Zafeirakis Theodosiou ( el, Ζαφειράκης Θεοδοσίου) (1772 - 1822) was a Greek ''prokritos'' (πρόκριτος), meaning political leader of Greeks during Ottoman rule, of Naousa, Imathia and an important figure of 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 ...

in the region of

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

Life

Zafeirakis was born in Naousa, Imathia originating from a wealthy family that gave him the opportunity to educate himself to the most important institutions of his time. He studied at

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 ...

where he spent most of his youth. At that time,

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 ...

was ruling the area and valuing Zafeirakis' skills took him under his protection and later appointed him to administrate Naoussa when he extended his influence to Central Macedonia. But Zafeirakis quickly opposed Ali Pasha's authoritative administration. As a result, Ali Pasha turned against him and he was forced to abandon his place for

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

and later

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 ...

and

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 (" ...

. There he was associated with Ottoman authorities and twelve years later he managed to receive an order from the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

to return to his previous command to Naussa where he stayed until his death. He became very popular to his fellow citizens by promoting local manufactures, especially those that had to do with weaponry, building schools, churches and road construction. Around 1820 he was introduced into Filiki Eteria and came close with

Anastasios Karatasos Anastasios Karatasos ( el, Αναστάσιος Καρατάσος; 1764 – 21 January 1830) was a Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence was born in the village of Dovras (Δοβράς or Δορβρά), Imathia and is cons ...

and

Aggelis Gatsos Angelis Gatsos ( el, Αγγελής Γάτσος; bg, Ангел Гацов) (1771–1839) was a Slavophone Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence. He was born in the village of Sarakinovo, today known as Sarakinoi (Almo ...

, assigning them to protect his area. He personally organised the liberation of Naoussa on February 19, 1822, becoming one of the first liberated cities in Macedonia during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. However, in April the Pasha of Thessaloniki himself besieged Naoussa with 18,000 men and two weeks later he managed to regain control over the city. Zafeirakis and his family lost their lives during the following pillage.

References

*Vakalopoulos, Apostolos E. "History of Macedonia 1354-1833", Vanias Press (1984). {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodosiou, Zafeirakis 1772 births 1822 deaths People from Naousa, Imathia Ottoman-era Greek primates Greek revolutionaries Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Macedonian revolutionaries (Greek) Greek generals

Life

See also

References