Episode 44 - The Mediterranean on Fire: Spain

The Layman's Historian

With Hannibal immersed in the mire of Italian geopolitics, the Second Punic War shifts to theaters overseas. Keenly aware of the strategic importance of maintaining pressure on Carthage’s outposts in Spain, the Scipio brothers – Gnaeus and Publius Cornelius – grappled with Hannibal’s younger brother, Hasdrubal Barca for years, chipping away at the Barcid power base. When both Scipio brothers perished within days of each other in 211 BC, Publius Cornelius Scipio the Younger volunteered to take their place as senior commander of the Spanish war. Barely in his mid-twenties, Scipio rapidly showed that he was a new type of Roman commander, one well-versed in the tactics of Hannibalic warfare….

Link to the Episode 44 page on the Layman's Historian website

Recommended further reading:

The Histories by Polybius

Hannibal's War by Titus Livius

A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos

Hannibal's Dynasty by Dexter Hoyos

Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles

Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers

Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers

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