Liolios Xirolivaditis | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Georgios Xirolivaditis |
| Born | 1783 (1783) Xirolivado [el], Imathia |
| Died | December 29, 1860(1860-12-29) (aged 76–77) Messolonghi |
| Allegiance | Greece |
| Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
| Unit | Greek army |
| Battles / wars | Greek War of Independence |
| Spouse(s) | Despo Lioliou |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature |  |
George Liolios Xirolivaditis orXerolivadiotis (in his signature he used the form of Liolios Xerolivadiotis or Liolios Elimpios=Olympios) was a Greekarmatolos and fighter of theGreek Revolution in 1821 who lived from the late 18th century until the mid of the 19th century.
George (Liolios) Xiroleivaditis or Xiroleivadiotis was born in 1783[1] inXirolivado [el], a village onMt. Vermio, southwest of the townVeria. From a very young age (15 years old) he joined various groups ofklephts and armatoloi, following a military career since then.[2]
He was married toMarkos Botsaris' sister,Despo.[3] His son wasSpyridon Liolios who was born on October 10, 1817, inSouli.[4] Τhe first years after the revolution, his family moved toCorfu and then toZakynthos.[5] He died in 1860 at the age of 78 inMessolonghi.[6]
According to his autobiographical note, his military action began in 1798.[4] He joined groups of klephts inMacedonia,Thessaly andEpirus. From 1800 onwards, he participated in the groups of Vlachavas and fought mainly againstAli Pasha.[7] After 1807, he took part in the operations of the Macedonian Armatoloi based onSkiathos island.[8] He finally came to terms with Ali Pasha, by whom he was appointed armatolos in the region of Veria andEdessa and he collaborated withA. Karatasos.[9] Even so, he fought one more time against Ali Pasha, when a new war broke out between Ali and theSouliotes in 1820 into which he supported Markos Botsaris who was his brother-in-law. Along with the rest of the Souliotes, he settled in Souli and resisted against the attacks of the sultan forces as a leader of Kiafafortress.[4] During the Greek war of independence he spent much of his fortune, maintaining a group of warriors for the needs of the Revolution[10][11]
He served next to great chiefs such as Souliotes Markos andKostas Botsaris, hiscompatriot Anastasios Karatasos,Kolokotronis,Ypsilantis,Kyriakos Mavromichalis.[12] He defended theMills of Lerna in 1825 under the leadership of Dimitrios Ypsilantis and Kyriakos Mavromichalis, fighting againstIbrahim Pasha of Egypt. He followed Ypsilantis and Mavromichalis in various other operations in thePeloponnese. Then he served under Kolokotronis. InWestern Greece, he collaborated withChristoforos Perraivos, while under the directions of Kostas Botsaris he arrived atDervenakia in Apokouros. In addition, in 1826, as a commander of 150 men, he collaborated with Anastasios Karatasos, and he took part in the operations in the area of Atalanta against Mustabey.[13] In 1827 underAdam Doukas, he moved toTrikeri. In fact, he built a ship at his own expense and participated in pirate operations at the coast ofAsia Minor against theTurks. However, later, during the administration ofKapodistrias, he was forced to hand his ship over toMiaoulis, without receiving the compensation promised to him by the Greek Government.[14] In 1829, as apentacosiarch of the seventhChiliarchy, he took part in the guarding of theThermopylae passage.[15]
Apart from biographical resources, many archival records have recently been made known about his life. For instance, in September 1823, Liolios was onHydra island and from there he went toSalamina at the suggestion ofAlexandros Mavrokordatos.Anastasios Londos made sure that Liolios’ demands were met, but not the conferment of offices: "I have finished all the cases of Liolios, apart from the offices that George has requested".[16] In April 1826, he corresponded with the administration regarding the movements of himself and hissecretary,[17] while he appeared inEpidaurus during the works of the thirdNational Assembly and submitted a handwritten report protesting strongly against the non-acceptance of the Macedonian (= Olympian) representatives.[18] In 1828, he was on Salamina island, where his wife,Despo Lioliou, arrived fromPoros. His family was badly off. That is why they accepted the financial support of 300 grosis from the Government.[3] In 1829, while holding the position of high officer, he signed a receipt for 1112grosis, received from Anastasios Lontos, temporary commissioner of Northern Sporades.[19] After theenthronement ofOtto the first he joined theRoyal Phalanx where he reached the office oflieutenant colonel.[20]
Georgios Kremos emphasizes Liolios’ honesty, selflessness and patriotism, since he spent all his property on the Greek Cause and "Died destitute like all true fighters".[2] Georgios Gazis describes Liolios as an honest, conscientious and very religious person, especially at the end of his life.[21] Finally, I. Petrov describes him as a tireless fighter, devoted to the national duty and selfless benefactor of the Greek nation.[22]