uggle, you will
not only conquer the Persians for the present, but you will also punish
them for their folly, so that they will never again make an expedition
into the Roman territory."

When Belisarius and Hermogenes had finished this exhortation, since they
saw the Persians advancing against them, they hastily drew up the
soldiers in the same manner as before. And the barbarians, coming up
before them, took their stand facing the Romans. But the mirranes did
not array all the Persians against the enemy, but only one half of them,
while he allowed the others to remain behind. These were to take the
places of the men who were fighting and to fall upon their opponents
with their vigour intact, so that all might fight in constant rotation.
But the detachment of the so-called Immortals alone he ordered to remain
at rest until he himself should give the signal. And he took his own
station at the middle of the front, putting Pityaxes in command on the
right wing, and Baresmanas on the left. In this manner, then, both
armies were drawn up. Then Pharas came before Belisarius and Hermogenes,
and said: "It does not seem to me that I shall do the enemy any great
harm if I remain here with the Eruli; but if we conceal ourselves on
this slope, and then, when the Persians have begun the fight, if we
climb up by this hill and suddenly come upon their rear, shooting from
behind them, we shall in all probability do them the greatest harm."
Thus he spoke, and, since it pleased Belisarius and his staff, he
carried out this plan.

But up to midday neither side began battle. As soon, however, as the
noon hour was passed, the barbarians began the fight, having postponed
the engagement to this time of the day for the reason that they are
accustomed to partake of food only towards late afternoon, while the
Romans have their meal before noon; and for this reason they thought
that the Romans would never hold out so well, if they assailed them
while hungry. At first, then, both sides discharged arrows against each
other, and the missiles by their great number made, as it were, a vast
cloud; and many men were falling on both sides, but the missiles of the
barbarians flew much more thickly. For fresh men were always fighting in
turn, affording to their enemy not the slightest opportunity to observe
what was being done; but even so the Romans did not have the worst of
it. For a steady wind blew from their side against the barbarians, and
checked