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Episode 310 - The Catalan Company

September 11, 2024·25 min·2 clips

Roger de Flore tortured monks for gold as the Catalans turned from liberators into brutal extortionists.

This episode details the disastrous hiring of the Catalan Grand Company by Emperor Andronicus II to fight the Turks in Anatolia. The mercenaries quickly turn violent, betray the empire, and establish a rogue state in Thrace, leading to widespread devastation and nearly triggering another Latin crusade. The episode explores the strategic failures and desperate measures that left Byzantium humbled and landlocked.

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