Yiannis Makriyiannis (, Giánnēs Makrygiánnīs; 1797–1864), born Ioannis Triantaphyllou (, Iōánnēs Triantafýllou), was a Greek merchant, military officer, politician and author, best known today for his Memoirs. Starting from humble origins, he joined the Greek struggle for independence, achieving the rank of general and leading his men to notable victories, most notably the successful defense of Nafplio in the Battle of the Lerna Mills. Following Greek independence, he had a tumultuous public career, playing a prominent part in the granting of the first Constitution of the Kingdom of Greece and later being sentenced to death and pardoned.
Despite his important contributions to the political life of the early Greek state, general Makriyiannis is mostly remembered for his Memoirs. Aside from being a source of historical and cultural information about the period, this work has also been called a "monument of Modern Greek literature", as it is written in pure Demotic Greek. Indeed, its literary quality led Nobel laureate Giorgos Seferis to call Makriyiannis one of the greatest masters of Modern Greek prose.
Biography
Early life
Yiannis Makriyiannis was born to a poor family at the village of Avoriti, in Phocis. "Makriyiannis" (Long Yiannis) was a nickname he acquired because of his height. His father, Dimitris Triantaphyllou, was killed in a clash with the forces of Ali Pasha. His family was forced to flee to Levadeia, where Makriyiannis spent his childhood up to 1811. At age seven, he was given as a foster son to a wealthy man from Levadeia, but the menial labour and beatings he endured were, in his own words, "his death". Thus, in 1811 he left for Arta to stay with an acquaintance who maintained close relations with Ali Pasha. There, still a teenager, he was involved in trade and, according to his memoirs, became a wealthy man. His property amounted to 40,000 piastres. According to Sphyroeras, he probably joined the Filiki Etaireia, a secret anti-Ottoman society, in 1820. In March 1821 he left for Patras, in the Peloponnese, supposedly on business. His actual assignment, however, was to inform local members of the Filiki Etaireia of the state of affairs in his native Roumeli. Having met with Odysseas Androutsos, he returned to Arta two days before the revolution broke out in Patras and was promptly arrested by the Ottoman authorities and placed under arrest in the local fortress. He was held captive for 90 days but managed to escape and, in August 1821, first took up arms against the Ottomans under chieftain Gogos Bakolas.
Activity during the War of Independence
Under the command of Gogos Bakolas, in September 1821 he took part in the battle of Stavros, near Tzoumerka, and in the battle of Peta, where he sustained a light leg injury. A few days later he took part in the siege of Arta that temporarily brought the city under Greek control. In late 1821, he left for Mesolonghi, but there, according to his memoirs, he fell seriously ill, only recovering in March 1822. Having spent his recovery in the village of Sernikaki, near Salona, he resumed military action, assuming the leadership of a band of warriors from four villages in the vicinity. He fought alongside several other chieftains during the successful siege of Patratziki, which had been fortified with considerable Ottoman forces.
After the Acropolis of Athens was surrendered by the Ottomans in June 1822, Makriyiannis was appointed Supervisor of Public Order in the city by the executive authority of Roumeli on 1 January 1823. In that office, he took severe measures aimed at stopping arbitrary oppression of the populace and thievery. In the summer of 1823, he fought alongside Nikitaras in the eastern part of Central Greece. In October 1823, he led a force of Roumeliots in the Peloponnese, and fought alongside the government of Georgios Kountouriotis against the rebels in the civil war. For his actions during that conflict, he was rewarded with the rank of brigadier, promoted to lieutenant general in August 1824 and full general in late 1824.