WI: Greek revolution centered on Constantinople and Thrace instead of Morea and Athens

Our timeline’s Greek revolution was centered on Athens and Morea. But there was also a large Greek population in Thrace and Constantinople. What if they had been the ones who rebelled against the Ottomans instead?

I think it would have been harder for them to achieve freedom, since Athens at the time was a small little village, but Constantinople was the capital of the Empire.

Maybe they’d have gotten a state centered on Adrianople.
 
Our timeline’s Greek revolution was centered on Athens and Morea. But there was also a large Greek population in Thrace and Constantinople. What if they had been the ones who rebelled against the Ottomans instead?

I think it would have been harder for them to achieve freedom, since Athens at the time was a small little village, but Constantinople was the capital of the Empire.

Maybe they’d have gotten a state centered on Adrianople.

Okay no. There are more loyalists in Thrace than Greeks. And even then there are Ottoman Troops ready. If the Greeks of Thrace rebelled, there would not be any Greek living there East of the Vardar River.
 
Okay no. There are more loyalists in Thrace than Greeks. And even then there are Ottoman Troops ready. If the Greeks of Thrace rebelled, there would not be any Greek living there East of the Vardar River.

I wasn’t saying that I think this should have happened, I was just curious about how things would have gone if t did.

The Balkan war thread inspired me.
 
Our timeline’s Greek revolution was centered on Athens and Morea. But there was also a large Greek population in Thrace and Constantinople. What if they had been the ones who rebelled against the Ottomans instead?

I think it would have been harder for them to achieve freedom, since Athens at the time was a small little village, but Constantinople was the capital of the Empire.

Maybe they’d have gotten a state centered on Adrianople.
If those places rebelled then Athens and Morea could follow soon after, and like Mustafa said the Ottomans would be ready to crush the Thracian forces anyway.
 
Okay sure. They rebel, they fight, they lose. If Morea rebels as a result of the failure in Thrace Nicholas I would try to pressure to give the Greeks of Morea autonomy/semi independence. If Mahmud II refuses, a war breaks out with Russia by 1826-1827 earliest.
 
Would such a Greece be more inclined to a Magna Gracia idea?

If you mean the Megali Idea, they were plenty inclined to it OTL, but short of the Great Powers deciding to break the Ottomans early there's no way they'd get it, and even then would face massive rebellions from the Turkish population.

If you mean Magna Graecia per se, while there is Greek history and a Hellenophone minority, there's absolutely no chance of them getting it, and short of a Greek fascist state of Greater German Reich ambitions no way for them to plan for it.

Overall, I think OTL borders+Cyprus is the largest plausible Greece, with Constantinople and the rest of Rumelia being possible but unlikely
 
The possibility of success of a greek revolt in Istanbul compared to in Morea, is like comparing the possibility of success of a catholic revolt in London instead of Ireland.
 
I think part of what made the Greek rebellion successful was that it was out in the hinterlands (relatively speaking) of Athens and the Morea. If the capital of the Ottoman Empire rebelled the Ottomans would put it down with ease. Harder to suppress a rebellion out in the "sticks" so to speak.

Not to mention part of the reason the British/et al got involved was that Athens/Peloponnese was seen as the traditional Greek homeland. Easier to justify supporting rebels there as opposed to Constantinople.
 
Athens worked as a base of operations because if was farther from the Ottoman center (I.e. Anatolia) and was majority Greek. The Greeks of Thrace and Constantinople were vastly outnumbered by the Turkish population and too close to the Turkish homeland to receive any foreign support.

The "Greek Revolution" becomes a small riot in Constantinople that's put down in a few days. Constantinople was Turkish in and out. The Greeks might as well revolt in Smyrna. Might last a few days longer
 
Athens worked as a base of operations because if was farther from the Ottoman center (I.e. Anatolia) and was majority Greek. The Greeks of Thrace and Constantinople were vastly outnumbered by the Turkish population and too close to the Turkish homeland to receive any foreign support.

The "Greek Revolution" becomes a small riot in Constantinople that's put down in a few days. Constantinople was Turkish in and out. The Greeks might as well revolt in Smyrna. Might last a few days longer

To correct you, the (Eastern) Balkans were the centre of the Ottomans, not Anatolia.
 
Athens worked as a base of operations because if was farther from the Ottoman center (I.e. Anatolia) and was majority Greek. The Greeks of Thrace and Constantinople were vastly outnumbered by the Turkish population and too close to the Turkish homeland to receive any foreign support.

I think I read that Christians (though not necessarily Greeks) were about half of the city population at that time. But I agree that the chances of success are very slim given that it is the seat of Ottoman power.
 
With a (temporary) distraction close to the capital, could Greece gain independence with more land than it historically had at independence?
 
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