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Battle of Apros(Aprus) |
year: 1305July 1305 |
| Defeat of the Byzantine army by the Catalan Company | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
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enemy: Catalans
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location: Near the ancient city of Apros in the European part of Turkey, near the modern village Kermeyan, 32km west of the sea of Marmaras
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accuracy:
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battle type: Pitched Battle |
war: Wars of the Catalan Company |
modern country:
Turkey |
| ▼ The Byzantines(emperor: Michael IX Palaiologos) | ▼ The Enemies | |
| Commander: | Co-Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos | Without a leader |
| Forces: | about 5,000 | 206 horsemen, 1,256 foot soldiers, 500 Turks |
| Losses: |
| Background story: |
| In 1303, the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos hired a force of Catalan mercenaries under Roger de Flor to campaign against the Turks. The Catalan Company consisted of 6,500 men: 1500 knights and 4000 Almogavars (lightly-clad foot-soldiers of the Crown of Aragon) plus auxiliaries. Most of them were Catalans and Aragonese but there were also Sicilians, French, Calabrians etc. In the course of their operations in the East, they recruited 3000 Turkish horsemen. Their costly service came with success, driving back the Turks in parts of Asia Minor. At Philadelphia, 20,000 Turks were killed by the Catalans. The campaign was one of Byzantium's few victories in an awfully-managed war. But soon this cooperation went awry: The emperor was unable to pay the Catalans, while the mercenaries began to pillage and commit atrocities in the Byzantine territories. At the end of 1304 they settled in Gallipoli, living at the expense of the local population and using the city as a base for their marauding raids in the surrounding area. The Catalan Company was becoming a serious problem. In addition, their leader Roger de Flore (who had also been given the title of Caesar) made plans to establish his own independent principality. The Byzantines had to find a solution. On April 30, 1305 the co-emperor Michael IX invited de Flor to Adrianople and had him assassinated there. Along with de Flor, 300 horsemen and 1000 footmen who accompanied him were killed. The plan was executed by a unit of Alans who at that time had joined the Byzantine army. The assassination of the leader of the Catalan Company did not have the expected results. Not only was the Company not disbanded, but its attacks became more severe. The period of destruction and misery experienced in Thrace after the murder of Roger de Flor became known as “The Catalan Revenge”. |
The Battle: |
 Catalan foot soldier After the failure to finish off the mercenaries in Gallipoli, the co-emperor Michael IX wanting to continue the effort gathered an army and marched from Adrianople to Gallipoli. The Catalans were informed about this and instead of waiting in Gallipoli, they came out of the city and hurried to meet the enemy, carefully choosing the battlefield, near the city of Apros in Eastern Thrace. The Catalans, who were without a leader, were left with only 206 cavalry and 1,256 infantry, while they also had with them a unit of Turkish cavalry, about 500. Around 100 had remained behind in Gallipoli. Michael's force consisted, for the most part, of Alans and Tourkopols (Christianized Turks) mercenaries. He also had with him units of the regular army from Macedonia, a few Vlachs, mounted Pronoia militia (landowners, fugitives from M.Asia) and finally his personal guard which was the heavy cavalry. Τhe exact number is not known, but the total Byzantine force must have been around 5,000. More than half were foreign mercenaries (Alans, Tourkopols). The Catalans chose to line up on top of a hill outside Apros. The formation was 4 divisions in dense formation. All were on foot, as the horsemen had dismounted and were with the rest. One of the divisions consisted of the Turkish allies. In other words, it was a clearly defensive formation. After all, the strong point of the Catalan Company was the very disciplined and compact act of their infantry which could not be easily broken up and was never drawn into disorderly pursuits of retreating opponents (in contrast to their unruly behavior after battles). The Byzantines, realizing their numerical advantage, attacked. First the mounted Alans and Tourkopols rushed into battle. The Catalans remained steadfast in their positions and inflicted casualties on the opponents with their crossbows and spears. As the first attacks did not bring results, something decisive happened: the Tourkopols changed side and joined the Catalan force (perhaps they had not been paid), while it seems that the other mercenaries, the Alans, were discouraged and left the battlefield. The Byzantine army began to disorganize and retreat. It seemed that Michael IX, once again, would lose control. He ordered a general cavalry charge. But the Byzantines were fewer now, while the Almogavars remained steady in their advantageous position, cutting down those who approached them. Michael Palaiologos himself (described in the Chronicle of the Catalans as a fighter of extraordinary ability) was in serious danger when his horse was killed, but managed to escape when one of his men gave him his own horse and the co-emperor was saved by fleeing behind the city walls. The end of the day found the Catalans holding their positions with minimal losses and the Byzantines retreating, disappointed, to Apros. The next morning, the Catalans, who had not moved from the hill, waited for the Byzantines to continue the battle. But the losses of the Byzantines were heavy, and they had also lost all the mercenaries, so the battle ended there. The defeat was truly heavy, and left Byzantium without an army, with the result that there was no substantial defense against the Catalan Company's frenzied plundering of Thrace in the period that followed. |
Aftermath: |
| The Catalans went on to ravage Thrace for 2 years, before they invaded Latin-held South Greece and won at Cephisus in 1311 to seize control of the Duchy of Athens. |
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