Ioánnina [key], city, capital of Ioánnina prefecture, NW Greece, in Epirus, on Lake Ioánnina. The chief city of Epirus, it is the commercial center for an agricultural region. Manufactures include textiles and gold and silver products. Founded c.527 by Justinian, Ioánnina became an important city in the 11th cent. It was taken (1081) by the Normans, and in 1204, Michael I, despot of Epirus, made it his capital. It was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1430. Ali Pasha made it (1788) the stronghold of his virtually independent state. Ioánnina passed to Greece in 1913 as a result of the First Balkan War. Long a center of Greek learning, it is today the seat of the Univ. of Ioánnina. The city also appears as Janina, Jannina, or Yannina.
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