After that he had to retire to Asia, since he was no match for his conqueror, and winter was approaching.  Pharnaces, greatly elated, joined to his cause nearly all of Pontus, captured Amisus, though it held out against him a long time, plundered the city and put to the sword all the young men in it.  He then hastened into Bithynia and Asia with the same hopes as his father had harbored.  Meanwhile, learning that Asander whom he had left as governor of the Bosporus had revolted, he no longer advanced any farther.  For Asander, as soon as the advance of Pharnaces to a point distant from his own position was reported to him and it seemed likely that even if he should temporarily escape his observation with the greatest success, he would still not get out of it well later, rose against him, so as to do a favor to the Romans and to receive the government of the Bosporus from them. [-47-] This was the news on hearing which Pharnaces started against him, but the venture was in vain.  For on ascertaining that Caesar was on the way and was hurrying into Armenia Pharnaces turned back and met him there near Zela.  Now that Ptolemy was dead and Domitius vanquished Caesar had decided that delay in Egypt was neither fitting nor profitable for him, but set out from there and by using great speed reached Armenia.  The barbarian, alarmed and fearing his quickness much more than his army, sent messengers to him before he drew near, making frequent propositions to see if in any way on any terms he could compromise the existing situation and escape.  One of the principal pleas that he presented was that he had not cooeperated with Pompey, and by this he hoped that he might induce the Roman general to grant a truce, particularly since the latter was anxious to hasten to Italy and Africa; and once he was gone he, Pharnaces, could easily wage war again.  Caesar suspected this, and the first and second sets of envoys he treated with great kindness in order that he might fall upon the foe in a state quite unguarded, through hopes of peace:  when the third deputation came he began to reproach him, one of his grounds of censure being that he had deserted Pompey, his benefactor.  Then without delay, that very day and just as he was, Caesar marched forward and attacked him as soon as he came up to him; for a little while some confusion was caused by the cavalry and the scythe-bearing chariots, but after that he conquered the Asiatics with his heavy-armed soldiers.  Pharnaces escaped to the sea and later forced his way into Bosporus, where Asander shut him up and killed him.

[-48-] Caesar took great pride in the victory,—­more, indeed, than in any other, in spite of the fact that it had not been very glorious,—­because on the same day and at one and the same hour he had come to the enemy, had seen him, and had conquered him.  All the spoils, though of great magnitude, he bestowed upon the soldiers, and he set up a trophy to offset one which Mithridates had raised to commemorate