Bellum Africum 77

Thabena revolts; reinforcements arrive

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B. Afr. 77.1Thabenēnsēs interim, quī sub diciōne et potestāte Iubae esse cōnsuēssent in extrēmā eius regnī regiōne maritumā locātī, interfectō rēgiō praesidiō lēgātōs ad Caesarem mittunt, rem gestam docent, petunt ōrantque, ut suīs fortūnīs, cum dē populō Rōmānō bene meritī essent, auxilium ferret.Meanwhile the people of Thabena, who had been used to being under the rule and power of Juba, situated in the furthest coastal region of his kingdom, killed the king's garrison and sent envoys to Caesar; they told him what they had done and begged and prayed him to bring help to their fortunes, since they had deserved well of the Roman people.Note. quī … cōnsuēssent: a relative clause of cause, 'since they had been accustomed'. maritimā: the edition prints the older spelling marituma. petunt ōrantque, ut … ferret: indirect command. cum … meritī essent: causal cum. B. Afr. 77.2Caesar eōrum cōnsiliō probātō Mārcium Crispum tribūnum cum cohorte et sagittāriīs tormentīsque complūribus praesidiō Thabenam mittit.Caesar approved their decision and sent Marcius Crispus, a tribune, with a cohort, archers and a number of artillery pieces to Thabena as a garrison.Note. praesidiō: dative of purpose, 'as a garrison'. Thabenam: accusative of the town name with no preposition after a verb of motion. B. Afr. 77.3Eōdem tempore ex legiōnibus omnibus mīlitēs, quī aut morbō impedītī aut commeātū datō cum signīs nōn potuerant ante trānsīre Āfricam, ad mīlia IV, equitēs CCCC, funditōrēs sagittāriīque mīlle ūnō commeātū Caesarī occurrērunt.At the same time soldiers from all the legions who had not been able to cross to Africa earlier with the standards, either held back by illness or because they had been given leave, about four thousand of them, with four hundred cavalry and a thousand slingers and archers, joined Caesar in a single convoy.Note. commeātū datō: 'having been given leave'. ad mīlia IV: ad with numbers means 'about'. ūnō commeātū: 'in one convoy'.

B. Afr. 77.4Itaque cum hīs cōpiīs et omnibus legiōnibus ēductīs, sīcut erat īnstrūctus, V mīlibus passuum ab suīs castrīs, ab Scīpiōnis vērō II mīlibus passuum longē cōnstitit in campō.So with these forces and all the legions led out, drawn up as he was, he halted on the plain five miles from his own camp, but only two miles from Scipio's.Note. sīcut erat īnstrūctus: 'just as he was, in battle order'. V mīlibus passuum … longē: ablative of degree of difference with longē.

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Grammar in this passage: cum clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×4, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (81 words)

interim (adv.)	meanwhile
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.	under; sub vesperum, towards evening
diciō, -ōnis f.	power, rule, control
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
potestās, -ātis f.	power, authority
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
cōnsuēscō, -suēscere, -suēvī, -suētus	become accustomed; in tenses of completed action, have become accustomed, be accustomed or wont
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
extrēmus, -a, -um	last, extreme, furthest
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
regnum, -ī, n.	royal power, rule, throne; kingdom, realm
regiō, -ōnis, f.	direction; country, region
maritimus, -a, -um	of the sea, coastal
locō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	place; let out a contract for (a public work)
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	put out of the way, kill
rēgius, -a, -um	royal, kingly
praesidium, -ī, n.	protection; guard, escort
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus	carry, wear; carry on, do
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus	teach, explain
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
ōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	speak; beg, pray
que, enclitic conj.	and
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
bene, adv.	well; successfully
mereor, -ērī, meritus sum	deserve; (dē) do service to
auxilium, -ī, n.	help, aid
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	prove, show; approve
tribūnus, -ī m.	tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion)
cum, prep, with abl.	with
cohors, cohortis f.	cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
sagittārius, -ī m.	archer
tormentum, -ī n.	artillery, siege engine
complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj.	several, many
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
legiō, -ōnis f.	legion
omnis, -e	all, every
mīles, mīlitis, m.	soldier
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
morbus, -ī m.	sickness, disease
impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītus	hinder, prevent, impede
commeātus, -ūs, m.	supplies, provisions
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
signum, -ī, n.	sign, signal
nōn, adv.	not
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go across or over, cross
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
Roman numeral	a number written with letters: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
funditor, -ōris m.	slinger
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
occurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus	run against, meet
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
cōpia, -ae, f.	supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
ēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead out, draw
sīcut (conj.)	just as
īnstruo, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus	build in or into; draw up; equip, furnish,
passus, -ūs, m.	pace (mīlia passuum: miles)
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.	camp
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
longē, adv.	far
cōnsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitus	station oneself, take one's stand; consist
campus, -ī, m.	plain, field

Anonymous, Bellum Africum. Latin text: B. Kübler and E. Wölfflin, C. Iulii Caesaris Commentarii, vol. III (Leipzig: Teubner, 1896–97), public domain; transcribed for this app from the Internet Archive scan. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.