In the 820s, two events, the beginning of the Muslim conquest of Sicily and the establishment of the Emirate of Crete, altered the balance of power between the Byzantine Empire and the Arabs in the Mediterranean.

[1] Apart from the raids of the Cretan Saracens, the Abbasid caliphs also took care to strengthen their forces in the Cilician frontier districts, and Tarsos became a major base for land and seaborne attacks against Byzantine territory.

Emperor Basil I the Macedonian had received intelligence of Yazaman's intentions, however, and the governor of the local Theme of Hellas, a certain Oineiates, was well prepared to meet the attack, having assembled the troops of his province, repaired the walls and installed stone-throwing catapults on them.

At long last, Yazaman placed a great shield before the lines of his troops, filled it with gold and promised to award it along with a hundred maidens to the first of his men who scaled the wall.

[5] Skylitzes reports that Yazaman too fell "at the first encounter", but this is clearly an error or a confusion, as al-Tabari records that he launched further raids against Byzantium in 886 and in 888, and was killed in 891 during his siege of the Byzantine fortress of Salandu.