Ioannis Notaras

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Ioannis Notaras (1805–1827) was a Greek general in the Greek War of Independence. Born in Trikala, Corinthia, he came from the influential Notaras family. Known as “the lord’s son” for his tall stature, he funded and led his own force of Peloponnesian and Roumeli fighters from the start of the revolt, paying their salaries from his fortune. He took part in the siege of Acrocorinth and became the garrison commander after its surrender. In 1822 he distinguished himself against Mahmud Dramali Pasha.

In 1824, at about 19, he became a general of the revolutionary army. During the civil wars of 1824–25, he supported his uncle Andreas Zaimis against the Kountouriotis government. His Roumeli troops, unhappy over pay, abandoned him, and he was forced to surrender on December 9, 1824, and was imprisoned in Nafplio (some sources say Hydra). After his release, he raised his own army again and fought in the second siege of Patras in 1825, and helped repel Ibrahim Pasha’s Egyptian troops in Messenia.

In 1826 he was involved in a Corinthian feud over Sofia Rendi, which led to the destruction of the village Sofiko. In January 1827, with about 1,200 soldiers, he headed to Attica and joined Georgios Karaiskakis and the British philhellene Thomas Gordon to fight Mehmed Reshid Pasha. He commanded the center at the Battle of Kastella and was killed at the Battle of Phaleron on April 24, 1827.