Hannibal Barca: The Man Rome Couldn't Defeat | Full Documentary

In 218 BC, a Carthaginian general crossed the Alps in winter with 37 war elephants — something everyone said was impossible. Within eighteen months, he had destroyed three Roman armies and killed over 100,000 soldiers. At Cannae, he annihilated the largest force Rome had ever assembled in a single afternoon, using a tactical maneuver still studied at West Point today. He was never defeated in the field. He occupied Italy for fifteen years. And Rome still won the war. This is the full story of Hannibal Barca — his father's unfinished war, the oath, the crossing, the three great battles, and the long exile that followed. Told not as a list of victories, but as the story of a man who understood everything about how to break Rome — except the one thing that mattered most. ───────────────────────────────────── CHAPTERS 00:00 — Cold Open: Cannae, August 216 BC 04:14 — Part I: The Lightning and His Sons — Hamilcar's Unfinished War 11:14 — Part II: The Design of Destruction — Hannibal's Strategic Plan 16:46 — Part III: The Crossing — Alps, Winter, 30,000 Dead 22:14 — Part IV: The Student of Generals — Trebia and Trasimene 32:59 — Part V: Cannae — The Battle Still Taught in Military Academies 38:18 — Part VI: Why He Didn't March on Rome 40:35 — Part VII: The Long Dying — Italy Without Reinforcement 49:03 — Part VIII: Zama — Cannae in Reverse 54:01 — Part IX: The Exile and the Ring 59:55 — Closing: What Does It Mean to Win? ───────────────────────────────────── SOURCES & FURTHER READING Primary sources: Polybius — Histories, Books III, X, XV https://amzn.to/3Qp0KBu Livy — Ab Urbe Condita, Books XXI–XXX https://amzn.to/4t2A5t0 Cornelius Nepos — De Viris Illustribus: Hannibal https://amzn.to/41lYiy7 Plutarch — Life of Fabius Maximus / Life of Marcellus https://amzn.to/4ctr5Hh Modern scholarship: Adrian Goldsworthy — The Fall of Carthage (Cassell, 2000) https://amzn.to/4cbBWUU Dexter Hoyos — Hannibal's Dynasty (Routledge, 2003) https://amzn.to/41PC7jV John Lazenby — Hannibal's War (Aris & Phillips, 1978) https://amzn.to/4vgwbxV B.H. Liddell Hart — Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon (Da Capo, 1994) https://amzn.to/4mffKhd ───────────────────────────────────── MUSIC Almost in F — Tranquillity by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ───────────────────────────────────── IMAGE PRODUCTION All historical reconstructions in this documentary were developed by a specialist with deep knowledge of the period, with a constant commitment to visual and historical accuracy. Each scene was researched, described, and directed to reflect the best available archaeological and historical evidence before being brought to life through AI image generation tools. All images are original works created exclusively for Enemies of Rome. ───────────────────────────────────── DISCLAIMER This documentary is produced for educational and entertainment purposes. All reconstructions of events, dialogue, and personal motivations are based on available historical evidence. The primary ancient sources for all events depicted are Polybius's Histories and Livy's Ab Urbe Condita — texts written by historians either personally connected to Rome's ruling class or writing centuries after the events. Carthaginian records do not survive. Hannibal does not get to speak for himself. Viewers are encouraged to keep that in mind. ───────────────────────────────────── #Hannibal #HannibalBarca #AncientRome #PunicWars #Cannae #RomanHistory #AncientHistory #RomanRepublic #HistoryDocumentary #EnemiesOfRome #SecondPunicWar #Carthage #AncientWarfare #Rome #HistoricalDocumentary #FullDocumentary #AncientBattles #Zama #ScipioAfricanus #Alps