In 1788, Ali Pasha Tepelena, begun the military campaign for taking Ioannina. His first battle against the united leaders took place on the shores of the lake. He broke the opponents and besieged Ioannina. He took the city without a fight, with the help of his Greek friends and especially the inhabitants of Zagori. As the French chronicler writes, “he entered into the city amid the cheers of the people.”
