The First Punic War - The War At Sea (264 - 256 BC)

[@TheHistocrat]

Sources for today's video include... Modern historians: Dexter Hoyos (2011) A Companion to the Punic Wars, Chapters 8-11. Dexter Hoyos (2015) Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War (Ancient Warfare and Civilization) Dexter Hoyos (2019) Carthage's Other Wars: Carthaginian Warfare Outside the 'Punic Wars' Against Rome J. F. Lazenby (1996) The First Punic War. Richard Miles (2010) Carthage Must Be Destroyed. Adrian Goldsworthy (2006) The Fall of Carthage. Mary Beard (2016) SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. H. H. Scullard (1989) Carthage and Rome, in ‘The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 7, Part 2’. Nigel Bagnall (1999) The Punic Wars: Rome, Carthage and the Struggle for the Mediterranean Ancient historians: Polybius, The Histories, Oxford World's Classics. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Loeb Classical Library edition. Cassius Dio, Dio's Rome, Epitome of books 1-21 by Zonaras (accessed from Project Gutenburg: www.gutenberg.org/files/18047/18047-h/18047-h.htm). Paulus Orosius, Histories against the Pagans, Book 4 (accessed from attalus.org: attalus.org/info/orosius.html). Eutropius, Short History since the Foundation of the City, Chapter 2 (accessed from Livius.org: www.livius.org/sources/content/eutropius-short-history/eutropius-short-history-2/).

[@starcapture3040]

Can you do mesopotamian mythology?

[@beepboop204]

if only Netflix had asked graham for some sources

[@guderian557]

'miles'? 'feet'? While I appreciate that this video is about events that occured 2000+ years ago, the world has moved on and does not use those arcane, obsolete units of measurement anymore. In 2023 there is no excuse not to use standard units of measurement when uploading a video to a global content platform.

[@mauricepowers8079]

I just wanted to say I am a newcomer to this channel. I watched the 3 part series on The Birth of Civilization yesterday and am completely hooked. I have always been drawn to History but found most videos to be lacking in continuity. It's one thing to lay out a timeline. It is a difficult task to keep an audience's attention, and interest. It is even harder to lay out a story line that makes a viewer wish it weren't finished. Bravo. I do realize that everything we know can be upended and new theories will be presented. New evidence will support, oppose or lead us to dead ends or open new doors that lead us to a place we never thought possible...that is why we study our past. Keep up the great work and ... Thank you

[@jedminor6128]

Please do more Rome my man. Your cadence is perfect. Cheers!

[@MrVvulf]

38:00 I've both read and heard in other media that the Carthaginian ship which was captured had each individual part labelled (like an ancient "assemble at home" IKEA product) which would have helped enormously in mass producing copies.

[@teddyjackson1902]

I’ve read the same. When they built their ships they apparently did so en masse at a central shipyard. The way that ancient cities tended to develop, it’s possible the location where the materials were worked into ship components was off the water, and the vessels were delivered in kits for assembly at a port facility. Carthage was such a maritime power with a sea oriented society and economy that it’s not difficult to imagine such a system emerging there. They probably didn’t foresee the issue of by the numbers construction because they were so dominant on the sea at the time and couldn’t conceive of a rival to their position. What Rome did was remarkable.

[@RobbyHouseIV]

Apparently the Carthaginian fitting instructions etched into the wooden planks and beams of the triremes were more instructive than the pictograms the Swedes are fond of using at IKEA. 🙃

[@mustacheman2549]

history of rome huh

[@Diogolindir]

​@@teddyjackson1902what I love about Rome is how stubborn they were. Adapting to everything.

[@shagakhan9442]

​@@RobbyHouseIV 😆

[@andriy_sushko]

The next hour of my life is predefined

[@clayallen4955]

Agreed

[@laestrygonii6366]

Indeed

[@andylikesyourkite]

And now, it too, is history.

[@priatalat]

*battery dies*

[@maximiliand2544]

As is mine my cultured brother.

[@scribeslendy595]

As an amusing addition; the great Pyrrhus of Epirus met his fate while fighting within the Greek city of Argos. As Plutarch recounts, he was fighting on horseback inside the city, when an old woman watching from a rooftop (supposedly the mother of the soldier he was fighting) tossed a tile at him. The tile knocked him from his horse and broke his spine, leaving him paralyzed. Man, those roof tiles back then were no joke. There are repeated references to their usage during urban combat, typically by civilians, througout the historical record. In fact, this tactic was later mentioned as having been used against Roman Soldiers during the sack of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War.

[@jcb5782]

Ha, even rooftiles today are no joke man. I wouldn’t want to get hit by one of those dropping three stories high

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

I had heard - that Pyrrhus wanted to die from a sword thrust up under his jaw into his brain. He thought that would be a noble way to be killed. I also heard that what he was killed by was a chamber pot. .

[@MM22966]

One of the reasons Paris looks the way it does now is that Napoleon III had a large, wide street plan imposed on the old, narrow & crooked city grid - partly to avoid any rioters having an easy way to bottle troops up, including tossing roof tiles down on their heads.

[@VeritasIncrebresco]

Mr. Histocrat thank you for all your hard work to put these videos together! Takes me away from the craziness today!

[@enessou]

I really liked your first Punic War video -- been hoping you'd continue the series every since. Super happy to finally get to see this!

[@ldawg7117]

So glad I found this channel a few years back, it's provided me with hours of entertainment and I've learned a hell of a lot.. pisses me off, I never realize how massively,massively into history and all that I was in school, because of the crappy forced curriculums and just the way they taught/still teach history and all other things in schools, in America. It really isn't that hard to make learning fun...while the vast majority of young people believe in not to be, it truly, truly is, if done correctly.. if you know the right place to look, you can EASILY learn more in a day via quality KZbin content, then you could an entire year in a history / biology class in the American school system..

[@rhinorun1977]

u got all Cs in high school

[@flurnsdale3929]

I remember how teachers could make subjects I liked dreadful bc they were lame ass hell. I had bad history teachers but luckily I scratched that itch at home and learned way more than they could’ve taught bc they weren’t passionate nor interested/interesting themselves. I really saw the importance of the teacher when I thought I hated math but realized I just suffered from bad math teachers after having a good one. I think back to how my science teachers failed me too bc all these subjects are incredibly fascinating and exciting if taught in a way that helps the student genuinely see why. The Histocrat kicks ass and I always look forward to their stuff. Down with all bad and boring teachers youre fucking us up. All praise to those good teachers who display passion in every sentence they say.

[@Madonnalitta1]

Listening to something on a device is not equal to learning something. I doubt any who watched this could give a comprehensive account of the Punic Wars.

[@beepboop204]

@@rhinorun1977 did your jokes get laughs in high school

[@ldawg7117]

@@Madonnalitta1 first off, people learn differently. Second, when two-thirds of all you do on KZbin is listen to historical shit such as this, you're still learning. Especially when you're consuming vast amounts of information from doing so such as I do, listen to stuff like this nearly every night. That, and I never even tried to say I'm becoming a historical scholar from listen to this, merely that I'm still learning more from listen to things like this then I ever did in school because of the terrible way they taught the curriculum. Yes, under the proper teacher, I'm sure I could easily learn more than from them than you ever could listening to stuff like this...however, when it comes to history and other stuff like that I never had said teacher. You for example, I feel could have possibly learned more in English class, in regards to reading comprehension.. I made it pretty abundantly clear from pretty-much you know, literally saying it, that I was never really inspired to learn in school, so never felt compelled to apply myself... because they gave me no reason to care. Most the time, all we really did was learn names of historical buildings, dates, names...most of it was just historical l trivia, rather the actua History.. you're arguing bullshit semantics. Regardless of whether or not this is the best way to learn, doesn't change the fact that I still learned more about history (and other fields of study) then I ever did in school.

[@22vx]

Thank you for sharing another of your brilliant history vids👍

[@sdfopsdmsdofjmp7863]

Are we getting a continuation of this video series? This is probably the best video on the Punic wars I've ever seen.

[@tannertasman]

Settling in for a good one no doubt. Thanks for all your work. In my humble opinion, you're among a group of KZbin history channels which are doing something very special in bringing accessible history to a huge swath of individuals.

[@Ionesboule]

From what I’ve read in the book « Histoire militaire des guerres puniques » by french historian Yann le Bohec, the corvus wasn’t that big decisive factor that made the Romans beat Carthage at sea. It may have played a significant role in the battle of Mylae due to the surprise effect, but it was quickly abandoned due to it unbalancing the ships which would have made them more vulnerable to storms. In addition, the mere fact that dozens of Carthaginian ships were sunk in all these battles suggests that the Romans also largely resorted to the more traditional tactic of ramming. Finally, when you think about it, the Roman superiority in land warfare mainly came from their battle tactics, and it’s very difficult to imagine the romans using the maniples system while fighting on 20 ft large ships.

[@Petaljane]

Your Punic Wars series thus far is the best I’ve come across! I appreciate the voice, cadence and visuals. The high quality of your First Punic War research reflects in your consultation of ancient sources beyond Polybius, including Diodorus, Cassius Dio, Orosius and Eutropius - you even credited Philinus! I’ve studied this subject extensively and written about it as “Sardonic Addendum: The Unfought Punic War of 237 BC” (free online via University of British Columbia). In due course, I hope you will dedicate a separate episode to cover Carthage’s Mercenary War & the Interwar period of 240 - 219 BC. I eagerly await your next instalment! 👍👍

[@seanzibonanzi64]

I love these long format videos, especially on a conflict as pivotal as the Punic wars. The Phoenician and later Carthaginian navy and merchant fleet is the subject of much intrigue. Their zeal for commerce, agriculture and exploration was unmatched in the ancient world. It's a shame we know so little and what we do, is from their adversaries because IMO America was more similar to Carthage than to Rome and it'd be cool to know more

[@dennettshane1929]

Ettore Mazza is responsible for the highest quality thumbnails on KZbin. He actually made a huge impact on this genre of video essays

[@bendkok]

Just casually drops the next episode two years later. What a Chad.

[@ekszentrik]

Great imagery, great narration, great voice (it's very much a factor)!

[@lv7603]

Almost 4am damn I guess I have to watch the entire thing.

[@a1n9t8o9]

Excellent work as always! I'm really hoping for a Second Punic War episode!

[@garbonomics]

Great one! Can’t wait to see part 2.

[@geordiejones5618]

Even though the 2nd Punic War solidified Rome's position as the major power of the western Mediterranean, it was the 1st Punic War where Rome went from dominating Italy to a sea farring empire in under a generation. The more I learn about the first two Punic Wars the more brutal and desperate they seem. Such a shame Carthage couldn't see the total existential threat that Rome posed. They had the advantage toward the end of the war with Rome losing a few fleets to storms and their indecision during the 240s cost them everything. They could have landed in Italy or retaken Sicily.

[@briancartwright7]

Coulda woulda shoulda.

[@mistertime6457]

Great pacing and presentation. Masterful.

[@quinn3334]

was literally just hoping you’d upload soon and here u are

[@TheOriginalCranberyy]

Excellent video. I appreciate the way you portrayed this part of history. I've been wanting to see more content about the Punic Wars and this definitely gave me some neat insights.

[@fennisdembo34]

stefan as polybius was just the cherry on top ❤

[@NaturalExplorerNZ]

Thanks for all your work mate

[@mtathos_]

Haha love the Stefan Milo cameo reading Polybius' quote

[@waddingo]

4:15 - 4:23 This is not Tarentum (modern day Taranto, Apulia Region), this is Paestum in Salerno Province, Campania Region. These are the two Hera Temples, some of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world.

[@gequitz]

Oh man, I want to see this so bad after work. Looking forward to seeing Ettore's artwork too

[@strigoi_guhlqueen8355]

Thanks this is one of my favourite topics

[@AftabGazali]

Awesome job, I'm new to this channel, I liked how different your approach is to explain things along with artworks. Hope you finish the conclusion of the first Punic wars, following with the Second & Many more. 😊

[@ashleymcgee3536]

We missed your videos! Thanks for another great one!

[@teddyjackson1902]

I often imagine living in such times on the edge of history but in such a pivotal moment.

[@The_InfantMalePollockFrancis]

Dude, are you reading my mind? I had been waiting on another of your videos, and I was just recently explaining the punic wars to my wife and this comes out!?!?! You rock! Make more EARLY roman videos, from inception to the establishment of the republic, and the early wars with samnites and cisalpine Gauls, such an overlooked era of roman history!!!

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

Imagine you're Syracusan watching the huge Roman fleet sail by to Carthage.

[@LuizAlexPhoenix]

Shit is about to get fucky!

[@IcedSynergy]

Partner of 5 years broke up with me and binged your both your bigfoot podcasts back to back so I'm hyped to have another video to watch!

[@LarsRyeJeppesen]

Hope you are better now

[@alexhatfield4448]

"Babe come over" "sorry baby, the historicrat just dropped a new video, I'll be over in about an hour and 24 seconds!"

[@GoldFaceFella]

Stefan as narrator. Awesome

[@Davlavi]

Another turning point in history.

[@jonnywatts2970]

How many skeletons in armor would you suppose are at the bottom of the Mediterranean?

[@samparkerSAM]

Drove My Trireme to Carthage, but carthage was Dry... them Good Ole Boys were drinking Wine 🍷, Singing this will be the day that I die!!! SINGING BYE BYE MISS ATHENIAN PIE....

[@CrankinIt43]

Nice vid. I kinda wish he did a retake for certain lines but overall pretty good.

[@mattstakeontheancients7594]

Look forward to these long form videos.

[@agronomo9494]

Im hyped for this lets go

[@TamDNB]

Well, I know what I'll be falling to sleep to for the next month (not in a 'this is boring' way ofc) ❤

[@characterblub]

It's so soothing and interesting that it turns off the other 40 trains of thought, for me 🎉

[@teddyjackson1902]

Someone really said let’s ride drunk ass elephants into battle and other people agree.

[@LuizAlexPhoenix]

Well, someone thought a good idea to drink milk from the teats of wild cows. To mount and ride on top of what we would today call poneys. To keep these furry animals, a canine and a feline, that notoriously dislike each other, inside the same homes and towns.

[@churchofthelambofsat]

I know what I'll be watching on my commute in a few hours.

[@JohnMinehan-lx9ts]

The swords were probably more like a Greek Xipthos ("Reaper") short sword.

[@notinspectorgadget]

I thought Hannibal was supposed to be a really good general. Am I mistaken or conflating two different Carthagenian generals?

[@TheHistocrat]

You're thinking of Hannibal Barca from the 2nd Punic War. Hannibal was a common name amongst Carthaginians, there are several in the 1st Punic War and its aftermath.

[@notinspectorgadget]

@The Histocrat ah, thanks for the clarification.

[@TheSidMachinery]

Is that Stefan Milo taking one of the speaking roles? :D Amazing

[@jonathonjubb6626]

This looks brilliant...

[@omnesilere]

28:10 Stefan Milo? Is that you???

[@omnesilere]

Just checked the description, it is!

[@benrobertson7855]

Hi,now on my second of your vids.they are fantastic,you have a new subscriber. Thanks u tube suggestions…..mind you I got through a dog walks into a bar,when you first put it out…..I see on searching your channel.

[@Guydude777]

Excellent

[@ResidentWeeb]

Let's gooooo!

[@t.j.webster5545]

"We suck at boats, and we wanna fight people who are good at boats. But we're really good at close in fighting... I GOT IT" -The Corvus's inventor, probably (obviously in Latin and not english)

[@katie3362]

I'm sorry my brain stopped working at "they didn't have stirrups" lead me down a hole rabbit hole. The Roman empire didn't have that tech until the 6th century 😳 you concurred and abandoned Britain 200 years before learning to hold on with your feet?

[@Daniel_McDonald]

I found this portion of the video on the First Punic War incredibly fascinating! It's so interesting to learn about the largest naval war in ancient history, especially considering how overlooked it is compared to the Second Punic War. The fact that the war lasted for over 23 years and marked the first time the Roman army left Italy is truly remarkable. I can't wait to learn more about the major events of the First Punic War in the rest of the video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@PyrrhusfromEpirus]

Oh, finnaly!

[@noahmcdarby5417]

I wonder how often African war elephants caused more problems for their own general than their enemy general

[@vikingdesigner1471]

Stefan Milo doing Histocrat voiceovers? Also, whens the next history of Britain video?

[@Georgesspierre]

I can't imagine what these wars were like. Marching for weeks just to come face to face with the enemy and try to kill each other with swords and spears

[@Toastypanda18]

Love to hear Stefan Milo’s dulcet tones

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

It's my understanding - that the Carthaginians mass produced their ships - so that each ship was exactly the same - and - the individual parts were labeled so as to indicate where they should be placed. When the Romans captured a Carthaginian ship - they were able to disassemble it and make other ships from it's pieces - then put them together as they had been designed to be. This was one of the reasons the Romans were able to reproduce these ships rapidly. They had been designed to facilitate that by the Carthaginians. Yes - the Carthaginians seemed to have had no answer to the Corvus but - the Romans - as they gained experience and the Carthaginians lost it - could dispense with the Corvus - which made their ships unbalanced and less seaworthy. The thing with Carthage - was it was essentially run by Businessmen - whose orientation was towards making money. They do not seem to have grasped that the Romans didn't care about money. What they needed to do - was to utterly destroy the Romans - but - they were not Bull Headed enough to do that. The Romans were however Bull Headed enough to do that to them. _Carthago delenda est_ .

[@orang1284]

Stefan Milo?

[@teddyjackson1902]

Adrian Goldsworthy is the peak source. Mary Beard is too infatuated with providing distorted commentary on Rome via a contemporary political dialectic.

[@jonathansiegel6386]

Absolutely fucking superb quality documentary.

[@kegdoty]

Where y’a guys been? I was a bit worried something happened

[@FAMA-18]

46:26 My home town.

[@matt9897]

Spent literally 32 minutes getting to the navy part

[@synner707]

Is this still tied to the mythological podcast ? Because this channel has been faster with content.

[@matthewvicendese1896]

Stefan is reading too!

[@jnaiden2519]

Sweet.

[@LoneWolf-wp9dn]

25:35 Namibian!? I think you meant to say Numidian

[@nietzchepreacher9477]

Sigh, guess I'll go download Rome 2 total war again

[@ivandicivan4189]

The idea that Phyrus left Sicily for political reasons is most likely Greek war propaganda at that time, in reality he lost the war, couldn't take Lilybaeum and his heavy macedonian phallanx suffered casualties against carthaginian army which was at that time more flexible and could manouver better on rugged terrain of Sicily (they fought in similar fashion as early Romans), also his fleet was ambushed at Messina by carthaginian fleet when he was retreating. Dosen't sound like "won the war but retreated because Greeks himself overthrow him".

[@lisas1072]

I love your videos. As an ancient historian, the content is excellent. However, your intonation is repetitive to the point of distraction. Listen carefully to the playback and add some variety to the reading.

[@DavidBritton-nl1wv]

The battles of Heraclea and Asculum were in southern Italy. Not Sicily. I'm not five minutes in yet.

[@gregsmith6935]

*Numbers literally written down 2000 years ago* modern hisorians "hmmm i dunno seams a little high" *These numbers are in doubt*

[@MS-ii1sv]

The historians would be out of a job if they didn't try and rewrite history.

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

*seems (not "seams") a little high

[@reallybig4868]

the first pubic war? now you're speaking my language!

[@FAMA-18]

The Roman Republic Is Rome’s Best History.

[@commanderdante3185]

Hear me out. Papyrus has a self life of 50 years without very specific preservation techniques. This means that the work of Thucydides was retranscribed every 50 years for roughly 1700 years till it's first documented modern translation in 1490. However, despite this massive iteration count we have ZERO original copies or evidence of this text. Infact we have zero copies of any fundamental greek or roman text. Homer, Thucydides and Herodotus were all translated by the same figure. These translation occured during the start of the slave trade in Portugal. This is the period wherein Greece was controlled by the Ottoman empire (1500 - 1800 A.D). Do you think it's a coincidence that ALL these texts appear during the age of discovery? Do you think it's a coincidence that NO reference to Herodotus exists that was translated prior to 1500? Do you think it's a coincidence that the rostam inscriptions ,carved into the hillside in Persia, is the exact type of "history" we see emerge in Greece in 1500 with herodotus? It's just a concidence that Ottoman (persians) ruled greece at this very same time? Is it really just a coincidence that the ONLY painting of a Roman emperor in existence happens to be that of the figure we know as Severus? All of these things are very troubling to students of classical studies. Soon there is going to be a fundamental change in how we view the period 300 AD - 1500 AD.

[@DesertAres]

264-251 according to numerous other sources.

[@casadelosotte]

330 vessels supporting 40 marines, only takes 12,000 men, not 120,000 men!

[@ProfesjonalnyYoutuber]

My favourite campaign in age of empires the rise of rome!

[@noahmcdarby5417]

So I get theres supposed to be no silent letters in latin language but if I dont pronounce that annoying second "i" will anybody even notice? 🤭

[@Rising-north-africa]

🎉

[@FoxtrotYouniform]

Almost halfway through the video and still no puns in the punic war smh

[@Lassisvulgaris]

Can one say that a Punic war is a war of puns...?

[@peterolbrisch8970]

This war was quickly followed by the second pubic war. It was a hairy ordeal.

[@danekelly6661]

Intersting that a modern historian uses BC instead of BCE to dennote dates.

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

Interesting that a modern Historian would use the more historically used terminology as we as more forthright, honest, and accurate? Tell me again, what is the defining moment between BCE and CE? What's the one thing which separates the two eras? Would you say that one defining is "common" for every person and culture alive today?

[@Old299dfk]

Can somebody edit this to get rid of the 3 second pauses between every sentence?

[@OddSunStudios]

Why didnt you? Its been over a year and theres free editing software. Surely someone with a most legitimate complaint, such as this, would have taken matters into his own hands. You know rather than beg strangers to edit someone else’s work lol

[@Sietched]

4:35

[@dujac88]

the same old hannibal as before

[@seanstriefsky5986]

Can you please not speak in the same cadence for every sentence for an entire hour... it is absolutely maddening

[@azmainfaiak8111]

31:52

[@ThursonJames]

34:00 I hear a spoon…

[@raultalmon1467]

Overconfidence of Carthage shows all the time.

[@mostsamosa]

please make a “at the mountains of kong” follow up

[@flurnsdale3929]

Fuckkk yess!!! You already know what it is boys! Fuck Scipio! Skyrim is in and the I’m off. See ya on the other side lads!!! And great video as always!

[@MatthewSereysothea-hf1js]

Ditto