30.11
Meantime Laelius and Masinissa, after a
fifteen days' march, entered Numidia, and the Maesulians, delighted to see
their king whose absence they had so long regretted, placed him once more
on his ancestral throne. All the garrisons with which Syphax had held the
country were expelled and he was confined within the limits of his former
dominions. He had no intention, however, of remaining quiet; he was goaded
on by his wife, whom he passionately loved, and by her father, and he had
such an abundance of men and horses that the mere sight of the resources
afforded by a realm which had enjoyed many years of prosperity would have
stimulated the ambition of even a less barbarous and impulsive nature than
Syphax possessed. He assembled all who were fit for war, and after
distributing horses, armour and weapons amongst them he formed the
mounted men into squadrons and the infantry into cohorts, a plan which he
had learnt in the old days from the centurions. With this army, quite as
numerous as the one he had had before but consisting almost entirely of raw
and untrained levies, he marched off to meet his enemies, and fixed his camp
in their vicinity. At first he sent small bodies of cavalry from the outposts to
make a cautious reconnaissance; compelled to retire by showers of darts they
galloped back to their comrades. Sorties were made on both sides
alternately, and indignant at being repulsed, larger bodies came up. This acts
as an incentive in cavalry skirmishes when the winning side find their
comrades flocking to them in hopes of victory and rage at the prospect of
defeat brings supports to those who are losing. So it was then, the fighting
had been begun by a few, but the love of battle at last brought the whole of
the cavalry on both sides into the field. As long as the cavalry only were
engaged the Romans had great difficulty in withstanding the immense
numbers of Maesulians whom Syphax was sending forward. Suddenly,
however, the Roman light infantry ran out between the cavalry who made
way for them, and this gave steadiness to the line and checked the rush of
the enemy. The latter slackened speed and then came to a halt, and were
soon thrown into confusion by this unaccustomed mode of fighting. At last
they gave ground not only before the infantry but before the cavalry also, to
whom the support of their infantry had given fresh courage. By this time the
legions were coming up, but the Maesulians did not wait for their attack, the
mere sight of the standards and arms was enough, such was the effect either
of the recollection of their past defeats or of the fear which the enemy now
inspired.
