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Northern Epirus (, ''Vorios Ipiros'', (アルバニア語:Epiri i Veriut)) is a term used to refer to those parts of the historical region of Epirus, in the western Balkans, that are part of the modern Albania. The term is used mostly by Greeks and is associated with the existence of a substantial ethnic Greek population in the region. It also has connotations with political claims on the territory on the grounds that it was held by Greece and in 1914 was declared an independent state by the local Greeks against annexation to the newly founded Albanian principality. The term is typically rejected by most Albanians for its irredentist associations. The term "Northern Epirus" started to be used by Greeks in 1913, upon the creation of the Albanian state following the Balkan Wars, and the incorporation into the latter of territory that was regarded by many Greeks as geographically, historically, culturally, and ethnologically connected to the Greek region of Epirus since antiquity. In the spring of 1914, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was proclaimed by ethnic Greeks in the territory and recognized by the Albanian government, though it proved short-lived as Albania collapsed with the onset of World War I. Greece held the area between 1914 and 1916 and unsuccessfully tried to annex it in March 1916.〔 In 1917 Greek forces were driven from the area by Italy, who took over most of Albania. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 awarded the area to Greece, however the area reverted to Albanian control in November 1921, following Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War. During the interwar period, tensions remained high due to the educational issues surrounding the Greek minority in Albania.〔 Following Italy's invasion of Greece from the territory of Albania in 1940 and the successful Greek counterattack, the Greek army briefly held Northern Epirus for a six-month period until the German invasion of Greece in 1941. Tensions remained high during the Cold War, as the Greek minority was subjected to repressive measures (along with the rest of the country's population). Although a Greek minority was recognized by the Hoxha regime, this recognition only applied to an "official minority zone" consisting of 99 villages, leaving out important areas of Greek settlement, such as Himara. People outside the official minority zone received no education in the Greek language, which was prohibited in public. The Hoxha regime also diluted the ethnic demographics of the region by relocating Greeks living there and settling in their stead Albanians from other parts of the country.〔 Relations began to improve in the 1980s with Greece's abandonment of any territorial claims over Northern Epirus and the lifting of the official state of war between the two countries.〔 In the post Cold War era relations have continued to improve though tensions remain over the availability of education in the Greek language outside the official minority zone, property rights, and occasional violent incidents targeting members of the Greek minority.. ==Geography== The term Epirus is used both in the Albanian and Greek language, but in Albanian refers only to the historical and not modern region. In antiquity, the northern border of the historical region of Epirus (and of the ancient Greek world) was the Gulf of Oricum,〔 or alternatively, the mouth of the Aoös river, immediately to the north of the Bay of Aulon (modern-day Vlorë.〔John Wilkes. ''The Illyrians. Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, p. 92. "Appian's description of the Illyrian territories records a southern boundary with Chaonia and Thesprotia, where ancient Epirus began south of river Aous (Vjose)." ((Map ))〕 To the south, classical Epirus ended at the Ambracian Gulf, while to the east it was separated from Macedonia and Thessaly by the Pindus mountains. The island of Corfu is situated off the coast of Epirus but is not regarded as part of it. Rather than a clearly defined geographical term, "Northern Epirus" is largely a political and diplomatic term applied to those areas partly populated by ethnic Greeks that were incorporated into the newly independent Albanian state in 1913.〔 According to the 20th century definition, Northern Epirus stretches from the Ceraunian Mountains north of Himara southward to the Greek border, and from the Ionian coast to Lake Prespa. The region defined as Northern Epirus thus stretches further east than classical Epirus, and includes parts of the historical region Macedonia. Northern Epirus is rugged, characterized by steep limestone ridges that parallel the Ionian coast, with deep valleys between them.〔(Encyclopedia of the stateless nations: ethnic and national groups around the world. James Minahan. ) Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-313-32384-4〕 The main rivers of the area are: Vjosë/Aoos (, Aoos) its tributary the Drino (, Drinos), the Osum ( Apsos) and the Devoll ( Eordaikos). Some of the cities and towns of the region are: Himarë, Sarandë, Delvinë, Gjirokastër, Tepelenë, Përmet, Leskovik, Ersekë, Korçë, Bilisht and the once prosperous town of Moscopole. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Northern Epirus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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