Many Greek Cypriots supported the Greek independence effort that began in 1821, leading to severe reprisals by the Ottoman Empire. On 15 October 1821, a massive Turkish mob seized and hanged an archbishop, five bishops, thirty six ecclesiastics, and hanged most of the Greek Cypriots in Larnaca and the other towns. By September 1822, sixty-two Cypriot villages and hamlets had entirely disappeared.