High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Battle of Arcadiopolis was fought in 970 between a Byzantine army under Bardas Skleros and a Rus` army, the latter also including allied Bulgarian, Pecheneg and Magyar contingents. In the preceding years, the Rus` ruler Sviatoslav had conquered Bulgaria, and was now menacing Byzantium as well. The Rus` force had been advancing through Thrace towards Constantinople when it was met by Skleros` force. Having fewer men than the Rus`, Skleros prepared an ambush and attacked the Rus` army with a portion of his force. The Byzantines then feigned retreat, and succeeded in drawing off the Pecheneg contingent into the ambush, routing it. The remainder of the Rus` army also panicked and fled, and suffered heavy casualties from the pursuing Byzantines. The battle was important as it bought time for the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes to settle his internal problems and assemble a large expedition, which eventually defeated Sviatoslav the next year.