Anagnostaras (; 1760 – 8 May 1825) was a Greek revolutionary, a leading member of the Filiki Etaireia, and later a general and War Minister of 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 ...

. Anagnostaras is a

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

, he was born as Christos Papageorgiou () and signed as Anagnostis Papageorgiou ().
Filimon, I. (1834), p. 185: ''Note (a)''.

Early years

Anagnostaras was born in 1760 at the village of Poliani (now part of the municipality of

Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

, Greece); his family originated from the Leontari area of Arcadia. Great Military and Naval Encyclopedia (1929), vol. 2, p. 130. In Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), he appeared in 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 ...

, together with Christoforos Perraivos and Tzanetos Grigorakis, to serve with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

under the commands of the Greek-Russian general Emmanouil Papadopoulos. In 1803 he moved to the island

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian language, Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an are ...

and starting his military service in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

until 1813, when he demobilized and moved to

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

to ask his arrears of salary.

Activity for the Filiki Etaireia

At Odesa in 1817, he was initiated into the Filiki Etaireia by Nikolaos Skoufas, became a "priest" and in March 1817 he was sent to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to meet Athanasios Tsakalov, who sent him to the islands of Hydra and

Spetses Spetses (, "Pityussa") is an island in Attica, Greece. It is counted among the Saronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split into Argolis and Corinthia. In ancient ...

to search for "neophyte" members. Later in the same year went to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he found Papaflessas and initiated him on 21 June 1818, then returned to Zakynthos and initiated

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 ...

on 1 December 1818. Later he was sent to 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 ...

to continue his activity, in which paradoxically he used a

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

to sing poems of

Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; ) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis (), was a Greek writer, political thinker and revo ...

and songs of

Klepht Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...

s. The result of his tour was to be elected to the higher grade of "Apostle". Emmanuil Xanthos gave to Anagnostaras the code number 108 for correspondence with the other members of society. He was the first initiated Apostle of the Etaireia, after him were initiated Christoforos Perraivos, Yiannis Pharmakis and Elias Chrysospathis.

Service in the Greek War of Independence

When the

began in March 1821, Anagnostaras was present at the Liberation of Kalamata on 23 March 1821, when Greek irregular revolutionary forces took control of the city after the surrender of the Ottoman garrison, without fighting, as a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

under the command of Petrobey Mavromichalis. On 30 September 1821, along with

Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis Kyriakoulis Petrou Mavromichalis (; 1850–1916) was a Greek politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who briefly served as the 30th Prime Minister of Greece. Mavromichalis was born in Athens in 1850 into the renowned Mavromichalis ...

and Panagiotis Giatrakos, he signed an agreement to confirm the position of the Peloponnesian Senate's members, and they came to rupture with Alexandros Ypsilantis, who eventually retreated. Anagnostaras was promoted to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and became member of the War Commission. In March 1822, Anagnostaras along with Panagiotis Kefalas and Giatrakos' family supported Georgios Kountouriotis to form a new government at Myloi. In May 1822, after the reshuffles of Second National Assembly at Astros, he became War Minister of the provisional Greek Government. He fought in the Battle of Valtetsi (12 May 1821), the Siege of Tripolitsa (September 1821), the

Siege of Corinth The siege of Corinth, also known as the first battle of Corinth, was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry H ...

(December 1821 – January 1822) and many other battles until 8 May 1825 when he was killed in the

Battle of Sphacteria The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of ...

. The History of the Greek People (1971), vol. 12, p. 382.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Authority control 1760s births 1825 deaths People from Kalamata Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Members of the Filiki Eteria Greek generals Imperial Russian Army personnel Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence Greek military personnel killed in action