“ ‘Nasionatsm ond Narionalty 158-9. The ction fhe Grek Paarch of Antioch comer eis ‘eal or na Paschals M. Kitromilides is Professor of Politeal Science atthe University of Athens and Gicector of the Centre d'Etudes d'Asie Mineure. His published srork inches Small Sates in the Modern Word (1979), Culturesnd Soctery in Contemporary Europe (1981) and losspos Motsodax: The Coordinates of Balkan Thought in the Eighteen Century (985), John S. Koliopoulos Brigandage and Irredentism in Nineteenth-Century Greece Inthe Greck War of Independence and in subsequent military and ‘political developments a central role was played by a distinctive Imilitery dass which was the product of a combination of {mountsinows terrain with foreign conquest and rle. The relevant (feoeraphical coatert atthe star ofthe nineteenth century was Fistorially conditioned: the existence of numerous mountain com tunities contrasting witha sparse lowland population, The origins ‘Of this demographic pater may lie in envieonmental neglect and ‘eclne during the early modern period, resulting the exhaustion of capital invested earlier in wate-couses, cisters, mils, fam bullings, bridges and roads. In consequence the land annually Jost some of is power to sustain Ife. Diminishing productivity and {general unhealthines duc to environmental decline together with the hazards sssociated with Turkish conquest and rule, led t the Telocation of large part ofthe population in te nighlands; he ‘majority tok up animal husbandry, an ecological adjustment wi ‘important and far-reaching consequences or the couse of modern Greek history. Pastoralits in the affected regions practised transhumance ‘of sheep and goats, rised for milk, wool and meat. Large flocks, accompanied by shepherd familis, their horses, mules, tnd possessions, moved in late Apel trom the lowland t0 the ‘mountain pastures and returned in Noverber. The rue home of shepherd families was the Pindus mouatains, easly accessible from the plains and valleys of central Greece. The Pindus range, the Adjacent mountains of Macedonia and Rumeb, and the lowlands of ‘Thessaly, Arta, Actolia, Pthiots and Pieri provided the appro- priate combination of summer and winter puture. Some pastoral |Boups moved their flocks longer distance, sometimes actos the« [Natontio and Notional ‘Balkans, but most pracined & less far-anging transhumance, iigrtory cycle based on the turn of the seasons and confined {o more oF less the same mountain dsc and lowland winter pustures, Migratory shepherds, on both their spring and autumn Journeys, followed prearranged and relatively safe routes, usually ‘long the region's vers= “This demographic and ecological pattern involved dispersed habitation and an unsetled mode of fe which accentuated the naocurity arising out of foreign and arbitrary rule, and favoured the development ofa separate society in the highlands, strange land basally hostile othe towns and the lowland world in gene ‘The use or treat of force, «primary determinant of access to and Actence of vital sources of livelihood, accentuated the cimate of {nsccurty and competition. Physical and socioeconomic fragmen- tation, onthe other hand, favoured strong local attachments and loyalties combined with mistrast towards outside authority. This secial organization favoured sheepesteaing, robbery, and arms bearing, which in tr contributed tothe development of itary ase wi its own ethos. This clas grew within the foreign rule's ccuniy systems; unable fo bring the mountainous region under ‘toctive state control and sation garrisons at strategic points the ‘Ottomans licensed bands of Christian iereglas, generally Enown fs ermatoles, and entrusted them with the task of keeping way Drgands, known as Rephs, fom the villages and valnerable ‘rountan pees which state officials, military detachments, hocks ‘flivestock and caravans had 1 cross. ‘The Mephis and armatoles were the prodect of imecurity of fe and propery, conquest, foreign rule, and a terrain and fxonomy’ that favoured lawlessness in general and brigandage in particular. They were mountaineers, mostly pastoralists, and Usually predatory in thei habits. Whether bandits or militiamen In the service ofthe authorities, they valued arms, and thrived on olence and open or veiled defiance of established authority. No ‘doubt the avalabiity of arms inthe eighteenth century contributed to the militarization of theie defiance. Bese, an AMbanian term Snckeating pact and honour, wis a regulatory principle i the work ‘of mountain outlaws while palkaré ot leven indicating manl- fess, courage and bravery, was a greatly esteemed ideal. Members of ths special group were also expecied to be magnanimous, generous, selédhciplined and capable of great feas of physical Srengih and endurance. They bad to distinguish themselves in Koliopoulos,Brigandage and Inredentim 6 ‘an area where military talent, in contrast 10 resources, was never “The armatoles were former outlaws who had been amnested and employed to suppress banditry. Setting a thief to catch a thief. a ploy used ever since rules sought to protect heir ‘exposed teritoris and frontiers without keeping standing armies, ‘Sar common practice, Armatoles were charged withthe safety of Jnountain pesses and nantenanceof lw and order in he districts of theitjurstiction, the anmatolke. These coincided with certain SSaministraive units in eas where brigandage was prevalent, ach armatolik was entrusted 1 a kaptos (captain). usually ‘honen from among the abest and most dangerous outlaws and feceivng his authority directly from the Turkish authorities in fhe presence of the Christan notables. He pledged fidelity to the state and was commisioned to keep a number of armatoles under his command im order t0 be able to perform his dts, ‘The captain, once invested with formal authority, patrolled the rmatoic,clleted aswell as state and other tas the special {anes paid by Christan subjects towards the salaries of armatoles tunder his command, and did his best to run the district safely preserve, rasing locks and engaging in farming and commerce ‘Tne poston gradvally became hereditary und war wentiied with ‘numberof oel families sch asthe Boukouval the Stornai, the Kontoyanis andthe Vammakits, “The Klephis were mainly fugitives, debirs, outlaws. miss, stentrer, visti of opprtson, men ant ainched tothe land by property or other obligations, who took tothe ils and became toigands. A rel or imagined injustice, an infraction ofthe law. oF merely family tradition were enough to senda young man ouside the bounds of lawful society In a world where the line separating fegaity trom legality was blurred, crossing it did. not always involve 4 serious infingement of the law, By virtue of their sefiance of established authority, the Kleps captured the poplar Smagination and were exalted inthe folksongs ofthe region. AS ‘members ofa band of outlaws, Klephts were driven by two primary ‘Considerations: survival, which was no ea; matter and amoesty ‘thich often entailed enlistment in a band of armatols. To achieve fecopniton, Kephts had to prove ther worth to the authorities; through violence and tertor they made themscives dangerous and feared, at the same tie discrediting their adversaries onthe right side of the law. The most enterprising, cunning and dangerous” Nationals and Nationality sorvved and attained the cherished goa: egimacy as armatoes ‘Once araestied and invested with the authoy to keep the law, they td all means thee pps. say i power when These people’ Se date governor of nctoy Karen know mt wat Tee ee mtnd and he pore Alexander Mawokordts, aoa sepescnave in meter Ruel, intercede with Berroa of Sovak w that ean the nbs GrrE ne sight show more sses fo hs aun. For 8 aes lore he fl wn om rte and oan ingles death {isthe Acopt Odyscus belt al power in Athens: itary, ear somped for postion athe mens 0 Kop a many coeliac pote wally ath coment of pre-war aptanito wo saTtsied nctvort finery. Throup eight comes. ‘Sevan aan oe armen ory coho sty toe wf sal cpa ed with eh TREY Seek of aie ad i sores. Posesson ofthe Kolopoulos, Brigandage and Iredentm 2 ‘means 10 pay and feed the armed men under theit command ‘was the main preoccupation ofthe captains ata time when the overnment had neither adequate revenues to satisfy such basic ‘demands, nor the administrative machinery required to ascertain. that funds were used fr the needs ofthe soldiery, Moreover, for lack of cash and proper agencies of payment, direct acess by the miltary commander tothe resources ofthe land war offen the only Solution to the problem of keeping the armed bands in the fel, CCapisins held fast 1 the terstories they had sized, considering them a legitimate prize. George Karaskakis considered the dstrct. ff Agrapha, which he claimed to have Wberuted, ‘legimate ‘conquest * Odysous held fas to the Acropolis of Athens, whence Ihe controlled Atica and part of Bocotia, unl dislodged by captains: and when he signed truce with the Torks and submited {in 1825 to a triendly Albanian chieftain, it was with the aim of ‘ining reinsatement inthe region by forcing the revolutionary ‘government to come to terms with im.” Disputes over control of certain discs ed wo fee litle civil wars that seriously limited the scale and impact ef the W against the Turks. Such disputes raged between Karaskakis and John Rangos over the district of Agrapka, which was a bone of ‘eontenton from the outbreak of hottie mil he former's death in 1827, Agrapha was a "border dtc’ contested by both Greeks land Turks, who alterated the appointment of authorities with ‘outs of plunder. Ranaos a foreinerto Agrapha ~ he came from featby Vals ~ but friend of Mavrekordaton, was appointed Imlitary governor of the district. No sooner had be secured the position tan he sent his trusted feutenants to rule in his mame, and lashed with Karaskaks nd his men, The lawful hee othe local aptanik was Kostas Boukouvaas, sion ofa famous armatelic family that had been sociated withthe soptanik before the war ‘ut had since faced many adverse. ‘Some captains amassed riches oF simply added to those they already possessed, but others saw their fortunes disappe \Varnakiois, captain of Xeromero before the war, was a powerful ‘man before submitting tothe Turks in 1822 ~ most probably after Securing a beter bargain from a eiendly Albanian commander than the revolutionary government was in @ postion to grant him. His considerable property inland, stored grain, sheep and cattle became the easy prey of his former lieutenants, particularly ‘George Tsongas,» Sarakatan who stepped into his master's shoes” Natonatiom and Nevonaiy and had the government pint him mitary governor ofthe di ‘tet. Shortly before his submission and dspossession, the Senate fof Westen Greece, the local assembly of exptains and primates, Aressed the provd captain in most servile trms, fearing him ‘more than I id the revolutionary goverament or the sultan." or similar reasons and motves many captains went over to ‘the Turks, or merely threatened to dso. Submission tothe Turks ‘and collaboration to any depfee withthe enemy, deplorable and ‘ontemptide though they may have been to the representatives of the insurgem government and the emerging new politcal entity. fwere actions faken within the context of traditional roles and Values ~ indeed, the very ees and values associated with the {evelopment ofthe military cla ofthe region already described ‘When, following the fal oF Msslonghi to the Turks in Apri 1826 And the submission of mort Rumeliot military chefs to thet former masters. Andrew Siafakas was appointed capain ofthe armatolk Of Lidoik by Mehmed Reshid Pasha, nether side appeared Consider the act extraordinary. Even less extraordinary, 10 the ‘dversris af lest, appears lo have Been co-operation of more Giscret character, ike the mutually beneficial and unheralded {elationship between Tsonges and a sendy Albanian chieftain, Bekir Djogador, who entrusted their flocks of sheep to each ‘thers protection whenever the Greeks jvaded Bekir's domain in Prevera or the Albanians di the same inthe opposite direction. "? Tm more than one sung, eubmecion and collahorstion grew out ofthe traditional exchange of reles between outlaws and organs of security, I now operated in « novel context; the emergence ff an alternative central authority and the ation of political Simension to outlawry raised the stakes dramatically and made the ‘old game a rather grim undertaking. ‘Certainly, concer fr the safety and welLbeing of the inhabit- ants ofthe district under captain's jurisdiction was a considera- tion no less weighty than pureit of personal and family interests fand advancement; infact, they were inseparable, “To bring the poor wretches back to their hus’, weote Gogos Bakolas, a wise old Eaptain, to justify bs submission to his former masters following the Grock defeat at Peta in August 1822 which let his border ‘aptalik-of Radovits atthe Turks’ merey. Cancer for the Stety ofthe people ~and for honour ~ prompted Kariskakis, 00, to open negotiation in May 1824 with «Turkish commander: o 6 the maintained with great and disarming force ina leer addressed Koliopoulos, Brigandage and lredenasm % to. pasha.'s With Grek fortunes, especialy inthe borer zone, slvays in the Balnce, no responsi leader of the respective ‘ommunitice could be expected to disregard the real danger of tis dict becoming a hutlegound of adversaries lacing an ‘organized supply sytem and depending for thei ly needs on ontbutons and plonder. The cptainn hs capes chief of regulars, miltary governor, an collector of tne in his dst, had ever interest Keping the wir ind the attendant ravages ty. scram peae fr the pope ede is [tein A capa’ power and sutory, paral n tines ‘trapidy changing Greumstanes, ested alnont excel on the ‘umber of armed men he was able to keep under his command: {nd when od lyalies wer loonened or evered the only etectve ‘means of keeping regulars attached othe band were salaries and ‘ations, which had oe secre by all means and at any eos ‘Avot etd factor behind submision and coloration, in addon to concern forthe safety of one's poople and the ‘interred collection of vil revemue, was the tangled tnd Confliing networks of allances and ini respective liners in the rion. Allances were formed dnd reformed and feuds intense due to the rvistonary governments. flrs to ares individual lary expertise an fence to the ener Warelfor.Thooretealy, the rerult of sach fonts and enealy of the exerci of central authority should have been the Gascon Of allances snd the termination of feuds, But un the central See eer inc eee Became possible only str the sna from London ofthe fist instalment of the War Loan in 1824 and as national rovenuc Was clesed and became salable vader government soperson, ‘pais andthe pursits ha oe tolerated. Inded, the had 13 be favoured, when, sbmision to the enemy includ, they mere {tt be general barmles nthe long runsince they newalzed ‘ach other and sadaallyendermined the power ofthe miliary a Tisurgent or submissive captains were always sense tothe sice of their hands, which they organized ard a cleus of {ested men, preferably kinsmen, and which hey always ted capand. A sizeable ad compact band was a formidable weapon, ‘an ntrument of pois and influence no ls than san instr: ‘meat of war. Commissions and ranks cried so many sles ad ‘ations in cash or kind, Captains were never short of devices when6 Natonam and Navonay Tet ges cans mittee et Nemertina pe eeeetee ep eri toed raed cio Gea ee Spcege tant ey nn cow ee ee ea erate rene reer Sac ad pe peer! pentane ie eee Ce fereplenety teeny ee aes sath aie yee at Bebe erp oe ee ane ca peat oe eee eos oreee a negara et ca pes ae seer cet ey el or Soe ee Se ee aes Nee carat coat a atten ine reat mei, er a care ora rad eee ee eee See tees wien ae ae eee sates es canon am espe en aan ern sors eae ae Aprende seen ere estar licen Se a eee rire See cen ta eae Seer a ra ee Soe Peete ea See eee ome a ee hecriaes magherepier ea rater eat canal te eee: ire ete eae tater eee ae seein Koligpulos, Brigundage and Iredentm ” ‘enemy and an end in themselves since most knew ite else besides the life of a freebooter andthe general Jevatation and disruption cused by the war had dramatically ineeased the demand for pid service in arms. In this sense, and 1 the extent that they entered lint agresment with 2 captain to serve for a monty salary, lnregolars were mercenaries, but of a partes kind. As members ‘ofthe military class described earlier, they were associated with & Paricular chief or set of chet, identi withthe same locality 8 themsches. For all the war's upheavals and the atendant Joosening of social relationships, generally men led and followed lative and acquaintances, not strangers: and when they chose to ‘defect from 2 camp, they did 40 the company of comrades and under thee pety chet Salaries were a primary consideration for both the regular and his captain, as ofcourse was the prospect of loot and food. For lack of an effective supply sytem, the problem of provisioning the roving bands ofireguars was solved by unothiily letting the men help themselves from the postessons of those Who had something to lose. In the absence of effective central government tnd because ofthe shifting forunes and territorial zones ofthe ‘versaies, everyone whose posteions attracted the attention ‘ofthe hungry iregular and who could aot offer armed resistance forthe defence of property was considered enemy The locks of the local and passing shepherds atacted the iregula’s attention ‘more than any other kind of property, no doub because sheep and goat un be made to walk and becoun of the eal wane it sheep-stealing. Many ofthe Greck irepulars~ and thet Turkish and Albanian adversaries — who felon the sheep and goats of the ‘more vulnerable shepherds with such devastating famarity with sheepstealing had bea, and continued to be, shepherd In search of fo. paid milary service ad Booty, and while fighting to secure what they considered their de, captains and irtegulars fought the war to a succesful end, undermining al the while, unintentionally but irevocabiy, the very foundation of tit class. The extensive and sstemati pilage and dispesession practised throughout the war. which sutsied immediate needs, Seriously disrupted the regional economy. The pastoral economy ‘particular. which constituted the main foundation ofthe military ‘las, was deat avery serious Mow. It could setin insttiona lized and professional sheep-stcaing, ut could not abso the large-scale’ losses cause by undisciplined and hungry bands of® Navonaliom and Nevonaliy lnregulars. Mercenary and predatory by tradition, captains and ‘ther men served whatsoever masters and causes they judged best ‘sted thei interes. Ultimately if indirectly, they nevertheless ‘vanced the cause of the emerging national state, which proved 2 formidable master, Captnine, however, did not recede into Sblision. They survived the war and the postwar upheavals Sand lingered on, delaying their demise by adapting to the new Fealies and finding for themselves new role inthe emerging new ‘socio-political framework ‘The Gresk national sate, disapointing though it may have teen to many Crock, wa ate hat cok! be expanded. Most Greeks viewed the terial semen! of 160 as nthing more than a temporary arrangement. Succsive Grek testi puns irre expend t Keep pace wth Otoman deine, sujet, of Tours, the Micrusting interests and influence of he Eropean powers inthe alkane and the Near East ‘Those, bowere, tere raat at were jet ieee, ignored te abjcives and regurement oth ofthe Grek Nate tnd of Crisis inthe stats domaine. The more sober and Tesponsble socal clement in oth realms were understandably felon fo dst the pesce inthe aen and thus undermine dhe tape sey i oth counties, Bat there were many others tho stemed to thrive on such upheavals To the captain and Tht centage, who need sable oeeson fo cies tr predaory teas as well a 10 other pares Wat derived a foltel pro fom bend activity, such disturbances were more {an weltome; and when dituraices were slow mating. they were realy iced nthe name of he waredeemedbrthet teres te order. Ottoman mile and oppression could always Frode the necesay oss for call ams wile pricvances ‘ened to the prin poi gue hat ha developed in the ‘Grek state conte fo the onbeak of uch disturbances in tore than one my Uphenas ofthat are produced reat dentin, partial Iy inthe northern Grek proviso the neighbouring domains Othe allan, where recat and gad bands were atoed, shen ith the same cbyectvs. The dturbancs of 1535-8 the forth provinces of Greece in wich Sabanded and ate {replaof the War of Independence sought fre he sate 0 ‘Koliopoulos, Brigndage and Irredentsm ” reemploy them. produced a serious dislocation on both sides of the frontier and Beaped on the northern Greek provinces hordes of deste refuges from the sultans domains. An itedentst foray into the same domains in 1840, nthe occasion of another crisis ofthe ‘Eastern Question aguin allowed Greek nationalists to make their point and provided predatory irreglas with an ‘opportunity to rob with impunity. Thee years later the September 1843 revolt, which opened the way forthe promulgation of the consituon of 1844, abo inaugutated a period in which the government manipulated iredemism and iredentst bands of all Shades and pursuits 1 fed nationalist aspirations and satis the capains and their following atthe expense of the peasantry 00 both sides ofthe border. loans Kolttis, prime minister (844-7) nd recogsizedpaton af the Rumelit polars (braves), allowed ‘captains o pursue their interests roatvely freely bat mostly across the border. In that way Kolettis satisfied a potentially dangerous social clement without burdening sate finances, while creating the impression that Greek national aspirations were ot being abandoned. Koletis manipulated the traditional military element ‘without precipitating a break with Turkey and without favouring ‘one set of military condowier against another more than was safe forthe security ofthe state and his regime. ‘The end of Koletis’s regime in 1847 inaugurated a period ‘of instability, with roving bands of iregulas led by dsffected ‘captains. What started as a game of measured and cleulated se ‘of band activity between "in and “ou soon became transformed acerca eae a ae iy after news ofthe 1848 revolutions in Europe began to Sppea lathe Athenian pest. Cerin demands of bera-com Stitutiona nature, which Were never more than a smokescreen for the pursuit of objectives more dear to the eaptins of Rumel, di not mislead the government. A series of measures, such a permis: sion to recruit itreularsat state expense and repeated amnesies ‘of outlaws, took the ground from under the feet ofthe rebels and Jed tothe gradual collapse ofthe disturbances. “The politcal turmoil of the Inte IRAs was followed by the lnredeatist upheavals ofthe mi-IRS(s, cezasoned by the Crimean War. Even before the outbreak of hoses between Russia and ‘Trkey in the autumn of 1853, nationalist feeling was rising in Greece a fesult ofthe celebration of the Ath soaiversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in May 143,0 Nationalm ed Natinaity ‘There was much talk shout the establishment of ‘Greek Empire® on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. and the liberation ofthe unredeemed brothers who were expected tise in armsat the fis Signal from Greece. Fee and unredeemed Grecks would embark ton the ‘Second Geco- Turkish War’ om the pattern ofthe firs War against the Turks, the War of Independence” By January 14St, Greek nationalists were able to incite revolt in Epirus and ‘Thessaly and to send across the border several thousand volunteers to.support the rebels “The 1854 iedemtisrising inthe sultan’s domains bordering on Greece atacted, in addition 0 nationalist enthusiast from aes the border, the traditional military clemeat ofthe region and 2 seat collection of brigands and other outlaws. To confront the Christian would-be ibrators and marauders the Porte sent hordes ‘of Muslin Albanian ireglas, who proved more than a match for their opponents in the art of dspostestng friend and foe. Before log. the ing degenerated into indiscriminate and systematie plunder, othe great disappointment ofthe nationalist press which forthe best part ofa year had been exhorting the Greeks to joi the national crusade in Epirus and Thessaly. A change of government tnd policy in mid-1854, which came after the intercession ofthe ‘Briish andthe French wit the King, pat an end othe sing and saved Greece some face: by the time the Greek government was, obliged to bow before foreign intervention, the rising had, fo all racial purposes. spent its free, andthe insurgent bands had {armed info groups of endstptined marauders. The collapse of the ring in Epirus and Thessaly sent ito the noehern provinces of Greece hundreds of destitute refugees, many of them rebels who hd been compromised inthe eyes of the Ottoman authorities and ould not retura to their homes. "Frustrated national aspirations and reseatment athe establish- iment by the great European powers of an international financial Commission to examine and feporton the poor shape of Greck finances, as wel at idetifcation withthe struggle ofthe Kalians| for unification, led to the October 1842 revolution which forced ‘ing Otto and Queen Amalia to abdicate thee right the throne and leave the country. Until the arrival the following year of row king, the young Prince George ofthe Danish royal house of Giicksburg, and the promulgation ofa new constitution in 1864, the rebels had time to break open prisons and let loose scores of politcal prisoners and common criminal. Koliopoulos, Brigdege and Irredention 8 ‘The general and unprecedented licence of the intersemum favoured a sate of lawlessness, which, after the promulgation ofthe nes" constitution ruling out amnesty of common criminals, Droduced an explosive situation during the next fem yeat, Before 1864 the periodic amnesty of outlaws was employed t0 defase similar situations. ‘The measure had been used i the 1830 and 1840s, whenever brgunds appeared to be more provocative than usual, Another measure, puting a price on the heads of ‘notorious outlas, was of lit ue. If suppression was imposible nd amnesty unavailable, another tied expedient was certin YO produce results: recruitment of outlaws int ieredemist bands. A ilborn rising Thessaly io T867 gave outlaws of northern GGroees the opportunity to exercise their talents outside Greek territory, while a protracted rising in Crete (1866-9) appeared to offer great prospects for plunder to the same outlaws, who ‘were given free passage to the embatied island. By that time. ‘nfuliled iredentist aspirations, the pressure of outawry, and the requirements of the particular brand of poidcs that had ‘developed in Greece allowed her rulers to soe inthe county's ‘outlaws so many legitimate volunteers forthe irredentist struggles ‘ofthe nation Irregulars, by that ime, appear to have been established as the favoured army of the ation, while the regular army had come 10 be comsdeted at bos a decorative Wester institution. This was not unrelated the impossibility of employing the regular army in| the parsit of iredentst policy, since the great European powers would not allow the use of force forthe realization of Greek ‘atonal aspirations. In 1867 army commanders om the trontier fw their regular army’ units gradually vanish as more men were persuaded by nationalist apostles to join iredentst ands across {he border. The sume practic threatened to destroy the mobilized farmy in 1877-8. onthe occasion ofthe Ruseo-Turkish Wat. This ‘heat, ia conjunction with mounting ad no ess threatening pressure on the government from public opinion to dedare Wear against Turkey, led in January I878 to the ilbadvised and ‘lated invasion of Thessaly by the Greek army. The rca of the army soon afte its despatch across the border, immediately alter the Russo-Turish armistice in Febeuat, was the signal for Sending ico Thessaly, Epirus and Macedonia 2 number of sizeable lnredemist bands to stir up revlt among the Christians of these ites2 Naviontim and Nevionaliy ‘The rsing inthe neighbouring Ottoman domains inthis instance supported the Greek claims atthe Congress of Ber, which in tur strengthened the hand of the British, who were able, ith ‘the suppor ofthe Austrians, limit drastically the territory ofthe rnewly-bor and Russiun-supported Bulgarian state and maintain ‘Ouoman rule in fersly contested Macedonia. As a reslt of the 1878 selement of the “Eastern Criss’ Thesaly was ceded to Greece in 181, and the Greeks acquired one mote ational ‘nem: the Bulgarians, who claimed Macedonia for themselves, Tn the mext few decades and uatt World War I, Macedonia ‘became the focal point of Greck iredents activity. Ta Macedonia ‘tipereased in volume and intensity afer 1878 and in the context, (of Bulgarian countr-laims i the tepion, which were responsible for a more militant turn of Greek uredentsm. The Bulgarian provocation and the Russian support assumed to lie behind lundermined and weakened the position of those who supported the fuflment of national aspirations in co-operation withthe other Balkan peoples. The challenge fom the nar ako undermined 3 ‘certain national self-assurance, which had derived fom traditional and generally recognized Greek cultural superiority in tara his was responsible for an increased urgency in the eas for national ‘unification through war anda Tes content claim to the eilzing mission ofthe Greeks “To support the new policy the Greeks needed an effective national army. Inthe hectic day of erly 1978, even a iredentis ands erosed into Thesaly, the need for auch an army wat stresed and the employment of bands of iregulars deprecated. Charla Trikoupis's army reforms in the 188, which aimed to increase the sie of the country’s armed forces and improve the quality of thei training and equipment, were well received (Old practices and habits, however. died hard. Oa the occasion of the Bulgarian annesation of eastern Rumelia in 1885, which provoked Greek demands for teritorial compensation, Theodore Deliyannis, Trkoupis's political opponeat and successoe i ge ernment, turned a blind eye to the formation of irredenist bands fd their eonsing the border even ashe ordered the mobilization ofthe army and kept i ostensibly ready for invasion throughout the winter of 1885-6. Even more striking was the role assigned othe irredentist bands ten years ater, on the occasion ofthe 1896-7 Greco-Turkish criss, which led to open hostilities in April 1897, A powerful redentst Koliopoulos, Brigandage and Irredenism 8 association, the National Society. in this instance recruited several sizeable bands and directed them to Macedonia throuphout the summer and early autumn of 1886; and im the early spring (of the following year the Society brought together for action fn Macedonia several hundred ittegulas of every description, ‘organized into bands and fited cut inthe fashion of traditional lnreglars. Captains were not hard to come by. as enthusiastic young army officers were thled wo rub shoulders with the professional marauders ofthe region who converged on the border from their mountain feteat, attracted mainly By the prospect of| booty. The invading army in April 1897, iis worth noting, wis preceded by the collection of frecbonters, who were the fst t0 fal back in uisordery fasion, followed soon by the regula army tthich proved no math forthe better trained and better equipped ‘Turkish army. Inthe Filton years before 1912, when Greece was at ast able to put inthe eld sizeable and well-organized and-equipped regular Bry, the Greeks waged yet another round of irredentist band war fare, the srugle for Macedonia. It was a vicious and protracted strugle against Bulgarian bands, and combined traditional tacts And armed elements with modern expertie provided by young, femy officers who led bunds of irregulas inthe contested region. ‘The struggle for Macedonia aimed 10 protect and support CChistians who were not afraid to claim a Greek national identity ‘nd to inculeate it ino those who felt only a Greek Orthodox tle. nil, wn candace crag exten, ec tional and cultural propaganda. Progressivey, however, and as the opponent became increasingly provocative and wsed force to win an advantage in the contested repion, the Creeks came 10 fealze that schools nd churches were of litle use without the ‘means ‘© keep the Bulgarian bands at bay. Inthe ight of the Turks’ dogged refusal o relinquish Macedonia, the inability of the European powers 0 agree on the dispossesion of the stan of his last European domains andthe unavoidable conviction of the contestants that such dispossesion was bound to come sooner oF later, dismemberment of Macedonia was postponed. Band warfare for the control of vilages and spheres of influence was adopted by the contestants almost naturally: bunds of every description became one of the area's main features. From 1963, when the ‘Bulgaiansupported IMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) lunched an unsuceesfl rising against Turkish“ atonaliom and Nationality rule, until the Young Turk revolt fa 1908, which promised equal tueatment to non-Muslims under aconsitionl government and ‘essentially put an end to the fighting in Macedonia, Greek bands more than met the Bulgarian challenge, at feast in southern ‘Macedonia, which was eventually won by the Greek regular army in the Balkan wars of 1912-13. The wars alo removed Some of the factors that ad sestaned! the wadtional mltary ‘lement ofthe region under consideration. Captains and bandits ‘fal descriptions were atlas relegated the pst, Some brigands Survived unt the end of the 192Ds but they were never move than hunted outlaws, survivors ofan era that had come to un end. The rowih, around the same time of popular trate based onthe lives and exploits of brigands wns iting tribute to an unforgotten ational pastime and reflected nostalgia for a wold that had ‘cutive self by almost a century. ‘Two developments that fcitated the prevalence and regular ‘reproduction ofthe captain cass were () the growth of national ‘ideology that paced captuins and their valuer and purity the centre of the process of national ibertion; and (i) the steady disintegration of mountain society and ecomomy which, In conjunction with the regula supply of destitute relugees trom ‘across the border, provided a pool of prospective chems forthe ‘captains. Major roles in the development of national Weology appear to have been played by the unsatisfactory boundaries of the original national Greek state. and more particularly by the “Ubiace separating ose peundurs fom what were believed DY Greeks tobe the rightful boundaries of thee nation. This distance ‘xa so great that there appeared to be no point in puting forward ‘atonal aspirations in the form of conerete territorial claims, ‘What were felt to he the undeniable historical rights of the Greeks, ab well asthe dominant postion of Greek lure and Janguage inthe Ottoman Empire, i the context ofthe expected isintegration of Otoman power in the European dominions ofthe ‘allan, contributed to this postponement of working out concrete And realistic teritoil dain forthe fledgling national states, ‘ethaps, did the fact that that national state had never Been what ‘most Greeks had really fought fo inthe fest place; 0, nally did the extensive conspiratorial network ofthe Pike Het, of Society of Friends, which worked forthe outbreak ofthe insure tion of 182, the proclamation of that insurrection in the Danubian Principles, andthe uprising in southern Macedonia and Crete. . a ‘Koliopouios, Brigandage and Iredenton ts ‘The War of Independence, as might be expected, became a ‘guiding point of reference: but it id not provide a framework for ‘the definition of national claims. The postion put forward during ‘the war that Grosse would consist ofthe districts tht had taken ‘oF would take up arms against Ottoman rule instead of biting ‘Greek national aspirations and expectations by placing them in the framework of evolutionary action, essentially denationalized” ‘these aspirations and expectations because it implied claims over territories inhabited by Greek Orthodox, among. whom those ‘sympathetic to the Greek national cause were not always in majority. Even more important fr the development ofa national ieology and policy. the projection of revolutionary action asthe ‘main defining and icgtiizing pont of relerene set the course of national policy and action, “The other point of reference led inthe same direction. This ‘wae that ofthe Ottoman Empire and the prospects of winning 4 dominant poston in the sultans European dominions. The Greeks of both the kingdom and the empire would eventually takeover the ater and ron tas a Christian empire thee numbers ‘and superior culture, as well thee historical rights, made this ‘transfer of power inevitable, The Greek nation, a notion never more vague and allembracing than in the formative years ofthe ‘edging Greek state, came to e considered the righ er of the ‘Ottoman Tarks. The nation wat sl conceived as a religious and cturl unity in bth space and ime, which included, in ation 1 te Greeks ofthe Hee stale, the Greek Untnodox ofboth the ‘Ottoman Empire and the diaspora. This broad view ofthe Greek nation favoured the postponement of the projection of definite {rographical boundaries and of adaptation of national aspirations fothem, ‘The idea of “gest fatherland’, so eloquently expressed by Koletis in his famous speech 10 the national assembly in January 1844, of free Greece as a “reserve! forthe liberation land unification of all Greeks in a great Greek empire, allowed 2 deputy in 1848 to speak of Asia Minor, Thesaly, Epirus, ‘Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Thrace, Bulgaria, Daca, the Tian Islands and the “etre Meciterranean’, a wel at Syria, a ‘these splendid dsc, these great Greek peoples. Similars, an ‘anonymous popular poet in 18SS envisioned, 2s a solace for the humiliating foreign occupation, the ‘nightfa’ and “natura” ‘boundaries of "Greece: the Danube and the Black Sea in the6 Natonalim: and Nationality ‘orth, the Euphrates in the eas, the Adriatic Sea inthe west, and the Mediterancan in the south The same all-encompassing and cusive notion of realm for the Greek nation nurtured the theory ‘ofthe indivi’ and “unity” ofthe Greeks and ofthe real of {Grecce’, as well as that of Greece's ‘mission’ to civilize the East by rising agnnet Ottoman rue, inthe manner of Chris’ rsing a save {the world That ‘mision’, no less than the “unity” ofthe Greek, called fora crusade to establish the Greek empire. The protesting powers had no legitimate reason to obstruct the establishment of that empite. Voices in favour of a model kingdom of Greese, and ‘of peacefl progres ofthe Greek in both the Greck kingdom and the Ottoman Empize, were not lacking but were drowned By the ‘alls to arms forthe establishment of the new “Greck Christian Empire. ‘The other development which is connected withthe undim- inshed influence of the captain clas in the ninetoemh centr the disintegration of the lal mountsin economy and society. is more iff to trace. Direct evidence forthe gradual and inexorable undermining and disintegration of the esomomy and society of the Greek uplands is almost impossible wo come by. ‘With few exceptions, contemporary observers fll to record that sinegration and the consequent exodus of mountaineers and particularly pastoralists. A sensitive and perceptive young oficet became aware, while serving on the fone in the early years fof the twentieth century. of this decline and dsntegraton of ‘mountain economy and socer, as a result of tel penetration bby modern civiation’ The movntsineers ofthe reson, demo alized and miserable but ‘proud like impoverished old noble’ ‘were unable to stem the fide, and simply fed the incoads of ‘modernity Depopulated upland communities and the growth of Towland villages snd towns might he considered indirect evidence of such disintepration, ifthe poce and volume ofthat migration ‘ould be safely established to ve been quicker and greater than the natural trickle of mountaineers sting inthe plain times of telative peace and security, and if could also be shown that the ‘mountsncers in question didnot choose to emigrate abroad. Both proposition are almost impossible to check for lack of regional ‘demographic stadt; while unccitisl comparison of available population figures can be very misleading am account of (3) the Inadequacies ofthe sate cenes, because Othe popular tendency {o associate it with taxation or consription; (i) the reluctance, Koliopoaos, Brigandage and lrredentism ® for similar reasons. of a large section of the population and particularly the mountaineers to register with the authorities of Seitled community: and (ii the fequent movement of migratory Shepherds from one tealm to the othe and from mountain t plain or the opposite. No surprise. then, that no one in Greece the time seems to have possessed even approximate Higures onthe migratory shepherds ofthe exon. ‘The unmistakably hostile attitude of offical Greece towards iigratory shepherds, while not constituting evidence of their Aecining fortunes, does point 10 one of the mala factors behind this decline: state hostility towards modes of life and economic activities that were dificult or impossible to incorporate into the predominant system of political social and economic relations. ‘This hoslity, which can be explained in terms ofthe resistance to the inroads of the moder state in traditional society, was imtemsiied inthe case of modern Greece by atleast four telated factors: brigandage incriminate shop-scaling and slaughtering by roving Bands of ieroglars, the dviton ofthe vital territory of migratory pastoralism by ational boundaries, and the expansion of plovghland to the detriment of grassland ‘The dilocating eect of brigandage needs litle explanation. Desperate to secure grazing land for thet locks, 2s well a to be able to migrate inthe autumn and spring, shepherds were obliged to rie right and et from the mayor who provided the necessary Certfiat of residence in particular deme, wo the gendarme Who ad to be convinced fo ror a bling eye to the unavoudable Wiss faom brigands~relatveso strangers ~as wells othe local entre preneut with enough political influence to feo extensive natioaal Erazing land from the state and Jesse i pcemesl to shepherds Gendarmerie officers and district governors planted shepherd ‘pies inthe varios shepherd associations to report contacts with the brgands, and set one group agains the other by securing the best pastures for shepherds under their protection. Fear of aret snd deportation for harbouring brigands drove many shepherds to ‘the folds ofthe brigand bands and, ultimately, to brigandage; and this in turn, let ther relatives atthe mercy ofthe eadarmes and the aca pote boss. Detention without trial in frightful dun ‘08 was usually lng and pant, and was oten expected to last ‘slong asthe pasone's endurance. Detention and imprisonment ‘rained the vital manpower ofthe pastoral association (welingato), ‘especially nthe spiag and summer, the beight of rian setitys Navionaiom and Narionaty and the most active period forthe pastralist. Wild Beasts and Sheep got thet share from the underpoteted floks, but the fons share went to the gendarme, the politcal boss, and the lanjer who scuted the seper eeu from detention or ‘son, The brgand conection which was Geo bth costo aid ecesity ited eplar and harsh punitive sta action which, tum, led othe victimization and bution of he shepherds ~ td increased connections with brigade "The pastorlssaiton was losing young mea to the brigand tands, to the gendarmerie ofthe fromier guards, and t0 the sedentary pessinry.Impovershed and demoralized shepherd families sled son to tach hinsel 10 fiendy band of trigands orto the gendatneieestentlly for the ame reasons secunty, and augmentation of deciming incomes, Brieandage Provided, in addition to immediate retuns the easiest path 0 Erlitat in the gendarmerie or the fromtcr guards so did service {nthe Dans ofiregulrs employed in redentst forays itera Trial apheawal. Another male member ofthe fama would find employment with peasant sheep-owners, 30 a (0 bring home {oe gun for is cree an shepherd tnd ake whatever came is ‘ray as collaborator with rigand bands o the gendarmerie. The Pastoral asoiation was gradually losing its attraction fo shepherd families, a tsaiity Yo powide a measure of secant) and prosper iy ogra uti Bri emer Gomer rs, and shephers inthe servic of sedentary Peasants were Primary demoralized and diting members os radon word Ima tt of divoltion, at ie when the ty andthe plain could ‘01 absorb all of them for lack of jobs and agieltural apt "The daponsesion of migratory shepherds was drain onthe pastoral tonomy which oul ot ssa, Pandering on nae ‘Gale ws pact whenever regular bands come fom Gree Into he neehbourng domains ofthe sltan ost wp revo among the untedeemed Greeks, and whenever the Turks summoned bands of Albanian leregulae to eel the invaders and Suppress the revolts, Soch forays mere extemeycnruptiv to tanchumant pastoral, becase the flocks were fen caught on the pain of ‘nei way fo the mountain pastures Inthe War of lndependen land in subsequent eruptions, particularly on th occasion of the ‘eredentst openings of 884 and 1878, Chin and Musi {eepulare wrought havoc onthe flacks of sep and goats ofthe region. With po supply lies to keep the bands of ier fd, Koliopoulos, Brigandage and Iredentism » {he men fell on the possesion of both shepherd and peasant, ere spective of loyalty and with unvarying resus. Migratory shepherds were again dipossesed inthe Greek-Turksh wat of 1897, during the struggle for Macedonia (1903-8) and even in the Balkan wars (0912-15) when the adversaries pat inthe fed regular armies with adequate supply ines. Sheepstealing ofcourse, had always been practised and was a ‘quasi-profesonal activity af which the shepherds themselves were Unsurpassed master. Bat this kind of animating ony led to fan insignificant and rather temporary readjustment of ownership. ‘What adversely affected the pastoral economy ofthe region was the largeseale dipossession of migratory shepherds and. the consequent dislocation caused by the aciviis of undisciplined bands of irregular, Stch loses could nat be susttned even bythe ‘most powerful groups of transhuant shepherds, who hid to mect ising costs ina word increasingly dominated by nation-states and peasant proprietor. ‘Even mere disleating than Drigandage and indiscriminate animal theft and slaughter waste division ofthe vital trtitory of ‘nomadic pasioralism by nation boundaries separating perennially hostile states. The fit Greek-Turkish tromier ran through ‘continental Greece and harmed migratory shepherdsin atleast 40 ways it increased the eos ofthe seasonal movernens af the ok, {as shepherds were obliged to pay. in adion othe regula sheep tax, a certain duty on crossing from one state to the other andi ‘oniibuted to the dispossesion of the shepherd by the frontier ‘guards and other state officials onthe border, In adition Tegal ‘ates and ilgal seizure of animals the border, shepherds had to pay passport charges for entering and leavin the country. as ‘wel asa special tx foreach head of livestock which, shor of the Figure registered on entry, was considered sold and hence taxable ‘Amigratory shepherd alk had to atisy border offcials who could stretch the time needed to count the animalson entry and ext ong ‘enough f0 make the shepherd generous with his money and the ‘roduc of his flock. Frontier guards in temporary state service, fefugees and fugitives of every description, bands of itredemtist levegulars andor brigans,illpsid gendarmes, unpaid soiers and desperate draeevaders all these and many more who lived fn the Borderline of legality allowed bythe frontier awaited the passing shepherd and his lock to supplement inadequate and Insecure incomes. Long-esablshed custom and relationships on