Michail Korakas (, 1797–1882) was a

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

revolutionary, who played a major role in successive Cretan revolts against 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 ...

in 1821–29, 1841, 1858, 1866–69, and 1878.

Life

He was born in the village of

Pombia Pombia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about north of Novara. The commune is known for its Safari Park, established in 1976. History It has Roman origi ...

in central

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

in 1797. From a young age, he became a brigand, attacking the local Turks. Upon 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, he joined the Cretan uprising. In 1827 he was wounded at the battle of Malaxa. Shortly after he left Crete for

Karpathos Karpathos (, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit ...

, where he put together a small fleet of three vessels and 70 fighters, with which he raided the ships sent to supply the Turkish garrisons on Crete. In 1828 he crossed over into 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 ...

with 110 fellow Cretans and fought in the last battles of the War of Independence under

Dimitrios Kallergis Dimitrios Kallergis (; 18038 April 1867) was a fighter of the Greek War of Independence, major general, politician and one of the most important protagonists of the 3 September 1843 Revolution. Life Early life Kallergis was born in 1803 in Cr ...

. For his services he was decorated with the bronze Cross of the War of Independence, received the rank of captain, and 100 ''

stremma The stremma ( stremmata; , ''strémma'') is unit of land area used mainly in Greece and Cyprus, equal to 1,000 square metres or approximately ¼ acre. History The ancient Greek equivalent was the square plethron, which served as the Greeks' for ...

ta'' near

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

. Nevertheless, in 1834 he left the independent Greek state to return to Crete. There he participated in the uprisings of 1841 and 1858. After the latter, he was appointed ''yusbashi'' (Captain) of the local Cretan

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

, but resigned in 1863. When the

Great Cretan Revolution Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

broke out in 1866, he put together the first sizeable rebel column, of 2,000 foot and 1,100 horse. After his house was burned down by Ottoman troops, he proceeded to torch 70 Turkish settlements within two days. The rebels' national convention appointed him commander-in-chief of the 12 eastern provinces of Crete, a post he held until the uprising's suppression in 1869. In 1878 he once more led the eastern provinces in revolt that led to the granting of autonomy in the

Pact of Halepa The Pact of Halepa () or Halepa Charter (Χάρτης της Χαλέπας) was an agreement made in 1878 between the Ottoman Empire (then ruled by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II) and the representatives of the Cretan Revolutionary Committee, which se ...

. After that he once more left Crete for

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 then for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, returning to Crete in 1882, and dying there in 1882. His son Aristotelis Korakas became an officer in the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...

and rose to the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Korakas, Michail 1797 births 1882 deaths Revolutionaries from the Ottoman Empire Greek revolutionaries Ottoman Crete Greek military leaders of the Greek War of Independence People from Heraklion (regional unit) Military personnel from Crete