Κυριακή 1 Απριλίου 2018

Ioannis Karatzas




 Ioannis Karatzas                                            ΙΩΑΝΝΗΣ  ΚΑΡΑΤΖΑΣ
 Born 1754, Constantinople                    Died 1844, Athens                                                                                                              
                        

Section 2, Number 100

A Prince in the First Cemetery of Athens
    Although Greece became an independent nation with a king but no attendant aristocracy, there has been  no shortage of royal titles. Greeks with blue-blooded pedigrees from elsewhere flocked to the new capital. Some claimed descent from Byzantine royalty; some had been made nobles  after being written into the famous Libro d’Oro by the Venetians; some had been given titles by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia, the Holy Roman Empire, or even by Napoleon.  And then there were the princes like Ioannis Karatzas, - princes of the Danubian Principalities, princes created by the Ottomans themselves. So, although the Greek royal family is buried at Tatoi, the First Cemetery of Athens still has its share of princes.

Ioannis Karatzas: His Life and Family

The Karatzas family had roots in Byzantium and, under Ottoman rule, became one of Constantinople’s most distinguished Phanariot families(1) In the second half of the 17th century, the name of one Constantinos Karatzas appears in Ottoman records where he is listed as a kasap-basi or head butcher (in this case  a position somewhat like “by appointment to her Majesty the Queen” in England). In 1730, his son, the polymath Skarlatos Karatzas, became an interpreter for the Dutch Embassy. In fact, he was their chief interpreter from 1765 to 1768 during the meetings that led to the treaty of Kioutsouk-Kainartzi, a treaty between Russia and the Ottomans that favored Russian interests and humiliated the Ottomans.(2)   

In the last years of his life, Skarlatos Karatzas was appointed Prince of Wallachia, one of the two Danubian Principalities (Moldavia was the other) that the Ottomans preferred, for various reasons, to farm out to ‘deserving’ Phanariots.


                                         

Map showing Wallachia and Moldavia.

In these territories it was possible to acquire considerable wealth either by good management or by imposing crippling taxes on the locals.
While potentially lucrative, it was also dangerous because the princes were all powerful in their principalities but simultaneously, like all Ottoman subjects, ‘slaves’ of the Sultan.  


The Karatzas Crest

The Karatzas family had proved their loyalty many times, so in 1812 Sultan Mahmud II made Ioannis, Skarlatos’ nephew, the new Prince of Wallachia. He probably did not realize that he would be the last.

The 1812 Treaty of Bucharest, signed by Russia and the Porte, brought more Russian restrictions on the Ottomans, including troop movements in the Danubian Principalities. This was further proof to all Greek phanariots that Russia had the upper hand and might prove to be an ally in any future rebellion.

The Prince




Karatzas in full regalia

Ioannis was, by all accounts, an able leader. In 1818 he introduced the Legiuirea Caragea, (Karatzas Law Code), the first modern law code of the Danubian  Principalities. He was especially interested in promoting the education of the  Greek speaking population in the principality,  reopening schools and  founding new ones. He exhorted teachers “to teach the Greek  language with precision …from the wise texts of our immortal Greek ancestors”.

Some years after his appointment, he fell into disfavour partly because of his liberal views, but more so because of his close ties with Georgios Leventi, the Russian consul in Wallachia’s principal city of Bucharest. This connection with a perceived enemy of the Porte made him suspect and a liability to the Sultan, - never a good thing. Karatzas was forced to beat a hasty retreat from the principality in 1818.

After a brief stay in Geneva he moved on to Pisa where he made contact with many in the Greek diaspora as well as Philhellenes – all talking of rebellion. When the revolution finally came, he contributed a considerable amount of money to the cause.

How the Principalities Ended

In 1821, the Friendly Society (Φιλική Εταιρεία) had decided on a three front rebellion, -  the Peloponnese, Constantinople, and Moldavia.  Alexandros Ypsilantis, the leader, counted on the support of the Romanian people, believing that their leader Tudor Vladimirescu would rally behind the Greeks. He did not, seeing no more advantage in being ruled by Greeks than by the Ottomans. Not surprisingly, his motto read Greece for the Greeks and Romania for the Romanians.
Tudor Vladimirescu

After the rebellion in the principalities failed, the Porte decided that Wallachia and Moldavia were best led by local leaders. The lot of the Greek speakers left in these territories was not a happy one. Greek schools and monasteries were closed.

Meanwhile in Free Greece…

Ioannis Karatzas moved to Athens with his two sons in 1830; he was 76 years old. He bought up property around what is now Plateia Omonia in the belief that the new king would build his palace in that area. The King did not but Ioannis built his own home in what would later become Plateia Koumoundouros. (2)
 
His Grave


His monument is a severe and imposing stele, almost as tall as the cypresses in the cemetery. His family was that proud of their heritage. One gloss said: He was the leader of Wallachia and not just the Wallachians and others from the nearby Danube regions trembled, but also Pashas and their bodyguards.  His monument brings to mind that of  Shelley’s Ozymandias, another leader who once caused others to tremble and despair. Most people today pass by without even realizing that they are passing the grave of a prince.



Map
 
Footnotes
(1)  Phanariot Greeks were members of prominent Greek families in ‘Phanar’, the Greek quarter of Constantinople. Many family members occupied important positions under the Ottomans.
(2)  In this treaty, Russia allowed the Danubian Principalities to be under Ottoman control but retained the right to intervene in case of Ottoman misrule. It is significant that Phanariot Greeks were so privy to a treaty so humiliating  to their overlords. It has to have been a source of satisfaction to many and a harbinger of the revolution to come.
(3)  So named because a famous Greek politician and Prime Minister later bought his property from his heir.



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