| Kasos massacre | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Massacres during the Greek War of Independence | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kasiots | Ottoman Egypt | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Ismael Gibraltar Djiritli Hüseyn Bey | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 500 dead, over 2,000 sold as slaves | 30 killed and wounded | ||||||
  Location of Kasos within Greece | |||||||
The Kasos massacre was the massacre of Greek civilians during the Greek War of Independence by Ottoman forces after the Greek Christian population rebelled against the Ottoman Empire.
At the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, Kasos was semi-autonomous, some of its inhabitants had prospered by engaging in trade. It possessed a population of 7,000 people and a fleet of approximately 100 ships. [1] With the onset of hostilities, the Kasiots began raiding the coasts of Anatolia, the Levant, and even Egypt. Under their elected admiral, Nikolaos Gioulios, they also often gave aid to the other Greek rebels in Crete, Samos, and elsewhere. [2] [3] As George Finlay reports, "It was said that the Kasiots usually murdered their captives at sea", especially since the island was barren and could with difficulty sustain its existing population. [2] Apostolos Vakalopoulos also points out that control of Kasos was necessary for consolidating Ottoman–Egyptian control over rebellious Crete; strategically, Kasos was analogous with Samos and Psara as an advanced bulwark and base of operations for the Greek revolutionaries. [4]
Already in June 1823, an Egyptian fleet commanded by Ismael Gibraltar disembarked 3,000 Albanian troops under Djiritli Hüseyn Bey at Crete. [2] [5] By spring 1824, Hüseyn Bey, by a judicious mixture of force and terror, combined with amnesty towards the Greek rebel leaders who were willing to submit, had managed to wipe out the Greek revolt in Crete. [6] With Crete subdued, the Ottoman sultan, Mahmud II, and his semi-autonomous governor in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, turned their attention on Kasos and resolved to make an example of the island. [2] [4]
The Kasiots learned of their intentions, sending letters to the Provisional Administration of Greece to request aid, but the government replied that it was unable to mobilize the fleet for lack of money. [7] The Egyptian fleet first appeared off the island on 2 June, launched an ineffectual bombardment, and made moves as if to land troops; as this was probably merely a reconnaissance mission, it soon departed. It was not until 18 June that the full 45 ships of the Egyptian fleet appeared off the island. [8]
The island was not well fortified, apart from a few guns placed at the coast to cover the likely landing place. [9] The Egyptian commanders furthermore contrived to deceive the islanders: after sailing past the island exchanging heavy artillery fire for two days with the defenders—on the 19th alone the Egyptians fired over 4,000 shots—the fleet moved towards the northern tip of the island. There it launched 18 great boats, pretending that it would make landing there, covered by much musket fire; while 24 boats with 1,500 Albanians landed behind the village of Agia Marina under cover of night on 19 June. [10] [11] The bulk of the population lived in the four mountainous villages around the main town, which were now between two hostile forces. Hüseyn Bey issued a call for surrender, rejecting requests for time to consider the proposal. Finally, the village elders chose to submit; this did not prevent Hüseyn Bey from executing many of them later. [9] [12] [13] A number of Kasiots managed to escape by sailing to Karpathos. [1]
The men who were posted on the shore batteries on the western side, under a certain Captain Markos, put up firmer resistance, but they too were overcome, as the Albanians, veterans of mountain warfare, used the cover provided by the higher ground to approach and defeat them, suffering only 30 killed and wounded in the process. [9] [13] Markos himself was captured and brought bound before Hüseyn Bey, where suddenly he managed to break his bonds, grab a knife from one of his guards, and kill three of them before he too as killed. [13] The Albanians were given 24 hours to plunder at will; the Egyptian troops seized much plunder, as well as 15 larger and 40 smaller vessels, while three newly built ships and all the damaged ones were burned. After that, however, Ismael Gibraltar and Hüseyn Bey firmly restored order on the island, executing three Arabs who disobeyed orders to that effect. [9] [14] [15]
500 Kasiot men were slain, but a general massacre was averted allegedly because the first Albanians to come ashore were Christians, who interceded with their Muslim fellows to spare most of the male population. Over 2,000 women and children were captured, a small number was bought back by their relatives while the rest were sent to the slave markets of Egypt and Crete. [14] [13] The Egyptian admiral managed to recruit a considerable number of survivors—as well as from the neighbouring islands of Karpathos and Symi—as sailors into his own fleet, offering a salary of 50 kuruş a month, before returning in triumph to Alexandria with his captured vessels, as well as fifteen elders and the families of the principal Kasiots as hostages. [14] [16] [15]
News of the danger facing Kasos arrived at Hydra on the 21st, and the Greek fleet under Antonios Kriezis mobilized with much delay and difficulty, not arriving before the island until 2 July. Kriezis patrolled the waters between Karpathos and Rodos without encountering any hostile ships. The agha left as governor by Ismael Gibraltar fled the island to Karpathos, but the island was entirely destroyed; Vice Admiral Georgios Sachtouris and his captains proposed to the islanders to transport them to the Peloponnese, but the Kasiots refused, and the Greek fleet, receiving news that the main Ottoman fleet had set sail from Constantinople, was forced to leave the island. [17] [18] Indeed, the destruction of Kasos was followed soon after by another, heavier blow for the Greeks: the Destruction of Psara. [19] [20] [21]
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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom 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, which would be expanded to its modern size in later years. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March every year.
The Dodecanese are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the wider Southern Sporades island group.
The Orlov revolt was a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese and later also in Crete that broke out in February 1770, following the arrival of Russian Admiral Alexey Orlov, commander of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), at the Mani Peninsula. The revolt, a major precursor to the Greek War of Independence, was part of Catherine the Great's so-called "Greek Plan" and was eventually suppressed by the Ottomans.
Karpathos, also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the Karpathos regional unit. Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. The island has also been called Carpathus in Latin and Scarpanto in Italian.
Psara is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The only town of the island and seat of the municipality is also called Psara.
Laskarina Pinotsi, commonly known as Bouboulina, was a Greek naval commander, heroine of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, and considered perhaps the first woman to attain the rank of admiral.
The Third Siege of Missolonghi 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. Their support would prove decisive in helping the Greeks win the war and gain independence.
Dimitrios Kallergis was a fighter of the Greek War of Independence, major general, politician and one of the most important protagonists of the 3 September 1843 Revolution.
Lambros Katsonis was a Greek privateer of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank of colonel. He became a knight of the Russian Empire and was awarded the Order of St. George.
Kasos, also Casos, is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the Karpathos regional unit. The capital of the island is Fri. As of 2021, its population was 1,224.
The Destruction of Psara was the killing of thousands of Greeks on the island of Psara by Ottoman troops during the Greek War of Independence in 1824.
There were numerous massacres during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) perpetrated by both the Ottoman forces and the Greek revolutionaries. The war was characterized by a lack of respect for civilian life, and prisoners of war on both sides of the conflict. Massacres of Greeks took place especially in Ionia, Crete, Constantinople, Macedonia and the Aegean islands. Turkish, Albanian, Greeks, and Jewish populations, who were identified with the Ottomans inhabiting the Peloponnese, suffered massacres, particularly where Greek forces were dominant. Settled Greek communities in the Aegean Sea, Crete, Central and Southern Greece were wiped out, and settled Turkish, Albanian, Greeks, and smaller Jewish communities in the Peloponnese were destroyed.
The Morean war, also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged from Dalmatia to the Aegean Sea, but the war's major campaign was the Venetian conquest of the Morea (Peloponnese) peninsula in southern Greece. On the Venetian side, the war was fought to avenge the loss of Crete in the Cretan War (1645–1669). It happened while the Ottomans were entangled in their northern struggle against the Habsburgs – beginning with the failed Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna and ending with the Habsburgs gaining Buda and the whole of Hungary, leaving the Ottoman Empire unable to concentrate its forces against the Venetians. As such, the Morean War was the only Ottoman–Venetian conflict from which Venice emerged victorious, gaining significant territory. Venice's expansionist revival would be short-lived, as its gains would be reversed by the Ottomans in 1718.
The Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War was fought between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire between 1714 and 1718. It was the last conflict between the two powers, and ended with an Ottoman victory and the loss of Venice's major possession in the Greek peninsula, the Peloponnese (Morea). Venice was saved from a greater defeat by the intervention of Austria in 1716. The Austrian victories led to the signing of the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, which ended the war.
The Battle of Samos was a naval battle fought on August 5–17, 1824 off the Greek island of Samos during the Greek War of Independence.
The Battle of Nauplia or Battle of Spetses was a series of naval engagements lasting from 8 to 13 September (O.S.) 1822 in the Gulf of Nauplia between the Greek Fleet and the Ottoman Fleet during the Greek War of Independence. Although neither side sustained significant losses, the Ottomans withdrew after three failed attempts to break through the Greek fleet, and the battle is considered a Greek victory. The Ottoman fleet of ninety-four vessels under the command of Mohammed Ali was sent to destroy Greek forces at Hydra and Spetses and to relieve the besieged Ottoman garrison at Nauplia (Nafplio).
The Battle of Andros or Battle of Kafireas was fought on 17–18 May 1790, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792, between Cape Kafireas and the island of Andros, between the ships of Lambros Katsonis, a Greek privateer in Imperial Russian service, and an Algerian fleet of 30–32 vessels. The battle was a major victory for the Ottomans, as Katsonis lost five ships and his flotilla ceased to exist as an operational unit. On the other hand, the Ottomans suffered heavy casualties as well, and Katsonis was able to escape and reconstitute his forces, remaining active until the end of the war.
Ismael Gibraltar was an Ottoman admiral active during the Greek War of Independence as the commander of the Egyptian fleet.
Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, commonly known as Kara Ali Pasha, was an Ottoman-Albanian admiral during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence. In 1821, as second-in-command of the Ottoman navy, he succeeded in resupplying the isolated Ottoman fortresses in the Peloponnese, while his subordinate Ismael Gibraltar destroyed Galaxeidi. Promoted to Kapudan Pasha, and led the suppression of the revolt in Chios and the ensuing Chios massacre in April 1822. He was killed when a fireship captained by Konstantinos Kanaris blew up his flagship in Chios harbour on the night of 18/19 June 1822.
The burning of the Ottoman flagship off Chios took place on the night of 18 June 1822. The event, occurring during the Greek War of Independence, was a reprisal for the Chios massacre which occurred two months earlier. Two thousand Ottoman sailors were killed, as was Nasuhzade Ali Pasha, the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy.
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