page_title: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927
section_title: Attempts for a Bulgarian–Arab alliance
hierarchical_section_title: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927 / Attempts for a Bulgarian–Arab alliance
caption_attribution_description: Simeon I of Bulgaria sending envoys to the Fatimid Caliph Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi. Madrid Skylitzes
context_page_description: The Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927 was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for more than a decade. Although the war was provoked by the Byzantine emperor Alexander's decision to discontinue paying an annual tribute to Bulgaria, the military and ideological initiative was held by Simeon I of Bulgaria, who demanded to be recognized as Tsar and made it clear that he aimed to conquer not only Constantinople but the rest of the Byzantine Empire, as well.
  In 917, the Bulgarian army dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantines at the Battle of Achelous, resulting in Bulgaria's total military supremacy in the Balkans. The Bulgarians again defeated the Byzantines at Katasyrtai in 917, Pegae in 921 and Constantinople in 922. The Bulgarians also captured the important city of Adrianople in Thrace and seized the capital of the Theme of Hellas, Thebes, deep in southern Greece. Following the disaster at Achelous, Byzantine diplomacy incited the Principality of Serbia to attack Bulgaria from the west, but this assault was easily contained.
context_section_description: By 922 the Bulgarians controlled almost the whole Balkan peninsula, but Simeon I's main objective remained out of his reach. The Bulgarian monarch was aware that he needed a navy to conquer Constantinople. Simeon I decided to turn to Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah (r. 909–934), founder and caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate. He ruled most of North Africa and posed a constant threat to the Byzantine possessions in Southern Italy. Although in 914 both sides had concluded a peace treaty, since 918 the Fatimids had renewed attacks on the Italian coast. In 922, the Bulgarians clandestinely sent envoys via Zachlumia, the state of their ally Michael, to the caliph's capital al-Mahdiyyah on the Tunisian coast. Simeon I suggested a joint attack on Constantinople with the Bulgarians providing a large land army and the Arabs a navy. It was proposed that all spoils would be divided equally, the Bulgarians would keep Constantinople and the Fatimids would gain the Byzantine territories in Sicily and Southern Italy.
  Al-Mahdi Billah accepted the proposal and sent back his own emissaries to conclude the agreement. On the way home the ship was captured by the Byzantines near the Calabrian coast, and the envoys of both countries were sent to Constantinople. When Romanos I learned about the secret negotiations, the Bulgarians were imprisoned, while the Arab envoys were allowed to return to Al-Mahdiyyah with rich gifts for the caliph. The Byzantines then sent their own embassy to North Africa to outbid Simeon I, and eventually the Fatimids agreed not to aid Bulgaria. Another attempt of Simeon I to ally with the Arabs was recorded by the historian al-Masudi in his book Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems. An Arab expedition from the Abbasid Caliphate under Thamal al-Dulafi landed on the Aegean coast of Thrace, and the Bulgarians established contact with them and sent envoys in Tarsus. However, this attempt also failed to produce tangible results.
caption: Simeon I sending envoys to the Fatimids, Madrid Skylitzes
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