ABSTRACT
The Genoese chronicler Jacopo Doria describes how, in June 1292, Admiral Roger of Lauria prepared 20 galleys with 40 horses on board and set sail from Sicily towards ‘Romania’. He laid everything to waste on the island of Corfu, sparing only the castle; on reaching Monemvasia, he attacked the town and destroyed it, demanding and obtaining a ransom for the men and women whom he held captive on the galleys. He then sacked and devastated the island of Chios and again obtained a ransom for the prisoners. The chronicler observed: ‘There is no need to dwell upon the great displeasure that this caused the emperor of Constantinople.’ 1
