page_title: Northern Epirus
section_title: Prehistory and ancient history
hierarchical_section_title: Northern Epirus / History / Prehistory and ancient history
context_page_description: Northern Epirus is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, which today are part of Albania. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region. It also has connotations with political claims on the territory on the grounds that it was held by Greece and in 1914 was declared an independent state by the local Greeks against annexation to the newly founded Albanian principality. The term is typically rejected by most Albanians for its irredentist associations.
  It started to be used by Greeks in 1913, upon the creation of the Albanian state following the Balkan Wars, and the incorporation into the latter of territory that was regarded by many Greeks as geographically, historically, culturally, and ethnologically connected to the Greek region of Epirus since antiquity. In the spring of 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was proclaimed by ethnic Greeks in the territory and recognized by the Albanian government, though it proved short-lived as Albania collapsed with the onset of World War I.
context_section_description: Many of the region's settlements are associated with the Trojan Epic Cycle, with Elpenor from Ithaca credited with founding Orikum and Thronium, Amantia believed to have been founded by Abantes from Thronium, and Aeneas and Helenus believed to have founded Bouthroton (modern-day Butrint). A son of Helenus named Chaon was believed to be the ancestral leader of the Chaonians.
  Epirus was occupied in Neolithic times by seafarers along the coast and by hunters and shepherds in the interior who brought with them the Greek language. They buried leaders people in shaft graves akin to those used in Mycenaean cultures In the 12th century BC Lusatian culture entered the South-west Balkans spreading also in the north of Epirus. During a great expansion of Illyrian tribes c. 800–700 B.C.  Illyrians settled in Mallakastër in their raids penetrated into the central Epirus.
  The earliest recorded inhabitants of the region (c. 6th century BC) were the Chaonians, one of the main Greek tribes of ancient Epirus, and the region south of the Aoös was known as Chaonia. The strength of the Chaonians prevented the foundation of any colonies on the Chaonian shore. As with the rest of the north-western Greek tribes they tended to reside in small village clusters, unlike the typical Greek pattern of city-states.
  Illyrian rule in the plain of Korçë with burials of their chieftains at Tumulus I in Kuç i Zi lasted until 650 BCE. During the 6th century BC, Chaonian rule was dominant over the region and their power stretched from the Ionian coast to the region of Korçë in the east. Important Chaonian settlements in the area included their capital Phoenice, the ports of Onchesmos and Chimaera (modern-day Saranda and Himara, respectively), and the port of Bouthroton (modern-day Butrint). Tumulus II in Kuç i Zi near modern Korçë is to date to the 7th century BC, and according to a historical reconstruction, it belonged to Chaonian nobles that replaced a previous Illyrian dynasty about 650 BC.
  The initial period of Epirote history saw the various Epirote tribes lacking well-known state-like institutions, and they were described as "barbarians" (though ethnically Greek) and "kingless" by contemporary writers. This was followed by the period of the League of the Molossoi, which spanned the early and middle 4th century BCE.
  In 330 BCE, the tribes of Epirus were united into a single kingdom under the Aeacid ruler Alcetas II of the Molossians, and in 232 BCE the "Epirotic League" (Greek: Κοινόν Ηπειρωτών) was established, with Phoenice as one of its centers. After 232 BCE, Epirote power declined, but Epirus remained important through its alliance with Macedonia. In the Third Macedonian War, Macedonia and Epirus were defeated by the Roman legions of Aemilius Paulus in 167 BCE, leading to the large-scale destruction of Epirus.
caption: Ancient temple in Apollonia.
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