A career of successful crime had established Ali's rule over a
population equal to that of the two kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. But
his ambition was not yet satisfied. The occupation of Parga did not
crown his desires, and the delight which it caused him was much tempered
by the escape of the Parganiotes, who found in exile a safe refuge from
his persecution. Scarcely had he finished the conquest of Middle Albania
before he was exciting a faction against the young Moustai Pacha in
Scodra, a new object of greed. He also kept an army of spies in
Wallachia, Moldavia, Thrace, and Macedonia, and, thanks to them, he
appeared to be everywhere present, and was mixed up in every intrigue,
private or political, throughout the empire. He had paid the English
agents the price agreed on for Parga, but he repaid himself five times
over, by gifts extorted from his vassals, and by the value of the Parga
lands, now become his property. His palace of Tepelen had been rebuilt
at the public expense, and was larger and more magnificent than before;
Janina was embellished with new buildings; elegant pavilions rose on the
shores of the lake; in short, Ali's luxury was on a level with his vast
riches. His sons and grandsons were provided for by important positions,
and Ali himself was sovereign prince in everything but the name.
There was no lack of flattery, even from literary persons. At Vienna a
poem was pointed in his honour, and a French-Greek Grammar was dedicated
to him, and such titles as "Most Illustrious," "Most Powerful," and
"Most Clement," were showered upon him, as upon a man whose lofty
virtues and great exploits echoed through the world. A native of
Bergamo, learned in heraldry, provided him with a coat of arms,
representing, on a field gules, a lion, embracing three cubs, emblematic
of the Tepelenian dynasty. Already he had a consul at Leucadia accepted
by the English, who, it is said, encouraged him to declare himself
hereditary Prince of Greece, under the nominal suzerainty of the sultan;
their real intention being to use him as a tool in return for their
protection, and to employ him as a political counter-balance to the
hospodars of Moldavia and Wallachia, who for the last twenty years had
been simply Russian agents in disguise, This was not all; many of the
adventurers with whom the Levant swarms, outlaws from every country, had
found a refuge in Albania, and helped not a little to excite Ali's
ambition by their suggestions. Some of these men frequently saluted him
as King, a title which he affected to reject with indignation; and he
disdained to imitate other states by raising a private standard of his
own, preferring not to compromise his real power by puerile displays of
dignity; and he lamented the foolish ambition of his children, who would
ruin him, he said, by aiming, each, at becoming a vizier. Therefore he
did not place his hope or confidence in them, but in the adventurers of
every sort and kind, pirates, coiners, renegades, assassins, whom he
kept in his pay and regarded as his best support. These he sought to
attach to his person as men who might some day be found useful, for he
did not allow the many favours of fortune to blind him to the real
danger of his position. A vizier," he was answered, "resembles a man
wrapped in costly furs, but he sits on a barrel of powder, which only
requires a spark to explode it." The Divan granted all the concessions
which Ali demanded, affecting ignorance of his projects of revolt and
his intelligence with the enemies of the State; but then apparent
weakness was merely prudent temporising. It was considered that Ali,
already advanced in years, could not live much longer, and it was hoped
that, at his death, Continental Greece, now in some measure detached
from the Ottoman rule, would again fall under the sultan's sway.
Meanwhile, Pacho Bey, bent on silently undermining Ali's influence; had
established himself as an intermediary for all those who came to demand
justice on account of the pacha's exactions, and he contrived that both
his own complaints and those of his clients, should penetrate to the
ears of the sultan; who, pitying his misfortunes, made him a
kapidgi-bachi, as a commencement of better things. About this time the
sultan also admitted to the Council a certain Abdi Effendi of Larissa,
one of the richest nobles of Thessaly, who had been compelled by the
tyranny of Veli Pacha to fly from his country. The two new dignitaries,
having secured Khalid Effendi as a partisan, resolved to profit by his
influence to carry out their plans of vengeance on the Tepelenian
family. The news of Pacho Bey's promotion roused Ali from the security
in which he was plunged, and he fell a prey to the most lively anxiety.
Comprehending at once the evil which this man,--trained in his own
school, might cause him, he exclaimed, "Ah! if Heaven would only restore
me the strength of my youth, I would plunge my sword into his heart even
in the midst of the Divan."
It was not long before Ali's enemies found an extremely suitable
opportunity for opening their attack. Veli Pacha, who had for his own
profit increased the Thessalian taxation fivefold, had in doing so
caused so much oppression that many of the inhabitants preferred the
griefs and dangers of emigration rather than remain under so tyrannical
a rule. A great number of Greeks sought refuge at Odessa, and the great
Turkish families assembled round Pacho Bey and Abdi Effendi at
Constantinople, who lost no opportunity of interceding in their favour.
The sultan, who as yet did not dare to act openly against the Tepelenian
family, was at least able to relegate Veli to the obscure post of
Lepanto, and Veli, much disgusted, was obliged to obey. He quitted the
new palace he had just built at Rapehani, and betook himself to the
place of exile, accompanied by actors, Bohemian dancers, bear leaders,
and a crowd of prostitutes.
Thus attacked in the person of his most powerful son, Ali thought to
terrify his enemies by a daring blow. He sent three Albanians to
Constantinople to assassinate Pacho Bey. They fell upon him as he was
proceeding to the Mosque of Saint-Sophia, on the day on which the sultan
also went in order to be present at the Friday ceremonial prayer, and
fired several shots at him. He was wounded, but not mortally.
The assassins, caught red-handed, were hung at the gate of the Imperial
Seraglio, but not before confessing that they were sent by the Pacha of
Janina. The Divan, comprehending at last that so dangerous a man must be
dealt with at any cost, recapitulated all Ali's crimes, and pronounced a
sentence against him which was confirmed by a decree of the Grand Mufti.
It set forth that Ali Tepelen, having many times obtained pardon for his
crimes, was now guilty of high treason in the first degree, and that he
would, as recalcitrant, be placed under the ban of the Empire if he did
not within forty days appear at the Gilded Threshold of the Felicitous
Gate of the Monarch who dispenses crowns to the princes who reign in
this world, in order to justify himself. As may be supposed, submission
to such an order was about the last thing Ali contemplated. As he failed
to appear, the Divan caused the Grand Mufti to launch the thunder of
excommunication against him.
Ali had just arrived at Parga, which he now saw for the third time since
he had obtained it, when his secretaries informed him that only the rod
of Moses could save him from the anger of Pharaoh--a figurative mode of
warning him that he had nothing to hope for. But Ali, counting on his
usual luck, persisted in imagining that he could, once again, escape
from his difficulty by the help of gold and intrigue. Without
discontinuing the pleasures in which he was immersed, he contented
himself with sending presents and humble petitions to Constantinople.
But both were alike useless, for no one even ventured to transmit them
to the sultan, who had sworn to cut off the head of anyone who dared
mention the name of Ali Tepelen in his presence.
Receiving no answer to his overtures, Ali became a prey to terrible
anxiety. As he one day opened the Koran to consult it as to his future,
his divining rod stopped at verse 82, chap. xix., which says, "He doth
flatter himself in vain. He shall appear before our tribunal naked and
bare." Ali closed the book and spat three times into his bosom. He was
yielding to the most dire presentiments, when a courier, arriving from
the capital, informed him that all hope of pardon was lost.
He ordered his galley to be immediately prepared, and left his seraglio,
casting a look of sadness on the beautiful gardens where only yesterday
he had received the homage of his prostrate slaves. He bade farewell to
his wives, saying that he hoped soon to return, and descended to the
shore, where the rowers received him with acclamations. The sail was set
to a favourable breeze, and Ali, leaving the shore he was never to see
again, sailed towards Erevesa, where he hoped to meet the Lord High
Commissioner Maitland. But the time of prosperity had gone by, and the
regard which had once been shown him changed with his fortunes. The
interview he sought was not granted.
The sultan now ordered a fleet to be equipped, which, after Ramadan, was
to disembark troops on the coast of Epirus, while all the neighbouring
pashas received orders to hold themselves in readiness to march with all
the troops of their respective Governments against Ali, whose name was
struck out of the list of viziers. Pacho Bey was named Pasha of Janina
and Delvino on condition of subduing them, and was placed in command of
the whole expedition.
However, notwithstanding these orders, there was not at the beginning of
April, two months after the attempted assassination of Pacho Bey, a
single soldier ready to march on Albania. Ramadan, that year, did not
close until the new moon of July. Had Ali put himself boldly at the head
of the movement which was beginning to stir throughout Greece, he might
have baffled these vacillating projects, and possibly dealt a fatal blow
to the Ottoman Empire. As far back as 1808, the Hydriotes had offered to
recognise his son Veli, then Vizier of the Morea, as their Prince, and
to support him in every way, if he would proclaim the independence of
the Archipelago. The Moreans bore him no enmity until he refused to help
them to freedom, and would have returned to him had he consented.
On the other side, the sultan, though anxious for war, would not spend a
penny in order to wage it; and it was not easy to corrupt some of the
great vassals ordered to march at their own expense against a man in
whose downfall they had no special interest. Nor were the means of
seduction wanting to Ali, whose wealth was enormous; but he preferred to
keep it in order to carry on the war which he thought he could no longer
escape. He made, therefore, a general appeal to all Albanian warriors,
whatever their religion. Mussulmans and Christians, alike attracted by
the prospect of booty and good pay, flocked to his standard in crowds.
He organised all these adventurers on the plan of the Armatous, by
companies, placing a captain of his own choice at the head of each, and
giving each company a special post to defend. Of all possible plans this
was the best adapted to his country, where only a guerilla warfare can
be carried on, and where a large army could not subsist.
In repairing to the posts assigned to them, these troops committed such
terrible depredations that the provinces sent to Constantinople
demanding their suppression. The Divan answered the petitioners that it
was their own business to suppress these disorders, and to induce the
Klephotes to turn their arms against Ali, who had nothing to hope from
the clemency of the Grand Seigneur. At the same time circular letters
were addressed to the Epirotes, warning them to abandon the cause of a
rebel, and to consider the best means of freeing themselves from a
traitor, who, having long oppressed them, now sought to draw down on
their country all the terrors of war. Ali, who every where maintained
numerous and active spies, now redoubled his watchfulness, and not a
single letter entered Epirus without being opened and read by his
agents. As an extra precaution, the guardians of the passes were
enjoined to slay without mercy any despatch-bearer not provided with an
order signed by Ali himself; and to send to Janina under escort any
travellers wishing to enter Epirus. These measures were specially aimed
against Suleyman Pacha, who had succeeded Veli in the government of
Thessaly, and replaced Ali himself in the office of Grand Provost of the
Highways. Suleyman's secretary was a Greek called Anagnorto, a native of
Macedonia, whose estates Ali had seized, and who had fled with his
family to escape further persecution. He had become attached to the
court party, less for the sake of vengeance on Ali than to aid the cause
of the Greeks, for whose freedom he worked by underhand methods. He
persuaded Suleyman Pacha that the Greeks would help him to dethrone Ali,
for whom they cherished the deepest hatred, and he was determined that
they should learn the sentence of deprivation and excommunication
fulminated against the rebel pacha. He introduced into the Greek
translation which he was commissioned to make, ambiguous phrases which
were read by the Christians as a call to take up arms in the cause of
liberty. In an instant, all Hellas was up in arms. The Mohammedans were
alarmed, but the Greeks gave out that it was in order to protect
themselves and their property against the bands of brigands which had
appeared on all sides. This was the beginning of the Greek insurrection,
and occurred in May 1820, extending from Mount Pindus to Thermopylae.
However, the Greeks, satisfied with having vindicated their right to
bear arms in their own defence, continued to pay their taxes, and
abstained from all hostility.
At the news of this great movement, Ali's friends advised him to turn it
to his own advantage. "The Greeks in arms," said they, "want a chief:
offer yourself as their leader. They hate you, it is true, but this
feeling may change. It is only necessary to make them believe, which is
easily done, that if they will support your cause you will embrace
Christianity and give them freedom."
There was no time to lose, for matters became daily more serious. Ali
hastened to summon what he called a Grand Divan, composed of the chiefs
of both sects, Mussulmans and Christians. There were assembled men of
widely different types, much astonished at finding themselves in
company: the venerable Gabriel, Archbishop of Janina, and uncle of the
unfortunate Euphrosyne, who had been dragged thither by force; Abbas,
the old head of the police, who had presided at the execution of the
Christian martyr; the holy bishop of Velas, still bearing the marks of
the chains with which Ali had loaded him; and Porphyro, Archbishop of
Arta, to whom the turban would have been more becoming than the mitre.
Ashamed of the part he was obliged to play, Ali, after long hesitation,
decided on speaking, and, addressing the Christians, "O Greeks!" he
said, "examine my conduct with unprejudiced minds, and you will see
manifest proofs of the confidence and consideration which I have ever
shown you. What pacha has ever treated you as I have done? Who would
have treated your priests and the objects of your worship with as much
respect? Who else would have conceded the privileges which you enjoy?
for you hold rank in my councils, and both the police and the
administration of my States are in your hands. I do not, however, seek
to deny the evils with which I have afflicted you; but, alas! these
evils have been the result of my enforced obedience to the cruel and
perfidious orders of the Sublime Porte. It is to the Porte that these
wrongs must be attributed, for if my actions be attentively regarded it
will be seen that I only did harm when compelled thereto by the course
of events. Interrogate my actions, they will speak more fully than a
detailed apology.
"My position with regard to the Suliotes allowed no half-and-half
measures. Having once broken with them, I was obliged either to drive
them from my country or to exterminate them. I understood the political
hatred of the Ottoman Cabinet too well not to know that it would declare
war against me sooner or later, and I knew that resistance would be
impossible, if on one side I had to repel the Ottoman aggression, and on
the other to fight against the formidable Suliotes.
"I might say the same of the Parganiotes. You know that their town was
the haunt of my enemies, and each time that I appealed to them to change
their ways they answered only with insults and threats. They constantly
aided the Suliotes with whom I was at war; and if at this moment they
still were occupying Parga, you would see them throw open the gates of
Epirus to the forces of the sultan. But all this does not prevent my
being aware that my enemies blame me severely, and indeed I also blame
myself, and deplore the faults which the difficulty of my position has
entailed upon me. Strong in my repentance, I do not hesitate to address
myself to those whom I have most grievously wounded. Thus I have long
since recalled to my service a great number of Suliotes, and those who
have responded to my invitation are occupying important posts near my
person. To complete the reconciliation, I have written to those who are
still in exile, desiring them to return fearlessly to their country, and
I have certain information that this proposal has been everywhere
accepted with enthusiasm. The Suliotes will soon return to their
ancestral houses, and, reunited under my standard, will join me in
combating the Osmanlis, our common enemies.
"As to the avarice of which I am accused, it seems easily justified by
the constant necessity I was under of satisfying the inordinate cupidity
of the Ottoman ministry, which incessantly made me pay dearly for
tranquillity. This was a personal affair, I acknowledge, and so also is
the accumulation of treasure made in order to support the war, which the
Divan has at length declared."
Here Ali ceased, then having caused a barrel full of gold pieces to be
emptied on the floor, he continued:
"Behold a part of the treasure I have preserved with so much care, and
which has been specially obtained from the Turks, our common enemies: it
is yours. I am now more than ever delighted at being the friend of the
Greeks. Their bravery is a sure earnest of victory, and we will shortly
re-establish the Greek Empire, and drive the Osmanlis across the
Bosphorus. O bishops and priests of Issa the prophet! bless the arms of
the Christians, your children. O primates! I call upon you to defend
your rights, and to rule justly the brave nation associated with my
interests."
This discourse produced very different impressions on the Christian
priests and archons. Some replied only by raising looks of despair to
Heaven, others murmured their adhesion. A great number remained
uncertain, not knowing what to decide. The Mirdite chief, he who had
refused to slaughter the Kardikiotes, declared that neither he nor any
Skipetar of the Latin communion would bear arms against their legitimate
sovereign the sultan. But his words were drowned by cries of "Long live
Ali Pasha! Long live the restorer of liberty!" uttered by some chiefs of
adventurers and brigands.