perpetrating the worst crimes against them." In retaliation, Stephen decided to wage war against the Byzantine Empire. The Illuminated Chronicle relates that the childless Stephen "... so ordered the succession to the throne that after his death the son of his sister Sophia, by name Saul, should reign." The chronicle does not specify the date of this event, but Ferenc Makk says that Stephen most probably declared Saul as his heir during the first half of 1127, before storming the Byzantine Empire. Stephen broke into the empire in the summer. His troops sacked Belgrade, Braničevo and Niš, and plundered the regions around Serdica (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Philippopolis (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), before returning to Hungary. In response, Emperor John II marched against Hungary in 1128, where he defeated the royal troops in a battle at Haram, and "captured Frangochorion, the richest land in Hungary" (now in Serbia). Stephen was unable to participate in the fighting because "he happened to be sickly in body and was recuperating someplace in the midst of his land", according to John Kinnamos. The Illuminated Chronicle said that his illness was so serious that "all expected his death." The chronicle added that "traitors" went so far as to elect two kings, the "Counts Bors and Ivan". Upon regaining his health, Stephen had Ivan executed and expelled Bors from his kingdom. John Kinnamos wrote of a second campaign by Stephen against the Byzantine Empire. The Hungarian troops, supported by Czech reinforcements under the command of Duke Vaclav of Olomouc, took Braničevo by storm and destroyed its fortress. Emperor John II Komnenos was forced to retreat and sue for peace. Historian Ferenc Makk writes that the resulting peace treaty was signed in October 1129. For many years, Stephen believed that his cousin, Béla, had died after being blinded on the orders of Stephen's father. Having learnt, around 1129, that Béla was alive, the king "... rejoiced with great joy ...", according to the Illuminated Chronicle. He even granted Béla the town of Tolna and arranged Béla's marriage with Helena of Rascia. The Illuminated Chronicle recounts that Stephen showed blatant favoritism towards the "Comans", identified as Pechenegs or Cumans by historians, who had arrived in Hungary in the 1120s. In his last years, he even tolerated the crimes they committed against his subjects, causing a revolt. Before his death, Stephen "... laid aside his royal state and took the habit of