Georgios Th. Kandilaptis (,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: Geórgios Kandiláptis) 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 ...

scholar, journalist and teacher. He lived for 44 years in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, then later in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He studied and wrote about historical, folkloric, literary, and sociological content, with his main subject being the region of Pontus.

Biography

Kandilaptis was born October 23, 1881, in Argyropolis, then a city in the

(now

Gümüşhane Gümüşhane () is a city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Gümüşhane Province and Gümüşhane District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

). He was the last of 4 children. His parents were Theodoros and Kiparissia (or Paresa) Kandilaptis. In 1899, after graduating from the ''Phrontisterion of Argyropolis'', he pursued an educational career teaching from 1899 until 1914 in villages in the province of Argyropolis and

Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

. In 1914, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was called to join the Ottoman army, but he was declared a fugitive in the period of 1920-1922 and was exiled to

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

.Βεργέτη (2005). p. 20. Later, he took part in the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, leaving his hometown in the summer of 1924. He fled to

, where he settled with his family in

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...

. He took with him important historical relics of Pontic history including the

Golden bull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

s of the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

, the bones of

Alexios IV of Trebizond Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV (; – 1429), Emperor of Trebizond from 5 March 1417 to 26 April 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia. Reign Alexios IV had been associated in authority and given t ...

, and several library manuscripts, saving them from destruction. In Greece, he continued his teaching career, mostly in elementary schools in various areas of the region of Evros, until his retirement in 1951. On June 29, 1966, the Greek state honored Kandilaptis' work in letters, awarding him with a special ceremony held 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 ...

and the Gold cross of the Order of the Phoenix. He died from illness on January 14, 1971, in

Personal life

In 1908, Kandilaptis married Angeliki Louka, with whom he had seven children (four boys and three girls). One of his children was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the

Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian campaign in Greece, Italian invasion of Greece, and War of '40 in Greece, took place between Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This conflict began the Balk ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Theodoros Kandilaptis, whose name bears Alexandroupouli's military camp.

Writing works

In addition to being a teacher, Kandilaptis was a journalist and columnist from a young age, working with newspapers and magazines such as the ''Pharos tis Anatolis'' (in

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

), the ''World of Odessa'', the ''Argonautis of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

'', and the ''Paidikos Kosmos''. His activity continued after he moved to Greece, publishing about 400 essays, articles, studies and literature in magazines and newspapers in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, and

Western Thrace Western Thrace or West Thrace (, '' ytikíThráki'' ), also known as Greek Thrace or Aegean Thrace, is a geographical and historical region of Greece, between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country; East Thrace, which lie ...

until 1969. When he died in 1971, twelve of his books had been published, and a large volume of his other work was published after 2001.Βεργέτη (2005). p. 30-41.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kandilaptis, Georgios 1881 births 1971 deaths Ottoman Pontians Pontic Greeks People from Gümüşhane Greek scholars Greek folklorists Greek writers 20th-century Greek journalists Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece