"ELS ALMOGÀVERS"
At the end of the 13th century, during the spanish reconquest, some habitants of the border of the Crown of "Aragó" used to act as burglars or mercenaries. Many of these men were simple farmers or shepherds who during the periods in which there was not work they did these things for surviving . These together with some more or less professionalized adventurers formed the military body of the "Almogàvers".
During the conquests of Valencia and Mallorca they acted under the orders of the crown of "Aragó", and they helped to conquering these cities. After this, they acquired a great protagonism in the campaigns of "Pere el Gran" against the French, in Sicília and in Catalonia. After carrying out great feats in the conquest of Sicília, the "almogàvers" stayed without work. The king of Sicília who it was conscious of the danger that they entailed decided to supply them with ships because they go to assist the Byzantine empire in the fight against the Turks. The "Almogàvers" acquired great protagonism after the victory, and theirs commander Roger de Flor was nominated mega-duke, which allowed him to command all the Byzantine troops. This wasn't funny for the co-emperor Bizantí, because Roger of Flor had acquired more protagonism than he, so he murdered him thinking that the Catalan troops would dissappear. But it wasn't like this, the medieval soldiers revolted and started the one that later would be called, "The Catalan Revenge". The dukedoms of Athens and New Homeland, what would now be a Greece, were destroyed and plundered. They installed a military republic there and they dominated these territories for 70 years.
After this period of maximum splendor the "almogàvers" started disappearing, from the 14th century, when the borders with the Alandalus disappeared .
| The "almogàvers" were feared for all populations because they were bloody and ferocious, after the battles they used to plunder the populations for obtaining their salary. They dressed without any defensive object, and they wore a very short shirt, in the summer as well as in the winter. They only carried light weapons as short sword and a pair of lances. Even so the "almogàvers" achieved great victories because of their lightness. |  |
