f from
the danger, we were brought, without any order, face to face with the
enemy.

8. And so struggling vigorously while giving up all desire of saving our
lives, we were driven back to the high banks of the Tigris. Some of our
men, driven into the water where it was shallow, locked their arms, and
so made a stand; others were carried off by the current and drowned;
some, still fighting with the enemy, met with various fortune, or,
panic-stricken at the numbers of the barbarians, sought the nearest
defiles of Mount Taurus. Among these was the general himself, who was
recognized and surrounded by a vast body of the enemy; but he escaped
with the tribune Aiadalthes and one groom, being saved by the swiftness
of his horse.

9. I myself was separated from my comrades, and while looking round to
see what to do, I met with one of the protectores named Verrinianus,
whose thigh was pierced through by an arrow, and while at his entreaty I
was trying to pull it out, I found myself surrounded on all sides by
Persians, some of whom had passed beyond me. I therefore hastened back
with all speed towards the city, which, being placed on high ground, is
only accessible by one very narrow path on the side on which we were
attacked; and that path is made narrower still by escarpments of the
rocks, and barriers built on purpose to make the approach more
difficult.

10. Here we became mingled with the Persians, who were hastening with a
run, racing with us, to make themselves masters of the higher ground:
and till the dawn of the next day we stood without moving, so closely
packed, that the bodies of those who were slain were so propped up by
the mass that they could not find room to fall to the ground; and a
soldier in front of me, whose head was cloven asunder into equal
portions by a mighty sword-blow, still stood upright like a log, being
pressed upon all sides.

11. And although javelins were incessantly hurled from the battlements
by every kind of engine, yet we were protected from that danger by the
proximity of the walls. And at last I got in at the postern gate, which
I found thronged by a multitude of both sexes flocking in from the
neighbouring districts. For it happened by chance on these very days
that it was the time of a great annual fair which was held in the
suburbs, and which was visited by multitudes of the country people.

12. In the mean time all was in disorder with every kind of noise; some
bewailing those w