James Baquet

For over 600 years, the Ottoman Empire held sway over an area which — at its height — covered 5,200,000 square kilometers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It ended with the Empire’s dissolution in 1922, by which time the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI ruled only an area coterminous with modern Turkey, the rest having been whittled away over the years, and especially by World War I.

One loss of territory occurred earlier, in the 19th century, when Greece rebelled against the Ottomans, in the 1821-1829 Greek War of Independence. One shining example of the Greeks’ fierce dedication was the incident known as the Battle of Gravia Inn, when some 120 Greeks prevailed against a heavily-armed force of Ottoman soldiers nearing 10,000 in number.

In May 1821, Ottoman commander Omer Vrioni had crushed a Greek force at the Battle of Alamana and put the Greek leader, Athanasios Diakos — now a national hero — to death. Encouraged by his victory, Vrioni marched to the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece with 9,000 men and artillery.

However, when Vrioni reached the vicinity of the village of Gravia, in northeastern Phocis, he encountered stiff resistance from a force led by another Greek hero, Odysseas Androutsos. With about 120 men, Androutsos had holed up in an inn in Gravia — hence the name of the encounter.

Knowing he was in a superior position, Vrioni sent a Muslim holy man to the door of the inn to offer terms. He was shot dead at the door and, perhaps overconfident, Vrioni ordered a frontal assault on the inn by a detachment of Albanian soldiers. They were met by a fusillade, as were subsequent assaults, and the Ottomans were forced to retreat.

Vrioni ordered up more men and cannons, but during this lull the Greeks slipped out between Ottoman lines. In all, 300 Ottomans had been killed and 800 wounded; the Greeks lost only six men. Vrioni’s confidence was shaken, and the Greeks had time to consolidate their gains in the Peloponnese, capturing the Ottomans’ regional capital, Tripoli. A little over eight years later, victory was theirs. Greece was free again, for the first time in over three centuries.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. beat decisively

2. direct attack

3. temporary calm

4. conditions of surrender

5. reduced little by little

6. breakup, end

7. outstanding, notable

8. period of heavy weapons fire

9. having the same boundaries as

10. area, neighborhood