Daskaloyiannis

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Ioannis Vlachos or Ioannis Daskalakis, better known as Daskaloyiannis was a Cretan revolutionary.

Daskaloyiannis was born in Anopolis, Sfakia, Crete, some time between 1722 and 1730, to a rich family of ship owners. He was educated in Italy and continued in his father's footsteps as a ship owner, living much of his life abroad where he was influenced by the ideals of freedom.

When Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov sailed to Greece and tried to convince the Greeks to revolt against the Ottoman yoke, Daskaloyiannis was convinced that the hour of deliverance had arrived for the Cretan people. On March 25, 1770, the feast day of the Annunciation of Theotokos, he raised the flag of revolution at Sfakia. However, the aid promised by Orlov never arrived and the Cretans were left to their own devices.

Daskaloyiannis fought with his men at Nimbros Pass only to delay the unavoidable defeat at the hands of the superior Turkish army. 300 Cretans were killed but the delay did not help the people of Sfakia who were attacked with many casualties, military and civilian.

The last battle of the revolt was fought at Aradena Gorge and also ended in defeat for the Greek forces. After this, Daskaloyiannis surrendered after being promised that he would be spared and that the people of Sfakia would be able to retain their arms in exchange for an annual tribute to the Porte.

Despite the promises, Daskaloyiannis was publically executed - skinned alive - on June 17, 1771 in a square in Heraklio.

The Chania International Airport is named in his honour.