Vassiliki Kontaxi, nicknamed Kyra Vassiliki ( el, Κυρά Βασιλική, ''Lady Vassiliki'', 1789–1834), was an influential Greek woman brought up in the

seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ott ...

of the Ottoman ruler

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 ...

Life

School of Paul Emil Jacobs - Ali Pasha and Kira Vassiliki

Vassiliki Kontaxi was born in the Greek village of Plisivitsa in

Thesprotia Thesprotia (; el, Θεσπρωτία, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the re ...

. At the age of twelve she sought an audience with the local Ottoman ruler, Ali Pasha, to intercede for her father's life. Having granted her father pardon, Ali Pasha married Vassiliki in 1808 and she joined his

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

. Being allowed to practice her Christian faith, she interceded on behalf of the Orthodox people. She was perhaps contacted by the Greek patriotic organization

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends ( el, Φιλικὴ Ἑταιρεία ''or'' ) was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek ...

. During this period she undertook a number of charity initiatives. In 1819–20 she financed a number of restoration works in

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. In January 1822, during the last stage of the siege of

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 ...

by the Ottoman Sultan's forces, Vassiliki together with Ali Pasha and his private guard escaped to

Ioannina Island Ioannina Island ( el, Νήσος Ιωαννίνων) is an island in the Lake of Ioannina, Epirus, Greece, a municipal unit of the municipality of Ioannina. Its area is 0.2 km2, with biggest length 800 meters and biggest width 500 meters. Un ...

. Ali Pasha was executed there on January 22 by an Ottoman delegation, having been declared an outlaw by the Sultan. Following Ali's death, Vassiliki was sent as a prisoner to the Ottoman capital,

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 (" ...

. She was later pardoned and returned to

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 ...

, which meanwhile gained its independence after the successful

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 ...

(1821–30). In 1830, the Greek state gave Vassiliki a medieval tower in Katochi, where she lived the rest of her life. She died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

in 1834.

In art and literature

In 1895, the gold-embroidered velvet purse of Vassiliki was bought by Nikolaos Konstantinidis for 25 drachmas. Vassiliki was depicted by various artists. She is briefly mentioned in a number of 19th-century novels, such as in

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

' ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'' and by English author Richard A. Davenport in his ''The Life of Ali Pasha of Tepeleni, Vizier of Epirus''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassiliki 1789 births 1834 deaths 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Greek people 19th-century Greek women Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Deaths from dysentery People from Filiates 19th-century Greek politicians