Mas'ud garrisoned Ikonion but remained outside to avoid a cramped and unpredictable siege. His army was in two divisions, one on the hillside by the city, the other on the right, defended by the mountain extending to Kaballa; Choniates says his position was at Taxara (the ancient Koloneia). Manuel led up the Byzantine van from Kaballa, making two expert calculations - the position of Mas'ud, and the fact that the Turks had no hidden reserves. With confidence in his judgement, he bravely attacked against apparent odds and routed the demoralised Turkish line. But the rearguard of the Byzantine army was ambushed and also attacked by the garrison of Ikonion, so that they were thrown into confusion. He sent Georgios Pyrrogeorgios and Chouroup to help, but with little effect. He then decided that guile was needed, not force, so he told Bempitziotes, a soldier from Adrianople, to take off his helmet and brandish it in the air. This implied that the sultan had been captured, raising Byzantine morale and winning the victory. The bloody battles around Ikonion were later compared unfavourably to Manuel's almost bloodless "defeat" of the Second Crusade