Long before, at the death of Laszlo I of Hungary and the succession of Istvan II, the latter's bother Almos had taken refuge in Byzantium, had been welcomed by Ioannes II and become a pretender to the Hungarian throne. Istvan now sent envoys to Ioannes to complain of bad treatment of Hungarian traders, but also (his more serious grievance) to demand that Almos should no longer be supported. When the embassy was unsuccessful, he crossed the Danube in the summer, captured Branicevo (or Belegrada), destroyed its walls and transferred the stones to build Zeugminon. He also ravaged Sardica