War of the Second Coalition: The Ottoman–Albanian forces of Ali Pasha of Janina defeated French troops and captured the town of Preveza at the Battle of Nicopolis.

The War of the Second Coalition was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join the coalition, while Spain supported France.

Ali Pasha, commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent. The capital of the Pashalik was Ioannina, which, along with Tepelena, was Ali's headquarters.

Preveza is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is the southern part of the region of Epirus. The Aktio-Preveza Immersed Tunnel –the first, and so far only, undersea tunnel in Greece– was completed in 2002. The 1,570 m (5,150 ft) long immersed tunnel connects Preveza in the north, to Aktio of western Acarnania to the south. The ruins of the ancient city of Nicopolis lie 7 kilometres north of Preveza.

The Battle of Nicopolis was fought on 23 October [O.S. 12 October] 1798 between the armed forces of Revolutionary France and the autonomous Ottoman-Albanian ruler, Ali Pasha of Janina. The French had seized the Venetian Ionian Islands off the western coast of Greece the previous year, after the Fall of the Republic of Venice. The islands also included a few mainland exclaves like Butrint and Preveza, which were coveted by Ali. French efforts to draw Ali into their camp against the Ottoman sultan failed, and when the Ottoman Empire turned against France, Ali attacked the French positions. The battle, which took place amidst the ruins of the ancient city of Nicopolis, resulted in a French defeat, and was followed by a devastating sack of Preveza.