His firm attitude on the banks of the Euphrates restrained Chosroes from advancing towards Palestine; and he received with art and dignity the ambassadors, or rather spies, of the Persian monarch.

The plain between Hierapolis and the river was covered with the squadrons of cavalry, six thousand hunters, tall and robust, who pursued their game without the apprehension of an enemy.

On the opposite bank the ambassadors descried a thousand Armenian horse, who appeared to guard the passage of the Euphrates.

The tent of Belisarius was of the coarsest linen, the simple equipage of a warrior who disdained the luxury of the East.

Around his tent, the nations who marched under his standard were arranged with skilful confusion.