Lazaros or Lazos Tsamis (; 1878 in Pisoderi, Florina – 22 November 1933) was an Aromanian merchant who participated in the Macedonian Struggle and later volunteered to lead Greece in the struggle for Northern Epirus.
Personal life He was born in the year 1878 in Pisoderi, Florina kaza (region).Encyclopædia Britannica Papyrus Larousse, eds Papyrus, Volume 58, 1993, Vol 58, p. 172 . His family originated from Moscopole, North Epirus. His parents were Kosmas Tsamis and Anastasia (Sia) Gkerka, the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Bitola. His family farmed large tracts of vineyards and were one of the richest in the region.Maria Nikolaeva Todorova, Balkan identities: nation and memory, New York University Press, , pp. 217–218 et seq. His brother was Papastavros Tsamis, a clergyman who took part in the critical phase of the Macedonian Struggle in the region. In 1900, his grandfather George (Gakis) Tsamis divided a large amount of property among his children, Demetrius (Mito), Kosmas, Nahum and Stergios Tsamis. Lazarus took over the stewardship of the premises in Pisoderi, which was one of the three stores that his father Kosmas inherited. From 1900 to 1902, Lazaros Tsamis became a successful merchant and developed a network of shops in Lefkona (Popli), Bilisht, Liqenas of Great Prespa, Drenovë in Korçë, and Nakolec.Vassos L. Tsamis-Pavlos L. Tsamis: The Makedonomachoi brothers Papastavros and Lazarus Cosma Tsamis, Thessaloniki 1956, pp. 8–9 ff He had also leased land in the Prespa Lakes by the Ottoman authorities. On September 22, 1908, Lazaros married Alexandra Pertsi in Pisoderi. He had six children with her, Basilios, Pavlos, Stergios, Olga, Antigoni and Xanthippi Tsami.
Macedonian Struggle The first years and his coordinated action Lazaros decided to act independently, embittered by the indifference of the Greek authorities for the Greeks of Western Macedonia which was noted by the Bishop of Kastoria, Germanos Karavangelis, after an urgent petition they submitted to the Greek Government through the Greek Consul in Bitola, Stamatios Kiouze Peza. Under the pseudonym George Costas, he began secret correspondence with all prominent Greeks of the region in order to compile armed protection committees for the Greek villages of Kastoria kaza and to organize a well-coordinated information network.Douglas Dakin, The Greek Struggle in Macedonia (1897–1913), published by Institute for Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki 1966, p. 120
Participation in IMRO and the first assassination attempt
One of the first committees for the protection of villages was for Pisoderi; Lazaros Tsamis was one of the founding members.Army General Staff, Department of History, The Macedonian struggle and Thrace events in 1979, p. 106 His contacts with wealthy Muslim merchants and Albanian politicians and military officials in Korestia, Prespa and Korçë quickly made him a valuable, trusted and passionate partner of Germanos Karavaggelis, Bishop of Kastoria, and the Greek Consulate of Bitola. Lazarus and his brother Papastavros organized a dense network of information in the Prespa region based on personal and business contacts. Maria Nikolaeva Todorova, Balkan identities:nation and memory, New York University Press ,, pp. 217-218 etc. In the village of Agios Germanos, members of the network were Evangelos Dimoulis, Mountousis, Paraskevaidis, Papanaum, Traikos Vassilopoulos in the village Laimos, the Michaelides and Karidas families in the village Platy, Petridis in the village of Kallithea, the Papadopoulos family in the village Pixos, Papastefanos in the village of Psarades, the Anastasiou family in the village of Karyes and Traikos Lantzakis in the village Antartiko.Angelos K. Anestopoulos, Macedonian Struggle 1903−1908, Thessaloniki 1965, Volume II, p. 107 At the instigation of Bishop Germanos Karavaggelis and with the consent of the Greek Consul of Monastiri Stamatios Kiouze Peza, Lazaros joined the pro-Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) along with his brother priest Stavros and other members of Pisoderi committee with the sole purpose of gathering information about the movements and activities of the Bulgarian revolutionary committee (pp. IMRO).WEB. e-istoria e-istoria.com/266.html, German and Karavangelis organosis of Hellenism in the region of Kastoria Army General Staff, Department of History, The Macedonian struggle and events in Thrace 1979, pp. 105−106Archives Department F.AAK / F., No. No. 119/10-3-2002 Report, Consulate Monastery
Through his participation in the IMRO and the information he gathered, he informed Bishop Karavaggelis that an envoy of the Bulgarian revolutionary committee would attempt to cross the Greek-Turkish border in Thessaly, go to Athens and procure weapons for equipping the Bulgarian rebel forces, in preparation of the impending revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Thrace. In the next update, Lazaros informed the Bishop of Kastoria that the envoy of IMRO would be the capable and passionate voivod Vasil Tsakalarof, who has excellent knowledge of the Greek language from the village Krystallopigi (Smardesi) of Florina.
Tsakalarof, despite the information the Greek authorities had at their disposal, managed to cross the Greek-Turkish border and arrived in Athens, where he visited the arms factory "Bros Maltsinioti" pretending to be an Arvanite from Ioannina and falsely stated that he wanted to buy weapons to equip Albanian rebels against Ottoman domination. He agreed to a price of 17 drachmas per rifle, he paid 220 golden coins [of 20 francs each] and shipments of arms soon began through the Greek customs office of Tirnavos, whose Greek Customs Officer was tricked (he thought that the rifles were destined for Albanian rebels) and bribed to keep quiet about the clandestine export of thousands of rifles to Macedonia.Pavlos Tsamis, Macedonian Struggle, published by the Society for Macedonian Studies, Thessaloniki 1975, pp. 90–92George Modis, the Macedonian Struggle and the newer Macedonian History, published by the Society for Macedonian Studies, Thessaloniki, 1967, p. 172
Lazaros learned about the success of the Bulgarian operation for the equipment of Bulgarian guerrilla groups and immediately informed Bishop Germanos Karavaggelis of the smuggling of weapons and the inaction of the Greek Authorities. Then, Bishop Karavaggelis sent two members of his organization to Athens, George Gkiamos and priest Elias Papadimitriou from Chalara (Podovista), Kastoria, with a mission to identify Vasil Tsakalarof and to report him to the Greek police. During the unsuccessful police operation, Tsakalarof managed to escape after recognizing the two people who had reported him to the Greek Gendarmerie.Archives Department F.AAK / F., No. No. 154/23-3-2002 Report, Consulate MonasteryArmy General Staff, Department of History, The Macedonian struggle and events in Thrace 1979, p. 107
In May 1902, Tsakalarof entered the village of Chalara (Podovista), arrested them, and got the names of Karavaggeli's associates after torturing them. After these revelations, killings of disclosed partners from a list compiled by Tsakalarof began. After the murder of the first five people on the list, the first assassination attempt against Lazaros Tsamis took place, but he escaped because he was informed about the murders and was prepared. On August 19, 1902, near the village of Trigono (Ostima), a decisive battle occurred between the groups of Captain Kottas and Tsakalarof lasting eight hours. Lazaros took part in the battle with his brother and others from Pisoderi and forced Tsakalarof to withdraw from the region.N. G Koemtzopoulos, Captain Kottas, The First Macedonian, Athens 1968, p 72 Lazaros after the battle, went to Monastiri (Bitola) and asked for instructions from the Greek Consulate. There, he met Vice-Consul Ion Dragoumis, who urged him to go to Athens.Angelos K. Anestopoulos, Macedonian Struggle 1903-1908, Thessaloniki 1965, Volume II, p 106
Indeed, in November 1902, Lazaros went to Athens with his brother Papastavros, where, at the home of the Dragoumis family, he met later Prime Minister Stephanos Dragoumis, lieutenant Pavlos Melas, scholars John Dellios and Anastasios Picheon and publisher of the newspaper Empros Demetrios Kalapothakis.
There, the Greek Vice Consul of Monastiri Dragoumis informed the Tsamis brothers about the establishing of the Association for the National Defence which had, according to its statutes, the purpose of "defending the Greek communities against any enemy" and they became members of the organization.↑ 2,0 2,1 2,2 2,3 (English) Maria Nikolaeva Todorova, Balkan identities: nation and memory, New York University Press, , pp. 217−218 et seq Lazaros during the meeting informed attendees that in August 1902, Colonel of the Bulgarian Army, Athanas Giankof who had the task of preparing the uprising of the IMRO organization had reached the region of Korestia, where the villages at the foot of Mount Vitsi where located.↑ Pavlos Tsamis, Macedonian Struggle, published by the Society for Macedonian Studies, Thessaloniki 1975, pp. 84 and 98
Ilinden Uprising and the first groups of Greek/Macedonian fighters In the spring of 1903, Lazaros, after command from Bishop Germanos Karavaggelis, successfully ensured the smooth entry of the first fighters from Crete into the Ottoman Empire.N. G Koemtzopoulos, Captain Kottas, The First Mecedonian, Athens 1968, p. 73 In July 1903, the Ilinden Uprising broke out, about which Lazaros Tsamis had already informed the Greek Consular authorities in Bitola. Along with his brother Papastavros and other members of the defense committee of the village of Pisoderi, he prevented the participation of the village residents and thus protecting the settlement from retaliation from the Ottoman Army after the suppression of the revolution. The same did not happen in other villages and towns, such as Kruševo of Pelagonia.George Modis, the Macedonian Struggle and the newer Macedonian History, published by the Society for Macedonian Studies, Thessaloniki, 1967, p. 188 The non-participation of the locals in the revolution caused the wrath of the leader of the Bulgarian revolutionary committee Boris Sarafov, who ordered the execution of five men from Pisoderi and the arson of premises at Lefkonas village of Prespa, belonging to Lazaros Tsamis.
In March 1904, the Greek Consul in Bitola Dimitris Kallergis asked Lazaros to make a reconnaissance of the area around the monastery of St. Nicholas Tsirilovo and make sure that it safe to cross for Pavlos Melas' group. Lazos completed his mission and assured the Consulate of Bitola that the area was safe and there was no intelligence leaks, nor were there any units of the Turkish army that could jeopardize the mission.
A few days later, the Greek officers Alexander Kontoulis, Anastasios Papoulas, George Kolokotronis, Pavlos Melas, accompanied by Efthimios Kaoudis, Apostolos Tragas, George Dikonymos-Makris, George Perrakis, Lakis Pyrzas, Captain Kottas, Pavlos Kiru, Simos Ioannidis, Elias Gkadoutsi and two from Siatista, crossed the Turkish border in the area of Kritsotades in what is now Trikala Prefecture safely.
Smuggling of the Greek Mission and his imprisonment