Stamps from Epirus catalogue

68 items

The postal period of Northern Epirus includes two periods: 1912-1916 and 1940-1941. More

Epirus belonged to the Ottoman Empire for a long time. Officially, it was largely granted to Greece by the Treaty of Berlin (1878), but in the end only the southernmost region around the town of Arta was transferred. During the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Greece occupied all of Epirus and issued Greek stamps with an overprint "Hellenic Administration" and later special stamps for occupied territories were issued (see: Greece – Occupation of Turkish Territories).

With the Treaty of Bucharest (late 1913), Southern Epirus was assigned to Greece and Northern Epirus to Albania. The Greeks living in Northern Epirus rebelled against this and proclaimed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. Its existence was short-lived. Autonomy came to an end with the First World War. Still managed to release some stamps.

In October 1940, Italy invaded Greece via Albania. After a counter-attack, Greece occupied southern Albania and printed Greek stamps were used (see: Greece – Occupation of Turkish Territories). In April 1941 the area was conquered by Germany.

The dotted line on the map indicates the northern border of Northern Epirus, its southern border coincided with the current border between Albania and Greece.

Sources