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Single bone in Spain offers first direct evidence of Hannibal's war elephants
- keeganpoppen 8mo agoscore yet another win for the stories of antiquity being more right than wrong.
- SketchySeaBeast 8mo agoI think it would be more accurate to say "based upon true events".
- bluGill 8mo agoI don't think anyone doubted the story. The details might be questionable, but the basics that he tried to fight with elephants is highly likely. We have plenty of sources for War Elephants in his time, so the idea that he didn't have them would be the larger surprise if someone could prove that.
- awesome_dude 8mo ago> but the basics that he tried to fight with elephants is highly likely. We have plenty of sources for War Elephants in his time, so the idea that he didn't have them would be the larger surprise if someone could prove that. Just to add to your point: Many many cultures have used elephants in their armies, so the only real bone of contention (oh god I do love my puns) would have been that Hannibal was using them on the European continent.
- arduanika 8mo agoIt's more like, the surviving written histories and the archaeological record are each giving us only a part of the real truth. It's as if they're both grasping in the dark at two different parts of the same elephant.
- L2007W 8mo agoHerodotus wrote of fire breathing ants in Egypt.
- RupertSalt 8mo agoHe was referring to his mother’s sisters. Misinterpreted all the time. Very similar terms in the Greek sources.
- Starman_Jones 8mo agoWorth noting that these would have been North African elephants, a now-extinct subspecies. It is not as tall as the modern African elephant - 2.5m at the shoulder, as compared to 3 to 3.5m for African elephants. A large warhorse might measure 1.5m tall, for comparison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_elephant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_elephant
- Mordisquitos 8mo agoIt is my understanding that Asian elephants are easier to tame by humans than African elephants, which is evident just by seeing how elephants are used in parts of Asia and how they are used (not) in Africa. Also circus elephants, when they were still common, would always be Asian elephants and not African ones. The reason I'm pointing this out is that I wonder whether the North African subspecies was more amenable to taming than still extant subspecies of the African elephant.
- wahern 8mo agoThere are multiple species of African elephants, and the North African elephant may yet turn out to be related if not identical to one of the others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_elephant#Taxonomic_uncertainty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_elephant#Taxonom... The African forest elephant is of similar size, and it would be interesting if the forest elephant is indeed more easily trained.
- rightbyte 8mo ago> A large warhorse might measure 1.5m tall, for comparison. By sadle hight not at ear top hight, right?
- Starman_Jones 8mo agoCorrect :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_%28unit%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_%28unit%29
- metalman 8mo ago
- AdmiralAsshat 8mo agoTerror Lake salutes Hannibal crossing the alps
- Insanity 8mo agoThis month I read "Carthage Must Be Destroyed" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10133950-carthage-must-be-destroyed https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10133950-carthage-must-b...), which dives deep into Hannibal's war against Rome (and the other punic wars). I highly recommend reading about what happened from the Carthaginian perspective instead of the typical Roman perspective. There's also some elaboration on the usage of elephants, the feasibility of of this, and how ultimately ineffective it was for war. (It was great for scaring the enemy, but the issue is they indiscriminately hurt both armies).
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]
- jimnotgym 8mo agoHannibal loved it when a plan came together. The latter years of his life must have been very disappointing
- awesome_dude 8mo agoI ain't gettin' on no plane Hannibal!
- dzink 8mo agoAfter interacting with some Asian elephants with handlers recently this makes a lot more sense. Even if he used North African elephants - they can hike up and down mountains and rough terrain easily with stability. I’m assuming they could pull equipment and even potentially be armed and armored. They are incredible creatures.
- drewnoakes 8mo agoI highly recommend "The Fall of Civilisations" podcast's episode on this topic. it's such an epic story and the narrator builds such a rich picture of the times and events. https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/2023/04/11/%F0%9F%90%98%F0%9F%90%98-episode-17-is-now-live-%F0%9F%90%98%F0%9F%90%98/ https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/2023/04/11/%F0%9F%90%...
- drewnoakes 8mo agoThere's also a video version of the episode on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6dbdVhVSat8 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6dbdVhVSat8
- dkislyuk 8mo agoThe Paul Cooper production is great. The Rest Is History also just finished a long series (spread out in three seasons, starting on episode 421) on the Punic wars, similarly well done.
- drewnoakes 8mo agoThat's wonderful, thanks. I've just about finished all of The Fall of Civilisations and am already feeling a sense of loss. I'm sure I'll listen to them again, but am happy to hear recommendations of other great history content.
- hinkley 8mo agoSomething often left out of fiction about war is how easily a moving army can overwhelm a local ecosystem, particularly if its supply lines sag. You might not even be their target, and yet you will be pillaged. No more easy hunting for you for years. No more quick trips for firewood, or tinder. It stands to reason that if an occupying force doesn’t stay long in an area, and its animals die along the way, that the now destitute locals will take the “road kill” and scrounge every possible calorie from it. And marrow was a dish rather than something for soup stock up until the modern era. The Illiad basically won’t shut up about it. So I have no doubt that every dead elephant anyone could find was 100% rendered down into food and leather by the beleaguered locals. And probably every cousin from one village over got told about the find too. (I suspect elephant leather would make amazing peasant shoes)
- HPsquared 8mo agoAnd perhaps it's not so good even if you are being "defended" by the hungry army! It kind of resembles when a monarch comes to visit a noble; you would need to spend a lot on them and their entourage.
- RupertSalt 8mo agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartering_Acts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartering_Acts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Amendment_to_the_United_... https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/us-restaurant-owners-ice-immigration https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/10/us-restauran... https://www.foxnews.com/media/arizona-mexican-restaurant-swamped-hate-over-free-meals-ice-owners-respond-god-bless-you https://www.foxnews.com/media/arizona-mexican-restaurant-swa...
- Archelaos 8mo agoWhy should the army leave a dead elephant on the road? They would butcher it themselves and take the meat with them (and the tusks). The locals may have found some large bones for their living room decorations (and may be some skin, if they were lucky).
- cco 8mo agoHmm, does this change our understanding of the route Hannibal took? I've always seen pictures like the one on this Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal%27s_crossing_of_the_Alps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal%27s_crossing_of_the_A...) where his army landed in Cartagena and then marched East. But this article mentions the bone was found in Cordoba which is West by a few hundred miles and pretty far inland.