The Mirdasids have the military advantage of…

The Mirdasids have the military advantage of light Arab cavalry, and several Arab groups in the region, such as the Numayrids of Harran and their own Kilabi brethren, have provided valuable assistance.

The Seljuqs have now supplanted the East Romans and Fatimids as their primary antagonist; the Turks' light cavalry is superior to their own and the Mirdasids have a much more difficult time dealing with them.

The Mirdasids have resorted to recruiting Turkish mercenaries into their armies, although this has caused its own problems, as the Turks have begun to acquire an increased role in the government.

As Alp-Arslan is about to attack Aleppo, whose prince had been too late in siding with the 'Abbasids, and is preparing to occupy Syria, Alp-Arslan learns that the emperor, with a formidable army, is assaulting his rear army in Armenia.