Nicephorus Gregoras
The Great Catalan Company departed from Messina with 36 ships (including 18 galleys) transporting about 8,000 men (1,500 cavalry, 4,000 "almogavar" foot soldiers and an indeterminate number of servants and auxiliary personnel). The exact figures are a matter of dispute, for although the numbers provided by Ramon Muntaner are trusted by later historians Francisco de Moncada and George Paquimeres, the contemporary Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras gives a total number of only 1,000 men.