The Battle of Cannae: Rome's greatest defeat

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The Battle of Cannae was the greatest victory by possibly the greatest ever general. Few engagements were ever so one-sided in result, and on a scale that staggers the imagination.
I made this while visiting Sweden for a wedding, and had to shoot it on my old little camera, and edit it away from the internet on my laptop, so it doesn't quite fit the usual Lindybeige house style. When I uploaded it, it took fourteen hours.
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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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[@asherchadwick7716]

50,000-70,000 Romans to 6,000 Carthaginians or what Total War would call a close victory

[@theprezydent6250]

Lmao

[@ambieofilms]

This is such an underrated comment. You deserve all of the likes!

[@tunnar79]

@michael wittmann A real shame they've let go of that mechanic in the following titles.

[@theprezydent6250]

michael wittmann when you disband then your population rises

[@blodiblodmann4267]

@@tunnar79 Try Divide et Impera mod, they even got recruitable population divided by class. No peasants to elite troops.

[@qvohoAozhoq]

Does he just walk through his house, stop at a random spot and say, “damn I need to deliver a full lecture, RIGHT NOW”

[@Nathan-yk5km]

Evan Klemmt the reason for this is actually because Lloyd is electric, and lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.

[@Warmaka]

Yes. It's the curse of the Beige.

[@js9785]

This isn't even his house. It was filmed on a cctv camera in someone's garden shed in Norwich. They only checked because the neighbour heard talking next door while they were out and told them when they got home.

[@sweettartz1985]

Tbh I thought the same thing...I’m like was he just cleaning his attic or something?

[@kmc7355]

@@js9785 Brilliant, belated 🤣 for you

[@eugeniobonello418]

My boy loyd is literally in the middle of doing his laundry and decides to speak for over an hour on the battle of cannae complete with names and dates. Bless you mr beige

[@raskolnikov7049]

Standing, might i add

[@Quicksilver_Cookie]

We've all been there.

[@bugzyhardrada3168]

Yeah pretty much, laundry brings this out in proper men........especially the english.......or so i hear

[@naguibzidan8991]

Lol!!

[@anthonymiozza526]

hahahahahahahahahahaha

[@thitherword]

A reminder that most KZbinrs can't speak for 5 seconds without doing a jump cut.

[@beardedbjorn5520]

I find jump cuts so freakin annoying!!

[@adlay4181]

@@beardedbjorn5520 I find talking for 1 hour 16 minutes and 57 seconds rather annoying

[@beardedbjorn5520]

@@adlay4181 each to their own. I normally do as well. But not when it's Lloyd

[@brandonwestfall3241]

I defense of those other youtubers, some of those jump cuts are probably because they went off on a tangent lol Lindy's just used to rolling with the tangents

[@thossi09]

@@brandonwestfall3241 More importantly, his audience is used to and (often) appreciates these tangents. But I think, more often than not, these jump cuts are for stylistic effect.

[@obliviousicarus]

The question Hannibal had wasn't "Should I?", it was "Cannae?"

[@MarioAtheonio]

"No, you cannae."

[@CraftQueenJr]

WhatWhere this is better.

[@Fives_2011]

Hahahaha good one

[@RoboBoddicker]

: Hey, Hannibal, can you encircle a larger army with a smaller one? : CANNAE??

[@tonyngc]

And he loved it when a plan came together...

[@ku9305]

You put this guy in front of a terrible camera with mediocre audio and he still manages to entertain you for 76 minutes straight.

[@urduib]

Indeed 🎶🍻🍸 😂

[@ashliams8269]

His video and audio quality are always 5 - 10 years behind even when he upgrades haha. Look at his original videos and how bad the quality was compared to other videos of that era of KZbin. He truly is an amazing orator and story teller. I could watch Lindy through a 1960's black and white T.V.!

[@CasualInventor]

Hmm, it say's "1080p". Perhaps the P stands for potato. :)

[@stevenm8970]

We need to club together to buy him a rode mic or something, they are not even that expensive lol

[@itcheebeard]

76 unedited minutes! There's literally no other youtuber doing it like Lloyd!

[@AdamBechtol]

"Steady lads, steady lads" - Possibly Hannibal.

[@timlasko4685]

I just want a steady lads tshirt lmao

[@jackspence6061]

T shirt with Sharpe on perhaps?

[@lhaviland8602]

Don't think he would've been speaking modern English for starters lol.

[@stopspammingmesrsly]

Varo: "if only I'd said steady more times 🤦"

[@nothankyouYouTube420]

This is perhaps my favorite instance of someone leaving a quote comment

[@dgetzin]

2:30 For crossing the alps, those large mammals really were irrelephant.

[@dwightmagnuson4298]

NICE...

[@HELLO-iq5rb]

😂

[@evilestmonkeey]

Not sure if I love you or hate you...well done

[@jebberjeb]

Very good

[@Clavers1369]

Ohh, tusk tusk!

[@asdfasdf-dd9lk]

Thank you Lindybeige, for affirming that Cannae was a decisive British victory.

[@Lolzonator]

Really makes you think, huh

[@RitsuCurisu]

Many scholars agree that Rome's greatest mistake and the cause for their downfall was throwing all that tea into Boston's water. Which is such a rookie mistake. I keep having to tell my friends that you have to use _boiled water_ , not _sea water_ . Sheesh!

[@wobblysauce]

Can always use more salt.

[@fulkthered]

Yeah but if the Americans hadn't entered the war the Germans may have won.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

The Nazis didn’t stand a chance in the 1745 Jacobite Rising.

[@CykoruKun]

"They had to make sure the sack didn't burst prematurely" 4 of every 5 ancient armies suffer from premature sack burstage

[@sweettartz1985]

I would like to say as a 35 year old adult I didn’t snicker when I heard this but if I did I would be lying and lying is bad unless you’re in politics or religion lol

[@borismuller86]

Well penetration will do that.

[@Warmaka]

Only you can prevent burst sacks.

[@christosvoskresye]

Paulus: "Cut off his army, let it wither and die. Great plan!" Paulus, 2000+ years later: "Damn the irony!"

[@prince-solomon]

Yeah, but the Germans have lost "only" about 0.3125 % of their population at Stalingrad (over several months). With the loss percentage of Cannae they would´ve lost 1.700.000 troops in one day. Damn, Cannae was a disaster!

[@xxfrosty609xx3]

@@prince-solomon what about Stalingrad and Prokorovka?

[@csquaredgaming]

Apauling!

[@esmcl]

I’m in my 60th year, rarely have I found such engaging and informative talks... wish I’d had teachers like this. Might have done something more interesting with my life. Lol

[@ManiacallyQuiet]

Finding such an interest in the various topics of an ancient history that majority of people would find boring or highly unentertainming is to me an achievement by itself. Following the news of some celebrity and where and what they ate for dinner, now that's a useless thing to waste time on.

[@andrewchapman2039]

"They've got a pair of trousers on, because they're barbarians" Come to think of it, we've never seen Lloyd below the belt on this style of video...

[@Pfsif]

Ah, you need to watch the "Lindyhop". You haven't lived my friend, stay thirsty.

[@lifeschool]

When I think of Barbarians I might think of Conan or He-man, neither of those wore trousers - which I think came from the East?? Perhaps they wore loin cloths, and seemed naked?

[@vaclav_fejt]

Lloyd is a barbarian too. He doesn't speak latin.

[@Hugh_Morris]

He’s a Saxon barbarian

[@NorrisHistoryCorner]

I like to think he wears a kilt that matches whichever jumper he's got on...

[@squiddle5193]

Why do I need "The Great Courses Plus" if I can have over an hour of unfiltered Lindyness.

[@murmurrrr]

As without The great courses plus you wouldn't have Lindyness

[@hasdrubal121]

I had to give a 7 minute talk in college 15 years ago on a subject of our choice. Some chose a sports hero, some fitness and I chose the battle of Cannae. I used a flip chart and different coloured shapes to illustrate the battle and went on for an embarrassing 14 minutes. When the assessor mentioned it she said I was so into it and really getting it across that she let me go on. Hannibal is my favourite historical figure. Thanks, Jennifer this.

[@mariebcfhs9491]

"Even if this Hannibal guy does some clever ambushing and stuffs he won't be able to win the battle because we would just overwhelm him" Soviet Rome

[@katatonikbliss]

send wave after wave until they run out of ammo and retreat, never fails

[@wyattbequette3596]

@@katatonikbliss I know this is a meme but the idea that the Soviet’s were just a neat shield is rlly stupid Edit: meat

[@katatonikbliss]

​@@wyattbequette3596 dumb as in people who believe that are dumb, or dumb as in the sadistic soviet generals that led over 10 million russian soldiers to their deaths were dumb? have to disagree either way, i don't believe it was (entirely) a matter of incompetence, way more likely that it was intentional

[@randomness8819]

Soviet rome. You mean the US grandad maybe you havent been watching the news in the past few decades?

[@myfaceismyshield5963]

Pretty much every large empire attacking a smaller state has done this... a mass of troops thrown at the enemy with barely any strategy, that should do it. But it rarely actually works out xD

[@devvynully]

If only there was a graphic novel I could read about this.

[@basicallyhell4150]

10 years in the making like his armor

[@knightshousegames]

At this point it's "The Search for The Search for Hannibal"

[@ChristianAuditore14]

It actually takes a long time to draw things like that

[@lastword8783]

I don't know about graphic novel, but I read this novel and it was good www.goodreads.com/book/show/741882.Pride_of_Carthage

[@Sean-ne3gx]

@@lastword8783 If the OP doesn't appreciate the book, I do, thanks, but the original comment was a joke, Lloyd, the guy in the video is currently making a graphic novel called "In search of Hannibal" he's the writer/history guy and he has an artist helping. They have a funded kickstarter project if you wanna check it out, it was anticipated in 2017, but they're still making updates for their backers.

[@benikenbenniken760]

Ah yes, the peek-a-boo of Cannae. Where's the Hannibal? THERE HE IS!

[@Larsanator]

The genius of Hannibal was in the way he played the two Consuls. Hannibal knew how the Roman Army operated when two Consuls were in the field. Each took a turn commanding the army on a daily basis. One Consul was brash, the other cautious. Hannibal simply led the Romans to his battlefield then sieged their camps, harassing the Romans, never engaging outright, until Hannibal chose to. When he did he simply waited for a day when the brash Consul was in charge and goaded the Romans into battle. They died.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

It goes far beyond any one 'simply'. Hannibal was too smart to rest on any one trick. Hannibal carefully chose every aspect of the battle, so that his men fought on a full night of sleep and plenty of food for a few days before, where his enemy were attacked in their lowest energy state. He attacked in a place that was slightly downhill, so his men were fresh and the enemy was always working harder to keep fighting. He attacked with the sun more or less behind him, so that his soldiers had clear vision and for a period of the battle the sun was in the Roman's eyes. There's almost a dozen small but relevant ways Hannibal stacked the deck so that Cannae gave his own soldiers every possible advantage and his enemy every available detriment. Attacking on a day Paullus was in command was not why he won; he would likely have won eventually. But luring out Paullus instead meant that Hannibal had a much greater ability to choose the time and place and manner of the fight, and he exploited the absolute hell out of that ability. Understanding Cannae really helps you to understand why being able to choose the time and place of a battle is so useful for the great general, but relatively unhelpful for the mediocre.

[@benikenbenniken760]

@@UnreasonableOpinions I find this opinion too unreasonable. :)

[@eddgrs9193]

Oh, man, it would be great if HBO would make a TV series about this. If they only had some source material, like a graphic novel, or something...

[@Jessie_Helms]

2.1%... Imagine America losing 6-ish million people in a day. For context, that’s around 5 times the number of people actually in the armed forces.

[@cquiroz7874]

Probably they'd be less willing to invade yet another poor country.

[@thegrayyernaut]

@No More Wars For Israel If the U.S. suddenly explodes one day, Canada and Mexico will have to deal with massive waves of refugees. It's not their fault that they have nowhere left to go. Desperation brings out the worst in people.

[@merptin200]

@No More Wars For Israel No, but its socioeconomic status is quite bleak. It’s not unfeasible for people to want to seek a better life. In regards to your previous comment, you should understand in some cases of refugee crises, the United States has had a direct hand in influencing the events that have led to a refugee crisis in the first place. Everything requires context.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

In a time when women were virtually pregnant their entire healthy lives........it was probably quite handy to eliminate a lot of needy mouths from time to time. It frees up jobs, food supplies and if they survive they come back wealthy. Win win for the head of family if you want to look at it this way. Let's not forget there were always a lot of poor people looking for their slice of the pie much like today. In all but the most dire circumstances volunteers were probably abundant. Money, food, women, exotic places. Sure you might die but it's more likely you'd die young and poor than young and in the military.

[@Jessie_Helms]

@@MrBottlecapBill I mean I guess that’s tangentially relevant... I’m just trying to contextualize the death toll. No, losing 2.1% of your entire population, entirely comprised of your able bodied, fighting aged men, would NOT benefit your nation at all, it would severely damage it.

[@ChristianNelsonn]

Last night I've had dreams full of ancient Greeks and Romans and people battling in Cannae. When I woke up, I realized I fell asleep with the PC on and YT algorithms brought me to Lindybeige, going through his videos one after another. I now realized I've unlocked a superpower. I can dream about anything I want as long as Lindybeige is narrating them! Possibilities are literally limitless! :D

[@yankilla2707]

If history teaches us anything, it's to never send a guy called Paullus into battle, they always get surrounded. Paullus at Cannae and Paulus at Stalingrad.

[@JesusFriedChrist]

Astute observation.

[@richarddalton5857]

Interesting observation.

[@futfutfut]

Andrew Jones I was looking for a comment like this! ;)

[@evanator166]

Likewise never hang around a man named Dyatlov. You have the Dyatlov Pass incident and then the man responsible for disregarding safety protocol and melting down one of the Chernobyl reactors was also named Dyatlov.

[@yankilla2707]

@@evanator166 But I thought he was in the toilet both times?

[@oslonorway547]

I've watched every top history channel on KZbin cover this battle, but you know _Lindy Beige's_ version is gonna be so embellished with humorous dialogue, it's a must watch all over. 😁

[@qaiser648]

Oslo MGTOW Did you see Historia Civilis’s video on itv

[@ogzombieblunt4626]

Long live Lord Commander Chronic

[@QlueDuPlessis]

I don't even like History. But this is Lindybeige! Nikolas could make Accountancy exciting...

[@threeletteragent]

@erberen shamu You're missing the point if you complain about the farcical asides. People watch Lindybeige over other channels precisely for the history-themed comedy, if you want a matter-of-fact presentation of history, just watch another channel.

[@wobblysauce]

Lindy makes it so relatable.

[@eugenebebs7767]

Romans: Our army is so huge, Hannibal simply can't defeat us! Hannibal: Cannae?

[@almosteducational3729]

I hate you so much 😂😂😂

[@juergenlohse6902]

Can't help; listen to Lindy's history-lesson, i'm instantly into the life of Brian.

[@godsgranddad]

In all their wisdom. The Romans never thought to ask the Scottish if they could win. "can we win this fight Scotland?" "No, you Cannae"

[@joedwyer3297]

*naw, yeh cannae. Top class comment but

[@Meevious]

Well, when it came to consulting the oracles, the augurs, haruspices, knuckle bones, tea leaves and nations of the future, according to Polybius, Varro didn't think they were in enough of a rush, so he just asked Russia. This was around the middle of summer, so Russia was no longer White and the Roman messengers found not an empire, but a union of Soviet socialist republics, which gave them some ideas, but more on that later. The Soviets said "Cannae, da!" (because in Soviet Russia Hannibal lose to you!), so the messengers turned about face and sailed for Canada. When they heard "You can!... Eh!", they mistook it for a most favourable portent in the Canadian tongue... when in fact, they had been intercepted and ambushed en route by dour old Scotland. That's why they later built that wall... Hadrian knew that Rome couldn't withstand another Cannae. Edit: Oops, I forgot to tell you about how Varro originally came up with the idea of placing vālla on the westernmost līmitēs to control unfriendly barbarians! Something he gleaned from an envoy, perhaps.

[@scockery]

"You're Barca up the wrong tree, lads."

[@twatmang1]

There’s a pun about trying to play football in Scotland but you cannae because ya Hannibal... I’ll get my coat

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Stop, you're _kilt-ing_ me! 😊😊😊

[@owenthomas2520]

Have you ever considered putting these podcast style videos on iTunes/Spotify ? You’d rake it in mate, you deserve it

[@theblancmange1265]

And not see his modified shirt, sweater, beard...

[@EvanKarmis]

The Blancmange Blasphemous, the visual is necessary

[@MrHendrix17]

Can't watch for scholars cradles in audio form

[@What2Have4Dinner]

Check out Mike Duncan's "The history of Rome" podcast. cant recommend it enough.

[@asgrahim9164]

"Varro! Give me back my legions!" -Fabius, probably

[@CosyMatt]

I’m so fucking happy, I remember subscribing to Lindy maybe 3-4 years ago when he had maybe 10k subs and kinda lost him didn’t watch him for a while and now he’s got 1.2 Mil. I’m so fucking proud of you my man. Congrats!

[@TheQuentinExperiment]

I would love to see lindybeige play/critique the campaigns in all the historical Total War games!

[@ToastersChannel]

This!

[@lordgortash]

That, or HOI4. He'd be the best

[@ilejovcevski79]

Eh, even though i love them, the Total War games don't come close to portraying ancient or medieval warfare in any authentic way. I would rather work with Lindy or listen to his ideas on making a good PC/video war game. Something that would be as detailed and immersive as the war games of old, the ones played on boards.

[@Bretonic]

This? kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHTJopyYnJWZmLs

[@TheQuentinExperiment]

@@ilejovcevski79 I agree with this, I just think we would hear fascinating strategy/wargaming rants as he discovered each historical error😂

[@benthiccbiomancer2760]

To my understanding the Carthaginian 'pikemen' mentioned in Polybius are probably the result of a mis-translation. The original Greek term used (λογχοφόρους) refers to wielders of the lónkhē, which could be translated to lance or (more likely) javelin. So essentially Hannibal sent a force of light-infantry (both these Javelin-men and also singers who are mentioned accompanying the "pikemen" throughout the text) across the river to screen the rest of his forces as they crossed the river.

[@tulliusexmisc2191]

That sounds very harmonious. Or perhaps you meant slingers.

[@blaineedwards8078]

"Singers?" Did they serenade the enemy with Dolly Parton hits?

[@kristofevarsson6903]

@@blaineedwards8078 Gloria Gaynor. They imagined they would survive, after all.

[@robertbruce7686]

Hehe send in the "singers"...

[@razor1uk610]

@@robertbruce7686 ..still better than clowns or [shudders] ...mimes.

[@daladams]

Holy history, does he literally give entire lectures that are practically perfectly accurate, passionate and informative without any edits and cuts? I know amazing university professors exist but it’s lovely to see on KZbin. The fact that a hilarious academic like Beige is out here making free content for us is truly remarkable. What a wonderfully creative dude.

[@metzyahrosenstein4827]

I like to imagine just one dude goes down and starts looting all the silver left on the ground "Hannibal should we spring the trap?" For just one guy? Nah, he looks so happy.

[@widgren87]

First thought when seeing the notification of this video: This is going to be a long one. When seeing the length of the video: Not as long as I thought. Would have loved to have had Lloyd as a History teacher back in school :-)

[@Chris-rs6ic]

I had a history teacher similar to him. Trouble is they don't play the game and get marginalised by all the teachers who don't necessarily know much but know how to socialise and work the system.

[@widgren87]

@@Chris-rs6ic Which is a damn shame... Rather a passionate teacher who cares for the subject than one merely reciting others, oh well.

[@oranmacphersonraffell8966]

"We outnumber them 2 to 1, how can we possibly lose?" A direct quote from: The Persians at Marathon Darius III at Gaugamela. The Romans at Cannae. Vercingetorix at Alesia. Edward I at Stirling Bridge. Edward II at Bannockburn. Herman Goering in the Battle of Britain

[@jaegergames7042]

You forgot: Every Russian invading Finland.

[@NorrisHistoryCorner]

Zulus at Rorkes Drift?

[@seanhall8686]

And the Duke of Brunswick at Auerstadt

[@gullybull5568]

oh you think so ?

[@gullybull5568]

VIMY RIDGE Canada vs Germany (h) Brits French Algerian etc ALL FAILED to WIN but NOT Canada Under GENERAL Aurther Currie. 8 hours later and 3 months training under 1 COMMAND :: Canadian command alone. OUR FINEST hour -- is EVERY HOUR when you FIGHT alongside CANADIANS. Canada Leads the Way.

[@fgialcgorge7392]

I absolutely love these talks. It makes it so enjoyable hearing real passion for history. Actually telling the real story, not what's just been written down. Fantastic stuff. Thank you for this, especially in such raw form. Couldn't have been any better.

[@jimmyford4509]

I think that its just such a shame that Lindybeige is not comfortable speaking on camera. Really though I find it remarkable that the man can lecture for over an hour, without a cut in the process that was not caused by a drained battery. Simply amazing and oh so entertaining. Cannot believe that he held my attention for that long, and he did it completely out of his head, with no cuts, pauses or having to refer to his research notes. I only wish that I could have a teacher or prof. this talented when I was in school and university.

[@MrEvanfriend]

Is Silius Italius related to Silius Soddus? Are they friends with Biggus Dickus?

[@Isildun9]

Close friend of Naughtius Maximus?

[@innocentbystander6620]

He has a wife you know......

[@natmorse-noland9133]

Husband of Incontinentia Buttocks.

[@CAP198462]

Throw him to the floor, sir?

[@mikedrop4421]

@@Isildun9 it's Gluteious Maximus

[@yuslaven89]

It looks like name Paulus isn't very lucky for commanders throughout history.

[@lhaviland8602]

Oof.

[@TheEvilbunny150]

“No German Field Marshall has ever been taking prisoner alive”

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

Paulus is latin for "small, humble"... for some reason.

[@freestylefighter13]

poor paulus

[@necroturky]

I see what you did there......Nice one.

[@Tommy-zk4sz]

I love history and subjects like this but would struggle to listen to anyone but lindy for this long without animations and pictures, wish you were my teacher at school great story teller. Makes it come to life. Only just found you few days ago, havent stopped listening since.

[@igorvuk4454]

24:15 Lindy refuses to digress... WHO IS THIS IMPOSTOR AND WHAT HAS HE DONE TO OUR LINDY!¨?

[@nathangerardhernandez9576]

@Ruski Civciv amogus

[@brokenpotato438]

@@nathangerardhernandez9576 amog

[@ArtoriusRex]

i've literally just finished viewing your video on Zama because i felt the lack of my daily dose of Punic Wars and then this comes up, christmas is early.

[@Strategiusz]

Yesterday I watched Zama, Trebia, Trasimene.

[@basicallyhell4150]

YeeHaw

[@SafetyProMalta]

I'm still amazed that Rome could sustain that attrition rate and still win the war. Especially considering these were citizen legions.

[@infidelheretic923]

Stephen Forster Democratic nations fight harder.

[@GrrrIamMad]

It had nothing to do with democracy or citizen legions. I recall reading in a few different books that the estimated manpower available to the Romans at the end of the Second Punic War was around 700,000. Italy was an incredibly fertile land with lots of cities which meant they almost never had problems with manpower.

[@kint87]

@@GrrrIamMad yup totally I study this in my history degree and its about manpower avalaible, Rome is set in a pretty fertile region, especially lands that had been taken over the samnites and the south italy. This and their allied network, so they get plenty of food, and Rome and the surrounding area was a network of populated cities where you can levy legions after legions every year In the end that what save the day for Rome

[@theonlylauri]

@@GrrrIamMad Potentially available manpower and being able to effectively mobilize it are two different things, though. North Africa and Egypt would later be the breadbaskets of Empire, but all that incredible fertility didn't allow Carthaginians or Ptolemies to match the quantity of Roman legions. The Republic's ethos of citizen service and the exceptional stability of its ally network probably had a lot to do with them being able to exploit their manpower base in a way that most states couldn't. But it's not about democracy. The closest modern equivalent to Second Punic War is probably USSR in WW2, and they were as far from democratic as one can get.

[@couchpotatoe91]

@@infidelheretic923 The Republic of Rome was actually a mix of the three forms of government: Dictatorship (consuls and actual 'dictators' voted by the senate for 1 year), aristocracy (patricians held most of the important offices) and democracy (e.g. people's tribune). You can read about it in Cicero's "de res publica". In short he saw how all three government types could turn bad, namely into a tyranny, an oligarchy and popularism. This mixed form was supposed to be invulnerable to all these perversities because it kept itself in check, at least that's what the SPQR believed until its downfall.

[@parkerflorence5332]

I love how you talk about battles in a realistic way. I’m so sick of Hollywood depicting suicidal people going to battle. People wanted to live and most casualties happened at the end of the battle during the rout.

[@tylernunez2116]

Romans: We have the Gods on our side nothing can defeat us! Mars and Minerva: Imma head out

[@xaph5575]

Bellona?

[@alphamega4503]

If my memory is correct, Minerva the Roman version of Athena, but without the war part to distance themselves from/demean the Greek. So instead they had Bellona (as stated by @Leader of Anti-Bennism)

[@rafaelpascoaliczerniej297]

I'm convinced Lloyd owns the great courses plus

[@therocketboost]

Running every course with a different wig.

[@hangriat9376]

Rick Boost I wish. I miss the scholars cradle breakdowns

[@artyshan5944]

Lindybeige - makes over an hour long video with one cut due to camera battery dying. Enough said.

[@tolvajkergetok]

Here's a topic suggestion for your next video: Taxes in the Middle Ages. How were they paid, to whom, and what was it actually, and is it true that medieval people paid waaay less taxes than modern, "liberated" people.

[@litkeys3497]

Rent vs taxes tho

[@Azaghal1988]

They pays less taxes, but stuff like policing, firefighters road maintenance, schools etc. Would need to be paid for as well. So in the end modern people are better off, even with paying proportionally higher "taxes". And we don't need to do forced labour on our overlords castle. That's a bonus too.

[@hangriat9376]

You had to have your tally stick

[@zach7482]

When you unironically think higher taxes = less freedom. I happen to quite like the concept of schools, firefighters, and roads. And I like that I have the freedom to use them whenever I need to without having to pay for the permission(except for school after high school)

[@tolvajkergetok]

@@zach7482 I did not offer a debate, it was a topic suggestion.

[@cameronshapiro700]

“All in one take” modestly describes these awesome lectures

[@rasnac]

Lloyd, is that you? I almost could not recognize you without the usual fancy photography, souvenir shop tile discs from Turkey, and a giant pencil in the background.

[@cinatiropel]

*"They had to make sure that that sack didn't burst, certainly didn't burst prematurely"* Oh, Lindy!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

MEN gonna MEN...😊

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

The role of Viriathus in this tale seems very similar to that of Rollo as a contemporary of Ragnar in the recent Vikings series. Fantastically well done, you seem born for this.

[@pinkbunny6272]

I've had a weird day, some valves blew up inside a bus I was walking 200 meters from and got a bloody headache. This video will be an amazing gift.

[@zacchambers2418]

I love this style of video. No fancy cuts, no distracting graphics, just a guy talking apparently from memory about a battle for an hour.

[@theblancmange1265]

Without jumpcuts.

[@Filipnalepa]

*with the first jumpcut so far

[@zacchambers2418]

@@Filipnalepa wasn't that just a camera glitch? Or am I not thinking of the same thing?

[@Filipnalepa]

@@zacchambers2418 His camera run out of battery so he had to make a jumpcut.

[@zacchambers2418]

@@Filipnalepa ah ok. I just hadn't gotten to that point yet

[@duchi882]

*Romans:* We outnumber them! On a field with no obstructions we will win! *Hannibal:* _Are you sure about that?_

[@blankname2026]

Duchi lol they forget to get better and more cavalry. Doesn’t matter how many infantry you have on a flat field if your cavalry can’t hold the flanks(unless youre Caesar but that’s a completely different case).

[@scockery]

How did John Cena appear at so many famous battle?

[@Standenanian]

_Why contain it?_

[@ZacharyReaper]

"Every household knew someone who'd died" Damn.. that's just hit me in whole another level 1:16:08

[@squashiejoshie200000]

Considering what you were saying about Hannibal's strategy, his personal positioning at the center of the line, and his placement of troops, his secondary plan may simply have been to disengage and continue to harry the romans with his cavalry and skirmishers. Consider the battle, lines spread across almost 2 miles, and impossible to properly command your men except for limited simple trumpet signals relayed by trumpeters in the line. A 2 stage plan, first you engage the Roman line with the Gaelic-Spaniard convex formation, then perform your first signal. The Gauls and Spanish turn and run. Then you stand in the center with your second in command and your trumpeter and watch the Romans. The Romans surging forward to fill the gap is the trigger to signal the trap and have your flanks begin the encirclement. Otherwise, if the Romans simply advance slowly and cautiously, continuing their full engagement on the flanks without pouring into the gap, you signal that the trap has failed. All the sub unit commanders must now disengage and let the cavalry harass the Romans while the infantry pull away. As someone who once was a runner in a war re-enactment, I can confirm that a general could have control of an army 2km across, but he would need at least 20 runners to do it. I ran more on that day than any other day in my life, across a field and back constantly for over 2 hours. At the end of it, I literally collapsed. Anyway, the point is, that strategy works and works well. Encircling a pocket of infantry is an excellent way to panic them. Especially if they believed they had an advantage. I feel certain that Hannibal had a maximum of 2 backup plans. The first to simply run. The second would be to pull the Roman army apart like Napoleon, defeating portions of it time after time until the whole thing had been beaten. I believe this because a general was with each of his cavalry corps. A trusted man was with his cavalry to determine targets and strike at opportunities. A Numidian force running from a Roman Century may hear a trumpet signal and turn to engage the pursuing force as a cavalry charge hits them, then be free to attack similar forces. Lightly dressed infantry, without heavy Roman armor would be able to keep that up for significantly longer than the Romans, and move significantly faster, allowing the cavalry to move between targets and engage them. The Roman generals would be unable to regain effective command over their infantry and would be forced to attempt to signal a retreat. The 3 plans could be implemented with only 4 or 5 different trumpet signals. 1 for the initial retreat, 1 that the trap has worked and the anchor units should encircle the Roman core, 1 that the trap has failed and that the army should disengage, and a final signal that the romans are pursuing individual units and a defeat in detail would now be possible, with the potential for a final signal that the whole army must disengage completely.

[@rhysnichols8608]

Insightful comment,

[@annaniskanen2557]

Over an hour of Lindybeige talking about Roman history? Is this Christmas?!

[@sincitycapital]

Yes

[@dwightmagnuson4298]

Switch channels and you'll find 2 hrs about panzer tanks..

[@Alamyst2011]

First day I have been out early in 10 years. Wife is at work till 6. 4 hours to listen to Lindy videos and the timing on this video is perfect.

[@Longtack55]

At 17:40 "Drat it - rumbled!" and the 99.99 of the world scratch their heads. I enjoyed every second of your animated and "living" narrative.

[@yorickpostema2378]

Man if you were my history teacher when I was younger, I would be an historian. You sir can tell a story!

[@Kriegter]

Sir, we just lost 20% of our male population Publius Cornelius Scipio africanus: lol only 20%? Ha INVADES SPAIN AND CARTHAGE

[@juvenalredivius1077]

Sir we've lost over one hundred thousand men Scipio: yeah including my pappy invades spain and carthage.

[@64standardtrickyness]

Vae victis

[@jackosborne6707]

Inferuz And my axe!

[@tommyscott8511]

There can be no victory without sacrifice

[@Zargabaath]

I love your long -rambles- videos about military tactics, battles and such.

[@Strawberry92fs]

Just looked at the page and realized I've somehow managed to miss a good number of videos from Lindybeige. So it looks like I have something new to binge!

[@willemruysen2494]

could you make a video about the usage of war dogs/hounds? Very interested to hear your thoughts on them!!

[@johnlake3698]

"oh and btw did you know im writing a book in search for hannibal" was expecting you to say that

[@kod8933]

Last time I was this early Carthaginian nuts and legumes were always unsalted.

[@ottovonbismarck7646]

*laughs in Roman*

[@edgarbanuelos6472]

Last time I was this early Alexandria was still there.

[@ottovonbismarck7646]

@@edgarbanuelos6472 which one?

[@edgarbanuelos6472]

@@ottovonbismarck7646 pick one.

[@ottovonbismarck7646]

@@edgarbanuelos6472 how about the one still standing in Egypt?

[@armwrestlingsecrets170]

I LOVE YOUR WORK LLOYD!! - This is easily one of my favorite KZbin channels. Sometimes I just plug in my headphones and listen to the lectures. I always find myself interested, informed and highly entertained. LOVE IT!!

[@tasnimulsarwar9189]

I loved each and every minute of this. I can listen to Lindy talking about Rome and ancient warfare for hours. Thank so much for this.

[@Jonathan-tz7ss]

just got home at 10pm from a 12 hour shift, got myself a chinese and I open my computer to this 1 hour 16 minute and 57 second GEM. Ta.

[@rocco9851]

1 hour and 16 minutes of lindybeige. This is a gift.

[@simonrisley2177]

A real tour de force, speaking to camera non-stop for over an hour. And very well done. (I must say, I love it all being done from Lloyd's garden shed with a lash-up lighting rig -- and boxes, a hamper and a dolls cot all piled up in the background!)

[@mambojambo4870]

So much chaotic energy, I love it!!! Never stop being who yourself, sir!

[@75RWM]

Proconsuls: How can we POSSIBLY lose here? Centurion Baldrick: I have a cunning plan. Hannibal: Goody, here they come.

[@The_Flamekeepers]

*Consuls

[@75RWM]

@@The_Flamekeepers Picky, picky, picky, so my Latin spelling is a little rusty. Did you even get "The Black Adder" reference?

[@The_Flamekeepers]

Rick W haha ;)

[@Longtack55]

@@75RWM We ALL did so don't fret.

[@AhumadaMauricio]

76 minutes of him talking. Ah shit, here we go again.

[@owenevely5781]

Mauricio Ahumada 77 minutes**

[@ZechsMerquise73]

Is this one take?

[@AhumadaMauricio]

@@ZechsMerquise73 yep... It's usually (always?) One take

[@andrewmayo9400]

just like the simulations

[@laszlokertesz9360]

@@ZechsMerquise73 Probably 2, he said the camera battery died...

[@kahleeb624]

I absolutely love these longer videos simply for the rants and tangets. The shorter videos are great dont get me wrong, but the rants and trailing off into these side stories is just absolutely wonderful! 👍

[@relwoodmusic3630]

This is awesome. I've always respected your one-take videos. I've seen people that can't make a 3-minute video without a cut every 6 seconds.

[@majunior4623]

Ah yes, my daily dose of Lindybeige

[@Alaryk111]

Over 1 hour is a daily dose O_o

[@asmallphd9648]

@@Alaryk111 yes

[@benalias5766]

A Lindybeige a day keeps boring social history away.

[@drewinsur7321]

@@Alaryk111 tis only half a beige time

[@brodieknight772]

Yes. Your daily, bi-monthly dose.

[@Kumimono]

Any battle without elephants is irrelephant. I'm actually wondering, with such a varied army, on both sides, how did they communicate? Just pointing and shoving?

[@anthony4048]

I know battle drums, horns and other musical instruments have been used to relay orders in battle, but I don't know about this specific one

[@benalias5766]

For the elephant units they actually used inter-exchange telephony... . . . Trunk lines.

[@MrEvanfriend]

Usually with various musical instruments - trumpets and drums and whatnot. There are previously agreed upon tunes that mean previously agreed upon things.

[@ottovonbismarck7646]

@@benalias5766 get out.

[@CharlesFreck]

They were all in their own units, so they could communicate with themselves fine, and there's no good trying to talk to other units in the midst of a battle, even if they speak your language it's going to be a very ineffecient method. Musical instruments, drums, flags would mostly be used, and runners that spoke both languages would be able to be sent between commanders for more specific orders if it was needed.

[@Nithhoggr]

I truly liked this video, your clear passion makes these long form videos more like a podcast I can listen to while working. I'm an IT tech and love it.

[@willynaylor7356]

This channel is a gold mine. I drive 12 hours a day for work and have been listening to you most of the week. fantastic work.

[@dorkmax7073]

Romans: Hey we're advancing Hannibal: I am about to ruin this man's whole career

[@TheSecondVersion]

"You fool, you fell for one of the classic blunders!"

[@dupeesfashionconsultant4204]

Absolutely the best youtube channel there is...and it's not even a close second. Keep it up I love it!!

[@Krommer1000]

It'd be amazing if someone would make a graphic novel about this. I seem to remember backing one a LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGG time ago.

[@callofthewillman4469]

How is that coming along 🍾🍾🍾🧦🥃🥃🍺🍾🥃💣🇬🇧

[@MarkoMikulicic]

@Lindybeige friendly ping

[@BooBarr]

"If you want to be metric about it..." Oh, I do.

[@michaelsommers2356]

@Jim lastname I've always been fond of the Kerr metric.

[@flightrisk23]

My god Lindy, perfect timing on this video. I have been reading and watching videos about the Battle of Cannae for about 2 weeks now as part of one of my classes so this is just the topping on a wonderful history cake for me.

[@TimL1980]

Precis! Jag har också sett nagra filmer i mitt youtube feed! (Men jag far inte gar till skolan :-)

[@eddiehoney7166]

Svenska I do believe it’d be a red velvet cake in this instance

[@hihu7200]

Roman history is very interesting stuff.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

any videos to recommend?

[@lk1590]

I remember learning about this battle in third grade and having to sit an exam on it...being Italian, Roman history was big part of the curriculum. But with this video you’ve really brought it to life. Loved it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@dylanbutler698]

Yay! I asked for this a while back. I'm so glad you uploaded

[@admiralmacbar]

Hannibal was actually Scottish. In a speech to his men to boost morale, he famously said: "We Cannae lose!"

[@mowhar]

I just love how Lindybeige manages to teach me about stuff while openly stating that he does not actually know hardly anything, whie others that claim that they for certain know absolutely everything fails to teach me anything, or even keep my interest up. History teaching at its finest!

[@telemnarnumenorean8557]

That's the archaeology degree..... in archeology you know only that you know nothing for sure and you repeat it constantly

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

Thats why I keep coming back. Not many historians openly admit their bias and hes always happy to correct his mistakes, which are going to be made when you're covering thousands of years of history. Just thought i'd add some positivity amongst the sea of negativity which is youtube comments.

[@mowhar]

@@Ukraineaissance2014 In fields like history, archelogy, paleontology, geology... there seems to be a strong will to protect the already published "knowledge". Lindybeige is such a breath of fresh air, because it seems he first does his homework, and then try to figure things out, and comes up with ideas and explanations that makes such good sense! Go Lindybeige! Keep the educational entertainment coming!

[@HAL-nt6vy]

Lindy uses this technique extraordinarily well to teach trigger discipline.

[@Greensiteofhell]

Empty Barrels Make the Most Noise

[@ALMdawgfan]

Thank you for another more than worthy effort! I am looking forward to an equally long piece covering all the tidbits and aspects that did not make the cut in this episode.

[@thomasb8733]

This channel has 10% of the subscribers of the BBC and there's one guy behind it. I just realized this and it's quite remarkable

[@ToastersChannel]

An hour video! Lindy has blessed us.

[@McWelly]

"There is this famous bulge" -Lindybeige 2019

[@autismisuncontrollable4925]

OwO

[@aayhan7294]

I recognise that bulge

[@razcann3597]

Thanks for putting things straight & realistic Lindybeige.

[@PenserSpeterson]

Bloody well done m8, keep coming out with in depth videos like this one 🤘🏼

[@davidl2739]

Lindybeige + punic wars = awesome

[@morningstar9233]

Thanks Lloyd, you can get back to clearing out the attic now.

[@alexandersheridan2179]

I'm really happy you brought the loss of life into perspective proportionally. The raw numbers are extremely difficult to imagine, but when thought of relative to the entire population, it is unimaginable. The only other time I've had to seriously pause, close my eyes hard, is when I hear about numbers relating to atoms or the universe!

[@jebatevrana]

Not a minute in and this is already one of the best lectures ever. Damn, this guy is golden.