ARTA

city and capital, noms (department) of rta, piros (ancient Epirus) region, Greece. It is situated on the left bank of the rakhthos River north of the Gulf of rta. The modern city stands on the site of Ambracia, an ancient Corinthian colony and the capital (from 294 BC) of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. In 189 BC it was destroyed by the Romans. To commemorate his victory (31 BC) over Mark Antony at Actium, Octavian (later Augustus) founded the new town of Nicopolis Actia a few miles away; as a result, Ambracia declined. rta's modern history dates from the destruction of Nicopolis Actia in the 11th century AD by the Bulgars. A Byzantine bishopric, rta survived a Norman seizure (1083) and the Greek despots of Epirus, passing in 1318 to the Orsini family of Cephalonia. It was captured by the Turks in 1449 but soon passed to Venice; after a brief period of French rule, it came again under the Turks. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was noted for its academic institutions. It was fought over several times during and after the War of Greek Independence (182129), but in 1881 it was ceded to Greece by Turkey. The seat of a metropolitan bishop, rta is a prosperous agricultural town surrounded by groves of orange, lemon, and citron trees. It also produces woolens, cottons, and embroidery. On the ancient acropolis are remains of a Byzantine fortress, and outside the town are several late 13th- and 14th-century churches and three 13th-century monasteries. Pop. (1981) city, 20,004; (1981) noms, 80,044.