David Komnenos dispatched an army to Bithynia, but Theodore defeated the invaders and their Latin allies at Nicomedia. Sultan KaykhusrawI sent Seljuq troops to his father-in-law, Maurozomes, to invade the valley of the Maeander River in the spring of 1205, but they were soon defeated. Theodore made a peace with Maurozomes, allowing him to rule two fortresses, Chonae and Laodicea on the Lycus, as the Sultan's lieutenant. Theodore assumed the title of emperor early in 1205—either after his victory at Nicomedia or after his peace treaty with Maurozomes. His new title was an open challenge to the legitimacy of the Latin emperor in Constantinople; therefore, the Latins regarded him as an usurper, unlawfully ruling territories of their empire. Many Greeks also refused to recognize Theodore's claim to the emperorship because only coronation by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople could legalize an emperor. Theodore approached Patriarch John Kamateros, who lived in exile in Thrace, offering to move him to Nicaea, but the elderly prelate refused.