Petros Mavromichalis (1765-1848) , also known as
Petrobey , was the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century.
Mavromichalis' family had a long history of revolts against the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
, which ruled most of what is now
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
. His grandfather Georgakis Mavromichalis and his father Pierros Mavromichalis were among the leaders of the
Orlov RevoltThe Orlov Revolt was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence , which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at the instigation of Count Orlov, commander of the Russian Naval Forces of the Russo-Turkish War...
. The revolt was followed by a period of infighting between the leaders of
ManiThe Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
; soon, young Petros gained a strong reputation for mediating the disputes and reuniting the warring families.
Petros Mavromichalis (1765-1848) , also known as
Petrobey , was the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century.
Mavromichalis' family had a long history of revolts against the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
, which ruled most of what is now
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
. His grandfather Georgakis Mavromichalis and his father Pierros Mavromichalis were among the leaders of the
Orlov RevoltThe Orlov Revolt was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence , which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at the instigation of Count Orlov, commander of the Russian Naval Forces of the Russo-Turkish War...
. The revolt was followed by a period of infighting between the leaders of
ManiThe Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
; soon, young Petros gained a strong reputation for mediating the disputes and reuniting the warring families. During that period he also made an alliance with Napoleon Bonaparte of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, who was fighting in Egypt; Napoleon was to strike the Ottoman Empire in coordination with a Greek revolt. Napoleon's failure in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
doomed that plan.
By 1814, the reorganized Maniots again became a threat to the Ottomans, and the sultan offered a number of concessions to Mavromichalis, including his being named
BeyBey is a Turkish title for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh...
, or
Chieftain, of Mani - in effect formalizing the de-facto status of autonomy the region had maintained for years. Still, Petrobey continued to organize the Greek capetanei (commanders) of
MoreaThe Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period...
for the revolution that was soon to come. In 1818, he became a member of
Filiki EteriaThe Filiki Eteria, , was a secret 19th century organization, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state. Etairia members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Russia and local chieftains from Greece...
, and in 1819 he brokered a formal pact among the major capetanei families. On March 17, 1821, Petrobey raised his war flag in Areopolis, effectively signaling the start of the
Greek War of IndependenceThe Greek War of Independence was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1829, with later assistance from several European powers, against the Ottoman Empire, who were assisted by their vassals, the Egyptian Khedivate and partly the Vilayet of...
. His troops marched into
KalamataKalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf...
, and took the city on March 23.
After the summer of 1822, Petrobey retired from battle, leaving the leadership of his troops to his sons (two of whom were killed fighting). He continued to act as a mediator whenever disputes arose among the capetanei, and acted as the leader of the Messinian Senate, a council of prominent revolutionary leaders. He also tried to seek support from the West by sending a number of letters to leaders and
philhellenesPhilhellenism was an intellectual fashion prominent at the turn of the 19th century, when it promoted Europeans like Lord Byron to lend their support for the Greek movement towards independence from the Ottoman Empire...
in Europe and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
After the revolution, Petrobey became a member of the first Greek Senate, under the leadership of Ioannis Kapodistrias. The two men soon clashed as a result of Kapodistrias' insistence on establishing a regional administration based on political appointees, replacing the traditional system of family loyalties. Petros' brother
TzanisTzanis Mavromichalis was the brother of Petros Mavromichalis and Konstantinos Mavromichalis and uncle of Georgios Mavromichalis. When his brother was imprisoned by Governor of Greece John Capodistria, during the Greek War of Independence, Tzanis went to negotiate his brothers release. When he...
led a revolt against the appointed governor of
Lakonia; the two brothers were invited to meet Kapodistrias and negotiate a solution but, when they showed up, they were arrested. From his prison cell, Petros tried to negotiate a settlement with Kapodistrias; the latter refused. The crisis was then settled by more traditional means: Petros' brother
KonstantinosKonstantinos Mavromichalis , brother of the Bey of Mani Petros Mavromichalis, was a commander of Maniot forces during the Greek War of Independence and the assassin of the first head of state of Greece, Ioannis Capodistrias. Along with Demetrius Ypsilanti, he commanded the forces that saved Nauplio...
, and son Giorgós Mavromichális, murdered Kapodístrias on October 9, 1831. Petros publicly disapproved of the murder. Kapodistrias was succeeded by King
OttoOtto, King of Greece was made the first modern king of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended the...
, whose attitude towards the Capetanei was much friendlier. Petros became vice-president of the state council, and later a senator. He died in
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
on January 17, 1848, and was buried with the highest honors.