Hannibal: The Annihilator
The History Channel has a new series. And amazingly, it has nothing to do with the occult, monsters, UFOs, or Hitler! It is called Battles BC. The first episode was on last night and it was titled Hannibal: The Annihilator.Here is a description from the official site:
Hannibal's merciless attacks on Roman soil dealt a near fatal blow to the soon-to-be Empire. Sworn by his father to a blood oath against the Romans, Hannibal of Carthage does the unthinkable... he marches 40 war elephants and a massive army over the Alps to gain an element of surprise. In three key battles--Hannibal uses terrain, intimidation and his iron will to annihilate the Roman Legions, killing every Roman soldier that he possibly can.
The show has flashy background and sound track which reminded me of 300. I am sure this was done intentionally. It also offered commentary from four interesting experts whose words were blended smoothly together by the editing.
The bulk of the episode deals with Hannibal's early life, the beginning of the Second Punic War, Hannibal crossing the Alps, and his early battles in Italy. Several battles which Hannibal won in convincing fashion are described and analyzed in detail. However, the episode basically ends with the Roman disaster at Cannae.
I wish the episode had put the battles covered in the larger context of the Second Punic War. Better coverage of the later years of the war, including his defeat in North Africa at the Battle of Zama, would have left viewers with a better understanding of Hannibal's life and legacy. Nonetheless, the show was entertaining and educational. I will plan on watching future episodes.
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