Spyromilios or Spyros Milios, was a Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 revolutionary, general and politician.

Early life

He was born in Himara, Northern Epirus

Northern Epirus

Northern Epirus is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, that are part of the modern Albania. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region...

, in modern southern Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, then part of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. In 1810 he went to Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

 in Italy, where he remained until 1819, studying military theory and learning Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

. In 1819, he returned to his homeland to prepare a geographic survey for his school, but was arrested by Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...

, the ruler of Ioannina

Ioannina

Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

, who employed him at his court as a military adviser.

Greek War of Independence

In August 1824, after Ali’s death, together with his brothers Nikolaos and Zachos Milios

Zachos Milios

Zachos Milios was a Greek revolutionary of the Greek War of Independence and officer of the Greek army. He was the brother of the distinguished general and politician Spyros Milios.-Greek War of Independence:...

, Spyromilios, he travelled south and joined the ongoing Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

. In August 1825 he was fighting in the Third Siege of Missolonghi, at the head of a group of 250 armed Himariotes. Named General in September, he was sent as a member of a commission to Nafplion

Nafplion

Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...

 in January 1826, to ask the government for more effective aid to the besieged city. Little was achieved, and although Spyromilios tried to arrange for a British ship to evacuate the garrison, it was too late. Spyromilios was thus forced to remain a spectator of the garrison's disastrous attempt to sally and break through the Ottoman lines, during which his brother Nikolaos was killed.

Afterwards, together with his brother Zachos, he took part in military operations in Central Greece

Central Greece

Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...

 under Georgios Karaiskakis

Georgios Karaiskakis

Georgios Karaiskakis born Georgios Iskos was a famous Greek klepht, armatolos, military commander, and a hero of the Greek War of Independence.- Early life :...

. Under Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias

Ioannis Kapodistrias

Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias |Academy of Athens]] Critical Observations about the 6th-Grade History Textbook"): "3.2.7. Σελ. 40: Δεν αναφέρεται ότι ο Καποδίστριας ήταν Κερκυραίος ευγενής." "...δύο ιστορικούς της Aκαδημίας κ.κ...

 (1828–1829), Spyromilios was placed captain of the personal guard of Dimitrios Ypsilantis.

After Independence

After the end of the War of Independence, Spyromilios settled in Thebes

Thebes, Greece

Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...

, but as a known supporter of Kapodistrias, he was imprisoned for 9 months in the Palamidi

Palamidi

Palamidi is a military fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplion in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece. Nestled on the crest of a 216-metre high hill, the fortress was built by the Venetians during their second occupation of the area .The fortress was a very large and...

 fortress (September 1833-June 1834). Released and reinstated to the army, he became director of the Evelpidon Military Academy in 1840-1844. The first Greek to hold that post, he also wrote the Academy's first book of regulations. From this position he participated in the 3 September 1843 Revolution that led to the granting of the first Constitution of Greece

Constitution of Greece

The Constitution of Greece , was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, most significantly in 1986, and also in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of...

. This led him to be considered as an enemy of King Otto

Otto of Greece

Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...

, but he soon regained the King's trust. He was appointed General Secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs in 1848 and adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

 to the King, and in 1850 he was appointed Minister of Military Affairs, a post he kept until 1853. Following the outbreak of the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, he supported Greek revolts in the Ottoman Empire, despite the neutrality forced upon Greece by Britain and France. His involvement in a revolt in Epirus (1854)

Epirus Revolt of 1854

The 1854 revolt in Epirus was one of the most important of a series of Greek uprisings that occurred in the Ottoman-occupied Greek world during that period. When the Crimean War broke out, many Epirote Greeks, with tacit support from the Greek state, revolted against the Ottoman rule...

 led to his dismissal from his offices and his suspension from the Army.

Retired from the Army, he returned to politics from 1859, and served as Minister of Military Affairs in the several cabinets:

• 1859 under Athanasios Miaoulis
  Athanasios Miaoulis
  Athanasios Miaoulis was a Prime Minister of Greece. Born in Hydra in 1815 the son of the famous Greek admiral Andreas Miaoulis, from whom he learned his navigation skills. Moreover, Athanasios learned much about naval affairs from reading the letters of Phillip Ioannou. He finished military school...
  
  
• 1862 under Gennaios Kolokotronis
  Gennaios Kolokotronis
  Gennaios Kolokotronis , baptized Ioannis Kolokotronis in Stemnitsa, Arcadia, was the son of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence. He acquired the name "Gennaios" during the Greek War of Independence in which he fought valiantly despite his youth...
  
  
• 1867 under Aristidis Moraitinis
  Aristidis Moraitinis
  Aristeidis Moraitinis was born in Smyrna . He was educated in France, but during the reign of King Otto, he was a staunch member of the Russian Party...
  
  
• 1869 under Dimitrios Voulgaris
  Dimitrios Voulgaris
  Dimitrios Voulgaris was a Greek revolutionary fighter during the Greek War of Independence of 1821 who became a politician after independence. He was nicknamed "Tsoumpes" after the distinctive Ottoman-style robe he wore.Voulgaris was born on December 20, 1802 on the island of Hydra in the Saronic...
  
  

In 1864-1865, he was a member of the short-lived Council of State

Council of State (Greece)

In Greece, the Council of State is the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece.-Organization:...

, while in 1872, he was elected speaker of the Greek Parliament.

In his memoirs (published in 1926), he gives detailed account of his life. They are an important contemporary document, especially regarding the Siege of Missolonghi.

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature. Bruce Merry. Greenwood Press, 2004. ISBN 0313308136.
• Land and Revolution in Modern Greece, 1800-1881: The Transition in the Tenure and Exploitation of Land from Ottoman Rule to Independence. William W. McGrew. Kent State University Press, 1985. ISBN 0873383168.
• The Military in Greek Politics: From Independence to Democracy. Thanos Veremis. Black Rose Books, 1997. ISBN 1551641046.