which no longer
supplied the materials of rapine; [496] but he refused to disperse his
troops; and while his style was respectful, his conduct was independent
and hostile. He protested, that if the emperor should march against
him, he would advance forty paces to kiss the ground before him; but in
rising from this prostrate attitude Roger had a life and sword at the
service of his friends. The great duke of Romania condescended to accept
the title and ornaments of Caesar; but he rejected the new proposal of
the government of Asia with a subsidy of corn and money, [497] on condition
that he should reduce his troops to the harmless number of three
thousand men. Assassination is the last resource of cowards. The
Caesar was tempted to visit the royal residence of Adrianople; in the
apartment, and before the eyes, of the empress he was stabbed by the
Alani guards; and though the deed was imputed to their private revenge,
[498] his countrymen, who dwelt at Constantinople in the security of peace,
were involved in the same proscription by the prince or people. The loss
of their leader intimidated the crowd of adventurers, who hoisted
the sails of flight, and were soon scattered round the coasts of the
Mediterranean. But a veteran band of fifteen hundred Catalans,
or French, stood firm in the strong fortress of Gallipoli on the
Hellespont, displayed the banners of Arragon, and offered to revenge and
justify their chief, by an equal combat of ten or a hundred warriors.
Instead of accepting this bold defiance, the emperor Michael, the son
and colleague of Andronicus, resolved to oppress them with the weight
of multitudes: every nerve was strained to form an army of thirteen
thousand horse and thirty thousand foot; and the Propontis was covered
with the ships of the Greeks and Genoese. In two battles by sea and
land, these mighty forces were encountered and overthrown by the despair
and discipline of the Catalans: the young emperor fled to the palace;
and an insufficient guard of light-horse was left for the protection
of the open country. Victory renewed the hopes and numbers of the
adventures: every nation was blended under the name and standard of the
_great company_; and three thousand Turkish proselytes deserted from the
Imperial service to join this military association. In the possession of
Gallipoli, [499] the Catalans intercepted the trade of Constantinople and
the Black Sea, while they spread their devastation on either si