The Greek city of Tripoli had been one of the Ottoman administrative centers in the Peloponnese (the Morea Eyalet, often called "pashalik of Tripolitsa") before the Greek War of Independence under the Ottoman name of "Tripoliçe"; it has large Muslim and Jewish populations.
Greek insurgents under the command of General Theodoros Kolokotronis had besieged Tripolitsa for several months, storming and capturing it on October 17; the massacre of eight thousand Muslim and Jewish civilians follows.