Ypsilantis family

The House of Ypsilantis or Ypsilanti (Greek: Υψηλάντης; Romanian: Ipsilanti) was a Greek Phanariote family which grew into prominence and power in Constantinople during the last centuries of Ottoman Empire and gave several short-reign hospodars to the Danubian Principalities.

Ypsilantis Υψηλάντης Ipsilanti
Coat of arms of Alexander Ypsilantis, Prince of Moldavia
Country	Byzantine Empire Empire of Trebizond Ottoman Empire Moldavia Wallachia  Greece  Romania
Current region	Danubian Principalities Moldavia Wallachia
Place of origin	Pontus, Byzantine Empire (now Turkey)
Founded	1064
Titles	Prince of Wallachia Prince of Moldavia

History

First mentioned in 1064, the family was originally from the Pontus region in the Black Sea. They became prominent during the Empire of Trebizond. In 1655, Antiochus Ypsilantis left Trabzon and settled in Constantinople. Since the end of the Ottoman Empire, members of the Ypsilanti family can be found all over the world.

Notable members

• Alexander Ypsilantis (1725–1805), Prince of Wallachia and Moldavia
• Constantine Ypsilantis (d. 1816), son of the above, Prince of Moldavia, fled to the Russian court
• Elisavet Ypsilanti (1768–1866), wife of the above
• Alexander Ypsilantis (1792–1828), eldest son of the above. A General in the Imperial Russian Army, he became the leader of the Filiki Eteria, and began the Greek Revolution in 1821 by crossing over with his followers into the Danubian Principalities. Defeated by Ottoman forces, he retreated to Austria, where he died in 1828.
• Demetrios Ypsilantis (1793–1832), second son of Constantine Ypsilantis, one of the early leaders of the Greek Revolution, later General under John Capodistria. The city of Ypsilanti, Michigan is named after him.

References

• "Ypsilanti (family)" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.