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| '''Epirus''' (] Ήπειρος, ''Ípeiros''; see also ]), is a province or ] in northwestern ], bounded by ] and ] to the east, by the province of ] (Central Greece) to the south, the ] and the ] to the west and ] to the north. Epirus is divided into the prefectures, called '']'', of ], ], ] and ]. The province has an area of 9,450 sq km and a population of about 350,000. Its capital and largest city is ], pop. 100,000. The population includes one of Greece's largest concentrations of ]. | |||
| Historically, Epirus extended further north into what is now southern ]. There is a Greek minority in southern Albania, which Greeks call North Epirus. Greece maintained a territorial claim to southern Albania for many years, but today both countries recognise the current border. Greece's main concern currently is the illegal immigration of Albanians seeking work in Greece. | |||
| Epirus is largely made up of mountainous ridges, part of the Dinaric Alps, that in places reach 2,650 m. In the east, the ] that form the spine of mainland Greece separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus. The winds from the Ionian Sea offer the region more rainfall than any other part of Greece. Tobacco is grown around Ioannina, and there is also some dairy farming and fishing, but most of the area's food must be imported from other richer regions of Greece. The population is concentrated in the area around Ioannina, which has some manufacturing and service industries. Despite its many attractions, Epirus has not experienced the tourist boom enjoyed by other parts of Greece. | |||
| The Climate of Epirus is mainly ]. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is specially rich in this area and features among others bears, wolves, foxes, deers and lynxes. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| The Greek name Epirus signifies "mainland" or "continent", and was originally applied to the whole coast south to the ]. Epirus was settled by Greeks early in the first millennium BC but remained a frontier area contested with the ]n peoples of the ] coast | |||
| Epirus was ruled from the 6th century by a dynasty, the ], who claimed to be descended from ], son of ]. The main importance of Epirus to the Greek cities (]) was that it was the location of the shrine and the ] at ], second in importance only to the oracle at ]. ] was a respected figure in the ancient world, and his niece, ], married ] and was the mother of ]. | |||
| On the death of Arybbas, ] succeeded the throne and the title King of Epirus. ], who succeeded Alexander, espoused the cause of Olympias against ], but was dethroned in ]. His son ] came to throne in ], and for six years fought against the ] in southern ] and ]. His campaigns gave Epirus a new, but brief, importance. | |||
| In the third century BC Epirus remained a substantial power, and the ] attempted to gain control of ], but in the 2nd century they blundered into war against the Romans, and in ] the Romans pillaged the country and effectively ended its independence. In ] it became part of the ], receiving the name Epirus Vetus, to distinguish it from Epirus Nova to the east. | |||
| For the next 400 years Epirus was ruled from Rome, until in the 4th century AD it passed to the rule of ] and the Greek ]. When Constantinople fell to the ] in ], ] seized ] and Epirus, and his family ruled the area until ] (see ]). The Empire soon fell into a civil war between John V Palaeologos and John VI, and Epirus fell to the Serbians. Nicephorus II was able to retake Epirus in 1356, to which he also added ]. Nicephorus died putting down an Albanian revolt in 1359 and the despotate was reincorporated into the empire. It was lost again in the following decades to the Tokkos family of Cephalonia, who later lost Epirus to the Ottomans. | |||
| The Despotate of Epirus is the independent Greek state that was established after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders (1204). The founder of the state, Michalis Anghelos Komnenos Doukas, chose Arta as the capital. The state extended from Nafpaktos to Dyrrachio and from the Adriatic Sea to Thessaly. His brother and successor, Theodoros I (1215 - 1230), was crowned as emperor (1224/5) in Thessaloniki, but his defeat by the Bulgarians put an end to his ambitious plans to liberate Constantinople. The Despot Michalis II (1231- 1267/8) fortified Arta with the castle. He and his succersors established important monasteries (Parigoritissa, Kato Panaghia, etc.) in the wider region of the Despotate. Later, princely weddings brought the Italian family of Orsini to power (1318-1337). From the middle of the 14th until the beginning of the 15th century, a large part of the Despotate was seized by Serbs and Albanians. At the beginning of the 15th century Charles Tokkos became Despot (1411-1429); he re-seized Arta from the Albanians and unified a major part ot the lands of the Despotate, for the last time. In 1430 Ioannina surrendered to the Turks, who in 1449 occupied Arta and, a little later, the rest of the domain. | |||
| The period of the Despotate of Epirus was especially flourishing for the arts. Specifically, in the field of architecture was formed the "School of the Despotate", which, influenced by Constantinople, created new forms and decorative preferences of its own. The Despots invited artists from major cities of Greece in order to decorate their churches. The mosaics of Parigoritissa were created by artists from Constantinople or Thessaloniki. There was a special flourishing for sculpture, which was obviously influenced by western models. Italian craftsmen probably worked in the court of the Despots. In the field of literature, remarkable spiritual personalities came from the clergy (Apokafkos, Vardanis, Chomatianos). | |||
| In ] George Kastrioti ], revolted against the Ottoman Empire and conquered Northern Epirus, but on his death it fell to ]. In the late 15th century, the whole area was overrun by the ], who ruled it for the next 400 years, the Venetians retaining only a few strongholds along the coast. Under the Ottomans Epirus remained a backwater, with a mixed population of Christians and Muslims. | |||
| In the 18th century, as the power of the Ottomans declined, Epirus became a virtually independent region under the despotic rule of ], an Albanian brigand who became '']'', or provincial governor, of Ioannina in ], and at one time controlled much of western Greece and Albania. When the ] broke out, Ali tried to make himself an independent ruler, but he was deposed and murdered by Ottoman agents in ]. When Greece became independent, Epirus remained under Ottoman rule. | |||
| The ] of ] gave Greece parts of southern Epirus, but it was not until the ] of ]-] that rest of southern Epirus was returned to Greece. But the Greeks resented the fact that northern Epirus had been given to the new state of Albania, despite the mostly Greek character of the area and in big towns like ] (Korçë in Albanian) and ] (Gjirokastër). | |||
| When ] broke out in ], Albania collapsed. Under a March ] agreement among the Allies, Italy seized northern Albania and Greece set up the autonomous Greek state of North Epirus in the southern part of the country. Although short-lived, the state of North Epirus managed to leave behind a number of historical records of its existence, including its own postage stamps; see ]. | |||
| Although the ] of ] awarded the area to Greece after ], political developments such as the Greek defeat in the ] and, crucially, Italian lobbying in favour of its client state Albania meant that Greece could not sustain its claim to northern Epirus, and the area was finally ceded to Albania in 1924. | |||
| Italy occupied Albania in ], and in ] invaded Greece. The Greeks counterattacked and soon liberated once again northern Epirus. But the German invasion of April ] saw the defeat of Greece, and the whole of Epirus was placed under Italian occupation until ], when the Germans took over. The highlands of Epirus became a major theatre of guerilla resistance to the occupation. Following the German withdrawal from Greece in ], the nationalist resistance movements tried to reclaim northern Epirus for Greece, but the ], which controlled the largest part of the Greek resistance movement, supported their fellow Communists in Albania in returning the area to Albanian control. The mountains of Epirus were the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the ]. | |||
| After the war, Greek nationalists continued to agitate for the cession of northern Epirus to Greece. There was no possibility of this during the decades of Communist rule in Albania, but the ] that had existed between the two countries since the Second World War was only officially lifted as late as ]. After the fall of the Communist regime in ], nationalist tensions increased on both sides. In ] Albania deported the Greek Orthodox Archimandrite of Gjirokastër (Argyrókastro) for behaviour it saw as ], causing a short-lived Albanian-Greek crisis. This was exacerbated by the trial in ] of several members of ], a political party of the Greek minority in Albania, accused of ] activities. The ] and international human rights groups condemned "serious irregularities" directed against ethnic Greek candidates and parties during the ] munipical elections. These included harassment and intimidation of ethnic Greek voters by Albanian police, the destruction of one ballot box in a violent incident, and fraud in three other voting centres. Albanian nationalist rhetoric during the election campaign, both at the local and national level, had heightened tension over a possible victory by the local ethnic Greek ] in the town of ]. | |||
| Despite these tensions, the governments of both Greece and Albania have made a concerted effort in recent years to transcend the enmities of the past and forge a new relationship based on peace and cooperation. | |||
| The current ], ], is a native of ], Epirus. | |||
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