 The surrounding countryside was devastated in an effort to demoralise the city's inhabitants and cut off their access to fresh supplies.This probably led the population of Debeltos to face starvation, and George, Archbishop of Debeltos, was thus forced to negotiate the surrender of the city with Krum and agree to the deportation of the population of Debeltos to Bulgarian territory.Krum destroyed the walls of Debeltos, and the city's population, including its bishop, was resettled in Bulgaria.