attempted by means of promises of many good things to win over some of
the Armenians by persuasion and to attach them to his cause, in order
that the task of overpowering the others might be attended with less
difficulty and toil. And the tribe called the Aspetiani, great in power
and in numbers, was willing to join him. And they went to Sittas and
begged him to give them pledges in writing that, if they abandoned their
kinsmen in the battle and came to the Roman army, they should remain
entirely free from harm, retaining their own possessions. Now Sittas was
delighted and wrote to them in tablets, giving them pledges just as they
desired of him; he then sealed the writing and sent it to them. Then,
confident that by their help he would be victorious in the war without
fighting, he went with his whole army to a place called Oenochalakon,
where the Armenians had their camp. But by some chance those who carried
the tablets went by another road and did not succeed at all in meeting
the Aspetiani. Moreover a portion of the Roman army happened upon some
few of them, and not knowing the agreement which had been made, treated
them as enemies. And Sittas himself caught some of their women and
children in a cave and slew them, either because he did not understand
what had happened or because he was angry with the Aspetiani for not
joining him as had been agreed.

But they, being now possessed with anger, arrayed themselves for battle
with all the rest. But since both armies were on exceedingly difficult
ground where precipices abounded, they did not fight in one place, but
scattered about among the ridges and ravines. So it happened that some
few of the Armenians and Sittas with not many of his followers came
close upon each other, with only a ravine lying between them. Both
parties were horsemen. Then Sittas with a few men following him crossed
the ravine and advanced against the enemy; the Armenians, after
withdrawing to the rear, stopped, and Sittas pursued no further but