Nikolaos Zervos

Nikolaos Zervos ( Greek Νικόλαος Ζερβός , also Nikolaos Rokas Νικόλαος Ρόκας or Zervonikolas Ζερβονικόλας, * 1780 in Kountoura Megaridas , West Attica ; † January 1823 in Neapoli , Crete ) was a general of the Greek independence .

youth

Nikolaos Zervos was born in Kountoura, which at that time belonged to Megaris. Alternatively, the neighboring town of Eleusis is named as the place of birth . In 1790 his hometown was conquered by the Ottomans and the 10-year-old Nikolaos Zervos was brought to Istanbul to train him as a soldier of the Janissaries . From now on he was called by the Turkish name Mustafa and soon earned the name Dayi Mustafa ( Greek Νταῆ Μουσταφᾶ , Turkish dayi = brave ). Mustafa eventually came into the service of Abu Ahmed Pasha, the sultan's adjutant . He was married to Maria, the daughter of the freedom fighter Daskalogiannis , because he valued his wife very much and she was allowed to continue to practice her Christian faith. Mustafa revealed himself to her as a Greek and a Christian and from now on was under her personal protection. In 1816 Abu Ahmed Pascha died and in the following two years his two children, whom he had fathered with Mary. Maria went to a monastery on Tinos and Mustafa returned to his homeland.

Freedom struggle

Nikolaos Zervos went to Asia Minor . Here he came into contact with Kleften , Greek freedom fighters who mainly came from Crete . Under the name Dayi Mustafa, he posed as an Albanian Muslim and persecuted robbers who attacked Christians. When the Greek War of Independence began in 1821, Mariaos Zervos received money from Maria to recruit 20 men. Zervonikolas went to Samos and met with Georgios Andreas Daskalaki, the grandson of Daskalogiannis, who was also called Georgios Tselepis. With 30 men they sailed to Crete and met with other freedom fighters in Sfakia . On April 7, 1821, it was decided in Loutro to proclaim the revolution in Crete. Zervonikolas took part in the Pancretian Revolutionary Assembly on May 27, 1821 in the Church of Panagia Thymiani near Chora Sfakion .

Together with Georgios Tselepis, Zervonikolas won a victory at Loulos near Chania on June 14, 1821 . On December 3rd and 4th, the attempt to capture the fortress of Nafplio failed. On January 17 of the following year, Zervonikolas, together with partisans he knew from Asia Minor, liberated Arkadi Monastery from the hands of the Ottoman Getim Ali, took him prisoner and had him beheaded. When Mavrothalassitis fell in battle in March, Nikolaos Zervos was his successor and appointed Pentakosiarchos (rank: commander over five hundred).

In August 1822, Hassan Pasha landed on Crete with Turkish-Egyptian troops. On August 22, Hassan attempted to reach the Lasithi Plateau from the west over a pass . At the place called Tsoulis' tomb, Zervonikolas and Kazanomanolis repelled the attackers and captured weapons and ammunition. Thereupon Hassan tried to get over the pass of Ambelos in a nighttime surprise attack and was repelled again. Afendoulis appointed Nikolaos Zervos as commander in chief of the eastern provinces in the autumn. In November it was decided to free Ierapetra from the hands of the Turks. A surprise attack was planned, but on the planned day and the following day there was heavy rain, making it impossible to carry out. Eventually the Turks found out about the mission, reinforced their troops and repulsed the rebel attack.

There were disputes between the Greek generals due to mutual accusations. Zervos and Kouskoumbes went to Agios Nikolaos in January 1823 and received weapons and ammunition from a European ship. Zervos fell ill with pneumonia and went to Kenourgio Chorio , where he died a short time later and was buried. Hassan Pascha was delighted with the general's death. When he came to Kenourgio Chorio a short time later, he had the body of Nikolaos Zervos exhumed and used as a target for the rifle shooters.

literature

• Kallinikos Kritovoulides, Narrative of the Cretan war of independence , Volume I, London 1864 ( online at Google books )
• Emmanouel John Farsari, Ἡ ἐπαναστατική δράση τοῦ ὁπλαρχηγοῦ Ζερβονικόλα στήν Ἱεράπετρα κατά τόν ἀγώνα τοῦ 1821 in Ἄγκυρα Ἐλπίδος , ΠΕΡΙΟΔΟΣ Β, Issue 45, July-August 2008 ( online (PDF, 1.32 MB))

swell

1. ↑ Kallinikos Kritovoulides, Narrative of the Cretan war of independence , Volume I, London 1864, p. 172