Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/157

 On the evening of his halt at Grasse scouts sent out by Belisarius collided with parties of Vandals on a similar errand, and thus did he first become cognizant that the enemy were active at his heels. The Byzantines continued their forward march, and in four days came to a stand in sight of Decimum. For a short time previously they had been out of touch with the fleet, as the coast had become broken and precipitous, whilst now their ways were divergent; but Archelaus, who was in command, had been instructed to round the Hermaean promontory and come to anchor in a position not less than twenty miles off Carthage.

At this juncture the Romans were beset by three divisions of the Vandal forces, but, owing to a want of concerted action, the combination failed. Ammatas sallied forth from Carthage, his troops straggling after him in detachments, and was unexpectedly brought up by the advance guard of three hundred. A sharp skirmish ensued; the Vandal leader was slain, his men fled, communicating their panic to those who were following on, and thus all returned to take refuge in the city. On the left Gibamundus, a nephew of Gelimer, at the head of two thousand cavalry, fell in with the Hunnish horse, who charged them incontinently and put them to flight with great slaughter. The Vandals were, in fact, stricken nerveless at the sudden appearance of these warriors, whom they had never encountered, but who were known to them by reputation. Before the news of these engagements could reach him Belisarius had gathered all his cavalry about him, and advanced from the camp in expectation of meeting the enemy. He ordered a considerable part of his forces to explore in front, and these, after no long march, found themselves in sight of a great concourse of horse commanded by the Vandal king in person. A desultory conflict,