Levidis family

Levidis () is the name of a family of old Byzantine aristocratic origin, hailing from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) and with a distinguished role in the history of the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, Wallachia, and modern Greece.
From as early as the 17th century, members of the family, which had acquired great wealth and political influence, occupied high posts in the Ottoman Empire, as dignitaries in the Imperial Court (the Sublime Porte). They also held important secular offices of the Patriarchate until the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence. During the latter, various members of the family took active part as members of the "Filiki Eteria". On the onset of the revolution members of the family played a crucial role in organising a revolt inside the city of Constantinople. Prominent members of the family were accused of planning the destruction of the Turkish fleet and decapitated on Sultan orders. Their bodies were hanged before the doors of the Levidis' mansion in Tatavla in Constantinople. Those who escaped fled to Odessa and formed the Russian branch of the family.