Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands to south, including their Greek and Italian names in parentheses: Cythera and Lefkada were additionally called ' or ' and " respectively by the Ottomans. During the Roman Empire, the Ionian Islands were variously part of the provinces of Achaea and Epirus vetus. These would form, with the exception of Cythera, the Byzantine theme of Cephallenia in the late 8th century. From the late 11th century, the Ionian Islands became a battleground in the Byzantine–Norman Wars. The island of Corfu was held by the Normans in 1081–1085 and 1147–1149, while the Venetians unsuccessfully besieged it in 1122–1123. The island of
Ionian University of Smyrna Ionian University of Smyrna The Ionian University of Smyrna () was a university established by the local Greek authorities during the Greek Occupation of Smyrna (1919–1922), today Izmir, Turkey. The initiative for the organization of the institution was undertaken by the mathematician Constantin Carathéodory. However, the University of Smyrna, the first to be established in the city, never operated due to the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and the subsequent evacuation in September 1922. Greek education in Smyrna was already thriving during the Ottoman period. A total of 67 educational institutions were operating in early 20th century thanks to