id author title date pages extension mime words sentences flesch summary cache txt en-wikipedia-org-6333 Constantine IV - Wikipedia .html text/html 3196 575 65 As early as 668 the Caliph Muawiyah I received an invitation from Saborios, the commander of the troops in Armenia, to help overthrow the Emperor at Constantinople.[12] He sent an army under his son Yazid against the Byzantine Empire. Due to the ongoing conflicts with the Arabs during the 670s, Constantine had been forced to conclude treaties in the west with the Lombards, who had captured Brindisi and Taranto.[20] Also in 680, the Bulgars under Khan Asparukh crossed the Danube into nominally Imperial territory and began to subjugate the local communities and Slavic tribes.[8] In 680, Constantine IV led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Dobruja.[21] Suffering from bad health, the Emperor had to leave the army, which panicked and was defeated by the Bulgars.[22] In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia and to pay tribute/protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace.[17] Consequently, Constantine created the Theme of Thrace.[20] ./cache/en-wikipedia-org-6333.html ./txt/en-wikipedia-org-6333.txt