Units of History - Balearic Slingers (Patreon)

Units of History - The Balearic Slingers DOCUMENTARY

A military history documentary on the deadly Balearic Slingers who served as famous mercenaries in the Carthaginian and Roman Army. Get your free trial of MagellanTV here: https://try.magellantv.com/invicta. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers: an extended, month-long trial, FREE. MagellanTV is a new kind of streaming service run by filmmakers with 2,000+ documentaries! Check out our personal recommendation and MagellanTV’s exclusive playlists: https://www.magellantv.com/explore/history We continue our Units of History series which explores the most famous and deadliest warriors of history. The documentary begins with an overview of the origins of the balearic islands and how their people eventually adopted the sling as a means to hunt and herd. This skill eventually translated into skirmishing which proved useful in the frequent island raids. When Carthage took control of the island, the Balearic Slingers first began their military service abroad and won great acclaim. With more notoriety and pay more islanders joined the mercenary profession which generated even more balearic slingers for hire. These now saw even wider use across the Mediterranean and yet greater fame. They fought alongside the Punic forces for most of the history of Carthage before Rome won the Punic Wars and then began serving in the legions. Next we discuss the equipment of the balearic slingers, focusing specifically on their famous sling. In conjunction with ammunition we talk about the type of range these slingers could reach and what damage they could do. Finally we talk about their military tactics in ancient battle and service history. This includes many examples from the Punic Wars such as the Battle of Ticinus, the Battle of River Trebia, the Battle of Lake Trasimene, the Battle of Cannae, and the Battle of Zama. Under the generalship of commanders like Hannibal Barca and Julius Caesar they were absolutely devastating. Stay tuned for more military history documentaries on Units of History. #History #Documentary #Carthage