Hannibal and the Elephants or how to find a new world history for the Roman Empire

Inaugural lecture by Peter Fibiger Bang as professor.

Abstract

When the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the Alps to invade Italy and the Roman Republic bringing with him 37 war-elephants in 218 BCE, he made legend. The episode has become a stable of traditional Roman historiography and fascinated generations of students. But behind this seemingly well-known and endlessly rehearsed event lies a much bigger, rarely noticed world history. This lecture sketches a new world history for the Roman Empire; it is a story that runs across the Afro-Eurasian landmass from antiquity till the rise of European colonialism; it was dominated by the rise of universal empires, but based on the slow growth of taxable peasantries. To explore this story, ancient history will have to step out of its comfort zone and cultivate a closer dialogue with students of other Afro-Eurasian societies. Ancient history must engage in comparative world history.