History of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita)

fearing delay more than war, he sent envoys to their chieftains, saying that he wished to speak with them himself, and that either they should approach Iliberris original: "Iliberrim" more closely, or he would advance to Ruscino, so that a meeting from nearby would be easier. For he would welcome them into his camp gladly, nor would he hesitate to come to them himself; he had arrived as a guest of Gaul, not an enemy, and would not draw his sword, if the Gauls allowed it, before he had reached Italy. These were his words through his messengers. Indeed, when the chieftains of the Gauls had moved their camp to Iliberris, they came to the Carthaginian not unwillingly; captivated by gifts, they allowed the army to pass through their territory past the town of Ruscino in good peace.

XXV. Meanwhile, nothing beyond the fact that Hannibal had crossed the Ebro had been reported to Rome by the Massilian envoys, when, just as if he had already crossed the Alps, the Boii revolted after inciting the Insubres. This was not so much on account of old anger toward the Roman people as because they were resentful that colonies had recently been planted in Gallic territory around the Po at Placentia and Cremona. Therefore, suddenly seizing arms and making an attack on that very territory, they caused such terror and tumult that not only the rustic multitude but the Roman triumvirs themselves, who had come to assign the land—Gaius Lutatius, Gaius Servilius, and Marcus Annius—distrusting the walls of Placentia, fled to Mutina. There is no doubt about the name of Lutatius: for Gaius Servilius and Marcus Annius, some annals have Quintus Acilius and Gaius Herennius, while others have Publius Cornelius Asina and Gaius Papirius Maso. It is also uncertain whether the envoys sent to demand satisfaction from the Boii were violated, or whether the attack was made on the triumvirs while they were surveying the land. When they were besieged at Mutina, and the tribe, unskilled in the arts of besieging cities and also very sluggish at military works, sat idly before the untouched walls, talk began to be feigned about peace. Envoys summoned by the Gallic chieftains for a parley were captured, not only against the law of nations but also violating the faith that had been given for that time, with the Gauls refusing to release them unless their hostages were returned to them. When these things were reported about the envoys and that Mutina and the garrison were in danger, the praetor Lucius Manlius, inflamed with anger, led his army in a straggling column toward Mutina. The woods were then around the road, with most of the area uncultivated. Having set out without scouting, he was thrown into an ambush, and with much slaughter of his men, he barely emerged into the open fields. There a camp was fortified and, because the Gauls lacked the hope of testing it, the spirits of the soldiers were restored, although it was sufficiently agreed that up to five hundred had fallen. The journey was then begun anew, and while the column was being led through open places, the enemy did not appear. When the woods were entered again, then they attacked the rear and, with great panic and fear of all, killed seven hundred soldiers and took six standards. That was the end of the Gauls' terrorizing and the Romans' fearing, as soon as they escaped from the impassable and impeded mountain pass. Then, easily protecting their column in the open places, the Romans hastened to Tannetum, a village near the Po. There, they defended themselves for a time with the fortifications and the supplies of the river, and even with the aid of the Brixian Gauls, against the multitude of the enemy increasing daily. XXVI. Which sudden tumult...