Battle of Azaz ( 1030 ) The Battle of Azaz was an engagement fought near the Syrian town of Azaz between the Byzantine army , led by Emperor Romanos III Argyros ( r . 1028 – 1034 ) in person , and the forces of the Mirdasid Emirate of Aleppo . The battle resulted in a rout for the Byzantines , whose army fled in disorder back to Antioch , but the Byzantine generals managed to recover the situation thereafter , forcing Aleppo to resume tributary status in 1031 . Background . Aleppo had been a Byzantine vassal since the days of Nikephoros II Phokas ( r . 963 – 969 ) , but already in the years before the death of Basil II ( r . 976 – 1025 ) , its emirs had began to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt . By the time the Mirdasid dynasty ( 1025 – 1080 ) gained control of the city , Byzantine influence over Aleppo and northern Syria in general had declined considerably ( cf . Michael Spondyles ) . Romanos III , despite his complete lack of military experience , was eager to emulate Basil ' s military successes , and in March 1030 he departed Constantinople , leading in person a campaign against Aleppo . His army , some 20 , 000 strong , contained many foreign mercenaries . According to the Byzantine chroniclers , so confident was Romanos of his success that he prepared special crowns for his triumph to come , and staged a grandiose entry into Antioch . Aleppo ' s emir , Shibl al - Dawla Nasr , learning of the Byzantines ' approach , sent envoys and offered to recognize Byzantine suzerainty and to restart the payment of tribute . Romanos ' s generals counselled him to accept so as to avoid the hazards of campaigning in the arid Syrian desert in summer , especially as their troops were unaccustomed to such conditions and were encumbered by their heavy armour , but Romanos rejected their advice and led his army towards Azaz ( Azazion in Greek ) . As the contemporary scholar Michael Psellos acidly commented , Romanos " thought war was decided by the big battalions , and it was on the big battalions that he relied " . Battle . The Byzantines set up a fortified camp near Azaz , and the Emperor dispatched the Excubitors , under their commander , the " patrikios " Leo Choirosphaktes , to reconnoitre the area . Choirosphaktes was ambushed , however , and taken captive , while his men dispersed . This success encouraged the Arabs , who began to harass the imperial camp and prohibit the Byzantines from foraging . As a result , the Byzantine army began to suffer from hunger and especially from thirst . The " patrikios " Constantine Dalassenos then led an attack against the Arabs , but was defeated , and fled back to the camp . The Byzantines became demoralized , and an imperial council resolved to abandon the campaign and return to Byzantine territory . Thus , in the next morning , 10 August 1030 , the army departed its camp and made for Antioch . The besieging Arabs attacked the retreating imperial army . As most Byzantine troops were too worn out from thirst and dysentery to fight , the imperial army broke and fled . Only the imperial bodyguard , the " Hetaireia " , held firm , and their brave stand allowed Romanos , who was nearly captured himself , to escape . According to the report of Yahya of Antioch , however , the Byzantines suffered remarkably little casualties . The Arabs took great booty , including the entire imperial army ' s baggage train , which the Byzantines abandoned in their hasty flight . Among the spoils was the sumptuous imperial tent with its treasures , which allegedly had to be carried off on seventy camels . Only the holy icon of the Theotokos , which the Byzantine emperors habitually carried along on campaigns , was saved . Aftermath . The failure of the emperor was partly offset by the victory of George Maniakes , governor of Telouch , against 800 Arabs returning from the Byzantine debacle . The Arabs , emboldened by their victory , demanded that he evacuate his province . Maniakes at first pretended to comply , sending food and drink to the Arabs , but then attacked and overwhelmed them . Maniakes ' s success was followed soon after by a sustained Byzantine campaign against the Arab border lords , who had risen up against Byzantine rule in the aftermath of Azaz . Romanos himself had departed for Constantinople , leaving behind Niketas of Mistheia and Symeon the " protovestiarios " as the " katepano " of Antioch and as Domestic of the Schools respectively . These two generals scored a number of successes , taking several fortresses , including Azaz after a short siege in December 1030 . Over the next two years , they systematically took the hill forts of the local tribes and reduced them to submission , restoring the Byzantine position in Syria . In the meantime , Nasr of Aleppo , seeking to conciliate his powerful neighbour , sent his own son ' Amr to Constantinople already in April 1031 to ask for a treaty whereby he returned to tributary and vassal status towards Byzantium . The Byzantine resurgence in the East culminated in the capture of Edessa in 1031 by Maniakes .