Spyridon Karaiskakis (; 1825 – 1899) was a

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 ...

officer and politician, the son of

Georgios Karaiskakis Georgios Karaiskakis (), born Georgios Karaiskos (; 1782–1827), was a Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence. Early life Karaiskakis was a Sarakatsani. His father was the armatolos of the Valtos district, D ...

.Information about Spyros Karaiskakis
from the Institute of Modern Greek Studies

Early life

He was born in 1825 at

Kalamos Kalamos (; ) is a Greek mythological figure. He is son of Maiandros, the god of the Maeander river. Mythology A story in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'' tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos and Karpos. Karpos drowned in the Meander river whil ...

on the island of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

, as the son of

, one of the chief leaders 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 ...

, and Engolpia Skylodimou. In 1833, 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 ...

sent sixty orphaned children of War of Independence fighters, Karaiskakis among them, to be educated at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Karaiskakis returned to Greece after a year, and attended a Greek high school.

Military and political career

After graduation, he entered the

Hellenic Army Academy The Hellenic Army Academy (, ΣΣΕ), commonly known as the Evelpidon, is a military academy. It is the Officer cadet school of the Greek Army and the oldest third-level educational institution in Greece. It was founded in 1828 in Nafplio by Ioa ...

in 1842. In 1846, he participated in an insurrection at the Academy, resulting in his expulsion. Nevertheless, in 1849 he enlisted in the Mountain Guard as a second lieutenant. The Ottoman clocktower and the Byzantine castle of Arta

The Ottoman clocktower and the Byzantine castle of Arta

In 1854, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, Karaiskakis left his post in the

and crossed into Ottoman territory to take part in the anti-Ottoman uprising in

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 ...

, leading the siege of Arta by the rebels. After the revolt was suppressed, he returned to Greece. He was promoted to lieutenant and scored some success in anti-brigand operations, before being appointed aide-de-camp to King Otto in 1856. He was promoted to captain in 1859. When Otto was overthrown in 1862, Karaiskakis followed him into exile to Munich. After the election of King

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

, he returned to Greece, and in 1864 he was elected as head of the Athens National Guard. In the 1865 elections, he was elected to the

Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...

for the

Valtos Province Valtos Province () is one of the five former provinces of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It lies in the northern part of Aetolia-Acarnania. Its capital was Amfilochia. The Acheloos River was the border of the province to Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) i ...

, serving until 1868. In the 1875 elections he was again elected an MP for

Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is ...

, which he held until he resigned his seat in 1884. During this time, he served as Minister for Military Affairs under

Alexandros Koumoundouros Alexandros Koumoundouros (; 4 February 1815 – 26 February 1883) was a Greek politician and founder of the Nationalist Party, who served as Prime Minister of Greece ten times, from 1865 to 1867, 1870 to 1871, and from 1875 to 1882. Born in Kamp ...

in 1875, and

Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis (; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of confidence in the Greek constitution, p ...

in 1878, 1880, and 1882. After his resignation in 1884, he was appointed garrison commander of

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 ...

, with the rank of colonel. In 1888, he was appointed commander of the III Army Headquarters in Arta. He retired from service on 13 November 1896 (O.S.), with 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 ...

Family

In 1860, he married the only daughter of Georgios Varvakis (son of the wealthy merchant and benefactor

Ioannis Varvakis Ioannis Varvakis (; 1745–1825), also known as Ivan Andreevich Varvatsi (), was a Greek privateer, benefactor, and member of the Filiki Eteria. Origins, early life Ioannis was born on the Greek island of Psara, son to Andreas Leontis and Maria ...

). The couple had a son, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaiskakis, Spyridon 1825 births 1899 deaths 19th-century Greek military personnel 19th-century Greek politicians Greek MPs 1865–1868 Greek MPs 1875–1879 Greek MPs 1879–1881 Greek MPs 1881–1885 Hellenic Army lieutenant generals Ministers of military affairs of Greece People from Ithaca