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Thesprotia (; , ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity.
In antiquity, the territory of modern Thesprotia was inhabited by the ancient Greek tribe of Thesprotians and was bordered by the neighboring regions of Molossia to the north and Chaonia to the east. Thesprotia is mentioned at the Epic Cycle as a place where Odysseus sailed and married the local queen Callidice of Thesprotia. Thesprotia became part of the Epirote League before it was annexed by Ancient Rome where it became part of the Roman province of Epirus. After the fragmentation of the Roman Empire into East and West, it was part of the Byzantine Empire until the late Middle Ages, except for a period of Bulgarian rule in the 9th-11th centuries. In c. 1430 it fell to the Ottomans.
From the 8th-9th until the 15th century, the region was called Vagenetia, a name deriving from the Slavs tribe of the Baiounitai, who appear in the early 7th century during the Slavic invasions of the Balkans. In the late Ottoman period, the area was known as Chameria, and at 1910 most of the territory of the modern prefecture of Thesprotia was known as Sancak of Resadiye or Çamlık Sancak or Igoumenitsa Sancak.Kokolakis, Mihalis (2003). Το ύστερο Γιαννιώτικο Πασαλίκι: χώρος, διοίκηση και πληθυσμός στην τουρκοκρατούμενη Ηπειρο (1820-1913) The late Pashalik of Ioannina: Space, administration and population in Ottoman Epirus (1820-1913). EIE-ΚΝΕ. p.373.
Thesprotia remained under Ottoman rule until 1913, when it was ceded to Greece after the Ottoman defeat in the First Balkan War. As part of Greece the province of Margariti became part of Preveza prefecture and the provinces of Paramythia and Filiates were part of Ioannina prefecture.Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). " Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography." In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας The. University of Athens. p. 47 The area above river Acheron continued to be referred to as Chameria in official Greek government communication until 1937, when the separate prefecture of Thesprotia was established. In 1923, the population of Thesprotia was 60,705, In 1920, there were 20,319 Muslim Albanians in Thesprotia. After their expulsion on the orders of Napoleon Zervas at the end of World War II, Muslim Albanians numbered to only 77 individuals in the 1951 census.
Thesprotia's coastal climate is Mediterranean. Cold winters of a semi-alpine climate dominate the eastern part and higher elevations.
| Filiates |
| Sagiada |
| Igoumenitsa |
| Margariti |
| Parapotamos |
| Perdika |
| Syvota |
| Paramythia |
| Acherontas |
| Paramythia |
The main tourist attractions of the region are its numerous beaches, particularly the resort of Syvota. Other tourist attractions are the remains of ancient cities such as Gitani.
In 2009, construction began for a new highway that will connect Igoumenitsa and Saranda, passing by Sagiada and Konispol.
The port of Igoumenitsa serves ferry routes to the islands of Corfu and Paxoi (includes Antipaxoi), as well as Italy.
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