YPSILANTI, Mich. – While many of Michigan’s cities, landmarks, counties and streets can be traced back to Founding Fathers, indigenous names, World War I battles and more, there’s one name that stands out as unique no matter how you square it:
Ypsilanti.
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What, or who, is Ypsilanti named after?
Demetrios Ypsilantis was a Greek army officer who played a crucial role in the Greek War of Independence.
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When the city of Ypsilanti was founded, Greece was in the thick of a revolution. The Greeks fought for independence from the Ottoman Empire for eight years. They were successful.
Born into the noble Ypsilantis family in 1793, Ypsilantis was the second son of Prince Constantine Ypsilantis of Moldavia. Demetrios Ypsilantis received his education in France before joining the revolutionary cause.
Ypsilantis actively participated in the sieges of Tripolitsa, Nafplion, and the Battle of Dervenakia. He held positions of leadership, including the presidency of the legislative assembly, but ultimately stepped down due to setbacks in his campaign. He rejoined the war effort in a more hands-on position.
This was the correct choice, as Ypsilantis’ was able to train and organize the Greek army. During the Battle of Petra in 1829, roughly 2,000 people under his command were able to drive the Ottoman army off, causing disruption and disorganization among the opposition. The Ottoman army retreated after losing several hundred men.
The Greek army suffered less than a dozen losses. It was the final battle in the war. A truce was signed the next day in which the Ottomans would surrender land to the Greeks in exchange for safe passage out of Central Greece.
Americans, having been through their own war for independence a few decades prior, were pretty big fans of the Greek Revolution.
The founders of Ypsilanti named the town after Demetrius Ypsilantis to honor his role in the Greek War of Independence.
A marble bust of Ypsilantis sits in front of the historic Ypsilanti Water Tower between a Greek flag and a U.S. flag.
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