Souli

Souli Σούλι
Souli
Location within the region
Coordinates: 39°22′N 20°38′E / 39.367°N 20.633°E / 39.367; 20.633Coordinates: 39°22′N 20°38′E / 39.367°N 20.633°E / 39.367; 20.633
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Epirus
Regional unit	Thesprotia
Area
• Municipality	502.8 km2 (194.1 sq mi)
• Municipal unit	93.2 km2 (36.0 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Municipality	10,063
• Municipality density	20/km2 (52/sq mi)
• Municipal unit	458
• Municipal unit density	4.9/km2 (13/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Souli (Greek: Σούλι) is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. It was originally settled by both Greek and Albanian refugees who sought refuge in the mountainous terrain from the Ottomans in Thesprotia, Greece and Laberia, Albania. In early modern times, it was inhabited by about 12,000 Souliotes. After their expulsion the population of the region was significantly reduced. In the 18th and 19th century, the citizens of Souli rebelled against the Ottoman occupation.

The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia.

The origin of the name Souli is uncertain. In the earliest historical text about Souli, written by Christoforos Peraivos in 1803, an oral tradition of the locals is recorded. According to this, the first settlers of Souli were shepherds who came from a village called Gardiki trying to avoid the Ottoman oppression. A certain Muslim ("Turk" in the text) named Soulis attempted to expel the early Souliotes from there but the latter resisted with arms. In the battle they killed Soulis and since then the area was named Souli.

The present municipality Souli was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

The municipality has an area of 502.770 km², the municipal unit 93.230 km².

The province of Souli (Greek: Επαρχία Σουλίου) was one of the provinces of Thesprotia. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006.