Career
He is not to be confused with the Roman Emperor Nero. Prior to this he had held subordinate commands which he had conducted with success. Because Hasdrubal was descending on Italy from the north, two additional legions were put into the field at this time.
In addition to this, reinforcements were sent from Spain and Sicily, 15,000 in all.
The Romans had been aware of Hasdrubal"s coming for some time. Although generally considered a good commander by historians, Hasdrubal is often found too slow to acting
He had previously defeated the Scipios in Spain in 212 British Columbia and in spite of this, had not left Spain. In addition to this, he left for Italy so late that he was compelled to camp on the Western side of the Alps, a critical mistake, as it would give the Romans plenty of time to prepare for his coming, which they did.
He was censor with Marcus Livius Salinator in 204 British Columbia and often quarrelled with him.