“The Histories (Book I)” (Chap. 75)

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Polybius (Greek Historian)

2013

"The Histories (Book I)" (Chap. 75) by Polybius (Greek Historian)

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Polybius (Greek Historian)

“The Histories (Book I)” (Chap. 75) Annotated

1 The Carthaginians, in consequence, seeing that he was mismanaging matters, again appointed Hamilcar Barcas to the
command

2 and dispatched him to the war on hand, giving him seventy elephants, all the additional mercenaries they had been able to collect, and the deserters from the enemy, besides their burgher forces, horse and foot, so that in all he had about ten thousand men.

3 Hamilcar, on his very first expedition, struck terror into the enemy by the unexpectedness of the attack, cowing their spirit, raising the siege of Utica, and showing himself worthy of his past exploits and of the high expectations of the populace.

4 What he accomplished in this campaign was as follows. On the neck of land connecting Carthage with Libya is a chain of hills difficult of access and with several passes to the country artificially cut in them. Mathos had posted guards in all those spots which were favourable for the passage of the hills.

5 In addition to this there is a river called Macaras9 which shuts off in certain places the access from the town to the country. This river is for the most part unfordable owing to the volume of water, and there is only one bridge, which Mathos had also secured, building a town at the bridge-head.

6 So that not only was it impossible for the Carthaginians to reach the country with an army, but it was not even an easy matter for single persons wishing to get through to elude the vigilance of the enemy.

7 Hamilcar, seeing all these obstacles, after passing in review every means and every chance of surmounting this difficulty about a passage, thought of the following plan.

8 He had noticed that when the wind blew strongly from certain quarters the mouth of the river got silted up and the passage became shallow just where it falls into the sea. He therefore got his force ready to march out, and keeping his project to himself, waited for this to occur.

9 When the right time came he started from Carthage at night, and without anyone noticing him, had by daybreak got his army across at the place mentioned.

10 Both those in the city and the enemy were taken by surprise, and Hamilcar advanced through the plain making for the guardians of the bridge.

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