So, being satisfied with the preparations, he set out from Byzantine territory for Syria. When he occupied Antioch, the entry into the city was celebrated with great pomp. It was certainly a royal show, but the equipment was somewhat theatrical, not worthy of fighting men, nor capable of striking terror into the hearts of the enemy. On their side, the barbarians took a more realistic view of the war. First they sent ambassadors to the emperor. They declared that they had not wanted this war, nor had they given him any pretext for it.
They were standing by the peace terms already concluded, and they refused to repudiate the treaty still in force. On the other hand, seeing that he was now adopting a policy of threats and since he persisted in parading his strength, they themselves, if he proved obdurate, would from now on make their own preparations for conflict: they committed themselves to the fortunes of war. Such was the purport of this embassy. Despite the warning, the emperor to all appearances had one object only– to draw up his line of battle, to set his men in array against the enemy, to lay ambushes, to go out foraging, to dig trenches, to drain off rivers, to take fortresses.
Augusti and Caesars
In fact, he wanted to imitate the traditional deeds of the famous Trajans and Hadrians, or (still further back in history) of the Augusti and Caesars, or of their predecessor, Alexander the son of Philip. The ambassadors were therefore dismissed with a conciliatory message while still more strenuous preparations were made for war. To attain his object, however, he did not choose the best men. He thought war was decided by the big battalions, and it was on the big battalions that he relied.
When he left Antioch and went on further, a detachment of barbarian soldiers, all equipped in their own fashion, daring bareback riders, lay in ambush on either side of the army’s route. Suddenly they appeared on high ground. Yelling their war-cry and filling their opponents with consternation at this unexpected sight, they made a tremendous din as their horses charged to the attack. By not keeping in close order, they created the illusion of great numbers, running about in scattered groups and with no regular formations.
This so terrorized the Roman soldiery and spread such panic in this mighty and famous army, and so shattered their morale, that they all ran away, dressed just as they were, and not a thought did they give to anything but flight. Those who happened to be on horseback wheeled about and made off as fast as they could, while the rest did not even wait to mount their horses, but left them to the first master who claimed them, and every man, running off or wandering away, sought his own safety as best he could. It was an extraordinary sight.
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