Yannis Makriyannis
Ioannis Makrygiannis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Makrygiannis |
| Allegiance | Greece |
| Years of service | 1821-1831 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles / wars | Greek War of Independence |
| Other work | Politics |
General Ioannis Makrygiannis (Greek: Ιωάννης Μακρυγιάννης) (1797-1864) was a Greek officer. He fought in numerous engagements of the Greek War of Independence with considerable success. Following Greek independence, he had a tumultuous public career, including a death sentence and a leading role in the granting of the first Greek constitution. He also authored the "Memoirs of General Makrygiannis", an invaluable source of both historical knowledge pertaining to the Greek revolution and linguistic and cultural information about the period.
Biography
Early life
Ioannis Triantafyllou, as was his proper name, better known as Ioannis Makrygiannis, was born in the village of Avoriti, in the vicinity of Doris (Makrygiannis (Long John) was a cognomen he acquired due to his tall stature). His father, Dimitris Triantafyllou, was killed in a clash with the forces of Ali Pasha. His family was forced to flee to Levadeia, where Makrygiannis spent his childhood up to 1811. At age seven, he was given as a foster son to a wealthy man from Levadeia, but the menial labour and beatings he endured were, in his own words, "his death".[1] Thus, in 1811 he left for Arta to stay with an acquaintance who maintained close relations with Ali Pasha. There, still a teenager, he was involved in trade and, according to his memoirs, became a wealthy man. His property amounted to 40.000 piastres.[2] He probably joined the Filiki Etaireia in 1820. In March 1821 he left for Patras, supposedly on business, but in fact with the assignment of informing local members of the Filiki Etaireia of the state of Roumeli. Having met with Odysseas Androutsos, he returned to Arta two days before the revolution broke out in Patras and was promptly arrested by the Turks and placed under arrest in the local fortress. He was held captive for 90 days but managed to escape and, in August 1821, first took up arms against the Turks under chieftain Gogos Bakolas.[2]
Activity during the War of Independence
Under the command of Gogos Bakolas, in September 1821 he took part in the battle of Stavros, near Tzoumerka, and in the battle of Peta, where he sustained a light leg injury. A few days later he took part in the siege of Arta that temporarily brought the city under Greek control. In late 1821 he left for Mesolonghi, but there, according to his memoirs,[1] he fell seriously ill until March 1822. Having spent his recovery in the village of Sernikaki, near Salona, he resumed military action, assuming the leadership of a band of warriors from four villages in the vicinity. He fought alongside several other chieftains during the succesful siege of Ypati, which had been fortified with considerable Turkish forces.
After the Acropolis of Athens was surrendered by the Turks in June 1822, Makrygiannis was appointed Supervisor of Public Order in the city by the executive authority of Roumeli on January 1 1823. In that function, he took severe measures for the prosecution of arbitrary opression of the populace and thievery. In the summer of 1823 he fought alongside Nikitaras in the eastern part of Central Greece. In October 1823 he led a force of Roumeliots in the Peloponnese, and fought alongside the government of Georgios Kountouriotis against the "rebels" in the civil war. For his actions during that conflict he was rewarded with the rank of brigadier, promoted to lieutenant general in August 1824 and full general in late 1824.[1]
In March 1825, after the Peloponnese had been invaded by Egyptian forces, he was apointed politarch (head of public order) of Kyparissia and took part in the defence of Neokastro. After the fortress fell on May 11 1825 he hurried to Myloi, near Nafplio, arriving with one hundred men on June 10. He ordered the construction of some make-shift fortifications, as well as the gathering of provisions. More chieftains soon arrived in Myloi and Ibrahim Pasha, the commander of the Egyptian forces, was unable to take the position, despite numerical superiority and the launching of fierce attacks on June 13 and 14. Makrygiannis was injured during the battle and was carried to Nafplio.[1]
Soon after he married the daughter of a prominent Athenian, and his activities were thereafter inextricably linked with that city untill his death. After Athens was captured by Ibrahim Pasha in June 1826, Makrygiannis helped organise the defence of the Acropolis, and became the provisional commander of the garisson after the death of the commander, Yannis Gouras. He managed to repel a fierce assault against the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on October 7, and during the entire defence of the Acropolis he sustained heavy injures three times, to the head and to the neck. These wounds troubled him for the remainder of his life, but they did not dissuade him from taking part in the last phase of the war: in the spring of 1827 he took part in the battles of Peiraeus and the battle of Analatos.[1]
Activity after Greek Independence
Governorship of Kapodistrias
Makrygiannis's activity did not cease with the achievement of Greek independence. After Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias arrived in Greece, he appointed Makrygiannis "General Leader of the Executive Authority of the Peloponnese", based in Argos, in 1828. It was during this period, and more specifically on February 26 1829, that he started writing his Memoirs. After Kapodistrias restructured the military in 1830, Makrygiannis was given the rank of brigadier. However, his opposition to the governor's policies gradually started to present itself and finally evolved into a rupture. More specifically, he opposed what he considered totalitarianism on behalf of Kapodistrias and, on a more personal level, was concerned about whether his home region would be included or not in the liberated Greek state.[2] Finally, in August 1831, the government forced all civil servants and military personnel to sign an oath stating they were not part of "secret companies" and that they fully obliged to the government's commands. Makrygiannis considered this to be degrading,[3] and tried to author his own version of an oath instead.[1] This, however, was not accepted by the government, and he was consequently stripped of his positions.[3] His opposition to the existing regime did not cease with the governor's assassination on October 9 1831. He took the side of the "Constitutionalists" and fought against the governor's brother and succesor Augustinos Kapodistrias. It should be noted, however, that he condemned the assassination itself in the strongest terms.[2]
The Reign of King Othon I
After Otto, Prince of Bavaria, was agreed upon to become the first King of Greece in 1832, under the name of Othon I, his arrival in Nafplio, then the Greek capital, was hailed enthusiasticaly by Makrygiannis. This attitude is exemplified in his Memoirs:
Today the fatherland is reborn, that for so long was lost and extinguished. Today are raised from the dead the fighters, political, religious, as well as military, for our King has come, that we begot with the power of God. Praised be your most virtuous name, omnipotent and most merciful Lord.
— Strategus Makrygiannis, Memoirs.[1]
The hopes he had based on the new regime, however, where soon to be dispelled. King Otho was underaged and Bavarian regents were appointed to him during the first months of his rule. During the period of the regency, Makrygiannis came into conflict with the Defence Minister, the Bavarian Heidek, due to the later's attitude towards the veterans of the War of Independence. In the newly restructured Greek Army, there was little place left for the klephts and other guerilla styled fighters of the war. Their exclusion from the newly formed army was considered irreverend by Makrygiannis.[3] Furthermore, he held the Prime Minister, the Bavarian von Armansperg, to be personally responsible for the serious problems faced by the newly formed state.[1] As a consequence, Makrygiannis briefly retired from active politics.
After municipalities were first instituted by royal decree on December 27 1833, Makrygiannis was steadily elected to the municipal council of Athens (the city becoming the new capital in 1834). In that capacity he harshly criticised, to the extent that it was possible, what he perceived as ommisions and arbitrary decisions on behalf of the administration. During the King's absence from Greece on the occasion of his marriage with Queen Amalia (late 1836 - early 1837), public discontent with von Armansperg was at its peak. The newspapers "Athena" and "Elpis" were severely criticising him, and some politicians called for his removal. Makrygiannis, in his capacity as president of the municipal council of Athens, proposed in January 1837 the voting of a resolution to be handed to the King upon his return requesting the granting of a Constitution. Not long before that, at a banquet attended by former fighters of the War of Independence, such as Kountouriotis, Kolokotronis and others, Makrygiannis had toasted to the health of the royal couple, adding "may God enlighten them to rule us through constitutional laws, in accordance with the fatherland's sacrifices". Von Armansperg immediately desolved the municipal council, fired mayor Petrakis and had Makrygiannis placed under house arrest.[1] Sometime during this period, Makrygiannis commisioned 25 engravings from the painter, and veteran of the War of Independence, Panaghiotis Zographos. The profits from the sales were used to the benefit of veterans of the war.[2]
In the meanwhile, the demand for constitutional liberties was becoming general, as was discontent with King Otho and the Bavarian administration. The situation escalated in the September 3 1843 movement, that lead to the granting of the first Constitution. Makrygiannis was one of the three leaders of the movement. He played a crucial part both in preparations for the action and, after its succesful conclusion, in the forming of the new cabinet.[1] He was elected as a representative of Athens to the National (Constitutional) Assembly,[3] and headed an informal group of 63 representatives loyal to him. He personally proposed various recommendations during the course of the discussions.[1] Soon after the conclusion of the Assembly's work, however, he retired from politics.[3] For his leading role in the creation of the first Greek Constitution, general Makrygiannis appeared on the special edition of the 50 drachma coins issued for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first Constitution, in 1994. There are three versions of the coin, each featuring one of the three leaders of the September 3 movement: one features Makrygiannis, one colonel Dimitrios Kallergis, and one minister (and later prime minister) Andreas Metaxas.
Makrygiannis was always outspoken about his views, and as a result stirred negative reactions among his opponents. He had repeatedly been considered suspect of plotting against King Otho, and finally, in 1852, he was accused of planning to "overthrow the establishments and assassinate the King".[1] On April 13 1852 he was placed under house arrest, heavily guarded and with an officer posted in the room next to his own. On March 16 1853 he was sentenced to death, in what has been called a "pre-fabricated trial".[1] His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the King, and he was finally pardoned and released in September 1854 with the intervention of Dimitrios Kallergis.[3] With the revolution of October 10 1862, which led to the eviction of King Otho I from the country, he was restored to the ranks he had been stripped of, and re-elected as a representative of Athens.
Literary work
His "Memoirs of General Makrygiannis" hold a significant place in the pantheon of modern Greek literature. They are considered to be a historical, linguistic, and literary monument. Makrygiannis, using only the simplest expressive means, as he was a poorly educated man (according to his own statement, he only learned how to write so that he could write his memoirs), gives a vivid rendition of the national uprising against the Othoman Empire.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Strategus Makrygiannis, Απομνημονευματα (Memoirs), Athens: Papyros, 1996 (work first published 1907) (preface by V. Sphyroeras). (in Greek)
- ^ a b c d e Général Macriyannis, Mémoires, (preface by Pierre Vidal-Naquet), Albin Michel. (in French)
- ^ a b c d e f Encyclopaedic Dictionary The Helios. (in Greek)
External links
- Significant parts of the "Memoirs" (in Greek) and a painting of the general.
- The National Book Centre of Greece's site about general Makrygiannis. (affiliated with the National Ministry of Culture) (in Greek)
- The text of the "Memoirs" on the Greek Wikisource.
- An image of the 50 drachma coin featuring General Makrygiannis.
