328        THE   RESTORATION   OF  IMPERIAL    UNITY

cavalry,  had  determined  to  avoid  mountain  war-
fare and,  fixing  their  base  at  Antioch,  to  hold
the  line  of  the  Orontes.  At  the  passage  of  the
river  the  rival  armies  first  met,  and  the  Dalma-
tian and  Moorish  cavalry,  skilfully  manoeuvred  by
Aurelian,  won  their  initial  success  against  the
cuirassiers  of  Palmyra.  The  result  was  striking.
