Roman legion during the Punic Wars?

    The Roman legion consisted of three lines of heavy infantry, light infantry skirmishers, and cavalry, all standardized in formation.

  • How did Carthaginian forces differ from Roman forces?

    Carthaginian forces were a mix of citizen soldiers, allies, and mercenaries, allowing for diverse fighting styles, unlike the standardized Roman legions.

  • What role did war elephants play in Carthaginian warfare?

    War elephants were used for psychological impact and to disrupt enemy formations, though they were not typically frontline combatants.

  • What was the significance of the Battle of Cannae?

    At Cannae, Hannibal used a clever trap to defeat a larger Roman force, showcasing the tactical prowess of the Carthaginian general.

  • How did the Romans adapt their tactics after defeats?

    Roman generals like Scipio Africanus learned from their defeats and adapted their strategies in subsequent battles.

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  • 00:00:07
    [Music]
  • 00:00:16
    as the Roman army gradually began to
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    move away from its use of the Greek
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    style of war it gained a distinctly
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    unique character of its own flexibility
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    harsh discipline and good equipment led
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    to success and others took note during
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    their rise the Roman military system was
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    tested against many other unique
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    military structures which had been the
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    most lethal during their own time such
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    as the Carthaginian mercenary army and
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    the Macedonian phalanx welcome to our
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    video on the Roman legions mortal enemy
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    and how it managed to overcome the
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    Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC in
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    our previous video we explained the
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    structure of the Roman legion at the
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    time of the Punic Wars so we shan't go
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    into full detail again this time their
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    infantry consisted of three lines of
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    heavy infantry Gladius wielding has
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    start a and pre copays backed up by
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    veteran spear bearing tree REE this core
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    was screened by a contingent of well at
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    a light infantry skirmishes and was
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    flanked by experienced squadrons of
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    equity cavalry these legions were
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    standardised formations and allied units
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    which usually made up half of Roman
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    armies had to conform to these tactics
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    and were not permitted to fight in their
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    traditional manner Carthage was a
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    fundamentally different state to Rome
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    and its armies showed this clearly it
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    had a permanent backbone of citizen
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    soldiers from the capital but these were
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    always heavily outnumbered by the Allies
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    clients and mercenaries that the
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    Phoenicians could call on facilitated by
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    their advanced trading network and vast
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    wealth this patchwork of troops was
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    commanded by Carthaginian officers and
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    unlike the Roman armies was permitted
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    and encouraged to fight in their own
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    national styles rather than being
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    drilled to fight in pre-arranged
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    formations in fact one of the main
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    challenges of any Carthaginian general
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    was to utilize these unique styles to
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    their best potential and
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    meld them into one coherent force their
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    primary infantry recruiting pool came
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    from the Libya Phoenicians Iberian sand
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    goals as well as Greeks and others who
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    were recruited as mercenaries the Libya
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    Phoenicians lived in peripheral
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    settlements surrounding Carthage and
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    were only one stage removed from full
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    Carthaginian citizenship by the 3rd
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    century BC they were recruited by levy
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    from the Empire's hinterland between the
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    Moroccan Atlantic coast and the Egyptian
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    border likely being armed as cerissa or
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    spear wielding forlán jetties however
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    there is debate about this as it seems
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    clear in the sources that these troops
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    are equipped themselves from the Roman
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    dead at Lake Trasimene these are also
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    the hardened soldiers which Hannibal
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    placed on the wings at kanae which held
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    the Romans off successfully Iberian
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    troops usually consisted of two main
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    types Scutari II and contrar II
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    determined by their type of shield the
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    iberian Scutari used the heavy Scouten
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    shield large flat and oval-shaped
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    serving as heavy infantry whereas the
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    Kenter re used the flat round and
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    circular kitra and served as light
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    infantry skirmishes both variations
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    would be armed with a sword
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    probably a falcata or even the Gladius
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    and a triangular shaped dagger the
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    ghoulish infantry that served Carthage
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    were renowned for their ferocity in the
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    charge unfortunately after the impetus
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    of their charge had disappeared their
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    lack of formation left them vulnerable
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    the majority of these goals were Celt
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    Iberian from northern Spain who had
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    invaded from Gaul in the 4th century BC
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    in contrast to the Iberian 's who
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    inhabited the south or worthy goals of
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    northern Italy who joined the Punic army
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    when Hannibal crossed the Alps
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    the cavalry that Carthage employed were
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    substantial and incredibly successful
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    fighting in many different styles the
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    tribal elites of the Gaulish societies
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    in Carthage's reach formed an elite
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    force of heavy cavalry which were the
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    most prominent horsemen in Hannibal
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    Barker's army with 4,000 men they were
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    usually equipped with heavy thrusting
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    Spears and slashing swords having much
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    more armor than their infantry
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    counterparts
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    Hannibal also had a contingent of
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    Iberian horsemen which also functioned
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    as heavy cavalry and were likely armed
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    in the Greek style with Kuras shield and
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    Lance similar to their Roman
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    counterparts the most famous of Carthage
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    is cavalry worthy new midians
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    originating from the north african
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    berber kingdoms these naturally gifted
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    riders used light small but Hardy horses
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    which were incredibly nimble and rode
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    them without saddles this fit the
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    numidian tactic of hit-and-run perfectly
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    almost completely an armored and armed
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    with light javelins the midians would
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    rush into the fight and throw their
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    javelins at the enemy before swiftly
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    retreating it was a general rule that if
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    the numidians were on Carthage's size
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    during a battle they usually won that
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    battle Roman historian Livy singled
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    these men out as by far the best
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    horsemen in Africa unique mercenary
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    forces were also hired to fight
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    Carthage's Wars from all around the
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    Mediterranean Greek mercenaries were
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    purchased to fight in the First Punic
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    War against the Romans and were armed in
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    the late Greek style fighting in the
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    traditional Macedonian phalanx of their
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    homeland
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    likewise philip v of macedonia was
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    convinced by hannibal during the Second
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    Punic War to join an alliance against
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    the Romans
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    he threatened to invade Italy as well
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    but this never materialized
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    a unit of 4,000 Macedonians did fight at
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    the Battle of Zama in 202 BC organized
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    in the traditional Macedonian
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    with Long's ERISA pikes and small round
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    shields elite mercenary units of the
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    famous Balearic slingers and Cretan
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    archers also gave Hannibal's army a
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    decided edge over the roman well it
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    tastes during his invasion of Italy the
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    slingers in particular were regarded as
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    a reliable unit by the Carthaginians and
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    many other forces who chose to hire them
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    in the ancient world Carthage's most
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    infamous military unit was undoubtedly
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    their war elephants with which Hannibal
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    crossed over the Alps in 218 BC Pyrrhus
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    first introduced war elephants to
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    Carthage during his wars in Sicily and
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    the Phoenicians were so impressed that
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    they immediately employed them to
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    replace their Tyree and chariots the
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    elephant employed was the now extinct
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    African forest elephant which stood at a
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    rather small 2.5 meters in height
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    compared to the Indian elephants which
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    were introduced to the Greek world by
  • 00:07:38
    Seleucus because of this smaller size it
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    is likely that they did not carry
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    warriors on top of them
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    despite their intimidating and exotic
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    nature the war elephant was somewhat of
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    a novelty weapon used less for its
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    physical than its psychological effects
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    on an enemy who might have never seen
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    one before in particular elephant
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    charges could reliably spook the horses
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    of cavalry man into fright causing chaos
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    in the ranks against an enemy who did
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    not know how to deal with them elephants
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    could also cause massive casualties
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    against massed infantry who would often
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    panic the second Punic Wars most notable
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    event is probably Hannibal crossing the
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    Alps with his elephants but because the
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    Carthaginians already outnumbered and
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    outclassed the Roman cavalry they were
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    not used in the front lines during
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    battle this array of expert specialised
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    forces created a deadly army which the
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    up-and-coming Romans would have to
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    overcome putting their military
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    structure to the ultimate test
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    though the roman manipular system was
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    one that promoted flexibility it was
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    often let down against intelligent
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    Carthaginian generals by the stubborn
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    Roman mindset which often prioritized
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    brute force the glory of defeating the
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    enemy in an old-fashioned set piece
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    battle was extremely appealing to the
  • 00:09:05
    Dignitas seeking Roman politician
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    general who was always aiming to
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    increase his wealth and standing in
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    society if allowed to engage in a simple
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    set piece battle with no surprises
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    the efficient Roman legions would crunch
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    through their enemy the majority of the
  • 00:09:21
    time but this room and mindset was
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    effectively exploited by Hannibal in the
  • 00:09:27
    second Punic War at the Battle of cannae
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    in 216 BC Hannibal knew that the
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    inexperienced and rash Gaius Terentius
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    Pharaoh would command the Roman army on
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    the 2nd of August on that day he baited
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    the massive and unwieldy Roman force
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    into a trap and annihilated them with a
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    clever maneuver mistakes like this did
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    not go unnoticed by the Romans who were
  • 00:09:53
    defeated at the battles in the wars
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    against Hannibal this was exemplified by
  • 00:09:58
    skip EO africanus who supposedly learned
  • 00:10:01
    from his rival and used his tactics to
  • 00:10:04
    great effect at the Battle of Aleppo in
  • 00:10:06
    206 BC while the whole truth is more
  • 00:10:10
    complex than this it could be understood
  • 00:10:12
    that the conflicts between Rome and
  • 00:10:14
    Carthage was on the tactical level a
  • 00:10:17
    conflict between two opposite military
  • 00:10:20
    organizations a conflict which the
  • 00:10:22
    Romans eventually won the patchwork
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    mercenary army of Carthage with all its
  • 00:10:29
    exotic units fighting in their own
  • 00:10:30
    manner went up against the standardized
  • 00:10:33
    and uniform citizen legions of Rome
  • 00:10:36
    where the Roman allies were all trained
  • 00:10:38
    and drilled purely in the Roman style
  • 00:10:42
    during the second Punic War
  • 00:10:44
    Hannibal made an alliance with Philip v
  • 00:10:46
    of Macedon the latter believed Rome to
  • 00:10:50
    be finished and attempted to expand his
  • 00:10:52
    power westward starting the first
  • 00:10:55
    Macedonian war
  • 00:10:56
    in 214 BC this would give Rome the
  • 00:11:00
    opportunity to begin expanding its
  • 00:11:02
    tendrils into the Hellenistic world and
  • 00:11:05
    would see one of the most epic clashes
  • 00:11:07
    of military forces in history the Roman
  • 00:11:10
    legion against the Macedonian phalanx of
  • 00:11:13
    Alexander the Great in the next video we
  • 00:11:17
    will discuss how the Roman legions
  • 00:11:18
    matched up against the Macedonian
  • 00:11:20
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Tags
  • Roman Legions
  • Carthaginian Army
  • Punic Wars
  • Military Tactics
  • Hannibal
  • Battle of Cannae
  • War Elephants
  • Mercenaries
  • Scipio Africanus
  • Macedonian Phalanx