I was very excited when I saw that this series was being aired. The idea of a well written and well acted look at the enemies of Rome, through their own eyes is a very attractive one. Yet. I have only been able to watch the first part of the first program which is about the great general Hannibal Barca. This is a man I know a lot about having read extensively about him. The program is not interested in realism but in selling a story. First they make Hannibal black. There is no mention in any of the extensive Roman histories describing Hannibal as black. Still, I imagine it conforms to a certain type of historical wishful thinking. Underlined by the fact that they have Jesse Jackson commenting on the program. What does Jesse Jackson know about it? So much for experts... They keep calling Hannibal's troops 'Barbarians', why? I doubt even the Romans would have called them barbarians. The Carthaginians were a sophisticated empire that competed with Rome in many ways not just militarily. Hannibal was one of the great, great generals of all time, yet the program skips over many of his greatest battles with barely a mention. I stopped watching.
Review of Barbarians Rising
