Roger de Flor
| Roger de Flor | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1267 Brindisi, Kingdom of Sicily |
| Died | 30 April 1305 Adrianopolis, Byzantine Empire |
| Allegiance |
Crown of Aragon Catalan Company |
| Years of service | 1282-1305 |
Roger de Flor (1267 – 30 April 1305), also known as Ruggero/Ruggiero da Fiore or Rutger von Blum or Ruggero Flores, was an Italian military adventurer and condottiere active in Aragonese Sicily, Italy and the Byzantine Empire. He held the title Count of Malta.
He was born in Brindisi, in the Kingdom of Sicily, the second son of an Italian noblewoman of Brindisi and a German falconer named Richard von Blum (Blume means flower in German) in the service of Emperor Frederick II.
At eight years old he was sent to sea in a galley belonging to the Knights Templars. He entered the order and became captain of a galley. After rescuing wealthy survivors during the siege of Acre by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil in 1291, he went to Cyprus. Following some intrigues and personal disputes he was accused of robbery and denounced to the pope as a thief and an apostate. This resulted in his relegation from the order. Roger fled to Genoa, where he borrowed a considerable sum from Ticino Doria, purchased a new vessel and began a career in piracy.
The struggle between the Aragonese kings of Aragon and the French kings of Naples for the possession of Sicily was at this time going on; and Roger, by then one of the most experienced military commanders of his time, was called to the service of Frederick, king of Sicily, who gave him the rank of vice-admiral. When the Peace of Caltabellotta brought the war to an end in 1302, Frederick was unwilling and unable to keep a mercenary army and was anxious to free the island from troops (called "Almogavars"), whom he had no longer the means of paying. Given the political and military situation, Roger found an opportunity to make his services useful in the east in fighting against the Ottoman Turks, who were ravaging the Byzantine Empire.
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