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ALEXANDROS YPSILANTIS: FIGHT FOR FAITH AND MOTHERLAND! Title: Μάχου ›πέρ πίστεως καr πατρίδος (Fight for Faith and Motherland!) Originally published: as a leaflet in Iaşi, 24 February 1822. Language: Greek The excerpts text used are from: Apostolos Daskalakis, Kείµενα-πηγαί τyς jστορίας τyς eλληνικyς dπαναστάσεως (Αθήνα: 1966), pp. 141–144. About the author Alexandros Ypsilantis [1792, Bucharest – 1828, St. Petersburg]: military leader. He was the offspring of one of the most distinguished Phanariot families. His grandfather Alexandros and his father Constantinos had been appointed by the Ottoman authorities as princes of the Danubian Principalities. The Sultan, however, was persuaded by the accusations of Napoleon’s ambassador Sebastiani that Constantinos was pro-Russian and dismissed him in 1805. Thereupon the family fled to Russia. The young Alexandros joined the Russian army and fought during the Napoleonic wars. After the battle of Dresden in 1813, where he lost his right hand, he was promoted to the rank of colonel , and in 1817 he became major-general. In 1820 he was approached by Emmanouil Xanthos, one of the leaders of the Philiki Etairia (Friendly Society), and agreed to join the secret society. Very soon he was given the title of ‘General Commissioner.’ In February 1821 Ypsilantis crossed the River Prut to Moldavia, thus raising the signal for an uprising. However, his troops were soon crushed by the Ottoman army at Drăgăşani in Wallachia. Ypsilantis then crossed the border into Austria, where he was immediately arrested and imprisoned. He was released in 1827, thanks to an appeal by the Tsar. Alexandros Ypsilantis demonstrated a flamboyant and enthusiastic patriotism, which, however, was not accompanied by military genius. His limited abilities caused his comrades to lose faith in him and eventually to abandon him. However, he was the first to give the signal for the Greek uprising which resulted in the creation of the modern Hellenic state. Consequently, Greek historiography has treated him as a national hero. ALEXANDROS YPSILANTIS: FIGHT FOR FAITH AND MOTHERLAND! 397 Context The Napoleonic wars (1797–1814) proved profitable for Greek-Orthodox artisans, seamen and merchants who had settled in southeast Russia and the Danubian Principalities. The continental blockade imposed by the British offered to courageous entrepreneurs ample opportunities to be involved in smuggling. However, Napoleon’s defeat put an end to these favorable circumstances and drove these groups into bankruptcy. It was under these social and economic conditions that in 1814 in Odessa three bankrupt merchants— Nikolaos Skoufas, Andreas Tsakalof and Emmanouil Xanthos—founded the Philiki Etairia. The three merchants, like many others, found themselves in an awkward position. They were members of a bourgeois stratum which no longer found it sufficient to entrust intellectuals such as Korais or Rigas with the task of enlightening their compatriots in the areas under Ottoman rule. Influenced by French revolutionary ideas, they decided to become more active in order to liberate their motherland from the Ottoman ‘yoke’ and create a nation-state conforming to their aspirations. The Philikoi, as the members of the Society called themselves, managed to extend their network. They were all bound under oath to fight for the liberation of the motherland. In fact, as was the case with many revolutionary secret societies, the Philiki Etairia was also organized on a Masonic pattern. As soon as the uprising broke out, these networks proved very useful. However, the uprising also meant the end of the Philiki Etairia, since leadership was taken over by the military and the notables of the Morea (Peloponnese) and Rumelia. Nevertheless, on the eve of the uprising, the movement needed a prominent leader who could inspire faith in victory. Count Capodistrias, the foreign minister of the Tsar who was initially offered the leadership, suggested that Alexandros Ypsilantis should be the person. Thus, in October 1820 Ypsilantis, together with many among the leading figures of the Etairia, gathered at Ismail (Rus. Izmayil, in Bessarabia). According to the initial plan, Ypsilantis was to travel to Trieste and from there on to the Morea, where he would give the signal for the uprising. However, an uprising in the Principalities was considered more appropriate, on the grounds that Serbs and Bulgarians might also join in. On 6 March 1821 Ypsilantis, dressed as a Russian general, crossed the Prut river together with twenty comrades. When he arrived in Iaşi, he reassured Prince Mikhail Soutzos (Rom. Şuţu), a fervent supporter of the revolutionaries , that 70,000 Russians would soon follow. The boyars of Iaşi, encouraged by Soutzos, contributed funds for the creation of...

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