In 1086 Tatikios was sent to Nicaea in an attempt to recapture it from the Seljuks. He was forced to retreat when he learned that Seljuk reinforcements were on their way. Alexius sent Tatikios back with naval assistance from Manuel Boutoumites. Although Tatikios was able to defeat Abu'l Qasim, in Bithynia, he could not recapture the city. At the end of the year Tatikios was recalled and sent to fight the Pechenegs, who were assisting the heretical Manichaeans in revolt against Alexius, near Philippopolis. In 1087 Tatikios commanded the Byzantine right wing in the Battle of Dristra against the Pechenegs, and in 1090 he defeated a small force of 300 Pechenegs while leading the "Archontopouloi" "tagma" against them.