Darkness over Cannae

On 2 August, 216 BC, Hannibal of Carthage faces the largest Roman army ever assembled. Aemilius Paullus and Terentius Varro, the Roman consuls, have led eight legions and their Italian allies onto the field of Cannae, fully intending to defeat Hannibal and end the Second Punic War. By nightfall, over fifty thousand Roman soldiers will litter the field, and the second of August will be remembered as one of the blackest days in Roman history. "Darkness over Cannae" depicts this one day in southern Italy, through the eyes of seven men fighting in the battle, on different portions of the field, and on both sides of the war. On 143 pages, and in 77 illustrations, Rome's most traumatic defeat, and Hannibal's greatest triumph comes to life.