Netflix’s decision to cast Denzel Washington as historic military leader Hannibal in its upcoming blockbuster has sparked a furious race row in Tunisia. 

The streaming giant is accused of making a potential ‘historical error’ in casting Washington, who is black, as the ancient Carthaginian general, with historians still stumped over his ethnicity over 2,200 years after his reign.

Outrage over the casting spilled into Tunisian parliament and sparked an online petition calling on Tunisia’s Ministry of Culture to ‘take action against the attempt to steal our history.’

The controversy in the African nation comes months after nearby Egypt was also embroiled in a Netflix scandal over docudrama ‘Cleopatra’, which was accused of ‘blackwashing’ after hiring a black actress to play the Macedonian-Greek empress.

Denzel Washington (pictured in April 2023) has been cast as ancient military leader Hannibal for an upcoming Netflix blockbuster, sparking fury in Tunisia where the general hailed from

Hannibal was a Carthaginian general famed for leading his army – including African war elephants – across the Alps as he laid siege to the Roman Empire in 2018 BC

The row over Washington’s selection in the film’s lead role sparked a wave of criticism online, which then erupted in the halls of the Tunisian parliament, according to French outlet Courrier International.

Tunisian Member of Parliament Yassine Mami argued that the chamber ‘needa to take position on this subject’, as he felt ‘there is a risk of falsifying history.’

‘This is about defending Tunisian identity and listening to the reactions of civil society,’ he said.

Tunisian newspaper La Presse also took a public stance against Washington’s casting in an editorial, claiming that the decision is ‘according to Tunisians and many observers, a historical error.’

Washington is set to team up with director Anthony Fuqua in the film, the latest in a long line of collaborations between the pair including the actor’s Oscar-winning turn in 2001 hit film Training Day.

Hannibal was born in 247 BC and was of West Asian Semitic origin, being born in the region of Carthage – now Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.

He is considered by many historians to be among the greatest military leaders in history, and his career included a famous siege of Rome in 218 BC when he led African war elephants across the Alps.

Denzel Washington (right) is set to team up again with director Antoine Fuqua (left) in the blockbuster Hannibal. The two have collaborated a number of times, including Washington’s Oscar-winning turn in 2001 hit Training Day

Historians have been stumped over Hannibal’s skin color over 2,200 years after his reign. He was of West Asian Semitic origin, and was born in the region of Carthage – now Tunis, the capital of Tunisia

Experts have been divided over his skin color, as although it is agreed that he was of Phoenician heritage – now known as modern day Lebanon and Syria – he ruled at a time of numerous interchanging empires and intermixing, reports The Guardian.

Tunisia’s outrage at the casting has also come at a time of heightened racial tensions in the nation, which has seen President Kais Saied allege that sub-Saharan migrants are flooding the nation to turn the majority-Arab nation ‘purely African.’

However, while Mami felt Washington’s selection was offensive, culture minister Hayet Ketat Guermazi said the move was out of her control, and she was negotiating to have some scenes in the film shot in Tunisia.

‘It’s fiction; It’s their right to do what they want,’ she said. ‘Hannibal is a historical figure, even if we’re all proud that he’s Tunisian … What could we do?’

‘What matters to me is that they shoot even one sequence in Tunisia and mention it. We want Tunisia to become a platform for foreign films again.

‘I hope they decide to shoot at least a sequence of the film here and that that this is publicized. We want Tunisia to go back to being a location where foreign films are shot.’

Netflix came under fire earlier this year after casting black actress Adele James, 37, as Egyptian leader Cleopatra

Check out the trailer for new Netflix documentary ‘Queen Cleopatra’
It comes months after Netflix came under similar criticism for casting black actress Adele James in the role of Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

Egyptology experts and historians slammed the show for ‘blackwashing’ the historical icon, with records showing she was of Macedonian-Greek origin.

Fans reacted with similar distain as, four days after its release, the show was given just a one percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, reportedly the worst ever documented.