Talk:Souli

Origin

I think we know that they were Albanians. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Keep it Fake (talk • contribs) 16:29, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Christians and Mahometans alike have always been discontented, and often rebellious, subjects of the Turk. Some of them were able to maintain their independence for a long time in wild parts among the mountains. Such were the people of Souli, Christian Albanians who were never fully subdued till 1803, when they were overcome by Ali of Joannina. This was a conquest of Christians by Mahometans ; but it was not a conquest of Christians by Turks. It was in truth a conquest of Albanians by Albanians. Ali was a cruel and faithless tyrant ; still he was not a Turk, but an Albanian ; he was a rebel against the Sultan, and he was so far an indirect friend of the Sultan's enemies. And, like many other tyrants, among all his own evil deeds, he did a certain amount of good by keeping smaller oppressors in order. Thus the most opposite things joined together to weaken the Turkish power and to stir up the spirit of the Greeks. The way in which the Souliots withstood Ali, and the way in which Ali withstood the Sultan, both helped. Just at the end of his life, Ali, who had destroyed the freedom of Souli and Parga, was actually in alliance with the Greeks who had risen up to win their own freedom.(3) http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA177&dq=souli+albanian&id=vx1FAAAAIAAJ&output=text#PPA177,M1

No, YOU consider it known as such. I give you in Greek and English the Souliot, Statement of Right and Ali Pasha's letter to Souliots both written primarily in Greek, all according to historian Sir William Eton, A Survey of the Turkish Empire (London, 1799), who lived at the time:

«Οι τόποι τους οποίους κατέχουν οι Τούρκοι, δεν ανήκουν εις τους Τούρκους. Είναι οι τόποι των πατέρων μας. Οι πατέρες μας εστερήθησαν αυτούς δια της βίας και ημείς τα τέκνα των και οι κληρονόμοι των, έχομεν δικαίωμα να ανακτήσωμεν, δια να ζήσωμεν, ο,τι δυνάμεθα δια της δυνάμεως να ανακτήσωμεν. Ως προς τους λοιπούς Έλληνας και τους Χριστιανούς, οι οποίοι μοχθούν χάριν των Τούρκων, άς λάβουν τα όπλα μαζί με ημάς δια να ανακτήσουν την κοινήν χώρα, ή ας υποταχθούν, ώστε ημείς να μεταχειρισθώμεν αυτούς, όπως εκείνοι, οι οποίοι μας είχον αρπάσει την χώραν».

"The places that the Turks possess, do not belong to them. These are the places of our fathers. The fathers were deprived them by force and [we] their children and their heirs, have the right to take them back, in order to live what are able by force to take them. As for the other Greek and Christians, that labor to the Turks, let them receive arms with us so they can recover our common country, or let them subjugated, in order that we know we will treat them as those, who have seized the country do".

and

"Φίλοιμε Καπιτάν Μπόζια κ’ Καπιτάν Τζαβέλα, εγώ ο Αλύ Πασάς, σας χαιρετώ, κ’ σας φιλώ τα μάτια, επειδή κ’ εγώ ξεύρω πολλά καλά την ανδραγαθείαν σας κ’ παλλικαρίαν σας μου φαίνεται νάχω μεγάλην χρείαν από λόγου σας, λοιπόν μη καμετε αλλέως παρακαλώ, αλλ’ ευθύς οπού λάβετε την γραφήν μού, να μαζοξέτε όλα σας τα παλλικάρια κ’ να ελθέτε νε με εύρετε δια να πάγω, να πολεμήσω τους εχθρούς μου. Τούτη ίναι η όρα κ’ ο καιρός οπού έχω χρείαν από λόγου σας, κ’ μένω να ειδώ την φιλιαν σας κ’ την αγάπην όπού έχετε δια λόγου μου. Ο λουφές σας θέλει ίναι διπλός απ’ όσον δίδω εις τους Αρβανίτας δια τι κ’ η παλλικαρία σας ξεύρω πως ίναι πολλά μεγαλύτερη από την εδικήν τους. Λοιπόν εγώ δεν πάγω να πολεμήσω πρίν έλεθετε εσείς, κ’ σας καρτερώ ολλίγορα να έλθετε. Ταύτα κ’ σας χαρετώ".

"Friends Captain Bojia and Captain Tzabela, i Ali Pasha greet you, and I kiss you in the eyes, because I too know very well of your deeds and your bravery appears to me to have need of you, therefore do not make different I immediately request, nothing but as long as you receive my writing, gather all of you fellowmen and come to find me as I fight my enemies. This is the time when I have your need, and I wait to see your friendship and the love that you have for me. The payment shall be double from that I give to their Albanians because I know that your bravery is bigger than theirs. Therefore I do not go to fight before you come to me, and I shall wait for you to come fast. These and I salute you". Ali Pasha —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alex Gerakis (talk • contribs) 05:01, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

Refugees? From where and since when? Could someone reference?

We are saying this as first sentence of the article:

Souli (Greek: Σούλι, Albanian: Suli) is a community originally settled by both Greek and Albanian refugees who were hunted by the Ottomans in Thesprotia, Greece and Laberia, Albania.

Can someone provide a reference to say that this place was really made up of refugees? And if these people were refugees, when did they exactly take refuge in Souli? sulmues (talk)--Sulmues 15:45, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

The sources are given in the article, with full quotes.Alexikoua (talk) 19:19, 26 January 2010 (UTC)