One of Andronikos' first acts was to negotiate a treaty with Sultan Melik, which stipulated peaceful relations between the two rulers.[8] However, Melik's vassal Etoumes, rais of Sinope, broke that treaty when he plundered a ship bearing archon Alexios Paktiares and the taxes of Trebizond's province of Cherson; in response Emperor Andronikos ordered a retaliatory raid on Sinope. The Trapezuntine fleet anchored off Karousa (modern Gerze)[9] and pillaged the countryside up to the marketplace of Sinope, seizing the ships in the harbor and killing or capturing their crews. Rais Etoumes was pressured to ransom the captives by releasing Paktiares, the ship and its goods, and the expedition returned to Trebizond elated by their success.