GREECE. (REVOLUTION.) 



of the Greeks. But no power was willing to declare 

 itself openly in their favour, before Russia had mani- 

 fested her sentiments. The emperor Alexander had 

 broken off direct diplomatic relations with the Porte. 

 He insisted upon the entire evacuation of Moldavia 

 and Walachia. 



The events of the year 1823 were not less bloody 

 and confused than those of the preceding years. 

 Whilst, in Thessaly and Epirus, there was a suspen- 

 sion of arms ; and the Greek flag (eight blue and 

 white horizontal stripes) commanded the sea, the 

 populace in Constantinople manifested their rage by 

 setting fire to different parts of the city because they 

 were prevented from committing massacres. March 

 1, 1823, an attempt was made to pillage and burn 

 the Greek suburbs ; but the wind drove the flames 

 against the Turkish quarters. Four times the sea 

 of fire rolled against the Greek quarters, and four 

 times a fresh north wind rolled it back against the 

 Turkish houses. Pera was saved ; but 6000 Turkish 

 houses, part of the cannon foundery (Tophana), and 

 part of the naval arsenal, were reduced to ashes. 

 The Mussulmans finally cried out, " God is with the 

 Giaours." The grand-vizier Abdullah was dismissed 

 in consequence of this conflagration, and Ali Bey, 

 a pacha hostile to the janizaries, succeeded him. 

 These troops, therefore, meditated vengeance ; and, 

 July 13, a new fire broke out, which consumed 15CO 

 private houses, and three frigates. Order was, 

 however, restored by severe measures ; more favour- 

 able news arrived from Asia ; and the sultan resolved 

 on a general war of extermination against the 

 Greeks, on account of which he called all Mussul- 

 mans, from fifteen to sixty years, to arms. On the 

 other hand, Greece endeavoured to organize an army 

 and a financial system. The dissolved battalion of 

 Philhellenists became the nucleus of the first Greek 

 regiment. Mavrocordato was placed at the head of 

 the land forces. The minister of the marine (Orlan- 

 di, a Hydriot) organized the navy, which consisted, 

 in 1823, of 403 sail, with cannon. The, largest (the 

 Hercules) carried twenty-six guns. The rich Hydriot, 

 Miaulis, was admiral ; Manuel Tumbasis of Hydra, 

 George Demitracci of Spezzia, and Nicolos Aposto- 

 ios of Ipsara, vice-admirals. A Greek order of 

 merit (a light blue cross) was established. The 

 financial department met with great difficulties every 

 where, particularly on the islands. The disputes of 

 the government with the Hydriot navarchs, on the 

 subject of arrears of pay and the booty of Napoli, 

 which the capitani were unwilling to divide with the 

 islanders, had a bad effect on the naval operations. 

 The Greek fleet, however, gained a victory (March 

 22, 1 823) over an Egyptian flotilla destined for Candia; 

 but it was unable to prevent the landing of Turkish 

 troops ; and the daring expeditions of the Ipsariots 

 and Samiots on the coast of Asia Minor were without 

 important results. When the fleet of the capudan 

 pacha finally appeared, in June, the Greek ships re- 

 tired, and supplied Caristo and Negropont in Eubcea, 

 Patras, Coron, and Modon in the Morea, and Lepan- 

 to, with fresh troops and provisions. The land forces 

 of the Greeks were now systematically distributed. 

 Mavrocordato was at the head of the whole. He 

 had prevented the trial of Colocotroni, who was 

 accused of treachery, and won over that capitano by 

 promoting his election to the vice-presidency and to 

 the post of second in command. Of the forces, the 

 command in chief in Western Hellas was given to 

 the Suliot Marco Botzaris ; in Eastern Hellas Ulysses 

 commanded. The Suliots were faithful and trusty 

 allies. The Albanian tribes, who had caused the 

 defeat of Omer Vrione by their desertion of him, 

 were less to be relied on, These tribes sold them- 

 selves to the highest bidder ; some bands accepted 



the offers of the pacha of Scutari, who marched 

 against the Greeks in 1823. The insurrection of the 

 inhabitants of Eastern Thessaly had obliged Mehe- 

 nied Pacha (the murderer of Ali,), the second succes- 

 sor of the seraskier Khurshid, who had collected the 

 ruins of Khurshid's army after the defeat at Larissa, 

 to retreat from the southern part of Thessaly. In 

 his rear, Saloniki and Seres were threatened by the 

 Greek officer Diamantis, who had taken possession 

 of the peninsula of Cassandra (Feb. 23, 1823). But 

 the troops from Rumelia soon drove him back. The 

 army under the seraskier of Rumelia (25,000 strong), 

 after five months' preparation, finally opened the 

 campaign, in June, from Larissa. It advanced with 

 caution, in two masses, towards Livadia. But the 

 Greeks, under Mavromichalis and Mavrocordato, 

 instead of waiting for them behind the isthmus, took 

 a position near Megara, and Colocotroni received a 

 command over the forces of Ulysses and Niketas, 

 with whose bands the Peloponnesian army united near 

 Plataea. From this place they advanced against the 

 enemy, towards the end of June. After some fight- 

 ing in detail, Ulysses defeated one of the main 

 bodies of the Turks, under Mehemet Pacha, at 

 Thermopylae. He then joined the army under 

 Colocotroni, who attacked (July 7) the Turkish 

 camp near the monastery of St Luke (between 

 the cities of Thebes and Livadia), which was 

 captured by Ulysses and Niketas, after a bloody 

 fight. The Turks retreated with great loss. Ulysses 

 overtook them (July 17), and routed them in the 

 plains of Cheronea. But the seraskier collected 

 new forces, and advanced again, whilst, at the 

 same time, Jussuf and Omer Vrione, supported by 

 the fleet of the capudan pacha, off Patras, were 

 destined to advance on Missolonghi, and the pacha 

 of Scutari was to enter the Morea through Western 

 Greece, by Vrachori, Vonitza, and Salona. But the 

 attack of the seraskier on Volos and the peninsula 

 of Tricori failed ; Jussuf s march was delayed by the 

 desertion of 8COO Albanians, and the vanguard of 

 the pacha of Scutari (who, with 20,000 men, parlly 

 Albanians, had occupied the heights of Agrapha, 

 and threatened ^Etolia) was surprised at midnight 

 (Aug. 20, 1823), in the camp of Carpinissi, by Marco 

 Botzaris. Whilst the mountaineers, from Thessaly 

 and Epirus, attacked the camp on four sides, on a 

 signal given by Botzaris, the brave commander him- 

 self penetrated, with 500 Suliots, to the tent of the 

 pacha ; but, at the moment of making the pacha of 

 Delvino prisoner, he received a mortal wound, and 

 his brother Constantine completed the victory. The 

 Turks lost all their artillery and baggage, and the 

 dying Marco exclaimed, at the moment of victory, 

 " Could a Suliot leader die a nobler death ? ' ' * The 

 Albanians of the pacha dispersed ; he himself 

 returned to Scutari, in consequence of the desertion 

 of the Montenegrins to the Greeks. At the same 

 time, the Turkish fleet, again having the plague on 

 board, left (Aug. SO) the gulf of Patras, and returned 

 to the Archipelago, avoided the Greek islands, 

 delivered Saloniki from its blockade, and returned, 

 in October, to the Dardanelles, after a few indeci- 

 sive engagements with the Greeks. But bloody 

 quarrels soon broke out between the Hydriots and 

 Spezziots, relative to the division of the booty taken 

 from some vessels. While Livadia and the Morea 

 were threatened, the inhabitants of Athens had fled 

 to the island of Salamis ; but Gouras still main- 

 tained possession of the Acropolis. The members 

 of government, with the deliberative council, were 



* Marco Botzaris, a Suliot, served in the French army, 

 returned in 1820 to Epirus, where Ali Pacha restored Suli 

 to him, that he might assist him against the Porte. 



