The First Punic War - OverSimplified (Part 2) - Historian Reacts 

I ALWAYS watch oversimplified THEN these reactions for the added commentary, because it's... Nice.

Its nice to see a commentator on oversimplified who isnt just trying to find mistakes but his added his own thoughts and facts onto it..

Interestingly one of the reasons why Regulus went back to get tortured was exactly so that he would be remembered. Having failed to seize Carthage in his period as consul, ending his own career with "glorious death" was basically the next best thing.

I thought we'd have to wait until tomorrow for Part 2. Thank you so much!

As a graduate student studying Roman history, words cannot describe how happy I am to see Oversimplified’s videos occupying the #1 and #2 top trending spot on RU-vid. Can we all just appreciate how awesome that is? Historians unite 😂

Roman society was too bullheaded to die. Their adaptability was legendary too but that is truly why they were as great as they were.

I think Regulus realized he wasn't getting any statues after losing to the Carthaginians, so he went for broke and martyred himself - and got a bunch of statues out of that instead.

I think the fact that Xanthipus wasn’t Carthaginian was a major factor in his success, mainly because he wasn’t beholden to politics in Carthage, so he was free to use their valuable military assets as he saw fit, thus being able to fully bring forward the war elephants and Numidian cavalry

The parallels between the 1st and 2nd Punic War and the World Wars are pretty fascinating.

"A lot of people don't succeed, not because they don't have the ability, but because they give up too quickly" - Vlogging Through History 2022

According to Polybius and Livy, Hamilcar made Hannibal swear an oath, when Hannibal was 9 years old, over an altar to Baal. Hannibal promised that he would never be a friend to Rome. Polybius also says that Hannibal used this to gain the trust of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king, saying that he had always been and would always be an enemy to Rome, since he swore an oath.

Regarding war elephants. There are a couple of issues. firstly, they were an expensive aspect of the army. The now extinct African Forest Elephant was quite plentiful enough but you also needed specially trained mahouts who had bonded with the creatures. That is one thing, the more important thing is the fact that elephants were very much a one shot weapon. They could terrify horses and had terrified Roman infantry when used by Pyrrhus some twenty years earlier. The problem was that they got easily spooked themselves and when they panicked, they were as liable to crush your battle line as the enemy. This is why Scipio Africanus modified the classic Roman chessboard battle formation at Zama, to give teh war elephants clear passages to "eescape" through as his light infantry harried and killed them. By starting them behind the battle line you lessen the chance of them pacicking and destroying your own army. Fun fact about Appius Claudius Pulcher, the incompetent chicken drowning admiral. About a year after he had cost maybe 50,000 Roman lives, his sister (Appia Claudia Pulchra) was prosecuted and found guilty of treason when she was overhead loudly complaining about how the plebs of Rome were blocking her palanquin's easy progression through the city. "I do hope my brother loses another battle so we can clear the streets of these people" was her tactless comment

So fun fact the term punitive actually comes from this war and the terms given to Carthage.

19:40 Speaking of honor in ancient times, I remember learning that honor mattered to Romans so much that during the Pyrrhic war, a Roman named Fabricius visited Pyrrhus for negotiation and Pyrrhus's physician offered him to poison the king for money, and Fabricius outright refused the offer and informed Pyrrhus, claiming that he would not dishonor Rome by defeating her enemy through treachery

The difference of perspective between Rome and its enemies is truly fascinating. Romans saw themselves as givers of civilization and culture, and frequently gave medallions with the encryption "Bringers of Peace" to their soilders at the end of campaigns. But when a Gaul chief was brought as a prisoners to Rome, his testimony told a different story. "They rape, they slay, they conquer, this they falsely name empire, and when they make a wasteland, they call it peace". This is most evident when we see sources not made by the romans, like the Greeks or the Egyptians. Then we learn that, mostly, people viewed them as barbarians.

I can never understand why people complain about people reacting to oversimplified especially when the people reacting are people like vlogging through history or Mr Terry who actually add more information and even educate people on the videos they react to. But whatever some people just had to find something to complain about I guess

The first Extra History series was actually on the Second Punic War, so if you wanted to get an understanding of it before Oversimplified, it's a great series.

The first Punic war is always glossed over because of the whole Hannibal and elephants and stuff that happened during the second one. It's nice to see some info on it and that Oversimplified gave it its own series instead of making it a footnote in a story about the second like you usually see

33:00 The determination reminds me of a quote by Ulysses S. Grant: "In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins."

Right after i watched the oversimplified video i searched and read some articles about the dragon, and it stated that the most likely truth was that it was an especially large python(which would be quite plausible) whose size and identity was greatly exaturated by roman historians as a sort of roman propaganda to inflate the glory and prestige of the soldiers, which is right in line with the things you stated in the video about considering sources Edit: I see now that the article you linked in the description is actually the same one i have read

As we always say on this channel “ history doesn’t repeat itself but it often does rhyme“. And the huge war guilt dept certainly has Versailles echoes

I'm so happy to see that our community has grown to over 300,000 people. Simply incredible. It is so very well deserved. Personally, I love watching the original content then coming back to VTH for the commentary. Often I find that I missed the little details that Chris points out.

That little PSA stuff at the beginning made me confident that subscribing to this channel is totally and definitely worth it.

36:03 Going with the WWII analogy further, John Maynard Keynes, the famed economist who was the British Treasury's representative at the Versailles negotiations in 1919, called the Treaty of Versailles, especially the reparations placed on Germany after WWI, a "Carthaginian peace."

If you're interested in delving more into the second punic war I highly recommend Historymarche's series Hannibal: Rome's greatest enemy. The amount of detail they go into is honestly unbelievable. They've been working on it for about 3 years right now and still haven't finished. I think there you'll also come to find out that probably a huge reason for why Rome achieved so much is because a Roman never realizes when he's been defeated.

As if I didn't have enough clogging up my life, now I'm wanting to go out and buy a bunch of books on the Punic Wars. Sidenote: I think that it's admirable that you leave the ads on so that the video can generate revenue for OverSimplified.

It was an Oversimplified reaction of your where I first found your channel. And now I'm a subscriber and a Patreon supporter

7:26 Thank you for referencing that comment! I added in an online source corroborating this because I couldn't find an academic or historical source for it in my notes; it was probably something my professor mentioned in passing and that I remembered because it was so fascinating to me.

As soon as I saw your video pop up I clicked right away! I right off the bat knew you arnt the type of person to gain money from the views. I've seen your videos i wanna say since one of your 1st review videos. You've helped me learn so much and have helped me in many ways by helping me keep my mind occupied thru some hard moments. Must respect to you and keep doing what your doing! You've moved up so much and I can't wait to see what the future keeps showing for your channel! Many best wishes!

Wait... WAIT A SECOND! Did Chris just talk about Mr. Terry? Honestly if there was a DCU/MCU crossover and a VTH/Mr. Terry collab online, I would watch the latter any day of the week. Please do a video together. That would make my year.

I think the Dragon instead of a snake, even a Python, could had Very well been a Nilo Crocodille of a Giant Size or perhaps a Saltwater Croc that was big even for their kind, which might as well be a Dragon whitout wings and that don't breath fire, especially back then. What do you think?

oversimplified way of teaching is so cool and modern that i can literally go back and watch civil war vidoes for the 5th time since it came out and still watch it while paying attention

I really appreciate you flexing your pastor muscle by working in the story of Gideon.

Oversimplified uploading is like Santa coming once a year. Your reactions and like Santa forgot something and he is coming back ! Keep up the great work both of you !

As a Canadian with Tunisian parents, It's cool to learn the history of Carthage, as growing up, I had the Carthaginian version of the events, it was more flattering lol. Thank you for your commentary, I watched both original videos and then yours because I needed your input as well.

I'm really young and this inspires me to learn more about history. Learning so much from these reactions! Love from Canada 🇨🇦

The fact that you're so excited and actually getting ready for the 2nd punic war tells me how much you love history and it kinda made me want to watch it as well.

i love how you can see that some really in-depth research was done usually older wars like this don't have as much recorded of them as newer ones

I’m subbed to oversimplified and always watch their vid first That being said, not only does he get the £££ but your reactions have way more historic substance than most other channels. Pleasure to watch keep it up! :)

I appreciate the parallels you're making with the punic wars and ww2. It really shows how history repeats itself and some never learn

Jokes on you, I’ve seen both VTH reactions and the original Vids multiple times. Really soothing, especially VTH’s voice/commentary

You are NOT ripping off Oversimplified. I’ve never watched your video INSTEAD of Stuart’s video, I watch your videos as a follow up to his. You’re enhancing his content, and we are forever thankful for your expert and professional commentary on the entertaining and informative videos he makes. Thank you for your content ❤️

This is the only reaction channel that I love, he provides further information, facts and fun things to the video. Hence the video being way longer than the original one. Don’t stop providing quality content!

This is actually the best commentary videos to oversimplified because there so much more added commentary

Oversimplified is great on its own but your commentary just adds another layer to it. Keep up the good work man

I always go the Oversimplified first, but the backstory about the "serpent battle" is why I come here. And to see VTH's reaction to the jokes 🙂

Always a pleasure to watch these videos with you. You add so much and we learn together. Excited to see this channel reach new heights! 🙂

So in a nutshell: the best weapon in a war is the weather cause it can really affect the outcome immediately. Something interesting about this that the US actually had a research project during the cold war that would allow them to control the weather and create huge storms and extreme winters.

Love your videos! I always learn so much! It always puts a smile on my face when I see a new video posted on your channel. Thanks for everything!

I always find it very interesting to see what myths are common across many disconnected cultures. The most common ones I’ve seen are: dragons, giants, a widespread flood, and to a lesser extent a tree of life

Aw man, this was awesome. I can't wait for the second part from oversimplified and I also can't wait your reaction to it. Knowing that you'll be prepared the next time it comes out, I always loved your input to it. I don't even care if it was an hour long, I still enjoyed it. Thanks VTH.

let's go, was just wondering about the reaction to the 2nd part ! thanks VTH, hope you are doing well 👍

Waited to watch this before going to sleep. Thank you vlogging through history ,I love your channel! Love from Greece😊

I love the added stories and opinions you bring, please keep the great videos up my brother.

Your commentary does add alot. It makes me appreciate history more really. I always like what you bring

I love your explanations and summaries for these videos - really helps me to learn and understand. Kudos

Excited for the 2nd part!

i never hear of the punic wars before this and now I am excited to learn about it in and out of school

Thanks man it is really cool watching you. Especially your original content.

"when there is smoke there is usually some kind of fire". I really like the way you put that and agree completely.

You mentioned how the weather is what sank the Spanish Armada, and that is not entirely true. The Spanish would have escaped if it had not been for the North Atlantic Drift. Their plan was to sail far enough west to get past Ireland safely, and they thought they had sailed far enough when they turned south. But because the North Atlantic Drift slowing their progress down, they ended up turning into Ireland.

Having watched the video beforehand, I certainly love the parallels you draw to a lot of our modern(ish) history. It was a trend throughout your first reaction, and I'm sure it'll continue throughout this one.

The first podcast of any kind I ever listened to was many years ago; Hardcore History Punic Nightmares, and that's what got me interested in history. These days we're so blessed with so much history content. Such a great time to learn about history with RU-vid, especially this channel and many others.

To be fair, I discovered your channel through your reaction to an Oversimplified video. I have learned quite a bit from your channel and I will keep coming back for more!

I love watching these for the more educational input, especially your added commentary to the civil war videos. You do good work despite haters out there, thank you man.

I remember reading of a Chinese General who when faced with an almost impenetrable city which could survive a siege for years during which he'd have to deal with constant assaults from the enemy and struggling with no supply lines for his own army. So he sacked a dozen or so other cities in the surrounding areas. Taking great care to spare the civilians and then herding them towards the main city. By the time he began sieging the city it now held an estimated four or five times it's usual population, all of which were panicked and angry. Some accounts also claim he'd planted spies disguised as vagrants or injured citizens in the refugees who stirred up trouble in the city and burnt one or more of the city's main granaries.

I always watch oversimplified's video first because i want to understand the whole topic (especially since i haven't heard of some historical event that they cover before) and then i go over to this channel to get some additional info to further undersands the topic without overflowing my brain with informations, that's why i really love your reaction (and i like it when you cover extra history's content too). May i suggest you try reacting to extra history's video about majapahit kingdom? I really love when you are reacting to history about asian kingdoms/historical figure, and i think the story of majapahit is gonna pique your interest since this is the kingdom that kubilai khan was not manage to conquer. There is a lot of betrayal and drama added to the mix, so it's gonna be fun to watch 👍

Really happy for you talking about the success regarding your history stuffs right now compared to your gaming channel before also just wanna say that i'm glad as well because everytime i watch an oversimplified video i always go to look for your commentary especially when this first punic wars was released i immediately looked for a reaction vid but none of them were so interesting as yours soooo... yeah nice 👌

What is impressive is, that Hannibal achieved his feats with an army of various barbarian tribes! No professional army, except the numidian riders. On the top 3 Generals of the ancient times, if not the best :)

Your a great guy! Love all your content shout from Chris been watching for a while now. Started during the pandemic. All I see is a honest humble human continue all that u do. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year

The dragon could have been a Komodo dragon. Though I would think Mediterraneans would not have know about them. So another likely option would be a crocodile from Africa. Carthage was a trading empire so I would think they would have access to markets in north/central Africa. From my understanding Rome may have use The Nile crocodiles in the Colosseum for let's say "Are You Not Entertained". As for fire breathing I believe in that.

W vid

29:14 the entirety of human history, summed up in a single gag... beautiful!

Yeh I remember those days of patiently waiting for the next ultimate general civil war videos on the hardest difficulty playing alongside your campaign which helped me a lot but it makes me happy to see your channels grow over the years and are continuing to create videos with the historic insight that you bring to the table.

The only thing we learn from history, is that no one learns from history. Imagine if the people who had drafted the treaty of Versailles had studied the punic wars. Anyway, thank you so much for your awesome reaction and I cannot wait to see you react to the second punic wars :)

Not only I’m I excited about the next OS video, also pretty excited about the possibility of some more Roman reactions

Chris, I’ve noticed you’re working hard on adding more context with your unsimplifying and other recent videos like this one. I like this!

Your message at 33:00 is inspirational as heck!

Love the channel and the videos big fan of your history videos, keep up the great work!!

It blows me away how many parables there are between these wars and the world wars. I think we like to assume that humans have changed over the years but we really haven’t

“Champions Adjust” ~ Billie Jean King One of my favorite quotes of all time that sums up what you were saying about how tactics and technology evolves and the winner is the one willing to do so.

Tbh I waited the whole day for that xD

VTH another great example of the sign from god story is Robert Bruce and the spider, where he contemplated ending his war if a spider he observed while hiding in a cave couldn't complete it's net due to the rain.

“How many storms do you need to destroy your ships before you figure this out” “Yes”

Those making comments on taking advantage, ignore, I think it was a year since I started watching your videos and it was because one of your reactions came up which lead me and more glorious content, so keep doing what you're doing, you're awesome

As much as I get excited when I see a new oversimplified video has dropped I get more excited about these react video.

First watch Oversimplified and THEN come to these reactions, it's a great combination! Keep making these videos!!

Can’t watch :( says no stream

1 thing I love about the history community is that the majority of creators are friends or atleast checks in on each others videos

I always watch oversimplified straight to laugh at the little jokes, then I come over here for knowledge drops

i appreciate ur words of not giving up, they helped :)

Whenever I heard about the Carthaginians taking shelter while Rome ran headlong into a storm, I always remember that story of the Apostle Paul being shipped to Rome on a prison vessel, and he straight up tells the commander, "Ya know, maybe we should winter here. The weather gets awfully nasty in the Mediterranean this time of year and God basically told me if we go out there, this ship ain't gonna make it." And the Romans did it anyway, and they all got shipwrecked. Some 200 years after the first Punic war... and Rome still doesn't comprehend Mediterranean weather patterns. XD

We know, you make this video for us to learn history and you have been teaching history to us by explaining many events descriptively in your videos. Really appreciate your videos Sir.

Another thing about weather affecting war. During the 1798 rebellion in Ireland. The Irish asked the French for help against the British, they got a full fleet ready but didn't land because there's was a storm. If there wasn't a storm, Ireland could of been French!

I REALLY Love your reactions, I Swear I only watch You reacting to oversimplified your reactions are amazing, mostly to the oversimplified jokes 😂

An excellent video, you usually don't hear much about the 1st Punic War, its usually about the 2nd and Hannibal. Also on a side note at about 9:10 you said the US, American and Canadian for the English speaking Allies. It made me chuckle.

I'm glad this is the video where i get to know you and your content

On top of the oversimplified video, we are getting even more information! thank you man.

You always give me "cool uncle" vibes and I love it!

Guys if the video does not work here are 2 solutions Watch the video on a browser or on desktop Be patient and come back in 20 minutes