The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus () was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars on 28 February 1914, by the local Greek population in southern Albania (Northern Epirotes).
The area, known as Northern Epirus to Greeks and with a substantial Greek population, was taken by the Greek Army from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War (1912–1913). The Protocol of Florence, however, had assigned it to the newly established Albanian state. This decision was rejected by the local Greeks, and as the Greek Army withdrew to the new border, an autonomous government was set up at Argyrokastron (modern Gjirokastër), under the leadership of Georgios Christakis-Zografos, a distinguished local Greek politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with tacit support from Greece.
In May, the autonomy was confirmed by the Great Powers with the Protocol of Corfu. The agreement ensured that the region would have its own administration, recognized the rights of the local population and provided for self-government under nominal Albanian sovereignty. However, it was never fully implemented because in September the Albanian government collapsed. The Greek Army reoccupied the area in October 1914 following the outbreak of World War I. It was planned that Northern Epirus would be ceded to Greece following the war, but the withdrawal of Italian support and Greece's defeat in the Asia Minor Campaign resulted in its final cession to Albania in November 1921.Miller 1966: 543–44
Background
Northern Epirus and the Balkan Wars
In March 1913, during the First Balkan War, the Greek Army entered Ioannina after breaching the Ottoman fortifications at Bizani, and soon afterwards advanced further north.Gregory C. Ference, ed. Chronology of 20th Century Eastern European History. 1994. Himarë had already been under Greek control since 5 November 1912, after a local Himariote, Gendarmerie Major Spyros Spyromilios, led a successful uprising that met no initial resistance.Kondis 1976: p. 93 By the end of the war, Greek armed forces controlled most of the historical region of Epirus, from the Ceraunian mountains along the Ionian coast to Lake Prespa in the east.Schurman 1916: "During the first war the Greeks had occupied Epirus or southern Albania as far north as a line drawn from a point a little above Khimara on the coast due east toward Lake Presba, so that the cities of Tepeleni and Koritza were included in the Greek area."
At the same time, the Albanian independence movement gathered momentum. On 28 November 1912 in Vlorë, Ismail Qemali declared Albania's independence, and a provisional government was soon formed that exercised its authority only in the immediate area of Vlorë. Elsewhere, the Ottoman general Essad Pasha formed the Republic of Central Albania at Durrës,Stickney 1924: 51 while conservative Albanian tribesmen still hoped for an Ottoman ruler.Winnifrith 2002: 130 Most of the area that would form the Albanian state was occupied at this time, by the Greeks in the south and the Serbs in the north.Miller 1966: 518
The last Ottoman census, conducted in 1908, counted 128,000 Orthodox Christians and 95,000 Muslims in the region. Moreover, they expressed a strong pro-Greek feeling, and were the first to support the following breakaway autonomist movement. Considering these conditions, loyalty in Northern Epirus to an Albanian government competing in anarchy, whose leaders were mostly Muslim, could not be guaranteed.Winnifrith 2002: 130 "...in Northern Epirus loyalty to an Albania with a variety of Muslim leaders competing in anarchy cannot have been strong".
Delineation of the Greek–Albanian border
The concept of an independent Albanian state was supported by the Great European Powers, particularly Austro-Hungary and Italy.Schurman 1916: 'This new kingdom was called into being by the voice of the European concert at the demand of Austria-Hungary supported by Italy.' Both powers were seeking to control Albania, which, in the words of Italian Foreign Minister Tommaso Tittoni, would give whichever managed this "incontestable supremacy in the Adriatic". The Serbian possession of Shkodër and the possibility of the Greek border running a few miles south of Vlore was therefore strongly resisted by these states.Chase 2007: 37–38
In September 1913, an International Commission of the European Powers convened to determine the boundary between Greece and Albania. The delegates of the commission aligned themselves into two camps: those of Italy and Austro-Hungary insisted that the Northern Epirus districts were Albanian, while those of the Triple Entente (the United Kingdom, France, and Russia) took the view that although the older generations in some villages spoke Albanian, the younger generation was Greek in intellectual outlook, sentiment, and aspirations.Stickney 1924: 38 Under Italian and Austro-Hungarian pressure, the commission determined that the region of Northern Epirus would be ceded to Albania.Stickney 1924: 32–33 "In view of the opposition of the part of the Dual monarchy...showed his irrecontiliation."
Treaty of London and Protocol of Florence Though the Treaty of London, 1913, recognized the independence of the Albanian state, its exact borders were to be laid down in the Protocol of Florence. On 21 February 1914, the ambassadors of the Great Powers delivered a note to the Greek government asking for the Greek army's evacuation of the area. Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos acceded to this in hopes of a favourable solution to Greece's other outstanding problem: the recognition of Greek sovereignty over the islands of the North Eastern Aegean.Kitromilides 2008: 150–151Greek ministry of Foreign Affairs. Note of the Great Powers to Greece. It concerned the decision of the Powers to cede irrevocably to Greece all the Aegean islands already occupied by the latter (with the exception of Imbros, Tenedos and Castellorizo) on the date on which Greek troops would evacuate the parts of Northern Epirus awarded to Albania by the Florence Protocol.
Reactions
Declaration of Independence
This turn of events was highly unpopular among the pro-Greek party in the area. The pro-Greek Epirotes felt betrayed by the Greek government, which had done nothing to support them with firearms. Additionally, the gradual withdrawal of the Greek army would enable Albanian forces to take control of the region. To avert this possibility, the Epirotes decided to declare their own separate political identity and self-governance.Kondis 1976: 124Schurman 1916: "It is little wonder that the Greeks of Epirus feel outraged by the destiny which the European Powers have imposed upon them... Nor is it surprising that since Hellenic armies have evacuated northern Epirus in conformity with the decree of the Great Powers, the inhabitants of the district, all the way from Santi Quaranta to Koritza, are declaring their independence and fighting the Albanians who attempt to bring them under the yoke." Georgios Christakis-Zografos, a distinguished Epirote statesman from Lunxhëri (gr. Lioúntzi) and former Greek foreign minister, took the initiative and discussed the situation with local representatives in a "Panepirotic Council". Consequently, on 28 February 1914, the AutonomousThe Greek term autonomos can mean either "independent" or "autonomous". Republic of Northern Epirus was declared in Gjirokastër (gr. Argyrókastron) and a provisional government, with Christakis-Zografos as president, formed to support the state's objectives.Stickney 1924: 42 In his speech on 2 March,Boeckh 1996: 114 Christakis-Zografos stated that the aspirations of the Northern Epirotes had been totally ignored, and that the Great Powers had not only rejected their becoming autonomous within the Albanian state but also refused to give guarantees regarding their fundamental human rights. Zografos concluded his speech by stating that the Northern Epirotes would not accept the destiny the Powers had imposed upon them:Pyrrhus Ruches. Albanian historical folksongs, 1716–1943: a survey of oral epic poetry from southern Albania, with original texts. Argonaut, 1967 p. 106
The flag of the new state was a variant of the Greek national flag, consisting of a white cross centred upon the blue background surmounted by the imperial Byzantine eagle in black.Ruches 1965: 83
In the following days, Alexandros Karapanos, Zografos' nephew and an MP for Arta,Miller 1966: 519 was installed as foreign minister. Colonel Dimitrios Doulis, a local from Nivice, resigned from his post in the Greek army and joined the provisional government as minister of military affairs. Within a few days, he managed to mobilize an army consisting of more than 5,000 volunteer troops.Boeckh 1996: 115 The local bishop, Vasileios of Dryinoupolis, took office as minister of Religion and Justice. A number of officers of Epirote origin (not exceeding 30), as well as ordinary soldiers, deserted their positions in the Greek Army and joined the revolutionaries. Soon, armed groups, such as the "Sacred Band" or Spyromilios' men around Himarë (gr. Himárra), were formed in order to repel any incursion into the territory claimed by the autonomous government. The first districts to join the autonomist movement outside of Gjirokastër were Himarë, Sarandë and Përmet.Heuberger, Suppan, Vyslonzil 1996: 68–69
Greece's reaction and evacuation The Greek government was reluctant to overtly support the uprising. Military and political officials continued to carry out a slow evacuation process, which had begun in March and ended on 28 April. Resistance was officially discouraged, and assurances were given that the Great Powers and the International Control Commission (an organization founded by the Great Powers in order to secure peace and stability in the area) would guarantee their rights. Following the declaration in Gjirokastër, Zografos sent messages to local representatives in Korçë (gr. Korytsá) asking them to join the movement; however, the Greek military commander of the city, Colonel Alexandros Kontoulis, followed his official orders strictly and declared martial law, threatening to shoot any citizen raising the Northern Epirote flag. When the local bishop of Kolonjë (gr. Kolónia), Spyridon, proclaimed the Autonomy, Kontoulis had him immediately arrested and expelled.Kondis 1976: 127
On 1 March, Kontoulis ceded the region to the newly formed Albanian gendarmerie, consisting mainly of former deserters of the Ottoman army and under the command of Dutch and Austrian officers. On 9 March, the Greek navy blockaded the port of Sarandë (gr. Ágioi Saránda, known also as Santi Quaranta), one of the first cities that had joined the autonomist movement.Stickney 1924: 43 There were also sporadic conflicts between Greek army and Epirote units, with a few casualties on both sides.Ruches 1965: 84–85
Negotiations and armed conflicts
As the Greek army withdrew, armed conflicts broke out between Albanian and Northern Epirote forces. In the regions of Himarë, Sarandë, Gjirokastër and Delvinë (gr. Delvínion), the revolt had been in full force since the first days of the declaration, and the autonomist forces were able to successfully engage the Albanian gendarmerie, as well as Albanian irregular units. However, Zografos, seeing that the Great Powers would not approve the annexation of Northern Epirus to Greece, suggested three possible diplomatic solutions: full autonomy under the nominal sovereignty of the Albanian prince; an administrative and cantonal system autonomy; and direct control and administration by the European Powers.