Poliani in Messenia is closely linked to the Greek Revolution of 1821 as the birthplace of Grigorios Dikaios (Papaflessas), the cleric and leading member of the Filiki Etaireia who played a decisive role in preparing and proclaiming the uprising in the Peloponnese. Poliani is a mountain village in Messenia—today a local district of the Municipality of Kalamata—and during the Ottoman period it belonged administratively to the Sanjak of the Morea, specifically to the region of Messenia/Tripolitsa. It functioned as a typical rural settlement, yet gained historical significance due to Papaflessas and its contribution to the local revolutionary movement. After Independence (1830), it was incorporated into the newly established Greek State as part of the Prefecture of Messenia.