Roman troops defeat the Rus' at Arcadiopolis in March 970 AD
Roman troops defeat the Rus' at Arcadiopolis in March 970 AD In early 970, the Rus' army, with large contingents of Bulgarians, Pechenegs, and Magyars, crossed the Balkan mountains and headed south. The Rus' stormed the city of Philippopolis (now Plovdiv) and, according to Leo the Deacon, impaled 20,000 of its surviving inhabitants. Skleros, with an army of 10,000–12,000 men, met the advancing Rus' near Arcadiopolis (now Luleburgaz) in early spring of the year 970. The Eastern Roman general, whose army was considerably outnumbered, used a mock retreat to draw the Pecheneg contingent away from the main army in a prepared ambush. The main Rus' army panicked and fled, suffering heavy casualties at the hands of the pursuing Imperials. The Rus withdrew north of the Balkan range, giving to the Emperor Tzimiskes time to deal with internal disturbances and muster his own forces for the new campaign to come. After being busy suppressing the Bardas Phokas revolt throughout