§21.5.1ceterum ex quo die dux est declaratus, velut Italia ei provincia decreta bellumque Romanum mandatum esset, §21.5.2nihil prolatandum ratus, ne se quoque, ut patrem Hamilcarem, deinde Hasdrubalem, cunctantem casus aliquis opprimeret, Saguntinis inferre bellum statuit.
However, from the very day he was declared commander-in-chief, as if Italy had been decreed to him as his province and the war with Rome entrusted to him, thinking that nothing should be delayed, lest some chance should overtake him too while hesitating, as it had his father Hamilcar and afterwards Hasdrubal, he determined to make war upon the Saguntines.
§21.5.3quibus oppugnandis quia haud dubie Romana arma movebantur, in Olcadum prius fines — ultra Hiberum ea gens in parte magis quam in dicione Carthaginiensium erat — induxit exercitum, ut non petisse Saguntinos, sed rerum serie finitimis domitis gentibus iungendoque tractus ad id bellum videri posset.
Because attacking them would undoubtedly set Roman arms in motion, he first led his army into the territory of the Olcades—a tribe beyond the Ebro, which was situated in the sphere of influence rather than under the direct dominion of the Carthaginians—so that he might appear not to have aimed at the Saguntines, but to have been drawn into that war by a chain of events, through the subjugation and annexation of neighboring tribes.
§21.5.4Cartalam urbem opulentam, caput gentis eius, expugnat diripitque; quo metu perculsae minores civitates stipendio inposito imperium accepere.
He stormed and plundered the wealthy city of Cartala, the capital of that tribe; struck with this fear, the smaller states accepted his rule after a tribute was imposed upon them.
victor exercitus opulentusque praeda Carthaginem Novam in hiberna est deductus.
The victorious army, enriched with booty, was led back to New Carthage into winter quarters.
§21.5.5ibi large partiendo praedam stipendioque praeterito cum fide exsolvendo cunctis civium sociorumque animis in se firmatis vere primo in Vaccaeos promotum bellum.
There, by generously distributing the booty and faithfully paying the arrears of pay, he secured the loyalty of all the citizens and allies; and at the beginning of spring, the war was carried forward against the Vaccaei.
Hermandica et Arbocala, eorum urbes, vi captae.
Hermandica and Arbocala, their cities, were taken by force.
§21.5.6Arbocala et virtute et multitudine oppidanorum diu defensa.
Arbocala was defended for a long time, both by the bravery and the multitude of its inhabitants.
§21.5.7ab Hermandica profugi exulibus Olcadum, priore aestate domitae gentis, §21.5.8cum se iunxissent, concitant Carpetanos, adortique Hannibalem regressum ex Vaccaeis haud procul Tago flumine agmen grave praeda turbavere.
Fugitives from Hermandica, having joined the exiles of the Olcades, a tribe subdued the previous summer, after they had united, incited the Carpetani, and having attacked Hannibal on his return from the Vaccaei, not far from the Tagus River, they threw into confusion his baggage-train, which was heavy with booty.
§21.5.9Hannibal proelio abstinuit, castrisque super ripam positis, cum prima quies silentiumque ab hostibus fuit, amnem vado traiecit valloque ita producto, ut locum ad transgrediendum hostes haberent, invadere eos transeuntes statuit.
Hannibal abstained from battle, and pitched his camp upon the bank; when the first quiet and silence came from the enemy's side, he crossed the river by a ford and extended his rampart in such a way that the enemy might have space to cross, determining to attack them as they were crossing.
§21.5.10equitibus praecepit, ut, cum ingressos aquam viderent, adorirentur inpeditum agmen; in ripa elephantos — quadraginta autem erant — disponit.
He ordered the cavalry to attack their encumbered column as soon as they saw them enter the water; on the bank he stationed the elephants—there were forty of them.
§21.5.11Carpetanorum cum adpendicibus Olcadum Vaccaeorumque centum milia fuere, invicta acies, si aequo dimicaretur campo.
There were a hundred thousand of the Carpetani, with the additions of the Olcades and Vaccaei—an invincible army, if the battle had been fought on level ground.
§21.5.12itaque et ingenio feroces et multitudine freti et, quod metu cessisse credebant hostem, id morari victoriam rati, quod interesset amnis, clamore sublato passim sine ullius imperio, qua cuique proximum est, in amnem ruunt.
Therefore, naturally fierce and relying on their numbers, and believing that the enemy had retreated out of fear, thinking that the only obstacle delaying their victory was the river between them, they raised a shout and rushed into the river everywhere without anyone's command, wherever was nearest to each.
§21.5.13at ex parte altera ripae vis ingens equitum in flumen inmissa, §21.5.14medioque alveo haudquaquam pari certamine concursum, quippe ubi pedes instabilis ac vix vado fidens vel ab inermi equite equo temere acto perverti posset, eques corpore armisque liber, equo vel per medios gurgites stabili, comminus eminusque rem gereret.
But from the opposite bank, a massive force of cavalry was sent into the river, and in the middle of the channel the conflict was joined in a far from equal combat; for there the infantry soldier, unstable and scarcely trusting the ford, could be overthrown even by an unarmed horseman driving his horse recklessly, while the horseman, free in his body and arms, with his horse steady even through the midst of the whirlpools, could carry on the fight both at close quarters and from a distance.
§21.5.15pars magna flumine absumpta; quidam verticoso amni delati in hostis ab elephantis obtriti sunt.
A great part was swept away by the river; some, carried down by the swirling current toward the enemy, were trampled by the elephants.
§21.5.16postremi, quibus regressus in suam ripam tutior fuit, ex varia trepidatione cum in unum colligerentur, priusquam a tanto pavore reciperent animos, Hannibal agmine quadrato amnem ingressus fugam ex ripa fecit vastatisque agris intra paucos dies Carpetanos quoque in deditionem accepit.
The last, for whom retreat to their own bank was safer, while they were gathering together from various points of panic, before they could recover their spirits from so great a terror, Hannibal entered the river in a square formation and put them to flight from the bank, and after ravaging their lands, within a few days he accepted the surrender of the Carpetani as well.
§21.5.17et iam omnia trans Hiberum praeter Saguntinos Carthaginiensium erant.
And now all things beyond the Ebro, except the Saguntines, belonged to the Carthaginians.