Aside from the Benedictines at Monte Cassino, Honorius was also determined to deal with the monks at Cluny Abbey under their ambitious and worldly abbot, Pons of Melgueil. He had just returned from the Levant after being forced out by his monks in 1122. In 1125, accompanied by an armed following, Pons took possession of Cluny Abbey, melted down the treasures stored in the monastery, and paid his followers, who continued to terrorise the monks and the villages dependent upon the abbey.