A Souliot man

The Souliots (also known as Suli, Souliotes and Souli) were deemed by the great poet Andreas Kalvos as the descendants of the Selloi (in his 30-lined ode entitled "Eis Souli" or "To the Souli"). In support of the poet's belief, a Greek historian by the name of Constantine Pantazi proved that the area that is currently northwestern Greece (i.e. Epirus) was populated by one of the first ancient Hellenic tribes (i.e. Selloi) since 800 B.C. The area was called Thesprotia by the Selloi. In around 1600 A.D., the Souli migrated from the plains of Thesprotia up into the mountains of Mourgas and built the "Tetrahori" or "Four Villages" populated by clans that resisted the Ottoman Empire Souli: The Impregnable Fortress (http://www.epirusnews.gr/history/souli/). Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Albanian Çamëria) is a province in northwestern Greece (a Greek periphery) bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the Ambracian Gulf and the province of West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the... Greece, formally called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. ... Thesprotia (Greek: Θεσπρωτία) is one of the fifty-one prefectures of Greece. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ...

The Ottoman Turks attempted numerous times to conquer the territories of the Souliot Confederacy. In 1731, Hatzi Achmet, pasha of Ioannina, acquired orders from the Sultan to subdue the Souliots. He lost his army of 8000 men. In 1754, Mustapha Pasha lost his army to the Souliots too. In the following years Mustapha Kokka came in with 4000 soldiers, and Bekir Pasha with 5000. Both failed to defeat the Souliots. In 1759, Dost Bey, commander of Dhelvinou, was defeated by the Souliots. Maxoud Aga of Margariti, the governor of Arta, suffered the same fate in 1762. In 1772, Suleiman Tsapari attacked the Souliots with his army of 9000 men and was defeated. In 1775, an expedition of Kurt Pasha failed. When in 1788 the notorious Ali became pasha of Ioannina, he tried for 15 years to destroy the Souliots. In 1792, his army of 3000 Albanians was eliminated. Although he had hostages (such as Fotos Tzavellas who was the son of Lambros Tzavellas), Suliots under the command of Georgios Botsaris, Lambros Tzavellas, and Dimos Drakos fought very bravely. Even women under the command of Mosho (Lambros Tzavellas' wife) participated in the battle. Eventually, 2000 Turkoalbanians and 74 Souliots were killed Suli - Epirus (http://members.fortunecity.com/fstav1/1821/fort1821/suli.html). This article discusses the rank/title used in the Ottoman Empire. ... Ioannina (Greek: Ιωάννινα, often Γιάννενα Giannena, Yiannena or Γιάννινα Giannina, Yiannina ; Albanian: Janinë or Janina; Aromanian: Ianina, Bulgarian: Янина Janina) is a city in and capital of Epirus, Greece, with a population of approximately 100,000 and sitting at an elevation of 600 metres above sea level. ... Ambracia (more correctly Ampracia) was an ancient Corinthian colony, situated about 7 miles from the Ambracian Gulf in Greece, on a bend of the navigable river Aracthus (or Aratthus), in the midst of a fertile wooded plain. ...

The Souliots obtained all of their supplies from Parga and also acquired support from Europe. Russia and France provided weapons and ammunition to the Souliots. For the European powers, the Souliots were seen as an instument to weaken the Ottoman Empire. When the British politicians turned in favour of the Ottoman Empire in order to strengthen their forces against Napoleon, the weapons and ammunition supplies were interrupted. Without support from outside and wearied by years of siege, the unity of the Souliot clans started to split. The Botsaris family for political reasons left Souli and parleyed with Ali Pasha. However, the remaining Souliots gathered together in Saint George's Greek Orthodox Church and decided to win or to die. They were no more than 2000 armed men. The main leaders were Fotos Tzavellas, Dimos Drakos, Tousas Zervas, Koutzonikas, Gogkas Dagles, Giannakes Sehos, Fotomaras, Veikos, Panou, Zigoures Diamades, and George Bousbos. The Souliots won all of the decisive battles, so Ali Pasha was forced to build castles in neighboring villages and prepared himself for a long siege. The Souliots stayed without food and ammunition, but they could have held longer if not for a traitor named Pelios Gouses who helped the Ottomans to enter in the village of Souli. The Souliots withdrew to the fortresses of Kiafa and Kughi, where they fought their last battle on December 7, 1803. They capitulated and Ali Pasha promised to release them with all of their property and even weapons to the Ionian Islands Suli - Epirus (http://members.fortunecity.com/fstav1/1821/fort1821/suli.html). For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Ionia a view of Kerkyra The Ionian Islands (Greek: Ionia Nisia, Ιόνια Νήσια) are a group of islands in Greece. ...

On December 12, 1803, the Souliots left Souli towards the Epirotian coast. A monk named Samuel remained in Kughi and set fire to the powder magazines with a massive explosion that cost him his life. In the meantime, the Turkish army attacked the other Souliots, neglecting the promises Ali Pasha had made to them. On December 18, 1803, 22 Souliot women, after dancing, jumped with their children from the rock of Zalongo, in order to avoid capture by the Turks. One family (Despo, the wife of Gerge Botzi) chose suicide in the fortress of the village of Riniassa by setting fire to a powder magazine. A number of Souliots also reached the harbour of Parga, which was under British control at the time. The Souliots either settled down in Parga or set off to the Ionian islands. When there were clear signs for the beginning of a Greek resurrection against Turkish rule, Ali Pasha saw his opportunity for making Epirus into an independent state. In 1820, he called the Souliots for help, and they returned to the mainland to support their former enemy against the Sultan. However, Ali Pasha's plans failed and he was killed while the Turks occupied Ioannina. The Souliots eventually gave their support for the Greek Revolution, which started on March 25, 1821. The Suliot leaders Markos Botsaris and Kitsos Tzavellas became famous generals in the War of Independence. Many Suliots lost their lives while defending the city of Messolongi. Lord Byron, the most prominent European volunteer and commander-in-chief of the Greek army in Western Greece, tried to integrate the Souliots into a regular army. Until 1909, the Turks kept a military base on the fortress of Kiafa. Finally in 1913, during the Balkan Wars, the Greek army liberated the southern part of Epirus Suli - Epirus (http://members.fortunecity.com/fstav1/1821/fort1821/suli.html). Messolonghi, also Messolongi, Mesolongi (Greek, Modern: Μεσολόγγι, Ancient/Katharevousa: -on), older forms Messolongio, Mesolongio, Messolongion, Messolonghion is a town of about 12,000 people (as of 1991 census) in central Greece. ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... The outcome as of April 1914 The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912-1913 in the course of which the Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria) first conquered Ottoman-held Macedonia and most of Thrace and then fell out of fellowship over the division...