The 1854 revolt in Epirus was one of the most important of a series of
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 ...
uprisings that occurred in the
Ottoman Greece
Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence t ...
during that period. When the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
(1854–1856) broke out, many
Epirote Greeks, with tacit support from the
Greek state, revolted against the Ottoman rule. Although this movement was supported by distinguished military personalities, the correlation of forces doomed it from the start, leading to its suppression after a few months.
Background
When the Crimean War broke out between the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, many Greeks felt that it was an opportunity to gain lands inhabited by Greeks but not included in the independent Kingdom of Greece. The
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
(1821–1829) was still fresh in their minds, as well as the
Russian intervention that had helped secure Greek independence. Furthermore, Greeks had traditionally looked to help from fellow-
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
Russia.
Although the official Greek state, under severe diplomatic and military pressure from the British and French (allies of the Ottomans), refrained from actively entering the conflict, a number of uprisings were organized in
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
,
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
,
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, with support from individuals and groups within independent Greece.
Uprising
On 30 January 1854,
Spyridon Karaiskakis (a Lieutenant in the
Greek Army
The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...
and son of the hero of War of Independence,
Georgios Karaiskakis), gave a number of inspiring speeches in villages east of
Arta (Peta region), seeking to inspire the Epirotes to revolt against Ottoman rule and join their province to Greece. The initial objective was the provincial capital, Arta, which was captured by Karaiskakis with a force of 2,500 irregulars. In the meantime, the Greek General
Theodoros Grivas took a band of 300 volunteers to the villages of
Peta
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, a ...
and
Pente Pigadia. Apart from the region of Arta, in
Tzoumerka
Tzoumerka ( el, Τζουμέρκα) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality North Tzoumerka, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...
, the revolt also spread to most of the mountainous regions of Epirus and a number of towns soon came under the full control of the revolutionaries:
Paramythia
Paramythia ( el, Παραμυθιά) is a town and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal un ...
,
Souli,
Tsamantas,
Himara and some villages around
Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
. The revolt was also in full swing in parts of the nearby region of
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
.
Meanwhile, a number of Greek officers, most of them of
Souliote
The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the ...
descent (
Nikolaos Zervas,
Notis Botsaris,
Athanasios Koutsonikas,
Kitsos Tzavelas
Kyriakos “Kitsos” Tzavelas ( el, Κυριάκος “Κίτσος” Τζαβέλας, 1800–1855) was a Souliot fighter in the Greek War of Independence and later a Hellenic Army General and Prime Minister of Greece.
Early years and Greek ...
,
Lambros Zikos), resigned from their posts in the Greek Army and joined the rebellion. However, a unit of 1,600 Ottoman troops, reinforced by an additional 3,000, managed to recapture Arta with the help of heavy artillery.
In early March, Grivas managed to advance further north capturing
Metsovo
Metsovo ( el, Μέτσοβο; rup, Aminciu) is a town in Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east.
The largest centre of Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large re ...
which was afterwards looted by the Greek troops. At March 27, after repeated Ottoman attacks, supported by Albanian irregulars, Grivas had to retreat. As a consequence the town of Metsovo was looted by these bands and a large part of it was burned down.
Suppression
On April 13, a 6,000-strong Ottoman force, with the support of British and French artillery, attacked the rebels’ headquarters east of Arta, in the town of Peta. After fierce battles and suffering heavy losses, Kitsos Tzavelas with his men retreated behind the Greek border. Meanwhile, the Ottomans moved north to eliminate every movement in the region around
Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
. In Plaka, a force of 14,000 Ottomans with an addition of 1,500 Albanians fought against the armed groups of S. Karaiskakis and N. Zervas. The Ottoman force was forced to retreat, with the Albanians in particular suffering heavy losses.
The situation started to worsen for the Greeks when additional Ottoman reinforcements arrived in the region. On the other hand, the British and the French forces blockaded the port of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...
and a number of other Greek ports, making reinforcement and ammunition for the revolutionaries hard to obtain and applying further pressure on the Greek government to force the return of its officers. After a number of vicious battles in Voulgareli, Skoulikaria and in Kleidi on 12 May, the revolt was doomed and the Epirotes retreated behind the Greek border.
When the revolt in Epirus was finally suppressed,
reprisals started, with Ottoman and Albanian bands looting and burning a number of towns and villages. These activities ended with the end of the Crimean War in 1856.
[ Sakellariou 1997: 291]
See also
*
1854 Macedonian rebellion
*
Epirus Revolt of 1878
*
Cretan Revolt (1866–1869) Cretan Revolt may refer to one of the following uprisings in Crete:
Under Venetian rule
* Cretan Revolt (1212) of the Hagiostephanites family
* Cretan Revolt (1217) of the Skordiles and Melissenos families
* Cretan Revolt (1222) of the Melissenos f ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
he Revolution of the Greeks in Epirus: their Land, Customs and Habits (German)
{{Authority control
Conflicts in 1854
19th-century rebellions
Epirus 1854
Greece–Ottoman Empire relations
Ottoman Epirus
History of Greece (1832–1862)
1854 in Greece
1854 in the Ottoman Empire
Crimean War