Siege of Butrint (1798)

Siege of Butrint (1798)
Part of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798
Date18–25 October [O.S. 7–14 October] 1798
Location
Butrint, modern-day Albania
Result

Victory of Ali Pasha

  • The remaining French and Greek forces evacuate to Corfu.
Territorial
changes		 The Pashalik of Yanina occupies Butrint.
Belligerents
Revolutionary France Pashalik of Yanina
Commanders and leaders
Nicolas Grégoire Aulmont de Verrières [fr]
Louis Chabot		 Ali Pasha of Janina
Strength
unknown 20,000[1]
Casualties and losses
unknown unknown

The siege of Butrint took place on 18–25 October [O.S. 7–14 October] 1798 between the armed forces of Revolutionary France and the autonomous Ottoman-Albanian ruler, Ali Pasha of Janina.

Background

The French had seized the Venetian Ionian Islands off the western coast of Greece the previous year, after the fall of the Republic of Venice. The islands also included a few mainland exclaves like Butrint and Preveza, which were coveted by Ali.

Siege

French efforts to draw Ali into their camp against the Ottoman sultan failed, and when the Ottoman Empire turned against France, Ali attacked the French positions, attacking Butrint first. The French, led by Nicolas Grégoire Aulmont de Verrières [fr] and eventually by the French governor-general, Louis François Jean Chabot, resisted for a week, but finally withdrew from the fortress and blew it up. At the same time, Ali Pasha's army moved to capture Preveza to the south.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ Russell, Quentin; Russell, Eugenia (2017-09-30). Ali Pasha, Lion of Ioannina: The Remarkable Life of the Balkan Napoleon. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-7722-1.
  2. ^ Moschonas 1975, pp. 388–389.
  3. ^ Fleming 1999, pp. 70–73, 97–100.

Sources

  • Baeyens, Jacques (1973). Les Français à Corfou, 1797-1799 et 1807-1814 [The French in Corfu, 1797-1799 and 1807-1814] (in French). Athens: Institut français d'Athènes. OCLC 2763024.
  • Fleming, Katherine Elizabeth (1999). The Muslim Bonaparte: Diplomacy and Orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-69100194-4.
  • Moschonas, Nikolaos (1975). "Τα Ιόνια Νησιά κατά την περίοδο 1797-1821" [The Ionian Islands in the period 1797-1821]. In Christopoulos, Georgios A. & Bastias, Ioannis K. (eds.). Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Τόμος ΙΑ΄: Ο Ελληνισμός υπό ξένη κυριαρχία (περίοδος 1669 - 1821), Τουρκοκρατία - Λατινοκρατία [History of the Greek Nation, Volume XI: Hellenism under Foreign Rule (Period 1669 - 1821), Turkocracy – Latinocracy] (in Greek). Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon. pp. 382–402. ISBN 978-960-213-100-8.

Further reading