Niketas of Mistheia, the doux of Antioch, who was trying to reduce all the new Muslim forts, and al-Dizbiri, the Fatimid commander, who was on the defensive, were moving towards direct war between the two powers. Niketas was gathering troops at Antioch, while al-Dizbiri was under pressure from the defenders of the forts to attack and divert the Byzantine forces. In an exchange of letters they decided to try negotiations between envoys from the two sides. After more approaches by letter, Romanos III agreed to send two envoys to Antioch, and the caliph al-Zahir was to dispatch two envoys of his own to Damascus. They met near Tortosa to discuss a renewal of their treaty