Himarë (1983: Doomsday)

Pre-Doomsday
In antiquity the region was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians. In classical antiquity, Himarë was part of the Kingdom of Epirus. When the region was conquered by the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC, its settlements were badly damaged and some were destroyed. Himarë and the rest of the southern Balkans would pass into the hands of the Byzantine Empire following the fall of Rome. In 1278 King Nicephorus of a new Kingdom of Epirus surrendered to the Angevins the ports of Himarë, Sopot and Butrint. After the death of Balša II, his widow and his daughter managed to keep the possession of the region up to 1417 when Ottomans captured Vlora.

The Ottoman Empire overran northern Epirus from the late 14th century, but being a natural fortress, Himara was the only region that did not submit to Ottoman Turkish rule. Rebellions and invasions by the locals would plague the area. The Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent personally mounted an expedition in 1537, that destroyed or captured many surrounding villages but did not manage to subdue the area. The Ottomans found it necessary to compromise with the inhabitants of Himarë by granting them a series of privileges. However, despite the privileges, the Himariotes revolted against Ottoman authority repeatedly, causing severe reprisals.

When the Greek War of Independence broke out, the people of Himarë rose in revolt. The local uprising failed, but many Himariotes, veterans of the Russian and French Army, joined the revolutionary forces in today southern Greece, where they played a significant role in the struggle. During the First Balkan War, the town revolted and expelled the Ottoman forces in order to join Greece, though this failed. In 1921 the region came under the control of the Albanian state. Several uprisings occurred, with the natives demanding their old rights, but all were usppressed by the Albanians government. Later, Himarë was again occupied by the Italians as part of the Italian invasion in Albania. The Italian Fascist Army was evicted by the Greek Army during the Greco-Italian War of 1940-41, and Himarë briefly re-joined Greece until the German invasion in 1941.