[1] In 1030, Byzantine Emperor Romanos III Argyros appointed Niketas as katepano of Antioch, following the Battle of Azaz against the Mirdasid dynasty.
Later on, he managed to force a coalition of Arab tribes led by Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi to withdraw from besieging Maraclea.
In December of the same year, the Byzantine generals Niketas of Mistheia and Symeon the protovestiarios besieged and captured Azaz, and burned Tubbal.
Afterwards, he controlled Maniqa after a 13-day, in which he also captured Nasr's wife and four daughters, who were abandoned to their fate.
In 1032, he secured the region by suppressing a Druze revolt in Mount Summaq, and capturing Bikisrail,[5] despite attempts from the Fatimid commander Anushtakin al-Dizbari to divert the attackers.