Town foundation

The town of Ioannina was founded by Emperor Justinian in the 6th centuary A.D. with the migration of the inhabitans of Evroia.The historian Procopius (6th century identifies the city as the "New Euroia" walled by the emperor Justinian. In 879 A.D. the Records of the Constantinople Synod are also signed by "Zacharias, Bishop of Ioanniki".Information about the town-castle are also provided by both the sigil of the emperor Vasilios B' Voulgaroktonos (1020 A.D.) and the "Alexias" written by Anna Comneni (1082 A.D.)During this period, as for many years to come, the city of Ioannina seems to be limited to the area encompasses within the fortress.According to the tradition, the town-castle receivedits name from its first constructor, Ioannis, or from the Monastery of St John the Baptist that stood in the Castle before the devastation of 1611.