ro, Iordache Olimpiotul , birth_date = 1772 , death_date = , birth_place =

Livadi Livadi or Leivadi ( el, Λ ��βάδι) is a village and a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Elassona, of which it is a municipal unit. Befor ...

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

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 ...

, death_place = Neamț,

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, image = Georgakis Olympios Greek Fighter.JPG , image_size = 180 , Nickname = , birth_name = , allegiance = , serviceyears = , rank = , commands = , battles = , awards = Giorgakis Olympios ( el, Γιωργάκης Ολύμπιος; ro, Iordache Olimpiotul; sr, Капетан Јоргаћ; 1772–1821) was a Greek ''

armatolos The armatoles ( el, αρματολοί, armatoloi; sq, armatolë; rup, armatoli; bs, armatoli), or armatole in singular ( el, αρματολός, armatolos; sq, armatol; rup, armatol; bs, armatola), were Christian irregular soldiers, or mi ...

'' and military commander 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. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

against the

. Noted for his activities with the Filiki Eteria in the

Danubian Principalities The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th c ...

, he is considered to be a leading figure of the Greek Revolution.

Biography

Early activities

Olympios was an Aromanian. He was born in the village of

, near

, on

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

, in Ottoman-ruled Greece. After joining the ''Armatolikia'' in the Olympus area around the age of 20, Olympios became a prominent member of the local society by protecting villages from the Ali Pasha's raids, when the powerful Pasha started expanding his authority out of

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 Heinri ...

. In 1798, however, he was forced to abandon his birthplace, due to Ali Pasha's hostility towards him, and fled to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, where he collaborated for some time with

Karađorđe Petrović Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ; – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...

during the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...

(he is known in Serbia as Kapetan Jorgać, ''Captain Giorgakis''). Olympios became a supporter of the ideas diffused by Rigas Feraios for a common

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

revolution against the Ottoman rule, and moved to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

. There, with the help of

Constantine Ypsilantis Constantine Ypsilantis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Υψηλάντης ''Konstantinos Ypsilantis''; ro, Constantin Ipsilanti; 1760 – 24 June 1816), was the son of Alexander Ypsilantis, a key member of an important Phanariote family, G ...

, he composed a military force of

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

to fight alongside the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

in the Russo-Turkish War of 1806. After the

Battle of Ostrova A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, he was named a '' Polkovnik'' in the Russian Army.

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...

included him in the Russian military escort during the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

, where Olympios met with Alexander Ypsilantis, a Filiki Eteria leader.

Greek War of Independence

Olympios entered Filiki Eteria in 1817, taking the high rank of ''Shepherd''. He initiated many others in the Eteria, and established contacts with the Wallachian Pandur Tudor Vladimirescu, who led the parallel uprising of 1821. Olympios married Čučuk Stana, the widow of

Hajduk Veljko Veljko Petrović ( sr-cyr, Вељко Петровић, ; c. 1780 – 1813), known simply as Hajduk Veljko (Хајдук Вељко, ǎjduːk v̞ɛ̌ːʎkɔ, was one of the '' vojvodas'' (military commanders) of the Serbian Revolutionary force ...

, who had arrived from Serbia to participate in the Greek War of Independence as a fighter, alongside his own men. They had three children: sons Milanos and Alexandros and daughter Euphrosyne. At the beginning of the

, when the Eteria began its expedition in

and Wallachia, Olympios was appointed leader of the Greek forces in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

by Alexander Ypsilantis, at first cooperating with Tudor Vladimirescu, who led the parallel Wallachian uprising. However, when Vladimirescu distanced himself from the Fililiki Eteria, Olympios was responsible for his arrest on 1 June in Goleşti - following which Vladimirescu was summarily put to death . He took part in the

Battle of Sculeni The Battle of Sculeni was fought on 29 June 1821 in Sculeni, Moldavia between Ottoman forces and the Greek revolutionary forces raised by the Filiki Eteria led by Prince George Katakouzenos. The battle came about as the result of Ottoman repr ...

on 29 June 1821, when Ottoman forces chased him (along with Yiannis Pharmakis and a small force of 400 Greeks) to the

Secu Monastery Secu is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the we ...

in the Neamț County, where the Greeks made their last stand. Olympios died during the Ottoman attack to the monastery, when he blew up the gunpowder storage to not surrender himself. His widow and children fled to

Khotyn Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of ...

, then part of the Bessarabia Governorate of the

, where other people of the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

- and Greek War, had taken refuge. After the liberation of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, Stana and her children moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. �ημήτρης Φωτιάδης,Επανάσταση του 21 , τ.Α,σ.445/ref>

References

*Paroulakis, Peter H. ''The Greeks: Their Struggle For Independence''. Hellenic International Press, 1984. . *Stratiki, Poti. ''To Athanato 1821''. Stratikis Bros, 1990. .

External links

Biography of Giorgakis Olympios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olympios, Giorgakis 1772 births 1821 deaths 1820s in Romania Members of the Filiki Eteria Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Members of Sacred Band (1821) People of the First Serbian Uprising Russian military personnel History of Wallachia (1821–1859) Greek people of Aromanian descent Greek military personnel killed in action People from Larissa (regional unit)