He sent a messenger to Byzantion and asked the Byzantines for their opinion too, about which of them they wanted as their king, Manuel or Sultan Bayezid. For he wanted to sound out the Byzantines’ opinion about himself too in this way. The Byzantines chose Manuel, as they were already unhappy with the way Andronikos was governing.
Meanwhile, the Byzantines prepared to defend themselves and fought valiantly against the Genoese from atop their walls. The latter attacked the walls from their ships and attempted to capture them but were unable to scale the walls as the Greeks were putting up a fierce resistance.