 The other Muslim states were not idle, however: in March, the Byzantines were hit by three successive raids in Anatolia, organized by the Abbasid commander Mu 'nis al-Muzaffar, while in August, a large raid led by Thamal of Tarsus penetrated as far as Ancyra and Amorium and returned with prisoners worth 136,000 gold dinars. During this time, the Byzantines were engaged in southern Armenia, aiding the ruler of Vaspurakan, Gagik I, who had rallied the local Armenian princes and allied himself with the Byzantines against the emir of Adharbayjan. There they raided the Kaysite emirate and razed Khliat and Berkri to the ground, before marching into Mesopotamia and capturing Samosata again. Gagik was unable to take advantage of this and capture Kaysite territory, however, as Muflih immediately raided his domains in retaliation. At this point, the Melitenians called upon the Hamdanid rulers of Mosul for help. In response, the Hamdanid prince Sa'id ibn Hamdan attacked the Byzantines and drove them back: Samosata was abandoned, and in November 931, the Byzantine garrison withdrew from Melitene as well. Sa 'id was, however, unable to remain in the area or to leave a sufficient garrison; once he left for Mosul, the Byzantines returned and resumed both the blockade of Melitene and their scorched-earth tactics.
