Beschreibung:
The growth of Arab power in Southern Italy and even Dalmatia menaced the Byzantine Empire as well as Carolingian Italy and led both to an alliance in 869/870. Their attempt, however, to conquer Bari in a joint attack failed in 870 (not 869) due to a lack of coordination. An exchange of letters, which followed between Basil I and Louis II, reveals cultural and ideological alienation between christian East and West.