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| ==History== | |||
| Epirus is the birthland of the Doric Greeks tribes such as the Spartans and the Macedonians. In antiquity, the two major Greek tribes in the region where the Chaones and the Molossians. The latter later proved the mightiest thus ruling the land. Perhaps the most famous Molossian is Olympias, mother of Alexandeer the Great. Another great Epirote was Olympia's nephew Pyrrhhus. The latter united Epirus inder his league and for a long time he was Rome's greatest adversary. After his death in Argos however, Epirus fell into decline and conquered by the Romans which turned her to a province. The most important Roman sea-battle was waged in the bay of Actium near modern Preveza in 31 b.C. | |||
| Later, Epirus became a Byzantine theme named, ruled by the Roman city of Nicopolis and later by Arta. After the first fall of Constantinople in 1204, Epirus turned to a separate State ruled from Arta by the Komninoi dynasty, called the Despotate of Epirus. The despotate conducted several wars with the Latin kings of Macedonia, as well as the Normans (West), the Bulgarians (East) and the Serbs (North). The latter crippled the country leaving Epirus unable to stop the coming Ottoman conquest. Ottoman rule was an era of decay for Epirus, much like all Ottoman-held lands. Epirus geography sustained Christian resistance enclaves throughout the centuries but the most important anti-Ottoman blow came from the Albanian Pasha Ali of Ioannina. Ali Pasha challenged the Sultan's authority in 1820 and this caused a small civil war. Ali-Pasha was arrested and beheaded in Ioannina. | |||
| The dissaray caused by Ali-Pasha however gave valuable time to the Southern Greek rebels which later managed to liberate themselves from Ottoman rule thanks to his actions. Epirus herself however was not liberated until 90 years later in 1912, during the first Balkan War. An an outcome, Epirus was liberated and incorporated to Greece, with the exception of the Northern part maintained by Albania. The Turkish populations of Epirus were exchanged with Greek refugees from Asia Minor in 1924, leaving Epirus fully Greek. The crashing Italian defeat which changed the route of World War 2 took place in the mountains of Epirus between 1940 to 1941, but Epirus, as well as Greece fell when the German and Bulgarian forces conquered Greece from Macedonia. During the triple (Italian, Albanian, German) occupation lasting from 1941 to 1944, the Paramythia/Chammeria area was given to Albania, which attempted an Albanisation campaign which ended 3 years later when the Axis forces retreated. Despite the exodus of the Chammerians and the Germans, peace didn't come to the region since it was immediately involved in the Greek civil war, perhaps the first 'hot' incident of the starting cold war. The end of the war brought immence poverty to the locals which were forced to resettle in major urban centers of immigrate. The impact of the 1940's wars are still felt in some areas till this day. | |||
| ==Government== | ==Government== | ||
Revision as of 21:12, 28 April 2009
Epirus (Greek: Ήπειρος, Ípiros), is a periphery in northwestern Greece. It borders the peripheries of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, Stereá Elláda (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the north. The province has an area of about 9,200 km² (3,551 square miles). It is part of the wider historical region of Epirus, which overlaps modern Albania and Greece but mostly lies in Greek territory.
Geography and ecology
Greek Epirus, like the region as a whole, is rugged and mountainous.It comprises the land of the ancient Molossians and Thesprotians and a small part of the land of the Chaonians the greater part being in Southern Albania. It is largely made up of mountainous ridges, part of the Dinaric Alps. The periphery's highest spot is on Mount Smolikas, at an altitude of 2.637 metres above sea level. In the east, the Pindus Mountains 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.
The Vikos-Aoos and Pindus National Parks are situated in the Ioannina Prefecture of the periphery. Both areas have imposing landscapes of dazzling beauty as well as a wide range of fauna and flora. The climate of Epirus is mainly alpine. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is especially rich in this area and includes, among other species, bears, wolves, foxes, deer and lynxes.
Government
Epirus is divided into four prefectures (nomoi), which are further subdivided into dēmoi (municipalities) or koinótētes (roughly equivalent to British or Australian shires).
The prefectures are:
Cities
Economy
Epirus has few resources or industries and its rugged terrain makes agriculture difficult. Sheep and goat pastoralism have always been an important activity in the periphery (Epirus provides more than 45% of meat to the Greek market) but there seems to be a decline in recent years. Tobacco is grown around Ioannina, and there is also some farming and fishing, but most of the area's food must be imported from more fertile regions of Greece. Epirus is home to a number of the country's most famous dairy products' brands, which produce feta cheese among others.
Demographics
Around 350,000 people live in Epirus. According to the 2001 census, it has the lowest population of the 13 peripheries of Greece. This is partly due to the impact of repeated wars in the 20th century as well as mass emigration due to adverse economic conditions. The capital and largest city of the region is Ioannina, where nearly a third of the population lives. The great majority of the population are Greeks, but the province also includes one of Greece's largest concentrations of Aromanians, people who identify with the Greek population. Greece does not officially recognize minorities other than the Greek Muslim minority in Thrace, therefore it is difficult to estimate the size of the Aromanian populations.
According to research conducted by a Romanian ethnographer in 1994, native Albanian is dying fast, and attempts to find Albanian-speakers in the region proved unsuccessful.
The delineation of the border between Greece and Albania in 1913 left a number of Albanian-populated villages on the Greek side of the border (and the Greek-populated villages and cities in the region called Northern Epirus on the Albanian). Some Albanians view this territory as part of a region that they call Chameria (Thesprotia in Greek), formerly parts of it were populated by a minority, the Cham Albanians along with the majority ethnic Greeks.
References
- Winnifrith, T.J. Badlands-Borderland: A History of Southern Albania/Northern Epirus. London: Duckworth Publishers, 2003, ISBN-10: 0715632019, p. 8. "The Thesprotians lived in the western part of what is now Greek Epirus, the Molossians in the rest of Greek Epirus, and the Chaonians in the southern section of Southern Albania..."
- Winnifrith, Tom J. "Southern Albania, Northern Epirus: Survey of a Disputed Ethnological Boundary" (Society Farsarotul Home).
External links
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