Heraclius, appointed by his brother Tiberios III as patrikios and commander-in-chief (monostrategos) of the Anatolian themes, crosses with his army the mountain passes of the Taurus Mountains into Cilicia in autumn 698, and thence heads to northern Syrian.

After defeating an Arab army from Antioch, …

…Heraclius raids as far as Samosata before returning safely to the Empire in the spring of 699.

This success only serves to provoke a massive Arab response: over the next few years, the Caliphate's generals Muhammad ibn Marwan and Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik will launch a series of campaigns that will conquer what remains of Roman Armenia, without Heraclius being able to respond effectively.

Umayyad troops invade Armenia in 699 and secure the submission of Smbat VI Bagratuni.

The East Roman Empire is engaged in almost constant war with the Arabs in various fronts from 698 to 718.

The defeat at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692 and internal instability have lead to the gradual loss of Armenia and Cilicia.

The Empire generally maintains a defensive stance against the annual Arab raids into Anatolia, despite some successes by Heraclius, brother of Emperor Tiberius III.

Carthage falls in 697: recovered soon after, it is again lost in 698, marking the end of Roman North Africa.

Tiberios III, as emperor, has made the tactical decision to ignore Africa, where Carthage is now definitively lost.

Instead, he has appointed his brother Heraclius as monostrategos of the East, who had firstly strengthened the land and sea defenses of Anatolia before proceeding to attack the Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Malik, winning minor victories while raiding into northern Syria in 700 and 701.

Abdallah, son of Caliph Abd al-Malik, was born around 677 and had grown up in the Caliphate's capital, Damascus.

During his youth he had accompanied his father on several campaigns.

He leads his own campaign for the first time in 700/701, as a retaliation for the attacks of the imperial general Heraclius.

During this expedition, he captures the border fortress of Theodosiopolis and raids into Armenia Minor.

Muhammad campaigns later in 701 against the Constantinople-controlled Armenian territory east of the Euphrates, and forces its population and the local governor, Baanes, to submit to the Caliphate.

Soon after his departure, however, the Armenians rebel and call for imperial aid.

The deposed emperor Justinian II, on learning in 703 that Tiberios plans to arrest him, escapes from his place of exile in the Crimea to …

…the khan of the Khazars, with whom the Heraclians have long had close ties of friendship.

Shortly after Justinian's marriage to the khan's sister, however, the khan is bribed by Tiberius to kill Justinian.

Forewarned by his wife, Justinian flees to the Bulgar kingdom.

Muslim Arab forces overrun Cilicia in the early 700s, then turn northward to invade …