In the same centuries, the 17th and the 18th, Ioannina was filled with schools; Maroutsio, Caplanio, Balanio and the famous Zosimea School. It is no coincidence that one of the three members of the Society of Friends, the secret organization that lights the spark of the Greek revolution, is the merchant Athanasios Tsakalof, born in Ioannina. Even Ali Pasha, studious himself, brings together the scholars of every nationality and favors arts and letters. At this time, the expression "First in the chariots, in the piasters and in letters" is born, which gives Ioannina the first place, not only in war and trade, but also in education.