Ioannina🇬🇷

The city was founded in the sixth century AD by the Byzantine emperor Justin II. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Byzantine rulers who escaped from Constantinople, which was conquered by the Latin Crusaders, founded the Principality of Epirus. During this period the city flourished and became a cultural and commercial center. In 1430 the city fell to the Ottomans. The Turkish government was tolerant of the Greek and Jewish population. Although mosques were built in the city, religious freedom was granted and Ioannina became a financial center for exporting goods, mainly handicrafts and works of art. The Israel Museum displays dresses from the flourishing period of Ioannina Judaism.

In 1789, Ali Pasha took power in Ioannina. In 1820, Ali Pasha sent emissaries who murdered a political opponent of his in Constantinople. This angered the Sultan, who demanded that Ali Pasha resign, and when he refused, the Sultan sent an army that besieged Ioannina for 15 months. Ali Pasha shut himself up in a monastery on the island of Nisaki. Finally, the Turks sent secret agents who succeeded in infiltrating his residence and murdering him. The monastery where Ali Pasha was murdered is now used as a museum describing the period of the tyrant's reign. The bullet holes that killed him can still be seen in the walls of the second floor.

In 1913, following the Second Balkan War, Ioannina was annexed to Greece, and in 1922, following Greece's defeat in the war with Turkey and the signing of the Lausanne Treaty, a population exchange was carried out and the Turks in the city were replaced by Greek refugees from Turkey.

In World War II, Ioannina was occupied by the Germans. Initially it was controlled by the Italians, but after Italy withdrew from the war, the Germans took their place.