valry; and Taxiles[400] also, who
had come from Mithridates to join Tigranes, earnestly entreated the
king to keep on the defensive, and to avoid the arms of the Romans, as
being invincible. Tigranes at first readily listened to this advice:
but when the Armenians and Gordyeni had joined him with all their
forces, and the kings were come, bringing with them all the power of
the Medes and Adiabeni, and many Arabs had arrived from the sea that
borders on Babylonia, and many Albanians from the Caspian, and
Iberians, who are neighbours of the Albanians; and not a few of the
tribes about the Araxes,[401] who are not governed by kings, had come
to join him, induced by solicitations and presents, and the banquets
of the king were filled with hopes and confidence and barbaric
threats, and his councils also,--Taxiles narrowly escaped death for
opposing the design of fighting, and it was believed that Mithridates
wished to divert Tigranes from obtaining a great victory, merely from
envy. Accordingly, Tigranes would not even wait for Mithridates, for
fear he should share in the glory; but he advanced with all his force,
and greatly complained to his friends, it is said, that he would have
to encounter Lucullus alone, and not all the Roman generals at once.
And his confidence was not altogether madness nor without good
grounds, when he looked upon so many nations and kings following him,
and bodies of hoplitae, and tens of thousands of horsemen; for he was
at the head of twenty thousand bowmen and slingers and fifty-five
thousand horsemen, of whom seventeen thousand were clothed in armour
of mail, as Lucullus said in his letter to the Senate, and one hundred
and fifty thousand hoplitae, some of whom were drawn up in cohorts and
others in phalanx; and of road-makers, bridge-makers, clearers of
rivers, timber-cutters, and labourers for other necessary purposes,
there were thirty-five thousand, who, being placed behind the fighting
men, added to the imposing appearance and the strength of the army.

XXVII. When Tigranes had crossed the Taurus, and, showing himself with
all his forces, looked down on the Roman army, which was encamped
before Tigranocerta, the barbarians in the city hailed his appearance
with shouts and clapping of hands, and from their walls with threats
pointed to the Armenians. As Lucullus was considering about the
battle, some advised him to give up the siege, and march against
Tigranes; others urged him not to leav