How a clever Roman trap at the River Abas became a future military liability
In 65 BC, Pompey Magnus secured a decisive victory against the Caucasian Albanians by hiding his infantry behind a thin screen of cavalry. This brilliant double envelopment crushed the enemy, but the very tactic Pompey used to win would eventually be turned against him at the Battle of Pharsalus.
During the Third Mithridatic War, Pompey sought to neutralize King Oroeses of Caucasian Albania, who had revolted against Roman authority. After a grueling march through the Caucasus, the Roman army reached the River Abas. Pompey, eager to draw the Albanians out of the dense surrounding forests, concealed his legionaries behind a line of cavalry. He ordered his men to kneel motionless behind their shields, creating the illusion of a smaller, horse-only force. Oroeses, believing he faced a vulnerable target, launched an attack from the woods.
As the Albanians charged, the Roman cavalry feigned a retreat, drawing the enemy deep into the trap. Once the Albanians were committed, the hidden infantry rose, extending their line into a bow shape to envelop the attackers. The cavalry then split, circling around to strike the enemy from the rear. This maneuver, which mirrored Hannibal’s success at Cannae, resulted in a near-total encirclement. Plutarch notes that Cosis, the brother of Oroeses, even managed to strike Pompey with a javelin during the chaos, only to be killed by the Roman general in single combat.
The aftermath of the battle was brutal. Survivors attempting to flee into the forest were forced back into the open by fires set by Roman troops. While rumors persisted that Amazonian warriors had fought alongside the Albanians—supported by the discovery of captured shields and buskins—the primary outcome was the total submission of Oroeses. Pompey allowed the king to remain on his throne, though his subsequent attempt to reach the Caspian Sea was thwarted by a plague of reptiles. Ironically, the tactical deception Pompey perfected here was later employed by Julius Caesar to defeat him at Pharsalus, twenty years later.
Source: Battle of the Abas
