 The other Muslim states were not idle , however : in March , the Byzantines were hit by three successive raids in Anatolia , organized by the Abbasid commander Mu 'nis al @-@ Muzaffar , while in August , a large raid led by Thamal of Tarsus penetrated as far as Ancyra and Amorium and returned with prisoners worth 136 @,@ 000 gold dinars . During this time , the Byzantines were engaged in southern Armenia , aiding the ruler of Vaspurakan , Gagik I , who had rallied the local Armenian princes and allied himself with the Byzantines against the emir of Adharbayjan . There they raided the Kaysite emirate and razed Khliat and Berkri to the ground , before marching into Mesopotamia and capturing Samosata again . Gagik was unable to take advantage of this and capture Kaysite territory , however , as Muflih immediately raided his domains in retaliation . At this point , the Melitenians called upon the Hamdanid rulers of Mosul for help . In response , the Hamdanid prince Sa 'id ibn Hamdan attacked the Byzantines and drove them back : Samosata was abandoned , and in November 931 , the Byzantine garrison withdrew from Melitene as well . Sa 'id was , however , unable to remain in the area or to leave a sufficient garrison ; once he left for Mosul , the Byzantines returned and resumed both the blockade of Melitene and their scorched @-@ earth tactics . 
