969 to 1050 (Anaptyxte ton Starvó)

969 to 975: Arab-Byzantine Conflict
While the Holy Roman Empire attacks Italy, the Byzantines and Arabs fight. On October 28th, the Siege of Antioch begins. After 3 days, Antioch falls and Aleppo falls with it. On December 11th, Nikephoros nearly escapes an assassination attempt by his wife. Nikephoros orders her execution and she dies. In 970, huge parts of Syria are invaded and by August, most of the Syrian coast is occupied, and the Byzantines are at the gates of Lebanon. On August 14th, the Battle of Hims occurs, and on August 15th, the Byzantines win. The rest of the war is focused on small skirmishes and occupying the land. Through the rest of 970 and 971, the Amirate of Aleppo is occupied, and in March 972, the final fort of Amid falls. Aleppo surrenders. Using Armenian help and mercenaries, the Emirate of Mosul falls, and by 974, all that is left is a portion of the Empire in the Iraqi desert. After the fall of Rahba, the war ends. The Emirate of Aleppo is fully annexed by the Byzantines, while the Armenians take Eastern Iraq. The Emirate of Mosul moves to Rahba and never recovers, and the Buyids conquer the rest of the Hamdanid Empire.

977 to 979: Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars
Macedonia and Thrace had been a conflict between both Bulgaria and Byzantium, and as Kiev had weakened Bulgaria's influence in the North, the Byzantines orchestrated an attack on Bulgaria. The Byzantines declared war on October 5th, and quickly invaded the Bulgarian Aegean coast. Bulgarian troops attempted a counter-attack on Macedonia and mainland Greece, and the Battle of Pella occurred. A Byzantine victory pushed the Bulgarians back to Stobi, where Byzantium flanked the Bulgarian force. Byzantine forces separated Bulgaria into two parts, modern-day Bosnia and pieces of Croatia and Serbia on one side, and modern-day Bulgaria on the other. Trapping Bulgarian forces in the West, the important lands fell, and Bulgaria soon surrendered in 979. The Byzantines took a large part of Bulgaria, with the exception of Tarnovo and Silstria, and Serbia. Bulgaria was divided in two.