Georgios Karaiskakis: He died today – The veil of mystery surrounding his death – Newsbomb – News

It was April 23, 1827 when George Karaiskakis breathed his last and after so many years a veil of mystery still hangs over the causes of his death. On the one hand, the opinion has been expressed that the death of Georgios Karaiskakis was due to a murderous act either instigated by the English, who wanted to limit the Revolution in the Peloponnese, or by the great opponent of Alexander Mavrocordatos.

The fatal bullet

It was April 21, 1827 when the Greek forces were encamped in Faliro to face Kioutachi in another battle. The chief strategy had been undertaken by the English Philhellenes Richard Chorts and Thomas Cochran, by decision of the 3rd National Assembly of Troizena. However, Georgios Karaiskakis had disagreed with the plan of the frontal attack and had retired to the stage ill.

The next day, however, some Greek soldiers attacked without orders against the camp of Kiutachi. Georgios Karaiskakis was not left out! In order not to escalate the conflict, he left his tent and rode to the scene of the conflict around 4 pm. But then, a bullet found him in the lower stomach and seriously injured him.

The hero was taken to his camp in Keratsini. There followed a titanic struggle on the part of the doctors to keep him alive, however they had noticed that… the end was near. George Karaiskakis, after receiving the Immaculate Mysteries, dictated his testament which he signed with his own hand. The last thing he said to his fellow soldiers, according to General Makrygiannis who visited him, was “I’m dying. But you should be united and defend the homeland”.

The next day, April 23, 1827, the day of his name day, Commander-in-Chief Georgios Karaiskakis succumbed to his fatal wound in the small church of Agios Nikolaos in Keratsini, the day of his day. His body was taken to the church of Agios Dimitrios in Salamina where he was buried and mourned by the Panhellenic community.

One day later, the Greeks, with low morale and poor strategy, suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Analatos by Kioutachis, who very quickly suppressed the revolution in Central Greece.

The loss of Georgios Karaiskakis is irreplaceable

The entire nation mourned the loss of Georgios Karaiskakis, who was described as irreplaceable.

He was a thin, frail (suffered from tuberculosis), medium in stature, particularly nervous, irritable, outspoken and abusive man who, however, was destined to leave his mark unchanged. Georgios Karaiskakis had a will of steel, power of thought and criticism and a special ability to quickly make decisions and execute them. According to what he himself said about himself, his character made him sometimes an angel and sometimes a devil.

The place of birth of Georgios Karaiskakis is unknown

He was born in 1782 and was the illegitimate son of Zoe Dimiskis or Dimiskis, from Skoulikaria, first cousin of the charioteer of the Radovyzians, Gogos Bakolas. His mother, after the death of Ioannis Mavrommatiotis, who was her first husband, became a nun (that’s why he was nicknamed “the nun’s son”). There is no certainty about the identity of his father. It is considered more likely that he was the charioteer of Valtos Dimitrios Iskos or Karaiskos, from a famous family of Sarakatsan descent that produced many military and political figures.

It is worth mentioning that the place of birth of Georgios Karaiskakis is not completely ascertained. His first biographers either do not record the place of birth, or mention different areas such as that he was born in a cave near the village of Mavrommati Karditsa or in a monastery in Skoulikaria.

The committee set up by the Ministry of the Interior in 1927, in order to resolve the issue of his birthplace, ended up officially announcing Mavrommatios as the birthplace of Karaiskakis. Nevertheless, in 1997, within the framework of the Kapodistrias project, it was decided to give the name “Georgios Karaiskakis” to the newly established municipality of the Arta prefecture to which Skoulikaria belongs to today, and in 2005, by presidential decree, a public holiday of local importance was officially established in Skoulikaria, in honor of Karaiskakis, further intensifying the controversy as to the hero’s birthplace.

The etymological origin of his surname

His surname is a caressing diminutive of Karaiskos, borne by the hero’s father, Dimitrios Iskos or Karaiskos, Karas because he was dark-skinned. It is a compound word from the Turkish kara – meaning black – and the older family name Iskos.

*With information from Wikipedia