Catalan Company Hired by the Byzantine Empire (1302)

Name: Catalan Company Hired by the Byzantine Empire (1302)
Start: 1302
End: 1303

Type Event Region Europe Time 1302–1303

In 1302, exiled Aragonese adventurer Roger de Flor contracted with Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II in Constantinople to counter Anatolian Turk threat…

Timeline

1302Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireRoger de Flor arrived with some six thousand Catalan and Aragonese warriors and signed a mercenary contract with Andronikos II, promising to oppose Anatolian Turk forces in exchange for high pay and a share of spoils.
1303Northwestern Anatolia · Byzantine EmpireThe company crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor and won several victories against Turk positions, but the plundering of Greek Christians and unpaid wages aroused court suspicion, and the mercenary relationship quickly deteriorated.

Sources

The Catalan Expedition to the East: From the 'Companyia Catalana d'Orient' to the Duchy of Athens — Kenneth M. Setton (1953)