This is a picture of the Greek war hero, Theodorus Kolokotronis (Above Left), he was in a group that the Turks called "Klephtes", that is, a group of freed slave rebels of the Ottoman Empire.
Background
The Greek Empire of Byzantium ended on Tuesday, May 29th, 1453, when its capital, Constantinople, fell to the Turks. This day is still known as the black day in Greek history. Over the next 400 years, the Greek have been enslaved by the Turks. They were mistreated, and deprived as their rights. Most people say they were treated as second class citizens. There were multiple attempts by the Greeks to gain their freedom, but they were unsuccessful and very costly. The Greek race was nearly at extinction, and most Greeks decided to become Musulmans
or Muslims, just to live a decent life, other Greeks fled and founded communities in Odessus, Vienna, Venetian, Kiev, and elsewhere.Some
Greeks were very fortunate though, some led good lives in places like Constantinople, and they were educated and served the Turks in public posts. In
the islands the Greeks, after a treaty, were able to serve in the Russian merchant group. But those were the fortunate, others were as we said, enslaved,
and works in farms all day to pay of taxes from the tyrant. Some of these men rebelled against the Turks and ran away and lived in the caves of Greece. They were called “Klephtes” by the Turks. The Turks gave Greek villagers called “Armatoloi” weapons to fight the Klephtes, but most of time they usually fought with their brothers and fought the Turks in order to destroy them. The Armatoloi and the Klephtes were very important in the war because they gained a lot of fighting experience against the Turks and their tactics.
In 1814, three Greek merchants named
Emmanaouil Xanthos, Athanasios Tsakaloff, and Nickolaos Scouphas establish a secret organization known as the “Philiki Etaireia”. The purpose of this was to prepare Greece and gather support for the oncoming struggle for its independence. This was quite brave of these men to do. On February
22nd, 1821 General Alexandros Ypsylantis, the leader of the Philiki, along with a small army crossed the Pruth River, which marked the border of
Russia. Unfortunately, he and his army were defeated by the Turks. The actual beginning date of the revolution was March 23, 1821; When Kolokotronis liberated the city of Kalamata. This really agitated the Turks, they wanted revenge. So when the Turkish fleet reached the Island of Chios, they murdered 50,000 of the islands inhabitants, burned their homes and property, and the rest were sold to slave bazaars.
In 1827 a treaty was signed in London in which all warfares should stop. So European powers (Russia, France, England) sent their naval fleets to Navarino Bay on October of 1827, in order to guarantee for the observance of the treaty. There accidentally broke a naval battle and the united Turkish, Egyptian and Tunisian fleet in a few hours, was destroyed. Finally and after Russian pressure against Sultan, the independence of Greece was declared in 1829 in Adrianople which was then under Russian control.
or Muslims, just to live a decent life, other Greeks fled and founded communities in Odessus, Vienna, Venetian, Kiev, and elsewhere.Some
Greeks were very fortunate though, some led good lives in places like Constantinople, and they were educated and served the Turks in public posts. In
the islands the Greeks, after a treaty, were able to serve in the Russian merchant group. But those were the fortunate, others were as we said, enslaved,
and works in farms all day to pay of taxes from the tyrant. Some of these men rebelled against the Turks and ran away and lived in the caves of Greece. They were called “Klephtes” by the Turks. The Turks gave Greek villagers called “Armatoloi” weapons to fight the Klephtes, but most of time they usually fought with their brothers and fought the Turks in order to destroy them. The Armatoloi and the Klephtes were very important in the war because they gained a lot of fighting experience against the Turks and their tactics.
In 1814, three Greek merchants named
Emmanaouil Xanthos, Athanasios Tsakaloff, and Nickolaos Scouphas establish a secret organization known as the “Philiki Etaireia”. The purpose of this was to prepare Greece and gather support for the oncoming struggle for its independence. This was quite brave of these men to do. On February
22nd, 1821 General Alexandros Ypsylantis, the leader of the Philiki, along with a small army crossed the Pruth River, which marked the border of
Russia. Unfortunately, he and his army were defeated by the Turks. The actual beginning date of the revolution was March 23, 1821; When Kolokotronis liberated the city of Kalamata. This really agitated the Turks, they wanted revenge. So when the Turkish fleet reached the Island of Chios, they murdered 50,000 of the islands inhabitants, burned their homes and property, and the rest were sold to slave bazaars.
In 1827 a treaty was signed in London in which all warfares should stop. So European powers (Russia, France, England) sent their naval fleets to Navarino Bay on October of 1827, in order to guarantee for the observance of the treaty. There accidentally broke a naval battle and the united Turkish, Egyptian and Tunisian fleet in a few hours, was destroyed. Finally and after Russian pressure against Sultan, the independence of Greece was declared in 1829 in Adrianople which was then under Russian control.