page_title: Skamneli
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Skamneli / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Palaiokastro, remains of an ancient fortification at Skamneli, Zagori, Epirus, Greece. Ελληνικά: Παλαιόκαστρο, αρχαία τείχη πιθανόν 8ου αι. π.Χ, στο Σκαμνέλι, Ζαγορίου, στην Ήπειρο.
context_page_description: Skamneli is a village in the Zagori region, 54 km north of Ioannina. It is built in the fringes of mountain Tymfi, at a height of 1160 m.
context_section_description: The region of the village was inhabited since prehistoric times, as there have been found ancient, so-called Pelasgian fortifications, known by the locals also as the Palaiokastro. They were visited by Nicholas Hammond in 1930 and in 1939, prior to the publication of his book Epirus. Prof Daskaris of the University of Ioannina dated these to the 8th century BC.  
  Moreover, remains of a 4th- to 3rd-century BC circular tower, a rectangular tower, a gate and two smaller doorways have been identified near the entrance of the village in the vicinity of the Monastery of St Paraskevi. Graves dating from Hellenistic times were unearthed in 2017. In the Ottoman period, Skamneli belonged to the Koinon of the Zagorisians (Greek: Κοινόν Ζαγορισίων) formed after a treaty with Sinan-Pasha in 1431. Ιt enjoyed along with the other villages a joint autonomy from Ottoman rule. The autonomy guaranteed non-interference from the Turkish administration. Zagorisians had their affairs entrusted to a Council of Elders called Demogerontia (Gr. Δημογεροντία), headed by a president or governor called Vekylis (Gr. Βεκύλης). They maintained a small force of Sipahi horsemen (Gr. σπαχήδες). The Koinon of the Zagorisians was reformalised by a treaty signed in 1670, under which Zagori enjoyed considerable privileges called "Surutia", which were only rescinded by the Sultan in 1868. In the later part of the 17th century, the inhabitants of several hamlets began to resettle in Skamneli. The reason was probably raids from bandits. One major such raid is recorded in the books of the Monastery of St Paraskevi, according to Frangoulis dated to 1688, by one named Ali Chogmeno at the head of 166 men. He gathered the women and children in the Church of the Apostles (Agioi Apostoloi) and began looting the village. Armatoloi arrived from Doliani, another village in Zagori, under their captain Douvlis and dispersed the bandits after killing Ali Chogmeno. At the time Skamneli had about 1000 inhabitants and was surrounded by several hamlets with an additional 800 inhabitants. Plagued by raids from mainly Albanian and Turkish bandits, the inhabitants of the countryside and hamlets around Skamneli began to emigrate to other villages of Zagori (Tsepelovo, Vradeto and Negades) and also to Northern Epirus (in modern Albania), in Karitsa, Molista, Sopiki and especially to Moschopolis (Voskopolis), where a neighborhood became called Skamnelia (Gr. Σκαμνελιά), Skamneliki (Gr. Σκαμνελίκι) or Skamnelicili. 
  In the second half of the 18th century, Skamneli is believed to have had a population of about 950, according to Frangoulis, based on two surviving village records, but other estimates are of up to 800 families for the entire region. It had a school for boys and girls in which Classical Greek was taught. Looms were worked by the women of Skamneli, producing garments, blankets and woolen fabrics. Vikos doctors were active in the area at that time. The foundations of the manors of Skamneli date from this period and were built by masons from Konitsa. During a tour of Mt Tymphe, Ali Pasha was caught in a storm and spent a night in Skamneli at the manor of the Saitzes family, said to have caused his admiration. 
  In 1820, after the rebellion of Ali Pasha, a Turkish force of 1500 under Ismael Pasha arrived in Zagori, part of the total army of 20,000 sent against Ali Pasha. Alexis Noutsos from Kapesovo, a member of the Philike Hetairia who had intermarried with the Saitzes family and owned a house in Skamneli, was in command of the force opposing Ismael Pasha. However, the Sultan's armies prevailed. Ismael Pasha removed most privileges other than the right to appoint a local governor (Vekylis), whose powers however became nominal. Ismael Pasha introduced very heavy taxation, amounting to 250 silver coins per person and additional taxation in kind. Albanian and local bandits began looting raids once again. This was the time when many prominent Greeks had become members of the Philike Hetairia and were preparing the uprising against the Turks in 1821. The Skamneliot Georgios Papazoglo
caption: Skamneli Palaiokastro
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