Having lost his allies from Ikonion, Ioannes failed in his first attack on Gangra (or in an attempt to persuade the female defender of the city to surrender). A second attack, at the urging of a group of monks, also failed. He withdrew, despondent at Turkish reachery, deciding to winter at the fortress he had built by the Ryndakos (Lopadion), and to attack more fiercely the next year