LXXXI.
Ante idus Iulias (idus Iulias: the ides were on the fifteenth day of July March, May, and October.) Syria omnis in eodem sacramento fuit. accessere cum regno Sohaemus (Sohaemus: prince of Emesa, modern Homs, in Syria; Nero had made him king of Sophene, a small territory btween Cappadocia and Armenia.) haud spernendis viribus, Antiochus (Antiochus: King of Commagene, an area between Cilicia and Armenia, SW of Sophene.) vetustis opibus ingens et servientium regum ditissimus. mox per occultos suorum nuntios excitus ab urbe Agrippa, (Agrippa: Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great and brother of Berenice; he governed the territory east of the river Jordan.) ignaro adhuc Vitellio, celeri navigatione properaverat. nec minore animo regina Berenice partis iuvabat, florens aetate formaque et seni quoque Vespasiano magnificentia munerum grata. (Berenice …florens aetate formaque et seni quoque Vespasiano …grata: ‘Berenice, flourishing in her age and beauty, attractive even to the aging Vespasian’; aetate formaque are ablatives of respect with florens.) quidquid provinciarum (quidquid provinciarum: partitive genitive found after substantival neuters expressive of quantity, like quidquid, ‘whatever of provinces’; another instance is tantum peditum equitumque further down.) adluitur mari Asia atque Achaia tenus, (Achaia tenus: ‘as far as Achaia’, the Roman province in southern Greece; the prep tenus is always placed after the abl. noun it governs.) quantumque introrsus in Pontum et Armenios patescit, (quantumque introrsus in Pontum et Armenios patescit: ‘and as much [territory] as extends towards the interior into Pontus and Armenia’; Pontum: a region along the southern coast of the Black Sea and often the name of the sea itself; Armenios: the inhabitants of Armenia.) iuravere; sed inermes legati regebant, nondum additis Cappadociae legionibus. consilium de summa rerum Beryti (Beryti: modern Beirut in Lebanon; Beryti is locative.) habitum. illuc Mucianus cum legatis tribunisque et splendidissimo quoque centurionum ac militum (splendidissimo quoque centurionum ac militum: an instance of partitive genitive after a superlative, ‘with the very best of centurions and soldiers’) venit, et e Iudaico exercitu lecta decora: tantum simul peditum equitumque et aemulantium inter se regum paratus speciem fortunae principalis effecerant. (tantum simul peditum equitumque et aemulantium inter se regum paratus speciem fortunae principalis effecerant: ‘such a vast number of infantry and cavalry together and the pageant of kings outdoing one another created an impression of imperial grandeur’.)