In early 1821, a band of Greek rebels led by Alexandros Ypsilantis rebelled against the Ottoman Empire in the Danubian Principality of Moldavia (present-day Romania). Although this uprising failed, it sparked unrest in Greeces Peloponnese (Morea) region, thus initiating the Greek War of Independence. Intense fighting occurred between 1821 and 1827, galvanizing public opinion in Europe and the United States. The 1829 Treaty of Adrianople saw the Ottomans agree to Greek autonomy. By 1833, Europes Great Powers would recognize Greece as an independent kingdom under King Otto I of Bavaria.The Historical Context of the Greek War of IndependencePortrait of Ali Pasha Tepedelenli, by Joseph Cartwright, 1819. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAt the outbreak of the 1821 revolt, most of present-day Greece had been in the Ottoman orbit for roughly four centuries. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 marked a watershed moment in Ottoman-Greek relations. By the close of the century, the Ottomans had conquered most of present-day Greece.Although Greek communities occasionally rebelled against Ottoman rule before 1821, none of these disturbances resembled a serious movement to create an independent nation-state. For example, Russian forces aided Greek rebels in a failed uprising in the Peloponnese in 1770. However, this was more about Russian imperial interests and its series of wars with the Ottoman Empire than securing Greek independence.As well see below, liberal democratic and nationalist ideas inspired by the French Revolution began circulating in the Greek-speaking world in the first decades of the 19th century. Worsening economic conditions after the Napoleonic Wars also stirred opposition to Ottoman rule.Moreover, by the early 19th century, Ottoman sultans increasingly faced challenges to their authority from regional rulers like Ali Pasha of Ioannina. Historian Mark Mazower notes that Ottoman efforts to destroy Ali Pasha contributed to the timing of the Greek revolt in 1821 (2021, 45).Thus, economic issues, the spread of revolutionary ideas stemming from the French Revolution, and internal political instability set the stage for a different kind of Greek uprising against Ottoman rule in 1821.The Origins of a Greek Nationalist MovementRigas Velestinlis, better known as Rigas Feraios (1757-1798), sketch by Matthias Laurenz Grff, 2023. Source: Wikimedia CommonsLike other large European empires, the Ottoman Empire faced nationalist uprisings inspired partly by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. Opposition to Ottoman rule became increasingly nationalistic thanks to the circulation of Enlightenment ideas in different Greek communities across the empire.The most organized Greek nationalist movement emerged with the 1814 founding of the Society of Friends, or Filik Etera. Merchants organized the Filik Etera in the Black Sea port of Odesa (present-day Ukraine). Within the boundaries of the Russian Empire at Odesa, secret society members sought to organize a Greek uprising against Ottoman rule.Early Greek nationalist figures and members of the Filik Etera often shared a merchant background. For example, historian Stathis Kalyvas explains that leading figures of the Greek Enlightenment, including Rigas Feraios and Adamantios Korais, came from merchant families. As a result, merchants helped connect anti-Ottoman nationalists across port cities and increased membership in the secret society (2015, 24).However, the Filik Etera lacked a well-known and charismatic figure capable of attracting mass support for an uprising. Russias co-foreign minister and native of the Greek island of Corfu, Ioannis Kapodistrias, was unsuccessfully approached to lead a Greek revolt against Ottoman rule.The Revolution BeginsReproduction of the Peter von Hess painting, Alexander Ypsilantis (1792-1828) crossing River Pruth into the Danubian Principalities, 1821, from the book A history of all nations from the earliest times; being a universal historical library, by John Henry Wright. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAlexandros Ypsilantis held many high-profile roles in the Ottoman and Russian empires. For example, Ypsilantis came from a family of princes of the Danubian Principalities. Moreover, he became a Russian general and close aide to Tsar Alexander I during the Napoleonic Wars. In short, Ypsilantis was the leader of the Greek nationalist Filik Etera, whom the secret societys founders had always desired.The society finally had a leader with name recognition in the Greek-speaking world, who also had connections to a powerful empire like Russia. However, as Roderick Beaton points out, Ypsilantis frequently exaggerated his relationship with Tsar Alexander and the likelihood of receiving Russian support (2019, 79).Indeed, Tsar Alexander had no intention of offering Russian support to Ypsilantis for fear of inspiring revolts against the conservative balance of power engineered by Austrian Chancellor Prince Metternich after the Napoleonic Wars.The core of the force Ypsilantis commanded was known as the Sacred Battalion or Band. It was composed primarily of young Greek volunteers from communities in the Danubian Principalities. The name derives from Thebess legendary ancient military unit, called the Sacred Band. The ancient Sacred Band defeated the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE.Ypsilantis initially hoped to team up with Tudor Vladimirescus rebels against the Danubian Principalities ruling class. Ultimately, the two rebel groups fell out, which spelled disaster for both.With no Russian aid forthcoming, Ottoman forces annihilated Ypsilantis force at Drgani in June 1821. Ypsilantis fled to Austrian territory, where he was imprisoned.Revolt in the PeloponnesePanagiotis Kefalas raising the Greek flag at the fortress of Tripolitsa right after the victorious siege, lithograph by Peter von Hess, Munich, 1852. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe failed revolt in the Danubian Principalities also played an important role in Romanias history. Despite the disastrous defeat, Ypsilantis had inspired a widespread uprising in the Peloponnese region of mainland Greece.Various communities across the Peloponnese rose in revolt between March and April 1821. For example, Petros (Petrobey) Mavromichalis from the Mani region of the southern Peloponnese issued a proclamation addressed to the courts of Europe, calling for foreign aid. According to historian Paschalis Kitromilides, this proclamation can be considered Greeces equivalent of a declaration of independence. By June 1821, this declaration appeared in British newspapers (2021, 8).From the onset, the fighting took on the characteristics of a brutal religious war. Davide Rodogno explains that Greek revolutionaries first targeted Ottoman civil servants like tax officials before turning on Muslim and Jewish communities across the Peloponnese (2012, 65).According to Stathis Kalyvas, atrocities were also common because of the number of sieges conducted throughout the conflict. Kalyvas notes that the wars first siege resulted in the massacre of thousands of Muslim and Jewish inhabitants of Tripolitsa (Tripoli) in September 1821 (2015, 27).The initial Ottoman response to the Greek uprising generated massacres of Christians across many parts of the empire. Sultan Mahmud II responded to the Greek revolt by executing many prominent Christians, including senior clergy from the Orthodox Church. As historian Stefanos Katsikas notes, the most high-profile example was the brutal execution of Grigorios V, Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, in April 1821 (2021, 20).Victories and Civil WarThe Greek victory at Dervenakia (1822), by Theodoros Vryzakis, 1860. Source: Wikimedia Commons/National Gallery of AthensGreek rebels scored several significant victories over Ottoman forces in the conflicts early years. Moreover, a Greek National Assembly proclaimed independence in January 1822 and created a government to administer the war effort. Prince Dimitrios Ypsilantis, brother of the ill-fated Alexandros, arrived to assume a leadership position within the revolutionary government.However, while the National Assembly offered the rebellions formal leadership, historian Richard Evans notes that this authority only existed on paper. Indeed, the uprising remained largely uncoordinated, with rival Greek rebel groups often clashing as frequently as fighting the Ottomans (2016, 54-55).Before the rebels turned on each other, they won several stunning victories in the wars early years. Led by charismatic and battle-hardened figures like Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek rebels surprised Ottoman garrisons. At sea, the skilled crews of vessels hailing from the islands of Hydra, Spetses, and Psara wreaked havoc on the Ottoman navy.Historian Mark Mazower explains that Greek rebels headed by Kolokotronis and Dimitrios Ypsilantis won a crucial victory against the odds at Dervenakia in August 1822. Less than 10,000 Greek rebels annihilated an Ottoman army of roughly 30,000 under Dramali Pasha as they attempted to reconquer fortresses in the Peloponnese (2021, 127).Unfortunately for the Greek cause, cooperation between leaders and their respective factions was rare. As Richard Evans points out, these rival factions featured shifting alliances of brigands, pirates, educated native nationalists, and members of expatriate communities (2016, 57). These groups clashed between 1824 and 1825 over the political future of an independent Greece and how best to conduct the war.International Support: Lord Byron and the PhilhellenesThe Reception of Lord Byron at Missolonghi, by Theodoros Vryzakis, 1861. Source: Wikimedia Commons/National Gallery of AthensEuropean governments resisted intervening in Greece during the early 1820s because of concerns over the balance of power on the continent established through the Congress of Vienna and subsequent agreements.However, much of the public in Europe and North America sympathized with the Greek cause because of the philhellenic movement. Roderick Beaton notes that philhellene generally refers to a lover of anything Hellenic or Greek (2019, 115).English Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron stands out among the Philhellenes and their role in Greeces war of independence. Political scientist Gary Bass says that Byron and noted figures like philosopher Jeremy Bentham and economist David Ricardo formed associations to support the Greek rebellion that can be seen as the forerunners of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (2008, 48). Groups like the London Greek Committee raised funds and spread awareness about events in Greece.Across Europe and the United States, enthusiastic young volunteers and hardened veterans of the Napoleonic Wars assembled to join the Greek rebels in fighting the Ottomans. They did so in defiance of their respective governments, which advocated neutrality.Philhellenes were not always welcome nor particularly understood by the Greeks they encountered. As historian Robert Holland points out, most Greek rebel leaders like Theodoros Kolokotronis had never read any of Byrons work. Nor were they convinced that Byron and other foreigners would do anything but try to take control of Greece (2012, 45).Nevertheless, a resurgent Ottoman attack on Greek rebels forced leaders like Kolokotronis to reluctantly seek support from European governments.Egypt Enters the WarThe Massacre at Chios, by Eugne Delacroix, 1824. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Louvre Museum, ParisOttoman hopes of suppressing the Greek uprising received a boost in 1824 with the arrival of a large Egyptian force under Ibrahim Pasha. Although part of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, under Ibrahim Pashas father, Muhammad Ali, was emerging as a regional power. Muhammad Ali developed an impressive army and navy, complete with European officers hardened by the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars.Despite Ottoman and Egyptian military successes, the years 1824-1826 also marked a period of growing international attention and intervention on behalf of the beleaguered Greek rebels. Although Byron died of a fever and the fortress of Missolonghi fell to the Ottomans, foreign support and enthusiasm for the Greek revolt increased.For example, historian Robert Holland notes that the British ship tasked with returning Byrons body for burial carried with it significant financial aid in the form of the first foreign loan to Greek rebels (2012, 45). Public opinion across Western Europe and the United States swung decisively in favor of the Greek cause, resulting in additional donations and foreign volunteers. Richard Evans notes that French artist Eugne Delacroixs painting The Massacre at Chios (1824) helped fuel this wave of foreign support (2016, 56).Although international sympathies were firmly with the Greek rebels, Egyptian and Ottoman forces continued to recover territory across Greeces Peloponnese and Attica regions.Between 1826 and 1827, Egyptian and Ottoman forces secured strategic areas like Navarino on the western coast of the Peloponnese and seized Athens.Navarino and IndependenceThe Battle of Navarino, by Ambroise Louis Garneray, c. 1827-1830. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Museum of the History of France, Palace of VersaillesWhile some believed an Ottoman victory in Greece to be within reach, Europes Great Powers had other ideas. Indeed, great power rivalry, particularly between Britain and Russia, initiated the decisive phase of the fighting and set the stage for creating an independent Greek state. A combined fleet of British, French, and Russian ships sailed to the coast of the western Peloponnese to resolve the Greek Question.As historian Robert Holland points out, the squadrons commander, British Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, had orders to take quick action against the combined Ottoman and Egyptian fleet. Codrington attacked and destroyed the Ottoman and Egyptian fleet at Navarino in October 1827 (2012, 48).Fearing Russian domination of an autonomous Greece within the Ottoman Empire, Robert Holland notes that British officials pressed for the smallest possible independent Greek state (2012, 49). A small Greek nation-state did, in fact, take shape between 1829 and 1833.Count Ioannis Kapodistrias assumed the role of governor (like a president) to begin the difficult process of building an efficient state. However, historian Richard Evans points out that internal disputes ultimately doomed Kapodistrias, who was assassinated in October 1831 (2016, 61).Eventually, the Great Powers settled on a monarch to replace the Kapodistrias government. Prince Otto of Bavaria arrived in the capital of Nafplion in 1832. Otto initially endeared himself to many in his newly established kingdom by hellenizing his name to King Othon. Soon, the young monarch and the Greek government transferred the capital to Athens.Legacy of the Greek War of IndependenceThe Entry of King Othon of Greece in Athens, by Peter von Hess, 1839. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Neue Pinakothek, Munich, GermanyCreating an independent Greek nation-state between the 1820s and 1830s signaled a significant change in Europe.Historian Roderick Beaton argues that Greece pioneered the modern nation-state model. Shortly after Greeces independence was recognized, Belgium followed as a newly independent nation-state. As Beaton notes, this trend accelerated across Europe between the revolutions of 1848 and German and Italian unification in the 1860s and 1870s (2019, 113-114).The Greek case thus serves as an early example of the development of modern nation-states at the expense of empires in Europe.The small size of the newly independent Greek state meant that many Greek-speaking and Greek Orthodox Christian people remained subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Many Greek governments between the 1840s and 1920s sought to incorporate territory and these Greek communities through the nationalist project called the Megali (Great or Grand) Idea.References and Further ReadingBass, G. (2008). Freedoms Battle: The Origins of Humanitarian Intervention. Knopf.Beaton, R. (2019). Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation. Penguin.Evans, R.J. (2016). The Pursuit of Power: Europe, 1815-1914. Penguin.Holland, R. (2012). Blue-Water Empire: The British in the Mediterranean since 1800. Allen Lane.Kalyvas, S. (2015). Modern Greece: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press.Katsikas, S. (2021). Islam and Nationalism in Modern Greece, 1821-1940. Oxford University Press.Kitromilides, P. (2021). Introduction: In an Age of Revolution. In P. Kitromilides & C. Tsoukalas (Eds.), The Greek Revolution: A Critical Dictionary (pp. 1-18). Belknap Harvard.Mazower, M. (2021). The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe. Penguin.Rodogno, D. (2012). Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815-1914. Princeton.