Ioannes II moved inland into the Armenian area: Anazarbos fell after a fierce siege

Summary:
The capture of Anazarbos was very exhausting. Ioannes began by testing the mettle of the Armenian defenders, using his Turkish troops. The Armenians at first made a successful counter-attack, but then were driven back into the city. The Byzantine siege-engines damaged the city's walls, but were burned by hot iron shot from the city and by the sallies of the defenders. The Byzantines rebuilt their engines using bricks instead of wood as foundation and protection, and the hot iron was no longer effective. They were able to breach the wall, destroy the defenders' morale and capture the city 
Dates:
1137 
Emperor Ioannes II Komnenos (Ioannes 2)
  • He began the attack on Anazarbos with Turkish troops; the Armenian defenders at first drove them off, but then were forced back inside; his siege-engines damaged the walls, but were set on fire by hot iron missiles and sallies from the city (:) Niketas Choniates, Historia 25.49-26.79
  • He had the engines rebuilt using bricks instead of wood as foundation and protection, and the hot iron was no longer effective; thus they breached the wall, destroyed the defenders' morale and captured the city (:) Niketas Choniates, Historia 26.79-27.1
  • Besieging Anazarbos, he was frustrated by constant burning of his wooden siege-engines; succeeeded only when advised by his son Isaakios 103 to encase them in bricks (:) ῾῾... πλίνθοις᾿᾿, ἔφη, περιειλῆφθαι κέλευε τὰ ξυλώματα᾿᾿ Kinnamos 17.16-18.2
  • Leaving Alexios 103 to operate independently, he moved from Frankish-occupied Tarsos to the Armenians of Anazarbos, which fell after a long siege, in which siege engines were protected from fire by bricks, and the besieged finally burned the town (:) Italikos 247.13-253.20
  • He began a siege of Anazarbos, showering it with stones from catapults, but these, being of wood, were destroyed, burned by hot iron; he built new machines, protected them with bricks and brought the siege to a successful end (:) πόλιν ἑτέραν Κίλισσαν Basilakios, Orationes et epistulae 60.5-62.5
Isaakios Komnenos, son of Ioannes II (Isaakios 103)
  • Advised his father the emperor Ioannes 2 to protect his siege-engines with bricks, leading to the submission of Anazarbos (:) ῾῾... πλίνθοις᾿᾿, ἔφη, ῾῾περιειλῆφθαι κέλευε τὰ ξυλώματα᾿᾿ Kinnamos 17.16-18.2
Ruben I of Cilician Armenia (Roupen 101)
  • As [deceased] patriarch of the Armenian royal family, he was warned that the attacker invading Armenian lands was no regular Frank or Muslim, but a Komnenian emperor (:) Italikos 255.9-16