The Magyars were regularly hired by their neighbors to intervene in their conflicts. The Byzantine Emperor Leo the Wise incited them to invade Bulgaria in 894, but the Bulgarians made an alliance with the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs attacked the Magyars, forcing them to abandon the Pontic steppes. They crossed the Carpathian Mountains and settled in the plains along the Middle Danube around 895. They conquered Pannonia, destroyed Moravia and defeated the Bavarians between 900 and 907. Theotmar, Archbishop of Salzburg, recorded that they destroyed Christian churches in Pannonia.