New Epirus

New Epirus ( Latin : Epirus Nova) was a new administrative division that the Romans created after conquering today’s Albanian territory. It belonged to the Roman province of Macedonia.

After conquering Greece and Illyria, the Roman empire created New Epirus (Epirus Nova) which stretched from Vlora ( more precisely from Llogaraja ) to Kukës. This division is thought to have taken place under the rule of Emperor Diolecian.  The capital of this province was Durres.

Whereas Old Epirus ( Latin: Epirus Vetus) stretched from Vlora down and had Nikopol as its capital. The Albanians are called Epirotes precisely from New Epirus and have nothing to do with Old Epirus, which in the most serious foreign sources is considered a Greek kingdom and the Mollus, Kaon and Thesprotes tribes, again the British encyclopedia considers them Greek.  The Albanians descended on the old Epirus during the early Middle Ages and the causes were the Bulgarian and Serbian pressures,  without excluding other causes. SAlbanians with the name Epirote were known more when they belonged to New Epirus, and the Albanian language is called Epirote language precisely for this fact. The medieval Albanian author Frang Bardhit created the first Albanian Latin-Epiroticum dictionary . Skanderbeg is nicknamed ‘prince of Epirus’ precisely for this fact, and he called himself a descendant of Pyrrhus, because he was not aware that there were two Epires, Skanderbeg never possessed the lands of Old Epirus. Even Durrës has been under Venetian rule for a long time. New Epirus disappeared as a concept in the area of ​​Albania when the Principality of Arbanon (Arberia) was first established in 1190. 

When did Albanians descend on Epirus and what was the ethnic composition of medieval Epirus?

For various reasons, some elements of the Albanian population, which was probably sedentary (immobile) at first, began to emigrate later, at the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. One reason was the constant wars in the region, arising from its strategic position, between the Epirotes, Byzantines and Angevins, Serbs, Venetians, and eventually the Turks during the last three centuries of the Middle Ages. Another was the colonial exploitation of Albania by the Angevins and then by the Venetians who encouraged the Albanian lords to expropriate their peasantry: as a result, they migrated south to Greece, but also to Dalmatia and Italy. The Catholic hierarchy also played a role, trying to convert the Orthodox to the Latin Rite, and thus encouraging some to emigrate. Another reason is the military role of Albanians in all the armies of the peninsula, which enabled them to spread throughout the Balkans, take land from their employers, and eventually rule for themselves territories they were occupying for others. A final reason is the Black Death of 1347 and the general demographic crisis in Greece in the 14th century that left empty space for Albanians who were less affected than other peoples, since they lived in mountainous countries, while the epidemic affected more many coastal areas.

Albanians came from the north to Epirus but also from Thessaly, where some tribes had settled in the first decade of the 14th century, probably employed by the Byzantines in their wars against the Catalan Company. In 1334, the three families (tribes) of Malakasai, Bua, and Mesarita were reported in Thessaly. It is interesting to note that these three families would later be present in Epirus. In 1337, the Albanians of New Epirus (Epirus Nova) occupied the area of ​​Berat and appeared for the first time in Epirus, conquering the fortress of Skrapar, Tomorri, and Këlcyra (the latter is known by the Bulgarian name Klisura). But the Turkish mercenaries of the Byzantine army defeated them, forcing them to retreat. During the same campaign, the Byzantine army also subdued the breakaway state of Epirus, which then became, for a short time, part of the Byzantine Empire. In 1341, the Byzantine civil war began, and this time, a new wave of Albanians successfully occupied Pogoniani and Livisda.

Almost simultaneously, in 1342, the Byzantine governor of Thessaly invaded southern Epirus to put an end to the Arta revolt. Most likely he employed the Albanians of Thessaly, who were settled in the area of ​​Phanar, close to the borders of Epirus, and who were his allies. This was the reason why Albanians were settled in the north and south of Epirus in the following decades, with the city of Ioannina still free from Albanian domination but vulnerable to their attacks on both sides.

Since the Chronicle of Ioanninadoes not mention any influx of Albanians after the death of King Stefan Dushan, this emigration reached its peak between 1341 and 1355, that is, during the latter’s conquests. But even though the Serbs employed the Albanians as mercenaries giving them titles, property and privileges, the migration of the Albanians had started half a century earlier, and some Albanians were already in Epirus before the Serbian invasion, while the invaders were most likely other Albanian vassals, included in their armies after the conquest of Arberia (Albania). The proportion that each category had unfortunately cannot be determined. Consequently, the migrations of Albanians are not the result of the Serbian invasions (at least in these centuries): both phenomena, certainly connected between them, are a consequence of Greek weakness, in the political, military and demographic fields.

After the death of Krajl Dushan in 1355, Nikephoros II, the son of the last Despot of Epirus took power in Thessaly and Epirus, and fought against the Albanians (Arbers), trying to expel them from Epirus. But he was defeated and killed by them in 1359 in the battle of Akelous. Simeon, the heir of king Dushan, took back Thessaly and Epirus. But governing Thessaly was quite a difficult task for him, and, as the Chronicle of Ioannina says, he left Epirus to the Albanians. In the early 1360s, Epirus was actually divided among the Albanian tribes, the tribe of Pjetër Losha held Arta, and the tribe of Muriki Bua Shpatë, held Etolo-Akarnia, with Angelokastro as the capital and their leaders held the Byzantine titles of Despots from Simeon. Only the city of Ioannina was still governed by the Greeks. To the north and west of this city, the tribes of Malakasai and Mazarakai held a territory that cannot be precisely defined. Then, the Zenebish tribe held the north-west of Ioannina, including Dryinopoli, Belan and Vagenetia. Ioannina was the only city that did not fall under the rule of the Albanians.