The Pashalik of Yanina, sometimes referred to as the Pashalik of Ioannina or Pashalik of Janina, was an autonomous pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large areas of Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia. Under the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha, the pashalik acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent, though this was never officially recognized by the Ottoman Empire. Conceiving his territory in increasingly independent terms, Ali Pasha's correspondence and foreign Western correspondence frequently refer to the territories under Ali's control as Albania.
The capital of the Pashalik was Ioannina, which along with Tepelena were Ali's headquarters. At its peak, Ali Pasha and his sons ruled over southern and central Albania, the majority of mainland Greece, including Epirus, Thessaly, West Macedonia, western Central Macedonia, Continental Greece (excluding Attica), and the Peloponnese, and parts of southwestern North Macedonia around Ohrid and Manastir. The subject population of Ali's domains was quite heterogeneous, including Albanians, Aromanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Jews, Roma, Serbs, and Turks. Greeks were the most numerous ethnic group, while Orthodox Christians were the most numerous religious group, followed by Muslims.
Background
Ali Pasha first came to power as when he was appointed mutasarrıf of Ioanninna at the end of 1784 or beginning of 1785, but was soon dismissed, returning to the position only at the end of 1787 or the start of 1788. Ali gained control of Delvina and became ruler of the Sanjak of Delvina in 1785, but did not have control full control of the Sanjak, with the regions of Himara (1797) and Gjirokastër (1811) being taken later. Additionally, the regions of Margariti and Paramythia, which fell within Sanjak of Delvina, and Fanari, within the Sanjak of Ioannina (conquered later by Ali), were ruled by Cham Albanian landlords, such as Hasan Çapari, who remained in conflict with Ali Pasha throughout much of the Pashalik's existence.
In 1787 Ali Pasha took control of the Sanjak of Trikala (Thessaly), which was later officially rewarded to him for his support for the sultan's war against Austria. Shortly afterwards, in 1787 or 1788, he seized control of the town of Ioannina and declared himself ruler of the sanjak, which remained his power base for the next 34 years. This marked the beginning of the Pashalik of Yanina, with Ali self-appointing himself Pasha of Yanina and delegating the title of Pasha of Trikala to his son, Veli. At this point, the Sanjaks of Delvina, Trikala, and Yanina composed the Pashalik.Mikropoulos, 2008: 334, 337
Like other semi-independent regional leaders that emerged in that time, such as Osman Pazvantoğlu, he took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory until he gained de facto control over much of Albania and mainland Greece, either directly or through his sons. Ali's own perception of group identity derived from the ancient legacy of Albanian banditry along with the accompanying Albanian pseudo-nobility. Ali conceived an independent state that almost certainly would have been controlled by this Albanian military and aristocratic elite. As Pasha, Ali was supported by an exclusively Albanian military establishment, which included many people who had undertaken brigandage activities earlier in their life. Ali Pasha also used Albanian tribesmen to put down Greek rebellions in the Morea.
Language was a major definiting element in Ali's identity, as well of his government and the region he controlled in general. Ali's native language was Albanian. His degree of proficiency in written Greek is debatable, however he also spoke Greek. Albanians and Greeks exchanging languages was quite common in the 18th century. Ioannina was located in a largely Greek-speaking area, and during the Ottoman rule the Albanian language has not been officially recognized. Albanian has become a fully written language with its own script only from the mid-19th century, while written Greek was a well established language within the Ottoman Empire. The formal bureaucratic language of the Empire was entirely replaced with Greek in the pashalik, and in Ali's court diplomatic business was exclusively conducted in Greek as well as much of the formal correspondence. Ali also used the Greek script to write in Albanian and to transliterate Turkish in his personal correspondence. The usage of Greek, however, did not in any way make Ali Greek, just as his role as Ottoman appointee did not in any way make him Ottoman. He was first and foremost considered as an Albanian.
The principal role of geography in the communal groups of his time were comprehended by Ali. He insisted that Ioannina, located in the Greek district of Epirus, was Albanian. He also considered the Albanian population who lived in the area not as immigrants but as indigenous people of the region. He tried to justify his plans on the territories under foreign protectorate on the Ionian coast also by insisting that they were part of "Albania" as well. The majority of the population ruled by Ali Pasha were Greek.
History Rise
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.Anscom E. Frederick. Albanians and "Mountain Bandits". Princeton papers: interdisciplinary journal of Middle Eastern studies Markus Wiener Publishers, 2002. , p. "Voskopoje, southeast Albania, commonly known as Moschopolis" p. 100: "The town was sacked three times during the Ottoman wars with Russia and Austria, in 1769, 1772, and 1789, but not by foreign raiders. The last attack, by Ali Pasha's men, practically destroyed the town. Some of its commerce shifted to Gorice (Korçe, Albania) and Arnavud Belgrad, but those towns could not make good the losses suffered by İskopol.""...destroyed by resentful Muslim Albanians in 1788" 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.Vranousis, Sfyroeras, 1997, p. 247: A few months later, in March 1789, the chieftains of Souli Giorgis and Demetris Botsaris, Lambros Tzavellas, Nicholas and Christos Zervas, Lambros Koutsonikas, Christos Photomaras and Demos Drakos wrote to Sotiris declaring that they and their 2,200 men were ready to fight against Ali Pasha and "the Agarenoi in Roumeli". Ali, who had succeeded Kurt Pasha in the pashalik of Epirus in spring 1789, was informed about the movements of the Souliots, and immediately organized a campaign against them. 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.Pappas, 1982, p. 252
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. Despite the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War and the expansion of his territories, the Pashalik's defeat against the Souliotes resulted in Ali's obsession with capturing the Confederacy. He launched another campaign in July 1792, dispatching 8,000-10,000 Albanians from the Pashalik to take the territory, with the Souliotes raising 1,300 men, but were defeated again. A peace agreement was made, with prisoners and hostages being exchanged and Parasouli villages captured in the previous two years being returned to the Souliotes.Pappas, 1982, p. 253: "Ali immediately ordered an all out attack on Souli in July 1792 with... The Souliotes accepted negotiations and presented the terms which included: the exchange of hostaged Souliotes for prisoners taken from among Ali's troops, the return of all Parasouliote villages to the Souliote confederation"
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.Antonina Zhelyazkova.Urgent Anthropology. Vol. 2. Albanian Prospects. IMIR, Sofia, 2003. p. 90
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.Pappas, 1982, p. 254 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). He additionally annexed the neighbouring region Himara to the Sanjak of Delvina and established good relations with the Himariotes. He financed various public works and churches, and built a large church opposite of Porto Palermo Castle.