 The Fatimids focused their military on the defence of the empire as threats presented, which they were able to repel.In the mid-10th century, the Byzantine Empire was ruled by Nikephoros II Phokas, who had destroyed the Muslim Emirate of Chandax in 961 and conquered Tartus, Al-Masaisah, 'Ain Zarbah, among other areas, gaining complete control of Iraq and the Syrian borders, and earning the sobriquet "The Pale Death of the Saracens".With the Fatimids, however, he proved less successful.