XLI.
Per idem tempus Cietarum natio Cappadoci Archelao subiecta, (Cietarum natio Cappadoci Archelao subiecta: ‘the tribe of the Cietae, subject to the Cappadocian king Archelaus’; the Cietae or Cletae lived in Cilicia on the southern coast of Turkey, near the border with Syria, with the Mount Taurus chain north of them. For king Archelaus see Book 2, ch. 42. Cappadocia had recently become a Roman province, but the king was allowed to continue to rule.) quia nostrum in modum deferre census, pati tributa adigebatur, in iuga Tauri montis abscessit locorumque ingenio sese contra imbellis regis copias tutabatur, (quia nostrum in modum deferre census, pati tributa adigebatur, in iuga Tauri montis abscessit locorumque ingenio sese contra imbellis regis copias tutabatur: ‘because the tribe was obliged to report property income (census) and bear the tribute, in keeping with Roman custom, the Cietae retired to the summits of Mount Taurus and, thanks to the nature of the place, defended themselves (sese) from the ineffective troops of the king.’ The imposition of census and tribute was not necessarily a Roman initiative, but an attempt by the king to adopt the Roman system. sese tutabatur: the passive of tuto is here reflexive; se and sese are used without distinction, though the latter may have been emphatic in origin.) donec M. Trebellius legatus, a Vitellio praeside Syriae cum quattuor milibus legionariorum et delectis auxiliis missus, duos collis quos barbari insederant (minori Cadra, alteri Davara nomen est) operibus circumdedit et erumpere ausos ferro, ceteros siti ad deditionem coegit. (donec … circumdedit … coegit: donec, ‘until’, takes indicative when a factual time limit is denoted in past time.) At Tiridates volentibus Parthis Nicephorium et Anthemusiada ceterasque urbes, quae Macedonibus sitae Graeca vocabula usurpant, Halumque et Artemitam Parthica oppida recepit, (at Tiridates volentibus Parthis Nicephorium et Anthemusiada ceterasque urbes, quae Macedonibus sitae Graeca vocabula usurpant, Halumque et Artemitam Parthica oppida recepit: ‘Tiridates, on the other hand, the Parthians acquiescing, took possession of Nicephorium, Anthemusias and the other cities (that had been established (sitae) by the Macedonians and use Greek names), in addition to the Parthic towns of Halus and Artemita.’ at marks here a change of subject and locale, more precisely a return to the narrative of events in the Orient left suspended in ch. 37; Nicephorium and Anthemusias were both on or near the Euphrates river in what was then Mesopotamia and today are presumably in the vicinity of Gaziantep in southern Turkey, not far from the Syrian border. The sites of Halus and Artemita were probably east of the Tigris river, in today’s Iran, more or less at the same latitude as Baghdad. volentibus Parthis is abl. abd.) certantibus gaudio qui Artabanum Scythas inter eductum ob saevitiam execrati come Tiridatis ingenium Romanas per artes sperabant. (certantibus gaudio qui Artabanum Scythas inter eductum ob saevitiam execrati come [esse] Tiridatis ingenium Romanas per artes sperabant: ‘outdoing one another in joy those who detested Artabanus, raised among the Scythians, for his cruelty, and hoped that Tiridates’ character was kind through [exposure] to Roman culture’; similar sentiments were expressed in Book 2, ch. 56, when the Armenians welcomed Zeno the new king, the son of Polemon king of Pontus. certantibus gaudio qui … : abl. abs. governing a relative clause)