On his deathbed he called a meeting of relations, friends and office-holders, presented Manuel to them, and made a speech, first accepting that God had frustrated his ambitions in Syria, on the Euphrates, the Tigris and in Palestine. He had lost (he claimed) none of what he had inherited from Alexios I, and hoped to have ruled well - as others would decide; he had lived mainly in tents in the open air, fighting in east and west. With God's aid he had twice broken new ground in expeditions to Syria and won new conquests; his successor should serve just as unselfishly, using the great powers of the imperial office for God and his people, not for himself. Primogeniture (as in his own accession) was one way of choosing between the siblings Isaakios and Manuel; but it was not an automatic rule (see Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David). To overturn primogeniture by choosing Manuel over Isaakios he needed reasons, something more than sentiment: both had many skills and virtues, but the crucial difference was that Isaakios was irascible while Manuel had the meekness of David. Manuel had been supported by prophecies and omens, and was really the only choice, since the elders, Alexios and Andronikos, had died, and Isaakios was inadequate. The final argument was Manuel's brave charge at Neokaisareia. William of Tyre speaks of the contrary pressure of Ioannes Axouch for Isaakios: Axouch dismissed claims that Manuel's leadership was needed to get the army home. William speaks of support for Manuel among other leaders, especially the Latins