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About Butrint | Early Butrint | Roman Rule | Byzantine Rule
Battle for Butrint | Threats to Butrint | Bibliography
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Courtesy of The Butrint Foundation
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Battle for Butrint:
The Republic of Venice vs. the Ottoman Empire
Eastern and western powers battled for centuries after the fall of Rome to control the lands of modern-day Albania. Owing partly to the weakness of the Byzantine Empire, Butrint was dominated by a secession of foreign powers. The Normans took control of the port in the eleventh century, as did the Angevins in the thirteenth century. In the fourteenth century, Butrint fell to Venice, and remained in Venetian control for over four hundred years.
By the fourteenth century, the Turks dominated the Balkans and, therefore, came into conflict with the Venetians. They fought for control of the lucrative Straits of Corfu. Strategically located on either side of the Straits, Corfu and Butrint were center stage for the struggle between the two great powers.
In the early fourteenth century, the Republic of Venice, concerned with safeguarding its Adriatic trading route from threats posed by the rapidly growing Ottoman Empire, seized both Corfu and Butrint. The Venetian settlement at Butrint, which occupied a small section of the original city, prospered for over a century on the export of its fish, timber, and cattle. A new west harbor, as well as several castles and restored defenses bear witness to its prosperity.
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Courtesy of The Butrint Foundation
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In 1453, Ottoman forces besieged Butrint, prompting the Venetians to build a triangular fortress to strengthen the port's defenses. The main walls of the fortress were punctured with gun slits and cannon ports. The triangular fortress became the focus of Butrint's settlement in the late sixteenth century, around which a small village developed.
In 1537, Suleiman the Magnificent arrived at Butrint and successfully forced the Venetians to surrender. The struggle between the Venetians and the Ottomans, however, continued through the 17th and 18th centuries, and Butrint regularly changed hands between the two powers. In 1798, the Turkish Lord, Ali Pasha of Tepelene, successfully conquered Butrint.
Under his dominion, Butrint remained an important fishery but was inhabited only by a customs official and a handful of fisherman. While the fishing remained lucrative, the subterranean infiltration of water, which made the land difficult to live on and spread serious disease, had forced the population to flee.
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Courtesy of The Butrint Foundation
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When the Ottoman Turks swept through Albania, they immediately converted about two-thirds of the Albanian populations, including its most powerful landowners, to Islam. Most Albanians became Muslims in order to escape Turkish violence as well as an overwhelming tax that Christians were forced to pay if they refused to convert to Islam. As the centuries passed, however, Ottoman rulers lost the capacity to command the loyalty of local leaders. Soon pressures created by emerging national movements threatened to shatter the empire.
In 1814, the British took control of the Ionian islands, including Corfu, posing a major threat to Ali Pasha's territory. In response, Ali Pasha coerced 1,500 peasants to build a castle with a square plan and four towers at the mouth of the Vivari Channel in order to hold off British attacks. This castle was the last work of military architecture built in Butrint, marking the final stage of the city's active history.
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About Butrint | Early Butrint | Roman Rule | Byzantine Rule
Battle for Butrint | Threats to Butrint | Bibliography
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