Omer Vrioni was a Muslim Tosk Albanian from the village of Vrioni near Berat (hence his surname), with a distinguished record in the battles in Egypt against Napoleon.Finlay, p. 89. When Ali Pasha revolted against the Sublime Porte, Omer was his treasurer. He initially commanded the army tasked with defending the eastern approaches to Ioannina, but entered into an agreement with Ismail Pasha, the then commander-in-chief of the Sultan's forces, disbanding his army in exchange for the pashalik of Berat.Finlay, pp. 95-96.
