 In 643, the Arabs invaded again, from the direction of Adharbayjan, ravaged Ayrarat and reached Iberia, but were defeated in battle by the Armenian leader Theodore Rshtuni and forced back.After this success, Rshtuni was recognized as ruler of Armenia by the Byzantine emperor Constans II, in exchange for accepting Byzantine suzerainty.When Constans' truce with the Arabs ended in 653, however, to avoid a new Arab invasion, Rshtuni voluntarily agreed to submit to Muslim overlordship.