The Outbreak
The Turks of Greece left few traces. They disappeared suddenly and
finally in the spring of 1821 unmourned and unnoticed by the rest of the
world. Years later, when travellers asked about the heaps of stones, the old
men would explain, 'There stood the tower of Ali Aga, and there we slew
him, his harem, and his slaves'. It was hard to believe then that Greece had
once contained a large population of Turkish descent, living in small
communities all over the country, prosperous farmers, merchants, and
officials, whose families had known no other home for hundreds of years.
As the Greeks said, the moon devoured them.
Upwards of twenty thousand Turkish men, women, and children were
murdered by their Greek neighbours in a few weeks of slaughter. They were
killed deliberately, without qualm or scruple, and there were no regrets
either then or later. Turkish families living in single farms or small isolated
communities were summarily put to death and their homes burned down
over their corpses. Others, when the disturbances began, abandoned home
to seek the security of the nearest town, but the defenceless streams of
refugees were overwhelmed by bands of armed Greeks.
In the smaller towns, the Turkish communities barricaded their houses
and attempted to defend themselves as best they could, but few survived. In
some places they were driven by hunger to surrender to their attackers on
receiving promises of security, but these were seldom honoured. The men
were killed at once and the women and children divided out as slaves,
usually to be killed in their turn later. All over the Peloponnese roamed
mobs of Greeks armed with clubs, scythes, and a few firearms, killing,
plundering, and burning. They were often led by Christian priests, who
exhorted them to greater efforts in their holy work.
In the larger towns and in a few fortresses there were garrisons of Turkish