The Catalan Company,^[1] short name for the Catalan Company of the East (Companyia Catalana d'Orient in Catalan), was a free company of mercenaries founded by Roger de Flor in early 14th-century Europe. De Flor formed the company after the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302 had left jobless the soldiers from Catalonia and Aragon who had been fighting against the French dynasty of Anjou. Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra and one of several co-official languages in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia (under the name Valencian). ... A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict and is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that... Roger de Flor, also known as Rutger von Blum (1266 in Brindisi - April 4, 1306 in Adrianople), a military adventurer of the 13th and 14th century, was the second son of a German falconer named Richard Blum (Blum means flower in German) in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... The Peace of Caltabellotta, signed 19 August 1302, was the last of a series of treaties, including those of Tarascon and Anagni, designed to end the conflict between the Houses of Anjou and Barcelona for ascendancy in the Mediterranean and especially Sicily and the Mezzogiorno. ... Events July 11 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French occupier. ... Anthem: Els Segadors Capital Barcelona Official language(s) Catalan, Spanish and Aranese Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 6th  32,114 km²  6. ... Capital Zaragoza Official language(s) Spanish Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 4th  47,719 km²  9. ... Anjou is a former county (c. ...

In 1303 de Flor offered the services of his Company to the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus and his son the Basileus Michael IX Palaeologus. The Byzantine Empire was under the constant attack of the Turks advancing over Anatolia. Roger de Flor had been a Templar knight and fought to defend by sea the town of Saint John of Acre in Palestine before it was lost in 1291 to the Mameluks. Roger de Flor's offer was promptly accepted by both Byzantium and the Aragonese rulers in Sicily and southern Italy eager to rid themselves of unruly armies. Roger de Flor formed his Company with 1500 knights and 4000 Almogavars, foot soldiers drafted by Christian armies during the Reconquista, from Catalonia and Aragon. // Events 24 February: Battle of Roslin 20 April: Pope Boniface VIII founds the University of Rome La Sapienza Edward I of England reconquers Scotland (see also: William Wallace, Wars of Scottish Independence) The Khilji Dynasty conquers time travel Births Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (died 1373) Gegeen Khan, Mongol emperor of... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Andronicus II Palaeologus (1260 - February 13, 1332), Byzantine emperor, was the elder son of Michael VIII Palaeologus, whom he succeeded in 1282. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the medieval military order. ... The Old City of Akko in the 19th or early 20th century, looking south-west from atop the Land Wall Promenade, the open space now a parking lot. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ... For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century. ... An Ottoman Mamluk, from 1810 Mamluks (or Mameluks) (the Arabic word usually translates as owned, singular: مملوك plural: مماليك) comprised slave soldiers used by the Muslim Caliphs and the Ottoman Empire, and who on more than one occasion seized power for... King of Aragons arms in 15th century The Crown of Aragon or Aragonese Empire was the regime of a large portion of what is now Spain, plus numerous Mediterranean possessions, for much of the later Middle Ages. ... The Almogavars (Almogàvers in Catalan; Almogávares in Spanish) were a class of (mainly) Catalan soldiers, well-known during the Christian reconquista (reconquest) of the Iberian peninsula. ... Conquista redirects here. ...

Roger de Flor arrived in Constantinople with the help of king Frederick III of Sicily in 1303, married the niece of Andronicus, daughter of the tsar of Bulgaria, and was named grand duke (head of the fleet), as was previously agreed. Roger de Flor took his Company to Anatolia where he defeated the Ottoman Turks and was given the region without the cities as his fiefdom. The unruliness of the Almogavars set free in Anatolia, and the growing distrust of the Byzantine Emperors who found themselves with a Western army in the heart of their empire marked the end of Roger de Flor. On April 4, 1305 he and a group of his Catalan knights were massacred by the Alanians, also mercenaries at the service of the emperors, in Adrianopolis (now Edirne) while attending a banquet offer in their honor by the Emperor Michael, who later attacked Gallipoli with the intention of taking it from the Company under Berenguer de Entenza. The attack was unsuccessful, but it decimated the Company. Berenguer de Entenza was captured by the Genoese shortly after, and later liberated. The Company had 206 horsemen, 1256 foot soldiers left and no clear leader when king Michael, trusting in his superiority in numbers, attacked again only to be defeated in Apros in July 1305. Map of Constantinople. ... Frederick III (or II) (1272 – 1337), King of Sicily, was the third son of King Peter III of Aragon and Sicily, and of Constance, daughter of Manfred. ... // Events 24 February: Battle of Roslin 20 April: Pope Boniface VIII founds the University of Rome La Sapienza Edward I of England reconquers Scotland (see also: William Wallace, Wars of Scottish Independence) The Khilji Dynasty conquers time travel Births Saint Birgitta, Swedish saint (died 1373) Gegeen Khan, Mongol emperor of... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ... Painting of Emperor Basil II, exemplifying the Imperial Crown handed down by Angels. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkish people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ... Selimiye Mosque, built by Sinan in 1575 Edirne (Greek: Αδριανούπολη, Bulgarian: Одрин) is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. ... Gallipoli peninsula (Turkish: , Greek: ) is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. ... Genoa (Genova in Italian - Zena in Genoese) is a city and a seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. ... Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ...

The killing of Roger de Flor and his group unleashed what was to be called the "Catalan Revenge" against the Byzantine Empire. Following the rules of chivalry, they challenged the Emperor himself whose only answer was to kill their embassies, and ended up killing every Catalan and Aragonese living then in Constantinople. The Company answer was to devastate the regions of Thrace and Macedonia for the following two years – devastation that stayed in Greek popular memory until the beginning of the 20th century. Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Thraciae veteris typvs. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

The Company was then a powerful prize in imperial politics that Frederick III of Sicily tried to control. Frederick III sent the Infante Ferran of Mallorca to Gallipoli as Captain. However, Bernat de Rocafort, one of the leaders of the Company, opposed this move and faced Berenguer de Entenza, Ferran Ximenis d'Arenós, and others that accepted the Infante. The struggle ended with the departure of the Infante Ferran and the Company under the control of Bernat de Rocafort. The administrator, Ramón Muntaner also left then and later wrote the chronicles that tell these stories. Bernat de Rocafort offered the services of the Company to Charles of Valois to help in his claims to the Byzantine Empire and whom the Count of Barcelona had expelled from Sicily before founding the Company in a dynastic war for the Crown of Aragon. In 1309, Thibault de Chepoy, the deputy of Charles of Valois, ended the tyrannical rule of Rocafort seizing him and sending him to Naples where he died of hunger the same year. Ferdinand of Majorca (Catalan: Ferran de Mallorca) (1278 – July 5, 1316), Infante of Majorca, was the third son of James II of Majorca, Viscount of Aumelàs and Lord of Frontignan. ... Ramon Muntaner (born in Perelada, c. ... Charles III of Valois (March 12, 1270 – December 16, 1325) was the third son of Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon. ... The House of Aragón was a medieval dynasty which ruled over various territories in the Western Mediterranean. ... King of Aragons arms in 15th century The Crown of Aragon or Aragonese Empire was the regime of a large portion of what is now Spain, plus numerous Mediterranean possessions, for much of the later Middle Ages. ... Events August 15 - The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. ... Naples panorama. ...

The Company offered its service to Walter V of Brienne, Duke of Athens, in 1310, and within a year it freed the duchy of its enemies, only to be betrayed by Brienne who did not recognize his obligations. The Company attacked, defeated and killed Brienne on March 15, 1311 in the Battle of Halmyros on the river Cephissus in Boeotia, and thus took control of the duchy of Athens. Around this time, the Company was also responsible for the final destruction of the ancient city of Thebes. Walter V of Brienne (c. ... // Duchy of Athens A small crusader state which was established after the Sack of Constantinople (1204) by the Crusaders. ... [edit] Events May 11 - In France, 64 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy Abulfeda becomes governor of Hama. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in leap years). ... Events Bolingbroke Castle passes to the House of Lancaster. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The northern Cephissus river (Greek Κήφισσος: Kifissós, Kephissós, or Kêphissos) or Cephisus (Greek Κήφισος: Kêphisos) rises at Lilaea in Phocis and flows by Delphi through Boeotia and eventually issues into Lake Copais which... Boeotia or Beotia (//, (Greek Βοιωτια; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ...

Coat of arms of the Duchy of Neopatria.

No longer under control of the Franks the new Aragonese lands expand into Thessaly and become the duchies of Athens and Neopatria until 1388–1390 when they fell to the Florentines under Nerio I Acciajuoli of Corinth. His descendants controlled them until 1456 when they were conquered by the Ottoman Empire. By that time, like many military adventures the Great Company had fizzed out of history. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Neopatras The Duchy of Neopatria or of Neopatras was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade. ... King of Aragons arms in 15th century The Crown of Aragon or Aragonese Empire was the regime of a large portion of what is now Spain, plus numerous Mediterranean possessions, for much of the later Middle Ages. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Neopatras The Duchy of Neopatria or Neopatras was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade. ... Events Beginning of prosecution of Lollards in England The Battle of Otterburn between England and Scotland A Chinese army under Xu Da sacks Karakorum Births September 14 - Claudius Claussön Swart, Danish geographer September 29 - Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, second son of Henry IV of England (d. ... Events Births December 27 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) Domenico da Piacenza, Italian dancemaster (died 1470) John Dunstable, English composer (died 1453) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman and rebel leader (died 1436) Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447) John VIII Palaeologus Byzantine Emperor (died 1448) Deaths... Florences skyline Florences skyline at night from Piazza Michaelangelo Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ... Nerio I Acciajuoli (full name Rainerio; died 25 September 1394) was as Florentine aristocrat who rose to power in Frankish Greece during the last decades of the fourteenth century, eventually becoming Duke of Athens. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... // Events July 7 - Joan of Arc acquitted (but she had already been executed). ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI...

The early history of the Catalan Company was chronicled by Ramón Muntaner, a member of the company, in his Crònica. Ramon Muntaner (born in Perelada, c. ...

Notes

1. ^ The full and official name of the company was Company of the Army of the Franks in Romania. It is often called the Grand Company.

Sources

• Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975.
• Setton, Kenneth M. Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975.