Lambros Koutsonikas ( el, Λάμπρος Κουτσονίκας, 1799 – 2 June 1879) was a Greek general and fighter of the Greek Revolution of 1821, army officer and amateur historian of the Revolution.

Biography

He was the son of Yiannos, from the

Souliot 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 ...

Koutsonikas clan. His grandfather Nikos, his father and his brother Thanassis were killed in 1804 in a battle against the Albanians of

Ali Pasha of Yanina Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1740 – 24 January 1822), was an Albanians, Albanian ruler who served as pasha of a large part of western Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territories, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was i ...

at the Seltsou monastery 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 ...

. Lambros being a child that time, together with his mother and brother, were taken captives by Ali pasha's bands. Later, Lambros fought as head of an armed unit during the Greek Revolution of 1821. During the Revolution, he served in the Greek army and was promoted to the rank of '' pentakosiarchos'' (leader of 500 men). He died in 1879 in

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its capi ...

Works

He authored the ''General History of the Greek Revolution'' (Γενική Ιστορία της Ελληνικής Επαναστάσεως), published in 1863–64 in Athens. The first volume of his work contains a large chapter on the history of

Souli Souli ( el, Σούλι) is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia. Name and History The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written b ...

and the Souliotes, which is one of the few primary sources on the subject, written by a Souliote. Koutsonikas, based on oral tradition, claims that Souliotes resisted the Ottoman invasion since 15th century and they remained free and independent till early 19th century, and were the first who revolted in 1820. The name of his clan is mentioned in some of the Souliotic Songs, initially published by Claude Fauriel in 1823 and republished later by others. Comte de Marcellus, Marie-Louis (1795-1865), “Chants populaires de la Grèce moderne”, Paris, 1860. IV. Le Siége de Souli 1803, etc
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References

External links

General History of the Greek Revolution, Athens, 1863. vol. 1
In Greek. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koutsonikas, Lambros 1799 births 1879 deaths Souliotes Greek people of the Greek War of Independence 19th-century Greek historians