As the King begged for pardon, and sent ambassadors, Pompeius
excused him for the wrong that he had done, and making a treaty with
him, advanced against the Iberians, who were as numerous as the Albani
and more warlike, and had a strong wish to please Mithridates and to
repel Pompeius. For the Iberians had never submitted either to the
Medes or the Persians,[268] and they had escaped the dominion of the
Macedonians also, inasmuch as Alexander soon quitted Hyrkania. However
Pompeius routed the Iberians also in a great battle, in which nine
thousand of them were killed and above ten thousand taken prisoners,
and he entered Colchis; and on the Phasis[269] he was met by Servilius
with the vessels with which he was guarding the Pontus.
XXXV. The pursuit of Mithridates was attended with great difficulties,
as he had plunged among the nations around the Bosporus and the
Maeotis; and intelligence reached Pompeius that the Albani had again
revolted. Moved by passion and desire of revenge, Pompeius turned
against the Albani. He again crossed the Cyrnus with difficulty and
danger, for the river had been fenced off with stakes to a great
extent by the barbarians; and as the passage of the river was
succeeded by a long waterless and difficult march, he had ten thousand
skins filled with water and then advanced against the enemy, whom he
found posted on the river Abas[270] to the number of sixty thousand
foot and twelve thousand cavalry, but poorly armed, and for the most
part only with the skins of beasts.
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