Appendices

Characters

References

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1821 - 1829

Greek War of Independence



The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution, was a successful war of independence waged by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by the British EmpireKingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals, particularly the eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece.

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1814 Jan 1

Prologue

Balkans

The Fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453 and the subsequent fall of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire marked the end of Byzantine sovereignty. After that, the Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans and Anatolia (Asia Minor), with some exceptions. Greece came under Ottoman rule in the 15th century, in the decades before and after the fall of Constantinople.

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1814 Sep 14

Founding of Filiki Eteria

Odessa, Ukraine

Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends was a secret organization founded in 1814 in Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state. Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Constantinople and the Russian Empire, local political and military leaders from the Greek mainland and islands, as well as several Orthodox Christian leaders from other nations that were under Hellenic influence, such as Karađorđe from Serbia Tudor Vladimirescu from Romania, and Arvanite military commanders. One of its leaders was the prominent Phanariote Prince Alexander Ypsilantis. The Society initiated the Greek War of Independence in the spring of 1821.

1821 - 1822
Outbreak and Initial Revolts
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Declaration of revolution by Alexandros Ypsilantis
Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Pruth, by Peter von Hess ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1821 Feb 21

Declaration of revolution by Alexandros Ypsilantis

Danubian Principalities

Alexander Ypsilantis was elected as the head of the Filiki Eteria in April 1820 and took upon himself the task of planning the insurrection. His intention was to raise all the Christians of the Balkans in rebellion and perhaps force Russia to intervene on their behalf. Ypsilantis issued a proclamation calling all Greeks and Christians to rise up against the Ottomans.

Raising of the banner
Metropolitan Germanos of Patras blessing the flag of the Greek resistance at Agia Lavra Monastery. ©Theodoros Vryzakis
1821 Mar 25

Raising of the banner

Monastery of Agia Lavra, Greec

Greek War of Independence, which made Greece the first country to break away from the Ottoman Empire, begins raising of the banner with the cross in the Monastery of Agia Lavra

Battle of Alamana
The Battle of Alamana, by Alexandros Isaias ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1821 Apr 22

Battle of Alamana

Thermopylae, Greece
Even though the battle was ultimately a military defeat for the Greeks, Diakos's death provided the Greek national cause with a stirring myth of heroic martyrdom.
Siege of Tripolitsa
Maniot revolutionary after the Siege of Tripolitsa ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1821 Apr 23 - Sep

Siege of Tripolitsa

Arcadia, Greece

The siege and massacre of Tripolitsa in 1821 was a pivotal event during the Greek War of Independence. Tripolitsa, located in the heart of the Peloponnese, was the capital of the Ottoman Morea Eyalet and a symbol of Ottoman authority. Its population included wealthy Turks, Jews, and Ottoman refugees. Historical massacres of its Greek inhabitants in 1715, 1770, and early 1821 intensified Greek resentment.


Theodoros Kolokotronis, a key Greek revolutionary leader, targeted Tripolitsa, establishing camps and headquarters around it. His forces were joined by Maniot troops under Petros Mavromichalis and various other commanders. The Ottoman garrison, led by Kehayabey Mustafa and reinforced by troops from Hursid Pasha, faced a challenging siege.


Despite initial Ottoman resistance, conditions inside Tripolitsa worsened due to food and water shortages. Kolokotronis negotiated with the Albanian defenders for their safe passage, weakening the Ottoman defense. By September 1821, the Greeks had consolidated around Tripolitsa, and on September 23, they breached the city walls, leading to a rapid takeover.


The capture of Tripolitsa was followed by a brutal massacre of its Muslim (mainly Turks) and Jewish inhabitants. Eyewitness accounts, including those of Thomas Gordon and William St. Clair, describe horrific atrocities committed by the Greek forces, with estimates of up to 32,000 people killed, including women and children. The massacre was part of a series of retaliatory acts against Muslims in the Peloponnese.


The Greek forces' actions during the siege and massacre, marked by religious fervor and revenge, mirrored earlier Ottoman atrocities, such as the Massacre of Chios. While the Jewish community suffered greatly, historians like Steven Bowman suggest their targeting was incidental to the larger aim of eliminating the Turks.


The capture of Tripolitsa significantly boosted Greek morale, demonstrating the feasibility of victory against the Ottomans. It also led to a split among the Greek revolutionaries, with some leaders decrying the atrocities. This division foreshadowed future internal conflicts within the Greek independence movement.

Battle of Dragasani
Sacred band ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1821 Jun 19

Battle of Dragasani

Drăgăşani, Wallachia

The Battle of Dragashani (or Battle of Drăgășani) was fought on 19 June 1821 in Drăgășani, Wallachia, between the Ottoman forces of Sultan Mahmud II and the Greek Filiki Etaireia insurgents. It was a prelude to the Greek War of Independence.

1822 - 1825
Consolidation
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Greek Constitution of 1822
"First National Assembly" by Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler. ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1822 Jan 1 00:01

Greek Constitution of 1822

Nea Epidavros

The Greek Constitution of 1822 was a document adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus on January 1, 1822. Formally it was the Provisional Regime of Greece (Προσωρινό Πολίτευμα της Ελλάδος), sometimes translated as Temporary Constitution of Greece. Considered to be the first constitution of Modern Greece, it was an attempt to achieve temporary governmental and military organisation until the future establishment of a national parliament.

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1822 Apr 1

Massacre at Chios

Chios, Greece

The Chios massacre was the killing of tens of thousands of Greeks on the island of Chios by Ottoman troops during the Greek War of Independence in 1822. Greeks from neighboring islands had arrived on Chios and encouraged the Chiotes to join their revolt. In response, Ottoman troops landed on the island and killed thousands. The massacre of Christians provoked international outrage and led to increasing support for the Greek cause worldwide.

Destruction of the Turkish Army
Nikitas Stamatelopoulos during the Battle of Dervenakia by Peter von Hess. ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1822 Jul 28

Destruction of the Turkish Army

Dervenakia, Greece

The Expedition of Dramali also known as Dramali's campaign, or Dramali's expedition, was an Ottoman military campaign led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha during the Greek War of Independence in the summer of 1822. The campaign was a large scale effort by the Ottomans to quell the ongoing Greek rebellion which had begun in 1821, the campaign ended in total failure, resulting in the disastrous defeat of the Ottoman army, which after the campaign ceased to exist as a fighting force.

Greek civil wars of 1823–1825
Greek civil wars of 1823–1825 ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1823 Jan 1

Greek civil wars of 1823–1825

Peloponnese

The Greek War of Independence was marked by two civil wars, which took place in 1823–1825. The conflict had both political and regional dimensions, as it pitted the Roumeliotes (the people of Continental Greece) and the Islanders (the shipowners, especially from Hydra island), against the Peloponnesians or Moreotes. It divided the young nation, and seriously weakened the military preparedness of the Greek forces in the face of the oncoming Egyptian intervention in the conflict.

1825 - 1827
Egyptian Intervention and Escalation of the War
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1825 Apr 15

Fall of Messolonghi

Missolonghi, Greece

The third siege of Messolonghi (often erroneously referred to as the second siege) was fought in the Greek War of Independence, between the Ottoman Empire and the Greek rebels, from 15 April 1825 to 10 April 1826. The Ottomans had already tried and failed to capture the city in 1822 and 1823, but returned in 1825 with a stronger force of infantry and a stronger navy supporting the infantry. The Greeks held out for almost a Year before they ran out of food and attempted a mass breakout, which however resulted in a disaster, with the larger part of the Greeks slain. This defeat was a key factor leading to intervention by the Great Powers who, hearing about the atrocities, felt sympathetic to the Greek cause.

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1825 May 20

Battle of Maniaki

Maniaki, Messenia, Greece

The Battle of Maniaki was fought on May 20, 1825 in Maniaki, Greece (in the hills east of Gargalianoi) between Ottoman Egyptian forces led by Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by Papaflessas. The battle ended in an Egyptian victory, during which both Greek commanders, Papaflessas and Pieros Voidis, were killed in action.

Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani
Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1826 Jun 21

Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani

Mani, Greece

The OttomanEgyptian invasion of Mani was a campaign during the Greek War of Independence that consisted of three battles. The Maniots fought against a combined Egyptian and Ottoman army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.

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1826 Nov 18

Battle of Arachova

Arachova, Greece

The Battle of Arachova, took place between 18 and 24 November 1826 (N.S.). It was fought between an Ottoman Empire force under the command of Mustafa Bey and Greek rebels under Georgios Karaiskakis. After receiving intelligence of the Ottoman army's maneuvers, Karaiskakis prepared a surprise attack in vicinity of the village of Arachova, in central Greece. On 18 November, Mustafa Bey's 2,000 Ottoman troops were blockaded in Arachova. An 800-man force that attempted to relieve the defenders three days later failed.

1827 - 1830
International Intervention and Path to Independence
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1827 Oct 20

Battle of Navarino

Pilos, Greece

The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–32), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied forces from Britain, France, and Russia decisively defeated Ottoman and Egyptian forces which were trying to suppress the Greeks, thereby making Greek independence much more likely. An Ottoman armada which, in addition to imperial warships, included squadrons from the eyalets (provinces) of Egypt and Tunis, was destroyed by an Allied force of British, French and Russian warships. It was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allies' victory was achieved through superior firepower and gunnery.

Ioannis Kapodistrias arrives in Greece
©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1828 Jan 7

Ioannis Kapodistrias arrives in Greece

Nafplion, Greece

Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias is considered the founder of the modern Greek state, and the architect of Greek independence After touring Europe to rally support for the Greek cause, Kapodistrias landed in Nafplion on 7 January 1828, and arrived in Aegina on 8 January 1828. The British didn't allow him to pass from his native Corfu (a British protectorate since 1815 as part of the United States of the Ionian Islands) fearing a possible unrest of the population. It was the first time he had ever set foot on the Greek mainland, and he found a discouraging situation there. Even while fighting against the Ottomans continued, factional and dynastic conflicts had led to two civil wars, which ravaged the country. Greece was bankrupt, and the Greeks were unable to form a united national government. Wherever Kapodistrias went in Greece, he was greeted by large and enthusiastic welcomes from the crowds.

Russia declares war on Turkey
Siege of Akhaltsikhe 1828, by January Suchodolski ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1828 Apr 26

Russia declares war on Turkey

Balkans
The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 was sparked by the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829. War broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships and revoked the 1826 Akkerman Convention in retaliation for Russian participation in October 1827 in the Battle of Navarino.
London Protocol
Signing of the London Protocol, fresco of the frieze of the Trophy Hall of the Greek Parliament. ©Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler
1830 Feb 3

London Protocol

London, UK

The London Protocol of 1830, also known as the Protocol of Independence in Greek historiography, was a treaty signed between France, Russia, and Great Britain on February 3, 1830. It was the first official international diplomatic act that recognized Greece as a sovereign and independent state. The protocol afforded Greece the political, administrative, and commercial rights of an independent state, and defined the northern border of Greece from the mouth of the Achelous river to the mouth of the Spercheios river. The autonomy of Greece in one form or another had been recognized already since 1826, and a provisional Greek government under Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias existed, but the conditions of the Greek autonomy, its political status, and the borders of the new Greek state, were being debated between the Great Powers, the Greeks, and the Ottoman government.


The London Protocol determined that the Greek state would be a monarchy, ruled by the "Ruler Sovereign of Greece". The signatories to the protocol initially selected Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as monarch. After Leopold declined the offer of the Greek throne, a meeting of the powers at the London conference of 1832 named the 17-year-old Prince Otto of Bavaria as the King of Greece and designated the new state the Kingdom of Greece.

Establishment of the Kingdom of Greece
The Entry of King Othon of Greece in Athens ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1832 Jul 21

Establishment of the Kingdom of Greece

London, UK
The London Conference of 1832 was an international conference convened to establish a stable government in Greece. Negotiations between the three Great Powers (Britain, France and Russia) resulted in the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece under a Bavarian Prince. The decisions were ratified in the Treaty of Constantinople later that Year. The treaty followed the Akkerman Convention which had previously recognized another territorial change in the Balkans, the suzerainty of Principality of Serbia.
1833 Jan 1

Epilogue

Greece

The consequences of the Greek revolution were somewhat ambiguous in the immediate aftermath. An independent Greek state had been established, but with Britain, Russia and France having significant influence in Greek politics, an imported Bavarian dynast as ruler, and a mercenary army. The country had been ravaged by ten years of fighting and was full of displaced refugees and empty Turkish estates, necessitating a series of land reforms over several decades.


As a people, the Greeks no longer provided the princes for the Danubian Principalities, and were regarded within the Ottoman Empire, especially by the Muslim population, as traitors. In Constantinople and the rest of the Ottoman Empire where Greek banking and merchant presence had been dominant, Armenians mostly replaced Greeks in banking, and Jewish merchants gained importance.


In the long-term historical perspective, this marked a seminal event in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, despite the small size and the impoverishment of the new Greek state. For the first time, a Christian subject people had achieved independence from Ottoman rule and established a fully independent state, recognized by Europe.


The newly established Greek state would become a catalyst for further expansion and, over the course of a century, parts of Macedonia, Crete, Epirus, many Aegean Islands, the Ionian Islands and other Greek-speaking territories would unite with the new Greek state.

Appendices



APPENDIX 1

Hellenism and Ottoman Rule, 1770 - 1821


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APPENDIX 2

Revolution and its Heroes, 1821-1831


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APPENDIX 3

The First Period of the Greek State: Kapodistrias and the Reign of Otto


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Characters



Rigas Feraios

Rigas Feraios

Greek Writer

Andreas Miaoulis

Andreas Miaoulis

Greek Admiral

Papaflessas

Papaflessas

Greek Priest

Athanasios Diakos

Athanasios Diakos

Greek Military Commander

Manto Mavrogenous

Manto Mavrogenous

Greek Heroine

Yannis Makriyannis

Yannis Makriyannis

Greek Military Officer

George Karaiskakis

George Karaiskakis

Greek Military Commander

Laskarina Bouboulina

Laskarina Bouboulina

Greek Naval Commander

References



  • Brewer, David (2003). The Greek War of Independence: The Struggle for Freedom from Ottoman Oppression and the Birth of the Modern Greek Nation. Overlook Press. ISBN 1-58567-395-1.
  • Clogg, Richard (2002) [1992]. A Concise History of Greece (Second ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00479-9.
  • Howarth, David (1976). The Greek Adventure. Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-10653-X.
  • Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans, 18th and 19th centuries. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-27458-3.
  • Koliopoulos, John S. (1987). Brigands with a Cause: Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece, 1821–1912. Clarendon. ISBN 0-19-888653-5.
  • Vacalopoulos, Apostolos E. (1973). History of Macedonia, 1354–1833 (translated by P. Megann). Zeno Publishers. ISBN 0-900834-89-7.