city after the Ottoman fleet of Ali Muezzinzade Pasha and Pertev Pasha appeared in front of the city. In Lower Albania rebellion erupted in 1566 in Himara and the surrounding region following an Ottoman attempt to impose regular taxation. The rebels defeated an Ottoman army of 8.000-10.000 and offered Venice support for a potential Venetian invasion of Albania. In spring 1570 Venetian administration in Corfu sent the stratiot Meksha Gjerbësi in the hinterland of Vlorë with the aim to "subvert countless villages" in the area. Meksha Gjerbësi was chosen for this task because he was Albanian speaking. Meetings between the Venetian provveditore of Corfu Sebastiano Venier and the elders of the villages of Himara were held in March 1570. Himariots promised Venier that they would revolt against the Ottomans, while requesting on their side artillery and provisions. Furthermore Himariots would have obtained a wide autonomy under the protection of the Republic of Venice once freed from Ottoman rule. After the meetings the Venetian provveditore informed the Senate that "in a short time, such a large number of Albanians will gather, that getting a little garrison of people and of weapons from us, they will easily do any enterprise and we will get the whole country of Albania". Emmanuel Mormoris and a small Venetian force, having raised the local Albanians in rebellion against the Ottomans, assaulted Ottoman fortresses in the Himara region. As soon as military operations began, Emmanuel Mormoris proposed the capture of the coastal fortress of Castle of Sopot across Corfu. The revolt in the coastal region of Himara received the support of both local Albanian and Greek elements and as a result it came under Venetian control. In 1570, the rebels captured the Sopot, where a small number of Venetian mercenaries under Mormoris were installed. Mormoris with a force composed of his soldiers and a large number of Albanians proceeded to siege of the coastal fortress of Nivice in March 1571. In April 1571, the Ottomans sent two ships to Himara for tax collection and offered amnesty for the rebels. His offer was rejected and 6000 Albanian rebels from Himara and the nearby villages instead attacked and killed 350 Ottoman soldiers. The Albanians then called upon Mormoris and his mercenaries in Sopot Castle to attack the Ottomans. The Albanian army and the Venetian mercenaries assaulted the castle at Kardhiq, but were driven back. Mormoris advanced to the garrison