Christoforos Perraivos

Christoforos Perraivos (Greek: Χριστόφορος Περραιβός) was a Greek officer of the Greek War of Independence, member of the Filiki Eteria and author. In non-Greek sources his name is usually found as Per(r)evo(s).

Perraivos was born c. 1773 in Pieria. His family name was Chadzivassilis (Χατζηβασίλης), but adopted the nickname “Perraivos” alluding to the Perrhaebi, an ancient Greek tribe of Thessaly. It is believed that he was an illegitimate son of a certain monk Hieronymos, official at the bishopry of Larissa.

In 1793, with the help of the said Hieronymos, he left Greece to study at the Greek School in Bucharest and in 1796 to study medicine in Vienna. There he met the Greek humanist and revolutionary Rigas Feraios and entered an underground revolutionary organization. In 1797 Perraivos was arrested with Rigas and others by the Austrian authorities in Trieste but, unlike Rigas Feraios who was handed over to the Turks, Perraivos was released.

Afterwards he left for Corfu, then under French administration, and enlisted in the foreign units of the French army. He remained there when the Russians took over the Ionian Islands in 1798. He fell into disfavour with the Russians but he managed to stay in Corfu and to serve in the army, thanks to the protection of the Greeks Eleutherios Benakis (Russian agent) and George Palatinos (secretary of the Russian Admiral). In Corfu he worked also as a teacher in Greek schools from 1804. During 1805-1806 he was attached to the Russian admiral Michael Dolgorukov and later was given the rank of major by the Russian admiral Dmitry Senyavin. As a commander of 4 units of 100 men ("hekatontarchies") he defended the island of Lefkada (one of the Ionian islands, then "Santa Maura") that was threatened by Ali Pasha.

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