Rastislav wanted to weaken influence of Frankish priests in his realm, who served the interests of East Francia. He first sent envoys to Pope Nicholas I in 861 and asked him to send missionaries to Moravia who mastered the Slavic language. Having received no answer from Rome, Rastislav turned to the Byzantine Emperor Michael III with the same request. By establishing relations with Constantinople, he also desired to counter an anti-Moravian alliance recently concluded between the Franks and Bulgarians. Upon his request, the emperor sent two brothers, Constantine and Methodiusthe future Saints Cyril and Methodiuswho spoke the Slavic dialect of the region of Thessaloniki to Moravia in 863. Constantine's "Life" narrates that he developed the first Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel into Old Church Slavonic around that time.