Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis ( el, Κυριακούλης Μαυρομιχάλης; 1765–1822) was a Greek revolutionary who fought in 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 ...

. He was born in Limeni in the

Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula ( el, Μάνη, Mánē), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (Μαΐνη), is a geographical and cultural region in Southern Greece that is home to the Maniots (Mανιάτες, ''Maniátes'' in Greek), who cl ...

, the son of Pierros Pierrakos and Katerina Koutsogrigorakos and was the young brother of

Petrobey Mavromichalis Petros Mavromichalis (; 1765–1848), also known as Petrobey ( ), was a Greek general, politician and the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century. His family had a long history of revolts against the Ottoman Empi ...

. When the

broke out he organised a band of young

Maniots The Maniots or Maniates ( el, Μανιάτες) are the inhabitants of Mani Peninsula, located in western Laconia and eastern Messenia, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as ''Maina''. ...

into a fighting force. Kyriakoulis fought at

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

, Methoni,

Koroni Koroni or Corone ( el, Κορώνη) is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as ''Corone'' ...

and was present at the

Siege of Tripolitsa The siege of Tripolitsa or fall of Tripolitsa ( el, Άλωση της Τριπολιτσάς, Álosi tis Tripolitsás, ), also known as the Tripolitsa massacre ( tr, Tripoliçe katliamı), was an early victory of the revolutionary Greek forces ...

operation as commander-in-charge of the Valtetsi headquarters in the incipient revolutionary army. He successfully defended the camp, twice, in the

Battle of Valtetsi The Battle of Valtetsi was fought on 24 May (Old Style and New Style dates, N.S.), 1821 in Valtetsi (village), Valtetsi between the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman army and Greeks, Greek revolutionaries. Background The Greek War of Independence offici ...

, leading a far inferior force to strengthen their positions, allowing new reinforcements to succeed in repelling the Turkish attack. With the war against Ali Pasha over, the

Souliotes 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 ...

- who had sided with the Albanians against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

- were in mortal danger due to

Hursid Pasha Hurshid Ahmed Pasha (sometimes written Khurshid Ahmad Pasha; tr, Hurşid Ahmed Paşa, ; died 30 November 1822) was an Ottoman- Georgian general, and Grand Vizier during the early 19th century. Early life He was born in the Caucasus and was of ...

's constant attacks and siege. To deal with this, an inexpert commander

Alexandros Mavrokordatos Alexandros Mavrokordatos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes. Biography In 1812, Mavrokordato ...

, who was not a soldier but a politician and future statesman, chose Kyriakoulis to command an expedition to bring relief and reinforcements. On his way to Kiafa, his expeditionary force met action with a Turkish

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

near the seaside village

Mourtos Syvota ( el, Σύβοτα, , before 1940: Μούρτος ''Mourtos/Volia'' ) is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Igoumenitsa, of which it is a m ...

, completely defeating their foes and taking a large number of prisoners. His decision to take his captives to imprisonment in the Peloponnesus rather than to massacre them, as was then common, showed his military ethics, but at the same time weakened his already small regiment composed by 500 Maniots plus some

Philhellenes Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek ...

, mostly former

Bonapartist Bonapartism (french: Bonapartisme) is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In thi ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

soldiers and young romantic

Italian revolutionaries Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

. In his effort against a stronger and much more compact force under Omer Vryonis, but with the overall leadership of an excellent skillful commander like Hursid, who was an expert against guerrilla warfare, his band was at last defeated at an engagement in Splantza. The Maniots showed the same

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...

spirit as their

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

n ancestors fighting up to the last man. Kyriakoulis was killed on 4 July 1822 in Splantza and was buried with honours in Missolonghi. Maniot tradition and folk songs, show how his younger brother's death strongly hurt the brave Petrobey's soul: ''"Πετρόμπεης καθότανε ψηλά στο Πετροβούνι'' ''κι εσφούγγιζε τα μάτια του μ΄ ένα χρυσό μαντήλι.'' ''Τι έχεις Μπέη και χλίβεσαι και χύνεις μαύρα δάκρυα;'' ''Σα με ρωτάς Κυριάκαινα και θέλεις για να μάθης;'' ''Aπόψε μου ΄ρθαν γράμματα από το Μεσολόγγι'' ''...τον Κυριακούλην σκότωσαν, τον πρώτο καπετάνιο'' ''και στάζουνε τα μάτια μου και τρέχουν μαύρα δάκρυα."''http://www.e-istoria.com/119.html ''"Petrobey was lying in the highlands of Petrovouni'' (''Stone Mountain'') ''wiping his eyes with a golden kerchief.'' ''What's happening to you Bey, that you're so sad and black tears fall from your eyes?'' ''Since you're asking Kyriakaina (Kyriakoulis' wife) and you want to know...'' ''Tonight I got news from Missolonghi ... Kyriakoulis was killed, the main captain.'' ''This is why my eyes are full with black tears."'' He was the grandfather of Kyriakoulis Petrou Mavromichalis, the politician and later Prime Minister but above all, for the Peloponnesians in general and for the Maniots in particular he became the icon of the sacrifice made in behalf of the freedom of Greece.

References

External links

Κυριακούλης Μαυρομιχάλης
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mavromichalis, Kyriakoulis 1822 deaths Greek revolutionaries People from East Mani Kyriakoulis Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence 1765 births