The Greek War of Independence, 1821-1830, is usually viewed as resulting from French Revolutionary ideas about national liberation. This book takes a different view, arguing that the Greek nation developed out of a religious community, the Orthodox Christian millet of the Ottoman Empire, and that although revolutionary nationalism was important, the role of Eastern Orthodoxy was also extremely important, especially in shaping the identity of the Greek nation and the nature of the Greek state post-independence, and that Russia played a crucial role in all this.