French rule in the Ionian Islands Corsican Greek military officer Demetrio Stefanopoli as his envoy to the Ionian Islands and Mani, who on his return in 1798 openly spoke of a restored Byzantine Empire and "Franco-Greek liberty" up to the Bosporus. At the same time, in Ancona, an "Executive Directory for the Commerce of Corsica, Malta, Zakynthos, Cephalonia, Corfu, the French Isles of the Adriatic, the Archipelago, and Egypt" was established with Greek and French members, aiming to collect intelligence and foment insurrection. In the event these machinations came to nothing, once the French were committed to the invasion of Egypt, rather than the Balkan provinces
Sea of Marmara , with dimensions .Its greatest depth is . The sea takes its name from Marmara Island, which is rich in sources of marble, from the Greek "μάρμαρον" ("marmaron"), "marble". The sea's ancient Greek name "Propontis" derives from "pro-" (before) and "pontos" (sea), deriving from the fact that the Greeks sailed through it to reach the Black Sea, "Pontos". In Greek mythology, a storm on Propontis brought the Argonauts back to an island they had left, precipitating a battle where either Jason or Heracles killed King Cyzicus, who mistook them for his Pelasgian enemies. The surface salinity of the sea averages