Himara Revolt

The Himara Revolt of 1596 was an uprising organized by archbishop Athanasius I of Ohrid in the region of Himara against the Ottoman Empire. It was part of a range of anti-Ottoman movements in the Western Balkans at the end of the 16th century during the Long Turkish War in the Balkans.

Background

Conspiracy plans to overthrow Ottoman rule in the northern region of Epirus were organized in the 1570s by local Greek nobles, Manthos Papagiannis and Panos Stolikos, Nevertheless revolutionary actions began after Papagiannis' death in 1596.

Spanish conspirators, with instructions from Naples, led an action to spark revolt in southern Albania. They decided to invite archbishop Athanasius I of Ohrid in their plans. He was described as "discrete and intelligent". In the beginning, Athanasius was uninvolved, until the beginning of 1596 when he offered his cooperation to the Venetian official in Corfu.

Athanasius sent a letter to the provveditore and captain of Corfu, Angelo Basadonna, in January 1596, about wanting to meet up and discuss "very important things". The two had a meeting on 26 January 1596, during which Athanasius spoke of the "miserable state of Christians" and asked for help for a general uprising. Rejected by Venice, he openly joined the Spanish conspirators, who contacted the Napolitan deputy about this. Athanasius sent his minister to Naples to ask for weapons and 2,000 soldiers from Spain, and to establish the whole plan of the uprising. The Napolitan vice-king sent one of his captains to oversee events and to get to know the real intents of the people. While the Napolitan captain was in Albania, the Himariotes south of Valona immediately rose up.

The Himara revolt was part of a range of anti-Ottoman movements in the Western Balkans at the end of the 16th century during the Long Turkish War in areas that extended from Epirus up north to the area of Šibenik (in Croatia).

Uprising

Athanasius had returned to Albania by the summer of 1596 and stayed in Himara. A contemporary source stated that there were 10,000 fighters in red costumes in Himara. The revolt was active in July and August, with initial success, the rebels managing to control the coastal towns. The rebel force being reinforced by a small unit of Spaniards attacked the nearby Ottoman fort of Cerna. The fort was simultaneously attacked from three directions by 1,300 men, of whom only 300 were equipped with arquebuses. Initially a group of 100 Spaniards managed to capture part of the fort raising their flag, killing 80 Ottoman soldiers among whom the commander of the fort. However the Himariotes being confused about this turn of the battle withdrew from the battlefield. This gave the opportunity to the Ottomans to launch a successful counterattack. The revolt was easily suppressed after the Venetians convinced some of the chieftains not to join the rebellion, and the fact that the rebel army was undisciplined.

Aftermath

After the unsuccessful operation Athanasius returned to Himara for the preparations of another rebellion. The remaining Spaniards left the region, but Athanasius awaited this time an aid of 3–4,000 soldiers from the Spanish king. On August 23, 1596 he met with Albanian captains Michael Bua, Giovanni Golemi and Michael Papada. They each received a monthly pay of 50 ducats. They then went to Lecce to arm the Himariotes with 1,000 arquebuses, powder, lead, four drums and four royal banners (insegne del Re). Athanasius then moved to Rome and had an audience with the Pope. The following 20 years he continued to visit various western European leaders to trigger their intervention against the Ottomans, but without success. On the other hand, Venetian Cypriot Hieronimo Combi discouraged Michael Bua and his companions.

In the Sanjak of Herzegovina and Montenegro Vilayet, the Serbs rose up in 1596–97, but without foreign support the rebels were forced to capitulate.

Sources

• (Primary)