The top painting depicts the death of Paulus Aemilius at the battle of Cannae.
The Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major turning point in the Second Punic Wars. Mostly because it was a heavy defeat on the side of the Romans.
Marcus Junius Pera was the at-time Emperor of the Romans during the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC.
What had lead up to the battle was that the Carthage troops, lead by Hannibal, were at an important supply port and had cut off the supplies that usually flowed into Rome's center. This, naturally, caused great unrest since the Romans, living on mountain-y Italian land, couldn't farm and the threat of starvation and angry Romans was enough to get the government moving.
The Emperor set out two leaders; one Gaius Terentius Varro, and the other Lucius Amilius Paulus. They took with them around 87,000 men to where the Hannibal driven troops were.
The Romans were good- very skilled and trained, pride on their sleeve, and they had quite an advantage in the ways of numbers; the Carthaginians had with them little over half the number that the Romans did. However, on August 2nd, it just wasn't their day.
The first sign should have been the thundering elephants they encountered. No doubt did the great beasts terrorize the Romans on their skinny little horses and give their morale a great flogging. The second sign, then, must have been the tiny numbers the Carthaginians had- with such small numbers, surely a great plan must have have been in place. And there once was.
Marcus Junius Pera was the at-time Emperor of the Romans during the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC.
What had lead up to the battle was that the Carthage troops, lead by Hannibal, were at an important supply port and had cut off the supplies that usually flowed into Rome's center. This, naturally, caused great unrest since the Romans, living on mountain-y Italian land, couldn't farm and the threat of starvation and angry Romans was enough to get the government moving.
The Emperor set out two leaders; one Gaius Terentius Varro, and the other Lucius Amilius Paulus. They took with them around 87,000 men to where the Hannibal driven troops were.
The Romans were good- very skilled and trained, pride on their sleeve, and they had quite an advantage in the ways of numbers; the Carthaginians had with them little over half the number that the Romans did. However, on August 2nd, it just wasn't their day.
The first sign should have been the thundering elephants they encountered. No doubt did the great beasts terrorize the Romans on their skinny little horses and give their morale a great flogging. The second sign, then, must have been the tiny numbers the Carthaginians had- with such small numbers, surely a great plan must have have been in place. And there once was.
It's not all chaos....
You see, Hannibal had set up a trap...
The gist was to surround the Roman soldiers. Using weaker soldiers in the middle as bait, Hannibal lured in the veteran soldiers of the Roman's (who had been placed in the center), and surrounded the Romans with his cavalry and experienced men on the sides. This caused the Romans to be squished in at the center, surrounded by soldiers and elephants and their own kind.
In which the Red are Hannibal's troops, and the Blue are the unfortunate Romans.
Including
Wanting to get rid of the Carthaginian nuisance fast, the Romans resolved to risk it all if they wanted to win it all. They accepted non-citizens and criminals into their ranks. Gasp
This was very important since Romans usually used Roman citizens- law abiding ones at that too. The reason was because it would benefit the Romans since a citizen was less likely to betray the State. Not only does a citizen have familial ties that drive him, but they are also Roman citizens which was a huge deal. Being a citizen of the greatest civilization at the time was like having a key that opened any door. To lose such a thing on account of treason or such would have been a foolhardy move.
Because the Romans were allowing non-citizens to battle, it meant how positively desperate they were. They were facing the possibilities of being turned on by the non-citizens, or by having their soldiers attacked by their own prisoners on account of grudges. Yet they did it anyway to try and win.
This was very important since Romans usually used Roman citizens- law abiding ones at that too. The reason was because it would benefit the Romans since a citizen was less likely to betray the State. Not only does a citizen have familial ties that drive him, but they are also Roman citizens which was a huge deal. Being a citizen of the greatest civilization at the time was like having a key that opened any door. To lose such a thing on account of treason or such would have been a foolhardy move.
Because the Romans were allowing non-citizens to battle, it meant how positively desperate they were. They were facing the possibilities of being turned on by the non-citizens, or by having their soldiers attacked by their own prisoners on account of grudges. Yet they did it anyway to try and win.
Map of the battle.
Battle Day
The conditions were alright to fight in, speaking climatically. It's the Mediterranean, and since it's located next to a large body of water, the weather stays pleasant. That meant that the climate was a balmy 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Not too bad.
Unless you have heavy packs, woolen tunics, armor, and are fighting against other men to the death.
Also did I mention that it's mountainous? Well, it is. Rocky, treacherous paths. Uncomfortable, dangerous, and demoralizing; before trying to go and kill humans, first you have to bypass a rocky terrain. Nice.
Unless you have heavy packs, woolen tunics, armor, and are fighting against other men to the death.
Also did I mention that it's mountainous? Well, it is. Rocky, treacherous paths. Uncomfortable, dangerous, and demoralizing; before trying to go and kill humans, first you have to bypass a rocky terrain. Nice.
Um. Wowowow
Elephants. That's so unreal. To me, that's like a higher species coming and attacking us with some odd monster that we can't even grasp the true form off. Demoralizing, terrifying, and traumatizing are the only words that come to my mind.
For crying out loud, they were Romans, and they were bloody, but using elephants over horses and fighting with them.
To be fair the elephants had all been killed at the end of the battle but still.
WowWOWWOWOOOOWWIHAVELOSTTHEBAILITYTOTYPE .wow.
For crying out loud, they were Romans, and they were bloody, but using elephants over horses and fighting with them.
To be fair the elephants had all been killed at the end of the battle but still.
WowWOWWOWOOOOWWIHAVELOSTTHEBAILITYTOTYPE .wow.
They are the oncoming storm.