IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Βελέντζας Γεώργιος Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Roger de Flor", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12565> Περίληψη : Founder and leader of the Catalan Company. In 1303 he offered his services to Andronikos II Palaiologos undertaking the task of pushing back the Ottomans from Asia Minor. In September 1303 the emperor awarded him the title of the megas doux, while on April 10, 1305, he was proclaimed caesar. On April 30 of the same year he was assassinated by the Alan George, at the palace of Michael IX Palaiologos in Adrianople. Άλλα Ονόματα Robertios, Roger von Blum, Rutger von Blum Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 1267, Brindisi, Italy Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου April 30, 1305, Adrianople, Thrace Κύρια Ιδιότητα military official 1. Biography Roger de Flor was born in Brindisi of Italy in 1267. His father, Richard von Blum,1 was a falconer at the service of Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire. At an early age he joined the Knights Templar, with which he participated in the rescue of the citizens of Acre from the Mamlūk conquerors in 1291. However, shortly later, when he was accused of embezzlement and called to answer for it, he abandoned the Templars and went to Genoa, where he unsuccessfully tried to enter the service of the successor to the throne of Naples, Robert d’Anjou. Then Roger was called to the service of the king of Sicily Frederick III and offered him the ship and the men he had recruited during the war against the Anjou. During this war Roger was given the rank of vice-admiral and led a powerful company of Catalan and Almogaver mercenaries (Catalan Company). 2. Roger de Flor's activity in the Byzantine Empire When the war between the Anjou and the Aragonese ended (1302), Roger and his men offered their services to Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328), in his struggle against the Ottomans, who were attacking Bithynia at the time. In September 1303, Roger arrived with his troops2 in Constantinople. While being there and according to the terms of the agreement he had made with the emperor, he was awarded the title of megas doukas and got married to Andronikos’niece, Maria Asanina. In the winter of 1303/4, Roger along with his soldiers moved to Asia Minor, where they won remarkable victories against the Ottomans in Cyzıcus and Philadelphia. However, during the operations they were constantly plundering the cities and the countryside. In August of the same year Roger was headed to Magnesia, where he had stored his supplies and loot, aiming to make it his military base. But the gates of the city were closed so he laid a siege until the autumn of 1304, when Andronikos II called him back to Thrace.3 Roger with his troops spent the winter of 1304/5 in the strategic city of Kallipolis, which he fortified in January 1305. But because the emperor was reluctant to give him the economic benefits he had demanded, Roger plundered the nearby areas. Andronikos wanted to relieve Thrace from the Catalan troops so he offered Roger the title of caesar and the rank of strategos-autocrator of Asia Minor, with authority over the entire territory apart from its key strongholds. Moreover, he promised the Catalan troops the amount of 20,000 hyperpyra and 100,000 modii of wheat as soon as they crossed the Bosporus straits. In the same period Roger sent help to Chios, which was under an Ottoman attack, and later, in April 1305, when a Catalan force arrived in Kallipolis under Sancho d’Arago4 in order to enforce the plans of the king of Sicily James II and the king of Aragon Frederick III for establishing an Aragonese rule in the East, Roger prevented them from sailing north of Lesvos. In this way, Roger rebutted earlier accusations from the Genoese that he was secretly cooperating with the two kings in order to turn against the empire. On April 105 of the same year the megas doux was eventually proclaimed caesar in Constantinople and was given 33,000 hyperpyra and 100,000 modii of wheat for his army. In turn, Roger promised to get to Asia Minor with 3000 Catalan mercenaries and remove the rest of his soldiers. Shortly before he left for Asia Minor, on April 28, 1305, he visited for unknown reasons6Michael IX Palaiologos in Adrianople. On April 30, 1305, while Δημιουργήθηκε στις 28/9/2021 Σελίδα 1/3 IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Βελέντζας Γεώργιος Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Roger de Flor", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12565> Roger de Flor was bidding farewell to Maria Palaiologina, the wife of Michael IX, he was assassinated by the Alan George.7 1. Roger is known with the surname Flor, the Spanish translation of the surname Blum; see Talbot, Α.Μ., “Roger de Flor”, Kazhdan, A. (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 3 (Oxford - Νew York 1991), p. 1802. 2. The number of the Catalan soldiers that arrived in Constantinople in September 1303 varies, according to the sources. George Pachymeres [Bekker, I., (ed.), Georgii Pachymerii, De Andronico Palaelogo (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn 1835), p. 393] talks about 8,000 men; Nikephoros Gregoras [Shopen, L. (ed.), Nicephori Gregorae Historia Byzantina 1-3 (Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn 1829-1855), vol. I, p. 393] about 2000 men; finally, Muntaner [Ramón Muntaner, Crònica, de Bofarull, A. (ed.), Chronica Catalana (Barcelona 1860), chap. cci] about 1500 horsemen, 4000 Almogavers, 1000 infantrymen as well as a small number of rowers. Laiou considers Muntaner the most reliable source as regards the number of Roger’s soldiers; see Laiou, Α.Ε., Constantinople and the Latins: The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II 1282-1328 (Cambridge 1972 ), p. 134. 3. According to Nicol, Roger ignored for some time Andronikos’order to get to Thrace, but the forthcoming winter finally forced him to retreat. See Nicol, D.M., The Last Centuries of Byzantium 1261-1453 (London 1972), p. 138. 4. E. Dade believes that the Catalan army of Sancho d’Arago arrived in the Byzantine Empire in May 1305. See Dade, E., Lateinischen Herrschaft in Konstantinopel im Rahmen der abendländischen Politik 1261-1453 (London 1972), p. 91. 5. A. Failler claims that Roger was given the rank of caesar on April 9, 1305. See Failler, A., “Chronologie et composition dans l’histoire de Georges Pachymérès (Livres VII- XIII)”, Révue des Etudes Byzantines 48 (1990), p. 85. 6. Laiou reports that Roger wanted to spy the army of Michael IX Palaiologos, given that he was aware of the unfriendly feelings of the co-emperor towards him. However, Laiou believes that Roger’s wish to visit Michael IX resulted from the contempt the latter had displayed for him on his arrival in the empire. Roger probably thought that he would be treated in a different way due to his office. See Laiou, Α., Constantinople and the Latins: The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II 1282-1453 (London 1972), pp. 145-6. 7. According to the chronicler Muntaner, Roger de Flor was murdered by order of Michael IX Palaiologos. See Ramón Muntaner, Crònica, de Bofarull, A. (ed.), Chronica Catalana (Barcelona 1860), pp. 85-86. Βιβλιογραφία : Νικηφόρος Γρηγοράς, Ρωμαϊκής Ιστορίας Λόγοι, Shopen, L. (ed.), Nicephori Gregorae Historia Byzantina 1-3, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae, Bonn 1829-1855 Papadopulos A., Versuch einer Genealogie der Palaiologen, 1259-1453, München 1938 Laiou A.E., Constantinople and the Latins. The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, 1282-1328, Cambridge Mass. 1972, Harvard Historical Studies 88 Failler A., "Chronologie et composition dans l’Histoire de Georges Pachymérès (livres VII-XIII)", Révue des Etudes byzantines, 48, 1990, 5-87 Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Συγγραφικαί Ιστορίαι, Failler, A. (ed.), Georges Pachymérès. Relations historiques, ΙΙΙ-IV, Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae. Series Parisiensis 24.3-4, Paris 1999 Nicol D.M., The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453, 2nd ed., Cambridge 1993 Ramón Muntaner, Crònica, de Bofarull, A. (ed.), Chronica Catalana, Barcelona 1860 Dade A., Lateinische Herrschaft in Konstantinopel im Rahmen der abendländische Politik 1261 bis etwa 1310, Jena 1938 Talbot A.M., "Roger de Flor", Kazdhan, A. (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium 3, New York – Oxford 1991, 1802 Morfakidis M., "Andronico II y Roger de Flor. Causas de su enfrentamiento", Erytheia, 8/1, 1987 Setton K.M., A History of Crusades, vol. II, The Later Crusades, 1189-1311, 2, Madison Wisc. – London 1969, έκδ. R. L. Wolff / H. W. Hazard Δικτυογραφία : Δημιουργήθηκε στις 28/9/2021 Σελίδα 2/3 IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη Μετάφραση : Βελέντζας Γεώργιος Για παραπομπή : Βουγιουκλάκη Πηνελόπη , "Roger de Flor", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=12565> Almogavars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almogavars Andrónico II y Roger de Flor: causas de su enfrentamiento http://interclassica.um.es/investigacion/hemeroteca/erytheia/numero_8_1_1987/andronico_ii_y_roger_de_flor_causas_de_su_enfrentamiento The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/muntaner_goodenough.pdf Γλωσσάριo : Almogaver Irregular forces organized in Aragon and Catalonia and engaged in raids. caesar In the Roman Empire the title of Caesar was given to the Emperor. From the reign of Diocletian (284-305) on this title was conferred on the young co-emperor. This was also the highest title on the hierarchy of the Byzantine court. In the 8th c. the title of Caesar was usually given to the successor of the throne. In the late 11th c. this office was downgraded and from the 14th c. on it was mainly conferred on foreign princes. Catalan Company, the (almugavares, compagnia) A group of fully-armed and highly-trained Catalans mercenary warriors, who numbered a few thousand.