Dimitris 'Koliopoulos' Plapoutas () (1786 – 1865) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

general who fought during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

against the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Biography

Plapoutas was born on in

Paloumba Paloumpa (, also ''Palouba'') is a town in Arcadia, southern Greece. It is situated on a mountain slope overlooking the valley of the river Alfeios. It was the seat of the former municipality of Iraia. The town is in a remote area, but contains a ...

in the Arcadia region of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

, the son of Kollias Plapoutas. This is of course the reason why

Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis (; 3 April 1770 – ) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. The son of a klepht leader who fought the Ottomans during the Orlov revolt ...

referred to him simply as "Koliopoulos" (). In 1811, he left Paloumba for the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

where he became an officer in the 1st Regiment Greek Light Infantry. In 1818, he joined the

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

, which was planning to liberate Greece from Ottoman control. During the revolution, Dimitris Plapoutas took part in the

Siege of Tripolitsa The siege of Tripolitsa or fall of Tripolitsa (, ), also known as the Tripolitsa massacre (), was an early victory of the revolutionary Greek forces in the summer of 1821 during the Greek War of Independence, which had begun earlier that year ...

, the capture of the

Acrocorinth Acrocorinth (, 'Upper Corinth' or 'the acropolis of ancient Corinth') is a monolithic rock overlooking the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. In the estimation of George Forrest, "It is the most impressive of the acropolis of mainland Greece." W ...

, the

Battle of Valtetsi The Battle of Valtetsi was fought on 24 May, 1821 in Valtetsi between the Ottoman army and Greek revolutionaries. Background The Greek War of Independence officially began on 25 March 1821. During the war, the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, c ...

, the

Battle of Maniaki The Battle of Maniaki was fought on May 20, 1825, in Maniaki, Greece (in the hills east of Gargalianoi) between Egyptian forces led by Ibrahim Pasha and Greek forces led by Papaflessas.Finlay, p. 75. "He quitted Nauplia with great parade, at ...

and other battles. After independence, along with General

and General

Kitsos Tzavelas Kitsos Tzavelas (; 1800–1855) was a Souliotes, Souliot fighter and general of the Greek rebels in the Greek War of Independence. After the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece he entered Greek politics and served as Minister of Military Affair ...

, Plapoutas supported Prince Otto of Bavaria as the King of Greece. However, later he opposed the Bavarian-dominated regency during his rule. He was charged with high treason and on 7 June 1834 he was imprisoned at the

Palamidi Palamidi () is a fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Nestled on the crest of a high hill, the fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the ...

along with Kolokotronis and both sentenced to death and both later pardoned in 1835. Plapoutas then became involved in Greek politics and served in Parliament (1844–1847) and in the Senate (1847–1862). He was made an honorary bodyguard of King Otto and was entrusted with escorting him to his new kingdom. Plapoutas also had a brother, Georgios, who fought alongside him in many battles and died in the Battle of Lalas. When he was around seventy years old, Plapoutas married a woman in her thirties and had one child, a girl named Athanasia. Plapoutas died shortly afterwards. His house still stands (albeit heavily damaged from an earthquake during the 1960s) in his home town of

Paloumpa Paloumpa (, also ''Palouba'') is a town in Arcadia, southern Greece. It is situated on a mountain slope overlooking the valley of the river Alfeios. It was the seat of the former municipality of Iraia. The town is in a remote area, but contains a ...

, Arcadia.

Gallery

File:Aythentiki.jpg, A photograph of Plapoutas in the

Royal Phalanx The Royal Phalanx () was a military body composed of veteran officers of the Greek War of Independence, established on 18 September 1835. The Phalanx entailed military garrison duties, but mostly it was an honorific appointment, and a means to sust ...

uniform. File:Plapoutas castle.jpg, House of Plapoutas File:Ottobrunn Dimitris Plapoutas bust.JPG, Plapoutas bust in Ottobrunn, Germany

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plapoutas, Dimitrios 1786 births 1864 deaths 19th-century heads of state of Greece 19th-century prime ministers of Greece Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Greek generals Members of the Greek Senate Greek revolutionaries Arvanites People convicted of treason against Greece Prisoners sentenced to death by Greece Recipients of Greek royal pardons 1st Regiment Greek Light Infantry officers People from Iraia Members of the Royal Phalanx