Forgotten Wars - The Greek Invasion of Africa (310 BC)
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- čas přidán 20. 01. 2023
- A history documentary on the forgotten Greek invasion of Africa! Compare news coverage. Spot media bias. Avoid algorithms. Be well informed. Download the free Ground News app at ground.news/invicta
In this animated history documentary we continue our coverage of the Punic Sicilian Wars. This episode covers the Seventh Punic Sicilian War which saw Agathocles rise as tyrant of Syracuse to challenge Carthage once more. Yet unlike his predecessors, he would raise the stakes of this conflict by launching an invasion of north Africa. This Greek invasion would see the very capital of Carthage put to siege. But the siege of Carthage was just the start of Agathocles' ambitious campaign to take North Africa from the enemy.
You can learn more about the armies of Carthage through our Units of History episodes:
The Sacred Band of Carthage : • Units of History - The...
Carthaginian War Elephants : • Units of History - Car...
Numidian Cavalry : • Units of History - The...
Balearic Slingers : • Units of History - The...
Sources and Suggested Reading:
"The Library of History - Book 19, 20" by Diodorus Siculus
"Philippic Histories - Book 21, 22, 23, 24" by Justinus
"The Carthaginians" by Dexter Hoyos
"Carthage's Other Wars" by Dexter Hoyos
"Carthage Must Be Destroyed" by Richard Miles
Credit:
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Chris Das Neves
Narration = Invicta
Art = Penta Limited
#history
#documentary
#military
Compare news coverage from diverse sources around the world on a transparent platform driven by data. Try Ground News today: ground.news/invicta
It was great working with you, Invicta!
Democrat and Republican are not on opposing ends of the political spectrum.
Will you put all the Punic-Sicilian wars videos into one big documentary so people can watch it in one go or listen to it more easily like a podcast?
Nice job with the video. I always like learning about little known time periods.
Make a video about the Serbian-Vizantian wars wich brout Vizanty empire to its knees and allow the Otomans to begin their counquest of the Balkans
It’s astonishing how many times Syracuse was able to rival two of Antiquity’s juggernauts, Carthage and Rome. I’ve always wondered how different history might’ve been had the entire Hellenic world been perpetually united.
Syracuse was never a match against Rome
They also swatted away an invasive attack from Athens...with unbelievable atrocities and savagery.
(entire Hellenic world been perpetually united)-well, they performed mediocore at best after uniting into the kingdom of greece after the ottomans............
Wouldn’t really call that the entire Hellenic world.
@@James-sk4db why? what was left out? cyrpus?
Agathocles projecting some serious Total War veteran vibe right there... :D
only in total war does sending your entire army to attack an enemy city while your cities are getting conquered seem to happen.
if this scenario happened in a video game, most people would think the ai had no sense of self-perservation.
1988 300 GRÈCE REMI GOFFLO
We need a Syracusan faction....
I am a native Greek and legit have NEVER heard of this in my ENTIRE life so far (25 years old).I had heard of Syracuse and Dionisus I&II but this? Amazing
I am tunisian and i didn't hear about it too 😂
Greek history is so deep! Even decoding linear B tablets reveals amazing things about Mycenaean bronze age even through to late Greek history, like these invasions of Africa. I find Greece to be one of the most fascinating places on earth.
Even during Athens, so many literary geniuses came from that city while the city never had much more that 200k population and about 50k citizens.
Italian history purposefully neglect all history of its southern half, favoring the teaching of its northern bits, so not even Italians study this part. Just to give a bit of context on the importance of ancient Syracuse, Greek historians (Herodotus and Aristotle) wrote that the battle of Himera was on the same day of the battle of Salamis. That was not true but was greek propaganda aiming to frame the two main powers of ancient Greek culture that defended their freedom and roots against the two big empires of that time: Persia in the east and Carthage inthe west. This give an insight on how the Sicilian polis was publicly perceived and its main role in ancient times.
Yes because teaching this depth of History is a waste of time at schools where most of the Graduates will go on to work at McDonalds.
Really proud to be Greek, and grateful we share history together!
i love how fierce the ancient Greeks fought.
@Bobby The Crazy Bichon Frisé against... other Greeks?
@Bobby The Crazy Bichon Frisé many fine empires fell to Rome. No shame there. And they battled enemies even larger centuries before and won.
@@bobbythecrazybichonfrise7634 the Greek culture disappeared? Really now? Check how many English words derive from Greek words and go to any university in the world and check how many sciences are taught based on Greek heritage there. Just check.
@@bobbythecrazybichonfrise7634 just say you hate Greeks without saying bs.
@@bobbythecrazybichonfrise7634 yet you re here commenting on a subject that involves Greece. Your opinion is respectable but not the superior one. Greece is eternal and the heritage is strong and forever. Where are you from by the way?
Oh, yeah! Finally Agathocles, and the attack on Carthage! Agathocles's strategy to transfer the front or the war in Africa was adopted later by Scipio. And we must point out that Agathocles was of very humble origins, since he was the son of a potter from the city of Himera in Sicily, who moved to Siracuse.
With the difference that Agathocles and his sons got wrecked in the end. He saved Syracuse from falling but his attack ended in disaster. Scipio was far more skilled than Agathocles
@@nisarbo3781 Scipio had a bigger and better organized military force though. And Agathocles's strategic purpose wasn't actually to take Cartahage, but to create a diversion, in order to con a part of the Carthagean forces that besieged Siracuse to follow him, and eventually end the Siege of the city. And it worked. Scipio used the same tactic with Agathocles in order to force Carthage to recall Hannibal's forces from Italy. Later Emperor Heraclius used the same tactic, he invaded Persia, in order to force the Persian forces to retreat from Asia Minor.
Before Scipio there was also Atilius Regulus in the First Punic War
@@athanasiosmegas6016 Yes, but Regulus invaded after his triumph at the Battle of Cape Eknomus, while Agathocles's move was a strategic diversion, in order to reduce the Carthaganean pressure at the Siege of Siracuse. Scipio, with Hannibal in Italy, followed the same tactic with Agathocles, in order to have Hannibal retreat from the peninsula.
I'd say Hannibal didn't need to be diverted back to Africa as he wasn't much of a danger anymore by 203 BC
Scipio's goal was probably just to strike at the heart of Carthage and end the war there, with or without defeating Hannibal
I can’t believe I had never heard about this conflict until your videos about this! It makes sense, both the Greeks and Phoenicians loved to explore the Mediterranean and spread their civilizations, thank you for this video series!
There was no such thing as Greece or Greeks. Greece is not ethnicity. They probably referring the Phoenicians and Etruscans as Greeks.
@@supermavro6072 Greek comes from the Latin Graecus, which in turn comes from Ancient Greek Graikos. A name that comes from Graia a city where the Romans first contacted the Greeks. The Greeks called themselves Hellenos. Hellenic is a language, a culture, and an ethnicity. Unlike today the ancient Greeks were fiercely independent of one another, but they would have still seen themselves as Greek or Hellenic. Well, I shouldn’t say Hellenic language because there were multiple distinct dialects of Ancient Greek.
@@segovax2852 You just copy pasted this from Wikipedia. I don't think you know what "Greek" is. Can you give the definition of this term "Greek or Greece", I meant what is it's exactly meaning
@@supermavro6072 cope 😉 where were the albanians in antiquity 😂 ???
@@segovax2852 let the Albanian cope because of his jealousy of the greeks 😁
It was great working with you, Invicta! In all sincerity, I've been a personal fan (the person writing this comment) of your page for a while now. You've always done a fantastic job of distilling complex events into clean visuals and engaging narratives - and A LOT of people have learned & benefitted because of it. Keep up the great work. And for any viewers who might be interested in trying out Ground News, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have!
And now I'ma hit up your channel cause never enough history
Bit random, but as someone who despairs at the echo chambers people find themselves in, fair play for trying to do something.
Thing is, they never know they are in one....be it Fox or Vox.
I just got your app and I have to say it’s what I’ve been looking for for ages so thank you. However, I don’t really know how to guide myself around it, if the blind spot indicators show how much left/right wing media ignores the topic or something else. Is there a tutorial on how to best use the app?
does it work for the UK?
@@oliverforde1115 it has a uk option but it does have a few complaints about being a bit too much US stuff
The ancient literary sources in this video were especially well-written
Yeah, literary sources pulled off my a$$
They're loaded with exaggerations
1988 300 GRÈCE REMI GOFFLO
I gave up in the first 30 seconds. If you can't differentiate between a definite and indefinite article, then the rest of your 'research' is bound to be flawed.
The Greeks invaded Africa long before that during the Greco-Persian wars in what was called the Wars of the Delian League.
Agathocles is actually one of my favorite characters in Greek history, it's great that someone finally talks about him
Makes me wanna fire up Rome 2 and do a Syracuse playthrough.
Make videos about the Hellenic re-emergence of 1204-1453 and the Hellenic reconquista of 1261.
Greco Punic wars are even more interesting than the later wars with Pyrrhus and Rome
0:16 they are not "greco-punic" wars
Brilliant! I never heard about this before. I recall Machiavelli mentioned Agathocles several times but I have never really learned about him. Thanks for the video.
I'll have to dig up what he said about him. Based on Agathocles’s achievements in the face of such odds it seems like there are some valuable lessons in his story
@@InvictaHistory There's a part of "the prince" where he talks about the proper use of cruelty in state craft. He uses Agathocles and one Oliverotto as examples in that chapter. Now l see why. That move where he knocks off the Senate and the leaders of the commoners in one blow is just classic. Very cruel but classic.
Often overlooked? You're right about that. I had never heard of it. To add context, the battle of Cannae (Remember Hannibal) was in 216 BC, and Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC.
I have enjoyed this series so much and i never once known of this conflict spilling over to africa, such interesting times! Thank u for ur content!
We are the Lunar new year, It would have been cool if you covered the war between the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Han Dynasty also known as the War of Heavenly Horses!
This is a war between the Scythians against the Han, and the Scythians were defeated at the beginning, but they managed to kill 90,000 Han soldiers, and in the end the Scythians took control of the land and spread their religion of Buddhism in China
Kings and generals has a video on the war
@@user-cg2tw8pw7j source bro?
@Angeal zeal K&G already made a video about it
Another good one would be the abbassid-tang war since they both use a lunar calendar.
Am tunisian and i never heard of this, it's fascinating & interesting
Fighting in ancient times was so brutal, raw,and tactics were truly ingenious. Good vid thanks
Its actually incredible how much you overtake your sources biases time and time again
Very good video and very good series! Thank you and hope you and your team are all well.
Fantastic video on a little known expedition. Thank you!
Excellent episode 👍
This was absoutely amazing! Never heard about this before! Thank you!
Amazing story! I cannot help but think that this episode from Carthaginian History might have helped inspire Hannibal's campaign in Italy.
Thank you for an awesome video!!!
Thanks for the video 👍🏻
Awesome as always
GREAT WORK! Greetings from Athens!
Great video man!
This was utterly amazing.. I consider myself a history buff and I graduated college with Honors in History, but I never delved deep into this conflcit.. Such a great video, I learned a lot, thank you
Terrific video! ⚔
What a great video... I hope you can cover alot of other battle in Southeast Asia
Great video, subscribed!
A magnificent work done by Invicta... Thanks for sharing... Intermediate positions of Sicilian Island..confidence both sides to expansion its dominant upon shoulders of its foe ..dominate its navigation strengths over Mediterranean shores
Well done !
Love the art you use in your videos
Agathocles would plant the idea that an invasion of north africa could be easily done from Sicily, since he had managed it in a less than favourable position
great video amazing story
thanks!!!!
Very nice video.
Very interesting !
Excellent video. I’ve become extremely invested in this interesting war. It’s interesting the Syracuseans decided to invade Carthage. As mentioned it didn’t appear they had any prospect of capturing the city so what was the plan? Win a decisive battle and hope Carthage would conceded?
I assume they were trying to force Carthage to withdraw from Western Sicily, but I feel like they should have gone full scorched Earth and burned the farms all around the city if they wanted them to panic.
Drag out the war and hope the morale of Carthage would fail causing them to seek terms. It makes sense. And going full scorched earth is iffy cuz it could've enraged the carthagians enough to not surrender
More than anything, Carthage cared about its citizens, hence why they employed mostly mercenaries. Agathocles' plan was basically to traumatize them enough so that they would seek terms, if not surrender completely. It was a sound strategy, since Africa had been free from war for the past three centuries. The Carthaginians had no intentions of fighting there themselves, and the prospect of losing their riches could only add fuel to a raging fire, as he countryside was bountiful with loot. It's more or less the strategy that Hannibal Barca used against Rome a century later, wrest its allies from it and pillage the countryside to force the Romans to surrender.
@@praiza1481 Its a devious strategy but it tends to backfire if you do it to the wrong enemy.
For example: many muslim nations even today would just outlast you and all crimes against citizens only adds fuel to the hatred and desire to fight.
It can really backfire unless you are evil enough to go full genocide.
Well done. I dd not know about this terrible war.
Never heard of this before, fascinating.
Ah. Time to break out Rome 2
Bravo!
Great! As expected. Watching for the Bell !!!!
Anyone who played a little bit of RTS games would have loved to see the enemy split their forces into 3, so they could kill them individually. What a bad commander the son must have been
It's astonishing how bigger armies were in ancient times compared to medieval. Here, what is essentialy a regional dispute, saw something like 80k men raised between both sides while william conquered england with like 10k men
at some point syracuse numbered over half a million population
Agathocles laid the foundation of, "Base Race" we see today with terrans in starcraft xD
While fair amount of written historical records are available and also covered by latter commentators with respect to the happenings in the areas which were won over by Alexander and after his demise. But not much is heard about the happenings regions in the west beyond the Mediterranean sea. Given that, your efforts in bringing out this video is commendable indeed. Simplicity and eloquence are the hallmarks of your videos. And Well done again. Best wishes.
Epic moments of history
I so prefer when you do the voiceover yourself. Great video thanks
I appreciate that as it's always been nice for me to retain a personal touch on these projects even as we grow
I really enjoyed this series. I had very little to no idea about these conflicts. Also, I noticed that the Carthaginian soldiers have some pretty awesome tats. What was the source for that?
They were quite famous for tatooing, I recalled
That’s the Libyans, Cartage hired mercenary for their armies. The Libyans were known for tattoos. Amazigh people still have those tattoos till this day
@@zakaria497 They were combination of Carthaginian citizens and allies/vassals (who did not have to be Lybian Berbers, they could be from other Punic cities in Africa, like many Lybo-Phoenicians, so Phoenician-speaking. In Greek sources Lybian and in Roman African are mostly geographic terms not ethnic ones ), not actual mercenaries. These people fought as vassals as part of their cities tributary obligations towards Carthage, similar to Socci system of roman allies. Most of large armies of antiquity were like that, including Syracusan one.
Carhtaginians are reported to wear tatoos.
@@ivandicivan4189 ancient Libyans, ancient Mauritania and Numidians all of them had Amazigh tattoos and were mostly used by Cartage in wars. Carthage even had a mercenary wars with us the Berbers that was brutal. So most likely the people with tattoos in the North African armies were of Berber descent.
May I ask, as I came from Battle of Ecnomus video to this one, in the course of the 6 years since you published that documentary, how much has your channel grown since then? A times would be fair enough, I am genuinely curious though. I have no idea how long I've been subbed for, but it's been several years. I've never given you any of my money or gone to any product that has sponsored a video of yours, all the same though, I absolutely love your content. I just found your awesome "All Dogs Go to Valhalla" merch. Can't tell you how awesome and happy that simple little sticker makes me. Anyhow, please if you have the info easily accessible that I am asking for, please respond, it is genuine curiosity, only to be used to gloat just how good your content is, even from 6 years ago.
Yo Bro.. I don't believe I knew aboot this! This definitely is going on my 'gotta learn more' list..
stop spammin not kool
An interesting bit as this campaign in the area around Carthage reminds me a lot of Hannibal and his campaigns in Roman Italy.
yaay new one
Wow man, anything else on Syracuse or Carthage will be welcomed with open arms. Dope as hel
Aaaah I love ancient history
I've never heard of this, wow
Greek Elephants are the best elephants
I'm ashamed to admit that I had no knowledge of this war. Great video
After Oversimplified made a video on it the war is no longer forgotten lol
superb stuff, shocking that so many still followed the dude lol
“Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
I truly appreciate dwelling into forgotten wars like this one, TY.
Look up the Moorish wars, one of the reasons why the Byzantines didn't expand further West.
@@Holybatman3603 - What? Moorish refers to NW Africa (Berber or Berber-derived). I'm guessing you mean the Muslim (Arab, not Moorish in any way) expansion but actually... that came after the Byzantines had truly f***ed up their realm, first by trying to invade Italy and failing and then by getting exhausted at endless wars with the Persians,, who also collapsed and causing internal strife in sectarian conflicts with the Afroasiatic churches of Alexandria and Antioch. The Arabs just took on extremely weakened foes, it's amazing that Byzantium survived where Persia could not.
In any case that's not really "forgotten": I have watched several docus on the matter. Now pre-Muslim and first Muslim Arabia would be an interesting forgotten period (several wars) to dwell into, beginning with Talmudist-Jewish (and also Christian) expansion in the Red Sea area, the formation of Christian Axum and Jewish Yemen (and also Jewish very strong influence in Mecca, all of which directly connects with the weird life and militant prophecy of Mohamed) and ending with the post-Mohamed wars between the tribes/sects and the consolidation of the Rashidun Caliphate, which was the one that invaded the northern powers. It would take some dare to actually take on Mohamed as historical character (which he is, no doubt) without bending to the superstitions and taboos of the still many believers, often extremely fanatic, but it should be done because History, including Muslim history, belongs to Humanity and not to sectarians.
@@LuisAldamiz I was talking about the wars between the Catholic Berbers and Orthodox Greeks and Anatolians.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_wars
One of the reasons why Christianity didn't last as long in North Africa was because of Huneric's persecution of Catholics and the systematic slaughter of North African Christians during the Moorish wars.
@@Holybatman3603 Ah, OK: that's a very unknown war or series of wars, certainly. I was not really aware of them: I know that there were some diffuse conflicts but thought they were almost unknown. After all it was the dark ages, so for instance, if you look at my country of Vasconia (not very far away and not very different in many aspects to the Amazigh realms), we barely know of a few notices of campaigns, interpreted contradictorily and barely complemented by an archaeology which is almost unable to discern one ethnoculture from another.
I didn't know of Vandals "systematically persecuting Catholics" either. In any case you opened my mind to a period and region I was not even thinking I could find much info about. Definitely worth a "forgotten wars" chapter.
@@LuisAldamiz The Vandals were the most fanatical Arian tribe in their early days, Genseric particularly despied Christianity and made considerable efforts to suppress it in North Africa, his son Huneric took it to a new level and massacred 4,966 priests and clergymen in 483.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/4966_martyrs_d%27Afrique
North Africa is a region of the world that is still shrouded in mystery because of the lack of archeological research there, even to this day there are still historical discoveries that are being made.
Great story, however the timeline appears a bit skewed at points otherwise a fine take , a fine take indeed . Thx.
Excellent video
History deliberately omitted from books 📖.
As expeditionary force always have to have an exit policy.
Cool
The Greeks had invaded North Africa once before in 465BC they invaded Libya and Egypt who were already in open revolt against Artaxerxes I of Persia but were soundly defeated "both in land and sea" by an Acheamanid Army led by a Persian commander called Megabyzus
The Greeks didn't invade,the Athenians sent 6000 men with 200 ships to aid Egyptians (inarus) who had revolved against the Persians.
@@stergioskatsibras8445 "who were already in open revolt against Artaxerxes I of Persia"
This is exactly what I said And anyway, it does not change the fact that Inarus was a rebel and the Athenians attacked Achaemenid Egypt. and I believe every Trireme could carry up to 200 men so with 200 ships and simple math shouldn't they send at least 40,000 men?!
@@maxnetirtimon4121 they 6000 hoplites interfere in battle with the Persians alongside with the Egyptian rebels and they lost.
@@stergioskatsibras8445 Dude, how could they only be 6000 while their ship needed a minimum crew of 170 men and they sailed with 200 of those to Egypt?!
@maxnetir timon because the 6000 were heavy hoplites not marines the ships didn't interfere,that's the numbers that some of the ancient historians gave not me,maybe only 6000 disembark and the rest went to other expeditions
First time I've been around during a upload. Noiiiiice. Y'all need more subs and stuff, I've been rewatching stuff at work over and over again. You ain't got the followers you deserve govnahs
Edit: should be 3Mil+ tbh fam a lams
Edit2: Senpais noticed me!
Thanks for the kind words! We've got a lot of plans to expand our "Live History" and "True Size" series this year which hopefully keeps things fresh
@@InvictaHistory Y'all make content I can watch with family when I visit. How ever long it takes I'm gonna stay on board and push for others to watch. I legit think you and others could team up and teach schools. I know I'd be a better student if this stuff was common back then. I only wish I could donate and help fund y'all instead of just waiting. History is Great and you guys make everyone interested in it. I could never ask for more then that really
I already heard about the Punic war from Oversimplified.
Damn until now i always thought Hannibal was inventive genious. But actually syracuse tyrant commander did 1st what Hannibal did to Romans later, that is invade hartland and turn allies into enemies.
Ancient navy seems to fight with waves more than enemies ☠️
This needs to be a computer game. Multiplayer.
Great Information Trust History We Need It Badly I Always wonder Did They Find Bones Artifacts Of Carthaginians Mixture Of Carthaginians That’s Awesome They Should Make Real Movie About This Two Nations an Battles Great Carthage My Heart Bleeds With Them
Chariots prove useless and obsolete once again. To be fair i read one account of a general of Mithradtes the Pontic king who used chariots to good effect a couple of hundred years after this battle but you would think more armies would have caught on that they just weren't worth it anymore.
Good video, however you omitted an important fact: The invasion of Carthaginian Africa was due to an act of desperation because after the defeat of Agathocles' army at the Himeras river in 311 BC Hamilcar moved not only his fleet to blockade Syracuse's harbour but also besieged the entire city with its 45.000 men army which ultimately lasted 2 years while the blockade lasted 4 years until 307 bc. The city was close to falling, thats why Agathocles took drastic meausures by performing a reversal operation since he reckoned that Africa must have had a small military presence at that point in time, thus he put all his chips on the table and it worked since they were caught off-guard. It ultimately prevented Syracuse's fall but his invasion in Aftica ended in defeat likewise leading to a deadlock.
thanks
I hadn't forgotten.
Carthage had to defend themselves, and many times successfully from two of antiquities juggernauts Greece and Rome. What a great country.
Uh not really the first time they were only successful because of a greek mercenary the second time well ...
That’s a good war and the Greeks always messing up the end of a war for some reason haha - great vid
Next Punic-Sicilian wars are with Pyrrhus of Epirus?
If Agathocles's son wasn't so bad of a commander the Roman Empire would have to beat the Greeks in the Punic wars
This is insane. To me these acts rival those of Alexander, Hannibal, Napoleon, etc. Although these were on a smaller scale. History could have been very different.
A few facts about Agathocles :
The ancient historians are particularly hostile to him, especially Timaeus, an important source about fourth century BCE Sicily. He had been exiled from Syracuse by Agathocles, his works about him are thus heavily biased. And if this wasn't enough, Agathocles' many campaigns in his later years (after the war with Carthage) attracted many, many Italian mercenaries in the island, which heavily destabilized Sicily, a fact which many historians never forgave him for.
The events in this video take place in the same time when the Diadochi vied for power in the East. A few years after the peace with Carthage, Ptolemy, Antigonos Monophtalmos, Lysimachos and the rest of the Successors would declare themselves kings, and Agathocles followed suit. He called himself _King in Sicily_ . He first married Theoxena, the step-daughter of Ptolemy, and then married his daughter Lanassa to Pyrrhos of Epirus. After a few month, he made her divorce her husband and remarried her to Demetrios Poliorcetes, who was by then King in Macedon.
He died despised by all, his family was exiled from Syracuse, and all memory of him was purged from the city, something the Romans would later call _Damnatio Memoriae_ .
History of Units of Athens, Infantry, Cavalry, Skirmishers, Navy, when?
I'm sure sooner or later those forces will collide again! I mean what else could happen? A force from central Italy to descend into Sicily and conquer both Carthage and Syracuse? Insanity!
Next chapter: Pyrrhus' of Epirus's (who was Agathocles''s son in law, since Pyrrhus was married to Lanassa, Agathocles's daughter) campaign in Sicily, against Carthage!
It's basically like you're banging on a guy's door and you see him jumping out a window and running away. Little by little you realize he's headed to your house lol
😂😂😂
Are you going to cover the 8th Sicilian war?
We were planning on wrapping it up here and releasing a compiled version of these 7 wars. The Pyrhhic war is definitely on our to-do list but would be its own thing
Wow
Just to make clear, the ancients didn’t use the term Africa the way we use it today. They didn’t know about continents and they didn’t have any knowledge about sub Sahara part of Africa. Sahara desert was called “ tera Incognita” - unknown land and Gibraltar the end of land
This his why we should not debunk history but learn from it a make sure it does not happen in the future, 😊😊
Can someone please explain to me how it was so easy for nations like these to take 40 000 men into battle while in the medieval times a 5000 army was considered huge
@Constantinos Kyriacou These different era's had wildly different circumstances leading to the difference you speak of.
Think of decentralisation; the idea of actual nation-states in europe as we would recognise them would not emerge untill much later. When those smaller kingdoms/duchies etc. Would centralise through war or marriage etc. throughout the years often, but not always, becoming the nations as we know them today. This decentralisation has many more consequences than you might think, f.e. even if a lord would manage to bring together a large host of soldiers, they have to eat. Romes logistics and ways of feeding their soldiers and indeed the empire, is legendary for a reason but they had several parts of the world w/ varying degrees of good farming soil on which they could draw on for food as well as men. This also explains how it becomes easier to 'bloat' numbers when you have a lot of land, as you can draw on all those lands which f.e. the romans did as well. There are more reasons than these obviously, but these came to mind quickly. Just imagine, during the days of Rome, a lot of the world was 'in the know'. A citizen of Rome could travel the Mediterranean from Israel to Spain and that's 'fine'. In the dark ages (which mainly speaks of the western world btw, the Arab, afrikan and asian worlds did not have this afaik) a peasant of some lord would probably never stray more than f.e. 50km from their house, not only that, they would not know of any large events anywhere else in europe, because they are not part of a big nation like entity, but are 'owned' by some lord in current day France. Then you have other events like major diseases etc. It's an accumulation of circumstances that lead to the whole situation after the fall of the western roman empire. Interesting times historically speaking
@@ocrates3235 thank you for this great reply, very well explained. Still it's mind-blowing how Syracuse and a few other allied cities in Sicily could master 40 000 men and for example Byzantium struggled to master 20000 even in the golden age of Basil
@@constantinoskyriacou3630 I agree. I always think it is mind boggling of how many information has been actually lost during the ages. The people in the classical times were already drawing of experience of many generations before them with relatively high advancements being passed through the generations one way or another. A lot of this knowledge of f.e. food cultivation was simply lost. The sad thing is, I'm skimping over so much information already without even explaining to a level of my own liking XD. I would recommend just going on youtube(=most user friendly I think) or Google and let yourself be sucked into an age you're interested in. You'll be entertained and educated. Nothing better :)
There were huge pandemics between these two eras (like Antonine and Justinian plagues). Populational recovery wasn't so fast before industrialization and modern science. Also the living standards had decayed as piracy became more frequent and long-distance trade became much more dangerous and risky. So there were less resources for sustaining native recruits or paying mercenaries.
In the classic age the temperature was more moderate and the Mediterranean was a healthier/wealthier place than the Western world of the early middle ages. For example Italy would only reach the same population that had during the classic age in the 1850s.
After you are done the sicilian wars are you gonna do the syrian wars
Most detail from that is Raphia
@@Liquidsback he can just compile multiple of them then
Carthage has to be one of the most fascinating ancient civilisations to me that I am salty at the Romans for pretty much geocoding them
Yea I'm a carthage fanboy myself. Tho I'm a fan of all the generals who took on rome
They weren't genocided, the city was destroyed and it's inhabitants enslaved, but punics in general weren't rounded up and killed, I really wish people would stop bastardizing the term