A large part of understanding ourselves is being aware of the history that underlies the structures, symbols, and institutions that surround us, that we actively internalize (even if unaware), and that continually condition us to be a certain way and not another. If you have some idea of how the brain works, you also know that the way us human beings presently behave is due in large part to the cultural evolution that has given way to the contexts that engulf us.
Our world would not be as it is without the Punic Wars having gone the way that they did. These massive, epic wars were fought between a Roman Republic that didn't yet control even all of Italy and a Carthage, settled by Phoenicians, that had an Empire that stretched through half of the north African shore, southern Spain, and the many islands just west of the Italian peninsula.
The following four short, animated videos provide an engaging account of all the elements that make the Punic Wars so engaging and so important. Enjoy!
(For Mobile Users that may not be able to see the videos embedded below, please go to the following links: 1) Rome: The Punic Wars I 2) Rome: The Punic Wars II 3) Rome: The Punic Wars III 4) Rome: The Punic Wars IV)
Please see this Ancient Rome Song for a much shorter, musical historical primer of ancient Roman history.
Know yourself!
