Roger de Flor

Flor, Roger de, d. c.1306, German commander of Spanish mercenaries, b. Italy. He entered the order of the Knights Templars and fought (1291) at Acre (see Akko, but he was obliged to leave the order when accused of theft. He subsequently served as vice admiral under Frederick II of Sicily and after 1302 became the leader of a band of Spanish adventurers who entered the service of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II against the Turks. This Catalan company won several victories, but its oppression of the native population led to Roger's assassination by imperial order. His followers ravaged the countryside in revenge. They later migrated into Greece and established (1311) the duchy of Athens.