Dio's Rome, Volume 3: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English FormCassius Dio Cocceianus
History
Dio's Rome, Volume 3: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During The Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form
Cassius Dio Cocceianus
Rome -- History
[-24-] While he was thus engaged, the Bastarnae ceased their flight and
remained near the Cedrus[78] river to watch what would take place. When,
after conquering the Moesians, the Roman general started against them,
they sent envoys forbidding him to pursue them, since they had done the
Romans no harm. Crassus detained them, saying he would give them their
answer the following day, and besides treating them kindly he made them
drunk, so that he learned all their plans. The whole Scythian race is
insatiable in the use of wine and quickly succumbs to its influence.
Crassus meanwhile, during the night, advanced to a wood, and after
stationing scouts in front of the forest made his army stop there.
Thereupon the Bastarnae, thinking the former were alone, made a charge
upon them, following them up also when the men retreated into the dense
forest, and many of the pursuers perished there as well as many others in
the flight which followed were obstructed by their wagons, which were
behind them, and owed their defeat further to their desire to save their
wives and children. Their king Deldo was slam by Crassus himself. The
armor stripped from the prince he would have dedicated as spolia opima
to Jupiter Feretrius, had he been a general acting on his own authority.
Such was the course of that engagement: of the remainder some took refuge
in a grove, which was set on fire all around, and others leaped into a
fort, where they were annihilated. Still others perished, either by being
driven into the Ister or after being scattered through the country. Some
survived even yet and occupied a strong post where Crassus besieged them
in vain for several days. Then with the aid of Roles, king of some of the
Getae, he destroyed them. Roles when he visited Caesar was treated as a
friend and ally for this assistance: the captives were distributed to the
soldiers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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