Epirus

Epirus is a place in southeastern Europe, shared today by Greece and Albania. Long ago, it lay between the Pindus Mountains on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other. Now, it is split between northwest Greece and two counties in southern Albania. The biggest city there is Ioannina.

In ancient times, Epirus was home to Greek tribes like the Chaonians, Molossians, and Thesprotians. It was well-known for the sanctuary of Dodona, the oldest oracle in ancient Greece, and very important after Delphi. The area became one state around 370 BC under the Aeacidae family and later became famous because of Pyrrhus of Epirus, who fought against the Roman Republic.

Later, Epirus became part of the Roman Republic in 146 BC. It was ruled by the Roman and Eastern Roman Empires. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, it was the center of the Despotate of Epirus. Many different powers ruled it over time, including the Byzantine Empire, the Serbian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. After the Balkan Wars and World War I, southern Epirus became part of Greece, and northern Epirus joined Albania.

Name and etymology

The name Epirus comes from the Latin word for the region. It started as an Ancient Greek word, Ἤπειρος (Ḗpeiros), which means "mainland". Ancient Greeks used this name for the land across from the island of Corfu and the Ionian islands. The name was first written down by a person named Hecataeus of Miletus a long time ago.

Later, people in the Middle Ages used the name for a place called the Despotate of Epirus. During a time called the Late Middle Ages, some people began using the name to refer to parts of Albania. Today, both Greece and Albania use versions of this ancient name when talking about the area.

Boundaries and definitions

Epirus is a region in southeastern Europe. It stretches from the Pindus Mountains on one side to the Ionian Sea on the other. The Ceraunian Mountains mark its northern edge, and it reaches the Ambracian Gulf to the south. Over time, the borders of Epirus have changed. Today, it is split between Greece and Albania. In Greece, only part of the old Epirus remains. In Albania, parts of the counties of Gjirokastër and Vlorë make up the rest of this historic land.

History

Early history

In ancient times, Epirus was home to people who lived along the coast and others who were shepherds and hunters from the southwestern Balkans. These groups brought the Greek language with them and buried their leaders in large mounds. Later, the Mycenaean civilization used similar burial places, suggesting that the founders of Mycenae might have come from Epirus and central Albania. During this time, Epirus was less advanced culturally, but important religious sites were found there, like the Oracle of the Dead on the Acheron River and the Oracle of Zeus at Dodona.

In the Middle Bronze Age, Epirus was inhabited by nomadic Hellenic tribes who later settled in the rest of Greece. The region around Dodona was considered part of Hellas, where the Hellenes originated.

Epirus in the Classical and Hellenistic periods

Geographically on the edge of the Greek world, Epirus remained largely outside the main events of Greek history, similar to neighboring regions like Macedonia and Aetolia. Unlike most Greeks who lived in city-states, the people of Epirus lived in small villages. The region was often contested with Illyrian peoples to the north but held great religious importance due to the shrine and oracle at Dodona, second only to the famous oracle at Delphi.

The Molossian dynasty began building a centralized state in Epirus around 370 BC and expanded their power. In 359 BC, the Molossian princess Olympias married King Philip II of Macedon and later became the mother of Alexander the Great. After the death of Arybbas, Alexander of Epirus became king in 334 BC and invaded Italy but was killed in battle in 331 BC. His successor, Aeacides, faced challenges and was dethroned in 313 BC. Pyrrhus, who later became king, fought against the Romans and Carthaginians in Italy and Sicily. His efforts brought temporary importance to Epirus and contributed the concept of a "Pyrrhic victory" to the Greek language. Pyrrhus also brought prosperity to Epirus, building a great theater at Dodona and a new suburb at Ambracia, his capital.

Roman and Byzantine rule

After victories over Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Emperor Augustus founded a Roman colony at Nicopolis in 29 BC. Epirus was placed under the senatorial province of Achaea, except for its northernmost part, which remained part of Macedonia. Under Emperor Trajan, Epirus became a separate province between 103 and 114 AD, extending from the Gulf of Aulon to the lower course of the Acheloos River and including several northern Ionian Islands.

During the provincial reorganization by Diocletian, the western portion of Macedonia was split into a new province called "New Epirus," while Epirus proper became known as "Old Epirus." Both became part of the Diocese of Moesia until divided into the dioceses of Macedonia and Dacia. In the 4th century, Epirus was still a stronghold of paganism, aided by Emperor Julian through tax reductions and rebuilding the provincial capital, Nicopolis. The Visigoths raided the area in 380 and again between 395 and 407. The Synecdemus of Hierocles reported 11 cities for Old Epirus and 9 for New Epirus. From 467 on, the Ionian Islands and coasts of Epirus were raided by the Vandals, who seized Nicopolis in 474 and plundered Zakynthos. New Epirus became a battleground for the Ostrogoths after 479. In 517, raids by the Getae or Antae reached Greece, including Epirus Vetus. Justinian initiated reconstruction and re-fortification in response to raids and earthquakes, rebuilding Hadrianopolis as Justinianopolis and moving Euroea inland to found Ioannina. Thirty-six smaller fortresses in Epirus Vetus were either rebuilt or built anew.

Epirus from the Slavic invasions until 1204

In the late 6th century, Epirus proper fell under the control of the Avars and their Slavic allies, with the Chronicle of Monemvasia placing this in 587. The bishop, clergy, and people of Euroea fled to Cassiope in Corfu with relics of St. Donatus. Of the Slavic tribes, only the Baiounitai are known by name, giving their name to their region of settlement, Vagenetia. Slavic toponyms occur mainly in the mountainous areas of the interior and the coasts of the Gulf of Corinth, indicative of the avenue used by most Slavs crossing into the Peloponnese. The Ionian Islands seem unaffected by Slavic settlement. Linguistic analysis reveals that Slavic toponyms date to the early wave of Slavic settlement at the turn of the 6th/7th centuries. The extent of the second wave of Slavic migration in the middle of the 8th century due to Bulgar pressure is unclear due to scarcity of textual evidence. Slavic toponyms are nearly lacking in the mountains of Labëria and the Ionian coast, suggesting that the expansion of the Slavs had not reached this region. Some Slavic toponyms in Epirus proper were acquired by Albanian in the earliest phase of contacts, reflecting archaic phonetic features of Slavic and early Albanian phonology.

Despotate of Epirus

When Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the partitio Romaniae assigned Epirus to Venice, but the Venetians were largely unable to establish authority except over Dyrrhachium. The Greek noble Michael Komnenos Doukas took advantage of this and consolidated control over most of Epirus, first as a Venetian vassal and eventually as an independent ruler. By his death in 1214/5, Michael had established the Despotate of Epirus, with Arta as its capital. Epirus became a haven for Greek refugees from the Latin Empire of Constantinople. The Despotate ruled over Epirus and western Greece, much of Albania, Thessaly, and western Macedonia, extending briefly over central Macedonia and Thrace. Important cities like Gjirokastër were founded during this period. The oldest reference to Albanians in Epirus proper is from a Venetian document dating to 1210.

14th century and Ottoman conquest

In 1337, Epirus was brought under the rule of the restored Byzantine Empire. In 1348, during a civil war between Byzantine emperors, the Serbian king Stefan Uroš IV Dušan conquered Epirus with Albanian mercenaries. Byzantine control was re-established by making the Despotate of Epirus a vassal state, but Albanian clans invaded and seized most of the region. Under Pjetër Losha, the Albanian Malakasi and Mazaraki tribes defeated Nikephoros II Orsini at the Battle of Achelous in 1359, winning rule of Arta and founding the Despotate of Arta. Although Albanian clans gained control by 1366/7, their division into rival clans prevented a single central authority. Ioannina became a center of Greek resistance. The Greeks of Ioannina offered power to three foreign rulers, beginning with Thomas II Preljubović, marked by hostilities and sieges by Albanian clans. The reign of Esau de' Buondelmonti followed, with conflicts against the Principality of Gjirokastër. Carlo I Tocco then assumed control of Ioannina, ending the rule of Albanian clans in southernmost Epirus.

Internal dissension eased the Ottoman conquest, beginning with the capture of Ioannina in 1430 and continuing with Arta in 1449, Angelokastro in 1460, Riniasa Castle and its environs in 1463, and Vonitsa in 1479. This marked the end of Latin rule in mainland Greece except for several coastal Venetian possessions.

Ottoman rule

The Ottomans ruled Epirus for almost 500 years. Their rule was particularly damaging, with deforestation and excessive cultivation harming the soil and driving many Epirotes to emigrate due to pervasive poverty. However, the Himara and Zagori regions resisted Ottoman rule and maintained independence. The Ottomans expelled the Venetians from most of the area in the late 15th century.

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Ioannina became a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment, with numerous schools founded, teaching subjects like literature, philosophy, mathematics, and physical sciences. In the 18th century, as Ottoman power declined, Epirus became part of the de facto independent Pashalik of Yanina under Ali Pasha of Tepelena, who controlled large areas of southern and central Albania, mainland Greece, and parts of southwestern North Macedonia. Ali Pasha's campaign against the Souli met fierce resistance but was eventually conquered in 1803. Ali Pasha used Greek as an official language and saw an increase in Greek cultural activity.

When the Greek War of Independence broke out, Epirus contributed greatly. Two founding members of the Filiki Eteria came from Arta and Ioannina. Greece's first constitutional prime minister, Ioannis Kolettis, was a native of Epirus. Ali Pasha tried to use the war to become fully independent but was assassinated by Ottoman agents in 1822. When Greece became independent in 1830, Epirus remained under Ottoman rule. Local rebellions broke out in 1854 and 1878 but were suppressed. During the late Ottoman period, Greek and Aromanian populations suffered from Albanian raiders until 1912–1913.

20th-century Epirus

While the Treaty of Berlin awarded large parts of Epirus to Greece, only Arta was ceded in 1881 due to Ottoman and League of Prizren opposition. Following the First Balkan War of 1912–1913 and the Treaty of London, the rest of southern Epirus, including Ioannina, was incorporated into Greece. Greece seized northern Epirus during the Balkan Wars, but the Treaty of Bucharest assigned it to Albania. This was unpopular among local Greeks, leading to the declaration of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in February 1914, which gained autonomy under the Protocol of Corfu. However, it was short-lived, as World War I led to alternating control by Greece, Italy, and France.

Although the Paris Peace Conference awarded Northern Epirus to Greece, developments like the Greco-Turkish War and Italian lobbying meant Greece did not keep it. In 1924, the area was ceded to Albania. In 1939, Italy occupied Albania and invaded Greece, but Greek forces drove them back into Albania, marking the first tactical victory for the Allies in World War II. Nazi Germany intervened in April 1941, forcing Greek forces to surrender. Epirus was placed under Italian occupation until 1943, when Germans took over. Anti-Nazi Greek resistance was active.

With the liberation of Greece and the start of the Greek Civil War in 1944, Epirus became a major theater of guerrilla warfare. The final episode of the war took place on Mount Grammos in 1949, ending with the defeat of the Communists. Peace returned in 1949, but due to Albanian involvement on the side of the communists, the state of war between Greece and Albania remained until 1987. During Communist rule in Albania, the Greek population of Northern Epirus experienced forced changes, with recognition limited to a small area. Relations improved in the 1980s with Greece abandoning territorial claims and the lifting of the state of war.

Geography and ecology

Epirus is a rugged, mountainous area mostly made up of the Pindus Mountains. These mountains run through mainland Greece and separate Epirus from other regions to the east. The mountains are so steep that valleys between them are better for grazing animals than large farms. The highest point in Epirus is Mount Smolikas, which is 2,637 meters tall.

Low flat areas are found mostly near the coast. Important rivers flow through Epirus, including the Vjosë, which runs from Greece into Albania. The Vikos Gorge is one of the deepest gorges in the world and is part of a beautiful national park. The climate along the coast is warm, while inland areas are cooler. The region has many forests and is home to animals like bears, wolves, and foxes.

Economy

Epirus has a rough landscape with poor soil, making farming hard. The main work there is raising animals, and corn is the most important crop. In the western lowlands, people grow oranges and olives, and around Ioannina, they grow tobacco. Epirus does not have many natural resources or factories, and many people have moved away. Most people live near Ioannina, where there are the most factories.

Transportation

Epirus has been a remote place because of the mountains and the sea around it. Long ago, an important Roman road called the Via Egnatia went through Epirus, linking cities to the sea. Today, the Egnatia Odos or A2 motorway connects Ioannina to other places and helps people travel more easily. Another highway, the Ionia Odos highway, links Epirus to the south. There is also an undersea tunnel, the Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel, that connects Epirus to western Greece. Ferries leave from Igoumenitsa to islands and Italy. The main airport is the Ioannina National Airport, with another near Preveza at Aktion National Airport. There are no railroads in Epirus.