Following the Siege of Chandax and the reconquest of Crete by the Byzantines, Anemas and his father were taken as prisoners to Constantinople and displayed during the triumph of the conqueror and future emperor Nikephoros II Phokas.
[1] Upon settling in Constantinople, Anemas converted to Christianity and joined the Byzantine army as a member of the imperial bodyguard.
[2][3] When the emperor John I Tzimiskes campaigned against the Kievan Rus' in 971, Anemas joined the expedition and went on to fight in a number of engagements during the Siege of Dorostolon.
[4] On the next day (Leo gives it as Friday the 24th of July, but the 24th was a Monday) the Rus' launched a determined all-out attack around sunset, hoping to break through.
[5] The Rus' then charged with renewed confidence, but were beaten back with heavy casualties, forcing Sviatoslav to capitulate and sign a treaty with Tzimiskes.