Ottoman invasion of Mani (1770)
| 1770 Ottoman Invasion of Mani | |||||||||
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| Part of the Orlov Revolt | |||||||||
 Map of Greece with Mani highlighted. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
.svg){kind=small} Mani
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 Ottoman Empire
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Exarchos Grigorakos Tzanetos Grigorakos |
Hadji Osman † | ||||||||
The 1770 Ottoman Invasion of Mani was one of a series of invasions by the Ottomans to subdue the Maniots. Mani was one region of Greece that the Ottomans had not occupied due to the rough terrain and the rebellious spirit of Maniots. The Maniots caused damage to the Ottomans by allying with the Venetians whenever there was a war between Venice and the Ottomans, and also habitually engaged in piracy.
After the failed Orlov Revolt of 1770, in which the Maniots took part, Muslim Albanians (also known as Turkoalbanians) ravaged the Peloponnese and kept the Maniots cooped up inside Mani. The Turks also tried to keep the Maniots quiet by placing a Maniot bey to govern them. In 1770 the Ottoman bey of the Peloponnese, Hassán Ghazi, saw his chance to invade Mani and subjugate them once and for all.
With a large force of Muslim Albanians he penetrated into Mani and laid siege to the tower of the powerful Grigorakos of Ayeranos and Skoutari. The Grigorakos' tower held out for three days before being destroyed. The Ottomans then fought a battle against the Maniot army and lost and were forced to withdraw from Mani. The Maniots then sacked the Ottoman castle of Passavas on Easter Sunday.
The failed Orlov Revolt of 1770 was a disaster for Mani. The Maniots were bottled up inside Mani and were forced to pay a tribute of 15,00 groshes to the Ottomans. The Ottomans also appointed a Maniot bey to govern the Maniots. The Ottomans sent parties of Muslim Albanians troops to raid Mani. The Maniots still caused some trouble for the Ottomans with their ships.
The Ottoman pasha of the Peloponnese, Hatzi Osman, thought it was his chance to take over Mani once and for all and to impress the sultan. He gathered a large and seasoned group of Muslim Albanians soldiers to accompany him in his invasion of Mani. When the Maniots heard of the Ottoman preparations they gathered their army under the command of Éxarchos Grigorakis and his nephew Tzanetos Grigorakos who were from the powerful clan of Ayeranos and Skoutari in the mountains above Parasyros and waited for the Ottomans to arrive.
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