According to Ibn Bibi's account, Kaykaus I decided to embark on the conquest after receiving reports from the frontier that Alexios' troops had been violating Seljuq territory. Upon this, he and his beys gathered those who had been to Sinope and drew up a plan for the conquest, deciding that a long siege would be required. However, a group of scouts (or according to another version of the story, nomads) captured Alexios when he was hunting with a company of 500 men.