General Melissenos had decided to become the emperor through the support of the Turks who advanced towards the coasts of the Aegean Sea. He circulated around the castles and cities in the Minor Asia that were not yet invaded by the Seljuks. But, General Melissenos had carried out this expedition for propaganda under the protection of the Turkish detachments. Therefore, Turks settled automatically in these countries that could not dare to show any resistance. Thus, the entire region of Galatia, Phrykia, and Lydia (Central and Western Anatolia) were under the dominion of Turks. Melissenos who penetrated into Iznik (1078) with the Turkish forces were preparing to advance towards Istanbul. At this time, Suleymanshah had established his military encampment in Dorylaion (Eskisehir) in order to wait for the results and to assist for support in case of a necessity. Botaniates wanted to send Aleksios in order to recapture Iznik. But Aleksios who perceived the fate of this expedition that would be opened seemingly against Melissenos, but actually against Turks did not undertake this post. The chief commandership was assigned to the minister Eunuch Ioannes with his retinue including Georgios Palaiologos and his nephew, Kurtius. Ioannes came to the banks of the Iznik Lake (Ascanius) and invaded the castle of "Saint Georgios". G. Palaiologos and Kurtius had told that the forces of the enemy had been around Eskisehir and there was a possibility for the Turkish army to reach to the region while they were struggling with Melissenos. So, they offered to fight firstly with Suleymanshah instead of being crushed between the two forces. But the eunuch that did not pay attention to these recommendations ordered for the invasion of Iznik. Melissenos put the enemy off while trying to gain time in the course of the blockade that lasted for a week.

The Eunuch who did not have any knowledge essentially about the affairs of blockades and who was coward as much as his inexperience heard of the approach of Suleymanshah and had to transfer the administration and management of the army to Palaiologos. Palaiologos immediately withdrew the blockade forces and started to retreat. Turkish cavalrymen in Iznik followed them with a great speed. Upon the arrival of Suleymanshah, the retreat of the Byzantine army turned into a state of general defeat. Palaiologos tried to defend himself although he was injured, and he also tried to prevent the miserable conditions and to gather the detachments around him that had started to get dispersed. As a result, he was able to take the chief commander who was shivering in terror to Istanbul together with some of his forces that he saved.

The significant result of this war was the firm conquest of the city of Iznik by the Turks that was the biggest castle of the coasts of Marmara in which the Turkish detachments had established garrisons since the year of 1078 together with Botaniates. This castle-city constituted a perfect base suitable for the attacks that would be oriented directly towards the centre of the Byzantine. Suleymanshah did not get of this city and he turned this castle-city into the capital city of Anatolia and the touchstone for the further operations (1080). From that date on, Turks settled in all provinces extending from the Taurus Mountains and Adana region towards Scutari. Suleymanshah started to collect taxes from the ships passing from the Straits through the customs house that he established on the Anatolian coasts of the Bosphorus.

We have observed that these events had had great effects extending towards the Far-East. Actually, the Byzantine that lived one of the most critical periods of its history had had some diplomatic activities in China with the purpose of decreasing the pressures of Turks. He had known that the conquest of Anatolia was carried out upon the order of the Great Sultan Melikshah and it was supported by him. Therefore, he sent a diplomatic corps to the presence of the ruler of China in 1081 in order to instigate them for an operation from Turkestan against the Seljuk Empire that had extended its eastern borders towards the Central Asia. However, he could not obtain any results from these attempts.As for Nikephoros Melissenos, this person resided in Iznik under the protection of Turks and some sections of the Western Anatolia was subject and submissive to him by name. But after a short while, Suleymanshah invaded these lands and his nominal domination was abrogated (1081).

The events that lasted for three years had shown that the emperor Botaniates did not have the proper capacity to save the Byzantine that was on the verge of precipice. In his period, Anatolia was lost and there were continuous rebellions and revolutions that were on the stage in the Balkans and there were not any kind of serious precautions taken against these negative circumstances. The "Brave Suleymanshah" who had captured the coasts of Marmara extending from the strait of the Black Sea towards the Straits of Dardanelles captured Kyzikos, the last Byzantine castle in the side of the peninsula of Kapidag. Then, he took a position suitable to extend towards the coasts on the opposite side in the year of 1081. Upon this development, the Byzantine seemed to awaken and shake itself from the indolence that lasted for a quarter of a century. Aleksios Komnenos who was declared as emperor by the Thrace army was crowned in Istanbul. Upon the domination of Komnenos, there were essential changes in the country.

We have known that Izak from Komnenos family was an empire of the interregnum period (between the years of 1057-1059). But Aleksios I. Komnenos that was considered as the founder of the Komnenos dynasty that lasted for a hundred years and the first real emperor has been one of the saviours of the Byzantine. Aleksios had taken serious precautions in order to obstruct the threat of the terrible Robert Giskard that was the chief of the Italian Normans in the West. Compared to these precautions, the style of defence that he applied against Seljuks who had approached to the coasts of the Anatolia upon negotiation with Nikephoros Phokas had seemed to be extremely simple. Aleksios had asked help from the entire Western world in order to stop the advance of Robert Giskard on the coasts of Albania. Despite these measures, he was contented with the patrol boats in the form of huts in order to repulse the Turks from the Bosphorus.

However, as a result, it was understood that this small-scale system of defence was much more effective than the arrangement and the dispatch of large armies with great expenditures and labour. According to his experiences, the emperor Aleksios had known well that the crowded and regular Byzantine armies could not cope with the swift and mobile Turkish forces that were composed of the cavalrymen with the fewer number. The emperor's daughter, Anna Komnena had stated that the Byzantine armies did not have the courage to fight with the Turks that crushed them "under their feet like sand". Therefore, the Byzantine emperor had preferred to manage a sort of guerilla war within a narrow area without the organisation of a big operation lest the Turkish armies could overcome them or destroy their present forces all at once.

The patrol boats with huts would draw near to the coasts of the Anatolian side secretly in the dark at night. In these huts, there were some groups of 8-10 people that were composed of Khomatene (Phrykia and Laodikia troops) people who were considered as the bravest soldiers of the Byzantine. These soldiers would get out of the huts and attack suddenly to the Turkish military positions and they would return to their huts quickly and put out to sea. As a result of these attacks that lasted for days at the latest hours of the night that could not be determined, the Turkish forces retreated for several steps back. The Byzantine soldiers established nests in these positions abandoned by them. They started to lay ambush and annihilate the Turks that they caught alone or without any protection. They expanded their activities gradually and they fought with small Turkish detachments. When the situations developed to this serious stage, Aleksios ordered that fifty cavalrymen should get in each hut and they should even fight in daytime through putting out to sea immediately in case of necessities.

A a result of this pressure that was not paid attention in the beginning and that did not necessitate any reinforcement for the Turkish forces, the Turks had withdrawn from the Bosphorus and retreated towards Izmit. Then, Aleksios applied to Suleymanshah who was then in the front of Cilicia and wanted to establish the state of peace in return for the payment of tax. They concluded an agreement: the Drakon stream located in the peninsula of Kocaeli was accepted as the border between the two countries. At the same time, Suleymanshah would help to the emperor (1082). This agreement was a state of peace in favour of Aleksios. Thus, he had provided the security on the side of Seljuks in order to resist against the threat of Normans in the Balkans. Then, as per the agreement, Suleymanshah had sent a Turkish force composed of seven thousands of people in the command of Kamyr (Yağmur-Rain) and helped Aleksios to repulse the Normans back to Italy (1083). Suleymanshah had been occupied with the conquest of the Byzantine castles that had remained as the separate points in Anatolia during these years. Meanwhile, he captured Tarsus (in 1082), Adana, Misis, Anazarva (Ayn-i Zarba) and some other cities of Cilicia (1083); and he had forced Malatya to pax tax and fees.

to be continued