Lambros Koutsonikas (, 1799 – 2 June 1879) was a Greek general and fighter of the

Greek Revolution of 1821 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 ...

, army officer and amateur historian of the Revolution.

Biography

He was the son of Yiannos, from the

Souliot 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 ...

Koutsonikas clan. His grandfather Nikos, his father and his brother Thanassis were killed in 1804 in a battle against the Albanians of

Ali Pasha of Yanina Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

at the Seltsou monastery in

Tzoumerka Tzoumerka () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality North Tzoumerka, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 71.10&n ...

. Lambros being a child that time, together with his mother and brother, were taken captives by Ali pasha's bands. Later, Lambros fought as head of an armed unit during the Greek Revolution of 1821. During the Revolution, he served in the Greek army and was promoted to the rank of '' pentakosiarchos'' (leader of 500 men). He died in 1879 in

Agrinio Agrinio (Greek language, Greek: Αγρίνιο, ; Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 89,691 inhabitants (2021) as well as the seco ...

Works

He authored the ''General History of the Greek Revolution'' (Γενική Ιστορία της Ελληνικής Επαναστάσεως), published in 1863–64 in Athens. The first volume of his work contains a large chapter on the history of

Souli Souli () is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia. Name and history The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written by Christoforos ...

and the Souliotes, which is one of the few primary sources on the subject, written by a Souliote. Koutsonikas, based on oral tradition, claims that Souliotes resisted the Ottoman invasion since 15th century and they remained free and independent till early 19th century, and were the first who revolted in 1820. The name of his clan is mentioned in some of the Souliotic Songs, initially published by

Claude Fauriel Claude Charles Fauriel (; 21 October 1772 – 15 July 1844) was a French historian, philologist and critic. Biography He was born at Saint-Étienne, Loire, the son of a poor joiner, but received a good education in the Oratorian colleges of Tou ...

in 1823 and republished later by others. Comte de Marcellus, Marie-Louis (1795-1865), “Chants populaires de la Grèce moderne”, Paris, 1860. IV. Le Siége de Souli 1803, etc
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References

External links

General History of the Greek Revolution, Athens, 1863. vol. 1
In Greek. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koutsonikas, Lambros 1799 births 1879 deaths Souliotes Greek people of the Greek War of Independence 19th-century Greek historians