Leo the Deacon
Towards the end of autumn, Sayf al-Dawla finally began the journey home, taking his booty and prisoners with him. The contemporary Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon gives a vivid portrait of the Hamdanid prince, who, elated at the success of his raid and full of self-confidence, sped back and forth alongside his troops on his horse, a mare "of extraordinary size and speed", throwing his spear in the air and catching it again with remarkable dexterity.