XIX.  But Crassus was in no small degree encouraged by Artabazes[63] the king of the Armenians, who came to the camp with six thousand horsemen.  These were said to be the guards and attendants of the king; and he promised ten thousand men clothed in mail and thirty thousand infantry, who were to be maintained at his own cost.  He attempted to persuade Crassus to invade Parthia through Armenia; for, he said, the army would not only have abundance of provision in its march through the country by reason of him supplying them, but would also advance safely, having in their front many mountains and continuous hills, and ground unfavourable for cavalry, in which alone lay the strength of the Parthians.  Crassus was well enough satisfied with the zeal of the king and the splendour of the proffered aid; but he said he would march through Mesopotamia, where he had left many brave Romans; upon this the Armenian went away.  As Crassus was taking his army over at the Zeugma,[64] many extraordinary claps of thunder broke around, and many flashes of lightning came right in front of the army; and a wind, mingled with cloud and hurricane,[65] falling on the raft, broke up and crushed to pieces a large part of it.  The spot also, on which Crassus intended to encamp, was struck with two thunderbolts.[66] A horse, belonging to the general, which was caparisoned in splendid style, violently dragged along the man who held the reins, and plunging into the stream, disappeared.  It is said also, that the first eagle which was raised, turned round spontaneously.  Added to this, it happened that, as they were giving out the rations to the soldiers after crossing the river, lentils and salt were given first, which the Romans consider to be symbols of lamentation, and are accustomed to place before the dead; and, as Crassus was haranguing the soldiers, an expression escaped him which greatly alarmed the army.  He said he would destroy the raft over the river, that no one among them might return; and though he ought, upon seeing the imprudence of his words, to have recalled what he had said and explained it to the soldiers, he neglected to do so, through his arrogant temper.  Finally, when he was offering the usual expiatory sacrifice, and the priest had put the viscera into his hands, he threw them away, on which, observing that the standers-by were greatly disturbed, he said with a smile, “Such is old age; but no arms at least shall drop from its hands.”

XX.  After this he advanced along the river, with seven legions and nearly four thousand horsemen, and almost as many light-armed troops as horsemen.  Some of the scouts now returned from their exploration and reported that the country was clear of men, and that they had fallen in with the tracks of many horses, which indicated that they had turned about and were retreating.  This gave Crassus still better hopes, and made the soldiers completely despise the Parthians, who, as they supposed, would not come to close quarters.