Nikolaos Petimezas

Nikolaos Petimezas or Petmezas was a Greek revolutionary leader during the Greek War of Independence, politician and officer of the Hellenic Gendarmerie.

Life

Nikolaos Petimezas hailed from the important clan of the Petimezas or Petmezas from the village of Soudena, near Kalavryta. He was born in 1790 as the son of Athanasios Petimezas.
After his father was murdered in 1804 he fled to British-held Zakynthos, and enrolled in the British-sponsored Greek light infantry units there, along with his brother Vasileios.
He returned to the Peloponnese at the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, and fought in several battles at Kalavryta, Levidi, Corinth, Argos, and Akrata. In 1826, with 600 men, he and his brother occupied Mega Spilaio and drove back the attacks of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. He then fought in Attica under Georgios Karaiskakis against Reşid Mehmed Pasha. He reached the rank of lieutenant general.
He died in Kalavryta in 1865.