And there is an opinion that the closing in of the day robbed Ussun Cassano of a great victory; as, if Mahomet Pasha had been beaten, the Persians, to their great honour, would have made themselves masters of the other bank; and, as the Turk in the elevated country could not use his artillery or occupy an open space of ground with his cavalry, he would certainly have become a prey to the enemy; since, in the passage of arms in the river not more than five hundred Persians were killed, and from the Turkish army there were fifteen thousand missing in killed and drowned, and numberless prisoners. On this account the Turk, harassed by a thousand conjectures, kept his army under arms all the night, fearing an attack. The next day he gave an extra donation to all the troops, liberated the slaves on the condition that they should return with the camp to Constantinople, and having arrayed the army, marched up the river, leaving it near the city of Braibret,[236] which he left on his right hand, across the mountains which separate Greater and Lesser Armenia, which road was towards the north-west in the direction of Trebizond. The Turks being defeated at the fords of the Euphrates in the manner I have described, Ussun Cassano was incited by his sons and by the whole army to follow on, so as not to lose the fruits of so great a victory; since the Persians, who had proved the force of the enemy, despised them, and expected to come off victorious in every encounter. Therefore, the king followed the Turks on the other bank, to see what was their design; but when the Persians saw that they kept away from the Euphrates, they called on Ussun Cassano with great importunity, to cross the river, as they plainly saw the Turk was in flight. He gave way to this, although against his will (as, being a clever, practical, and veteran soldier, he remembered that noble precept of military science, “that one ought to pave the roads with gold and make bridges of silver for a flying enemy”), and acceded to the wishes of his men, to see how so much ardour and longing for battle would succeed. Thus, having chosen forty thousand of his most skilful and daring soldiers, he crossed the Euphrates, and began, with forced marches, to pursue the hostile army, having left Calul, his eldest son, on the other side of the river with all the Georgians, Tartars, and many other soldiers in charge of the baggage. By the end of August he reached the top of some mountains, from the summits of which he saw the Turkish army in the valley leading in the direction of Trebizond. Thinking, from his recent victory, that he could easily overcome them and put them to flight, he arrayed himself for battle.