Draft:Yanina–Ottoman War

The Yanina–Ottoman War was a conflict between Ali Pasha, the ruler of the de facto independent Pashalik of Yanina, and the Ottoman Empire. The war was caused by the expansionist policies and growing autonomy of Ali Pasha, which posed a direct threat to the central authority of the Ottoman government.

Yanina-Ottoman War
Territory of the Pashalik of Yanina (in red) from 1815 to 1821
Date April 1820 – 24 January 1822 Location Pashalik of Yanina, Morea Eyalet (modern-day Greece) Result Ottoman victory
Belligerents
Pashalik of Yanina Greek revolutionaries	Ottoman Empire Pashalik of Scutari
Commanders and leaders
Ali Pasha of Ioannina †/  Mukhtar Pasha Veli Pasha Hussain Pasha Omer Vrioni (Until late 1820) Odysseas Androutsos	Mahmud II Ismail Pashabey Hurshid Pasha Omer Vrioni (From late 1820) Mustafa Bushatli
Strength
Unknown	Morea: 30,000 soldiers

Background

Ali Pasha had served both Sultan Selim III and Sultan Mahmud II in military campaigns, including against Osman Pasvanoğlu in Vidin and Russia, where his troops gained a strong reputation for their effectiveness. Through these services, he secured key positions and extended his control over Albanian and Greek territories.

In 1820, Ali’s disloyalty was reported to the Sultan by Halet Efendi. By then, Sultan Mahmud II had already diminished the power of ayans, local rulers, in the Balkans, replacing them with loyal appointees. In early 1820, Ali was dismissed from his position and ordered to withdraw his troops to his stronghold in the sanjak of Ioannina.

War

There are three main accounts of how the war started. The most common version is that Ali Pasha revolted to assert his independence. Another version claims that the Sublime Porte sent him an ultimatum, and after Ali failed to respond within 40 days, the Sultan had a pretext to use force. A third version is that in 1820, Sultan Mahmud II declared war on Ali Pasha directly.

By April 1820, the Ottoman army, led by Ismail Pashabey, began marching toward Ali Pasha's territories. By this time, Ali controlled most of Greece and southern Albania. Ali quickly swelled his ranks with volunteers but chose not to engage in direct combat, instead opting to fall back to defensive positions. The Ottoman forces soon captured Larissa from Veli Pasha, significantly weakening Ali’s eastern defenses. In response, Omer Vrioni and 15,000 soldiers were stationed at Metsovo to guard against the advancing Ottoman army, while Odysseas Androutsos held the mountain pass near Livadia.

To the north, Muhtar Pasha and Hussain Pasha resisted an attack by Mustafa Pasha Bushatli, the ruler of the Pashalik of Scutari, on Berat and Tepelena. To the south, Preveza, a key city against naval attacks, was held by Veli Pasha, who had been driven out of Lepanto, while his son Mehmet Pasha defended Parga. Ali remained at Ioannina with a garrison of 8,000 soldiers.

The Ottoman army advanced along the western coastline, while an Ottoman naval force from Constantinople, consisting of three line-of-battle ships, five frigates, and around twenty brigs manned by squadrons from Algeria and Egypt, destroyed Ali’s Greek fleet in the harbor of Galaxidi, north of the Gulf of Corinth. During this phase, Spyros Kolovos, one of Ali’s secretaries and intermediaries, was captured by the Ottomans while trying to obtain ammunition from Corfu. He was tortured to death.

As the war began to favor the Ottomans, the Sultan promised to pardon anyone fighting for Ali if they surrendered. This caused Ali’s sons to waver. Mukhtar Pasha surrendered Berat, while Ali's other son, Selim, surrendered Argyrocastro. The Ottomans further undermined Ali by bribing his troops and enlisting the Souliotes, with whom Ali had a longstanding conflict. The Souliotes were invited to reclaim their homeland, and a joint Ottoman-Souliote force captured Preveza from Veli Pasha.