Ottoman Invasion of Mani (1770) - Invasion

Invasion

See also: Battle of Vromopigada

When the Ottoman fleet arrived at Gytheio, Ghazi sent his second in command Ali Bey with 10,000 men he advanced to Kastania to deal with the klephts Konstantinos Kolokotronis and Panagiotaros Venetsanakis. The town was defended by 400 men, women and children who held out for twelve days before trying to break out. The Ottomans however found out and slaughtered the defenders, of whom only 100 escaped.

The Ottomans then headed to Skoutari only to find it abandoned except for the Grigorakos' tower in the centre of the town which was garrisoned by fifteen men under the command of Yanis Katsanos. The Ottomans laid siege to the tower, but were repulsed for the first three days by the small force. On the third night Ghazi, frustrated by not having captured the tower, had it undermined. Once the mine was completed, he loaded it with gun powder, which he ignited, killing all the men in the tower.

The Ottoman army then proceeded to the plain between Parasyros and Skoutari which was called 'Agio Pigada' which means 'Holy Wells' because of the monastery on the hill above the plain being surrounded by wells. The Maniot army advance to Parasyros and sent three brothers as envoys to Ghazi. They demanded that Ghazi and his men retreat or they would face to fight the Maniot army. Seeing that his army outnumbered than the Maniot army, he responded by beheading the Maniots' envoys and sending their heads to the Maniots on silver plates.

The infuriated Maniot army charged down the hill, and before the Ottomans had a chance to prepare the Maniots were upon them. The ended in a rout with the Ottoman army suffering heavy casualties. The rest of the Ottoman army including Ghazi retreated. The Maniots had nowhere to bury so many corpses so they threw them down the wells. The plain later got the name 'Vromopigada' which means 'Dirty Wells'.

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