Publius Cornelius Scipio "Africanus": A General Greater Than Napoleon
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- čas přidán 12. 05. 2024
- After the Carthaginians lost the First Punic War and General Hamilcar Barca was left in disgrace, his son Hannibal vowed to avenge his family and his country. He marched his elephants over the Alps and savaged the Romans on the Italian peninsula, killing tens of thousands of legionaries with smaller armies and superior tactics.
Rome only survived because of the brilliance of one man. An up-and-coming Roman general matched Hannibal's brilliance, preserving the Republic and all but destroying the mighty Carthaginian Empire.
He was born as Publius Scipio, but he died as Scipio Africanus: the victor of Africa and the savior of Rome.
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Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Arnaldo Teodorani
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
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Source/Further reading:
A lecture by Prof Giovanni Brizzi (5 hour long, in Italian)
• Video
Punic Wars and Scipio’s Strategy
www.ancient.eu/article/292/th...
ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications...
www.britannica.com/event/Batt...
Basil Liddell Hart’s biography on Scipio
books.google.com/books?id=Lfo...
Biographical summaries
www.heritage-history.com/inde...
www.romanoimpero.com/2010/09/...
www.historynet.com/romes-craf...
www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperi...
The Cursus Honorum
www.livius.org/articles/conce...
"Conceived by his mother and a giant serpent"
Pooby's father: Damn right!
Grow up. Serpent is a reference to an ill-willed person; you son of satan!
JT Dometius this was before Christianity you nut
JT Dometius and if you believe in Christianity it’s you who should grow up
@@cinemaster9012 the story of the serpent was from before abraham so it's definitely older than scipio. Also if you dont believe in the bible you're either historically illiterate or a typical brainwashed individual
@@MrSh4des
The bible consists of roughly 10% historical facts, and 90% hallucinogenic based moral philosophy.
Son of the Thunderbolt versus the Son of the Serpent.
That is some badass war match-up title
What is that supposed to mean???
watch the video again @@debbielungsodaitfllo
@@debbielungsodaitfllo you just skin through the video or what?
I like the Tiger of Kai vs Dragon of Echizen
"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 96% how I react to it."
-Scipio Africanus
Lol
“Being President is like playing a piano at a whorehouse.”
- President Harry Truman
@Ryan M yes, how his life can become 106 percent while other the mathematics law say 100 percent meaning as full 🤔
Cleeon Virlief thats the joke...
@@jackscofield6299 hmmm... Yes 👍🤭
When your such a badass the senate doesn’t let you use an army to invade Carthage so instead you persuade and manage to raise an entire army of volunteers just by asking the people , and then literally destroying the most powerful empire in the Mediterranean (Carthage) like it was no big deal
Hannibal: "If I had defeated you, I would consider myself the greatest general of all time."
Scipio: "The day you fought against me was the most important day of your life. For me, it was Tuesday."
Hannibal showed room much respect to the Carthaginian senate, like the Roman senate and Athenian forum they were many factions playing politics. Hannibal has Rome hole up inside their walls and been left out by the Carthagian senate during his time in Italy
I’d say Rome was more powerful than Carthage just look at how many armies they were capable to raise during both the Punic wars. Both were amazing empires tho, love em both
@@michaelhardisty5206 Carthage was more powerful in terms of economics but Rome was more powerful in military. That is why Carthage use mercenaries in his armies and why Spain was so important as a place to rise punic armies. When Scipio conquest Spain he destroy the main center of Punic levies and decisively turning the balance in Rome side.
It has to be said that the invasion of Africa manuver had been already tried during the first punic war, and ended in disaster, that's why the Senate was against it. Not only but, for the Romans, Scipio's character had much in common with that of Attilius Regulus, who led that expedition.
"At cannae, Hannibal painted a masterpiece in Roman blood" . The one liners are smashing.
Hannibal said " if you're better than me then you're better than all us" this is brimming with respect what a honorable thing to say
That is the thing, Scipio was neber greater. Just a lucky guy.
Scipio is my hero.. imagine living through Cannae at 19 years old? 😳
Not only surviving the human meat grinder of 500 deaths a minute, but leading survivors past Hannibal’s army at night to safety after.. studied Hannibal and surpassed him, Romes greatest enemy ever?!! Total madlad.
Hannibal literally defeated them time after time after time and Scipio fought Hannibal at his weakest when the shitty senate refused to support him and send reinforcements and supplies (Which the shitty Hanno played a big role in as he was an enemy towards Hannibal) and he was called back to his homeland were his country had already betrayed him (Even his numedian cavalry helped the romans at zama . For me he is one of the best generals of all time and his military campaign is probably the best in human history. And yes he would've burned rome to the ground if it wasn't for all these factors and more. And yes he is rome's greatest enemy and he brought it to its knees.
@@SonGoku-et8erThat always sounded like an excuse to me.
Many other commanders had problems and still won. It's like people that say that Napoleon only lost because of constant wars. No, his enemies just learned from mistakes, like Scipio did
@@SonGoku-et8erif if if
Hannibal was NOT at his weakest facing Scipio….. Hannibal did not have reinforcements at the end of Italy but he did at Zama and even had his war elephants back.
Hannibal lost his only war, didn’t know how to use a victory and wandered Italy for over a decade while Scipio was defeating Hannibal’s generals in Spain.
Numidians joined Rome before the battle even started, it’s not like they were lined up with Hannibal and then just started attacking Carthage out of nowhere….
Hannibal left Spain with 100k men and by the time he left Italy had 15k…. No wonder the senate didn’t send him more men.
Scipio was better, never lost, utilized his campaigns in a much more successful way, and beat Hannibal himself, until Scipio, Hannibal faced total turds as Generals.
Hannibal was good no doubt, but Scipio was just better and his record proves that on top of beating Hannibal.
Don’t forget Rome was NOT the super power yet, it was still Carthage and rising Rome beat them while still being in its early Republican stage, and not at its peak yet.
Hannibal contributed in a BIG way to "Cartahgo delemda est"…….
"Brought Rome to its knees", yet lost all 3 Punic wars and extinct.@@SonGoku-et8er
@@SonGoku-et8er as another hanibal fanboy I AGREE
I came here because oversimplified gave such a cliffhanger.
Must be awesome having enough street cred that pirates roll up and visit you.
As you can tell from my prof pic I’m a great admirer of Africanus. One thing he did best was lead by example. He drilled harder than his men, banned his men from pillaging/rape, pardoned those he defeated in war with such graciousness that he gained friends, and refused all spoils saying it was a desire for lesser men. When tasked to deal with Hannibal, he was given a completely novice army. He later defeated Rome’s greatest foe with that same army. This combined with his intelligence and experience made him the greatest General of all time. After his many successes the Senate grew jealous of Scipio and began a slander campaign. However he was so renown in character the slander ended up hurting the Senate. He eventually left to go back to his lands after enduring enough of Rome’s political squabbling and vowed that Rome would never have his bones!
In alternate timeline Senate attacks would’ve been more severe and this would’ve led to Scipio marching on Rome 150 years before Julius Caesar did and the people would’ve accepted him.
Only 12 likes? Awesome information. Defo want to read about Scipio now. Cheers.
Would like to add, when Scipio was living in his self imposed exile from Rome, a group of pirates/robbers came to his estate. Scipio, then of old age went out to meet them with a sword all by himself. But to his surprise, the group just wanted to see the magnificent general by their own eyes. Also, the people of Rome loved him so much that he was burrowed in Rome with due dignity showing the administration people had for this great general.
This is my ancestor I really admire my ancestor
When he was talking about africanus and hannibal having a conversation😓. The fact that 2 fine gentlemen became foes due to the circumstances of the times is amazing. "What if you had defeated me?"
"I would have said i was greater than Alexander, Pyrrhus and all other generals." Incredible
Scipio: "What if you conquered me?"
Hannibal *blushes*
shutup
Mmmm nice
@@heberthr.6978 no
I would agree, Scipio defeated one of the greatest generals of all time and also retired with an unbeaten resume.
The Money Floyd of generals
He was defeated once. Siege of Utica iirc.
@@muzammilibrahim5011 can a seige be counted as a battle?
@@Dan-jp8jr Many sieges are counted as battles. Siege of Alessia, Siege of Tyre etc.
So it's not like it was a fair fight
Scipio and Hannibal... I need more documentaries on the exact same events. Those were so fascinating to me. Less drama more education 👌
Africanus bet hannibal
The resources are out there, many god reads, insights and more.
Theres even a really good podcast about the history of Rome... goes over it all.
Times of giants
Feel so bad for Hannibal. Stupid politics back home prevented him from doing what he needed to do. 10 years on the Italian mainland and Carthage refused to send reinforcements
@@herbthompson8937 Yeah... but ROME. 😉👈
I loved the part where his infantry refused to give up and decided to avenge their defeat against Hannibal.
Hannibal rated himself so highly because of his elephant of surprise.
Shut up 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@Old Curious It’s a play on words. The saying is “element of surprise.”
@@antoniomiguelsimao not all of them
Made me smile....
Idk why but this absolutely sent me 😂
Time to play Rome: Total War again...
Hell yeah!
Is this Cornelius Scipio the same as the leader of the Cornelia at the start of the rome campaign?
@@TheMongolianMage probly not. Doesn't stop me from pretending it is tho..
I'm at war with egypt right now because of my spartan allies
El Viajo I’m pretty sure that was his grandfather
In all of Livy's writings of the history of Rome, Scipio Africanus stands out the most in my reading. Livy gives him due credit and shames the Roman politicians.
Mister Wango I’ve finally started reading Livy’s writings, they are fascinating!
@@aurktman1106 can u recommend where one can start?
A perfect material for a quality tv series.
Even the title is ready: Africanus
I’ve always thought that too. You could have the earlier seasons being Hannibal’s victories over Rome while detailing Scipio learning from the defeats. It’s so perfect you could have the two main characters die in the same episode and it would be historically accurate.
@@kden9772 read the manga ad astra
That would be so awesome
1:00 - Chapter 1 - First steps
3:50 - Chapter 2 - Disaster at cannae
10:55 - Chapter 3 - The rains of ilipa
15:50 - Chapter 4 - The flames of Utica
20:25 - Chapter 5 - The fields of bagradas
22:25 - Chapter 6 - The winds of zama
25:55 - Chapter 7 - Ungrateful motherland
thnxx...🥺🥀
Those sound like anime seasons
@@improveimproveimprove lol
For those interested in the Roman world, I strongly recommend the novels of Santiago Posteguillo (they are translated into many languages), especially the Africanus trilogy.
That and his Trajan trilogy are masterful, but they are some long-ass books.
Scipio: "who is the greatest General"
Hannibal: "Pssht not you lol"
Actually, I think Hannibal was saying that Scipio was incomparable.
Jackson Rushing This is the correct interpretation.
Hannibal refused to put his name among the three greatest, but said that who would have managed to beat him, would have been the greatest one.
@BBB H i would put Yi Sun Sin in that list too
@@wolf8550 It's the interpretation made by Livy, admittedly not an unbiased source. According to him, Scipio was apparently pleased that Hannibal regarded him as a more accomplished general than Alexander.
Greatest general of the ancient world. Change my mind.
Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and Cyrus beats him with ease. don't forget that scipio learned almost everything he knew about war from Hannibal
Marcus I’ll have to respectfully disagree with you. Alexander if you studied his battles you’ll see that he always repeated the same move. Alexander always began the battle by leading his right flank companion cavalry into battle. Scipio would easily be able to fight the hot headed and glory seeking Alexander. As for Hannibal, Scipio has proven that he can beat the father of military strategy and Hannibal depends on outsmarting and outflanking his enemy. Scipio has a habit of learning about his enemy as much as possible so I still think Scipio would have the upper hand. Cyrus would be facing a foe that was more advanced and had a better understanding of war so Cyrus wouldn’t even be a challenge for Scipio. However the only true match would be Caesar as the man would most definitely have learned from Scipio and was a skilled commander, and cunning adversary. So out of the 4 that you propose only 1 would have a good chance.
@@kakashisammy2172 Alexander did not use the same tactic in every battle. he set up his army the same way before every battle just like scipio and hannibal. If you look at the battle of gaugamela in detaile, not just a video on it. you'll see that that battle was more complex than any battle caesar or hannibal fought. Alexander was hot headed and wanted glory but he was also a military genius which is why he was a ssuccesful as he was. Scipio defeated Hannibal because Hannibals government was dumb. Scipio also bribed the numidians which gave him cav superiority. Everything scipio did he learned from hannibal that's why Hannibal is worth studying more than scipio. Please give me an example of something scipio did that hannibal didn't do before him. I don't know that much about cyrus so you might be right. So in conclusion Alexander and Caesar would have defeated scipio. battles isn't everything in war. the reason scipio was so succesful was because he used Hannibals tactics and strategy. that is also why hannibal wanted to meat him. He wanted to meet the man who used his own tactics against him.
Marcus Alexander always began his battles with a attack with his companion cavalry. Guagamala could have been a defeat because Alexander wanted to capture Darius and was ignoring Parmenion’s request to come save the Phalanx which was nearly being overrun. And as for Hannibal Scipio realized the the key factor in the Punic Generals victory was the Numidian cavalry and so he used that knowledge to take away one of Hannibals most important units. And while Hannibal failed to take Rome Scipio managed to take a city that was said to be impregnable in an amazing way, the very same city that Hannibal’s family owned which would later become Barcelona. So Scipio was in fact greater than both Alexander, and Hannibal. Caesar is the only one I think that has a great chance to defeat Africanus.
@@kakashisammy2172 funny, pretty much everything you just said is wrong, except for the numidian cav part
Wow, I'd definitely have to say, "Hail! Publius Cornelius Scipio! Africanus Victorium!"
When pirates go out of their way just to meet you during your retirement, you are a certified BAD-ASS!!!
His brother Lucius was being taken in chains in horse drawn cart to an uncertain fate in a country jail. When Scipio heard of this he was banqueting in the temple with other senators. He acted swiftly and sought Tiberius Graachus, with whom he settled his feud by promising his daughter in marriage to him, for his injunction. They rode with other veteran officers across a grassy field, outside the city walls and intercepted the cart. He blocked the carts way on horseback and demanded his brothers release from the three burley soliders who guarded him. They mocked the Commander, with the tone of their voice, not believing he was a match for them. He drew in sword in a complete rage and said "You will release my brother or I will kill you". This shocked them and they hastily unshackled Lucius in the back of the cart from his chains. Lucius took his brothers hand and was pulled onto his horse behind him. As the horsemen rode back into the city, the veteran officers talked of civil war and calling the army and Lucius worried that he would be the cause of bloodshed between the supporters of Marcus Cato and their supporters. So it is recorded in the Akashaic Record by someone who was there to witness it....
@@CFaversham2 Akashic records?
Yes
I cannot like this enough. Thank you for doing more ancients. This was a perfect choice, what an awesome man.
Brilliant Simon, Ty! I've spent a life-time casually studying Scipio and other ancient generals. Your's, here, is the very best presentation on Africanus I've ever seen. Thanks, so much, for sharing! I'll be recommending, and teaching with, this vid.
Why’s there no Latin word for strategy?
They didn’t see Aeneid
Sorry to say but strategy is a Latin concept.
Although "Strategòs" is indeed a Greek word, for them it simply meant "commander ".
Meanwhile "Strategum" for the Romans meant to be able to show acumen.
@@alexandersibilio7436 strategy is a Latin concept? Where did you hear this?
@@Lycurgus1982 I thought it was the Greeks who invented tactics, and Rome strategy.
@@KraNisOG this is false too. Strategy always existed lol . And no Romans did not event it . Alexander the Great used strategy to its greatest extent , he had arguably the best logistics out of any general
@@arthasmenethil7208 i think the earliest documented example of strategic thinking wether they had a specific word for it or not was thutmoses 3 of egypt. The logistics side is not recorded apart from the preperations ie updating and modernising the army after the neglect of his step mother. However given the distances he campaigned in land would not support foraging they must have been complex. His overall approach at megiddo was genius
this was without question one of my favorite bios! great work!
So glad you did this, I love all of your channels and Africanus is my favorite historical figure.
Timur the Lame would be an interesting future episode of Biographics. Just a thought.
YES
@@michalravid3744 yes the dude was a bad ass he put Ottoman Sultan Bayzied in a cage after defeating him
@@thorpeaaron1110 I know, if that isn't badass, I don't know what is.
@@michalravid3744 I know and needs to be in one of the best bad ass moments in History
Sounds lame
Sulla is like a version of Scipio who went one step further but still retired in the end, while Caesar is like a cross between them both who went even further to secure his title but never gave it up. It makes me wonder if the Republic would have fallen earlier if the Senate had killed either Scipio or Sulla.
Pompey was decent and Caesar bested him but Scipio beat the more formidable opponent by far
@@archivesoffantasy5560 its not like he was facing Hannibal's vets. He led out a hobbled together group from Carthage and was asked to do the impossible. I'd say Sulla pound for pound faced the toughest opposition only bc he had the Social War to deal with. All three were incredible field marshals who did a lot more than expected.
If candies and nuts have a merry xmas
P. Scipio on his request, was burried away from Rome, the city he had saved and elevated to be the unrivalled master of the mediterranean. On his tomb is supposedly inscribed; "Ungrateful Fatherland, you shall not have even my bones"
For spanish speakers, check out the trilogy of ovels by Santiago Posteguillo on the parallel lives of Scipio Africanus and Hannibal
Oh, those are exceptional novels. But One should also read Gilbert Haefs Hannibal. That's another great nivel about that time.
Bro! Those novels are incredible!
Totally agree, i read them and were very good, he also has another triology about Trajan which is also excellent,
A formidable trilogy.
@@ScipioAfricanus_Chris is there an English translated version of these books ?
4:03 *YES!* The first battle of the war took place at the River Ticinus, between the cavalry and light troops of the armies. Hannibal outnumbered the romans by at least two to one but, deluded by the success of his cavalry on the Rhone, Scipio hazarded to offer battle. The young Scipio was stationed with a bodyguard on a small hill to the rear, to keep him out of harms way. The battle went badly the light troops of the Romans fled almost immediately, and then Hannibal's Numidian cavalry encircled the Romans from behind. Scipio's father was himself wounded and fell from his horse. The Roman forces were fleeing, only a small bodyguard of two or three horsemen remained to defend the Consul, and they were soon surrounded and cut off by the enemy.
Seeing this, the young Scipio at once urged his bodyguards to charge the enemy. Seeing that the battle was lost, and frightened by the large numbers of the enemy closing in on the Consul, the bodyguards would appear to have hung back. Seeing that they would not obey him, the young Scipio spurred his own horse and instead recklessly charged the enemies encircling his father alone. Shamed by this act, the young Scipio's bodyguards rode after him, and the sudden attack so unnerved the enemies surrounding the Consul that they broke away. Scipio's father was the first in praising the young Scipio for saving his life, and after the battle, he ordered the corona civica the highest Roman military commendation, to be presented to his son. The young Scipio refused, stating that the action was one that rewarded itself.
Publius Cornelius Scipio - The First Campaigns.
Daily reminder:
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST
Based Cato. I'LL BRING THE SALT
Cato just want that rival city blotted out of history.
Rome hadn't finished economically exploiting Carthage yet, so destroying it would have been impractical. Cato was repeatedly reminded of this, but he was such a petty, stupid man that he ignored it.
🤬
@@ThomasShelby6213 Carthage was never salted
A film about Hannibal and Scipio covering both sides of the conflict would be amazing. Great video
i love your work. the history is excellent and your voice is so calming. I have to admit i use your stuff as ASMR when i'm down or i need help getting to sleep or i'm havign anxiety or a panic attack. the S&*T calms me down and i feel educated. i subscribed to all your chanels and the listen to the popcast.
I really loved this episode. They really were two giants of their time! I would love to see an episode on Cicero. He's a different kind of giant but I find him fascinating.
Absolutely fascinating story, and very well told. Thank you very much for this.
As you say, why isn’t Scipio more generally well-known? What he did is incredible.
Incidentally, as far as I know, he is the only person who is named in the Italian national anthem (not Caesar, Dante, Galileo, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and so on and so on), just Scipio! “Italy, put on the helmet of Scipio”, I think is the line.
The other thing I have read is that, after the disaster of Cannae, the next time such a loss of human life (in battle) at such a rate was in one of the battles of the first world war (Passchendaele possibly), so, much more than 2000 years later.
My only criticism (not really a criticism) is that you deliver a machine-gun rate of facts so fast that I can’t keep up. I have to keep back tracking to make sure I have understood what you have said. Actually, this isn’t a criticism, because I prefer your approach rather than long drawn-out explanations. I can always slow down the video.
Once again, thanks for a great video explanation of a fascinating subject. I am subscribed and will continue to watch your excellent work.
Fantastic. What a story with all the details. Thanks.
I find that by playing back at .75x normal it is a lot essirt to follow esp with so many subsequent bits
Simon you are the best story teller. Keep it! The next generations will appreciate your work.
I just finished the Hannibal episode now i have something else to watch.
And after that go get you Business Blaze on. It’s where Simon has his personality turned on. 🤪
@@john-paulsilke893 ...Allegedly.
D.C. feel the BLAZE. 🔥
D.C. aLEGENDly
There is an EXCELLENT manga out there (Yes. A Manga.) called "Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal" that very beautifully tells the story of Scipio and Hannibal.
I HIGHLY recommend everyone give it a read! Especially anyone who's a fan of Rome Total War.
I was blown away when I saw the Hastati, Velites and Principes wearing the armor I saw in Total War II, and even more so when Maharbal Barca said his infamous
"You know how to gain victory, but you don't know how to use it."
The author really did his research!
Maharbal Barca is drawn wrongly and it is a disgrace to the north africans, the carthagians are not sub saharan africans, they are a semitic people and are tired of being misrepresented.
Fascinating video.. love this & your other channels Simon!!
incredibly informative video. helped me out a lot, thank you
Finally my favorite Roman General! Thanks biographics!
What I find funny is how all the Ancient generals’ find Pyrrhus of Epirus as one of the great commanders in history. I mean, we do not call a victory that is as bad as a defeat a Pyrrhic victory for no reason. When his generals congratulated him after the battle of Asculum, he stated, “ One more victory against the Romans. And we shall be undone”.
Late but... I think why ancient generals considered Pyhrrus so highly is due to his love the troops under his command gave him.
@@benb7193 well yes the troops loved him dearly, that is not just what makes a commander great. Sometimes hatred is needed in order to gain respect. Some generals were hated for their tactics and their grueling work but it got the job done and they are still seen as great commanders.
You do realize Pyrrhus fought throughout AND survived the Diadochi Wars! And his Kingdom didn't have the resources that the Roman Republic had, his Kingdom was quite small! Also the Roman Republic conquered so many Enemies.... Pyrrhus was Gifted in Military, he just didn't have the Resources, Resilience, and Numerous skillfull Generals that the Roman Republic had!!
Awesome video Simon! As far as Roman history goes, could you do people like Sulla, Augustus, the Gracchi brothers or Aurelian?
This was beyond moving. Your powers of presentation are absolute.
Scipio Africanus is referenced in classic movie Gladiator in the arena where maximus faces his forces (he being barbarian horde)
Good catch, unfortunately they refer to him by referring to "The Battle of Carthage" which was actually "The Battle of Zama."
@@ScipioAfricanus_Chris Yes incorrect battle they mentioned..
@@ScipioAfricanus_Chris technically it was the battle for Carthage- because Zama was only a few miles from the city...
@@lewistaylor2858 geographically speaking it should be called the battle of Utica because that was closer. The only Battle of Carthage was the siege of Carthage by Scipio Amelianus during the 3rd Punic War
Imagine all the greatest generals/commanders in the same room, that would be an insane argument of who was the most successful
I bet on Alexander!
Ciprian Todoran same. King Philip laid perhaps the greatest foundation for Alexander
Alexander!! If I can meet any man in the afterlife..its Alexander!
Forever Marked me too for not to end up dead 😂
They would’ve all most likely have drawn their swords to prove who’s the better warrior rather than discussing who is the better military strategist lol.
Wow. Well done, Simon. Thank you.
What a video. You sir have a knack for narration. Exquisite.
The corruption, greediness and ungratefulness of the senate gives more justification for a monarchy.
If I am not wrong, Caesar laments to what happen to Scipio.
The greater the man, the more jealous are his enemies.
Ceasar found that out lol
Also remember that the roman armies that Scipio command are not yet the invincible killing machines legions that Marius created and that Caesar use to conquested Gaul. Actually Hannibal veterans where probably the deathliest army at this time and the fact that Scipio defeated them in Africa, with 10,000 less men and with 80 elephants is just AMAZING.
Caesar is greather because he also was a political genius and an amazing ruler...
But as a general Scipio is probably the GREATHEST MILITARY COMMANDER in roman history !!
It has to be said that, after 19 years of war, those men were better trained than professionals. Not by chance, after the end of the Punic war, they steamrolled over Greece and middle east with ridicolous ease.
Woo hoo been waiting for this one since you did Hannibal!
Amazing episode thanks!
I strongly recommend reading the novel Africanus, by Santiago Posteguillo. It's my favorite novel by far, it makes you travel to that era in such an indreible way
Can’t find it in English ?
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus is most certainly One of, if not, The Greatest General ever!!!! Glory To Rome!! Glory To Scipio Africanus!!!!,
I just want to say that I really like the text on the recent new thumbnails both here and on Geographics - it hasn't escaped my attention. Said text looks somehow even cleaner and nicer than before.
Brilliant as usual! Are you planning on covering the other great Cornelii, Sulla?
Definitely needs to happen!
Wellington was nowhere near Napoleon. He fought the secondary French army in the peninsula. And at Waterloo if it was not for the arrival of the Prussian cavalry reinforcement he was lost while he only fought the shadow of what use to be the French "grande Armée".
Wellington himself described Waterloo as a "close-run thing".
@@pyromania1018 Yup from what I know he was quite fair and humble towards his involvement in the war !
The British are always best at sacrificing allies though...
Berthier, Bessieres, Jourdan, Lannes, Marmont, Massena, Moncey, Mortier, Murat, Ney, Soult, Suchet, Victor, all Marshals of Napoleon. All served in the Peninsular wars, as did Napoleon himself at times, so a little unfair to call the army as "secondary". There were plenty of veterans of other campaigns that fought in the Peninsular wars too. Luck certainly did shine on Wellington at times, as it did on Napoleon too throughout his career. Napoleon is often quoted as saying, "I'd rather have lucky Generals than good ones". The fact is Wellington was a magnificent General irrespective of the brilliance of Napoleon.
@@ColinLammin Yes but when Wellington was involved seriously and winning the main French army was in Russia and that's when The allied in the peninsula started to make gains. Before that they got pinned down by the French and the Brits even had to re-embark in Coruña
What a great bio and bittersweet too. He got more love from someone who was an enemy than his own country. They both realized how great they were and they showed respect for one another. Hopefully that was true
Absolutely fantastic, brilliant stuff.
Please do Octavian soon! But thanks for the great videos and work!
"I am perplexed"....alister crows last words....history is awsome, when the whole story is told.
what does he have to do with scipio africanus
I had commented on the alester crow video, idk why its on this video
@@projectlonewolf8674 fair enough
@@The-kr9rb weird huh, have you seen his alester crow video, ...?
Saw biographics and clicked immediately
Every day I hope for a video of Augustus. Though this was not bad either! Thank you. :)
Have the I hope not incorrect feeling that this outstanding presentation was very much enjoyed by the presenter. Thank you and go well Simon
Could you please do a bio on Ip Man? Thank you :)
Publius Cornelius Scipio, the brilliant strategist that Rome so desperately needed in the Second Punic War. And yet, Rome was ungrateful to its hero and pushed him away!!
By the Gods!
Simon, you legendary bastard! Keep up with this stream ov wonderful knowledge. So great to have all these videos coming out as often as you and the crew can put them out. Such great work and the way you present it is easy to take in.
Plus that sultry British accent, my wife loves it, so she will actually watch these too (doubt she learns anything whole staring at that glorious beard since I shaved mine off after nine years lol)
This was a brilliant video
I learned a lot more detail of Scipio's life. I knew some senators feared his popularity. In Greece they ostracize heroes and in Rome they find various ways to legally attack successful consuls/generals etc. I like your summation of the changes he brought to Roman warfare and diplomacy. I admire that Scipio didn't necessarily "reinvent the wheel", he just learned everything he could from Hannibal and then brought his own creativity to bare. The ability to evaluate your rival ---that is to understand what you're witnessing---takes humility and intelligence. In the middle of all that carnage at Cannae he kept his head, lead troops through enemy lines to fight another day. Wow. Hannibal and his family had many ups and downs with their government, and in the end, Scipio's retirement says it all. Unfortunately, the destruction of Carthage---leveling the city---was a mistake that some Romans later lamented. It must have been and could have continued to be a magnificent city which could have served the Republic and empire. In the end, Carthaginians had as much right to exist in the Mediterranean as the Rome, and I'm sorry both sides couldn't have found a path to co-existence. I guess what ruled legislators was a zero sum way of life.
Yeah, f*ck Cato the Elder. That sniveling egoistic aggravated everyone in the destruction of Carthage.
Carthage was later rebuild under Caesar and was only abolished after the Arabs conquered North Africa
True. But the same passionate and fermented hatred that caused Rome to destroy Carthage - is also what caused them to win the war. They ENDLESSLY propagandised and obsessively cultivated a culture, based on hatred of Carthage (the other).
Nothing unites a society, more than one clear and imposing threat to their lives, from a seriously dangerous enemy outsider. Beit Alexander Vs Persia, Hitler Vs International Jewry, or Scipo Vs Carthage.
Even Cato the Elder, would end all of his speeches by shouting something akin to "Catharge must be destroyed!". That was my man's signature lol
It's probably this kind of vigilant warmongering that allowed Rome to organise armies so rapidly.
I thought this was Punic Wars Part 3 by Oversimplified 😅
Love the added sound for extra effect
What a great episode, thanks
Could you cover the first Roman emperor Augustus? Would be a nice logical step forward from the other romans you’ve covered.
My favorite battle in history is during the first Punic war. The battle of ecnomus. I find ancient naval battles to be extremely interesting and this is one of the greatest.
Same here!! Ancient Naval Warfare, and War in general, Was ALOT more Noble, Honourable, and Braver than the Cowardly Modern world! The First Punic War had the largest Naval Battles in History!
@@Aemilius46 yea it makes me a lil angry that they depict ancient naval battles with slave rowing crews in media (like the great movie Ben-Hur) because the reality was that Romans (and other empires from antiquity) used trained military sailors to do their rowing not slaves. The “galley slave” comes from medieval history where it was a common punishment. The ottomans were infamous for not allowing their galley slaves to leave their positions ever, even when at harbor!
Great Biographics episode on Roman era. Publius Cornelius Scipio "Africanus". Awesome information.
Awesome, thanks for this one.
First Roman general to be named after the land he conquered
A tiny part of northern Africa was called 'Africa'. Later, the entire continent.
There were already Romans named after cities and regions they'd conquered in Italy
Y'all should do a 5 person biographics for Kano Jigoro and his 4 Guardians of the Kodokan
Watching during a thunder storm really sets the mood 😊
That was a fantastic video!
Time & time again the endurance of the Romans went unheeded. The Etruscans once ruled a city state called Rome. The Gauls/Celts sacked Rome. Cartaginian Hannibal marched up & down destroying army after army. In the end who ruled or destroyed whom?
Um, which Romans? Rome is an ideal. A village that rose and fell grew and shrank as migrants cane and went.
@Samy Nia Until they overextended themselves and ran out of the money to maintain their armies, after which they began to rely on cheaper, less effective mercenaries. Plus, the battle of the Teutoburg Forest demonstrated the two main flaws in the army:
1) They weren't very good in one-on-one combat.
2) Fighting in the rain was an utter nightmare for them.
@@pyromania1018 Battle of Teutoburg Forest is overrated. After Augustus died, Tiberius' nephew, GERMANICUS, went back to Germany and smashed the Germans battle, after bsttle, after battle. He might have conquered Germany, had Tiberius not grown weary of his rising popularity and recalled him in Rome. After that the Romans just decided that a land full of forests is not profitable enoguh and not worth invading and conquering. Gaul was full of fertile lands and profitable, so the Romans wanted it. As for the Fall of Rome, it was more complex: The Romans accepted the refugees. They ran out of money simply because the Eastern Roman Empire had Egypt and Syria, which were very rich and profitable. So, the West wasn't rich, but the East sure was. Their main problem wasn't neccesarily the battles. Western Rome did not lose any war against the hordes of Barbarians. It was just that they settled it, and they just made their own kingdoms. The Romans won militarily, but...It just fell.
@@cavramau You are aware that Rome literally colonized other cities that they conquered right?
Scipio Africanus: Who are the greatest generals of all?
Hannibal: Alexander, Pyrrhus, and myself.
Scipio: Whatever Dude, I handed your ass to you. 🙄😏
Hannibal may have meant something to the effect of "how can I be the greatest general if I couldn't even defeat you", lol
He also said that if Scipio hadn't defeated him he would be number 1. It was a compliment by Hannibal.
@@thechosenone1533 a very backhanded compliment though - "yeah you beat me, but I was regukarly wiping out whole Roman armies while you were still in nappies, so I am better than you.'
That is why Hannibal s remembered far more than Scipio.
don't forget that scipio learned almost everything he knew about war from Hannibal
@@lilymarinovic1644 No, whilst Hannibal was kicking everyone's ass in Italy, Scipio was busy killing one of Hannibal's brothers and beating Carthaginian ass in Spain.
Loved this!
Excellent delivery
A titanic struggle that truly change the fate of the world.
Might I say too that your closing on this history of the amazing man was beautiful.
Varro, Hamilcar, Barca, Gnaeus. I'm getting Spartacus tv show feels
Hits the spot ! Well done !
Now I can use this as another point of reference for my story when writing dialogue and motives involving this character
Are you writing a novel about Scipio? That’s fantastic! I researched and wrote this script for Biographics (check name at the end of the video and in the description) and found the lectures by Prof Giovanni Brizzi very insightful about the personalities of Scipio and Hannibal. A link to the lecture is in the description section. Here are his books www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=giovanni+brizzi&ref=nb_sb_noss Unfortunately I could not find English versions, maybe you will be luckier!
I have Liddell Hart's book, it is an awesome read, as is most of his writings.
Among the first to watch another awesome of biographics episode of one of the Greatest Generals in History who destroyed Carthage and finally fulfilled the word of a Roman Senator :" Carthago delenda est".
I was waiting to hear who said Cathage must fall.
Actually "Carthago Delenda Est" wouldn't be a thing for another 50 or so years. It was in reference to the 3rd Punic war, which is the one where Carthage was destroyed. This video was about the second.
@@r.t.h.k.o Thanks but we can say that it is the same historical process.
Ata-Ayite Hunlede The Consul that destroyed Carthage was Publius Cornelius Scipio Emilianus in 146 b.c.
@@Mindcrime80 Thanks for the information and rectification.
One of your best videos.
Love this episode.
Man, to have a time machine and to get to see Scipio Africanus, Hannibal, AND Antiochus III, the second greatest Seleukid king (after Seleukos I of course) all together at once would be incredible!!! Too bad Massinissa wasn't there too, that'd just be too much awesome at once.
I was amazed that you mentioned Masinissa. They did not get the fame they deserved, despite his great role in the Second Roman War of Carthage.
He is known to us in Algeria because he united Eastern Numidia and Western Numidia, and he was the one who worked to bring the Numidian society out of the nomadic life into civilization.
@@jaaackaissa1633 I collect coins, so I am definitely aware of him and Micipsa and Jugurtha. The Numidian Kingdom was pretty cool. I am jealous you are so close to some of the sites! I know there is a tomb in great shape.
Titus Quinctius Flamininus, Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, and Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucous also!! 🛡️🗡️ (I personally like Scipio Africanus' younger brother Lucius, and Marcus Valerius Laevinus who made it so Philip V couldn't help Hannibal, that was such a underrated game changer, they say that the Macedonians feared Marcus Valerius Laevinus Naval Military prowess so much, they burned their ships rather than face Valerius again!)
Titus Quinctius Flamininus, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Manius Acilius Glabrio, they we're in the same time period and we're also Great General's!! (Who I would have LOVED too meet!!)
Scipio would never have gotten the command in Spain, its just that nobody wanted it because it was seen as a lost cause. He was still seen as way too young.
Videos like these always make me feel like playing RTW
Love this video!