Roger de Flor had done very well in his life. From being a pirate and adventurer, he saw himself now sitting at the same table with Michael Palaiologos, son of the Byzantine Emperor, and indeed as his official guest. The Catalan now bore the title of Caesar, an office he won with his sword, saving the empire again and again from the increasingly aggressive Turks.
By 1302, the kingdom of the Turks had come to be only a day's journey on horseback from Constantinople, and until his appearance, no one seemed capable of stopping them.
He believed - and he was right - that his power within the empire was constantly growing, this was evidenced by the fiefs that had been given to him in return for his services and the honors he enjoyed. Unfortunately for him, Michael's father, Andronikos II Palaiologos, believed the same, so that night in Andrianoupolis would be the last of his life. He would never get up from this table alive.
Roger de Flor was the leader of the Catalan Company, a mercenary corps of 5,500 men, perhaps the fiercest and most skilled warriors of his time. He worshiped no one but gold and knowing the value of his army, he constantly asked for more to offer his services.
When the war in Sicily, where he was taking part, ended, de Flor began to look for his next employer. Then, in 1302, at the invitation of Andronikos and the exhortation of the ruler of Sicily, he agreed to move to Constantinople, which in those years was fighting to protect Asia Minor from the Ottomans.
Rosé de Flore's greatest victory would come near the Iron Gate, when at the head of 8,000 warriors he defeated 30,000 Turks, mostly janissaries, killing 18,000 of them
And indeed, this formidable army will cause the Turks to retreat into the interior of Asia, almost to the present borders of Syria. He will capture Philadelphia killing almost 20,000 Turks, Magnesia, where Michael had been defeated some time before, and Ephesus, conducting one of the few campaigns of the Byzantine Empire against the Ottomans that was crowned with success.
To reward him for his services, in 1303 Andronikos will give him the title of Grand Duke and officially make him a member of the royal family, giving him one of his nieces, Maria Asen, daughter of the Tsar, as his wife. of Bulgaria.
The stories that will circulate about these fearsome warriors will be many, bordering on legend. They will say that a blow from a club on the enemy's helmet is enough to blow his brains out, how their axes can never miss a target, how an arrow is enough to pierce a whole horse.
This army consisted of the Almogavars, the tough men who lived - and fought - on the border between Muslim and Christian Spain at the time, something like our own Acrites. Upon their arrival in Byzantium, they will also recruit 3,000 Turkish cavalry mercenaries.
Roger de Flore's greatest victory would come near the Iron Gate, when at the head of 8,000 warriors he defeated 30,000 Turks, mostly janissaries, killing 18,000 of them. The Turks would take many years to strike again after this crushing defeat, thus giving the faltering empire a little more life.
The former Templar Catalan will be named "Caesar" and he and his knights will be granted the Byzantine fiefdom of Asia Minor, with the exception of the cities. As a permanent place of residence they will be given Gallipoli, but where they will not respect the local population. They will often make marauding raids on the surrounding areas as well, leaving scorched earth in their wake, not caring who is their ally and who is not. Soon their unruly behavior will be a problem for the Empire.
However, it is not 100% certain why the two sides broke up. Was it because Andronikos had no more money to give them? After all, he was already a year late paying them. Did he fear that de Flor would create his own despotism? However, the decision had been made. Despite his invaluable services, the arrogant Latino had to get out of the way.
Michael will invite de Flore to Adrianople and after two weeks, on April 5, 1305, he will invite him to a meal, together with some of his most prominent knights.
During the banquet, however, the doors of the hall will be thrown wide and Alan and Turkish mercenaries will rush in. Yirkon, leader of the Alans will run straight to Roger and stab him repeatedly in the back with his knife. The Catalan will not have time to do anything, he will not even have time to see the heads of his unarmed and drunken men fall one after another. He will die instantly.
Michael, as soon as the slaughter begins, takes de Flor's wife and disappears behind a curtain.
The massacre will continue in the streets of Andrianoupolis where almost 1,300 Almogavars will fall dead, victims of the Emperor's betrayal.
Roger de Flore is out of the way, and now the Byzantines believe that they will easily defeat the remaining army. But things will not develop as they want. Although they would immediately march on Gallipoli to exterminate the remaining knights, they would be defeated, the Catalans led by Berenger de Edenta slaughtering the local population and triggering what would later be known in history as the "Catalan Revenge" ".
They will cross into Thrace, where for two years they will indulge in an orgy of slaughter and plunder throughout northern Greece. Then they will proceed to the Frankish-occupied southern Greece, where they will defeat the rest of the Franks in the battle of Almyros in 1311, as a result of which they will conquer the Duchy of Athens and all of today's Central Greece.
Catalan rule in Greece would last for a full 77 years, from 1311 to 1388. In that year, the Venetians, led by Nerio Ayatsoli, would take the Acropolis after a months-long siege, definitively ending Catalan rule.