Ali Pasha, Lion of Ioannina: The Remarkable Life of the Balkan Napoleon

by Quentin Russell, Eugenia Russell

A fascinating biography of Ottoman Greece and Albania's notorious despot—a major player in the power struggles of Revolutionary and Napoleonic Europe.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the life of a petty tyrant in an obscure corner of the Ottoman Empire became the stuff of legend. What propelled this cold-blooded archetype of Oriental despotism, grandly known as the Lion of Yanina and the Balkan Napoleon, into the consciousness of Western rulers and the general public? This book charts the rise of Ali Pasha from brigand leader to a player in world affairs and, ultimately, to a gruesome end.
Ali exploited the internal weakness of the Ottoman Empire to carve out his own de facto empire in Albania and Western Greece. Although a ruthless tyrant guilty of cruel atrocities, his lavish court became an attraction to Western travelers, most famously Lord Byron, and his military prowess led Britain, Russia and France to seek his alliance during the Napoleonic Wars. His activities undermined the Sultan's authority and ultimately led to the Greek War of Independence.
Quentin and Eugenia Russell describe his remarkable life and military career as well as the legacy he bequeathed in his homeland as a nationalist hero and further afield as inspiration for writers and artists of the Romantic movement.
"An intriguing tale from the edges of the Empire." —The Armourer

Genres: History

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Dr. Quentin Russell is a historian, writer and producer. His TV documentary An Exile in Paradise: The Adventures of Edward Lear in Greece and Albania, won the New York Festival's Arts Silver Medal (2009) and was broadcast internationally. He holds a PhD in 19th Century Anglo-Greek relations and his essays have appeared in prestigious publications such as The British Art Journal.

Reviews

[Trebor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative but delivered with little suspense or punch. Just dry detail after detail. A real effort to complete, so I bailed after half way.
.

[Banbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this biography informative; perhaps more information about the surrounding political situation would have been helpful, but then again, the constantly shifting circumstances and alliances of the Ottoman Empire, let alone the local warlords might have been impossible to retrace, or explain in any cogent manner.

[Micah N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history, but the author gets bogged down in tangential matters.