The Anatolian frontier in 1180.
Bela-Alexios, ever since his elevation to the status of
Kaisar and heir presumptive of the Roman Empire, had often campaigned alongside his father-law in his various Anatolian adventures. During the campaign of Myriokephalon in 1176, Bela Alexios commanded the rearguard of the imperial army and (due in no small part to his personal valor) drove the Turks from the mountain pass in which the imperial baggage and siege trains were trapped. Though the imperial forces had lost their opportunity to capture Ikonion itself, the battle was by no means a decisive Turkish victory, and from the historical sources it is apparent that the Seljuqs suffered heavy casualties. Still, with his siege train destroyed and his Antiochene allies slaughtered, Manuel accepted peace terms with Kiliji Arslan II and withdrew into Roman territory with the bulk of his army.
Bela-Alexios, whose exploits in the unfortunate battle had been the sole bright spot of the affair for the Romans, was given overall command of the imperial army by his father in law, (after the failure of 1176 Manuel seemed content to allow his heir to lead the Roman forces against the Seljuqs). As the strongest
Megas Domestikos since John Axouch, Bela Alexios made rapid progress in strengthening the Roman position. Though Manuel had torn down his new fortress of Soubalaum, that of Dorylaeum remained. Kiliji Arslan, angered at Manuel's failure to pull down the fortifications, sent an army into Roman territory with the goal of pillaging all of the Thrakesion Theme of Western Anatolia.
This Turkish army, however, was annihilated at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir while on its return journey through the passes of the Meander Valley (and close to the site of the inconclusive Battle of Myriokephalion a year before). Under the command of Bela-Alexios and another skilled Roman general,
John Komnenos Vatatzes, the imperial forces laid an ambush for the Turks while they were encumbered with the booty they had collected on their
razzia. Thus, just a year after Manuel's apparent defeat, the forces of the Sultan of Ikonion suffered a far greater blow at the hands of his heir - virtually the entire Seljuq force was wiped out in the ambush.
Similar Turkish offensives against the Roman border fortresses of Dorylaeum and Klaudiopolis were also repulsed and thus, by 1179, the Sultan was forced to accept peace terms that stipulated the continued Roman presence at Dorylaeum. Weakened by his defeats at the hand of Bela-Alexios and worried about further Roman offensives, the Sultan saw few other options. Thus, by the death of Manuel I and the coronation of Alexios II in 1180, the Anatolian frontier had once again become the primary focus of Roman military operations. Despite the failure of the expedition of 1176, the new
Basileus, strengthened by his Hungarian alliance on his western flank, looked to launch annual campaigns against the Seljuqs with a focus and consistency lacking under his father in law.