Chrysavgi (Greek: Χρυσαυγή) is a mountain village in the municipality of

Voio Voio ( el, Βόιο, ''Vóio''; grc, Βόιον - ''Boeon'') is a mountain range in the southwestern Kastoria and western Kozani regional units in Greece. The mountain is part of the Pindus mountains. Its highest elevation is 1,805 m. It is a d ...

West Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia. Located in north-western Greece, it is divided into the regional unit ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Only 30 minutes from

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Athe ...

and 20 minutes from

Tsotyli Tsotyli ( el, Τσοτύλι, also Τσοτίλι - ''Tsotili'') is a village and a former municipality, now part of the Voio municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was the seat of the municipality of Tsotyli. The municipal unit ...

, it is built with traditional architecture at an altitude of 860 meters. The stone houses give a special and impressive picture.

History

The exact establishment date is difficult to pinpoint due to lack of historical evidences. The older register is from the 1534 codex in the Monastery of Zaborda and gives the old name of the village which was Mirali, a name taken probably from the Turkish commander of the area, Omer Ali. At 1927 it was renamed Stroggylon (which means round) and in 1930 received its final name Chrysavgi (which means “golden dawn”) South of the village lay the stony remains of an ancient military settlement which was used to control the mountain passes. A copper statue of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

was found in the area, along with metallic vessels, spearheads and daggers. Also Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins were unearthed by farmers. The first settlers, according to tradition, were located at "Selio" point, 2 kilometers north of the village. In the area were scattered settlements which were destroyed by Turkish and Albanian raids. The remaining people established the modern village. In 1793 many Voio villages were

Islamized Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

and became manors of the local Beys who were friendly to

Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina. People * Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406) * Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...

. At Chrysavgi the

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

was Ali Koukos, to whom the residents paid the protective tax, one tenth of their production (Dekati). Beside the tax, they were bound to hand over to the Bey each new bride for him to spend the first wedding night with (''

Ius primae noctis ('right of the lord'), also known as ('right of the first night'), was a supposed legal right in medieval Europe, allowing feudal lords to have sexual relations with subordinate women, in particular, on the wedding nights of the women. A maj ...

''). Some villagers were unable to tolerate this custom and killed the Bey in 1830. Next day was considered to be a "Golden Dawn" for the village. The remains of the Bey were discovered during an excavation in 1962, in "Koukos" point. The retaliation of the Turks for the murder of the Bey was a heavy tax enforced on the village. With this money, a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

was built in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(Istanbul) which was named "Mirali Tzamisi". Chrysavgi and the other villages ceased to be manors in 1836 after a

firman A firman ( fa, , translit=farmân; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods they were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The word firman com ...

from

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

Sources and external links

Chrysavgi webpage

Chrysavgi blog
Populated places in Kozani (regional unit) {{WMacedonia-geo-stub