hoplitae, with all his cavalry and slingers and bowmen, to the number of about one thousand, advanced against the enemy.  Lucullus, encamping in a large plain by the bank of the river, appeared contemptible to Tigranes, and furnished matter for amusement to the king’s flatterers.  Some scoffed at him, and others, by way of amusement, cast lots for the spoil, and all the generals and kings severally applied to the king, and begged the matter might be intrusted to each of them singly, and that Tigranes would sit as a spectator.  Tigranes also attempted to be witty, and, in a scoffing manner, he uttered the well-known saying, “If they have come as ambassadors, there are too many of them; if as soldiers, too few.”  Thus they amused themselves with sarcastic sayings and jokes.  At daybreak Lucullus led out his troops under arms.  Now the barbarian army was on the east side of the river; but, as the river makes a bend towards the west, at a part where it was easiest to ford, Lucullus led his troops out, and hurried in that direction, which led Tigranes to think that he was retreating; and calling Taxiles to him he said, with a laugh, “Don’t you see that these invincible Roman warriors are flying?” Taxiles replied:  “I should be pleased, O king, at any strange thing happening which should be lucky to you; but the Roman soldiers do not put on their splendid attire when they are on a march; nor have they then their shields cleaned, and their helmets bare, as they now have, by reason of having taken off the leathern coverings; but this brightness of their armour is a sign they are going to fight, and are now marching against their enemies.”  While Taxiles was still speaking the first eagle came in sight; for Lucullus had now faced about, and the cohorts were seen taking their position in manipuli for the purpose of crossing the river:  on which Tigranes, as if he were hardly recovering from a drunken bout, called out two or three times, “What, are they coming against us?” and so, with much confusion, the enemy’s soldiers set about getting into order, the king taking his position in the centre, and giving the left wing to the King of the Adiabeni, and the right to the Mede, on which wing also were the greater part of the soldiers, clad in mail, occupying the first ranks.  As Lucullus was going to cross the river, some of the officers bade him beware of the day, which was one of the unlucky days which the Romans call black days; for on that day Caepio[402] and his army were destroyed in a battle with the Cimbri.  Lucullus replied in these memorable words:  “Well, I will make it a lucky day for the Romans.”  The day was the sixth of October.