Panaiotis Kefalas ( Greek: Παναγιώτης Κεφάλα ;? Dirrahi Messinia Ottoman Empire - 1825 Maniaki, Messinia ) - Greek warlord of the period of the Liberation War of Greece (1821-1829). Distinguished when taking Tripoli . He died in 1825 in the "Leonid Battle" at Maniaki . Imprinted in the paintings of the Bavarian artist Peter von Hess and the Greek primitivist Theophilos [1] .
Panagiotis Kefalas | |
---|---|
Παναγιώτης Κεφάλας | |
Unknown artist. Portrait of P. Kefalas. Benaki Museum | |
Date of Birth | or |
Place of Birth | Dirrahi Messinia , Ottoman Empire |
Date of death | June 1, 1825 |
Place of death | Maniaki, Messinia |
Affiliation | Greek rebels |
Type of army | irregular troops |
Battles / Wars | The siege of Tripoli , |
Biography
Kefalas was born in the village of Dirrahi to the Diocese of Andrus Messenia [2] . At a mature age, he entered the secret Greek revolutionary organization, Filiki Eteria , who set herself the goal of liberating Greece from the Ottoman occupation . On the eve of the 1821 uprising, together with Papaflessass Anagnostaras and Nikitaras, he was hiding in the monastery of St. Ilya near the city of Kalamata , awaiting a load of ammunition from Smyrna [3] . He took part in one of the first actions of the rebels, the liberation of the city of Kalamata, after which he took part in the capture of the fortress of St. Athanasius Karitena. He followed Theodore Kolokotronis in an attempt by the latter to create a ring of the Siege of Tripoli and occupied the bastion with Waltesi [3] . In the second battle of Valtesi , on May 12-13, 1821, together with Kolokotronis, Kiryak and Ilya Mavromikhalis, Plaputas , Emorphopulos and Yatracos, won a decisive victory over the Turks, which became the prelude of taking Tripoli [3] .
For some time in historiography, it was widely believed that the detachment of Kefalas was the first to break into the fortress city. In fact, Kefalas was second, after Manolis Dunias. Bavarian painter Peter von Hess captured Kefalas in his picture of the insurgents in Tripoli. The same motive was later repeated by the Greek primitivist Theophilos [3] .
Under the command of Kolokotronisa, he took part in the defeat of the Turkish troops Dramali Pasha during Dervenakia in July 1822 [3] .
However, in the ensuing civil strife he was on the side of the opponents of Kolokotronis and was captured by the son of the latter, Genneos [3] [3] .
With the words "and you, old cow, raised a gun against me" Kolokotronis released him to freedom [3] .
In 1824, the Turkish sultan was forced to turn for help to his vassal, Mohamed Ali, the ruler of Egypt, who had an army and navy organized by European officers. After the start of the Egyptian invasion in the spring of 1825 in Peloponnese , Kefalas, with only 20 of its fighters [3] , followed in late May of that year, after a small detachment of Papaflessas to meet the Egyptian troops. Papaflessass is located near the village of Maniaki, near Pylos (Navarin). Seeing the small strength of Papaflessass, Kefalas tried to persuade him to withdraw. But he was determined to give his "Leonid Battle" and shamed Kefalas. This conversation was concluded with the words of the Vidis maniata: “Let's go to the bastions and who will be alive, let them listen to the songs of the grieving women.”
Panayotis Kefalas died the hero’s death at the Battle of Maniaki on June 1, 1825.
Sources
- Φώτιος Χρυσανθόπουλοο. Πελοποννησίων ανδρών και Βίοι των εξώθεν εις mv Πελοπόννησον ελθόντων κληρικών, στρατιωτικών και των πολιτικών αγωνισαμένων τον αγώνα tes επαναστάσεως . - Αθήνα: Σταύρος Ανδρόπουλος, Τυπογραφείο Π. Δ. Σακελλαρου, 1888.
Links
- ↑ argolikivivliothiki.gr
- ↑ drt915.gr
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Δημήτρης Φωτιάδης, Η Επανάσταση του 1821, εκδ. Μέλισσα 1971