Editing Butrint (section)

=== Between Venice and the Ottoman Empire ===
The dogal [[Republic of Venice]] purchased the area including Corfu from the Angevins in 1386; however, the Venetian merchants were principally interested in Corfu and Butrinto once again declined.[[File:Butrint (Buthrotum, Butrinto). Venetian enclave facing Corfu..jpg|thumb|200px|Butrinto, a Venetian enclave on the Ottoman mainland]]

By 1572 the wars between Venice and the [[Ottoman Empire]] had left Butrinto ruinous and the acropolis was abandoned, while at the order of Domenico Foscarini, the Venetian commander of Corfu, the administration of Butrinto and its environs was shifted to a small triangular fortress associated with the extensive fish weirs. The area was lightly settled afterwards, occasionally being seized by the Ottoman Turks, in 1655 and 1718, before being recaptured by the Venetians. Its fisheries were a vital contributor to the supply of Corfu, and olive growing together with cattle and timber were the principal economic activities.<ref>During his short career as an ensign in a Venetian regiment, 20-year-old [[Casanova]] spent 3&nbsp;days on Butrinto guarding galley slaves cutting and loading timber on 4 galleys. He mentions the objective of this once-a-year routine was mainly to 'show the flag' and safeguard Venice's rights to that nearly deserted outpost. Giacomo Casanova, ''Histoire de ma vie'', Librairie Plon, Paris, vol II, chap V, p. 198-199.</ref>

The [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] of 1797 split between France and Austria the territory of the Republic of Venice, which France had just [[Fall of the Republic of Venice|occupied and abolished]], and under article 5 of the treaty, Butrinto and the other former Venetian enclaves in Albania came [[Republican French rule in the Ionian Islands|under French sovereignty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/diplomatic/c_campoformio1.html|title=Treaty of Campo Formio 1797|access-date=8 June 2016}}</ref>

However, in October 1798 the city was [[Siege of Butrint (1798)|conquered]] by the local [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Albanians|Albanian]] ruler [[Ali Pasha Tepelena]], and after his death, it officially became a part of the Ottoman Empire until Albania gained its independence in 1912. By that time, the site of the original city had been unoccupied for centuries and was surrounded by malarial marshes. During Ottoman rule in Epirus, the inhabitants of Butrint displayed continuous support for Greek revolutionary activities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fleming |first1=K. E. |title=The Muslim Bonaparte: Diplomacy and Orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece |date=14 July 2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6497-3 |pages=70–71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFgABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |language=en |quote=... Parga, Vonitza, Preveza, and Butrinto. In 1401 the peoples of Parga had established the precedent of colluding with Venice by placing themselves voluntarily under Venetian protection, thus staying the advance of the Ottomans. ... These territories came to be known for their staunch support of the Greek revolutionary cause, and Parga colluded with the independent Orthodox peoples of Souli in their chronic battles with Ali Pasha.}}</ref>