First Hellenic Republic Ottoman Empire The Ottoman–Egyptian invasion of Mani was a campaign during the Greek War of Independence that consisted of three battles.

The Maniots fought against a combined Egyptian and Ottoman army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.

On March 17, 1821, the Maniots (residents of the central peninsula on the southern part of the Peloponnese) declared war on the Ottoman Empire, preceding the rest of Greece in joining the revolution by about a week.

The reinforcements came under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, the son of the leader of Egypt, Muhammad Ali.

With the Greeks in disarray, Ibrahim ravaged the Peloponnese and after a four months siege he captured the city of Missolonghi in April.

Ibrahim tried to enter Mani from the north-east near Almiro on June 21, 1826, but he was forced to stop at the fortifications at Vergas.

In August, Ibrahim renewed the offensive and he sent a group of regular soldiers down the coast and they reached Kariopoli before they retreated.

[2] At Kalamata, the Greeks established the Messenian Senate which governed affairs in the southern Peloponnese.

[7] Due to the unrelenting losses and stories of Greek atrocities in Tripolis, the Sultan became desperate and in 1824 he called on his Viceroy in Egypt, Muhammad Ali, to aid him.

[14]Ibrahim, furious with the response, ordered an attack on northwestern Mani from Kalamata on June 23, 1826.

[14] The Egyptian artillery failed to breach the walls, so Ibrahim decided to launch two ships with cannons and have them bombard the Maniot defences from the sea.

[14] He also combined this attack with infantry assaults, however these failed as the invaders were driven back from the walls eight times.

[14] The attacks lasted for a few more days before the Egyptians and Ottomans were forced to retreat when news arrived that Kolokotronis was approaching their rear with 2,000 men.

His plan was to send a small fleet with a few soldiers to land at the Bay of Diros, 2 kilometers south of Areopolis.

[17] The aim of this was to capture the unguarded Areopoli, which cut the communication lines of the defenders at Vergas and demoralize them as well.

[17][18] After his retreat from Mani due to the defeats at Vergas and Diros Pasha renewed his offensive in August.

[16] Ibrahim's army was led by a Laconian from Bardounia named Bosinas who had assistance from the Egyptian fleet.

[16] Before he reached the town of Polyaravos, his army of 8,000 Egyptians was delayed by Theodoros Stathakos and his family of thirteen men who refused to let the invaders past their tower.

[16] The Maniots had chosen Polyaravos as their position of defence as it was on high ground and was surrounded by rocky slopes.

[24] The Maniots continued causing trouble and defeated two Bavarian armies King Otto sent against them before they were subdued only after some of the leaders were bribed.