 A first attack was repelled on the Parcharia ("the downs"), but the second (July 1341) could not be stopped by the demoralized army of Irene, and the Turkmen set fire to much of Trebizond without being able to capture it.The catastrophe was exacerbated by the outbreak of an epidemic, which Michael Panaretos claims arose from the foul stench of the rotting corpses of horses and men.Irene's reign was brought to an end by the arrival of her sister-in-law Anna, Basil's sister.