Editing 953 (section)

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* [[Battle of Marash (953)|Battle of Marash]]: Emir [[Sayf al-Dawla]] marches north into the [[Byzantine Empire]] and ravages the countryside of [[Malatya Province|Malatya]] (modern [[Turkey]]). On his way back, he crosses the [[Euphrates]] and intercepts a Byzantine army led by [[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phokas]] ('''the Elder'''), near [[Kahramanmaraş|Marash]]. The Byzantines are defeated; Bardas himself barely escapes through the intervention of his attendants. His son [[Constantine Phokas]], governor of [[Seleucia (theme)|Seleucia]], is captured and held prisoner in [[Aleppo]], until his death from an illness some time later.<ref>Vasiliev, A.A. (1968). ''Byzance et les Arabes, Tome II, 1ére partie: Les relations politiques de Byzance et des Arabes à L'époque de la dynastie macédonienne (867–959)''. Brussels: Éditions de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales.</ref>