their Greek and Italian names in parentheses: Corfu (; ) Paxos (; ) Lefkada (; or ) Cephalonia ( or ; ) Ithaca ( or ; , or ) Zante (; or ), see the long account here Cythera (; ) Cythera and Lefkada were additionally called or and respectively by the Ottomans. History Roman and Byzantine period 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 Cephalonia was also unsuccessfully besieged in 1085, but was plundered in 1099 by the Pisans and in 1126 by the Venetians. Finally, Corfu and the rest of the theme, except for Lefkada, were captured by the Normans under William II of Sicily in 1185. Although Corfu was recovered by the Byzantines by 1191, the other islands henceforth remained lost to Byzantium, and formed a County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos under William's Greek admiral Margaritus of Brindisi. The Following the Fourth Crusade and the signature of the , Corfu came under Venetian rule. In 1207 though, doge Pietro Ziani ceded the island as a to ten Venetian nobles, provided that they demonstrate loyalty and devotion and that they pay taxes. Corfu passed in the hands of the Despotate of Epirus around 1214, and was captured in 1257 by Manfred of Sicily, who put his admiral Philippe Chinard there in charge of his eastern possessions. Nonetheless, with the defeat of Manfred at Benevento and the signature of the Treaty of Viterbo on 27 May 1267, Corfu became a possession of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. Meanwhile, the rest of the islands continued to form part of the County palatine, which throughout its existence was governed by three families: the Orsini (whose relation to the Roman Orsini family is unattested), the House of Anjou and the Tocco family. The rule of the family of Tocco lasted for 122 years, up until 1479, when Ottomans captured Cephalonia, Zante, Lefkada and Ithaca. The Venetian conquest On 13 February 1386 Corfu became once more a Venetian possession and this time Venetian rule