While ancient history is full of larger-than-life figures, the famed Carthaginian military commander we know as Hannibal has taken on a particularly mythic quality. His story is woven together with hearsay, embellishment, and extremely limited source material. Nevertheless, Hannibal defined a critical period in Roman history—and ancient history, more broadly—plowing across the Italian peninsula with a cadre of foot soldiers, elite cavalry, envoys, and even elephants. His army laid waste to many strategically important cities; utilized intelligence networks to deter powerful Roman allies along the route; and triumphed in key skirmishes against formidable Roman generals and the impressive armies they commanded, triggering wave after wave of public outcry and panic back in Rome.

But when we peel back the legend, what’s left? What do we know and what can we accurately say about the famed Hannibal Barca? Where did he and his family come from, and why did they and their fellow Carthaginian countrymen war repeatedly with Rome? How did the Carthaginian army manage to devastate the Italian peninsula so thoroughly in the Second Punic War? And—perhaps most importantly—why did Hannibal and his army ultimately fail in their long and impressive fight against Rome?

Answer these questions and more in the 15 lectures of Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome, which detail the legendary Carthaginian commander’s historic conquest of Rome from Italy to Iberia. Eve MacDonald, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at Cardiff University, will be your expert guide. Together, you will travel back to antiquity and explore a time during which the future of the Roman polity was increasingly unclear, and the Barcid family commanded politics in the powerful port city of Carthage. You will survey the world that Hannibal was born into and came of age in, paying close attention to politics, culture, and society in Carthage and Rome in the age of the Punic Wars. Then, you will turn to the conquest itself, tracking Hannibal and his impressive army across the Alps and into the Roman heartland. And, finally, you will assess the aftermath: What became of the famous Hannibal, his once-powerful homeland, and Rome after the dust of combat and conquest had settled?