The siege ended Ottoman control of the Acropolis of Athens, marking an early Greek success in the War of Independence.
Key Facts
- Siege start
- April 28, 1821
- Ottoman surrender date
- June 9, 1822 (O.S.)
- Initial Greek force
- ~600 Athenians under Meletios Vasileiou
- Peak Greek besieging force
- ~3,000 volunteers
- Ottoman relief force leaders
- Omar Bey of Karystos and Omer Vrioni
- French Philhellene artillery commander
- Olivier Voutier
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Greek uprising against Ottoman rule in March 1821, Athens fell to Greek forces on 28 April without resistance. The Ottoman garrison, Muslim inhabitants, and Greek hostages withdrew to the Acropolis, which served as the garrison commander's residence, prompting the Greeks to besiege the fortified hill.
Greek revolutionary forces, swelling from 600 to around 3,000 men, maintained a loose siege of the Acropolis. An Ottoman relief effort under Omar Bey and Omer Vrioni temporarily broke the siege in July 1821, but after Vrioni's withdrawal the siege resumed. In spring 1822, French Philhellene artillery under Olivier Voutier bombarded the fortress until the garrison surrendered on 9 June 1822.
The surrender of the Ottoman garrison gave Greek revolutionary forces control of the Acropolis of Athens, a symbolically and strategically important early victory in the Greek War of Independence. It demonstrated the effectiveness of combined Greek and Philhellene efforts against entrenched Ottoman positions.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Meletios Vasileiou, Olivier Voutier.
Side B
1 belligerent
Omar Bey of Karystos, Omer Vrioni.