Catalans II

1137-1283 CE

From 1137 to 1283 CE, the Catalans built a Mediterranean empire through commerce as much as conquest, their merchant galleys linking Barcelona to Constantinople while their almogàvers — fierce light infantry — carved out dominions in Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily. The union with Aragon multiplied their strength; the War of the Sicilian Vespers proved their soldiers the match of any in Europe.