Andronikos Doukas, son of the kaisar Ioannes, has been accused of malice in causing the defeat of Romanos IV. He was said to have conceived a plot against Romanos. According to many eye-witnesses, he spread among the soldiers (who saw the imperial standard turning back) the rumour that the emperor had been defeated. He fled at full gallop with his men returning to the camp. Wilder stories implicate kaisar Ioannes himself, who was not present