John I Tzimiskes was Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976 CE. Although he took the throne by murdering his predecessor Nikephoros II Phokas, John was a popular emperor. A skilled general and a competent politician, he is known for expanding Byzantium's borders to the Danube River in the west and further into Syria in the east.
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Timeline
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955John Tzimiskes is appointed domestikos of the East in the Byzantine Empire.
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969John Tzimiskes murders Nikephoros II Phokas in the imperial Byzantine palace in Constantinople.
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969 - 976Reign of Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes.
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970The Treaty of Safar makes Aleppo a client state of the Byzantine Empire.
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971John I Tzimiskes and the Byzantine army defeat the Rus at Dorystolon, forcing Sviatoslav and the Rus army to retreat from Bulgaria.
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972John I Tzimiskes captures Nisibis and forces the Emir of Mosul to pay tribute to the Byzantine Empire.
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975John I Tzimiskes invades Syria, conquering several cities and forcing neighboring Muslim states such as Damascus to pay tribute to the Byzantines.
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11 Jan 976John I Tzimiskes dies, possibly from poisoning.
