Christoforos Perraivos (; 1773–1863) 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 ...

officer 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 ...

, member of 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 ...

and author. In non-Greek sources his name is usually found as ''Per(r)evo(s).''

Biography

Perraivos was born on 3 April 1773 in the village of Palioi Poroi, Pieria. His family name was Hatzivasiliou (Χατζηβασιλείου), but adopted the nickname “Perraivos” alluding to the

Perrhaebi The Perrhaebi () were an Ancient Greeks, ancient Greek people who lived on the western slopes of Mount Olympus, Olympus, on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia. They took part in the Trojan War under Guneus and a ...

, an ancient Greek tribe of Thessaly. It is believed that he was an illegitimate son of a certain monk Hieronymos, an official at the Metropolis of Larissa. In 1793, with the help of the said Hieronymos, he left Greece to study at the Greek School in Bucharest, and in 1796 to study medicine in Vienna. There he met the Greek humanist and revolutionary

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 entered an underground revolutionary organization. In 1797, Perraivos was arrested with Rigas and others by the Austrian authorities in Trieste but, unlike Rigas Feraios who was handed over to the Turks, Perraivos was released. Afterwards, he left for

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, then under French administration, and enlisted in the foreign units of the French army. He remained there when the Russians took over 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 ...

in 1798. He fell into disfavour with the Russians but he managed to stay in Corfu and to serve in the army, thanks to the protection of the Greeks Eleftherios Benakis (a Russian agent) and Georgios Palatinos (secretary of the Russian Admiral). In Corfu, he worked also as a teacher in Greek schools from 1804. During 1805–1806, he was attached to the Russian admiral Mikhail Dolgorukov and later was given the rank of major by the Russian admiral Dmitry Senyavin. As a commander of 4 units of 100 men (" hekatontarchies") he defended the island of

Lefkada Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...

(one of the Ionian islands, then "Santa Maura") that was threatened by Ali Pasha. When the French occupied the Ionian Islands for a second time in 1807, he retained his rank and became a member of the Albanian Regiment, established the same year (Boppe, p. 11). Memoirs of his service under the Russians and the French are included in his “History of Souli and Parga”. This work was written in Corfu in 1801, where he stayed till 1817. Its first volume was published in Greek in 1803 in Paris and includes the earliest historical essay on Souli based on first-hand informations gathered from

Souliotes The Souliotes were an Greek Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christian Albanian tribes, Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of ...

refugees fighters in the island. It also includes information on the activities of Russia, France and Britain in the Ionian and Adriatic during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and the wars against Ali Pasha and the Ottomans. It was translated into Italian by C. Gherardini in 1815 and from Italian to English in 1823. In 1817, after the departure of French from Corfu, he emigrated to Russia. In

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

he met the leaders of the

and became a member of this organization. Following the orders of the Eteria he travelled to the semi-autonomous

Mani Peninsula The Mani Peninsula (), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (), is a geographical and cultural region in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece and home to the Maniots (), who claim descent from the ancient Spartans. The capital ci ...

to organize the revolution against the Ottoman Empire. In

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, he met

Alexander Ypsilantis Alexandros Ypsilantis (12 December 1792 – 31 January 1828) was a Greek nationalist politician who was member of a prominent Phanariot Greeks, Phanariot Greek family, a prince of the Danubian Principalities, a senior officer of the Imperial R ...

, the political and military head of the Greek revolution, in 1820 and tried to persuade him to postpone the uprising. However, Ypsilantis, resolved to begin the revolution in March 1821, sent Perraivos to

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

to coordinate with the

and other captains whom he knew from Corfu. He was in Epirus on the outbreak of the revolution (March 1821) and fought with the Souliotes in various battles, as in the siege of the Riniassa castle. After the treaty between Souliotes and Ottomans and the evacuation of Souli, he went to

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

and then to other parts of Greece, participating in many military campaigns and political missions. In 1829, he participated in the Fourth National Assembly at Argos as a representative of Thessaly. After independence, he authored his "War memoirs".Agapetos S. Agapetos, The glorious Greeks of 1821 … (Αγαπητός Σ. Αγαπητός, Οι ένδοξοι Έλληνες του 1821 …), Patras, 1877, vol. 1, pp. 245-251
In Greek. He served in the regular army of the new Greek Kingdom as a lieutenant general, and was promoted to General by King

Otto of Greece Otto (; ; 1 June 1815 – 26 July 1867) was King of Greece from the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed in October 1862. The second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ott ...

in 1844. He died on 4 May 1863 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Works

History of Souli and Parga, Venice, 1815
In Greek.
“History of Suli and Parga, containing their chronology and their wars …” A. Constable & Company, London, 1823
In English *
War Memoirs of various battles between Greeks and Ottomans in Souli and East Greece from 1820 till 1829. Written by colonel Christoforos Perraivos from Olympus of Thessaly, in two volumes. Athens, 1836.
In Greek.
Short biography of the celebrious Rigas Feraios the Thessalian. Athens, 1860.
In Greek. * Hymn of praise from whole Greece to general-in-chief Bonaparte, Poem by Christofors Perraivos, Corfu,

civil year A calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. The Gregorian calendar year, which is in use as civil calendar in mo ...

6 (1798). In Greek. Ύμνος εγκωμιαστικός παρ' όλης της Γραικίας προς τον αρχιστράτηγον Μποναπάρτε, ποίημα Χριστοφόρου Περραιβού. Εν Κερκύρα, χρόνος έκτος πολιτικός (1798).

References

Sources

* Kordatos G.K., article “Περραιβός” in the "Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια" (Great Greek Encyclopedia), c. 1939, vol. 20, p. 65.
Boppe Auguste, Le régiment Albanais (1807-1814)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perraivos, Christoforos 1773 births 1863 deaths Greek Macedonians Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Hellenic Army generals Members of the Filiki Eteria Rigas Feraios 19th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Septinsular Republic People from Pieria (regional unit) Greeks from the Ottoman Empire