But the Sultan, Mahmud II, does not put up with things like that. He deems Ali Pasha an apostate, guilty of high treason and sends his loyal generals to bring him to Constantinople. Ioannina is under siege. Ali is now 80 years old; he resists at first but the noose is tightening. He asks the Sultan for a pardon and awaits his decision at the island, at the monastery of Saint Panteleimon. This is where, in 1822, his opponents kill him and send his head to Constantinople.