Nepos, Hannibal 3

Hann. 3.1Hāc igitur quā dīximus aetāte cum patre in Hispāniam profectus est, cuius post obitum, Hasdrubale imperātōre suffectō, equitātuī omnī praefuit.

At this age, then, which we have mentioned, he set out with his father for Spain; and after his father's death, when Hasdrubal had been put in as commander, he was in charge of all the cavalry.

Note. Hāc … quā dīximus aetāte 'at this age which we mentioned': Nepos means the age of nine from the story above. cuius post obitum 'after whose death': the relative is tucked inside the prepositional phrase. Hasdrubal, Hamilcar's son-in-law, took command in Spain (229–221 BC).

Hann. 3.1Hōc quoque interfectō exercitus summam imperiī ad eum dētulit.

When Hasdrubal too was killed, the army handed the supreme command to him.

Note. Hōc … interfectō is an ablative absolute. Hasdrubal was murdered in 221 BC, and the army chose the 25-year-old Hannibal.

Hann. 3.1Id Karthāginem dēlātum pūblicē comprobātum est.

This was reported to Carthage and approved by the state.

Hann. 3.2Sīc Hannibal minor quīnque et vīgintī annīs nātus imperātor factus proximō trienniō omnēs gentēs Hispāniae bellō subēgit, Saguntum, foederātam cīvitātem, vī expugnāvit, trēs exercitūs maximōs comparāvit.

So Hannibal, made commander when he was under twenty-five, conquered all the peoples of Spain in war within the next three years, took Saguntum, an allied city, by force, and raised three very large armies.

Note. minor quīnque et vīgintī annīs nātus 'younger than twenty-five years old': the ablative annīs after the comparative. Saguntum, a city allied to Rome (foederātam), fell after an eight-month siege in 219 BC; this began the Second Punic War.

Hann. 3.3Ex hīs ūnum in Āfricam mīsit, alterum cum Hasdrubale frātre in Hispāniā relīquit, tertium in Ītaliam sēcum dūxit.

Of these he sent one to Africa, left the second with his brother Hasdrubal in Spain, and took the third with him into Italy.

Hann. 3.3Ut saltum Pȳrēnaeum trānsiit, quācumque iter fēcit, cum omnibus incolīs cōnflīxit: nēminem nisi victum dīmīsit.

When he had crossed the Pyrenees pass, wherever he made his way he fought with all the inhabitants: he let no one go unless beaten.

Note. quācumque 'wherever', literally 'by whatever way'. nēminem nisi victum dīmīsit: he let no one go who had not first been beaten.

Hann. 3.4Ad Alpēs posteāquam vēnit, quae Ītaliam ab Galliā sēiungunt, quās nēmō umquam cum exercitū ante eum praeter Herculem Grāium trānsierat (quō factō is hodiē saltus Grāius appellātur), Alpicōs cōnantēs prohibēre trānsitū concīdit, loca patefēcit, itinera mūniit, effēcit ut eā elephantus ōrnātus īre posset, quā anteā ūnus homō inermis vix poterat rēpere.

After he came to the Alps, which separate Italy from Gaul, which no one had ever crossed with an army before him except the Greek Hercules (because of this the pass is today called the Greek pass), he cut down the Alpine tribes who tried to stop his passage, opened up the country, built roads, and brought it about that an elephant in full harness could go where before a single unarmed man could barely crawl.

Note. Another long period: posteāquam vēnit … concīdit, patefēcit, mūniit, effēcit. The relative clauses describe the Alps. The 'Greek Hercules' legend gave the name to the Little St Bernard pass (saltus Grāius); modern scholars still argue about which pass Hannibal actually used (218 BC). effēcit ut … posset: a result clause after efficiō. eā … quā 'by the way that … by which'.

Hann. 3.4Hāc cōpiās trādūxit in Ītaliamque pervēnit.

By this route he led his forces across and reached Italy.