De Bello Hispaniensi facts for kids
| Author | unknown |
|---|---|
| Language | Classical Latin |
| Subject | History, military history |
| Publisher | unknown |
|
Publication date
|
approx. 40 BC |
| Preceded by | De Bello Africo |
De Bello Hispaniensi (which means On the Spanish War) is an old Latin book. It continues the story from Julius Caesar's own writings, like De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili. It also follows two other books, De Bello Alexandrino and De Bello Africo, written by different unknown authors.
This book tells the story of Caesar's military campaigns in what is now Spain. It describes the events leading up to the important Battle of Munda.
Who Wrote This Book?
The author of De Bello Hispaniensi is a mystery. This book is part of a collection that describes Caesar's civil war. Even though it's often grouped with Caesar's own works, experts have long wondered who actually wrote it.
Different Writing Styles
Many scholars believe that Caesar himself did not write De Bello Hispaniensi. They also think that Aulus Hirtius, who wrote another book in the series (De Bello Alexandrino), didn't write this one either. The writing style is quite different from Caesar's and Hirtius's.
Some people think these later books were rough notes. They might have been written by soldiers who fought in the wars. If Hirtius had lived longer, he might have rewritten them into a better literary form.
What Experts Say
The historian T. Rice Holmes once said that De Bello Hispaniensi is "the worst book in Latin literature." He meant that the language is often grammatically incorrect and hard to understand. It also has many missing parts and errors from old copies.
A.G. Way suggested that the author might have been a "sturdy old centurion." This means a brave, experienced soldier who was better at fighting than writing. This idea is quite popular.
However, Van Hooff had a different idea in 1974. He thought the author was more likely a politician. Perhaps it was one of Caesar's helpers, like Quintus Pedius or Quintus Fabius Maximus. Van Hooff believed the writer knew about African customs, suggesting they had visited Africa.
Storch, in 1977, also disagreed with the soldier theory. He thought the author was probably a cavalry officer. He noticed that the book pays a lot of attention to cavalry skirmishes, even small ones. This is different from Caesar's own writings. Storch also believed the author was an eyewitness to the events. This is because the book gives detailed descriptions of places, weather, and even small numbers of casualties.
Computer Analysis
In 2018, Zhang and other researchers used computers to study the writing styles of these books. Their analysis confirmed that Caesar wrote the first parts of De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili. However, the computer analysis showed that De Bello Hispaniensi and the other later books have different writing styles. This suggests they were indeed written by different authors.
See also
In Spanish: De bello Hispaniensi para niños
- Commentarii de Bello Gallico
- Commentarii de Bello Civili
- De Bello Alexandrino
- De Bello Africo
- Caesar's civil war for an account of the campaign
