Rise , Albania. Taking advantage of another
Russo-Turkish War starting in 1787, Ali annexed the regions of
Konitsa (in the Sanjak of Ioannina), and
Libohovë,
Përmet and
Tepelenë (from the
Sanjak of Avlona) to the Pashalik during the years 1789 to 1791. During this period, he also purchased
Arta, giving the Pashalik access to the shores of the
Ionian Sea via the
Gulf of Arta. In 1789, the
Aromanian town of
Moscopole, within the
Sanjak of Elbasan, was sacked and destroyed. Also in 1789, Ali
first invaded the semi-independent
Souliote Confederacy to the west of the Sanjak of Ioannina, following their mobilisation of 2,200 Souliotes in March 1789 against the Pashalik and the Muslims of
Rumelia. A second campaign against the Souliotes took place in 1790. During these two campaigns, the Pashalik captured some
Parasouli settlements, but ultimately was repulsed from the core
Souli region. Starting in 1788, Ali had attempted to take control of the Sanjak of
Karli-Eli, finally invading in October 1789. The Ottoman government reacted by granting the entire
sanjak of Karli-Eli (minus the
voevodalik of
Missolonghi) as a personal
hass to
Mihrişah Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan
Selim III, which prevented Ali Pasha from annexing the territory. The Sanjak was eventually taken in 1806, following the death of Mihrişah the previous year. Following the end of the Russo-Turkish War in 1792, Ali ceased his expansions in order to avoid repercussions from Sultan Selim III. Additionally, his forces took part formally on the side of the Porte in a campaign against
Shkodër in 1793. During the Yanina-Souli conflict, the
Himariotes had supported the Souliotes. In revenge, Ali Pasha led a raid against the town of
Himara in 1797, and more than 6,000 civilians were slaughtered. , based on a drawing by
William Purser, early 19th century. In 1797,
France conquered Venice and gained from it
control over the
Ionian Islands and several coastal possessions in Epirus (
Parga,
Preveza,
Vonitsa,
Butrinto, and
Igoumenitsa), making them neighbours to the Pashalik. In order to gain further access to the Ionian Sea, Ali formed an alliance with
Napoleon I of France that same year, who had established
Francois Pouqueville as his general consul in Yanina. He received ammunition and military advisors from the French. Napoleon, at a certain point, had promised Ali the position of "King of Albania", but it became increasingly clear that this was not going to occur. British traveller
Henry Holland, who had conversations with Ali Pasha, remarked that Ali was not convinced by the offer, because he distrusted the French. In 1798 the Ottoman Empire went to war with France following their
invasion of Egypt. Ali Pasha responded by seizing the French coastal territories of Butrint and Igoumenitsa (added to the
Sanjak of Delvina), Preveza (added to the
Sanjak of Ioannina), and Vonitsa, with Parga remaining as the sole French possession in mainland Greece. The French garrison in Preveza was destroyed in the
Battle of Nicopolis, which was followed by a massacre. Following the capture of Preveza, Ali secured the neutrality of the Souliotes (who were dependent on French-controlled Preveza and
Parga for livestock and ammunition supplies) through bribing of their leaders, which also caused internal conflict among the Souliote clans. A combined Russian-Ottoman force captured the Ionian Islands during 1799–1800, resulting in the establishment of the
Septinsular Republic. By 1799, the Pashalik was engaged in rivalry with the
Pashalik of Berat to the north, which, like the Pashalik of Yanina, was also largely independent. Additionally, within the Pashalik there were several semi-independent regions that posed a threat to Ali Pasha's rule: the region of
Delvina, in the north of Sanjak of Delvina;
Chameria, in the south of Sanjak of Delvina and spilling into the Sanjak of Ioannina; and the
Souliote Confederacy, to the west of the Sanjak of Ioannina. The Russians quickly sought to weaken the Pashalik's influence in the region, showing support for the aforementioned regions. Ali Pasha responded that same year by temporarily subduing the
beys of three of the regions (Berat, Delvina, and Chameria). but this presumably failed. Another campaign was mounted in June–July 1800, with the Pashalik raising 11,500 men. However, a direct assault on the Souliote Confederacy failed, resulting in Ali besieging the core Souli villages by separating the Souli and Parasouli territories. For two years, the Souliotes were able to resist the siege by smuggling supplies from Parga, Paramythia, and Margariti. The Souliotes additionally requested aid from the Septinsular Republic, but Ali responded by threatening the Republic's possession of Parga. Aid was later provided in secret in 1803. In April 1802, a French
corvette in Parga supplied the Souliotes with food, weapons and ammunition, providing a pretext for a new campaign by Ali against the Souliotes. Other Souliot clans had left Souli and integrated into Ali Pasha's order as early as 1799-1800. In 1800, George Botsaris (grandfather of
Markos Botsaris) received a large sum and the position of the
armatolos of
Tzoumerka, and the Botsaris clan left Souli and settled in
Vourgareli of Arta. This was the first time that a Souliot clan officially became part of the Ottoman political system. The departure of the Botsaris clan weakened Souli as they were a significant part of its force. Following four years of conflict, in 1803 Ali Pasha raised Albanian forces from Epirus and Southern Albania for a final assault on the Souli Confederacy. At this point, the situation in Souli was dire due to a lack of supplies. The
Souliote War of 1803 resulted in the conquest of the entire Souliote territory and its incorporation into the Pashalik, with expulsions and atrocities against the remaining Souliotes. In 1806, Ali sent forces under the command of his sons Veli Pasha and Muhtar Pasha to aid the Ottoman effort in defeating the
First Serbian Uprising in the
Sanjak of Smederevo. In 1813, the rebellion was crushed by the Ottoman army, mostly composed Bosnians, from the
Pashalik of Bosnia, and Albanians, from the Pashaliks of
Scutari and Yanina. In 1807, following the entry of the Septinsular Republic (a nominally Ottoman vassal) into the latest
Russo-Turkish War on the side of Russia, Ali sent forces under Veli Pasha to attack the Republic.
Lefkada was assaulted in Spring 1807, with the backing of Napoleon, and
Santa Maura besieged, but the defenders, reinforced by Souliote and Russian forces, repelled the Pashalik's forces. After the
Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807, Napoleon granted
Alexander I,
Emperor of
Russia, his plan to dismantle the
Ottoman Empire, and in exchange Russia ceded the
Ionian Islands and
Parga to France, reestablishing
French rule. As a result, Ali allied himself with the
British. His machinations were permitted by the Ottoman government in
Constantinople from a mixture of expediency – it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy – and weakness, as the central government did not have enough strength to oust him at that time. Between 1807 and 1812, Veli ruled as
Pasha of
Morea, and at an unknown date Muhtar became
Pasha of
Inebahti, resulting in both regions being incorporated into the Pashalik. As relations with France deteriorated, Ali Pasha sought the capture of Parga, the last settlement in Epirus not under his control. In response, the French twice made plans to invade the Pashalik. The first, chronicled by
Theodoros Kolokotronis, involved using the
Albanian Regiment, supported by French artillery and Cham Albanians recruited by
Ali Farmaki, to invade Morea, which at the time (around 1809) was part of the Pashalik under the rule of Veli Pasha. In his place they would install a mixed Christian-Muslim government, while the French mediated with the Porte to secure its approval. According to Kolokotronis, the plan was to be carried out in 1809, but was thwarted by the British
occupation of French-held
Zakynthos,
Cephalonia,
Kythira, and
Ithaca that same year. issued by Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha in 1810 and written in vernacular Greek. Ali used Greek for all his courtly dealings. The second attempt involved a detachment of 25 men of the Albanian Regiment, under Lt. Colonel Androutsis, who were sent to aid a Himariot revolt against Ali Pasha's forces in October 1810. Their ship foundered near
Porto Palermo, however, and when attacked by Ali's forces, they were captured and taken prisoner to Ioannina. The poet
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron visited Ali's court in Tepelena and Yanina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work
Childe Harold. In 1809, Ali Pasha invaded the
Pashalik of Berat, ruled by fellow
Albanian Pashalik,
Ibrahim Pasha. Against the forces of Ibrahim Pasha and his brother
Sephir Bey, ruler of
Avlona, Ali sent
Armatoles from
Thessaly. After villages had been burnt, peasants robbed and hanged, and flocks carried off on both sides, peace was made. Ali married his sons Muhtar Pasha and Veli Pasha to Ibrahim's daughters, and the territories of the Pashalik of Berat passed to Muhtar as a
dowry. Muhtar became governor of much of
Central Albania and part of western
Macedonia, resulting in a further expansion of the Pashalik of Yanina.
Consolidating power (1809–1820) , 1855. Despite French opposition, Ali seized control of the remainder of the
Sanjak of Avlona in 1810, following the assassination of Sephir Bey. In 1811, the region of Delvina was reconquered, and the region of
Gjirokastër annexed, resulting in the complete annexation of the
Sanjak of Delvina. At this point, the Pashalik consisted of the entirety of
Southern Albania,
Epirus (excluding Parga), and
Thessaly, as well as the majority of
Central Albania and small parts of
Macedonia, with all major regional rivals having been defeated. These expansions strengthened the autonomy of the region, however a lack of foreign support meant that the Pashalik was still dependent on the Ottoman Empire. The population of the Pashalik itself was mainly Greek and Albanian, and although it was constituted by an Albanian ruling feudal class and army, Ali's power was also assured by the Greeks. Also as a result of persecution against local
Sarakatsani and
Aromanians several families that belonged to those communities were forced to migrate to regions outside Ali's rule. On 15 March 1812, Ali sent Greek troops under the command of
Thanasis Vagias to destroy the Muslim Albanian village of
Kardhiq, after his Muslim Albanian followers had refused to do so. This action was ordered in revenge for the rape of his mother and sister, which had occurred in Kardhiq. The village was destroyed and 730 of its inhabitants killed. In 1812 the settlement of Agia, belonging to Parga, was captured by Daut Bey, nephew of Ali Pasha. He then massacred and enslaved the local population. A siege of Parga ensued but failed, with Daut being killed during the siege. By 1815, the British had established full control of the French territories of the Ionian Islands and Parga, establishing the
United States of the Ionian Islands. In 1819, the British sold the city of Parga to Ali Pasha (the subject of
Francesco Hayez's later painting
The Refugees of Parga), resulting in its annexation to the Sanjak of Delvina within the Pashalik. This decision was highly unpopular among the predominantly Greek and pro-Venetian population of Parga, who refused to become Muslim subjects and decided to abandon their homes. Along with the locals,
Klepht and
Souliote refugees in Parga fled to nearby Corfu. As a result of the most important clandestine activity in the region was carried out by the Greek underground organisation,
Filiki Eteria. Its activity had spread widely throughout the towns and villages with support from both klephts and intellectuals. The Filiki Eteria had infiltrated to the heart of Ali’s administration. Moeroever, after years of subversive activity stoked by nearby Venetian, Russian and French presence, as well as a growing bourgeoisie and literate class, Epirus was fertile ground for the Greek national uprising.
Fall (1820–1822) In 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of Gaskho Bey, a political opponent in Constantinople. The reformist Sultan
Mahmud II, who sought to restore the authority of the
Sublime Porte, took this opportunity to move against Ali by ordering his deposition. Ali refused to resign his official posts and put up a formidable resistance to Ottoman troop movements, indirectly helping the Greek Independence as some 20,000 Turkish troops were fighting Ali's formidable army. Both sides employed Albanian mercenaries and Greeks. With the devastation many of the Greeks turned back to Ali. His spies learnt that the presence of the Souliotes had caused a rift in the imperial force, with the local beys and agas threatening to desert. On 4 December 1820, Ali Pasha's Albanian troops and the Souliotes formed an anti-Ottoman coalition, in which the Souliotes contributed 3,000 soldiers. Ali Pasha gained the support of the Souliotes by promising them the return of their lands, and in part by appealing to their shared Albanian origins. Initially the coalition was successful and managed to control most of the region, but when the Muslim Albanian troops of Ali Pasha were informed of the beginning of the Greek revolts in the Morea they abandoned it. Meanwhile Ali knew that Greeks in his service, his secretaries Manthos Iconomou and Alexis Noutsos, the physician Ioannis Kolettis were agents of the Filiki Eteria as well as several klephts and armatoli who had been enlisted but the organization had refrained from recruiting Albanians. Meanwhile Noutsos was informing
Alexandros Ypsilantis of events in Epirus as he made preparations for the uprising before openly declaring himself openly for the Greek cause in 1821. In January 1822 Ottoman agents assassinated Ali Pasha and sent his head to the Sultan. The coastal fortresses of Porto Palermo, Saranda, Butrint, Parga, Preveza,
Plagia, and
Nafpaktos were controlled by Ali Pasha. == Economy ==