Bey of Mani


The Bey of Mani was the title given to the ruler of the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece under the Ottoman Empire, from the late 17th through the early 19th centuries. The Mani was a semi-autonomous region in the Peloponnese with a history of unrest and resistance to Ottoman rule.
The term bey was a Turkish honorific title. The Ottomans would typically choose a local Maniot Greek from a leading clan as Bey of Mani. The bey was to govern Mani as a vassal state within Ottoman Greece, subject to the approval of the Sublime Porte.
The first Bey of Mani was the Maniot Limberakis Gerakaris, installed c. 1669. The last Bey of Mani was Petros Mavromichalis, also known as "Petrobey". Mavromichalis would become a significant figure in the Greek War of Independence which began in 1821.
In Greek, the title was often rendered as Hegemon or Prince of Mani.

List of beys

The bey was always drawn from one of the local magnate clans:
NameBirthDeathClanPlace of originTenure
Koutoufaris familyThalames1776–1779
Michalbey Troupakis or MourtzinosKardamyli1779–1782
Tzanetbey Grigorakis17421813Skoutari, Gytheion1782–1798
Panagiotis KoumoundourosKoumoundouros familyDoloi1798–1803
Antonobey GrigorakisSkoutari, Gytheion1803–1808
Konstantis Zervakos or ZervobeyZervakis familyKarvelas1808–1810
Theodorobey GrigorakisMarathonisi1811–1815
Petrobey Mavromichalis17651848Mavromichalis familyLimeni, Oitylo1815–1821