Massacre of Samothrace | |
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Part of the Greek War of Independence | |
Location | Samothrace |
Coordinates | 40°17′N 25°19′E / 40.29°N 25.31°E |
Date | 1 September 1821 |
Target | Greeks |
Deaths | Hundreds |
Perpetrators | Ottoman Army |
The Massacre of Samothrace (Greek: Ολοκαύτωμα της Σαμοθράκης, romanized: Holocaust of Samothrace) was the mass murder and enslavement of the Greek population of the island of Samothrace. Following the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, the Samothracians rose in revolt against the local Ottoman authorities. On 1 September 1821, an Ottoman punitive expedition under the Castellan of Dardanelles Mehmet Pasha arrived at the island. After suppressing the uprising, the Ottoman troops killed or enslaved most of island's population.
Five Samothracians who refused to convert to Islam in the aftermath of the massacre were recognized as neomartyrs by the Greek Orthodox Church. Samothrace was awarded the golden medal of the Academy of Athens for its contribution to the Greek War of Independence.