Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/48

 was taken of a small hill lying on the extreme left to form an ambush of three hundred Herules under their native leader, Pharas.

As soon as the Persian host had established itself on the field, they were perceived to be much more numerous than the Romans, amounting to quite forty thousand men. The Mirrhanes, such was the military title borne by Perozes, drew up his forces in two lines with the design that when those in front were exhausted they should be replaced by fresh troops from behind, the movement to become alternating, if necessary, with intervening periods of rest for each line. The wings were composed of cavalry, the famous band of Immortals being stationed on the left, whilst Perozes himself led the van, supported by the heaviest mass of combatants. On the first day that the armies stood facing each other the Persians' left wing suddenly improvised a skirmish with those opposed to them, but retired after a brief collision with the loss of seven of their number. Later on a Persian youth of great prowess rode into the interspace and defied any Roman to meet him in single combat. No soldier seemed inclined to respond, but at length one Andrew, the tent-keeper of Buzes, lately a trainer of athletes at Constantinople, took up the challenge. The adversaries charged each other with poised lances, the Persian was unhorsed, and Andrew, quickly dismounting, cut his throat with a knife. The Romans shouted with delight, whilst the Persians, chagrined, determined to retrieve the mischance, and soon presented another champion. A horseman, middle-aged, but of great weight, advanced cracking his whip and calling out for some confident oppo-*

impossible to understand him in any other way.]
 * [Footnote: does not quite accord with the phraseology of Procopius, but I find it