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Revision as of 05:26, 15 July 2004 by Adam Carr (talk | contribs) (more soon)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος), a region in north-western Greece. It is a province (in Greek "periphery") of Greece and is bounded to the east by the provinces of West Macedonia and Thessaly and to the south by the Ambracian Gulf and the province of West Greece. To the west are the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands, and to the north is Albania. Epirus is divided into the prefectures (nomoi) of Arta, Ioannina, Preveza and Thesprotia.
The province of Epirus has an area of 9,200 square kilomitres and a population of about 350,000. The capital and largest city is Ioannina, which has about 100,000 people. The population today is almost entirely Greek-speaking and Greek Orthodox in religion. There are small Albanian and Vlach minorities.
Historically, Epirus extended further north into what is now Albania. There is still a substantial Greek minority in southern Albania, which Greeks call North Epirus. There was also a large Albanian mainority in Greek Epirus, but these people were mostly removed to Albania during and after World War II and the Greek Civil War. Greece maintained a territorial claim to southern Albania for many years, but today both countries recognise the current border. Today's Greece's main concern is to police the border against illegal immigration from Albanians seeking work in Greece.
The country is mountainous, especially towards the east, where the Pindus Mountains, forming the mountainous spine of mainland Greece, separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. Epirus is largely made up of mountainous ridges, reaching 2,600 metres in places. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus and receives the winds off the Ionian Sea, thus receiving more rainfall than any other part of Greece. This advantage is set off by a lack of suitable farmland and poor soils. As a result the agricultural productivity of Epirus has always been low.
Epirus is one of the poorest parts of Greece. Tobacco is grown around Ioannina, and there is also some dairying and fishing, but most of the area's food must be imported. Epirus has few resources and industries, and has been steadily depopulated by emigration since the 19th century. The population is concentrated in the area around Ioannina, which has some manufacturing and service industries. Although Epirus has many attractions, it has not shared in the tourist boom which has brought wealth to other parts of Greece.
History
The Greek name Epirus signified "mainland," and was originally applied to the whole coast south to the Corinthian Gulf. Epirus was settled by Greeks early in the first millennium BC (greater precision is not possible), but remained a frontier area, contested with the Illyrian peoples of the Adriatic coast.