As Slavs and Saracen pirates pillaged and burned their way along the coastline of Greece, many people abandoned coastal settlements and moved inland in search of safety. The site of Arta seemed ideal. The river protected the city from the north, east, and west, while a hill partially blocked the approach from the south. Some time after the year 1000 the name Arta appears for the first time. The name may be derived from the Latin word “artus” (narrow) or may be a corrupted form of the old name “Ambracia”. With an unintended sense of comeuppance, the settlers made extensive use of building material from Nicopolis, the city that had sounded the death knell for old Ambracia.