pretenders enjoyed numerous successes against the royal armies, despite their efforts to take a key fortress ateni went in vain, liparit and the byzantines won a major victory at the battle of sasireti, where bagrat suffered a crushing defeat and was forced to withdraw from his eastern possessions to take refuge in the western georgian highlands. however demetrius died unexpectedly in 1042. alda, with demetrius’s son david, fled to her native alania. liparit continued the struggle against bagrat and became a major champion of the byzantine influence in the region.