Chapter 7

• After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, nearly all the remaining areas occupied by Greeks came under Ottoman rule
• The few remaining under the Venetians, Genoese, other Latins or Franks were soon to follow
• Greek culture had captivated the vast Roman Empire and transformed it, but the Muslim Turks were unmoved by it
• While the Ottomans did not believe in forcible conversion to Islam, Christians were treated as second-class citizens, and there were periods during which they were persecuted
• The Parthenon on the hill of Akropolis, in Athens, which had already been converted by the Romans from a pagan shrine into a church in the sixth century, the Turks now converted into a mosque
• Greece itself is relatively barren, and very little of the terrain is arable so agricultural production was limited
• Greece was placed under Turkish governors whose principal duty on behalf of their government was to collect taxes
• While there were many abuses and rights were few for the Greek population, for the most part if they obeyed the Ottoman laws they were left to their own devices
• Under the more efficient feudal system of the Franks and the Venetians, life had been more harsh compared to the more casual, Oriental Turkish style of administration
• The Turkish government also did nothing for the people of the lands they occupied
• Poverty was widespread, and survival was the primary goal for the great majority
• Some Greeks fared well under the Ottomans, as the Turkish governors were not about to discourage an increase in productivity and trade that increased their own incomes and the taxes they collected
• Cotton and tobacco growing and processing in central Greece became sizable industries, a fur industry developed around Kastoria, in the north, and silk weaving in the towns of Mount Pelion (near Volos), both becoming large commercial enterprises
• Activities related to the sea were largely in Greek hands, especially for those people living in the smaller, strategically placed islands relatively free from Turkish presence
• Some of the Greeks who lived in the areas of Constantinople, Smyrna, and other parts of Asia Minor fared even better, especially from the eighteenth century on, as the Turks found useful their commercial and diplomatic abilities and talent in languages
• The Greek Patriarch in Constantinople was looked upon by the Turks as the ethnic leader of the Greeks, not just their spiritual leader
• The Greek peninsula had gone from independent city-states in antiquity, to Roman, Franco-Venetian, Byzantine, and now Ottoman occupation - it never was a nation in the modern sense, to enable people to feel a sense of nationalism
• During the nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule, many other people lived in Greece: among them, Vlachs, Serbs, Bulgars, Albanians, and Turks, and many languages were spoken in addition to Greek
• The few architectural ruins that could be seen, dating from the Classical Period, imparted little feeling of Greek historical continuity to the viewer
• The naval battle of Lepanto took place on October 7, 1571, where a Holy League of Christian states defeated the Ottoman navy
• Russia as the now dominant Orthodox power, was hostile to the Muslim Turks and supportive of the Orthodox Greeks, which fired their ambitions
• Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Ottoman rule began to weaken, for many political and economic reasons
• The American Revolution and the French Revolution began to intensify the desire for independence in Greece
• The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Constantinople was situated in the Phanar district, and the Greeks that began to distinguish themselves in the Turkish court and had close contact with the Patriarch became known as the "Phanariotes"
• Many Phanariotes became active in the Danubian provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia, and they insinuated themselves into the royal court and soon they virtually took over political and administrative leadership
• The Philiki Etairia, or "Society of Friends," was a secret revolutionary political body dedicated to the idea of returning Greece to the "former Christian glory of Byzantium"
• A key group among the Greeks living in their subjected country were the klephtes (klephts) and armatoloi (armed men), who had become bands of armed brigands living in the rough mountainous regions or other remote areas throughout Greece
• Among the klephtes and armatoloi were Makriyannis, Athanasios Diakos, Theodoros Kolokotronis, and Markos Botsaris
• The Philiki Etairia was a secret society with thousands of members, various grades of membership, and secret signs
• None of the groups aspiring for the liberation of Greece could hope to achieve success without the help of the Greeks themselves actually living in their subjected country
• Key groups among the Greeks living in Greece


  • Patriots
  • Outlaws
  • Volunteers
  • Bands of armed brigands living in the rough mountainous regions or other remote areas throughout Greece, out of sight of the Turkish authorities
• Klephtes (klephts)


  Stealthily preyed on rich Turks or Greek collaborators
• Armatoloi (armed men)


  Greek civil guards recruited by the Turks, some of whom had turned klephts, secretly or actually
• Kapetanaioi (captains or commanders)

  • Makriyannis
  • Athanasios Diakos
  • Theodoros Kolokotronis
  • Markos Botsaris
• Others ready to serve the cause

  • Admirals Andreas Miaoulis
  • Konstantinos Kanaris
• By the time the revolution began in 1821, many of these Greek fighting men and leaders had been organized and armed by the Etairia
• The timing of the events to free Greece were greatly influenced by the attack of the Turkish army in mid-1820 against the rebellious Albanian Ali Pasha, powerful Turkish governor of the large province of Epiros
• Ali Pasha


  A cruel, treacherous, and self-serving conniver, he actually became a member of the Etairia while serving Sultan Mahmoud II
• Ali Pasha waged a personal vendetta against important figures of the Sultan's court

  The furious Sultan finally ordered him deposed
• The Greeks saw this as an opportunity to press their cause, with the Turkish forces withdrawn from their garrisons throughout Greece and fully engaged against the armies of Ali Pasha