Almughavars

[SwordsMaster]

Funny this. I thought I would never open a topic here. I guess age somehow improves your cultural standard despite the most stoic resistance.

But I'm here for a reason. I have a mission.

The thing is, a few days ago I read an article about almughavars and their feat in the early XIV cent of destroying 3 turkish armies and killing 3000 genoese mercenaries in Byzantium, setting the balkans on fire and creating the duchies of Athens and Neopatria (couldn't find any other versions of the name) that they held for 3 generations before being destroyed by the turks.


Now, I know a good bit about spanish history after the 1492 thinghy ( in retrospect, what a mistake that was!) but I know very little about the earlier periods. So can anyone shed any light on this? I mean, dates, numbers, battles, names, political situation. I can provide the article (spanish) with a translation by yours truly if that is good enough.

Thanks.

[Kraxis]

They were pretty nice troops in MTW...

[Watchman]

Damn, I knew one interesting article about them but it appears to no longer be online. I'll try to look it up from other channels later.

[Steppe Merc]

I just know it's an Islamic term for raider, and that they were recruited through out the Mediteranean as high quality mercanaries.

[SwordsMaster]

I just know it's an Islamic term for raider, and that they were recruited through out the Mediteranean as high quality mercanaries.


These particular ones were the "Brigadas Catalanas", loyal to the King of Aragon but that comprised men from all over Spain. Apparently they were all veterans from the Reconquista and raiding northern Africa.



They were pretty nice troops in MTW...


Yeah, thats what caught my eye when I saw the article

[L'Impresario]

Yes, it's an interesting subject, and I have quite a few articles about the Catalan Company and their constant fighting with the other factions in Greece at the time, but sadly enough they are in greek and I don't have time to translate them or write a summary.
The wiki entries aren't bad tho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almogavares

Some good books on the subject include "Catalan Vengeance" by Alfonso Lowe and "Rise of the Aragonese-Catalan Empire, 1200-1350" by J. Lee Shneidman. IIRC Runciman's "Sicilian Vespers" also gives a lot of info on the Almogavares.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Try looking for the Catalan Grand Company, they were a mercenary band hired by the Emperor of Byzantium in the 14th century, after Roger De Flor the ex Templar whose murder would see the Almograves he commandered ramage throughout Thrace and Makedonia, taking Athens and settling there. They also defeated the Turks on a few occasions and destroyed the ancient city of Thebes. They held the duchies of Athens and Neopatria until 1388–1390 when they fell to the Florentines under Nerio Acciajuoli of Corinth

[SwordsMaster]

Wow, pretty impressive. Thanks guys. So 6000 spaniards vs the Turks and Byzantines, without officers and reinforcements held on for almost 100 years beating everything that was thrown at them.... It is almost like one of these XIX century romantic stories only waiting to be made into a film with Orlando Bloom or Jeremy Irons in the role of Roger de Flor....

Thanks for the info.


link (http://www.capitanalatriste.com/escritor.html?s=patentescorso/pc_29may05) to the original article appeared in a spanish newspaper on the 29 may 2005 and I just read recently.

This is my homemade translation.



Little has been said about this centenary, because noone can use it to pose on pictures because of it. Exactly 700 years ago, besides saving the Byzantine empire from the Turkish advance, the almughavars devastated Greece. It was a feat only comparable to the conquest of America by bands of adventurers with nothing to lose but the skin – which was being devaluated – and with everything to win if they managed to stay alive. [political criticism here, not worth translating and unrelated to the article]

In the sunrise of the XIV century, the Byzantine Emperor asked for help to slow down the Turkish advance, and the crown of Aragon sent their feared Catalan Companies. To get rid of them. They were composed by almughavars: mercenaries hardened by the Reconquista and the wars in Southern Italy. The officers, mostly Catalans were also from Aragon, Valencia, Navarre and Mallorca. As of the soldiers, the core came from the mountains of Aragon and Catalunya; but the stories mention Names from Granada, Navarre, Asturias and Galicia. They were fast and fierce, with light equipment, fighting on foot in open formations, with extreme cruelty, and they entered the fight with the 4 bars (red and gold) of the flags of Aragon. Their battle cries were Aragon, Aragon, and the feared, Desperta, ferro.

The story is long, tremendous, hard to explain in short. 6500 almughavars just landed in Greece destroyed very superior Turkish forces, killing in the first battle 13000 enemies, not leaving alive – those were times separated from the good vibes and the dialogue between civilizations – any male older than 10. On a second battle, from 20000 turks, only 1500 escaped. And, after lesser skirmishes, in a third massacre, annihilated another 18000. Apart from that – Spaniards despite everything – they spent their time stabbing among themselves in internal disputes, or killing others in a purely insolent way, like those 3000 genoese they killed in Constantinople on some sort of drinking reunion that ended in bloodbath.

At this point, obviously, the Emperor Andronicus II was asking himself if he had been right employing such brutes. So his son Michael invited Roger de Flor, the boss of the almughavars, and for dessert made his alan mercenaries kill Roger and another hundred officers. This happened the 4th of April of 1305. After this the greeks thought that the almughavars, without officers to organise them would surrender. But that was ignorance on their part. When the immense Byzantine army appeared to subjugate them, they heard a mass and comulgated. Then they shouted “Desperta ferro”, and “Aragon, Aragon”, and threw themselves against the enemy, devastating 26000 byzantines in the blink of an eye. This tells Ramon Muntaner who was there “A hand was not raised to wound that did not strike on flesh”.

It didn’t stop here. Once the almughavars knew that 9000 alan mercenaries – those who killed Roger de Flor - were on their way home, licensed and with their families, the almughavars pursued them, massacred 8700 and took their women. After this was done, for a long time, and despie being surrounded by enemies, they rampaged through Greece, plundering and burning everything that stood in their way. This was the famous Catalan Revenge. And when there was nothing left to plunder or burn, they founded the duchies of Athens and Neoatria: catalan-aragonese states, loyal to the king of Aragon, that persisted for 3 generations until with time, the quiet lifestyle and the comfort, they got soft – the son, a knight, the grandson, a beggar – and were engulfed, with the rest of Greece by the Turkish tide that would reach its peak in the fall of Constantinople.

And this is the story of the almughavars. You have to admit it is a good story.


Looks impressive, doesnt it?

[Steppe Merc]

Those numbers are extremely inflated, IMHO. And I believe the Byzantines ordered the Catalinian Leader to decrease his troops, but he didn't comply...

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Roger De Flors company numbered between 5-6,000 troops with the majority being light armoured troops of the almograve type. But the numbers of Turks listed dead there are wildly over exagerated

[Watchman]

They also *must* have been receiving reinforcements. Otherwise sheer campaign attrition, nevermind inevitable combat casualties (particularly from the archery endemic in the region, given the troops' light armour), would've worn them to nothingness in short order.

Not that it would've been particularly difficult from ambitious, greedy and adventurous new recruits to make their way across the Med. The Catalan Grand Company wasn't exactly the only bunch of Almughavars in business, I understand.

In most battles one also suspects they were supported by local troops - Byzantines against the Turks, other Byzantines and opportunistic local big men against the Byzantines... the usual story.

[SwordsMaster]

That is what i thought, but seeing as wikipedia doesnt provide any numbers, those are the only ones I have.... If anyone is able to provide a better number, that is what the thread is for...

[Watchman]

Let's just say that Wiki and the like may be good for overviews and basic info, but should always be treated with healthy amount of scepticism. Especialy when details presented are blatantly ludicrous.

[SwordsMaster]

Let's just say that Wiki and the like may be good for overviews and basic info, but should always be treated with healthy amount of scepticism. Especialy when details presented are blatantly ludicrous.


I know. But the wiki doesn't provide any numbers at all, and the aricle appeared in a newspaper, which is also more a popular source than a cientific one. I tend to trust the guy who wrote it, and seeing as there is nothing contradicting it yet, well impressive as it is, its what i have for further info hunting. I have a few fairly decent books at home that might be able to hel out. I'll see what I can gather over the weekend and keep you posted.

[Afonso I of Portugal]

Now, I know a good bit about spanish history after the 1492 thinghy ( in retrospect, what a mistake that was!) but I know very little about the earlier periods. So can anyone shed any light on this? I mean, dates, numbers, battles, names, political situation. I can provide the article (spanish) with a translation by yours truly if that is good enough.

Thanks.

Well, if you are looking for info about the origin and the early history of the Almughavars (before the Grand Catalan Company), maybee i can help. The word Almughavar (Almogávar, Almogáver) derived from the arabic Al-Mugawar, meaning scout/runner/raider across the enemy field.
In fact, in those early years of the Portuguese/Spanish reconquista, all factions used them - Castile-Léon, Portugal and Aragon and also the muslims. They weren't professional soldiers but free men/minor nobility, who joined and formed large armys. Sometimes they were led by a major noble/knight or even royalty. Because they weren't professionals, their main objective wasn't engaged in large battles, but steal goods, burn, plunder, sack, raized buildings, etc - the economic warfare.
Latter, the Aragonese founded the Catalan Company and they became professionals, also used as mercenaries.

[SwordsMaster]

Yep, that is good info, altough I found out most of that myself in the last few days while loking for details on the article above.

Thanks anyway! :2thumbsup:

[SwordsMaster]

Still no figures. Research in the books I have at home (general history atlases, although good, not perfect) has yielded nothing. One of them doesn't even mention it, the other does, but gives no details, considering the almughavars a "rebellious corps of the byzantine army", historians...

Anyway, I hope someone has more luck than I had and posts some more figures to somehow work out a good approximation.