Epirus | |
|---|---|
 Map of ancient Epirus byHeinrich Kiepert, 1902 | |
| Present status | Divided betweenGreece andAlbania |
| Demonym | Epirote |
| Time zones | Central European Time |
| Eastern European Time | |
Epirus (/ɪˈpaɪrəs/) is ageographical andhistorical region insoutheastern Europe, now shared betweenGreece andAlbania. It lies between thePindus Mountains and theIonian Sea, stretching from theBay of Vlorë and theAcroceraunian Mountains in the north to theAmbracian Gulf and the ruinedRoman city ofNicopolis in the south.[1][2] It is currently divided between theregion ofEpirus in northwestern Greece and the counties ofGjirokastër andVlorë in southern Albania. The largest city in Epirus isIoannina, seat of the Greek region of Epirus, withGjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus.[1]
A rugged and mountainous region, Epirus was the north-west area ofancient Greece.[2] It was inhabited by the Greek tribes of theChaonians,Molossians, andThesprotians. It was home to the sanctuary ofDodona, the oldestoracle in ancient Greece, and the second most prestigious afterDelphi. Unified into asingle state in 370 BC by theAeacidae dynasty, Epirus achieved fame during the reign ofPyrrhus of Epirus who fought theRoman Republic ina series of campaigns. Epirus subsequently became part of the Roman Republic along with the rest of Greece in 146 BC, which was followed by theRoman Empire andEastern Roman Empire.
Following thesack of Constantinople by theFourth Crusade (1204), Epirus became the center of theDespotate of Epirus, one of the successor states to theByzantine Empire. In the 14th century, Epirus was brought under the rule of therestored Byzantine Empire, before being briefly conquered by theSerbian Empire. The region was then divided amongst a number of despotates and political entities, including the Despotate of Epirus, theDespotate of Arta, theZenebishi family, and theRepublic of Venice, before being conquered by theOttoman Empire in the 15th century. Epirus became part of the semi-independentPashalik governed by the OttomanAlbanian rulerAli Pasha in the early 19th century, but theSublime Porte re-asserted its control in 1821. Following theBalkan Wars andWorld War I, southern Epirus became part of Greece, whilenorthern Epirus became part of Albania.
The nameEpirus is derived from theGreek:Ἤπειρος,romanized: Ḗpeiros (Doric Greek:Ἄπειρος,romanized: Ápeiros), meaning "mainland" orterra firma.[3][4] It is thought to come from anIndo-European root*apero- 'coast',[5] and was applied to the mainland of north-west Greece oppositeCorfu and theIonian islands.[6][7] The local name was struck on the coinage of theunified Epirote commonwealth: "ΑΠΕΙΡΩΤΑΝ" (Ancient Greek:Ἀπειρωτᾶν,romanized: Āpeirōtân,Attic Greek:Ἠπειρωτῶν,romanized: Ēpeirōtôn, i.e. "of the Epirotes", see adjacent image). TheAlbanian name for the region, which derives from the Greek, isEpiri. Similarly, theAromanian name for Epirus, which is also Greek-derived, isEpiru.
Historically, the geographical area of Epirus proper is defined within the lines drawn fromCape Gjuhëz of theCeraunian Mountains in the north-west, toMount Qelqëz in the north-east, toMount Gavrovo in the south-east, to the mouth of theAmbracian Gulf in the south-west.[8][9] The northern boundary of ancient Epirus is alternatively given as theVjosa river.[10] Epirus's eastern boundary is defined by thePindus Mountains, that form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus fromMacedonia andThessaly.[1] To the west, Epirus faces theIonian Sea. The island ofCorfu is situated off the Epirote coast but is not regarded as part of Epirus.
The definition of Epirus has changed over time, such that modern administrative boundaries do not correspond to the boundaries of ancient Epirus. Theregion of Epirus in Greece only comprises a fraction of classical Epirus and does not include its easternmost portions, which lie in Thessaly. In Albania, where the concept of Epirus is never used in an official context, the counties of Gjirokastër,Vlorë, andBerat extend well beyond the northern and northeastern boundaries of classical Epirus.[citation needed]
Epirus is a predominantly rugged and mountainous region. It is largely made up of thePindus Mountains, a series of parallellimestone ridges that are a continuation of theDinaric Alps.[1][11] The Pindus mountains form the spine of mainland Greece and separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly to the east. The ridges of the Pindus are parallel to the sea and generally so steep that the valleys between them are mostly suitable for pasture rather than large-scale agriculture.[1] Altitude increases as one moves east, away from the coast, reaching a maximum of 2,637 m atMount Smolikas, the highest point in Epirus. Other important ranges includeTymfi (2,496 m at Mount Gamila),Lygkos (2,249 m), to the west and east of Smolikas respectively,Gramos (2,523 m) in the northeast, Tzoumerka (2,356 m) in the southeast, Tomaros (1,976 m) in the southwest,Mitsikeli nearIoannina (1,810 m),Mourgana (1,806 m), andNemercke/Aeoropos (2,485 m) on the border between Greece and Albania, and theCeraunian Mountains (2,000 m) nearHimara in Albania. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus, and the prevailing winds from the Ionian Sea make the region the rainiest in mainland Greece.[1]
Significant lowlands are to be found only near the coast, in the southwest nearArta andPreveza, in the Acheron plain betweenParamythia andFanari, betweenIgoumenitsa andSagiada, and also nearSaranda. TheZagori area is a scenic upland plateau surrounded by mountain on all sides.
The main river flowing through Epirus is theVjosë, which flows in a northwesterly direction from the Pindus mountains in Greece to its mouth north of theBay of Vlorë in Albania. Other important rivers include theAcheron river, famous for its religious significance in ancient Greece and site of theNecromanteion, theArachthos river, crossed by the historicBridge of Arta, theLouros, theThyamis or Kalamas, and the Voidomatis, a tributary of the Vjosë flowing through theVikos Gorge. The Vikos Gorge, one of the deepest in the world, forms the centerpiece of theVikos–Aoös National Park, known for its scenic beauty. The only significant lake in Epirus isLake Pamvotis, on whose shores lies the city ofIoannina, the region's largest and traditionally most important city.
The climate of Epirus isMediterranean along the coast andAlpine in the interior. Epirus is heavily forested, mainly by coniferous species. The fauna in Epirus is especially rich and features species such asbears,wolves,foxes,deer, andlynxes.
In the Neolithic period Epirus was populated by seafarers along the coast and by shepherds and hunters from the southwestern Balkans who brought with them the Greek language. These people buried their leaders in large mounds containing shaft graves. Similar burial chambers were subsequently used by the Mycenaean civilization, suggesting that the founders ofMycenae may have come from Epirus and centralAlbania. Epirus itself remained culturally backward during this time, but Mycenaean remains have been found at two religious shrines of great antiquity in the region: the Oracle of the Dead on the Acheron River, familiar to the heroes of Homer’sOdyssey, and the Oracle ofZeus at Dodona, to whom Achilles prayed in the Iliad.[1]
In the Middle Bronze Age, Epirus was inhabited by the same nomadic Hellenic tribes that went on to settle in the rest of Greece.[12] Aristotle considered the region around Dodona to have been part ofHellas and the region where theHellenes originated.[13][14] According to Bulgarian linguistVladimir I. Georgiev, Epirus was part of theProto-Greek linguistic area during the Late Neolithic period.[15] By the early 1st millennium BC, all fourteen Epirote tribes including theChaonians in northwestern Epirus, theMolossians in the centre and theThesprotians in the south, were speakers of a strong west Greek dialect.[1][2][16]
Geographically on the edge of the Greek world, Epirus remained for the most part outside the limelight of Greek history until relatively late, much like the neighbouring Greek regions of Macedonia, Aetolia, and Acarnania, with which Epirus had political, cultural, linguistic and economic connections.[17] Unlike most other Greeks of this time, who lived in or aroundcity-states, the inhabitants of Epirus lived in small villages and their way of life was foreign to that of thepoleis of southern Greece.[1][18] Their region lay on the periphery of the Greek world[1] and was far from peaceful; for many centuries, it remained afrontier area contested with theIllyrian peoples to the north. However, Epirus had a far greater religious significance than might have been expected given its geographical remoteness, due to the presence of the shrine and oracle atDodona – regarded as second only to the more famous oracle atDelphi.
The Epirotes, speakers of aNorthwest Greek dialect, different from the Doric of the Greek colonies on the Ionian islands, and bearers of mostly Greek names, as evidenced by epigraphy, seem to have been regarded with some disdain by some classical writers. The 5th-century BC Athenian historianThucydides describes them as "barbarians" in hisHistory of the Peloponnesian War,[19] as doesStrabo in hisGeography,[20] although the latter clearly distinguishes them from the neighboringIllyrians.[21] Other writers, such asHerodotus,[22]Dionysius of Halicarnassus,[23]Pausanias,[24] andEutropius,[25] describe them as Greeks. Similarly, Epirote tribes/states are included in theArgive andEpidaurian lists of the Greek Thearodokoi (hosts of sacred envoys).[26]Plutarch mentions an interesting element of Epirote folklore regarding Achilles: In his biography of KingPyrrhus, he claims that Achilles "had a divine status in Epirus and in the local dialect he was called Aspetos" (meaningunspeakable,unspeakably great, inHomeric Greek).[27][28]
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Beginning in 370 BC, theMolossianAeacidae dynasty built acentralized state in Epirus and began expanding their power at the expense of rival tribes.[1] The Aeacids allied themselves with the increasingly powerful kingdom ofMacedon, in part against the common threat ofIllyrian raids,[29] and in 359 BC the Molossian princessOlympias, niece ofArybbas of Epirus, married KingPhilip II of Macedon.[1] She was to become the mother ofAlexander the Great.
On the death of Arybbas,Alexander of Epirus succeeded to the throne and the titleKing of Epirus in 334 BC. He invaded Italy, but was killed in battle by aLucanian in theBattle of Pandosia against severalItalic tribes 331 BC.[1][30]Aeacides of Epirus, who succeeded Alexander, espoused the cause of Olympias againstCassander, but was dethroned in 313 BC. His sonPyrrhus came to throne in 295 BC, and for six years fought against theRomans andCarthaginians in southernItaly andSicily. The high cost of his victories against the Romans gave Epirus a new, but brief, importance, as well as a lasting contribution to the Greek language with the concept of a "Pyrrhic victory". Pyrrhus nonetheless brought great prosperity to Epirus, building the great theater ofDodona and a new suburb atAmbracia (now modernArta), which he made his capital.[1]
The Aeacid dynasty ended in 232 BC, but Epirus remained a substantial power, unified under the auspices of the Epirote League as a federal state with its own parliament, orsynedrion.[1] However, it was faced with the growing threat of the expansionistRoman Republic, which fought a series of wars againstMacedon. The League steered an uneasy neutral course in the first two Macedonian Wars but split in theThird Macedonian War (171–168 BC), with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaonians and Thesprotians siding with Rome.[1] The outcome was disastrous for Epirus; Molossia fell to Rome in 167 BC and 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved.[1]
The region of Epirus was placed under thesenatorial province ofAchaea in 27 BC, with the exception of its northernmost part, which remained part of the province ofMacedonia.[31] Under EmperorTrajan, sometime between 103 and 114 AD, Epirus became a separate province, under aprocuratorAugusti. The new province extended from the Gulf of Aulon (Vlorë) and theAcroceraunian Mountains in the north to the lower course of theAcheloos River in the south, and included the northern Ionian Islands ofCorfu,Lefkada,Ithaca,Cephallonia, andZakynthos.[31]
Probably during the provincial reorganization byDiocletian (r. 284–305), the western portion of the province of Macedonia along the Adriatic coast was split off into the province of New Epirus (Latin:Epirus Nova). Although this territory was not traditionally part of Epirus proper as defined by the ancient geographers, and was historically inhabited by Illyrian tribes and Greeks, the name reflects the fact that under Roman rule, the area had been subject to increasing Hellenization and settlement by Epirote tribes from the south.[31]
The two Epirote provinces became part of theDiocese of Moesia, until it was divided in ca. 369 into the dioceses ofMacedonia andDacia, when they became part of the former.[32] In the 4th century, Epirus was still a stronghold ofpaganism, and was aided by EmperorJulian (r. 361–363) and hispraetorian prefectClaudius Mamertinus through reduction in taxes and the rebuilding of the provincial capital,Nicopolis.[33] According toJordanes, in 380 theVisigoths raided the area.[33] With the division of the Empire on the death ofTheodosius I in 395, Epirus became part of the Eastern Roman orByzantine Empire.[33] In 395–397, the Visigoths underAlaric plundered Greece. They remained in Epirus for a few years, until 401, and again in 406–407, during Alaric's alliance with theWestern Roman generalissimoStilicho in order to wrest theEastern Illyricum from the Eastern Empire.[33]
TheSynecdemus ofHierocles, composed in ca. 527/8 AD but probably reflecting the situation in the first half of the 5th century, reports 11 cities for Old Epirus (Ancient Greek:Παλαιὰ Ἤπειρος,Latin:Epirus Vetus): the capital Nicopolis,Dodona,Euroea,Hadrianopolis,Appon,Phoenice,Anchiasmos,Buthrotum,Photike, Corfu Island, and Ithaca Island.[34] New Epirus, with capital atDyrrhachium, comprised 9 cities.[33] From 467 on, the Ionian Islands and the coasts of Epirus became subject to raids by theVandals, who had taken over theNorth African provinces and established theirown kingdom centred onCarthage. The Vandals notably seized Nicopolis in 474 as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with EmperorZeno, and plundered Zakynthos, killing many of its inhabitants and ferrying off others into slavery.[35]Epirus Nova became a battleground in the rebellions of theOstrogoths after 479.[35] In 517, a raid of theGetae orAntae reached Greece, includingEpirus Vetus.[35] The claim ofProcopius of Caesarea in hisSecret History, that underJustinian I (r. 527–565) the entirety of the Balkan provinces was raided by barbarians every year, is considered rhetorical hyperbole by modern scholars; only a single Slavic raid to the environs of Dyrrhachium, in 548/9, has been documented.[35] Procopius further reports that in 551, in an attempt to interdict the Byzantines' lines of communication with Italy during theGothic War, the Ostrogoth kingTotila sent his fleet to raid the shores of Epirus.[36] In response to these raids, and to repair the damage done by two destructive earthquakes in 522, Justinian initiated a wide-ranging programme of reconstruction and re-fortification: Hadrianopolis was rebuilt, albeit in reduced extent, and renamed Justinianopolis, whileEuroea was moved further inland (traditionally identified with the founding ofIoannina), while Procopius claims that no less than 36 smaller fortresses in Epirus Vetus—most of them not identifiable today—were either rebuilt or built anew.[36]
In the late 6th century, much of Greece, including Epirus, fell under the control of theAvars and their Slavic allies. This is placed by theChronicle of Monemvasia in the year 587, and is further corroborated by evidence that several sees were abandoned by their bishops by 591. Thus inc. 590 the bishop, clergy and people of Euroea fled their city, carrying with them the relics of their patron saint,St. Donatus, to Cassiope in Corfu.[37]
Of the various Slavic tribes, only theBaiounitai, first attestedc. 615, are known by name, giving their name to their region of settlement: "Vagenetia".[37] Based on the density of the Slavic toponyms in Epirus, the Slavs must have settled in the region, although the extent of this settlement is unclear.[38] Slavic toponyms occur mainly in the mountainous areas of the interior and the coasts of theGulf of Corinth, indicative of the fact that this was the avenue used by most of the Slavs who crossed the Gulf into thePeloponnese. With the exception of some few toponyms on Corfu, the Ionian Islands seem to not have been affected by Slavic settlement. The linguistic analysis of the toponyms reveals that they date mostly to the early wave of Slavic settlement at the turn of the 6th/7th centuries. Due to scarcity of textual evidence, it is unclear how much the area was affected by the second wave of Slavic migration, which began in the middle of the 8th century due toBulgar pressure in the northern Balkans.[39] Slavic toponyms are nearly lacking in the mountains ofLabëria (on theKurvelesh plateau), in theIonian coast where todayLab Albanian villages neighbour with theGreek-speaking ones, therefore it can be assumed that the expansion of the Slavs had not reach this region.[40]
As in eastern Greece, the restoration of Byzantine rule seems to have proceeded from the islands, chiefly Cephallonia, which was certainly under firm Imperial control inc. 702, whenPhilippicus Bardanes was banished there. The gradual restoration of Imperial rule is evidenced further from the participation of local bishops in councils inConstantinople: whereas only the bishop of Dyrrhachium participated in the Ecumenical Councils of680/1 and692, a century later the bishops of Dyrrhachium, Nicopolis, Corfu, Cephallonia, and Zakynthos are attested in theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787.[41] In about the middle of the 8th century, theTheme of Cephallenia was established, but at least initially it was more oriented towards restoring Byzantine control over the Ionian and Adriatic seas, combating Saracen piracy, and securing communications with the remaining Byzantine possessions in Italy, rather than any systematic effort at subduing the Epirote mainland.[41] Nevertheless, following the onset of theMuslim conquest of Sicily in 827, the Ionian became particularly exposed to Arab raids.[42]
The 9th century saw great progress in the restoration of Imperial control in the mainland, as evidenced by the participation of the bishops of Ioannina,Naupaktos, Hadrianopolis, and Vagenetia (evidently by now organized as aSklavinia under imperial rule) in the Ecumenical Councils of869/70 and879/80.[42] The Byzantine recovery resulted in an influx of Greeks from southern Italy andAsia Minor into the Greek interior, while remaining Slavs were Christianized andHellenized.[43] The eventual success of the Hellenization campaign also suggests a continuity of the original Greek population, and that the Slavs had settled among many Greeks, in contrast to areas further north, in what is now Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, as those areas could not be Hellenized when they were recovered by the Byzantines in the early 11th century.[43] Following thegreat naval victory of admiralNasar in 880, and the beginning of the Byzantine offensive against the Arabs in southern Italy in the 880s, the security situation improved and theTheme of Nicopolis was established, most likely after 886.[42][44] As the ancient capital of Epirus had been laid waste by the Slavs, the capital of the new theme became Naupaktos further south. The extent of the new province is unclear, but probably matched the extent of theMetropolis of Naupaktos, established at about the same time, encompassing the sees of Vonditsa, Aetos, Acheloos,Rogoi, Ioannina, Hadrianopolis, Photike, and Buthrotum. Vagenetia notably no longer appears as a bishopric. As the authors of theTabula Imperii Byzantini comment, it appears that "the Byzantine administration had brought the strongly Slavic-settled areas in the mainland somewhat under its control, and a certain Re-Hellenization had set in".[45] Further north, the region aroundDyrrhachium existed as thehomonymous theme possibly as early as the 9th century.[46]
During the early 10th century, the themes of Cephallenia and Nicopolis appear mostly as bases for expeditions against southern Italy and Sicily, whileMardaites from both themes are listed in the large but unsuccessful expedition of 949 against theEmirate of Crete.[47] Inc. 930, the Theme of Nicopolis was raided by the Bulgarians, who even occupied some parts until driven out or subjugated by the Byzantines years later.[47] Only the extreme north of Epirus seems to have remained consistently under Bulgarian rule in the period, but under TsarSamuel, who moved the centre of Bulgarian power south and west toOhrid, probably all of Epirus down to theAmbracian Gulf came under Bulgarian rule.[48] This is evidenced from the fact that the territories that were under Bulgarian rule formed part of theautocephalousArchbishopric of Ohrid after theByzantine conquest of Bulgaria by EmperorBasil II in 1018: thus in Epirus the sees ofChimara, Hadrianopolis, Bela, Buthrotum, Ioannina, Kozyle, and Rogoi passed under the jurisdiction of Ohrid, while the Metropolitan of Naupaktos retained only the sees of Bonditza, Aetos, and Acheloos.[48] Basil II also established new, smaller themes in the region:Koloneia, andDryinopolis (Hadrianopolis).[48]
The region joined theuprising of Petar Delyan in 1040, and suffered in theFirst Norman invasion of the Balkans: Dyrrhachium wasoccupied by theNormans in 1081–1084,Arta was unsuccessfully besieged, and Ioannina was captured byRobert Guiscard.[49] AnAromanian presence in Epirus is first mentioned in the late 11th century, while Jewish communities are attested throughout the medieval period in Arta and Ioannina.[50]
WhenConstantinople fell to theFourth Crusade in 1204, thepartitio Romaniae assigned Epirus toVenice, but the Venetians were largely unable to effectively establish their authority, except over Dyrrhachium (the "Duchy of Durazzo"). The Greek nobleMichael Komnenos Doukas, who had married the daughter of a local magnate, took advantage of this, and within a few years consolidated his control over most of Epirus, first as a Venetianvassal and eventually as an independent ruler. By the time of his death in 1214/5, Michael had established a strong state, theDespotate of Epirus, with the former theme of Nicopolis at its core and Arta as its capital.[51][52] Epirus, and the city of Ioannina in particular, became a haven for Greek refugees from theLatin Empire of Constantinople for the next half century.[52]
The Despotate of Epirus ruled over Epirus and western Greece as far south as Naupaktos and the Gulf of Corinth, much of Albania (including Dyrrhachium), Thessaly, and the western portion ofMacedonia, extending its rule briefly over central Macedonia and most ofThrace following the aggressive expansionism ofTheodore Komnenos Doukas, who established theEmpire of Thessalonica in 1224.[53][54] During this time, the definition of Epirus came to encompass the entire coastal region from the Ambracian Gulf to Dyrrhachium, and the hinterland to the west up to the highest peaks of thePindus mountain range. Some of the most important cities in Epirus, such as Gjirokastër (Argyrokastron), were founded during this period.[55] The oldest reference toAlbanians in Epirus is from a Venetian document dating to 1210, which states that "the continent facing the island of Corfu is inhabited by Albanians". Kosta Giakoumis believes that the use of hypothetical immigrations to explain the accounts of Albanian presence in Epirote territory prior to the 13th-14th century is somewhat arbitrary.[56]
In 1337, Epirus was once again brought under the rule of therestored Byzantine Empire.[54] In 1348, taking advantage of thecivil war between the Byzantine emperorsJohn V Palaiologos andJohn VI Kantakouzenos, the Serbian kingStefan Uroš IV Dušan conquered Epirus, with a number of Albanian mercenaries assisting him.[57] The Byzantine authorities in Constantinople soon re-established a measure of control by making the Despotate of Epirus avassal state, but Albanian clans proceeded to invade and seize most of the region. UnderPjetër Losha, the AlbanianMalakasi andMazaraki tribes defeatedNikephoros II Orsini at theBattle of Achelous in 1359, which won Pjetër Losha the rule ofArta; Losha then founded theDespotate of Arta (1358-1416) with the help of the Mazaraki and Malakasi clans.[58]
Although Albanian clans gained control of most of the region by 1366/7, their continued division into rival clans meant that they could not establish a single central authority.[59] Ioannina became a center of Greek resistance to the Albanian clans. The Greeks of Ioannina offered power to three foreign rulers during this time, beginning withThomas II Preljubović (1367–1384), whose rule was marked by hostilities in the region, as Ioannina came under constant siege by the Mazaraki and Malakasi clans under Losha. These tribes would besiege Ioannina a second time in 1374–1375.[60][61][62] A truce was signed when Pjetër's son Gjin was betrothed to Thomas's daughter Irina, but she would soon die in the 1375 plague and hostilities would recommence.[63] Preljubović attempted to pacify the Albanians of Epirus; however, underGjin Bua Shpata, the Albanians defeated him.[64]
The reign ofEsau de' Buondelmonti (1385–1411) in Ioannina followed, and with an army that consisted of the Albanian tribes of the Mazaraki and Malakasi, he marched against thePrincipality of Gjirokastër. He was defeated and captured by Albanian noblemanGjon Zenebishi, and ransomed for 10,000 gold pieces on the intervention of the Venetian governor ofCorfu.[65] At the time the Zenebishi clan controlled the area around Gjirokastër (1386–1411), while only the city of Ioannina remained under Greek control.[66]
Carlo I Tocco (1411–1429) then assumed control of Ioannina, commencing heavy conflicts withJakob andMuriq Shpata, the Albanian leaders of theDespotate of Arta. The Shpata were originally defeated by Carlo's brotherLeonardo II Tocco at Mazoma near ancientNicopolis, but Carlo's son Torno was in turn defeated by the Albanians.[67][68] After the Tocchi succeeded in capturing Rhiniasa, Leonardo tried to take Rogoi and Carlo attempted to take Arta, but Jakob and Muriq succeeded in defending their capital for the time being. Carlo withdrew to Ioannina, but soon after was able to lure Jakob to an ambush near Vobliana: Jakob was captured and immediately executed (1 October 1416).[67][68] Carlo had effectively ended the rule of the Albanian clans in southernmost Epirus.[69]
Nevertheless, internal dissension eased the Ottoman conquest, which began with the capture of Ioannina in 1430 and continued with Arta in 1449,Angelokastro in 1460,Riniasa Castle and its environs (in what is nowPreveza) in 1463,[70] and finallyVonitsa in 1479. With the exception of several coastal Venetian possessions, this was also the end of Latin rule in mainland Greece.
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TheOttomans ruled Epirus for almost 500 years. Their rule in Epirus proved particularly damaging; the region was subjected to deforestation and excessive cultivation, which damaged the soil and drove many Epirotes to emigrate so as to escape the region's pervasive poverty.[1] Nonetheless, the Ottomans did not enjoy total control of Epirus. TheHimara andZagori regions managed to successfully resist Ottoman rule and maintained a degree of independence throughout this period. The Ottomans expelled the Venetians from almost the whole area in the late 15th century.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the city of Ioannina attained great prosperity and became a major center of themodern Greek Enlightenment.[71][72][73][74] Numerous schools were founded, such as the Balaneios,Maroutsaia,Kaplaneios, andZosimaia, teaching subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics and physical sciences. In the 18th century, as the power of the Ottoman Empire declined, Epirus became ade facto independent region under the despotic rule ofAli Pasha of Tepelena, a MuslimAlbanian brigand who rose to become the provincial governor of Ioannina in 1788.[1] At the height of his power, he controlled all of Epirus, and much of thePeloponnese, central Greece, and parts of westernMacedonia[1] Ali Pasha's campaign to subjugate the confederation of the settlements ofSouli met with fierce resistance by theSouliot warriors of the mountainous area. After numerous failed attempts to defeat the Souliotes, his troops succeeded in conquering the area in 1803. On the other hand, Ali, who used Greek as official language, witnessed an increase of Greek cultural activity with the establishment of several educational institutions.[75]
When theGreek War of Independence broke out, the inhabitants of Epirus contributed greatly. Two of the founding members of theFiliki Eteria (the secret society of the Greek revolutionaries),Nikolaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, came from theArta area and the city ofIoannina, respectively. Greece's first constitutional prime minister (1844–1847),Ioannis Kolettis, was a native of the village of Syrrako in Epirus and was a former personal physician to Ali Pasha. Ali Pasha tried to use the war as an opportunity to make himself a fully independent ruler, but was assassinated by Ottoman agents in 1822. When Greece became independent in 1830, however, Epirus remained under Ottoman rule. In 1854, during theCrimean War, a major localrebellion broke out. Although the newly found Greek state tried tacitly to support it, the rebellion was suppressed by Ottoman forces after a few months.[76] Another failed rebellion by local Greeksbroke out in 1878. During this period, theEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople managed to shut down the few Albanian schools, considering teaching in Albanian a factor that would diminish its influence and lead to the creation of separate Albanian church, while publications in Albanian were banned by the Ottoman Empire.[77][78] In the late 19th century, the Kingdom of Italy opened various schools in the regions ofIoannina andPreveza in order to influence the local population. These schools began to attract students from the Greek language schools, but were ultimately closed after intervention and harassment by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.[79] Throughout, the late period of Ottoman rule (from the 18th century) Greek and Aromanian population of the region suffered from Albanians raiders, that sporadically continued after Ali Pasha's death, until 1912–1913.[80]
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While theTreaty of Berlin (1878) awarded large parts of Epirus to Greece, opposition by the Ottomans and theLeague of Prizren resulted in only the region ofArta being ceded to Greece in 1881.[81] It was only following theFirst Balkan War of 1912–1913 and theTreaty of London that the rest of southern Epirus, includingIoannina, was incorporated into Greece.[82] Greece had also seized northern Epirus during theBalkan Wars, but theTreaty of Bucharest, which concluded theSecond Balkan War, assignedNorthern Epirus to Albania.[83]
This outcome was unpopular among local Greeks, as a substantial Greek population existed on the Albanian side of the border.[84] Among Greeks,northern Epirus was henceforth regarded asterra irredenta.[85] Local Greeks in northern Epirus revolted, declaredtheir independence and proclaimed theAutonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in February 1914.[86] After fierce guerrilla fighting, they managed to gain full autonomy under the terms of theProtocol of Corfu, signed by Albanian and Northern Epirote representatives and approved by the Great Powers. The signing of the Protocol ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local Greeks and provided self-government under nominal Albanian sovereignty.[87] The Republic, however, was short-lived, as whenWorld War I broke out, Albania collapsed, and northern Epirus was alternately controlled by Greece, Italy and France at various intervals.[85][88]
Although theParis Peace Conference of 1919 awarded Northern Epirus to Greece, developments such as the Greek defeat in theGreco-Turkish War and, crucially, Italian lobbying in favor of Albania meant that Greece would not keep Northern Epirus. In 1924, the area was again ceded to Albania.[90]
In 1939, Italyoccupied Albania, and in 1940invaded Greece. The Italians were driven back into Albania, however, and Greek forces again took control of northern Epirus. The conflict marked the first tactical victory of theAllies inWorld War II.Benito Mussolini himself supervised the spring counter-offensive of his divisions in spring 1941, only to be repulsed again by the poorly equipped, but determined, Greeks.Nazi Germany thenintervened in April 1941 to avert an Italian defeat. The German military performed rapid military maneuvers throughYugoslavia and forced the encircled Greek forces of the Epirus front to surrender.
The whole of Epirus was then placed under Italianoccupation until 1943, when the Germans took over following theItalian surrender to the Allies. Due to the extensive activity of the anti-Nazi Greek resistance (mainly underEDES), the Germans carried out large scaled anti-partisan sweeps, making wide use ofNazi-collaborationist bands ofCham Albanians, who committed numerous atrocities against the civilian population.[91] They fought fiercely against the Greek partisans of the EDES, the latter being ordered by the Allied command to push them out of Greece into Albania. The violent clashes and the reprisals that followed by the Greek guerillas resulted in theexpulsion to Albania of almost the entire Cham population.[91]
With the liberation of Greece and the start of the first round of theGreek Civil War at the end of 1944, the highlands of Epirus became a major theater of guerrilla warfare between the leftistGreek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the right-wingNational Republican Greek League (EDES). In subsequent years (1945–1949), the mountains of Epirus also became the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the second and bloodier round of the Greek Civil War. The final episode of the war took place onMount Grammos in 1949, ending with the defeat of the Communists. Peace returned to the region in 1949, although because of official Albanian active involvement in the civil war on the side of the communists, the formal state of war between Greece and Albania remained in effect until 1987. Another reason for the continuation of the state of war until 1987 was that during the entire period of Communist rule in Albania, the Greek population ofNorthern Epirus experienced forcedAlbanisation.[92] Although a Greek minority was recognized by the Hoxha regime, this recognition only applied to an "official minority zone" consisting of 99 villages, leaving out important areas of Greek settlement, such asHimara.[85] People outside the official minority zone received no education in the Greek language, which was prohibited in public.[85] The Hoxha regime also diluted the ethnic demographics of the region by relocating Greeks living there and settling in their stead Albanians from other parts of the country.[85] Relations began to improve in the 1980s with Greece's abandonment of any territorial claims over Northern Epirus and the lifting of the official state of war between the two countries.[85]
A rugged topography, poor soils, and fragmented landholdings have kept agricultural production low and have resulted in a low population density.[1] Animal husbandry is the main industry and corn the chief crop.[1] Oranges and olives are grown in the western lowlands, while tobacco is grown around Ioannina.[1] Epirus has few natural resources and industries, and the population has been depleted by migration.[1] The population is centered around Ioannina, which has the largest number of industrial establishments.[1]
Epirus has historically been a remote and isolated region due to its location between the Pindus mountains and the sea. In antiquity, the RomanVia Egnatia passed throughEpirus Nova, which linked Byzantium and Thessalonica toDyrrachium on theAdriatic Sea. The modernEgnatia Odos, theA2 motorway, which linksIoannina to the Greek province of Macedonia and terminating atIgoumenitsa, is the only highway through the Pindus mountains and has served to greatly reduce the region's isolation from the east, while theIonia Odos highway, connecting Epirus withWestern Greece, helped reducing the region's isolation from the south. Also, theAktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel connects the southernmost tip of Epirus, nearPreveza, withAetolia-Acarnania in western Greece. Ferry services fromIgoumenitsa to theIonian islands andItaly exist. The only airport in Epirus is theIoannina National Airport, while theAktion National Airport is located just south of Preveza inAetolia-Acarnania. There are no railroads in Epirus.
... in a region of northwest Greece called Epirus.
For the Albanian tribes of the Mazarakaioi and the Malakasioi, led by Peter Losha the despot of Arta,
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