Epirus Revolt of 1878 The 1878 revolt in Epirus was the part of a series of Greek uprisings that occurred in the Ottoman - ruled Greece during the outbreak of the Russo - Turkish War ( 1877 - 1878 ) . Although Greek officials individually supported the revolt , the Greek Government , being aware of the international situation in eastern Europe at the time , decided not to do so . With the end of the Russo - Turkish War the revolt was soon suppressed . Background . On April 24 , 1877 , Russia declared war on Ottoman Empire and soon after a series of battles , the Ottoman defeat was imminent . Meanwhile unofficial circles in Greece saw the war as a great opportunity to incite revolts in a number of Greek - inhabited regions in the Ottoman Empire : Epirus , Thessalia and Crete . Preparations . In 1877 , two patriotic organizations were formed in Greece in order to organize an upcoming revolt in Epirus : National Defence ( ) and Fraternity ( ) . Soon after , the organizations started to create groups of volunteers and to collect weapons and ammunition . In December , distinguished Epirotes that lived in Athens , including General Michail Spyromilios and Dimitrios Botsaris ( son of Notis Botsaris ) , were ready to lead the uprising , but the Greek Government being aware of that situation intervened and stopped their involvement . The uprising . First conflicts and declaration of Union with Greece . In February 1878 groups of irregulars passed the Greek - Ottoman border and entered Thessaly and Epirus . The first regions that joined the revolt were Tzoumerka , west of Arta , the region north of Preveza and Radovizio ( north Thesprotia ) . The uprising was however , ill - prepared and the weaknesses were obvious already from the first days . When the first conflicts with Ottoman troops occurred , most of the revolutionaries retreated to Greece . At Plaka , an Ottoman outpost was overcome by an Epirot unit led by a resigned officer of the Greek Army , Hristos Mitsios . However , upon the arrival of 2 , 000 Ottoman troops from Ioannina , they had to retreat . Meanwhile the Russo - Turkish War ended with the Treaty of San Stefano ( March 3 , 1878 ) . The sudden end of the Russo - Turkish hostilities had a negative impact on the revolt ' s outcome . At March 12 , representatives of the movement gathered in the village of Botsi ( Thesprotia ) , and declared the Union of Epirus with Greece . Soon after , a significant number of Ottoman troops arrived with troopships in the region and took under control the entire region . The revolutionaries seeing that resistance was futile , retreated behind to the Greek border . Lappas and Stefanou revolt . Meanwhile before the revolt in Radovizi was suppressed , a group of 150 armed Epirotes landed in the Saranda region , under the leadership of the guerrilla captains Lappas and Stefanou . Soon a greater number of volunteers ( 700 ) , mainly Epirote refugees from Corfu joined the uprising . Apart from the town of Saranda , they had under control the surrounding regions of Vurg ut and Delvina : including the villages of Giasta and Lykoursi , as well as the nearby monastery of St . George . The Ottoman military commander of Yannina with a force of 6 , 000 regular troops marched against Saranda . The Ottomans were also supported by irregular bands of Albanians . At March 4 , after fierce fighting the revolt ended . Reprisals . When the revolt in Saranda was finally suppressed , reprisals started . As a result 20 villages of the region of Delvina were burned while escape routes for the unarmed population were blocked . Because many distinguished locals ( like Kyriakos Kyritsis , later MP in the Greek Parliament ) financially supported the revolt , the Ottoman authorities had all their holdings in the Saranda - Butrint region confiscated . Aftermath . The failure of the 1878 movement in Epirus was mainly due to the unwillingness of the Greek Government to support this initiative actively . On the other hand , the Russo - Turkish War ended too soon , so that the Ottoman troops could quickly move and suppress any form of disturbance .