Despite local opposition and efforts to save the tree for years, the Municipality of Trifylia in the Peloponnese, southern Greece, uprooted the historic “Tambakis Mulberry,” a 300-year-old tree, tied to the country’s War of Independence.
The tree was uprooted on Tuesday, February 11, and local authorities justified the removal citing plans to create parking spaces. The decision has outraged locals who say authorities did not consider alternatives, like transplantation.
The mulberry tree had been adorning Filiatra’s main Kapodistria’s Square for centuries, as a symbol of the nation’s history. While the Greek War of Independence raged, the Egyptian forces under Ibrahim Pasha had invaded the Peloponnese in 1824 after the Ottomans had asked for assistance to crush the Greek revolt. Pasha and his army ravaged much of the peninsula while fighting fierce battle with the Greeks.
In 2021, during the 200-year anniversary for the Greek Revolution, the mulberry tree was included in Greece’s Network of Centenarian Trees of the Greek Revolution, which still stand as silent but living witnesses to historic moments across the Peloponnese. A year later, it was marked with the network’s commemorative label, as part of a series of events celebrating similar trees tied to Greece’s War of Independence across the Peloponnese. The label was created by Johanna Kordos, inspired by Greece’s leading figure of the revolution, Theodoros Kolokotronis. The historic tree was also a candidate for inclusion in the List of Protected Natural Monuments of Greece.
Surviving the devastation wreaked by Ibrahim Pasha and his forces in 1825, the tree’s destruction 200 years later has sparked an outcry. Despite their efforts to save the historic tree, many locals now lament the loss of a landmark that could have served as a point of historical tourism.
Greece’s War of Independence in the Peloponnese, where the historic tree was uprooted
Greece’s War of Independence lasted between 1821 and 1829, when Greek revolutionaries fought the Ottoman Empire. Greece became an independent state in 1828.
While the Greeks were involved in their own war (1824-1825), the Ottomans started a major campaign to recapture the cities and countryside now governed by the revolutionaries.
On February 26, 1825, the Egyptian Army of Ibrahim Pasha landed undisturbed in Methoni, in the Moreas, with 4,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and took over the city’s castle.
His plan was to take back the entire Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greeks. In the following days his men were reinforced with more troops.
The total number of Ibrahim’s infantry reached 15,000. By the end of April he had occupied the strategic castles of Koroni and Pylos (Neokastro).
On May 20, the Greek war hero Papaflessas decided to repulse the Egyptians himself. With a force of 3,000 Greeks, Papaflessas marched south to attack Ibrahim.
However, half of his troops deserted when they saw the massive Egyptian Army approach. Papaflessas then proclaimed an eloquent speech that shored up the morale of the remaining men.
The Greeks fought bravely and held their positions but were eventually overwhelmed. About 1,000 Greeks, including Papaflessas, fell that day.
Ibrahim ordered his men to recover the head and body of Papaflessas and place it upright on a post, as a mark of respect for a valiant foe.
Legend has it that Ibrahim kissed Papaflessas’ head and said “If all Greeks were like him, I would not take charge of this campaign.”
Ibrahim’s army advanced and on June 7 recaptured Tripolitsa, which had been abandoned by the Greeks.
Ibrahim Pasha then sent 5,000 troops to take over Nafplion, the seat of the Greek government.
On June 24, 1825 Greek forces of about 500 men, led by Captain Yannis Makriyannis and Demetrios Ypsilantis, met Ibrahim’s army at the Lerna Mills, a few miles from Nafplion.
It was a suicide mission — and Makriyannis acknowledged that fact. Yet he claimed that since God was on their side, they would win. If they died, it would be a good death, he added.
The outnumbered Greeks somehow defeated the Egyptian army. This, the first Greek success against Ibrahim, saved the city of Nafplion.
October 10, 1827 was a fateful day for Greek independence as British, French and Russian squadrons entered the harbor at Navarino Bay on the west coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula, in the Ionian Sea.
An Ottoman armada which, in addition to imperial warships, included squadrons from Egypt and Tunis, was destroyed by the Allied forces in what is known the Battle of Navarino.
Virtually the entire Ottoman fleet was decimated, despite the fact that the Ottoman ships’ crews put up an extraordinary fight.
In another amazing turn, this was to be the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships, although most ships fought at anchor. The Allied naval forces essentially put an end to Turkish plans to recapture the parts of Greece they had lost after centuries of rule.
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