Vilayet of Yanina

ولايت يانیه‎ Vilâyet-i Yanya
Vilayet of Ottoman Empire
← 1867–1913 →   →
Janina Vilayet in 1900
Capital		Yanya (Ioannina)
History
•	Established	1867
•	Treaty of London	30 May 1913
Population
•	1897	595,108
•	1911	560,835
Today part of		Albania  Greece

The Vilayet of Janina, Yanya or Ioannina (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت يانیه, Vilâyet-i Yanya‎) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1867. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 18,320 square miles (47,400 km²). It was created by merging Pashalik of Yanina and Pashalik of Berat with sanjaks of Janina, Berat, Ergiri, Preveze, Tırhala and Kesriye. Kesriye was later demoted to kaza and bounded to Monastir Vilayet and Tırhala was given to Greece in 1881.

Although part of the local population contributed greatly to the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830) the region of Epirus did not became part of the Greek state that time. In 1878 a rebellion broke out, with the revolutionaries, mostly Epirotes, taking control of Sarandë and Delvinë. However, it was suppressed by the Ottoman troops, who burned 20 villages of the region.

In the following year, the Greek population of Ioannina region authorized a committee in order to present to the European governments their wish for union with Greece.

In 1906 the organization Epirote Society was founded by members of the Epirote diaspora, Panagiotis Danglis and Spyros Spyromilios, that aimed at the annexation of the region to Greece by supplying local Greeks with firearms.

Janina Vilayet was one of the main centers of the cultural and political life of Albanians who lived in Janina Vilayet and Monastir Vilayet. One of the most important reasons was the influence by Greek education and culture south-Albanian writers received in the famous Greek school of Ioannina, the Zosimaia.Abdyl Frashëri, the first political ideologue of the Albanian National Awakening was one of the six deputies from Janina Vilayet in the first Ottoman Parliament in 1876–1877.Abdyl Frashëri, from Frashër, modern Albania, together with Mehmet Ali Vrioni from Berat (also in modern Albania), and some members of Ioannina's Albanian community, founded the Albanian Committee of Janina in May 1877. Frashëri fought against decisions of the Treaty of San Stefano. However, the League of Prizren, was primarily Muslim Albanian, while the local Orthodox Christians felt more sympathy to the Greek cause.

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