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Livy · History of Rome §22.21.1-22.21.8

Celtiberian Invasion of Carthaginian Territory and Hasdrubal's Struggles

Passage 615 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

While Hasdrubal returns to deal with Spanish tribal uprisings, the Celtiberians, urged by Scipio, invade the Carthaginian province and win a major victory.

§22.21.1quietum inde fore videbatur reliquum aestatis tempus, fuissetque per Poenum hostem; §22.21.2sed praeterquam quod ipsorum Hispanorum inquieta avidaque in novas res sunt ingenia, §22.21.3Mandonius Indebilisque, qui antea Ilergetum regulus fuerat, postquam Romani ab saltu recessere ad maritimam oram, concitis popularibus in agrum pacatum sociorum Romanorum ad populandum venerunt.
From then on, the remainder of the summer seemed likely to be peaceful, and it would have been so, as far as the Carthaginian enemy was concerned; but besides the fact that the temperaments of the Spaniards themselves are restless and eager for revolution, Mandonius and Indibilis, who had previously been a petty king of the Ilergetes, after the Romans withdrew from the pass to the maritime coast, stirred up their countrymen and came to plunder the pacified territory of the allies of the Romans.
§22.21.4adversus eos tribunus militum cum expeditis auxiliis a Scipione missi levi certamine, ut tumultuariam manum, fudere, mille hominibus occisis, quibusdam captis magnaque parte armis exuta.
Against them, military tribunes sent by Scipio with light-armed auxiliaries routed them in a slight skirmish, as if they were an irregular band, killing a thousand men, capturing some, and stripping a large part of their arms.
§22.21.5hic tamen tumultus cedentem ad Oceanum Hasdrubalem cis Hiberum ad socios tutandos retraxit.
This disturbance, however, drew Hasdrubal, who was withdrawing toward the Ocean, back to this side of the Hiberus to protect his allies.
§22.21.6castra Punica in agro Ilergavonensium, castra Romana ad Novam Classem erant, cum fama repens alio avertit bellum.
The Carthaginian camp was in the territory of the Ilergavonenses, and the Roman camp was at Nova Classis, when a sudden rumor turned the war in another direction.
§22.21.7Celtiberi qui principes regionis suae legatos miserant obsidesque dederant Romanis, nuntio misso a Scipione exciti arma capiunt, provinciamque Carthaginiensium valido exercitu invadunt.
The Celtiberians, who, as the leading men of their region, had sent ambassadors and given hostages to the Romans, roused by a messenger sent by Scipio, took up arms and invaded the province of the Carthaginians with a strong army.
§22.21.8tria oppida vi expugnant; inde cum ipso Hasdrubale duobus proeliis egregie pugnant; ad quindecim milia hostium occiderunt, quattuor milia cum multis militaribus signis capiunt.
They stormed three towns by force; then they fought brilliantly with Hasdrubal himself in two battles; they killed up to fifteen thousand of the enemy and captured four thousand along with many military standards.

Notes

  1. 22.21.1fuissetque per Poenum hostem — The pluperfect subjunctive fuisset expresses an unfulfilled condition (irrealis), meaning 'and it would have been so.' The preposition per with Poenum hostem functions to mean 'as far as the Carthaginian enemy was concerned.'
  2. 22.21.3Mandonius Indebilisque, qui antea Ilergetum regulus fuerat — Although two subjects (Mandonius and Indebilis) are mentioned, the verb fuerat and the complement regulus in the relative clause are singular, agreeing grammatically only with the nearer subject Indebilis. Historically, Indibilis was the king and Mandonius was his brother.
  3. 22.21.4tribunus militum cum expeditis auxiliis a Scipione missi ... fudere — Some manuscripts read the singular tribunus militum, but the participle missi and the main verb fudere are plural. This is either a construction ad sensum (agreement according to sense) triggered by the accompanying cum-phrase, or suggests that the text originally had the plural tribuni militum.
  4. 22.21.6cum fama repens alio avertit bellum — This is an instance of 'cum inversum' (inverted cum), where the main, sudden action is introduced by the conjunction cum with the indicative perfect (avertit), while the preceding clause with the imperfect (erant) sets the background.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §22.21.1-22.21.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:22.21.1-22.21.8

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