Hadjikyriacou | 245Two years later, and with the memory of famine still fresh, rumors of grain
hoarding coupled with extraordinary amounts of taxation collected by the drag-
oman created an explosive mixture whereby rioting crowds stormed and looted
the dragoman’s mansion. While Hadjiyorgakis was able to escape safely to Istan-
bul, the violence escalated, and revolts continued for two years, the direct and
indirect costs of which devastated the local economy.
From “Representative of the Non-Muslims” to “Representative
of the Province”
The augmentation of Hadjiyorgakis’s wealth and power meant that he gradually
enjoyed a high degree of independence. Such was the degree of prestige he en-
joyed that official documents from the capital used unprecedented nomenclature
in its correspondence with Cyprus, such as “the devoted Yorgaki, the lord drago-
man.”
Given the importance of consensus politics and balance of power within the
communal organization of Cyprus, it is remarkable that Hadjiyorgakis acted in
complete opposition to, and eventually negated, this model. Most importantly,
he was able to project an image of authority over the whole island, including
the Muslim community. In an 1804 petition to Istanbul, Hadjiyorgakis presented
himself as the “representative of the province.” The document concerned the col-
lection of extraordinary taxes levied to finance the Ottoman expedition to expel
Napoleon from Egypt. Following the usual taxation procedure, the dragoman
took out a loan in the name of both communities to pay their taxes. In protest,
the Cypriot Muslims “raised the banner of banditry” and refused to submit to
the authority of the dragoman. This episode was a major cause of the 1804 riots,
which in turn led to a chain of revolts and instability.
The operative term here is “representative of the province,” connoting au-
thority over both communities. I have not encountered any evidence for the use
of this title elsewhere—indeed there is no extant documentation from Istanbul
confirming or inaugurating such an appointment. Given the customary use of
such titles to augment one’s own power, it would be reasonable to question the
foundations of this claim. Yet it would be an extremely audacious move to ar-
bitrarily write to the sultan using such self-indulgent terms. In this sense, there
must have been some justification for him to claim this title.
The boundaries of fiscal authority with reference to communal representa-
tion in Cyprus were routinely stretched to expand administrative jurisdiction:
tax collecting was used as the means to project an institutional identity. Hadji-
yorgakis’s claim to authority over the island as a whole is no different. The right
to collect the extraordinary taxes assigned to the island’s Muslims and non-
Muslims was interpreted by Hadjiyorgakis as breaking new ground, walking where