In regard to his Italian policy, Otto II went beyond the goals of his father. Not satisfied with the territorial gains made under Otto I, Otto II's policy was based not only on securing his power in Rome and cooperating with the Papacy, but also on gaining absolute dominion over the whole of Italy. Influenced by his wife, who was hostile to the return of the Macedonian Dynasty in the shape of Byzantine Emperor Basil II after the assassination of John I Tzimisces, Otto II was persuaded to annex Byzantine-controlled southern Italy. However, this policy necessarily meant war not only with the Byzantine Empire but with the Muslim Fatimid Caliphate, which claimed southern Italy as within its sphere of influence.