Bey of Mani

The Bey of Mani (Greek: Μπέης της Μάνης) was the title given to the ruler of the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece under the Ottoman Empire, from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries. The Mani was a semi-autonomous region in the Peloponnese with a history of unrest and resistance to Ottoman rule.

The term bey was a Turkish honorific title. The Ottomans would typically choose a local Maniot Greek from a leading clan as Bey of Mani. The bey was to govern Mani as a vassal state within Ottoman Greece, subject to the approval of the Sublime Porte.

The first Bey of Mani was the Maniot Limberakis Gerakaris, installed c. 1669. The last Bey of Mani was Petros Mavromichalis, also known as "Petrobey". Mavromichalis would become a significant figure in the Greek War of Independence which began in 1821.

In Greek, the title was often rendered as Hegemon or Prince of Mani (Ηγεμόνας της Μάνης).[citation needed]

List of beys

The bey was always drawn from one of the local magnate clans:[1]

Name Birth Death Clan Place of origin Tenure
Tzanetos Koutoufaris [el] Koutoufaris family Thalames 1776–1779
Michalbey Troupakis or Mourtzinos Troupakis family [el] Kardamyli 1779–1782
Tzanetbey Grigorakis 1742 1813 Grigorakis family [el] Skoutari, Gytheion 1782–1798
Panagiotis Koumoundouros Koumoundouros family Doloi 1798–1803
Antonobey Grigorakis Grigorakis family [el] Skoutari, Gytheion 1803–1808
Konstantis Zervakos or Zervobey Zervakis family Karvelas 1808–1810
Theodorobey Grigorakis Grigorakis family [el] Marathonisi 1811–1815
Petrobey Mavromichalis 1765 1848 Mavromichalis family Limeni, Oitylo 1815–1821

References

  1. ^ Νεώτερον Εγκυκλοπαιδικόν Λεξικόν Ηλίου, Vol. XII, p. 927