Anastasios Karatasos
Encyclopedia
Anastasios Karatasos (1764–1830) was a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 military commander during the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

 was born in the village of Dovras
Dovras
Dovras is a former municipality in the Imathia Prefecture, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit. Its 2001 population was 5,154 for the municipality. Its area is 104.1 km2 and its density is 49.5/km2. The seat of the...

, Imathia Prefecture
Imathia Prefecture
Imathia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia.-Administration:The regional unit Imathia is subdivided into 3 municipalities...

 and is considered to be the most important revolutionary from Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

.

Klephtis and Greek War of Independence

Karatasos became a Klepht
Klepht
Klephts were self-appointed armatoloi, anti-Ottoman insurgents, and warlike mountain-folk who lived in the countryside when Greece was a part of the Ottoman Empire...

 at the age of eighteen and became quite famous for his actions in the Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...

 area before he joined the Revolution
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

.
In 1804 with the Armatolos
Armatoloi
Armatoloi , were Greek Christian irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottomans to enforce the Sultan's authority within an administrative district called an Armatoliki...

 Vassilios Romfeis
Vassilios Romfeis
Vassilios Romfeis was a Greek klepht. He was born in Naousa, Imathia in 1773. He became the main klepht in mount Vermio. In 1795, Ali Pasha, who had established an autonomous pashalik in Ioannina, tried to seize Naousa. That led kapetan Romfeis and his lieutenant Anastasios Karatasos to defend the...

 he defended Naoussa from the attacking forces of Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...

, but he didn't managed to save the city, that was captured five months later.
In March, 1821 when Emmanouel Pappas
Emmanouel Pappas
Emmanouel Pappas , prominent member of Filiki Etaireia and leader of the Greek War of Independence in Macedonia was one of the most heroic figures of the Struggle....

 started the Revolution in Chalkidiki he collaborated with him trying to spread it through the entire region but their actions were not well coordinated. Large numbers of Ottoman forces from Thessaloniki were able to defeat the Greek revolutinary forces and Emmanuel Pappas was retired to Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...

. He returned to Naoussa that was liberated from Ottomans on February 19, 1822 under the leadership of Zafeirakis Theodosiou
Zafeirakis Theodosiou
Zafeirakis Theodosiou was a Greek prokritos , meaning political leader of Greeks during Ottoman rule, of Naousa, Imathia and an important figure of the Greek War of Independence in the region of Macedonia.-Life:...

.
In April, 1822 the Pasha οf Thessaloniki, Abdul Abut with 18,000 men besieged Naoussa and fourteen days later he captured and destroyed the city. Karatasos was responsible for the defence and managed to save himself and his family, escaping from the burned town. He continued the Revolution in Macedonia and later in 1823 he trapped and destroyed a two thousand men corps of Janissaries in the Mpampa Bridge at Pineios.

Descent to South Greece

Also in 1823 with the Klepht Aggelis Gatsos
Aggelis Gatsos
Aggelis Gatsos was a Slavophone Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence. He was born in the village of Sarakinovo, today known as Sarakini , in the Moglena region....

 and their bands, they crossed Mount Olympus and he collaborated with Georgios Karaiskakis
Georgios Karaiskakis
Georgios Karaiskakis born Georgios Iskos was a famous Greek klepht, armatolos, military commander, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.- Early life :...

 at Agrafa
Agrafa
Agrafa is a mountainous region in Evrytania and Karditsa prefectures in mainland Greece, consisting mainly of small villages. It is the southernmost part of the Pindus range...

, and Mesologgi, while he fought at the Battle of Peta and performed guerilla operations in Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....

.
In his letters to the Revolutionary movement he complained about the lack of supplies for his band, although he fought in numerous battles at Nafplio, Souli, Skiathos
Skiathos
Skiathos is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland, and west of the island of Skopelos.-Geography:...

, Karystos
Karystos
Karystos is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 7,000 inhabitants. It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Marmari from the Rafina port...

, Trikeri, Messinia and performed operations together with Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris was a Souliote captain and a hero of the War of Greek Independence. Markos Botsaris is among the most revered national heroes in Greece.-Early life:...

, Giorgakis Olympios
Giorgakis Olympios
Giorgakis Olympios was a Greek armatolos and military commander during the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Noted for his activities with the Filiki Eteria in the Danubian Principalities, he is considered to be a leading figure of the Greek Revolution.-Early activities:He was...

, Odysseas Androutsos
Odysseas Androutsos
Odysseas Androutsos ; was a hero of the Greek War of Independence.-Early life:He was born in Ithaca in 1788, however his family was from the village of Livanates in Phthiotis prefecture...

, Manto Mavrogenous
Manto Mavrogenous
Manto Mavrogenous was a Greek heroine of the Greek War of Independence. A rich woman, she spent all her fortune for the Hellenic cause. Under her encouragement, her European friends contributed money and guns to the revolution....

, Andreas Vokos Miaoulis
Andreas Vokos Miaoulis
Andreas Vokos, nicknamed Miaoulis , was an admiral and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Independence ....

,
Ioannis Kolettis
Ioannis Kolettis
Ioannis Kolettis was a Greek politician who played a significant role in Greek affairs from the Greek War of Independence through the early years of the Greek Kingdom, including as Minister to France and serving twice as Prime Minister....

 and others.
Anastasios Karatasos died at the age of 66 on January 22, 1830 at Nafpaktos where he was buried with honours.
His statue lies at the central square of Veroia, built by the sculptor Dimitrios Chatzis.

See also

  • Dimitrios Karatasos
    Dimitrios Karatasos
    Dimitrios Tsamis Karatasos , was a Greek armatolos, the son of Anastasios Karatasos who had proclaimed the Greek Revolution in the Naoussa area in 1821....

  • Greek War of Independence
    Greek War of Independence
    The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

  • List of Macedonians (Greek)
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