Mer-Égée was a one of three short-lived French départements in present Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. It came into existence after Napoleon's conquest in 1797 of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, when Venetian Greek possessions such as the Ionian islands

Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...

 fell to the French Directory

French Directory

The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...

.

It included the islands of Zante (Zakynthos

Zakynthos

Zakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ...

), Kythira

Kythira

Cythera is an island in Greece, once part of the Ionian Islands. It lies opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is administratively part of the Islands regional unit, which is part of the Attica region , Greece.For many centuries, while naval travel was the only means...

 and the Strofades

Strofades

Strofades is a group of two small Greek islands in the Ionian Islands. They lie about south-southeast of the island of Zakynthos. Administratively they are part of the Municipality of Zakynthos...

, as well as Dragamesto (modern Astakos

Astakos

Astakos is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xiromero, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located on the eastern shore of the Ionian Sea but small hills to the west of the town block...

) on the Greek mainland.

Its prefecture was at the town of Zante

Zakynthos (city)

Zakynthos is a city and a former municipality on the island of Zakynthos, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zakynthos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Zakynthos. Apart from the official name Zakynthos,...

 (Zakynthos). The territories were lost to Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 in 1798 and the département was officially disbanded in 1802.

During the renewed French control of the area in 1807-1809, the département was not re-established, the constitutional form of the Septinsular Republic

Septinsular Republic

The Septinsular Republic was an island republic that existed from 1800 to 1807 under nominal Ottoman sovereignty in the Ionian Islands. It was the first time Greeks had been granted even limited self-government since the fall of the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans in the...

being kept.