title: Ithaque
text: # Ithaque
  
  Ithaque (; French for Ithaca) was one of three short-lived French departments of Greece.
  
  ## History
  
  It came into existence after Napoleon's conquest in 1797 of the Republic of Venice, when Venetian Greek possessions such as the Ionian islands fell to the French Directory. It included the islands of Ithaca, Cephalonia and Lefkada, as well as the cities of Preveza, Arta and Vonitsa on the adjacent mainland. Its prefecture was at Argostoli on Cephalonia. The islands were lost to Russia in 1798 and the department was officially disbanded in 1802. Also Preveza, Arta and Vonitsa were captured in 1798 by Ali Pasha, ruler of the Pashalik of Yanina.
  
  During the renewed French control of the area in 1807–1809, the department was not re-established, the constitutional form of the Septinsular Republic being kept.
  
  ## Administration
  
  ### Commissioner
  
  The Commissioner of the Directory was the highest state representative in the department.
  
  | Term start | Term end | Office holder |
  | - | - | - |
  | 18 October 1797 | 3 March 1799 | Pierre-Pomponne-Amédée Pocholle |
  