Ioannis Ramnalis

{{Short description|Greek chieftain}} {{Infobox Soldier | honorific_prefix = Kapetan (Chieftain) | name = Ioannis Ramnalis | native_name = Ιωάννης Ράμναλης | image = Yannis Ramnalis-1.jpg | caption = Ramnalis during the Macedonian Struggle. | birth_date = {{circa}} 1885 | death_date = 5 December {{death year and age|1923|1885}} | birth_place = Rafna, [[Salonika Vilayet]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (now {{ill|Isoma, Kilkis|lt=Isoma|el|Ίσωμα Κιλκίς}}, [[Greece]]) | death_place = [[Lagkadikia]], [[Kingdom of Greece]] | nickname = | birth_name = Ioannis Villioglou (Ιωάννης Βίλλιογλου) | allegiance = {{flagicon|Greece|royal}} [[Kingdom of Greece]] | branch = * {{flagicon image|Seal of the Greek-Macedonian Committee.jpg}} [[Hellenic Macedonian Committee|HMC]] * {{army|Greece}} | battles = [[Macedonian Struggle]]<br>[[Balkan Wars]] *[[First Balkan War]] *[[Second Balkan War]] | relations = Dimitrios Villioglou (father)<br>Domna Villioglou (mother) }} '''Ioannis Villioglou''', known also as '''Ioannis Ramnalis''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''Ιωάννης Βίλλιογλου ή Ράμναλης;'' 1885 – 1923<ref name=Macedonia>[http://efimeris.nlg.gr/ns/pdfwin_ftr.asp?c=124&pageid=5276&id=-1&s=0&STEMTYPE=0&STEM_WORD_PHONETIC_IDS=ARtASEASUASVASJASTASPASa&CropPDF=0 Μακεδονία, August 4, 1923, p. 1.]</ref>) was a [[Greeks|Greek]] chieftain from Rafna (today's Isoma) in [[Kilkis (regional unit)|Kilkis]]. He is mostly known for his involvement in the [[Macedonian Struggle]].

== Early life == Ramnalis was born in 1885 in Rafna (today's Isoma) in Kilkis. His father was Dimitrios Villioglou and his mother was Domna (Domnitsa). When he was 17 years old, his parents and an uncle were murdered by Bulgarian komitadjis. == Armed action == In autumn 1904 Ramnalis was in [[Serres]]. There, a trader had rented part of his house to the Bulgarian revolutionary committee to be used as a school, which caused great upheaval to the Greek community of the city. In response, the young Ramnalis, fatally stabbed the trader<ref>Ιωάννης Σ. Κολιόπουλος, (edit.), ''Αφανείς, γηγενείς Μακεδονομάχοι'', Εταιρεία Μακεδονικών Σπουδών, University Studio Press, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2008, p. 58.</ref><ref name=Modis>Γ. Χ. Μόδης, ''Μακεδονικός Αγών και Μακεδόνες Αρχηγοί'', β΄έκδοση, Θεσσαλονίκη 2007, p. 290 - 291.</ref> and then he fled to [[Thessaloniki]]. There, he found asylum in the Greek consulate, asking to join the army. At first, in the spring of 1905, he was placed as a rifleman in the force of [[Ioannis Sakellaropoulos]] (Zirias) that operated in Kalindria of Kilkis. Their base of operations was at the territories of the local landowner Charisis.<ref name=Modis/> Shortly afterwards, the force was detected by the Ottoman authorities and after a scuffle it disbanded. The majority of the insurgents were killed or captured. Few escaped arrest however, including Ioannis Ramnalis, who, disguised as a villager, managed to return to Thessaloniki.<ref name=Modis/>

In the same year, by order of the army center in Thessaloniki, Ramnalis set up a small military force that operated in the areas of Langadas, Vertiskos and Lachanas.<ref>Παύλος Λ. Τσάμης, ''Μακεδονικός Αγών'', ΕΜΣ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1975, p. 399.</ref> Ramnalis and his men, using their farming life as a cover up, were often making night raids against Bulgarian targets. Using this tactic, they managed to kill several armed as well as unarmed prominent citizens that supported the Bulgarian revolutionary committee.<ref name=Modis/> Meanwhile, in 1907 they successfully assaulted Zarova, which was an important center of the Bulgarian komitandjis,<ref>Γ. Χ. Μόδης, 2007, p. 291 - 292.</ref> while in August 1908 Ramnalis dodged an assassination attempt against him also in Zarova.<ref>[http://efimeris.nlg.gr/ns/pdfwin_ftr.asp?c=108&pageid=-1&id=24870&s=0&STEMTYPE=0&STEM_WORD_PHONETIC_IDS=ARtASEASUASVASJASTASPASa&CropPDF=0 Εμπρός, August 24 1908, p. 2]</ref> Moreover, Ramnalis’ military action in the area caused the Turkish bandit Halil Tsaous to leave the region.<ref>Γ. Χ. Μόδης, 2007, p. 292.</ref> [[File:Yanis Ramnalis and Lazos Dogiamas.png|left|thumb|Ioannis Ramnalis (left) and [[Lazos Dogiamas]] (right).]] In 1908, after the [[Young Turk Revolution]] and the granting of general amnesty, Ioannis Ramnalis handed over his weapons. After a short period of time though, when the Young Turks began to persecute Greeks, he fled to [[Athens]]. There, he finished school and tried to enroll in the [[Hellenic Military Academy]]. However, in 1912 he interrupted his studies, returned to Macedonia and reformed his armed force taking part in the [[Balkan Wars]] fighting against Ottoman and Bulgarian troops.<ref>Γ. Χ. Μόδης, 2007, p. 292 - 293.</ref> == Later years and death == After the end of the war, the [[Greece|Greek state]] granted to Ioannis Ramnalis, a rural area in [[Lagkadikia]], where he settled. He started a family and he had a son, Dimitrios, and a daughter, Domna. He gained great wealth from the land thereby becoming a bandits’ target. On December 5, 1923, he was attacked by a gang of bandits and during the scuffle he was fatally injured.<ref>Γ. Χ. Μόδης, 2007, p. 293.</ref> == Legacy == In his hometown, Isoma in Kilkis, a bust of him was placed by the Cultural Association of Isoma.<ref name="Macedonia" />

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography== *A. Anestopoulos, ''Ο Μακεδονικός Αγών 1903 – 1908'', vol.1 (Α΄), Θεσσαλονίκη, 1969. *Ioannis S. Koliopoulos, (edit.), ''Αφανείς, γηγενείς Μακεδονομάχοι'', Εταιρεία Μακεδονικών Σπουδών, University Studio Press, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2008. *G. Ch. Modis, ''Μακεδονικός Αγών και Μακεδόνες Αρχηγοί'', β΄έκδοση, Θεσσαλονίκη 2007. *Pavlos L. Tsamis, ''Μακεδονικός Αγών'', ΕΜΣ, Θεσσαλονίκη 1975.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramnalis, Ioannis}} [[Category:1885 births]] [[Category:1923 deaths]] [[Category:People from Kilkis]] [[Category:People from Salonica vilayet]] [[Category:Greeks from the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Greek Macedonians]] [[Category:People of the Macedonian Struggle]] [[Category:Greek military personnel of the Balkan Wars]]