Siege of Butrint (1798)
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The siege of Butrint took place on 18–25 October [O.S. 7–14 October] 1798 between Revolutionary France and Ali Pasha of Janina, the ruler of the semi-autonomous Ottoman Pashalik of Yanina.[citation needed]
changes The Pashalik of Yanina occupies Butrint
French evacuate to Corfu
| Siege of Butrint (1798) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798 | |||||||||
Agora in Butrint, Albania | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Pashalik of Yanina |
 France | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Ali Pasha of Yanina |
Nicolas Gregoire Aulmont Louis Chabot | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 20,000[1] | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
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.[citation needed] 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 Gregoire Aulmont of Verrières 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]