Septinsular Republic
During this period, Ali Pasha in a series of campaigns suppressed the rebellious Souliots, who defied his authority. Advised by the turncoat Georgios Botsaris, Ali pursued a strategy of encircling the area of Souli with forts and besieging it. Already in 1800, the Souliots wrote to Theotokis for aid against the designs of Ali Pasha. The latter in turn threatened the inhabitants of Parga, to prevent them from lending any aid to the Souliots. By 1803, the position of the Souliots had grown dire, and they implored the Septinsular Republic for ammunition. A Souliot embassy visited Mocenigo, conveying an appeal to Tsar Alexander. Mocenigo gave them some ammunition, but secretly from the Russians; this and later requests for Russian mediation remained unanswered, even as Ali Pasha, with the Sultan's backing, moved to eradicate the last centres of Souliot resistance. The Souliots who managed to escape from Ali's forces made for Parga, but they were forced to cross the sea to the Septinsular Republic in March 1804, after Ali Pasha threatened to attack the city. In November 1803, the Republic signed a treaty with Ali Pasha, who was represented by the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Ignatios.