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"The Nation never submitted to the Sultan, it had its King, its castles and its army. Its King was the Marble King, its castles were Mani and Souli, its army was the thieves and the charioteers". According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolution, Theodoros Kolokotronis, the Greek nation always had its symbols "alive". And they were what gave the necessary impetus for the Struggle. A Struggle born from pure Romanism, the Greek monks, in rags, without weapons, but with a fiery sword the desire for freedom!

The area of ​​Souli is located on the borders of three prefectures of Epirus: Thesprotia, Ioannina and Preveza. A beautiful, steep and rugged mountainous area which is located between the terms Mourga, Zavroucho and Tourlia, all over 1.000 meters altitude. During the 17^ο In the 1st century AD, Greeks from the Arvano region of Northern Epirus descended and settled in the area. And they took the name Souliotes because of the toponym. They formed a city-state of villages called the Souliotic League while they were organized in pharos, each of which had its own leader. This is how their glorious history begins: a history full of armed struggle and refusal of slavery by the Turkish armies. It was not by chance that they received from many historians the extremely honorific description “modern Spartans”.

The Souliotes initiated their children from a young age into the art of charioteering. So it is not surprising that young men of sixteen or seventeen years old fell on the battlefield in favor of preserving freedom. They numbered about 2.500 rifles. The Souliotes' alloy was made of steel: They did not surrender, they did not dare to turn, to run away. And close to them were the Souliotes. They carried food and gunpowder to the men, sons, brothers. And when they were tired from the rigors of battle, then they would take the walnut tree, laying many Turkish bodies on the ground. Famous Souliotes' beacons were the Botsaraios, Javelaios, Zervaios, Drakaios, Koutsinikaios. All of them with important services in the Struggle for National Independence. Especially the death of General Markos Botsaris in 1823 during the Battle of Kefalovrysos, plunged all of revolutionary Greece into mourning.

The Turkish pashas did not look favorably on the independence of the Souliotes, a thorn in their side. And they started many wars to make them slaves. But they failed in all of them. They found against them the selected and hardened sections of the Souliotes, who, always wearing the traditional foustanella, forced them into humiliating defeats. In 1788, the Turk-Albanian Ali Tepenenlis Pasha took over the Pasaliki of Ioannina. And he set himself the goal of subjugating the Souliotes to his sword. Thus he launched two campaigns against them: one in 1789 and one in 1792. However, the Epirus warriors led by Lambros Tzavelas managed to defeat him both times. The second time, they even won some concessions from the pasha, such as using Parga as their supply point. The Franks and Muscovites also supplied them with weapons and ammunition. However, Ali felt that Souli was a pestilence that was eating away at his insides and so in 1800 he began his third campaign with a large army. The struggle of the people of Souli was heroic although unequal. Thus, while they had won many battles, they were forced to surrender in 1803 since their supplies had already run out. With tears in their eyes, they were forced to leave their beloved homeland.

Three columns left Souli: The first, led by Fotos Tzavelas, reached Russian-occupied Parga and from there passed to Corfu. The second, led by Koutsonikas, was defeated at Zaloggo by Turkish forces. Several Souli men fell on the field while the proud women of Souli took up the dance and with their children in their arms fell one by one into the cliff, leaving to all humanity an example of sacrifice and denial of slavery: "Fish do not live on land, nor flowers on the sand, and the women of Souli do not live without freedom." The third column, led by Botsaraios, moved towards Agrafa, but at the Seltsou monastery, a Turkish army attacked them. The outcome was fatal for a large number of Souliotes while Despo Botsi "screamed for her daughters and brides" and blew up the Tower of Dimoulas where they had found refuge. Such heroines and fighters were the women of Soulio and especially Moscho Tzavelaina, wife of the warlord Lambros. That is why even today the dynamic and tough women are often called "Tzavelaines". Finally, the monk Samuel was trapped with a few men in Kougi and defended himself until the Turks approached. Then, he grabbed a torch and blew up the gunpowder magazine, spreading death among Greeks and Turks.

Today, the visitor to Souli will see the imposing castle of Kiafa and the small church of Agia Paraskevi in ​​Kougi. They still stand there proudly, forever, to remind us that in these places Greeks lived proud, fearless, warriors, without riches and material pleasures but only with the greatest good in the world, freedom. Without fear, they fought numerically superior forces and defeated them. And they left behind an enormous legacy for us, which we must carry on our backs, showing that we are worthy descendants of them. Descendants of Heroes and Fighters.

Miltiadis V. Parlantzas

Assistant (EM), MSC