Mavromichalis - Fame and Glory

Fame and Glory

The first renowned Mavromichalis leader is the 18th. descendant of the orphan boy, who was named Georgios Mavromichalis and was the hegemon of a rebellion that took place in the Peloponnesus sponsored by Count Orlov during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774. Together with his sons Ilias-Pierros Mavromichalis and Ioannis "Skylogiannis" Mavromichalis he guided the warlike Maniots to events of glory defeating the Turks and Albanian allies.

Another relevant member of the family was a son of "Skylogiannis" who became a Turkish fleet admiral named Şükür Mehmet Bey. He was captured during battle and decided to embrace Islam and become a renegade. Although being a traitor to his motherland and religion Şükür was vital in making lobby for the appointment of his cousin Petros Mavromichalis as the de facto head of state of the Beylik of Mani by the Sublime Porte.

Under the leadership of Petrobey as he was called, the most wonderful pages of glory would be written in the history of the clan and Mani. By the time of the uprising of the Greek War of Independence, the Maniot state and the Mavromichalis family in particular were powerful enough to control the areas of southern Peloponnesus against both Greek rebels and Albanian raiders in behalf of the Sultan's request.

But Petros Mavromichalis was a patriot whose main goal was to free the rest of Greece from Ottoman rule. This way he voluntarily ceded the leadership of the rebellion in Theodoros Kolokotronis and contributed with a vital contingent of troops that liberated Kalamata and Tripolis, and participated in the expedition of help to the Souliotes where Petrobey's young brother Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis heroically found death fighting the Turks.

Plus, under the leadership of Petrobey, a remarkable commander like Ibrahim was defeated during the Egyptian Invasion of Mani which attempted to put and end to the whole Hellenic uprising in general and to the Maniot soveraignity in particular.