Episode 42 - The Day After Cannae

2021-07-17

In the stillness following the destruction of their greatest army at the Battle of Cannae, the Romans faced an awful choice. The triumphant Hannibal stood poised to march on Rome herself and besiege the capital, and there was little the surviving remnants of legionaries could do to stop him. The Italian allies had already begun to waiver in their resolve, and some even among Rome's patricians began to advocate for abandoning Italy entirely. In this hour of doubt, Hannibal's envoys arrived to discuss peace terms. However, Romans such as Publius Cornelius Scipio and Titus Manlius Torquatus would hear no talk of peace or flight. The Carthaginian delegate was coldly told to return home, and the Senate refused to ransom the Roman prisoners in Hannibal's hands despite their heart-rending pleas. There would be no admission of defeat - Rome would fight until the bitter end.

Link to the Episode 42 page on the Layman's Historian website