Then, when the two armies were near each 1 other, the Assyrians and their allies drew a ditch around their camp, as even to this day the barbarian kings do whenever they go into camp; and they throw up such entrenchments with ease because of the multitude of hands at their command. They take this precaution because they know that cavalry troops—especially barbarian cavalry—are at night prone to confusion and hard to manage.
Cyropaedia. Xenophon. Walter Miller (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1914.
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