Agrafa is a historical region and mountain range of central
Greece, the southern end of Pindos. They occupy the entire northern
part of the prefecture of Evritania and the western part of the
prefecture of Karditsa and are divided into Thessalian Agrafa and
Evrytanian Agrafa. Their highest peak is Karava with an altitude of
2,184 meters. In total, Agrafa has 7 peaks with an altitude of over
2,000 meters. These are Karava (2,184 m.), Delidimi (2,163 m.),
Voutsikaki (2,154 m.), Fteri (2,128 m.), Liakoura (2,043 m.),
Marathia (2,042 m.) And Kalivia (2,018 m.). They also have many
others with an altitude of over 1,900 meters.
The mountains
of Agrafa are forested. At high altitudes, the fir tree dominates.
The rivers Tavropos and Agrafiotis originate from Agrafa.
Thessalian Agrafa is the northern part of the Agrafa mountain range. To the east they end in the Thessalian plain. They belong mainly to the prefecture of Karditsa. The highest peak of Thessaly Agrafa is Karava with an altitude of 2,184 meters, which is the highest peak of the entire mountain range. In the area of Thessaly Agrafa is the lake Plastira.
The Evrytanian Agrafa are located in the Peripheral Unit of Evrytania, north of Mount Timfristos, which can be considered part of them. It is the most inaccessible area of Greece, as the numerous towering mountain peaks and deep ravines make transportation difficult. For this reason, a small part of the road network of the area is paved, while old paths and bridges are still used by the residents. The highest peak of Evrytanian Agrafa is Delidimi, with an altitude of 2,163 meters.
The
most probable version is that the name of the area comes from the
ancient Greek race of the Agraians, who lived mainly between the
rivers Acheloos and Agrafiotis. The name of the Agraians is
etymologically derived from the word "ἄγρα", which means "hunting".
It is no coincidence that the patron goddess of the Agraians was
Agraia Artemis (who is also the emblem of the Municipality of
Agrafa), who was also known as the Goddess of hunting. Given the
above, it is interesting that today some inhabitants of Agrafa and
Tzoumerka are characterized as Katsakioriides by the lowland
populations of Thessaly, and most likely their name is
etymologically derived from the Italian word "caccia" which means
"hunting", as well as "ἄγρα".
According to the chronicler Michael
Psellos, the area acquired its name during the iconoclasm, when the
iconoclast of Byzantium was the iconoclast Constantine ED. The
inhabitants of the area refused the implementation of the decree for
the removal of the icons from the temples and killed the emperor's
envoys. Then Constantine angrily deleted the area from the maps of
the Empire.
According to a popular oral tradition, the area got
its name due to the inability of the authorities to collect
taxes, so they deleted the area from the tax lists, hence Agrafa, ie
unregistered.
In ancient times, the Greek tribes of Agraia, Aperantia, Evrytani, and Dolopi were settled in the region of Agrafa.
At the beginning of the Middle Ages the population of the area was
showing a thinning. The population gap was covered by a very small
settlement of Slavs who mixed and assimilated completely with the local
Greek population. The first groups seem to have settled in the 6th
century, when they invaded the Greek area accompanying the Avars and
then in the 8th century AD, during a period of extensive penetration of
Slavs into the Greek area. The presence of the Slavs is evidenced by
several Slavic toponyms found in the area with the characteristic
endings - itsa, - ovo.
During the second Bulgarian Empire, at the
end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century, Vlach populations
settled in the area of Thessaly. The settlement of the Vlachs in Agrafa
was limited as few Vlach toponyms are found. Later, during the Turkish
occupation, there was a Sarakatsani settlement in the area.
Agrafa flourished during the Turkish occupation. The Ottomans
considered it unprofitable to establish a garrison for military control
of the region, considering it preferable to grant the region autonomy
status and collect a fixed taxation. So they proceeded in 1525 AD. at
the signing of the Treaty of Tamasio, which granted autonomy to the
region of Agrafi, in exchange for the obligation of the inhabitants to
pay an annual tax of 50,000 grosci. The seat of the autonomous region of
Agrafa, which stretched from the borders of the plain of Karditsa to the
river Acheloos, was designated Neohori.
In the middle of the 17th
century, Greeks from the region of Agrafa, a total of 32 families, due
to the difficult living conditions in the mountainous regions, moved and
settled in the region of Bursa in Asia Minor, where they created the
settlement of Demirdesi (Demerdesi).
In the years that followed,
the area developed economically, a fact that is reflected in the large
churches and monasteries that were built during this period. The art of
hagiography was particularly important, with the local hagiographers
creating remarkable hagiography workshops. Due to the climate of greater
freedom and economic development that prevailed, Agrafa attracted people
of the spirit such as Evgenios Giannoulis of Aitolos who founded the
Hellenic Museum of Agrafa, a higher school of grammar and religious
studies.
At the same time, the area gathered many fugitives who
were facing problems with the Ottoman authorities who, together with
local chieftains, formed bodies of thieves. Certain commanders of these
corps were entrusted by the Turks with the security of the region. These
groups formed the bodies of the charioteers.
The most important thief of the Agrafos was Katsantonis who operated
in the period 1802-1808. For his arrest, Ali Pasha of Ioannina organized
many operations that failed for several years. He was finally arrested
in 1808 while he was seriously ill and taken to Ioannina where he was
killed. The leader of the Greek revolution of 1821, Georgios
Karaiskakis, also came from Agrafa. He assumed the charioteer of Agrafa
until 1824 and was then appointed commander-in-chief of Roumeli until
his death in 1827.
With the formation of the Greek state and the
formation of the Greek borders on the line Amvrakikos - Pagasitikos with
the Treaty of London of 1832, the historical unity of the Agrafas was
broken as a part of them joined the newly formed Greek state (Eurytanic
Agrafas) while another remained under Ottoman control (Thessalian
Unwritten).
The outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 was an
important opportunity for the regions that had remained outside the
Greek borders to rebel and achieve their union with Greece. Soon rebel
gangs from the Greek area rushed to the rebel areas to help the rebels
and the main operations took place in Epirus and Thessaly. Finally, with
the intervention of the British and the French who imposed a naval
blockade on Greece, they forced it to recall the bodies that had been
sent to the Turkish-occupied areas and soon the Turks suppressed the
revolution and proceeded to plunder and destroy villages in these areas.
In 1877, on the occasion of the outbreak of the new Russo-Turkish
war, a new uproar was caused in the Turkish-occupied areas near the
Greek border. The Greek government of the time decided to send troops to
Thessaly, but shortly after capitulation and the end of the
Russo-Turkish war. The Greek army withdrew from the area and the Turkish
troops proceeded to destroy villages of the Thessalian Agrafos. At the
Berlin Conference, the concession of Thessaly to Greece was finally
decided, which was finalized in 1881 with the Agreement of
Constantinople between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Now the entire
region of Agrafa was included in the Greek territory.
In the
Greco-Turkish War of 1897, Turkish troops occupied Thessaly and remained
in the area until early 1898, when a compromise was reached between the
two sides.[6] After the end of the war, the population of Agrafa showed
a decrease due to the migration of the inhabitants abroad or to large
urban centers of Greece.
The area of Agrafa was one of the most important centers of the
National Resistance. ELAS was active in the region, with its action,
Agrafa was one of the first free regions of Greece. From August 9, 1943,
an airport controlled by the rebels operated on the plateau of
Nevropolis (in the area now covered by Lake Tauropos), which ensured the
supply of the rebel bodies by the allied forces. The Political Committee
of National Liberation which was formed for the administration of the
liberated areas, was housed in Viniani to the south of Agrafi.
At
the end of the 1950s, the artificial lake Tauropos or Lake Plastira was
created in Agrafa, Thessaly. The lake offered opportunities for tourism
development in the nearby villages after the 1990s helping to maintain
the population in the area. Evrytanika Agrafa remained more isolated and
only in recent years an asphalt road network has been created in the
area, enabling the area to come out of isolation.