When Belisarius and Hermogenes had finished this exhortation, since they saw the Persians advancing against them, they hastily drew up the soldiers in the same manner as before.  And the barbarians, coming up before them, took their stand facing the Romans.  But the mirranes did not array all the Persians against the enemy, but only one half of them, while he allowed the others to remain behind.  These were to take the places of the men who were fighting and to fall upon their opponents with their vigour intact, so that all might fight in constant rotation.  But the detachment of the so-called Immortals alone he ordered to remain at rest until he himself should give the signal.  And he took his own station at the middle of the front, putting Pityaxes in command on the right wing, and Baresmanas on the left.  In this manner, then, both armies were drawn up.  Then Pharas came before Belisarius and Hermogenes, and said:  “It does not seem to me that I shall do the enemy any great harm if I remain here with the Eruli; but if we conceal ourselves on this slope, and then, when the Persians have begun the fight, if we climb up by this hill and suddenly come upon their rear, shooting from behind them, we shall in all probability do them the greatest harm.”  Thus he spoke, and, since it pleased Belisarius and his staff, he carried out this plan.

But up to midday neither side began battle.  As soon, however, as the noon hour was passed, the barbarians began the fight, having postponed the engagement to this time of the day for the reason that they are accustomed to partake of food only towards late afternoon, while the Romans have their meal before noon; and for this reason they thought that the Romans would never hold out so well, if they assailed them while hungry.  At first, then, both sides discharged arrows against each other, and the missiles by their great number made, as it were, a vast cloud; and many men were falling on both sides, but the missiles of the barbarians flew much more thickly.  For fresh men were always fighting in turn, affording to their enemy not the slightest opportunity to observe what was being done; but even so the Romans did not have the worst of it.  For a steady wind blew from their side against the barbarians, and checked to a considerable degree the force of their arrows.  Then, after both sides had exhausted all their missiles, they began to use their spears against each other, and the battle had come still more to close quarters.  On the Roman side the left wing was suffering especially.  For the Cadiseni, who with Pityaxes were fighting at this point, rushing up suddenly in great numbers, routed their enemy, and crowding hard upon the fugitives, were killing many of them.  When this was observed by the men under Sunicas and Aigan, they charged against them at full speed.  But first the three hundred Eruli under Pharas from the high ground got in the rear of the enemy and made a wonderful display of valorous