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Ypsilanti (Υψηλάντης) Aleksander
(1792—1828)

The eldest son of Constantine Ypsilanti, Alexander accompanied his father in 1805 to St Petersburg, and in 1809 received a commission in the cavalry of the Imperial Guard. He fought with distinction in 1812 and 1813, losing an arm at the battle of Dresden, and in 1814 was promoted colonel and appointed one of the emperor's adjutants. In this capacity he attended Alexander I at the Congress of Vienna, where he was a popular figure in society. In 1817 he became major-general and commander of the brigade of hussars. He accepted the leadership of the Philike Hetairia, a secret organization that sought Greek independence and raised (Feb., 1821) a revolt at Jassy (now Iaşi), the capital of Moldavia, proclaiming the independence of Greece. The Phanariot hospodar of Moldavia and the Greeks in Walachia and Moldavia rallied to him, but the Romanian population, which had suffered long enough under Phanariot rule, refused to support the movement. Russia, on the pressure of the Austrian foreign minister, Prince von Metternich, disavowed Ypsilanti, who was disastrously defeated by the Turks. He sought asylum in Austria, but was imprisoned there until 1827. He died at Vienna.

Greece, 1930, Aleksander Ypsilanti