During the civil war in Byzantium in 1320s and 1330s , the Serbs conquered Conquering most of the Bulgarian and Aromanian populated Macedonia from the Byzantines .

The Byzantines often lost Earnings_and_losses control over the Ottomans then as the latter regularly plundered Robbery villages in the Southern Balkans after the 1320s .

970 until 1018 , a series of conflicts Hostile_encounter between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire led to Causation the gradual conquest Conquering of Bulgaria by the Byzantines , who thus re-established Recovering their control Control over the entire Balkan peninsula for the first time since the 7th-century Slavic invasions Attack .

The four brothers David , Moses , Aron and Samuel of the Cometopuli dynasty ruled Control in the free territories and in 976 launched Process_start a major offensive Attack against the Byzantines to regain Getting the lost lands .

The Byzantines under Basil II , a successful general and experienced soldier , slowly got Getting the upper hand and from 1001 started Process_start to seize Conquering a number of important areas and towns .

In 1014 the Byzantines won the decisive battle Hostile_encounter of Kleidion and Samuel died Death a few weeks later .

The conquest Attack of Amorium was not only a major military disaster Catastrophe and a heavy personal blow for Theophilos , but also a traumatic event Social_event for the Byzantines , its impact resonating in later literature .

The Byzantines under Manuel I Komnenos could muster some 200 ships .

The brothers Peter and Asen built Building the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki in Tarnovo , dedicated Giving to Saint Demetrius , who was traditionally considered a patron of the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki , and claimed Statement that the Saint had ceased Process_end to favour the Byzantines : `` God had decided Deciding to free Releasing the Bulgarians and the Vlach people and to lift Process_end the yoke that they had borne Bringing for so long '' .

During the solar eclipse of 21 April 1186 , the Byzantines successfully attacked Attack the rebels , many of whom fled Escaping north of the Danube , making Manufacturing contact with the Cumans .

The Byzantines obtained Getting a few minor victories before winter , but the rebels , helped Assistance by the Cumans and employing Employment their mountain tactics , still held Defending the advantage .

This was contrary to the wishes of the Eastern Rite Byzantines , who wanted the land that the Muslims took Conquering from them returned Arriving , rather than occupied Control by Latin Catholics .

During the first centuries , the Byzantines were usually on the defensive Defending , and avoided Preventing_or_letting open Openness field battles , preferring Choosing to retreat Escaping to their fortified Cause_change_of_strength strongholds .

920 to 976 , the Byzantines finally broke Bodily_harm through the Muslim defences and restored Recovering their control over northern Syria and Greater Armenia .

Simeon I called Request for truce Process_end and deliberately protracted Change_event_time the negotiations Communication with the Byzantines until securing Getting the assistance Assistance of the Pechenegs .

Under the treaty Sign_agreement , the Byzantines also ceded Surrendering an area between the Black Sea and the Strandzha mountains to Bulgaria .

The Byzantines , who in the meantime had neutralized Preventing_or_letting the detachment left to secure Getting the Abbasid army 's rear in Phrygia , were able to trap Conquering Harun 's army between their own converging Come_together forces Causation .

In 1040 Peter Delyan , an illegitimate relative of Samuel , the Bulgar king , led an uprising Change_of_leadership against the Byzantines and was proclaimed Statement Emperor of Bulgaria .

Alusian , who initially sought to lead the army against the Byzantines , secretly negotiated Communication a deal Arranging with Emperor Michael IV at Mosynopolis and was rewarded Rewards_and_punishments with a title of `` magistros '' .

Consequently , large parts of Syria , excluding its capital city of Damascus , were taken Conquering by the Byzantines , even if only for a few years , with a new theme of Syria integrated Cause_to_amalgamate into the expanding Expansion empire .

In addition to the natural gains of land , and wealth and manpower received Receiving from these victories , the Byzantines also inflicted Bodily_harm a psychological defeat Earnings_and_losses on their opponents by recapturing Conquering territory deemed holy and important to Christendom , in particular the city of Antioch—allowing Byzantium to hold Defending two of Christendoms ' five most important Patriarchs , those making up Becoming_a_member the Pentarchy .

Nonetheless , the Arabs remained Temporary_stay a fierce opponent to the Byzantines and a temporary Fatimid recovery after `` c. '' 970 had the potential to reverse Change many of the earlier victories .

The death of Manuel Komnenos in 1180 terminated Process_end military campaigns far from Constantinople and after the Fourth Crusade both the Byzantines and the Arabs were engaged Hostile_encounter in other conflicts until they were conquered Conquering by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th and 16th centuries , respectively .

Today , the Battle Hostile_encounter of Manzikert is widely seen Perception_active as the moment when the Byzantines lost Earnings_and_losses the war against the Turks ; however the Byzantine military was of questionable quality before 1071 with regular Turkish incursions overrunning Destroying the failing theme system .

Within a hundred years of Manzikert , the Byzantines had successfully driven Motion back the Turks from the coasts of Asia Minor and extended Expansion their influence right down to Palestine and even Egypt .

Later , the Byzantines were unable to extract Getting any more assistance , and the Fourth Crusade even led to Causation the sack of Constantinople .