 The fall of Melitene profoundly shocked the Muslim world : for the first time , a major Muslim city had fallen and been incorporated into the Byzantine Empire . Kourkouas followed this success by subduing parts of the district of Samosata in 936 and razing the city to the ground . Until 938 , the East remained relatively calm . Historians suggest that the Byzantines were likely preoccupied with the full pacification of Melitene , and the Arab emirates , deprived of any potential support from the Caliphate , were reluctant to provoke them . 
