The Ottoman Empire overran northern Epirus from the late 14th century, but being a natural fortress, Himara was the only region that did not submit to Ottoman rule. It became a symbol of resistance to the Ottomans but suffered from an almost continuous state of warfare. Himariotes participated in Skanderbeg's resistance against the Ottoman Empire. In the summer of 1473 the chieftain John Vlasis, with a small unit from nearby Corfu as well as with native Himariot support, took control of the entire coastal region from Sagiada to Himara, but when the ongoing Ottoman-Venetian war ended (1479) the region was again under Ottoman control. In 1481, one year after the Ottomans had landed in Otranto in southern Italy, the Himariotes joined the forces of Gjon Kastrioti II (son of Skanderbeg) in his uprising against the Ottomans. The uprising failed, but the Himariotes rose up again in 1488, and between 1494–1509, destabilizing Ottoman control but failing to liberate their territory.