The First National Assembly of Epidaurus (, 1821–1822) was the first meeting of the Greek National Assembly, a national representative political gathering of the Greek revolutionaries.

History

Monument First Greek National Assembly 01

The assembly opened in December 1821 at Piada (today Nea (New) Epidaurus). It was attended by representatives from regions involved in the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

against Ottoman rule. The majority of the representatives were local notables and clergymen from the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, Central Greece and the islands. In addition, a number of

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

and academics attended. However, a number of prominent revolutionaries, including

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

and the most prominent military leaders were absent. Of the 59 representatives at the assembly, 20 were landowners, 13 were ship-owners, 12 were intellectuals, 4 were military leaders, 3 were archpriests, 3 were merchants. The first document adopted by the assembly proclaimed the independence of the Greek nation from the Ottoman Empire. The first paragraph was: :" ''In the name of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity''. :''The Greek nation, wearied by the dreadful weight of Ottoman oppression, and resolved to break its yoke, though at the price of the greatest sacrifice, proclaims today before God and man, by the organ of its lawful representatives, met in national assembly, its independence''." It also passed a number of other important documents, including: * The ''Provisional Regime of Greece'' (''Προσωρινό Πολίτευμα της Ελλάδος''), sometimes translated as ''Temporary Constitution of Greece'' (more commonly known as the Greek Constitution of 1822), which also included a ''

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

''. The Assembly elected a five-member executive on 15 January 1822, which was presided over by Alexandros Mavrocordatos. The executive in turn appointed the first government which had 8 ministries. The first legislature had 33 members. Another characteristic of the First National Assembly is the absence of any reference in the Constitution to the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

, although Dimitrios Ypsilantis, brother of Alexandros Ypsilantis and official representative of the

, was appointed president of the legislature, a body controlled by the local notables.

List of delegates

References

Citations

Books

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:First National Assembly At Epidaurus 1821 in Greece 1822 in Greece 1821 conferences 1822 conferences December 1821 January 1822

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

History of Argolis Peloponnese in the Greek War of Independence Epidaurus

History

List of delegates

See also

References

Citations

Books