Georgios Stephanou ( el, Γεώργιος Στεφάνου, link=no, 1824–1901) was a Greek

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

officer and revolutionary. He was one of the leaders of the Greek revolt in Epirus in 1878.

Biography

Stephanou was born in 1824 in

Qeparo Qeparo ( sq-definite, Qeparoi; el, Κηπαρό, ''Kiparo'') is a seaside village in the municipality of Himara in Vlorë County, Albania. It is part of the Albanian Riviera and the village is divided in two parts – Upper or Old Qeparo on high ...

, Himara,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in modern southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. He joined the Greek gendarmerie in 1849. In 1877, in an effort to take advantage of the ongoing Russo-Turkish War, he received orders from Greek government to discuss with the Albanian beys of the regions of Kurvelesh and Himara, a combined armed uprising in

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

and Albania, both regions being under Ottoman rule that time. However the new cabinet of

Alexandros Koumoundouros Alexandros Koumoundouros ( el, Αλέξανδρος Κουμουνδούρος, 4 February 1815 – 26 February 1883) was a Greek politician. Born in Kampos, on the Messenian side of the Mani Peninsula, he was the son of Spyridon-Galanis Koumoun ...

rejected the possibility of an alliance with Albanians and preferred the idea of a Greek revolution in Ottoman Epirus. In 1878, as a gendarmerie major he was appointed as one of the leaders of an anti-Ottoman revolt in Epirus, leading a group of 700 Greek Epirotes. His troops landed in the coastal region of

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medit ...

on February 11, 1878.Kaphetzopoulos, Flokas, Dima-Dimitriou, 2000
p. 15
"... a corps of almost 700 volunteers, under the leadership of a northern Epirot captain of the Gendarmerie, G. Stephanou landed on the shores of Agioi Saranta on 11 February 1878 and advanced towards the interior... In the meantime, the Treaty of San Stefano ... was signed on 3 March 1878 (NS)... In Epirus, the volunteer corps of G. Stephanou encountered not only powerful Turkish forces, but also Turk -Albanian irregulars, and was forced to retreat with considerable losses... The Turk-Albanian troops turned against the region's Christian population and thousands of northern Epirots were forces to flee from their native land." They took control of the coastal strip opposite

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

and the surrounding in the region of

Delvinë Delvinë ( or , ); is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Saranda. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal unit ...

, as well as the coastal settlement of Saranda. The revolt initially spread to the adjacent regions. However, a numerically superior Ottoman force of 6,000 arrived, supported by Ottoman-Albanian irregulars, and suppressed the uprising. Stephanou escaped to

Souli Souli ( el, Σούλι) is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia. Name and History The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written ...

and from there returned to Greece.Skoulidas, p. 125 He reached the rank of colonel. He died at 1901.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephanou, Georgios 1824 births 1901 deaths Hellenic Gendarmerie officers Greek colonels People from Himara