Origin and early life Mavrovouniotis was born in either
Mojdež (both in modern-day
Montenegro), as
Vaso Brajović. Virtually all the historians of the
Greek War of Independence agree that he was of
Slavic ancestry, although some of them state he had
Greek roots. where he excelled. He was given the nickname
Mavrovouniotis or
Mavrovouniota, "Montenegrin" (Васо Црногорац), in Greece. leader of the Greek Revolution in
Euboea, with whom he was a "Vlami" (a spiritual brother, an ancient Balkan practice of
blood brotherhood). In 1822, he participated in the fight against the
Turks in
Athens where he showed bravery and was widely accepted as one of the best fighters of its period. In 1824, a Greek civil war erupted and Mavrovouniotis joined forces with the government mainly composed of Greeks he knew since the early stages of the revolution. For his commitment to the side that finally won the domestic conflict he was assigned the rank of
General and was given a force of 1,500 men; a considerable army at that period. In the period between 1826–27 he was one of the few guerilla fighters not to be defeated by the
Egyptian forces led by
Ibrahim Pasha, that nearly destroyed the Greek forces. He participated in a failed Greek expedition in
Cyprus and
Lebanon in March 1826 aiming at inciting a revolt in those areas.
Service in the Kingdom of Greece In the newly established Greek state in 1830s he became a member of the elite that surrounded the first Greek
King Otto, prince of
Bavaria. He was both a member of the
Privy Council and
adjutant to King Otto. He died on 9 June 1847 and was widely admired by the Greek people as one of the leaders of the Cause and as one of the leading figures of the independent state. During his military career he had a leading role in thirty six battles and had suffered many injuries, including a penetrating wound in his chest. A dagger belonging to Mavrovouniotis is displayed at the National Museum of Athens. The bayonet-like object on the left (charbi, χαρμπί) was used as knife sharpener or muzzleloader. The dagger on the right bears the inscription (in Greek): "
Fighting holy battles for his friend Greece. Vassos Mavrovoniotes". . ==Family==