French rule in the Ionian Islands French rule in the Ionian Islands The French rule in the Ionian Islands ( "Gallokratía ton Eptaníson") lasted from June 1797 to March 1799. Following the Fall of the Republic of Venice in May 1797, the Ionian Islands, a Venetian possession, were occupied by the French Republic. The French instituted a new, democratic regime and, following the Treaty of Campo Formio, annexed the islands to France, forming the three departments of "Corcyre" (Corfu), "Ithaque" (Ithaca) and "Mer-Égée" (Aegean Sea). Originally widely welcomed, French rule began to grow oppressive to the islanders, and aroused the enmity of the Ottoman Empire and
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