Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/55

 invaded Euphratesia with fifteen thousand horse, supported by a numerous body of Saracenic auxiliaries. The news of their entry on Roman territory was speedily conveyed to Belisarius at Dara, and he resolved to proceed at once by forced marches to meet the raiders. His army consisted of about twenty thousand men, including cavalry and infantry, and he moved with such rapidity that he succeeded in bringing the enemy to a stand at Gabbulae, before they had had time to commit any serious depredations. Azarathes and Alamundar were taken aback at this encounter, which falsfied all their calculations. They were devoid of confidence in their power to resist a Roman force, especially when led by a general who had so lately proved his superiority; and they, therefore, decided to abandon the expedition and to retrace their steps with all haste to their own country. Belisarius, on his side, was well satisfied when he perceived that his adversaries were anxious only to beat a retreat, and he determined to leave them unmolested, but to follow their movements until he saw them safely over the border of the province. The two armies were separated from each other by about a day's march, and they proceeded for several days in an easterly direction along the bank of the Euphrates, which lay to the left of their route. Each evening the Byzantines spread their tents on the same camping ground which had been occupied by the Orientals during the previous night. They began to cross the northern extremity of the Syrian desert.[2] In the meantime, however,*