Robert did, however, provide refuge and an appropriate place in his court to the two brothers, with whom he was related through the marriage of his sister Maria to Theodore Laskaris. Furthermore, one of the two brothers had already had considerable contact with the Latin court, having spent time at Constantinople as a prisoner ca. 1220–21. This act soured relations between Nicaea and the Latins, and in 1224 the two brothers Alexios and Isaac found themselves at the head of the Latin army sent to confront Vatatzes. In the resulting Battle of Poimanenon in 1224, however, Vatatzes secured a decisive success: in a hard-fought battle, the Latin army was defeated, the brothers were captured, and Vatatzes proceeded to reduce most of the fortresses the Latins held in northwestern Asia Minor. After his victory, Alexios and Isaac were blinded.