1519 – History of Rome, Livy | Third Decade on Second Punic Wars – Hannibal

Few works on the history of Rome are as important and impactful as Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. Livy began working on this work at the end of the 1st-century BC and covers the earliest times and the foundation of Rome through the reign of Caesar Augustus. Written in a series of ‘decades’, the third and fourth decades were based on the accounts of Polybius.

This 1519 printing of Livy’s ‘Third Decade’ covers the lives of those most prominent in the Second Punic Wars with heavy emphasis on Hannibal. Other notable figures include Hannibal’s brothers Hasdrubal and Mago Barca, Maharbal (Hannibal’s cavalry commander), Scipio Africanus as a young Roman officer, Tiberius Longus who was defeated at Trebia, Gaius Flaminius, Marcus Minucius Rufus, and his rival Quintus Fabius Maximus.

Events such as the expansion of the war into Spain and Sicily is well document in this volume. Sixteenth century printings of Livy are exceptionally rare, but this volume, published by Aldine, is even more desirable. A true treasure of Aldine and Roman history.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Titi Livii patavini Decas Tertia
• Author(s): Titus Livius
• Contributor(s): Franciscus Torresanus Asulanus
• Publisher: Venetiis, in aedibus Aldi, et Andreae Soceri
• Edition: First edition, 1519
• Binding: Modern leather
• Format: (16mo), single volume
• Size:  6.25 in x 4.25 in (15.9 cm x 10.8 cm)
• Collation: [7], 350 leaves, [6], [56]
• Contents Include:
  • Third Decade of Ab Urbe Condita
  • Second Punic War narrative
  • Roman and Carthaginian military leadership
    • Hannibal and brothers Hasdrubal and Mago Barca
    • Scipio Africanus
    • Tiberius Longus who was defeated at Trebia
    • Gaius Flaminius
    • Marcus Minucius Rufus and his rival Quintus Fabius Maximus

Condition:

Very Good. Modern leather binding is tight and secure. Pages show moderate staining and general wear consistent with age. Text remains readable throughout.

Why Collect This?

• Sixteenth-century Aldine Press classical history
• Focus on the Second Punic War

Item Number: #50051