Epirus

Epirus (Greek, “mainland”), a coastal region, north-western Greece. It was bounded on the north by Illyria and Macedonia, on the east by Thessalia, on the south by the Ambracian Gulf and Aetolia, and on the west by the Ionian Sea. The principal city in ancient Epirus was Dodona, famous in antiquity for its oracle. The most important period of its early history was the reign of Pyrrhus who expanded and strengthened the kingdom of Epirus in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries bc. It was frequently at war with Rome and Macedonia, and in 168 bc was devastated by the Romans for having entered into an alliance with Macedonia. In 146 bc Epirus became part of the Roman Empire. With the formation of the Byzantine Empire in the 4th century ad, the region passed under the control of Constantinople. Following the Latin sack of Constantinople (modern İstanbul, Turkey) in 1204, the despotate of Epirus was established by the Byzantine Greeks, but in 1337 it returned to the re-established Byzantine Empire. In 1430, Epirus fell to the Ottoman Turks, who later made it part of a Turkish vilayet, or administrative division. The district east of the Arta River in Epirus was ceded by Turkey to Greece in 1881; following the Balkan War of 1912-1913, it became part of modern Greece. After 1944 northern Epirus was incorporated into Albania.

The name Epirus is still used for the north-western province of Greece. It is a predominantly agricultural region, the main crops being wheat and other cereal grains, olives, fruits, vegetables, and tobacco. The principal city is Ioannina.