Massacre of Samothrace (1821)

Massacre of Samothrace
Part of the Greek War of Independence
The Massacre of Samothrace by Auguste Vinchon
Location	Samothrace
Coordinates	40°17′N 25°19′E / 40.29°N 25.31°E / 40.29; 25.31
Date	1 September 1821
Target	Greeks
Deaths	Hundreds
Perpetrators	Ottoman Army

The Massacre of Samothrace (Greek: Ολοκαύτωμα της Σαμοθράκης, romanized: Holocaust of Samothrace) was the mass murder and enslavement of the Greek population of the island of Samothrace. Following the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, the Samothracians rose in revolt against the local Ottoman authorities. On 1 September 1821, an Ottoman punitive expedition under the Castellan of Dardanelles Mehmet Pasha arrived at the island. After suppressing the uprising, the Ottoman troops killed or enslaved most of island's population.

Five Samothracians who refused to convert to Islam in the aftermath of the massacre were recognized as neomartyrs by the Greek Orthodox Church. Samothrace was awarded the golden medal of the Academy of Athens for its contribution to the Greek War of Independence.