Complex sentence: Under the catapan Miriarch, the Byzantines retook Taranto, Brindisi, Oria, and Otranto; in January 1061, the Norman capital of Melfi was under siege.
Split into simpler sentences: Under the Catapan Miriarch, the Byzantines had retaken Taranto, Brindisi, Oria, and Otranto. In January 1061, the Norman capital of Melfi was under siege.