French rule in the Ionian Islands convince the French of his good intentions, showering them with honours and providing food—and even feigning interest in Jacobin ideals—but his main objective, the cession of the mainland exclaves of the Ionian Islands, was rebuffed. Gentili did, however, lift the prohibition on Ottoman ships from traversing the Straits of Corfu, which had been in place since the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz. This allowed Ali to move over sea against his rival, Mustafa Pasha of Delvino. In July/August 1797 (or in Easter 1798, according to other sources), his forces sailed to Lukovo and committed massacres against the local population, forcing them
Ionian Sea Sea, and from Piraeus westward. Calypso Deep, the deepest point in the Mediterranean at , is located in the Ionian Sea, at . The sea is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. The name "Ionian" comes from the Greek language . Its etymology is unknown. Ancient Greek writers, especially Aeschylus, linked it to the myth of Io. In Ancient Greek the adjective "Ionios" () was used as an epithet for the sea because Io swam across it. According to the "Oxford Classical Dictionary", the name may derive from Ionians who sailed to the West. There were