But the Romans easily had the better of those who came to close-quarter fighting. And when the size of the cavalry and the numbers of the camels began to cause them trouble, they pretended to retreat and then threw down caltrops and other iron devices with sharp spikes sticking out of them. They were fatal to the cavalry and the camel-riders as they lay hidden in the sand, and were not seen by them. The horses and the camels trod on them and (this applied particularly to the camels with their tender pads) fell onto their knees and were lamed, throwing the riders off their backs.
Edition :
Herodian. History of the Empire, Volume I: Books 1-4. Translated by C. R. Whittaker. Loeb Classical Library 454. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969.
Herodian. History of the Empire, Volume II: Books 5-8. Translated by C. R. Whittaker. Loeb Classical Library 455. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970.
