his brother as guard over it.  Lucullus reached this city in summer time, and although he directed his attacks upon it in no half-hearted fashion, he effected nothing.  For the walls being of brick, double and of great thickness, with a deep moat intervening, could be neither shaken down nor dug through and consequently Tigranes was not lending them assistance.[-7-] When winter set in, and the barbarians were behaving rather carelessly, inasmuch as they had the upper hand and were all but expecting to drive out the Romans, Lucullus waited for a night without a moon, when there was a violent storm of thunder and rain, so that the foe, not being able to see ahead or hear a sound, left the outer city (all but a few of them) and the intervening moat.  He then assailed the wall at many points, ascending it without difficulty from the mounds, and easily slew the guards, not many in number, who had been left behind upon it.  In this way he filled up a part of the moat—­the barbarians had broken down the bridges in advance—­and got across, since in the downpour neither archery nor fire could harm him.  Immediately he captured nearly everything, for the inner circle was not very strong by reason of the confidence felt in the outer works beyond it.  Among those that fled to the acropolis, whom he subsequently caused to capitulate, was the brother of Tigranes.  He also obtained considerable money and passed the winter there.

[-8-] Nisibis, then, he overpowered as described, but many localities of Armenia and the other countries around Pontus he lost.  Tigranes had not aided the town in question through the idea that it could not be captured, but had hurried to the aforementioned places to see if he could acquire them before Lucullus, while the latter was occupied near the other city.  Despatching Mithridates to his native land, Tigranes himself entered his own district of Armenia.  There he was opposed by Lucius Fannius, whom he cut off and besieged, however, until Lucullus ascertaining it sent assistance. [-9-]Meanwhile Mithridates had invaded the other Armenia and surrounding neighborhood, where he fell upon and destroyed many of the Romans to whom he appeared unexpectedly as they were wandering about the country.  Others he annihilated in battle, and thereby won back speedily most of the positions.  For the men of that land were well disposed toward him because of kinship and because of his being hereditary monarch:  they hated the Romans because the latter were foreigners and because they had been ill treated by those set over them.  Consequently they sided with Mithridates and afterward conquered Marcus Fabius, leader of the Romans in that place.  The Thracians, who had formerly been mercenaries under Mithridates, but were then with Fabius, and the slaves present in the Roman camp gave them vigorous assistance.  Thracians sent ahead by Fabius to reconnoitre brought back to him no reliable report, and later, when Mithridates suddenly fell upon him as he was proceeding along