Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the
Ioannina regional unit and of
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
, an
administrative region
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
in northwestern
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.
According to the 2021 census, the city population was 64,896 while the municipality had 113,978 inhabitants. It lies at an elevation of approximately
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
, on the western shore of
Lake Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. The regional capital Ioannina to the west ...
(). Ioannina is located northwest of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, southwest of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
and east of the port of
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...
on the
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...
.
The city's foundation has traditionally been ascribed to the
Byzantine Emperor
The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
Justinian
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
in the 6th century AD, but modern archaeological research has uncovered evidence of
Hellenistic
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
settlements. Ioannina flourished in the late Byzantine period (13th–15th centuries). It became part of the
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...
following the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
and many wealthy Byzantine families fled there following the 1204
sack of Constantinople
The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusaders sacked and destroyed most of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the city, the Latin Empire ( ...
, with the city experiencing great prosperity and considerable autonomy, despite the political turmoil. Ioannina surrendered to the
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
in 1430 and until 1868 it was the administrative center of the
Pashalik of Yanina
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 ...
. In the period between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the
modern Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment (also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment; , ''Diafotismós'' / , ''Neoellinikós Diafotismós'') was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment, characterized by an intellectual and philosophical movemen ...
.
[Fleming Katherine Elizabeth]
''The Muslim Bonaparte: diplomacy and orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece''
Princeton University Press, 1999. . p. 63-66 Ioannina was ceded to Greece in 1913 following the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
.
The city is also characterized by various green areas and parks, including Molos (Lake Front), Litharitsia Park, Pirsinella Park (Giannotiko Saloni), Suburban Forest. There are two hospitals, the General Hospital of Ioannina "G. Hatzikosta", and the University Hospital of Ioannina. It is also the seat of the
University of Ioannina
The University of Ioannina (UoI; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, ''Panepistimio Ioanninon'') is a public university located in Ioannina, Greece. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle University of ...
. The city's emblem consists of the portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian crowned by a stylized depiction of the nearby ancient theater of
Dodona
Dodona (; , Ionic Greek, Ionic and , ) in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Ancient Greece, Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the 2nd millennium BCE according to Herodotus. The earliest accounts in Homer describe Dodona as an oracle ...
.
Name
The city's formal name, ''Ioannina'', is probably a corruption of ''Agioannina'' or ''Agioanneia'', 'place of St. John', and is said to be linked to the establishment of a monastery dedicated to
Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, around which the later settlement (in the area of the current
Ioannina Castle
The Ioannina Castle () is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. The present fortification dates largely to the reconstruction under Ali Pasha in the late Ottoman period, but incorporates also pre-existing Byzanti ...
) grew.
According to another theory, the city was named after
Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
, the daughter of
Belisarius
BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...
, general of the emperor
Justinian
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
.
There are two forms of the name in Greek, ''Ioannina'' being the formal and historical name, while the colloquial and much more commonly used ''Υannena'' or ''Υannina'' () represents the vernacular tradition of
Demotic Greek
Demotic Greek (, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece. "Demotic Greek" (with a capital D) contrasts with the conservat ...
. The demotic form also corresponds to those in the neighboring languages (e.g., or , , , ).
History
Antiquity and early Middle Ages

The first indications of human presence in Ioannina basin are dated back to the
Paleolithic period (24,000 years ago) as testified by findings in the cavern of Kastritsa. During classical antiquity the basin was inhabited by the
Molossians
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...
and four of their settlements have been identified there. Despite the extensive destruction suffered in Molossia during the Roman conquest of 167 BC, settlement continued in the basin albeit no longer in an urban pattern.
The exact time of Ioannina's foundation is unknown, but it is commonly identified with an unnamed new, "well-fortified" city, recorded by the historian
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...
as having been built by the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
for the inhabitants of ancient
Euroia. This view is not supported, however, by any concrete archaeological evidence.
Early 21st-century excavations have brought to light fortifications dating to the
Hellenistic period
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
, the course of which was largely followed by later reconstruction of the fortress in the Byzantine and
Ottoman periods. The identification of the site with one of the ancient cities of
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
has not yet been possible.
It is not until 879 that the name Ioannina appears for the first time, in the acts of the
Fourth Council of Constantinople, which refer to one Zacharias, Bishop of Ioannine, a
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
of
Naupaktos. After the
Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria
From until 1018, a series of conflicts between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire led to the gradual reconquest of Bulgaria by the Byzantines, who thus re-established their control over the entire Balkan peninsula for the first time ...
, in 1020 Emperor
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...
subordinated the local bishopric to the
Archbishopric of Ohrid
The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid
*T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276
*Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...
. The Greek archaeologist K. Tsoures dated the Byzantine city walls and the northeastern citadel of the
Ioannina Castle
The Ioannina Castle () is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. The present fortification dates largely to the reconstruction under Ali Pasha in the late Ottoman period, but incorporates also pre-existing Byzanti ...
to the 10th century, with additions in the late 11th century, including the south-eastern citadel, traditionally ascribed to the short-lived occupation of the city by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
under the leadership of
Bohemond of Taranto in 1082.
In a
chrysobull
A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Description
A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...
to the
Venetians in 1198, the city is listed as part of its own province (''provincia Joanninorum'' or ''Joaninon''). In the
treaty of partition
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...
of the Byzantine lands after the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, Ioannina was promised to the Venetians, but in the event, it became part of the new
state of Epirus, founded by
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas (), and in modern sources often recorded as Michael I Angelos, a name he never used, was the founder and first ruler of the Despotate of Epirus from until his assassination in 1214/15.
Bor ...
.
Late Middle Ages (1204–1430)

Under Michael I, the city was enlarged and fortified anew. The
Metropolitan of Naupaktos,
John Apokaukos, reports how the city was but a "small town", until Michael gathered refugees who had fled
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and other parts of the Empire that fell to the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204), and settled them there, transforming the city into a fortress and "ark of salvation". Despite frictions with local inhabitants who tried in 1232 to expel the refugees, the latter were eventually successfully settled and Ioannina gained in both population and economic and political importance. In the aftermath of the
Battle of Pelagonia
The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoriae.g. ; . took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a ...
in 1259, much of Epirus was occupied by the
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...
, and Ioannina was placed under siege. Soon, however, the Epirote ruler
Michael II Komnenos Doukas
Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas (, ''Mikhaēl II Komnēnos Doukas''), often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was from 1230 until his death in 1266/68 the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, which included Epirus ...
, aided by his younger son
John I Doukas
John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...
, managed to recover their capital of
Arta and relieve Ioannina, evicting the Nicaeans from Epirus.
In or , John I Doukas, now ruler of
Thessaly
Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
, launched a raid against the city and its environs, and a few years later an army from the
restored Byzantine Empire unsuccessfully laid siege to the city. Following the assassination in 1318 of the last native ruler,
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas ( Latinized as Comnenus Ducas) () (c. 1285–1318) ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318.
Thomas was the son of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene, a niece of Emperor Mic ...
, by his nephew
Nicholas Orsini
Nicholas Orsini (; ) was a Greek–Italian nobleman who was count palatine of Cephalonia from 1317 to 1323 and ruler of southern Epirus around Arta from 1318 to 1323. The son of Count John I Orsini and Maria, an Epirote princess, he succeed ...
, the city refused to accept the latter and turned to the Byzantines for assistance. On this occasion, Emperor
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), Latinization of names, Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored em ...
elevated the city to a
metropolitan bishopric, and in 1319 issued a chrysobull conceding wide-ranging autonomy and various privileges and exemptions on its inhabitants. A Jewish community is also attested in the city in 1319. In the Epirote revolt of 1337–1338 against Byzantine rule, the city remained loyal to Emperor
Andronikos III Palaiologos
Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...
. Soon afterwards Ioannina fell to the
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
ruler
Stephen Dushan
Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...
and remained part of the
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...
until 1356, when Dushan's half-brother
Simeon Uroš
Simeon Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Симеон Урош, ; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III and Byzantine Princess Maria Palaiologina. ...
was evicted by
Nikephoros II Orsini
Nikephoros II Orsini Doukas (Greek: Νικηφόρος Β΄ Δούκας, ''Nikēphoros II Doukas''), was the ruler of Epirus from 1335 to 1338 and from 1356 until his death in 1359.
Life
Nikephoros was the son of John Orsini of Epirus and An ...
.
The attempt of Nikephoros to restore the Epirote state was short-lived as he was killed in the
Battle of Achelous against
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
tribes., but Ioannina was not captured. It thus served as a place of refuge for many Greeks of the region of
Vagenetia Vagenetia or Vagenitia () was a medieval region on the coast of Epirus, roughly corresponding to modern Thesprotia. The region likely derived its name from the Slavic tribe of the Baiounitai. It is first attested as a '' sclavinia'' under some sor ...
. In 1366–67 Simeon Uroš, having recovered Epirus and Thessaly, appointed his son-in-law
Thomas II Preljubović
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the ...
as the new overlord of Ioannina. Thomas proved a deeply unpopular ruler, but he nonetheless repelled successive attempts by Albanian chieftains including a surprise attack in 1379, whose failure the Ioannites attributed to intervention by their patron saint, Michael.
After Thomas' murder in 1384, the citizens of Ioannina offered their city to
Esau de' Buondelmonti
Esau de' Buondelmonti () was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of despot.
Life
Esau was the son of the Florentine nobleman Manente and Lapa Acciaiuoli, ...
, who married Thomas' widow,
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
. Esau recalled those exiled under Thomas and restored the properties confiscated by him. In 1389, Ioannina was besieged by
Gjin Bua Shpata
Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as ''John Spata'') ( 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Pjetër Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was ...
, and only with the aid of an Ottoman army was Esau able to repel the Albanians. Despite the ongoing Ottoman expansion and the conflicts between Turks and Albanians in the vicinity of Ioannina, Esau managed to secure a period of peace for the city, especially following his second marriage to Shpata's daughter Irene in . Following Esau's death in 1411, the Ioannites invited the
Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos
The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his ser ...
,
Carlo I Tocco
Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1376, and ruled as the Despot of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.
Life
Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by M ...
, who had already been expanding his domains into Epirus for the last decade, as their new ruler. By 1416 Carlo I Tocco had managed to capture Arta as well, thereby reuniting the core of the old Epirote realm, and received recognition from both the Ottomans and the Byzantine emperor. Ioannina became the summer capital of the Tocco domains, and Carlo I died there in July 1429. Carlo I's army, as well as the army of the city of Ioannina itself both before and during Carlo I's rule, was composed primarily of
Albanians
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
.
His oldest bastard son, Ercole, called on the Ottomans for aid against the legitimate heir,
Carlo II Tocco
Carlo II Tocco (died 1448) was the ruler of Epirus from 1429 until his death.
Life
Carlo II was the son of Leonardo II Tocco, the younger brother and co-ruler of Carlo I Tocco, count of Cephalonia and Zante, duke of Leukas, and ruler of Epirus. ...
. In 1430 an Ottoman army, fresh from the
capture
Capture may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend
* Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown
* ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes
* "Chapter ...
of Thessalonica, appeared before Ioannina. The city surrendered after the Ottoman commander, Sinan Pasha, promised to spare the city and respect its autonomy.
Ottoman period (1430–1913)

Under Ottoman rule, Ioannina remained an administrative centre, as the seat of the
Sanjak of Ioannina, and experienced a period of relative stability and prosperity. The first Ottoman tax registers for the city dates to 1564, and records 50 Muslim households and 1,250 Christian ones; another register from 15 years later mentions Jews as well.
In 1611 the city suffered a serious setback as a result of a peasant revolt led by
Dionysius the Philosopher
Dionysios Philosophos (Διονύσιος ο Φιλόσοφος, Dionysios the Philosopher) or Skylosophos (; c. 1541–1611), "the Dog-Philosopher" or "Dogwise" ("skylosophist"), as called by his rivals, was a Greek bishop, who led two farmer rev ...
, the
Metropolitan of Larissa. The Greek inhabitants of the city were unaware of the intent of the fighting as previous successes of Dionysius had depended on the element of surprise. Much confusion ensued as Turks and Christians ended up indiscriminately fighting friend and foe alike. The revolt ended in the abolition of all privileges granted to the Christian inhabitants, who were driven away from the castle area and had to settle around it. From then onwards, Turks and
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were to be established in the castle area. The ''School of the Despots'' at the Church of the Taxiarchs, that had been operating since 1204, was closed.
Aslan Pasha also destroyed the monastery of St John the Baptist within the city walls in 1618 erected in its place the
Aslan Pasha Mosque, today housing the
Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina
The Municipal Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina is a museum in Ioannina, Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Alban ...
.
[Γεώργιος Ι. Σουλιώτης ''Γιάννινα (Οδηγός Δημοτικού Μουσείου και Πόλεως'' 1975] The Ottoman reprisals in the wake of the revolt included the confiscation of many ''
timar
A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service. A ...
s'' previously granted to Christian ''
sipahi
The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...
s''; this began a wave of conversions to Islam by the local gentry, who became the so-called ''Tourkoyanniotes'' (Τoυρκογιαννιώτες). The Ottoman traveller
Evliya Çelebi
Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...
, who visited the city in , counted 37 quarters, of which 18 Muslim, 14 Christian, four Jewish and one Gypsy. He estimated the population at 4,000 hearths.
Center of Greek Enlightenment (17th–18th centuries)
Despite the repression and conversions in the 17th century, and the prominence of the Muslim population in the city's affairs, Ioannina retained its Christian majority throughout Ottoman rule, and the
Greek language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...
retained a dominant position;
Turkish was spoken by the Ottoman officials and the garrison, and the Albanian inhabitants used Albanian, but the ''
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
'' and native language of most inhabitants was Greek, including among the ''Tourkoyanniotes'', and was sometimes used by the Ottoman authorities themselves.
The city also soon recovered from the financial effects of the revolt. In the late 17th century Ioannina was a thriving city with respect to population and commercial activity. Evliya Çelebi mentions the presence of 1,900 shops and workshops. The great economic prosperity of the city was followed by remarkable cultural activity. During the 17th and 18th centuries, many important schools were established.
[Π. Αραβαντινού, ''Βιογραφική Συλλογή Λογίων της Τουρκοκρατίας'', Εκδόσεις Ε.Η.Μ., 1960.] Its inhabitants continued their commercial and handicraft activities which allowed them to trade with important European commercial centers, such as
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...
, where merchants from Ioannina established commercial and banking houses. The Ioannite diaspora was also culturally active: Nikolaos Glykys (in 1670), Nikolaos Sarros (in 1687) and Dimitrios Theodosiou (in 1755) established private printing presses in Venice, responsible for over 1,600 editions of books for circulation in the Ottoman-ruled Greek lands, and Ioannina was the centre through which these books were channeled into Greece. These were significant historical, theological as well as scientific works, including an algebra book funded by the
Zosimades
The Zosimades () or Zosimas brothers were 18th-19th century Greek benefactors and merchants.
The Zosimades were six brothers:
*Ioannis Zosimas (1752–1771)
* Anastasios Zosimas (1754–1828)
* Nikolaos Zosimas (1758–1842)
*Theodosios Zosimas ( ...
brothers, books for use in the schools of Ioannina such as the ''Arithmetica'' of
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos (; 1694–1760) was a Greeks, Greek Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox cleric, author, mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He is known for attempting to solve doubling the cube. He was one of the most influential Greek mathe ...
, as well as medical books. At the same time these merchants and entrepreneurs maintained close economic and intellectual relations with their birthplace and founded charity and education establishments. These merchants were to be major national benefactors.

Thus the ''Epiphaniou'' School was founded in 1647 by a Greek merchant of Ioannite origin resident in Venice, Epiphaneios Igoumenos. The ''Gioumeios'' School was founded in 1676 by a benefaction from another wealthy Ioannite Greek from Venice, Emmanuel Goumas. It was renamed ''Balaneios'' by its rector,
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos (; 1694–1760) was a Greeks, Greek Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox cleric, author, mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He is known for attempting to solve doubling the cube. He was one of the most influential Greek mathe ...
, in 1725. Here worked several notable personalities of the
Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment (also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment; , ''Diafotismós'' / , ''Neoellinikós Diafotismós'') was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment, characterized by an intellectual and philosophical movemen ...
, such as
Bessarion Makris, the priests
Georgios Sougdouris (1685/7–1725) and Anastasios Papavasileiou (1715–?), the monk
Methodios Anthrakites
Methodios Anthrakites (; 1660–1736) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher.
He directed the Gioumeios and Epiphaneios Schools in Ioannina. He also supported the use of the people's ...
, his student
Ioannis Vilaras
Ioannis "Yianis" Vilaras (; 1771–1823) was a Greek doctor, lyricist and writer who often discussed linguistic matters (see Greek language question) and maintained ties with many figures of the Modern Greek Enlightenment movement.
His name is ...
and
Kosmas Balanos. The ''Balaneios'' taught philosophy, theology and mathematics. It suffered financially from the
dissolution of the Republic of Venice by the French and finally stopped operation in 1820. The school's library, which hosted several manuscripts and epigrams, was also burned the same year following the capture of Ioannina by the troops the Sultan had sent against
Ali Pasha.
The Maroutses family, also active in Venice, founded the
Maroutsaia School
The Maroutsaia School () or Maroutsios was a Greek educational institution that operated in Ioannina from 1742 to 1797. The school reached its peak under Eugenios Voulgaris, one of the main representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment. This p ...
, which opened in 1742 and its first director
Eugenios Voulgaris
Eugenios Voulgaris or Boulgaris (; ; 1716–1806) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher. He wrote about every discipline: legal, historical, theological, grammatical, linguistic, ...
championed the study of the
physical sciences
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences".
Definition
...
(physics and chemistry) as well as philosophy and Greek. The ''Maroutsaia'' also suffered after the fall of Venice and closed in 1797 to be reopened as the
Kaplaneios School thanks to a benefaction from an Ioannite living in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, Zoes Kaplanes. Its schoolmaster,
Athanasios Psalidas
Athanasios Psalidas (; 1767–1829), was a Greek author, scholar and one of the most renowned figures of the modern Greek Enlightenment.
Life Early years and diaspora
Psalidas was born at 1767 in Ioannina, where he completed ground level education ...
had been a student of
Methodios Anthrakites
Methodios Anthrakites (; 1660–1736) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher.
He directed the Gioumeios and Epiphaneios Schools in Ioannina. He also supported the use of the people's ...
and had also studied in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Psalidas established an important library of thousands of volumes in several languages and laboratories for the study of
experimental physics
Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and o ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
that aroused the interest and suspicion of Ali Pasha. The ''Kaplaneios'' was burned down along with most of the rest of the city after the entry of the
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
's armies in 1820. These schools took over the long tradition of the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
era, giving a significant boost to the
Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment (also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment; , ''Diafotismós'' / , ''Neoellinikós Diafotismós'') was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment, characterized by an intellectual and philosophical movemen ...
. "During the 18th century",
Neophytos Doukas
Neophytos Doukas or Dukas (; 1760 – 1 January 1845) was a Greek priest and scholar, author of many books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of the modern Greek Enlightenment (''Diafotismos'') ...
wrote with some exaggeration, "every author of the Greek world, was either from Ioannina or was a graduate of one of the city's schools."
Ali Pasha's rule (1788–1822)

In 1788 the city became the center of the
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
ruled by
Ali Pasha, an area that included the entire northwestern part of Greece, southern parts of
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
,
Thessaly
Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
as well as parts of
Euboea
Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...
and the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
. The Ottoman-Albanian lord Ali Pasha was one of the most influential personalities of the region in the 18th and 19th centuries. Born in
Tepelenë
Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino.
Until the abolition ...
, he maintained diplomatic relations with the most important European leaders of the time and his court became a point of attraction for many of those restless minds who would become major figures of the
Greek Revolution
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
(
Georgios Karaiskakis
Georgios Karaiskakis (), born Georgios Karaiskos (; 1782–1827), was a Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence.
Early life
Karaiskakis was a Sarakatsani. His father was the armatolos of the Valtos district, D ...
,
Odysseas Androutsos
Odysseas Androutsos (; 1788–1790 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis ) was a Greek armatolos in eastern continental Greece and a prominent figure of the Greek War of Independence.
Born in Ithaca (island), Ithaca, the son of an Arvanites, Arva ...
,
Markos Botsaris
Markos Botsaris (; 1790 – 21 August 1823) was a Souliot chieftain, general of the Greek revolutionary army and hero of the Greek War of Independence.Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912, by John ...
and others). During this time, however, Ali Pasha committed a number of atrocities against the Greek population of Ioannina, culminating in the sewing up of local women in sacks and drowning them in the nearby lake, this period of his rule coincides with the greatest economic and intellectual prosperity of the city. As a couplet has it "''The city was first in arms, money and letters''".
When the French scholar
François Pouqueville
François Charles Hugues Laurent Pouqueville (; 4 November 1770 – 20 December 1838) was a French diplomat, writer, explorer, physician and historian, and member of the Institut de France.
He traveled extensively throughout Ottoman-occupied G ...
visited the city during the early years of the 19th century, he counted 3,200 homes (2,000 Christian, 1,000 Muslim, 200 Jewish). The efforts of Ali Pasha to break away from the
Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...
alarmed the Ottoman government, and in 1820 (the year before the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
began) he was declared guilty of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
and Ioannina was besieged by Turkish troops. Ali Pasha was assassinated in 1822 in the monastery of St Panteleimon on the island of the lake, where he took refuge while waiting to be pardoned by Sultan
Mahmud II
Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...
.
Last Ottoman century (1822–1913)
The ''
Zosimaia'' was the first significant educational foundation established after the outbreak of the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
(1828). It was financed by a benefaction from the
Zosimas brothers and began operating in 1828 and fully probably from 1833. It was a School of Liberal Arts (Greek, Philosophy and Foreign Languages). The mansion of Angeliki Papazoglou became the ''Papazogleios'' school for girls as an endowment following her death; it operated until 1905.

In 1869, a great part of Ioannina was destroyed by fire. The marketplace was soon reconstructed according to the plans of the German architect Holz, thanks to the personal interest of Ahmet Rashim Pasha, the local governor. Communities of people from Ioannina living abroad were active in financing the construction of most of the city's churches, schools and other elegant buildings of charitable establishments. The first bank of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, the
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank (), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (, ) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank that played a major role in the financial history of the Ottoman Empire. By the early 20th cent ...
, opened its first branch in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
in Ioannina, which shows the power of the city in world trade in the 19th century. As the 19th century came to a close, signs of national agitation emerged among some parts of the city' s population. In 1877 for example, Albanian leaders sent a memorandum to the Ottoman government demanding, among other things, the establishment of Albanian language schools and various Muslim Albanians of the Vilayet formed in Ioannina a
committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
which aimed at defending Albanian rights, but it was inactive in general.
The Greek population of the region authorized a committee to present to European governments their wish for union with Greece; as a result
Dimitrios Chasiotis published a memorandum in Paris in 1879.
According to the Ottoman censuses of 1881–1893, the city and its environs (the central ''
kaza
A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...
'' of the Sanjak of Ioannina), had a population comprising 4,759 Muslims, 77,258 Greek Orthodox (including both Greek and Albanian speakers), 3,334 Jews and 207 of foreign nationality. While a number of Turkish-language schools were established at the time, Greek-language education retained its prominent position. Even the city's prominent Muslim families preferred to send their children to well-established Greek institutions, notably the ''Zosimaia''. As a result, the dominance of the Greek language in the city continued: the minutes of the city council were kept in Greek, and the official newspaper, ''Vilayet'', established in 1868, was bilingual in Turkish and Greek.
By 1908 an Albanian association was already active in Ioannina with the goal of removing the Albanian schools and churches of Ioaninna from the Greek's Patriarchate sphere of influence.
During the Ottoman period (''turcokracy'') the religious-linguistic minority of "Turco-yanniotes" (
Τουρκογιαννιώτες) existed in Ioannina and neighbouring areas. These were islamized "Yaniotes" (= people from Ioannina), who spoke Greek. There is a limited number of texts written with Greek alphabet in their idiom.
Modern period (since 1913)
Ioannina was incorporated into the Greek state on 21 February 1913 after the
Battle of Bizani
The Battle of Bizani (, ''Máchi tou Bizaníou''; ) took place in Epirus on . The battle was fought between Greek and Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the app ...
in the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
. The day the city came under the control of the Greek forces, aviator
Christos Adamidis, a native of the city, landed his
Maurice Farman MF.7 biplane in the Town Hall square, to the adulation of an enthusiastic crowd.
Following the
Asia Minor Catastrophe
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
(1922) and the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...
, the Muslim population was
exchanged with Greek refugees from
Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
. A small Muslim community of Albanian origin continued to live in Ioannina after the exchange, which in 1940 counted 20 families and had decreased to 8 individuals in 1973.
[ p. 56. "The population exchange between Greece and Turkey which followed removed all those of Turkish origin so that, by 1940, only some twenty Muslim families of Albanian origin were left. In 1973, only eight Muslim remained, living together in an ancient house in the centre of Ioannina. The local authorities, we are told, had refused to allow them to use one of the remaining mosques for worship, their estates remain sequestered and a long battle for what they regard as their rights has so far come to nothing. Although Albanian, they could hope for no sympathy from the present regime in Albania and there was nowhere else for them to go."]
In 1940 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the capture of the city became one of the major objectives of the Italian Army. Nevertheless, the Greek defense in
Kalpaki
Kalpaki () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Pogoni, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated about northwest of Ioannina, a ...
pushed back the invading Italians. In April 1941 Ioannina was intensively bombed by the German forces even during the negotiations that led to the capitulation of the Greek army. During the subsequent
Axis occupation of Greece
The occupation of Greece by the Axis Powers () began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany Battle of Greece, invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy, in their Greco-Italian War, ongoing war that w ...
, the city's Jewish community was rounded up by the Germans in 1944 and mostly perished in the concentration camps. On 3 October 1943, the German army murdered in reprisal nearly 100 people in the village of Lingiades, 13 kilometres distant from Ioaninna, in what is known as the
Lingiades massacre.
The
University of Ioannina
The University of Ioannina (UoI; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, ''Panepistimio Ioanninon'') is a public university located in Ioannina, Greece. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle University of ...
was founded in 1970; until then, higher education faculties in the city had been part of the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...
.
Jewish community
According to the local Greek scholar
Panayiotis Aravantinos, a synagogue destroyed in the 18th century bore an inscription which dated its foundation in the late 9th century AD.
The existing
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
was built in 1829 and is known as the Old Synagogue. It is located in the old fortified part of the city known as ''"Kastro"'', at 16 Ioustinianou street. Its architecture is typical of the
Ottoman era, a large building made of stone. The interior of the synagogue is laid out in the Romaniote way: the
bimah (where the
Torah scrolls
A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema
An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue
file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Interior, Tora Cases.jpg">Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India ...
are read out during service) is on a raised
dais
A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)[dais]
in the Random House Dictionary< ...
on the western wall, the
Aron haKodesh (where the
Torah scrolls
A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema
An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue
file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Interior, Tora Cases.jpg">Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India ...
are kept) is on the eastern wall and at the middle there is a wide interior
aisle
An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...
. The names of the Ioanniote Jews who were killed in the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
are engraved in stone on the walls of the synagogue.

There was a
Romaniote Jewish community living in Ioannina before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, in addition to a very small number of
Sephardi
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
. Many emigrated to New York, founding a congregation in 1906 and the
Kehila Kedosha Janina
Kehila Kedosha Janina (Holy Community of Janina) is a synagogue located at 280 Broome Street between Allen and Eldridge Streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.
The synagogue is the only Romaniote ...
synagogue in 1927.
According to
Rae Dalven
Rachel Dalven (25 April 1904, Preveza, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – 27 July 1992, New York City), also known as Rae Dalven, was a Romaniotes, Romaniote writer who came to the United States as a child. She is best known for her translations of ...
, 1,950 Jews were living in Ioannina in April 1941. Of these, 1,870 were deported by the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
to
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
s on 25 March 1944, during the final months of German occupation. Almost all of the people deported were murdered on or shortly after 11 April 1944, when the train carrying them reached
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
. Only 181 Ioannina Jews are known to have survived the war, including 112 who survived Auschwitz and 69 who fled to join the resistance leader
Napoleon Zervas
Napoleon Zervas (; May 17, 1891 – December 10, 1957) was a Hellenic Army officer and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League (EDES), the second most significant (after National Liberation ...
and the
National Republican Greek League
The National Republican Greek League (, ''Ethnikós Dimokratikós Ellinikós Sýndesmos'' (EDES)) was a major anti-Nazi resistance group formed during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II.
The largest of the non-communist resistanc ...
(EDES). Approximately 164 of these survivors eventually returned to Ioannina.
As of 2008, the remaining community has shrunk to about 50 mostly elderly people.
["The Holocaust in Ioannina"](_blank)
Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum retrieved 5 January 2009[Raptis, Alekos and Tzallas, Thumios, ''Deportation of Jews of Ioannina'', Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum, 28 July 2005](_blank)
URL accessed 5 January 2009 The Kehila Kedosha Yashan Synagogue remains locked, only opened for visitors on request. Emigrant Romaniotes return every summer and open the old synagogue. The last time a
Bar Mitzvah
A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...
(the Jewish ritual for celebrating the
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
of a child) was held in the synagogue was in 2000, and was an exceptional event for the community. A monument dedicated to the thousands of Greek Jews who perished during the Holocaust was constructed in the city in a 13th-century Jewish cemetery. In 2003 the memorial was vandalized by unknown anti-Semites. The Jewish cemetery too was repeatedly vandalized in 2009. As a response to the vandalisms, citizens of the city formed an initiative for the protection of the cemetery and organized rallies.
In the municipal election of 2019, independent candidate
Moses Elisaf, a 65-year-old doctor, was elected mayor of the city, the first
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
elected mayor in Greece. Elisaf won 50.3 percent of the vote. Elisaf received 17,789 votes, 235 more than his runoff opponent.
Geography
Ioannina lies at an elevation of approximately
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
, on the western shore of
Lake Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. The regional capital Ioannina to the west ...
(). It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the capital of
Ioannina regional unit and the region of
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
. Ioannina is located northwest of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, southwest of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
and east of the port of
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...
in the
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...
.
The municipality Ioannina has an area of 403.322 km
2, the municipal unit Ioannina has an area of 47.440 km
2, and the community Ioannina (the city proper) has an area of 17.335 km
2.
Districts
The present municipality Ioannina was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units (constituent communities in brackets):
* Ioannina (Ioannina, Exochi, Marmara, Neochoropoulo, Stavraki)
*
Anatoli
Anatoli () is a town and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land b ...
(Anatoli, Bafra, Neokaisareia)
*
Bizani
Bizani () is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 91.3 ...
(Ampeleia, Bizani, Asvestochori, Kontsika, Kosmira, Manoliasa, Pedini)
*
Ioannina Island
Ioannina Island () is an island in the Lake of Ioannina, Epirus, Greece, a municipal unit of the municipality of Ioannina. Its land area is 0.675 km2, with biggest length 800 meters and biggest width 500 meters. Until the 2011 reform of local ...
(Greek: ''Nisos Ioanninon'')
*
Pamvotida
Pamvotida () is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and ...
(
Katsikas
Katsikas () is the largest village of the municipal unit Pamvotida, in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, northern Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ...
, Anatoliki, Vasiliki, Dafnoula, Drosochori,
Iliokali,
Kastritsa, Koutselio, Krapsi, Longades, Mouzakaioi, Platania, Platanas, Charokopi)
*
Perama
Perama () is a coastal town and a suburb of Piraeus and belongs to the Piraeus regional unit and is the southwestern limit of Athens urban area. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km ...
(Perama, Amfithea, Kranoula, Krya,
Kryovrysi, Ligkiades, Mazia, Perivleptos, Spothoi)
Climate
Ioannina has a hot-summer
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(''Csa'') or a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(''Cfa'') in the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
, with somewhat wetter summers than nearby coastal areas, tempered by its inland location and elevation. Summers are typically hot and moderately dry, while winters are wet and colder than on the coast with frequent frosts and occasional snowfall. Ioannina is the wettest city in mainland Greece with over 50,000 inhabitants. The absolute maximum temperature ever recorded was , while the absolute minimum ever recorded was .
Demography
According to the 2021 census the resident population fell by 4.2%. Men constitute 48.9% and women 51.1% of the total population.
Landmarks and sights
Isle of Lake Pamvotis

One of the most notable attractions of Ioannina is the inhabited island of
Lake Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. The regional capital Ioannina to the west ...
which is simply referred to as
Island of Ioannina. The island is a short ferry trip from the mainland and can be reached on small motorboats running on varying frequencies depending on the season. The monastery of St Panteleimon, where
Ali Pasha spent his last days waiting for a pardon from the
Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
, is now a museum housing everyday artefacts and relics of his period. There are six monasteries on the island: the monastery of St Nicholas (Ntiliou) or Strategopoulou (11th century), the Monastery of St Nicholas (Spanou) or Philanthropinon (1292), St John the Baptist (1506), Eleousis (1570), St Panteleimon (17th century), and of the Transfiguration of Christ (1851). The monasteries of Strategopoulou and Philanthropinon also functioned as colleges. Alexios Spanos, the monks Proklos and Comnenos, and the Apsarades brothers Theophanis and Nektarios are among those that taught there.
The school continued its activities until 1758, when it was superseded by the newer collegial institutions within the city. The island's winding streets are also home to many gift-shops, tavernas, churches and bakeries.
Ioannina Castle

At the south-eastern edge of the town on a rocky peninsula of
Lake Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. The regional capital Ioannina to the west ...
, the castle was the administrative heart of the
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...
, and the Ottoman
vilayet
A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...
. The castle was in constant use until the late Ottoman period and the fortifications underwent several modifications throughout the centuries. The most extensive alterations where conducted during the rule of
Ali Pasha and were completed in 1815. Several monuments such as the Byzantine baths, the Ottoman baths, the Ottoman library, and the
Soufari Sarai
Soufari Sarai () is a large historical building in the castle of Ioannina, Greece. It was used by the Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically ...
are found within the castle's walls. There are two citadels in the castle. The south-eastern citadel, which bears the name ''Its Kale'' (Ιτς Καλέ, from Turkish ''
Iç Kale'', 'inner fortress') is where the
Fethiye Mosque, the tomb of
Ali Pasha, and the
Byzantine Museum are located.
The north-eastern citadel is dominated by the
Aslan Pasha Mosque and also contains a few other monuments dating from the Ottoman period.
The old
Jewish Synagogue of Ioannina is within the walls of the castle and is one of the oldest and largest buildings of its type surviving in Greece.
The city
Several religious and secular monuments survive from the Ottoman period. In addition to the two mosques surviving within the walls of the castle, two further mosques are preserved outside the walls. The
Mosque and Madrassa of Veli Pasha are in the centre of the city, and
Kaloutsiani Mosque can be found in the area of the city with the same name. The now derelict "House of the Archbishop", near the football stadium, is the only old mansion that survived the fire of 1820. Some of the notable landmarks in the city centre also date from the late Ottoman period. The municipal clock tower of Ioannina, designed by local architect Periklis Meliritos, was erected in 1905 to celebrate the Jubilee of sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
. The adjacent building houses the
VIII Division headquarters. It dates from the late 19th century. Some
neoclassical buildings such the post office, the old
Zosimaia School
The Zosimaia School () is a Greek middle-level educational institution of Ioannina (in Epirus). It was significant during the last period of Ottoman rule in the region (1828–1913). The ''Zosimaia'' was founded at 1828 through the personal expen ...
, the Papazogleios Weaving School, and the former Commercial School date from the late Ottoman period as do a few
arcades in the old commercial centre of the city like Stoa Louli and Stoa Liampei. The churches of the
Assumption of the Virgin
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
at Perivleptos,
Saint Nicholas of Kopanon
In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...
and
Saint Marina were rebuilt in the 1850s by funds from Nikolaos Zosimas and his brothers on the foundations of previous churches that perished in the great fire of 1820. The
Cathedral of St Athanasius was completed in 1933. It was built on the foundations of the previous Orthodox cathedral which was destroyed in the fires of 1820. It is a three-aisled
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
.
Culture
Museums and galleries

Some of the most important museums of the city are within the walls of the castle. The
Municipal Ethnographic Museum is hosted in
Aslan Pasha Mosque in the north-east citadel. It is divided into three departments, each one representing one of the main communities that inhabited the city: Greek, Muslim, and Jewish. The
Byzantine Museum is in the south-eastern citadel of the castle. The museum opened in 1995 in order to preserve and present artefacts of the wider region of Epirus covering the period from the 4th to the 19th century. The newest addition to the city's museum, the silversmithing museum, is also in the south-eastern citadel. It is housed in the western bastion of the citadel and outlines the history of the art of silversmithing in Epirus.
Outside the walls of the castle, close to the town centre, one will find the
Archaeological Museum of Ioannina
The Archaeological Museum of Ioannina is a museum located in Litharitsa Park in the centre of Ioannina, Greece.
The museum contains many artifacts unearthed in the surrounding area such as Palaeolithic tools, from Kokkinopilos, Asprochaliko and ...
. It is in the Litharitsia fortress area. It includes archaeological exhibits documenting the human habitation of Epirus from prehistoric times through the late Roman Period, with special emphasis placed on finds from the
Dodona
Dodona (; , Ionic Greek, Ionic and , ) in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Ancient Greece, Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the 2nd millennium BCE according to Herodotus. The earliest accounts in Homer describe Dodona as an oracle ...
sanctuary. The
Municipal Art Gallery of Ioannina
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
(Dimotiki Pinakothiki) is housed in the Pyrsinella neoclassical building dating from around 1890. The gallery's collection displays major modern works of painters and sculptors, collected through purchases and donations from various collectors and artists. This includes about 500 works, paintings, drawings, prints, pictures and sculptures. The
Pavlos Vrellis Greek History Museum is south of the city. It is a
wax museum
A wax museum or waxworks usually consists of a collection of wax sculptures representing famous people from history and contemporary personalities exhibited in lifelike poses, wearing real clothes.
Some wax museums have a special section dubbe ...
which covers events and personalities from Greek history as well as the history of the region and is the result of the personal work of Pavlos Vrellis.
Exhibitions
A digital art exhibition, Plásmata II, was organised by the Onassis Cultural Center in the lakeside of
Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus (region), Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. ...
, in the summer of 2023. More than 100,000 people visited the exhibition. It is a new entry for the city and future actions in every area with the help of Onassis Cultural Center.
Education

The
University of Ioannina
The University of Ioannina (UoI; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, ''Panepistimio Ioanninon'') is a public university located in Ioannina, Greece. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle University of ...
(
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, ''Panepistimio Ioanninon'') is a university five kilometres southwest of Ioannina. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...
and became an independent university in 1970. Today, the university is one of the leading academic institutions in Greece.
[Top 500 (401 to 500) – The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011–201]
[UniversityRankings.ch (SERI) 2015 – University of Ioannin]
Retrieved on 3 February 2016.
As of 2017, there was a student population of 25,000 enrolled at the university (21,900 at the
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...
level and 3,200 at the
postgraduate
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
level) and 580 faculty members, while teaching is further supplemented by 171 teaching fellows and 132 laboratory staff. The university administrative services are staffed with 420 employees.
Local products
* Ioannina is known throughout Greece for its silverwork, with a number of shops selling silver jewelry, bronzeware, and decorative items (serving trays, recreations of shields and swords.)
*
Hookah
A hookah (also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often ''muʽassel''), or sometimes Cannabis (drug ...
s (''nargiles'', ναργιλές) are sold to tourists as novelty items and vary in size from small (three inches in height) to quite large ( tall).
Cuisine
* The area is famous for its spring water from
Zagori
Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 v ...
, sold throughout
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.
* The region of Ioannina is well known for the production of
feta
Feta ( ; ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brin ...
cheese.
* Ioannina is also famous for its
baklava
Baklava (, or ; ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
There are several theories for the origin of th ...
.
*
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
and
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
, especially famous on Ioannina Island.
Media
*
Epirus TV1
* ''
Ipirotikos Agon'', a locally published newspaper
* ''
Proinos Logos'', a locally published newspaper
Technology hub development
Beginning in the early 2020s, Ioannina has started to evolve into a significant technology hub. The city has attracted technology companies, which have helped to bolster Ioannina's technological capacity and contributed to a new economic trajectory for the city, driving development in this sector.
Additionally, the prefecture has been actively fostering partnerships between Greek and German companies in a bid to further strengthen the local economy and tech ecosystem. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Greek-German Chamber, outlining the recovery plan for the region, a move that has been seen as a significant step in boosting technological development in Ioannina.
Consulates
The city hosts
consulates
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a h ...
from the following countries:
*
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
*
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
*
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
Ioannina compromise
An informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the states of the European Union took place in Ioannina on 27 March 1994, resulting in the Ioannina compromise.
Notable people from Ioannina

*
Michael Apsaras Michael Apsaras () was a 14th-century Greek noble from Ioannina.
Apsaras came from a noble Byzantine family and one of the most influential families in the city of Ioannina. Apsaras received the title of '' protovestiarios'' and became chief minis ...
, 14th century, Greek noble.
*
Simon Strategopoulos
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
15th-century, noble and governor of Ioannina.
*
Epifanios Igoumenos (1568–1648), scholar.
*
Nikolaos Glykys (1619–1693), merchant and book publisher.
*
Nikolaos Sarros (1617–1697), book publisher, owner of one of the first Greek printing-houses in Venice
*
Bessarion Makris (1635–1699), scholar.
*
Georgios Sougdouris (1645/7–1725), scholar.
*
Methodios Anthrakites
Methodios Anthrakites (; 1660–1736) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher.
He directed the Gioumeios and Epiphaneios Schools in Ioannina. He also supported the use of the people's ...
(1660–1736), scholar.
*
Balanos Vasilopoulos
Balanos Vasilopoulos (; 1694–1760) was a Greeks, Greek Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox cleric, author, mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He is known for attempting to solve doubling the cube. He was one of the most influential Greek mathe ...
(1694–1760), scholar.
*
Dimitrios Theodosiou (-1782), book publisher.
*
Zosimades
The Zosimades () or Zosimas brothers were 18th-19th century Greek benefactors and merchants.
The Zosimades were six brothers:
*Ioannis Zosimas (1752–1771)
* Anastasios Zosimas (1754–1828)
* Nikolaos Zosimas (1758–1842)
*Theodosios Zosimas ( ...
brothers, benefactors, founders of the Zosimaia School.
*
Maroutsis family, traders and benefactors.
*
Kyra Frosini (1772–1800), socialite and heroine.
*
Lambros Photiadis
Lambros Photiadis (, 1752-1805) was a Greek scholar, director of the Princely Academy of Bucharest and representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment.
Life
Photiadis was born in Ioannina (Epirus), northwestern Greece, when the region was under ...
(1752–1805), scholar.
*
Zois Kaplanis (1736-1806), merchant, founder of the
Kaplaneios School
*
Kosmas Balanos (1731–1808), scholar.
*
Grigorios Paliouritis (1778–1816), scholar.
*
Ioannis Vilaras
Ioannis "Yianis" Vilaras (; 1771–1823) was a Greek doctor, lyricist and writer who often discussed linguistic matters (see Greek language question) and maintained ties with many figures of the Modern Greek Enlightenment movement.
His name is ...
(1771–1823), poet and scholar.
*
Athanasios Psalidas
Athanasios Psalidas (; 1767–1829), was a Greek author, scholar and one of the most renowned figures of the modern Greek Enlightenment.
Life Early years and diaspora
Psalidas was born at 1767 in Ioannina, where he completed ground level education ...
(1767–1829), scholar, of the main contributors of the
Modern Greek Enlightenment
The Modern Greek Enlightenment (also known as the Neo-Hellenic Enlightenment; , ''Diafotismós'' / , ''Neoellinikós Diafotismós'') was the Greek expression of the Age of Enlightenment, characterized by an intellectual and philosophical movemen ...
.
*
Georgios Hadjikonstas (1753–1845), benefactor.
*
Vasileios Goudas (1779–1845), fighter of the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
.
*
Athanasios Tsakalov
Athanasios Tsakalov () was a member of the Filiki Eteria ("Friendly Company"), or (" Society of Friends") a Greek patriotic organization against Ottoman rule. (''retrieved from University of California Library'')
Biography
Tsakalov was born in 17 ...
(1790–1851), one of the three founders of
Filiki Eteria
Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...
.
*
Michael Christaris (1773–1851), scholar.
*
Elisabeth Kastrisogia
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth''
* Princess Elizabeth ( ...
(1800–1863), benefactor.
*
Georgios Stavros (1787–1869), benefactor, founder of the
National Bank of Greece
The National Bank of Greece (NBG; ) is a banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1841 as the newly independent country's first financial institution, it has long been the largest Greek bank, a ...
.
*
Leonidas Palaskas (1819–1880), Hellenic navy officer.
*
Reshid Akif Pasha
Reshid Akif Pasha (, ; 1863 – 15 April 1920), was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian descent during the last decades of the Ottoman Empire. Throughout his career as a politician, Reshid Akif Paşa served as governor, minister of the interior, an ...
(1863-1920), Ottoman statesman.
*
Georgios Hatzis (Pelleren) (1881–1930), author and journalist.
*
Josef Elijia (1901–1931), Jewish Greek poet.
*
Patriarch Nicholas V of Alexandria
Nicholas V (1876– 3 March 1939) served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria
The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria has the title Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. The term "Greek" is a religious identifier and not an ethnic on ...
(1876–1939)
*
Wehib Pasha (1877–1940), Ottoman general.
*
Christos Adamidis (1885–1949), pioneer aviator and
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army (, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the army, land force of Greece. The term Names of the Greeks, '' Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches ...
General.
*
Mid'hat Frashëri
Mid'hat Bey Frashëri (also known by his pen name as Lumo Skëndo; ; 25 March 1880 – 3 October 1949) was an Albanian diplomat, writer and politician. The son of Abdyl Frashëri, one of the most important activists of the Albanian National A ...
(1880–1949), politician and writer.
*
Mehmet Esat Bülkat (1862–1952), Ottoman general.
*
İzzettin Çalışlar
İzzettin Çalışlar (1882 – 20 August 1951) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. He is known for his achievements in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. He later joined the forces of Mustafa Kemal and foug ...
(1882–1951), officer of the Ottoman Army.
*
Abdülhalik Renda
Mustafa Abdülhalik Renda (29 November 1881 – 1 October 1957) was a Turkish people, Turkish civil servant and politician of Tosks, Tosk Albanian descent who was acting President of Turkey for one day after Atatürk's death in November 1938.
B ...
(1881-1957), Chairman of the Turkish National Assembly.
*
Markos Avgeris (1884–1973), poet.
*
Amalia Bakas
Amalia Bakas (born Mazaltov ally
An ally is a member of an alliance.
Ally may also refer to:
Places
* Ally, Cantal, France, a commune
* Ally, Haute-Loire, France, a commune
* Ally, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, a townland
Arts and entertainment
* Ally (novel), ''Ally'' (nove ...
Matsa 1897–1979) was a Greek people, Greek singer and performer in the United States during the 20th century. She was heavily involved in the "Eighth Avenue scene" in New York City and in Greek communities a ...
(1897–1979), singer.
*
Dimitrios Hatzis (1913–1981), novelist.
*
Dimosthenis Kokkinos (1926–1991), Poet and author.
*
Fatma Hikmet İşmen (1918-2006), engineer.
*
Pavlos Vrellis (1922–2010), sculptor.
*
Dinos Constantinides
Dinos Constantinides (; 10 May 1929 – 20 July 2021) was a Greek-American composer of contemporary classical music.
Constantinides was born in Ioannina, Greece. He studied violin and music theory at the Greek Conservatory in Athens, then violin ...
(1929–2021), classical music composer.
*
Takis Mousafiris
Takis Mousafiris (; 1936 – 11 March 2021) was a Greek composer, lyricist and songwriter. He collaborated with several notable Greek singers such as Stratos Dionysiou, Dimitris Mitropanos, Rita Sakellariou and Tolis Voskopoulos, among others ...
(1936–2021), Greek composer and songwriter
*Matsas family,
Romaniote Jewish family; most known
Minos Matsas
*
Hierotheos (Vlachos)
Hierotheos Vlachos (; born Georgios Vlachos, , 1945) is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan and theologian.
Biography
He was born in 1945 in Ioannina, Greece. He graduated from the Theological School of the University of Thessaloniki and was ordaine ...
, theologian.
*
Moses Elisaf (1954–2023), mayor from 2019 to 2023.
*
Vana Barba, actress.
*
Marios Oikonomou, international football player, played for
PAS Giannina
PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...
,
AEK Athens
A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens.
Establishe ...
and Italian clubs like
Cagliari
Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
,
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
,
Bari
Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
,
SPAL
Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, commonly referred to by the acronym SPAL (), is a professional football club based in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During the 2024–25 season the team played in Serie C, the third tier of the Italian foot ...
.
*
Georgios Dasios played for
PAS Giannina
PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...
and became the Director of the club.
*
Stefanos Ntouskos (b. 1997), gold medal in the
Men's single sculls, at the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
.
*
Amanda Tenfjord (b. 1997), singer and songwriter, Greek representative at
Eurovision 2022
*
Polychronis Tsigkas (b. 2000), Greek-Cypriot professional basketball player
Sports
Sport clubs
Ioannina is home to a major sports team called
PAS Giannina
PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...
. It's an inspiration for many of old as well as new supporters of the whole region of
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
, even outside Ioannina.
Rowing is also very popular in Ioannina; the lake hosted several international events and serves as the venue for part of the annual Greek Rowing Championships.
Sport complex
Transport
* Ioannina is served by
Ioannina National Airport.
* The
A2 motorway (Egnatia Odos), part of the
E90, passes by Ioannina. It links the west coast port of
Igoumenitsa
Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.
Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...
with the borders.
Air Sea Linesflew from
Lake Pamvotis
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis (), commonly also Lake of Ioannina (, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part of the Ioannina regional unit in northern Greece. The regional capital Ioannina to the west ...
to
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
with seaplanes. Air Sea Lines has suspended flights from Corfu to Ioannina since 2007.
* Long-distance buses (
KTEL) travel daily to
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
(6–6.5 hours) and
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
(3 hours).
In popular culture
*"Yanina" figures prominently in
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
' novel ''The Count of Monte Cristo''.
*
Villagers of Ioannina City
Villagers of Ioannina City (VIC) is a folk rock band from Ioannina, Greece, formed in 2007. They play post-rock, post, stoner rock, stoner and psychedelic rock with a large dose of Greek folk music from the region of Epirus. The regional musical ...
is a
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band from Ioannina, formed in 2007.
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Ioannina is
twinned with:
*
Požarevac
Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čač ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
*
Ayia Napa
Ayia Napa ( , ), officially Romanization, romanised Agia Napa, is a Tourism in Cyprus, tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus.
Etymology
The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian Cyprus, Venetian-era monaster ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
*
Limassol
Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...
, Cyprus
*
Himara,
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
*
Kiryat Ono
Kiryat Ono () is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel. It is located east of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of .
Modern Kiryat Ono is adjacent to the biblical Ono, which was located in what is now the area of Or Yehuda. The city also ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
*
Nizhyn
Nizhyn (, ; ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the capital city, administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It hosts the ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
*
Schwerte
Schwerte (; Westphalian: ''Schweierte'') is a town in the district of Unna, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Schwerte is situated in the Ruhr valley, at the south-east border of the Ruhr Area. South of Schwerte begins the mountain ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
See also
*
Epirus
Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
*
Maroutsaia School
The Maroutsaia School () or Maroutsios was a Greek educational institution that operated in Ioannina from 1742 to 1797. The school reached its peak under Eugenios Voulgaris, one of the main representative of the modern Greek Enlightenment. This p ...
*
Uprising in Yanina
*
Zagori
Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 v ...
, region and municipality near Ioannina
*
List of mayors of Ioannina
*
Timeline of Ioannina
Citations
General sources
*
*
Dalven, Rae (1990), ''The Jews of Ioannina'', Cadmus Press, .
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official
Municipality of Ioannina
Travel
Ioannina– The Greek National Tourism Organization
Ioannina travel guide
Historical
"Here Their Stories Will Be Told..." The Valley of the Communities at Yad Vashem, Ioannina at
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
website
{{Authority control
Greek prefectural capitals
Greek regional capitals
Historic Jewish communities
Municipalities of Epirus (region)
Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)