, Western scholars used the word "Byzantine" in this meaning for the first time in the 16th century. There is no solution of continuity between the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium, defined by Louis Bréhier as "romaine par ses traditions, hellénique par sa culture, orientale par ses méthodes de gouvernements, The Byzantine thought of themselves as "Romans" (????????)

, Ioannina in the times of Michael I is compared to Noah's ark in a letter from John Apokaukos, Metropolitan of Naupaktos; see "???? ??????????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ????????? ?????????? ??? ??????????????????, ??????? ????????? ??? ??????????? ????????? ???????, III, pp.451-455

, We are not certain about the date of this letter; see K. Lambropoulos, ??????? ?????????. ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??????????? ????? ???, We learn this from the same letter by John Apokaukos, p.98, 1988.

, Acta et diplomata graeca medii aevi, V, pp.77-84

. Ibid, , vol.4, p.76

. Ibid, this fact is confirmed by an epigraphic inscription which can be seen in the Byzantine museum of Ioannina, edited by L. Vranoussis in "???????? ??? ??????????? ??? ??????????? ??????? ??? ?????????, ??????????? ??? ?????????? ?. ????????, p.502, 1968.

, Chron. Ioann. cit, vol.8, p.79

. Ibid, The Chronicle also uses the interesting word ????????, vol.12, p.90

, Some see him as a Serbian because of his name, some but few (Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, n. 19769) as an Albanian because he leads the Albanian clan of the ???????????. Actually, the latter fact is reported in an unclear passage of the Chron. Tocco cit. (Ch. 5, §14). Maybe he was leading the army of Ioannina and not only of the ???????????. Even if he was leading only the latter

. Chron, . Tocco-cit, and . Ch, 4, § 4, v. 1207. The Italian people who came to the Balkans with Carlo I Tocco settled mostly in the Ionian Islands, Etoloacarnania or southern Epirus

. Both-chron and C. Ioann, Tocco show the great hostility of the people of Ioannina against the Albanians

. Chron and . Tocco, they took them in affection and gave them charity. A strong pest, illness and disease, came to them, and all of them were exterminated wherever they went. The fury of God came upon them, they were damned. They ruled a lot, did unfair things and acted as fools. And God smashed and exterminated them, Ch. 12, §3. The asylum was actually not very friendly, as one can see in this free translation of the passage

, We have no direct testimony of this fact for the city of Ioannina, but we have some for the city of Thessaloniki; cf. Nicephore Choumnos, ?? ????????? ????????, p.146, 1830.

, It is anyway sure that he is not from Ioannina (maybe he is one of the nobles from Vagenetia); see A. Tourta, ????????? ??? ???????? ?? ???????? ??? ? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ???? ??? ?????????, ?????????? ???????, XXII, vol.16, p.69, 1980.

, ????????? ????????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??????????, ??? ?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????, ibid, ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????????, ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??????, ?? ? ??? ? ??? ????????? ?????????, ??? ?????? ????????, p.470, 1849.

. ?????????-cit, The Christians] were thus expelled and built small houses outside, where they lived in humility and contempt"; see also Vranoussis, vol.252, p.470

?. Kordosis and . Cit, , p.157

, See Chron. Ioann. cit., §, vol.12, p.83

?. Kordosis and . Cit, , p.162

T. ?????????????? and . Iii, Athens 1926, p. 197; passage reproduced in I. Vogiatzidis, p.79, 1926.

M. Bartusis, The Settlement of Serbs in Macedonia, Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the, p.15, 1998.

I. I. Andronikos, Acta et diplomata graeca medii aevi, V, pp.77-84

, ??????? ??? ??? ??????????? ???????? ??? ???????, ???????? ??????????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ?' ???? ????????????, p.79, 1926.

A. John, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, ???? ??????????? ??? ????????? ???? ??? ????????? ?????????? ??? ??????????????????, ??????? ????????? ??? ??????????? ????????? ???????, III, pp.451-455
URL : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/in2p3-00931171

L. Vranoussis, ???????? ??? ??????????? ???????, ????????? ????????? ??? ?????? ????????? ??????????, ??? ?????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????, pp.57-119, 1849.

, Sinan Pacha, Horismos, multiple editions, the most accessible being the one of Miklosich-Muller, Acta et diplomata graeca medii aevi, III, pp.282-283

, ??????? ???????? ??? ???????? ????????, ??? ??? ????? ????? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ??????, ?? ? ??? ? ??? ????????? ?????????, ??? ?????? ????????, Historia politica et patriarchica Constantinopoleos. Epirotica, pp.240-246, 1849.

, BiBLiography Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium

M. Bartusis, The Settlement of Serbs in Macedonia, Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the, pp.151-159, 1998.

M. Kordosis, ?? ????????? ????????, 2002.

K. Lambropoulos and ?. ?????????, ??????? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??????????? ????? ???, 1988.

D. Nicol, The Despotate of Epiros. A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages 1267-1479, 1984.

D. Nicol, Refugees, mixed population and local patriotism in Epiros and Western Macedonia after the Fourth Crusade, Actes du XVe Congrès International d'Etudes Byzantines, pp.1-33, 1976.

L. Vranoussis, ???????? ??? ??????????? ??? ??????????? ??????? ??? ?????????, ??????????? ??? ?????????? ?. ????????, IV, Athen 1967-68, offprint Athens, p.502, 1968.