ation, among the private guards of
Justinian; and when his patron became emperor, the domestic was promoted
to military command. After a bold inroad into Persarmenia, in which
his glory was shared by a colleague, and his progress was checked by an
enemy, Belisarius repaired to the important station of Dara, where he
first accepted the service of Procopius, the faithful companion,
and diligent historian, of his exploits. [6] The Mirranes of Persia
advanced, with forty thousand of her best troops, to raze the
fortifications of Dara; and signified the day and the hour on which the
citizens should prepare a bath for his refreshment, after the toils of
victory. He encountered an adversary equal to himself, by the new title
of General of the East; his superior in the science of war, but much
inferior in the number and quality of his troops, which amounted only to
twenty-five thousand Romans and strangers, relaxed in their discipline,
and humbled by recent disasters. As the level plain of Dara refused all
shelter to stratagem and ambush, Belisarius protected his front with
a deep trench, which was prolonged at first in perpendicular,
and afterwards in parallel, lines, to cover the wings of cavalry
advantageously posted to command the flanks and rear of the enemy. When
the Roman centre was shaken, their well-timed and rapid charge decided
the conflict: the standard of Persia fell; the immortals fled; the
infantry threw away their bucklers, and eight thousand of the vanquished
were left on the field of battle. In the next campaign, Syria was
invaded on the side of the desert; and Belisarius, with twenty thousand
men, hastened from Dara to the relief of the province. During the
whole summer, the designs of the enemy were baffled by his skilful
dispositions: he pressed their retreat, occupied each night their camp
of the preceding day, and would have secured a bloodless victory, if
he could have resisted the impatience of his own troops. Their valiant
promise was faintly supported in the hour of battle; the right wing was
exposed by the treacherous or cowardly desertion of the Christian Arabs;
the Huns, a veteran band of eight hundred warriors, were oppressed by
superior numbers; the flight of the Isaurians was intercepted; but
the Roman infantry stood firm on the left; for Belisarius himself,
dismounting from his horse, showed them that intrepid despair was their
only safety. [611] They turned their backs to the Euphrates, and thei