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so he should set about the siege of Archaeopolis, in such a way that they would not, by coming up behind, do harm 8.13.25 to the Persian army. And having come as near as possible to the circuit-wall of Archaeopolis, he greeted the Romans there with mockery, and made a youthful boast that 8.13.26 he would very soon indeed return to them. For he said that he himself wished first to address the other Romans, who were encamped around the river 8.13.27 Phasis. But they, in reply, bade him go wherever he wished, but insisted that, if he should encounter the Romans there, 8.13.28 he would never return to them. When the commanders of the Roman army learned these things, they were terrified, and thinking themselves too weak to withstand the force of the attackers, they embarked on the skiffs prepared for them and all crossed the river Phasis, putting into the skiffs as many of their available provisions as they were able to transport, and casting the rest into the river, so that the enemy might not 8.13.29 be able to revel in them. Therefore Mermeroes, arriving there not long afterwards with his whole army, and seeing the enemy's camp completely deserted, was vexed and, at a loss, grew dismayed. 8.13.30 And having burned the Roman stockade and seething with anger, he immediately turned back and led the army against Archaeopolis. 8.14.1 Archaeopolis is situated on a very rough hill, and a river, coming down from the mountains which are above the city, flows beside it. 8.14.2 Its gates on the lower side lead along the foot of the hill, not inaccessible, however, but only so much that the ascent to them from the plain is somewhat uneven; but the upper gates, leading out to the precipitous ground, are exceedingly difficult of access. For in front of these gates are wooded places, 8.14.3 extending for a great distance. And since the inhabitants there have no other water anywhere, the builders of the city constructed two walls from there as far as the river, so that it would be possible for them to draw the river's water in safety. Mermeroes, therefore, being eager and straining with all his might to assault the wall there, 8.14.4 did the following. First he announced to the Sabirs that they should construct a great number of rams, such as men would be able to carry on their shoulders, since he was in no way able to bring up the customary engines to the circuit-wall of Archaeopolis, which lay at the foot of the mountain; but he had heard what had been accomplished not long before by the Sabirs allied with the Romans around the wall of Petra, and following what had been devised, he pursued the advantage gained from experience. 8.14.5 And they did what was announced. And they immediately constructed many rams, in the way that I just said the Sabirs had done for the Romans. Then he sent those called the Dolomitae against the precipitous parts of the city, having instructed them to harass the enemy there with their full 8.14.6 force. These Dolomitae are barbarians, living in the midst of the Persians, yet they have never become subjects 8.14.7 of the Persian king. For, being settled in sheer and altogether impassable mountains, they have remained autonomous from of old down to the present time; but they always serve for hire and march with the Persians 8.14.8 when they go against their own enemies. And they are all infantry, each one carrying a sword and a shield 8.14.9 and three javelins in his hands. And they are exceedingly skilled at running both on precipices and over the mountain passes, 8.14.10 as if on a level plain. And for this reason Mermeroes ordered them to assault the wall here, while he himself, with all the rest of the army, went against the lower gates, bringing up the rams and 8.14.11 the elephants. So the Persians, with the Sabirs, shooting often at the wall, and covering the air there with their arrows, were not far from forcing the Romans there 8.14.12 to abandon the battlements. And the Dolomitae, hurling their little spears from the cliffs from outside the circuit-wall, harassed the enemy opposite them much more still. 8.14.13 And on all sides for the Romans the situation was dire and full of dangers

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οὕτω δὴ ἐς τῆς Ἀρχαιοπόλεως τὴν πολιορκίαν καθίστασθαι, ὡς μὴ ὄπισθεν αὐτοὶ ἰόντες κακουργή8.13.25 σωσι τὸ Περσῶν στράτευμα. ὡς ἀγχοτάτω δὲ τοῦ Ἀρχαιοπόλεως περιβόλου γενόμενος ἠσπάσατο ἐρεσχελῶν τε τοὺς ταύτῃ Ῥωμαίους, καί τι νεανιευσάμενος ὡς 8.13.26 αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα ἐπανήξει σφίσι. βουλομένῳ γάρ οἱ αὐτῷ ἔφασκεν εἶναι Ῥωμαίους τοὺς ἄλλους προσειπεῖν πρότερον, οἳ δὴ ἐνστρατοπεδεύονται ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν 8.13.27 Φᾶσιν. οἱ δὲ ἀποκρινάμενοι ἰέναι μὲν αὐτὸν ἐκέλευον ὅπη βούλοιτο, ἰσχυρίσαντο μέντοι ὡς, ἢν τοῖς ἐκείνῃ 8.13.28 Ῥωμαίοις ἐντύχῃ, οὐ μή ποτε αὐτοῖς ἐπανήξει. ταῦτα ἐπεὶ οἱ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἄρχοντες ἔμαθον, κατωρρώδησάν τε καὶ ἥσσους οἰόμενοι εἶναι ἢ φέρειν τῶν ἐπιόντων τὴν δύναμιν ἐς τὰς σφίσι παρεσκευασμένας ἀκάτους ἐμβάντες ποταμὸν Φᾶσιν διεπορθμεύσαντο ἅπαντες, τῶν σφίσι παρόντων ἐπιτηδείων, ὅσα μὲν διακομίζειν οἷοί τε ἦσαν, ἐν ταῖς ἀκάτοις ἐνθέμενοι, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐμβεβλημένοι, ὅπως μὴ 8.13.29 αὐτοῖς οἱ πολέμιοι τρυφᾶν δύνωνται. γενόμενος οὖν ἐνταῦθα παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ὁ Μερμερόης οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον, ἔρημόν τε παντάπασιν ἰδὼν τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον ἤσχαλλέ τε καὶ ἀπορούμενος ἐδυσφορεῖτο. 8.13.30 καύσας τε τὸ Ῥωμαίων χαράκωμα καὶ τῷ θυμῷ ζέων ἀνέστρεφεν αὐτίκα καὶ τὸ στράτευμα ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀρχαιόπολιν ἦγε. 8.14.1 Κεῖται δὲ Ἀρχαιόπολις ἐπὶ λόφου τινὸς σκληροῦ ἐσάγαν, καὶ ποταμὸς αὐτὴν παραρρεῖ ἐξ ὀρῶν κατιὼν, 8.14.2 ἅπερ τῆς πόλεως καθύπερθέν ἐστι. πύλαι δὲ αὐτῇ αἱ μὲν κάτω εἰσὶ, φέρουσαι παρὰ τοῦ λόφου τὴν ὑπώρειαν, οὐκ ἀπρόσοδοι μέντοι, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἄνοδον ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου τινὰ ἐς αὐτὰς οὐχ ὁμαλῆ εἶναι· αἱ δὲ ἄνω ἐς τὸ κρημνῶδες ἐξάγουσαι αὐτὰς δυσπρόσοδοι ἐσάγαν εἰσί. χῶροι γὰρ λοχμώδεις πρὸ τούτων τῶν πυλῶν 8.14.3 εἰσιν, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διήκοντες. ἐπεί τε ὕδατος ἄλλου τοῖς τῇδε ᾠκημένοις οὐδαμῆ μέτεστι, τείχη δύο ἐνθένδε οἱ τὴν πόλιν δειμάμενοι ἄχρι ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐτεκτήναντο, ὅπως ἂν σφίσιν ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ τὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ὕδωρ ἀρύεσθαι δυνατὰ εἴη. Μερμερόης οὖν παντὶ σθένει τειχομαχεῖν ἐνταῦθα σπουδάζων τε 8.14.4 καὶ διατεινόμενος ἐποίει τάδε. πρῶτα μὲν τοῖς Σαβείροις ἐπήγγειλε κριοὺς παμπληθεῖς ἐργάζεσθαι, οἵους ἂν φέρειν ἄνθρωποι ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων δυνατοὶ εἶεν, ἐπεὶ μηχανὰς μὲν τὰς συνειθισμένας τρόπῳ οὐδενὶ ἐς Ἀρχαιοπόλεως τὸν περίβολον ἐπάγεσθαι εἶχε, κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ὄρους πρόποδα κείμενον, ἠκηκόει δὲ ὅσα τοῖς Ῥωμαίων ἐνσπόνδοις Σαβείροις ἀμφὶ τὸ Πέτρας τεῖχος ἐργασθείη οὐ πολλῷ ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ τοῖς ἐπινενοημένοις ἑπόμενος τὴν ἐκ τῆς πείρας ὠφέλειαν μετῄει. 8.14.5 οἱ δὲ τὰ ἐπαγγελλόμενα ἐποίουν. κριούς τε αὐτίκα συχνοὺς ἐτεκτήναντο, ᾗπέρ μοι ἔναγχος Ῥωμαίοις εἰργάσθαι Σαβείρους ἐρρήθη. ἔπειτα δὲ τοὺς μὲν ∆ολομίτας καλουμένους κατὰ τῆς πόλεως τὰ κρημνώδη στέλλει ἐνοχλεῖν ἐπιστείλας τοὺς ταύτῃ πολεμίους δυ8.14.6 νάμει τῇ πάσῃ. οἱ δὲ ∆ολομῖται οὗτοι βάρβαροι μέν εἰσιν, ᾠκημένοι ἐν Πέρσαις μέσοις, οὐ μὴν κατήκοοι 8.14.7 γεγόνασι βασιλέως τοῦ Περσῶν πώποτε. ἱδρυμένοι γὰρ ἐν ὄρεσιν ἀποτόμοις τε καὶ ὅλως ἀβάτοις αὐτόνομοι ὄντες ἐκ παλαιοῦ διαγεγόνασιν ἐς τόδε τοῦ χρόνου· μισθαρνοῦντες δὲ ἀεὶ συστρατεύουσι Πέρσαις 8.14.8 ἐπὶ πολεμίους τοὺς σφετέρους ἰοῦσι. καὶ πεζοὶ μέν εἰσιν ἅπαντες, ξίφος τε καὶ ἀσπίδα φέρων ἕκαστος 8.14.9 καὶ ἀκόντια ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τρία. θεῖν δὲ λίαν ἔν τε τοῖς κρημνοῖς καὶ τῶν ὀρῶν ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς ἐξεπίστανται, 8.14.10 ὥσπερ ἐν πεδίῳ ὑπτίῳ. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Μερμερόης αὐτοὺς τῇδε τειχομαχεῖν ἔταξεν, αὐτὸς δὲ παντὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ ἐπὶ πύλας τὰς κάτω τούς τε κριοὺς καὶ 8.14.11 τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ἐπαγόμενος ᾔει. οἱ μὲν οὖν Πέρσαι ξὺν τοῖς Σαβείροις ἐς τὸ τεῖχος συχνὰ βάλλοντες, τοῖς τε τοξεύμασι καλύψαντες τὸν ταύτῃ ἀέρα, οὐ μακράν που ἐγένοντο ἀναγκάσαι τοὺς ἐνταῦθα Ῥω8.14.12 μαίους ἐκλιπεῖν τὰς ἐπάλξεις. οἱ δὲ ∆ολομῖται τὰ δοράτια ἐκ τῶν κρημνῶν ἐκτὸς τοῦ περιβόλου ἐσακοντίζοντες πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον τοὺς κατ' αὐτοὺς πο8.14.13 λεμίους ἐλύπουν. πανταχόθι τε Ῥωμαίοις τὰ πράγματα πονηρά τε καὶ κινδύνων ἔμπλεα