This historical research attempts a comprehensive presentation of the resistance that the Hellenism of Western Pontus projected during the two nationalist purges, the Young Turks and the Kemalists, between the years 1914-1923, as well as during the severe persecutions of the derbeydans of the 17th century. The tragedy at the Castle of Kopela (1680), the mass drowning of the Pauernoi in the Ali River (1810-1820) were key moments in the history of Western Pontus before Zalongo and Arabitsa of Naousa.
The parallel course of events in the mountains is examined, with the mass persecutions of the Young Turk and Kemalist periods, as well as the events of the international scene, as well as the ten-year epic journey of the Greek army from the Balkan Wars to the destruction of Smyrna.
The struggle of the armed and modern Amazons, who, dressed in black partisan uniforms and with their children tied to their backs, fought for the good of their freedom, honor, and dignity, is one of the key moments in the history of Hellenism.
Also analyzed are the causes of the early manifestation of resistance, the causes of the flight of the Greek populations to the mountains, life in the mountains, the organization of armed resistance. The events are detailed until the declaration of World War I, the persecutions of the Young Turk period, the armed struggle until the Armistice (October 1918), the events during the Armistice of World War I, the Pontic Issue, the arrival of Mustafa Kemal in Pontus and the events of 1920, the persecutions of the Kemalist period, the armed resistance during the Kemalist period of persecutions, the process of the fighters' escape and the strategy of their entrapment after the Armistice, the iconic figures of the struggle, the contribution of women to the struggle, the division of the resistance-guerrilla forces in Pontus, the renowned captains and their numerical strength.
Furthermore, the motives of the Young Turk and Kemalist establishment, which led to the nationalist cleansing of the Greeks of Western Pontus, are presented. It is proven that what we call partisan was the active resistance of the inhabitants of Pontus, who raised their uprising, surpassed their fate of ruin, and resisted their extermination. It was an all-out struggle for the protection and salvation of women, infants, children, civilians, and the vulnerable, who had taken refuge in the mountains.