1
cuiuspostobitum,Hasdrubaleimperatoresuffecto,equitatuiomnipraefuit.
3
Grammarcuius refers to Hamilcar. Hasdrubale imperatore suffecto is an ablative absolute; suffecto comes from sufficio, 'I am appointed as a replacement' — the term used when a Roman magistrate took over a job after the previous holder died mid-term.
Grammarpraefuit from praesum, 'I am in charge of'; compounds of esse (like praesum) take their object in the dative.
ContextHamilcar had held command for nine years by this point, and had clearly meant to hold it a good deal longer — he died fighting local tribes in Spain, leaving the whole project unfinished for his son to pick up.
1–3
hocquoqueinterfectoexercitussummamimperiiadeumdetulit.idCarthaginemdelatumpublicecomprobatumest.
5
Grammarhoc quoque interfecto another ablative absolute.
Grammarsummam imperii summa is a noun here, and summam imperii tenere means 'to hold supreme power' — the translation brings out the force of the genitive.
GrammarCarthaginem delatum Carthage, being a town, doesn't need a preposition ('to Carthage').
ContextHasdrubal didn't die in battle at all he was murdered in 221 BC by one of his own slaves, who had a personal score to settle (Hasdrubal had had the slave's previous master killed). Not the most dignified way for a Carthaginian commander-in-chief to go.
Contextpublice although Hannibal was only around 18, the older soldiers proclaimed him commander unanimously; the Carthaginian rulers 'confirmed' this, but really they had no power to stop it anyway. As we'll see through the rest of the Life, home support for Hannibal was never strong.
3–5
sicHannibalminorV(quinque)etXX(viginti)annisnatusimperatorfactus,proximotriennioomnesgentesHispaniaebellosubegit;
1
Contextminor V et XX annis natus some scholars think Hannibal was actually only 18 at this point, others say 26; Nepos's numbers don't quite add up.
5–6
Saguntum,foederatamcivitatem,viexpugnavit,tresexercitusmaximoscomparavit.
2
Vocabularyfoederatam a special term for cities or states that were treaty-allies of Rome.
ContextSaguntum in 226 BC Hasdrubal had signed a treaty giving Carthage control of Spain south of the river Ebro, but Saguntum, though south of the river, was already an ally of Rome. The two claims clashed, and in 218 BC Hannibal besieged and captured Saguntum after eight months — the spark that set off the Second Punic War.
7–8
exhisunuminAfricammisit,alterumcumHasdrubalefratreinHispaniareliquit,tertiuminItaliamsecumduxit.
3
Grammarex his refers to the three armies just mentioned.
Tricolonunum ... alterum ... tertium three armies, three matching clauses, one after another with no et joining them (asyndeton). It's a neat, businesslike way of showing Hannibal dividing up his forces with total control.
ContextAncient writers give huge (and probably exaggerated) numbers here: nearly 14,000 men to Africa, 12,000 foot soldiers and 21 elephants left in Spain, and (according to Livy) up to 90,000 soldiers plus cavalry and elephants taken to Italy.
8–9
saltumPyrenaeumtransiit,quacumqueiterfecit,cumomnibusincolisconflixit:neminemnisivictumdimisit.
3
Litotesneminem nisi victum dimisit 'he let no one go except a conquered one': stacking up two negatives (neminem, nisi) to make a strong positive point is litotes, and it makes Hannibal's total dominance sound even more complete than if Nepos had just said 'he conquered everyone'.
Alliterationneminem nisi there's also a hint of alliteration on n running through this clause, emphasising Hannibal's ruthlessness.
StyleThis whole sentence is a good example of hyperbole (exaggeration) — Nepos wants to hammer home how unstoppable Hannibal's march was, even though in reality some tribes must have simply avoided him rather than fighting to the death.
10–11
adAlpesposteaquamvenit,quaeItaliamaGalliaseiungunt,quasnemoumquamcumexercituanteeumpraeterHerculemGraiumtransierat,
4
Grammarquae Italiam ... seiungunt, quas nemo two relative clauses in a row, both giving extra information about the Alps.
GrammarGraium the adjective Graius, a, um means 'Greek'.
ContextTo complete his tenth labour, Hercules had to fetch the cattle of the monster Geryon from the far west, where Europe supposedly met North Africa; on the way he built the two mountains known as the Pillars of Hercules, either side of what's now the Strait of Gibraltar.
StyleComparing Hannibal to Hercules even if the comparison isn't strictly accurate (see the note below on Graius) — flatters Hannibal by putting him almost on the level of a demigod.
11–12
quofactoishodiesaltusGraiusappellatur,Alpicosconantesprohiberetransituconcidit;
2
Grammarconcidit from concido, concidere, concidi, concisus: 'kill', 'cut down'.
ContextNepos (like some other Roman authors) is actually wrong here — 'Graian' doesn't come from Graius ('Greek') at all, but from the language of the Gauls. It's a nice story, just not a true one.
12–13
locapatefecit,itineramuniit,effecit,uteaelephantusornatusireposset,quaanteaunushomoinermisvixpoteratrepere.
4
Grammarmuniit a word used specifically for building a proper military road so supplies could get through easily. effecit ut introduces a result clause.
Vocabularyornatus describes the elephant kitted out with a rider, luggage and a seat (which could carry two people), usually under a sun canopy.
Asyndetonconcidit, loca patefecit, itinera muniit, effecit four verbs fired off one after another with no et linking them. This asyndeton makes Hannibal's (or really his troops') hard work sound relentless, non-stop, almost machine-like.
Antithesiselephantus ornatus ... unus homo inermis vix a fully laden elephant set against one unarmed man barely managing to crawl: the contrast (with vix, 'scarcely', tipping it over the edge) exists purely to underline just how impressive this achievement was.
13–14
haccopiastraduxitinItaliamquepervenit.
2
Grammarhac sums up all the efforts just described, used adverbially ('by this route/means').
ContextHannibal set out from New Carthage (modern Cartagena) and crossed roughly 900 miles on foot. Of his 38,000 troops, only around 20,000 made it to Italy, and he lost almost all his elephants; the cavalry suffered the fewest losses, only 2,000 of 8,000. Rome now had to divert its own troops to deal with him.
1
After Hamilcar died and Hasdrubal was appointed general in his place, Hannibal was put in charge of all the cavalry.
1–3
When Hasdrubal was also killed, the army conferred on him the highest office of power and when this news was brought back to Carthage, it was approved publicly.
3–5
So it was that when he was less than twenty-five years old, Hannibal was made commander; and within the next three years he subdued all the tribes of Spain through war,
5–6
took Saguntum by force, a town allied with Rome, and obtained three massive armies.
7–8
Of these armies he sent one to Africa, left the second with his brother Hasdrubal in Spain, and led the third with himself into Italy.
8–9
He crossed the pass over the Pyrenees; wherever he made his journey he fought with all the local people: he left nobody behind unless conquered.
10–11
After he came to the Alps which separate Italy from Gaul, which no one before him had ever crossed with an army except the Greek Hercules,
11–12
through which exploit this pass is today called the Graian Pass, he cut to pieces the Alpine peoples who were trying to prevent him from crossing;
12–13
he opened up places, built roads, and made it possible for an elephant loaded with equipment to go to such places through which, before, a single unarmed man could barely crawl.
13–14
In this way, he led his forces across and came into Italy.