Roger, the son of Dagobert (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ), was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

magnate who deserted to the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

where he entered the service of Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

(r. 1081–1118). He is the founder of the noble Byzantine family of Rogerios.

Biography

Roger was a

magnate and companion of Robert Guiscard, alongside whom he took part in the

Norman conquest of southern Italy The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern ...

. In 1080/1081, however, as Robert Guiscard was preparing to cross the Adriatic and invade the

, Roger defected to the Byzantines and informed their emperor,

, of the Norman preparations... Roger's flight also forced his brother, Raoul, to seek refuge in the Byzantine court as well. He became the ancestor of the Raoul/Ralles family. Both

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, in her '' Alexiad'', and Nicholas Kallikles, in a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

written for Roger's funeral, relate Roger's subsequent career under Alexios: receiving the rank of ''

sebastos ( grc-gre, σεβαστός, sebastós, venerable one, Augustus, ; plural , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th-ce ...

'', he fought with the emperor against the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

and the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

, as well as against the Normans.. In 1098, he served along with his brother Raoul as ambassadors to

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (, , , ; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a French nobleman and pre-eminent leader of the First Crusade. First ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100, he avoided the title of king, preferring that of princ ...

, and during Bohemond's invasion of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

in 1108 he was used as an envoy and hostage during the negotiations between the Normans and the Empire. Later, he was also one of the signatories of the

Treaty of Devol The Treaty of Devol ( el, συνθήκη της Δεαβόλεως) was an agreement made in 1108 between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, in the wake of the First Crusade. It is named after the Byzantine fortress of ...

which ended hostilities between Bohemond and Byzantium. Both Byzantine and Western chroniclers praised Roger for his bravery and for his eloquence.

Family

Roger married an unknown lady of the

Dalassenos Dalassenos ( el, Δαλασσηνός), feminine form Dalassene or Dalassena (Greek: Δαλασσηνή), was a Byzantine aristocratic family prominent in the 11th century. Origins and rise to prominence The family's name derives from their ancestr ...

family, which was closely tied to the imperial

Komnenos Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

dynasty. He had at least one confirmed son, the ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

'' John Rogerios Dalassenos. Another member of the family, the ''sebastos'' Constantine Rogerios, was a contemporary of John Rogerios and served under Emperor

John II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...

(r. 1118–1143), but his precise relation to Roger is unknown..

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roger 11th-century births 12th-century deaths 11th-century Byzantine people 11th-century Normans Rogerios family Byzantine diplomats Alexios I Komnenos Norman warriors 11th-century diplomats 12th-century diplomats Sebastoi