The earliest recorded inhabitants of the region are the
Thesprotians, a
Greek tribe of
Epirus. In
antiquity, the location was called
Sybota and was the site of the
Battle of Sybota. During the Middle Ages, Syvota, like the rest of Epirus, was part of the
Byzantine Empire and the
Despotate of Epirus, the
Republic of Venice and in the 15th century it became part of the
Ottoman Empire. The first local Muslims of Syvota are recorded in Arvenitsa and Nista as early as 1613. It became part of
Greece in 1913, following the
Balkan Wars, and was previously used as an Ottoman naval base during the
Greek War of Independence. Like all other Muslim
Cham Albanian communities, the population was affected by the annexation of the region by Greece and many left the area. In 1913, the population of Arvenitsa () from 970 to 659 and Nista () in 1934. Greece settled Greek Orthodox refugees from Turkey in Mourtos after 1922, following the
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. By 1926, there were 30 refugee families from Turkey in Arvenitsa, 90 in Nista, 5 in Plataria, 150 in Mourtos. Albanian was taught again for Albanian children in the region in Nista (renamed to
Faskomilia in 1928) as of 1936. The Chams of Syvota lived in the village until 1944, when they were expelled for collaborating with the Axis Powers. During the short term Italian occupation in Syvota (early November 1940) the village was burnt by Cham Albanian bands and Italian troops. In Polyneri (, Today, Syvota town is a well-developed resort, owing largely to the numerous pristine beaches with clear waters located on several islets immediately offshore. ==Population==