A cycle of folk songs pertaining to the Souliotes and mainly to their wars against the Turks and the Albanians of Ali Pasha in 18th and early 19th century.
The first collection of Souliotic songs was published by the French philologist and historian Claude Fauriel in 1824 in the 1st volume of his “Chants populaires de la Grèce moderne”, a cornerstone for French and Greek laography.[1]
A Souliotic song published in English (Lucy M.J. Garnett, 1888)
This was the first major collection of Greek folk songs (demotika) ever published in a European language. The songs are given in the original Greek and in French translation. Apart from the songs, this publication includes an extensive history of Souli and its wars (pages 223–283).
A footnote by Fauriel in p.283 indicates that the collection was completed before the death of Markos Botsaris, i.e. before 1823. In other parts of the “Chants populaires” Fauriel published other folk songs directly related to the Souliotes, e.g. “The death of Kitsos Botsaris”, and “The Deliberation of Ali Pasha” (vol. 2, 1825, pp.343–353).
Fauriel heard these songs from Greek refugees in Venice and Trieste.[2]
After Fauriel many Greek and European authors published more Souliotic songs, as Souliotes continued fighting in the Greek Revolution which ended in 1829. In 1844 D.H.Sanders published some of the songs and their translation in German.[3] In 1852 the Greek historian Sp. Zambelios included a dozen of Souliotic songs in his collection of Greek folk songs. Among them was one for the death of Markos Botsaris (p.644, song No 57).[4] Souliotic songs translated into English were published in 1888 by Lucy M.J. Garnett.[5]
Klephts were highwaymen turned self-appointed armatoloi, anti-Ottoman insurgents, and warlike mountain-folk who lived in the countryside when Greece was a part of the Ottoman Empire. They were the descendants of Greeks who retreated into the mountains during the 15th century in order to avoid Ottoman rule. They carried on a continuous war against Ottoman rule and remained active as brigands until the 19th century.
Markos Botsaris was a chieftain of the Souliotes and hero of the Greek War of Independence, and general of the Greek army. He played a key role in relieving the First Siege of Missolonghi in 1822–1823 and was awarded the title of General of Western Greece by the revolutionary Greek government. He was killed during the Battle of Karpenisi and was buried in Missolonghi with full honors. Today Botsaris is among the most revered national heroes in Greece.
The Battle of Karpenisi took place near the town of Karpenisi on the night of 21 August 1823, between units of the Greek revolutionary army and Ottoman troops.
The Dance of Zalongo refers to the mass suicide of women and their children from Souli that occurred in the aftermath of the invasion of Ottoman troops on December 16, 1803. The event is commemorated in Greece in the context of the Greek War of Independence. About 60 women were trapped near the village of Zalongo in Epirus, now modern Greece, then the Ottoman Empire, who decided to turn towards the cliff's edge and die with their infants and children rather than to submit to the Ottoman troops chasing them. According to tradition they did this one after the other while dancing and singing. The name also refers a number of Greek theatrical dramas and a song in folk style, commemorating the event, named "Dance of Zalongo".
Lakka Souliou is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dodoni, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 158.578 km2. Its population was 2,405 according to the census of 2011. Lakka Souliou is a historical site in the wider area of Souli.
Kitsos Tzavelas was a Souliot fighter of the Greek War of Independence and an officer of the Hellenic Army. He later entered politics and became Prime Minister of Greece.
Anastasios Karatasos was a Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence was born in the village of Dovras, Imathia and is considered to be the most important revolutionary from Macedonia.
Kitsos Botsaris, was a leader of the Souliotes, an autonomous community in Ottoman-ruled Epirus. He played a leading role in the aftermath of the last war between the Souliotes and the Ottoman ruler of Ioannina, Ali Pasha. He was the father of Kostas Botsaris and Markos Botsaris, who fought in the Greek War of Independence.
The Pashalik of Yanina, sometimes referred to as the Pashalik of Ioannina or Pashalik of Janina, was an autonomous pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large areas of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. The pashalik acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent under the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha, though this was never officially recognized by the Ottoman Empire. Its core was the Ioannina Eyalet, centred on the city of Ioannina in Epirus. At its peak, Ali Pasha and his sons ruled over southern and central Albania, the majority of mainland Greece, including Epirus, Thessaly, West Macedonia, western Central Macedonia, Continental Greece, and the Peloponnese, and parts of southwestern North Macedonia around Ohrid and Manastir.
The war between the warlike communities of Souliotes in Epirus and the local Ottoman ruler, Ali Pasha, in 1803, was the last of a series of conflicts, known as the Souliote Wars, that led, finally, to the capitulation and expulsion of the Souliotes.
Kostas (Kitsos) Botsaris, also known as Constantine Botzaris, was a Greek general and senator. He was also a captain and a hero of the War of Greek Independence. He fought at the Battle of Karpenisi and completed the victory of his brother, the renowned Markos Botsaris.
The Albanian Regiment was a military unit of the First French Empire formed in 1807 in Corfu. Consisting mainly of Albanians, but also Greeks, Italians and Dalmatians, it was commanded by Colonel Jean-Louis Toussaint Minot and served mainly as defense unit in the French-ruled Ionian Islands. It was disbanded in 1814.
The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the Greek nation.
Lambros Tzavelas was a leader of the Souliotes. Lambros Tzavelas was famous for his role in the Souliot struggles against Ali Pasha, the Pasha of Yanina. Tzavelas was born in Souli.
The Greek Legion, officially the Light Jäger Foot Legion, was a Jäger infantry unit in the service of the Russian-controlled Septinsular Republic. It consisted of soldiers of Greek and Albanian origin and was led by Major-General Emmanouil Papadopoulos. It was active between 1805 and 1807, taking part in the War of the Third Coalition and the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812).
The Souliote War was an armed conflict between Ali Pasha of Ioannina and a coalition of Souliotes and their Muslim allies. The war lasted between February 1789 and April 1793 and was fought in the context of the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) and local power struggles. The Souliotes achieved a defensive victory but their actions did not foment a Christian insurrection as the Russians had hoped.
Lambros Koutsonikas was a Greek general and fighter of the Greek Revolution of 1821, army officer and amateur historian of the Revolution.
George Liolios Xirolivaditis or Xerolivadiotis was a Greek armatolos and fighter of the Greek Revolution in 1821 who lived from the late 18th century until the mid of the 19th century.
Notis Botsaris Greek: Νότης Μπότσαρης was a Souliote fighter and general in the Greek Revolution of 1821. He was the son of the late Giorgis Botsaris and was the leader of the Souliote fara of the Botsari.
Sons of Chaos is a historically inspired 2019 graphic novel written by Chris Jaymes surrounding the 1821 Greek War for Independence which returned freedom to Greece and initiated the fall of the Ottoman Empire, published by Penguin Random House.
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