in deditionem cepit:
Translate as "he took them in surrender," i.e., many city states surrendered to
Q. Caecilius Metellus.
cum... positurus esset:
The imperfect subjunctive, esset, combines with the future active participle, positurus, can be
translated as "was about to put." CumCircum
successum est ei:
Here the verb, successum est, is used as an impersonal passive. ei is the dative
object of the compound verb, succedo.
Literally translated as "there was a sucession unto him by Gaius Marius." Compare
the sentence C. Marius ei successit.Impers
C. Marius:
Gaius Marius, a budding military general at this time,
started his road to fame during this war. He had first accompanied Metellus to Numidia
as a legate. But, later, when Marius was elected consul, he replaced Metellus as commander of the Roman forces.