Limberakis Gerakaris

Limberakis Gerakaris
Mani (dark blue), the birthplace of Limberakis Gerakaris, within Greece.
Born	ca. 1644 Oitylo, Mani
Died	1710 Brescia
Allegiance	Mani Ottoman Empire Republic of Venice
Rank	Bey, Captain

Liverios Gerakaris, more commonly known by the hypocoristic Limberakis, (Greek: Λιβέριος (Λιμπεράκης) Γερακάρης; c. 1644 – 1710) was a Maniot pirate who later became Bey of Mani.

Limberakis Gerakaris was born in Mani in around 1644. He served as a rower in a Venetian galley before becoming a pirate. After several years, he was captured by the Ottomans and imprisoned. After a failed attempt to capture Mani, the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, offered Gerakaris his freedom and to make him Bey of Mani in return for allowing the Turks to garrison some castles in Mani.

In his brief reign, he forced several families to flee from the Mani. He soon returned to piracy and was imprisoned was again by the Ottomans. However, when the Venetians invaded the Peloponnese in 1685, the Ottomans released Gerakaris and made him ruler of Mani and in return he promised to fight for the Turks. When the Turks unsuccessfully attempted to poison him, he defected to the Venetians, who acknowledged him as Bey of Mani. In 1696, he sacked Arta as the citizens of the city had burned his property nearby. The Artans complained to the Venetian Doge, who had him imprisoned in Brescia, where he died in 1710.

Limberakis Gerakaris was born in Oitylo, Mani in ca. 1644. By the age of 15, he was serving as a galley rower in the Venetian navy. He is next heard of five years later, as a feared pirate. After three years of piracy, he was captured by the Ottomans and imprisoned in the Bagnio of Constantinople. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, who had successfully conquered Crete from the Venetians during the Cretan War (1645-1669), sent the pirate Hasan Baba to subdue Mani because they had assisted the Venetians in the war. However, Baba's attack failed and Köprülü was forced to turn to Gerakaris for assistance. Köprülü offered him freedom and promised to make him Bey of Mani in return for allowing Turkish garrisons to take some Maniot castles as well as paying tribute to the Ottomans. Gerakaris accepted and was freed.