Elisabeth Ypsilantis (; 1768–1866), (; ), was a Greek aristocrat and an important figure during the period before the outbreak 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 ...

in 1821.

Biography

Elisabeth Ypsilantis was born in 1768 in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

. She was the daughter of Prince Constantin Văcărescu and Safta Kretzulescu. The great-granddaughter of Ianache Văcărescu, she came from the Văcărescu family, an important family of Moldavia originally from

Northern Epirus Northern Epirus (, ; ) is a term used for specific parts of southern Albania which were first claimed by the Kingdom of Greece in the Balkan Wars and later were associated with the Greek minority in Albania and Greece-Albania diplomatic relation ...

. She became a second wife of the ruler of Moldavia

Constantine Ypsilantis Constantine Ypsilantis ( ''Konstantinos Ypsilantis''; ; 1760 – 24 June 1816) was the son of Alexander Ypsilantis, a key member of an important Phanariote family, Grand Dragoman of the Porte (1796–1799), hospodarEast, ''The Union of Molda ...

. Together they had 7 children, the first of whom were the members of the Filiki Etaireia and protagonists of the

, Alexandros,

Dimitrios Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, D ...

and Nikolaos: * Aikaterini (1791–1835) * Alexandros (1792–1828), leader of the Filiki Etaireia *

(1793–1832), member of the Filiki Etaireia * Nikolaos (1796–1833), leader of the Sacred Band * Maria (1798/1802–1846), wife of A. Schinas * Georgios (1801–1829) * Grigorios (1805–1835) Elisabeth was called the "First Lady of the Filiki Etaireia", as during the years of preparation for the Greek War of Independence, she was the person who organized the preliminary meetings of personalities of the time in her salons, under the guise of literary meetings, which eventually led to the establishment of the Etaireia, of which she herself was probably one of the first female members. It is said that in the house of this particular family, in the presence of Elisabeth, the Etaireia members gathered in February 1821 to decide on the start of the revolution and to prepare the relevant declaration. After the death of her husband in 1816 and the confiscation of the property of the

Ypsilantis family The House of Ypsilantis or Ypsilanti (; ) was a Greek Phanariote family which grew into prominence and power in Constantinople during the last centuries of Ottoman Empire and gave several short-reign '' hospodars'' to the Danubian Principalities. ...

by the Sultan, Elisabeth was one of the main sponsors of the Greek Revolution, for which she offered the rest of her property. The result was that she fell into great poverty. Despite all the privations, however, she continued to support the vision of national liberation in every way. She died 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 ...

, on 2 October 1866.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ypsilantis, Elisabeth 1768 births 1866 deaths Nobility from Iași Elisabeth Văcărescu family Moldavian nobility Women in the Greek War of Independence Writers from the Principality of Moldavia Princesses consort of Moldavia 18th-century Moldavian people 19th-century Moldavian people 19th-century Moldavian women