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Arvanites (/ˈɑːrvənts/;[1] Arvanitika: Αρbε̱ρεσ̈ε̰, romanized: Arbëreshë or Αρbε̰ρορε̱, romanized: Arbërorë; Greek: Αρβανίτες, romanized: Arvanítes) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin.[2] The Arvanites were regarded as ethnically distinct from the Greeks up until the 19th century, but due to their important roles in the Greek War of Independence and the Greek Civil War, they were soon regarded as an integral part of the Greek nation and were exposed to increasing assimilation by the modern Greek state.

Key Information

During the 20th century, Arvanites in Greece began to dissociate themselves much more strongly from the Albanians, stressing instead their national self-identification as Greeks. The Greek government pursued policies that actively discouraged the use of Arvanitika, and today, almost all Arvanites self-identify as Greeks[3][4][5][6] and do not consider themselves Albanian.[7] Nowadays, they are bilingual,[8][3] traditionally speaking Arvanitika – an Albanian variety – along with Greek. Arvanitika is currently in a state of attrition due to a language shift towards Greek, the large-scale internal migration to the cities, and the subsequent intermingling of the Arvanite community with the wider Greek population during the 20th century onwards.

Albanians were first recorded as settlers who came to what is today southern Greece in the late 13th and early 14th century, with the last old migratory wave occurring in the second half of the 18th century. They were the dominant population element in parts of the Peloponnese, Attica, and Boeotia up until the 19th century.[9][10] After settling in Greece, numerous groups from these Albanian communities began to migrate to Italy during the 15th–16th centuries, and now form part of the Arbëreshë community.

Names

[edit]

The name Arvanites and its equivalents are today used both in Greek (Αρβανίτες, singular form Αρβανίτης, feminine Αρβανίτισσα) and in Arvanitika itself (Arbëreshë or Arbërorë). In Standard Albanian (Arvanitë, Arbëreshë, Arbërorë) all three names are used. The name Arvanites and its variants are based upon the root arb/alb of the old ethnonym that was at one time used by all Albanians to refer to themselves.[11][12] It refers to a geographical term, first attested in Polybius in the form of a place-name Arvon (Άρβων), and then again in Byzantine authors of the 11th and 12th centuries in the form Arvanon (Άρβανον) or Arvana (Άρβανα), referring to a place in what is today Albania.[13] The name Arvanites ("Arbanitai") originally referred to the inhabitants of that region, and then to all Albanian-speakers. The alternative name Albanians may ultimately be etymologically related, but is of less clear origin (see Albania (toponym)). It was probably conflated with that of the "Arbanitai" at some stage due to phonological similarity. In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi", with a range of variants, were used interchangeably, while sometimes the same groups were also called by the classicising names Illyrians. In the 19th and early 20th century, Alvani (Albanians) was used predominantly in formal registers and Arvanites (Αρβανίτες) in the more popular speech in Greek, but both were used indiscriminately for both Muslim and Christian Albanophones inside and outside Greece.[14] In Albania itself, the self-designation Arvanites had been exchanged for the new name Shqiptarë since the 15th century, an innovation that was not shared by the Albanophone migrant communities in the south of Greece. In the course of the 20th century, it became customary to use only Αλβανοί for the people of Albania, and only Αρβανίτες for the Greek-Arvanites, thus stressing the national separation between the two groups.

There is some uncertainty to what extent the term Arvanites also includes the small remaining Christian Albanophone population groups in Epirus and West Macedonia. Unlike the southern Arvanites, these speakers are reported to use the name Shqiptarë both for themselves and for Albanian nationals,[15] although these communities also espouse a Greek national identity nowadays.[6] The word Shqiptár is also used in a few villages of Thrace, where Arvanites migrated from the mountains of Pindus during the 19th century.[16] However they also use the name Arvanitis speaking in Greek. In Epirus the designation Chams is today rejected by Albanian speakers.[17] The report by GHM (1995) subsumes the Epirote Albanophones under the term Arvanites, although it notes the different linguistic self-designation,[18] on the other hand, applies the term Arvanites only to the populations of the compact Arvanitic settlement areas in southern Greece, in keeping with the self-identification of those groups. Linguistically, the Ethnologue[19] identifies the present-day Albanian/Arvanitic dialects of Northwestern Greece (in Epirus and Lechovo) with those of the Chams, and therefore classifies them together with standard Tosk Albanian, as opposed to "Arvanitika Albanian proper" (i.e. southern Greek-Arvanitika). Nevertheless, it reports that in Greek the Epirus varieties are also often subsumed under "Arvanitika" in a wider sense. It puts the estimated number of Epirus Albanophones at 10,000. Arvanitika proper[20] is said to include the outlying dialects spoken in Thrace.

History

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The Venetian walled city of Napoli di Romania where the Case di Albanesi (lit. Houses of the Albanians) can be seen outside the walls and the castles of their neighbouring communities Castel di Greci (lit. Castle of the Greeks) and Castello di Franchi (lit. Castle of the Francs) can be seen within. Early 16th century.

Arvanites in Greece originate from Albanian settlers[21][22] who moved south from areas in what is today southern Albania during the Middle Ages.[23][24] These Albanian movements into Greece are recorded for the first time in the late 13th and early 14th century.[25] The reasons for this migration are not entirely clear and may be manifold. In many instances the Albanians were invited by the Byzantine and Latin rulers of the time. They were employed to re-settle areas that had been largely depopulated through wars, epidemics, and other reasons, and they were employed as soldiers.[26][27] Some later movements are also believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest.

Groups of Albanians moved into Thessaly as early as 1268, as mercenaries of Michael Doukas.[28] The Albanian tribes of Bua, Malakasioi and Mazaraki were described as "unruly" nomads living in the mountains of Thessaly in the early 14th century in Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos' 'History'. They numbered approximately 12,000. Kantakouzenos describes a pact they made to serve the Byzantine Emperor and pay tribute to him ca. 1332 in exchange for using the lowland areas of Thessaly in the summer months.[29] Albanian groups were given military holdings Fanari in the 1330s and by the end of the 14th century and the Ottoman takeover of the region, they were an integral part of the military structures of Thessaly. Two of their military leaders known in Byzantine sources as Peter and John Sebastopoulos controlled the small towns of Pharsala and Domokos.[30] Ottoman control began in the late 14th century with the capture of Larissa in 1392-93 and consolidated in the early 15th century. Nevertheless, Ottoman control was threatened throughout this era by groups of Greeks, Albanians and Vlachs who based themselves in the mountainous areas of Thessaly.[31]

The main waves of migration into southern Greece started from 1350, reached a peak some time during the 14th century, and ended around 1600. Albanians first reached Thessaly, then Attica, and finally the Peloponnese.[32] One of the larger groups of Albanian settlers, amounting to 10,000, settled the Peloponnese during the reign of Theodore I Palaiologos, first in Arcadia and subsequently in the more southern regions around Messenia, Argolis, Elis and Achaea. Around 1418, a second large group arrived, possibly fleeing Aetolia, Acarnania and Arta, where Albanian political power had been defeated. After the Ottoman incursion in 1417, other groups from Albania crossed western Greece and may have infiltrated into Achaea.[33] The settled Albanians practiced a nomadic lifestyle based on pastoralism, and spread out into small villages.[34]

Identified Albanian settlements in the Peloponnese, according to the Ottoman taxation cadastre of 1460–1463. Many of these settlements have since been abandoned, while others have been renamed.[35] Out of the 580 inhabited villages, 407 are listed as Albanian, 169 as Greek, and four as mixed; the average number of families residing in Albanian villages was 3.5 times smaller than that of the Greek ones.[36]

In 1453, the Albanians rose in revolt against Thomas and Demetrios Palaiologos, due to the chronic insecurity and tribute payment to the Turks; they were also joined by the local Greeks, who by then had a common leader in Manuel Kantakouzenos.[37][38] Following the Ottoman conquest, many Albanians fled to Italy and settled primarily in the Arbëreshë villages of Calabria and Sicily. On the other hand, in an effort to control the remaining Albanians, during the second half of the 15th century, the Ottomans adopted favorable tax policies towards them, likely in continuation of similar Byzantine practices. This policy had been discontinued by the early 16th century.[39] Albanians often took part in wars on the side of the Republic of Venice against the Ottomans, between 1463 and 1715.[40]

During the Greek War of Independence, many Arvanites played an important role on fighting on the Greek side against the Ottomans, often as national Greek heroes. With the formation of modern nations and nation-states in the Balkans, Arvanites have come to be regarded as an integral part of the Greek nation. In 1899, leading representatives of the Arvanites in Greece, including descendants of the independence heroes, published a manifesto calling their fellow Albanians outside Greece to join in the creation of a common Albanian-Greek state.[41]

After the Greek War of Independence, Arvanites contributed greatly to the fulfilment of irredentist concept of Megali Idea which aimed to see all Greek populations in the Ottoman Empire freed and came to a halt with the end of the Greco-Turkish war in 1922.[42] Up to the early 20th century, Albanian, in the form of the Arvanitika dialect, was the main language of the Greek naval fleet, because a high proportion of its sailors came from Albanian-speaking islands of Greece.[43] For example, in Hydra men spoke both Albanian and Greek, with the former used to speak with each other and sing songs in the sea. Many women though spoke only Albanian.[44]

In the small 19th-century Kingdom of Greece, and specifically in c. 1854–1861, it is estimated that around 16–25% of the population was Albanian (Arvanite);[45][46] in c. 1879, after the incorporation of the Ionian Islands, it is estimated that it was about 11.3% of the population.[47][48] That population spoke Albanian as its mother language, even in the absence of Albanian schools and alphabet, as the state discouraged any expression of Albanian national identity and nationalism. Although the Albanian speakers were considered Greeks, which they were not, there was a glimpse of Albanianism as expressed by some intellectuals such as Tasos Neroutsos, Anastas Kullurioti, Anastas Byku and Panayotis Koupitoris.[46]

During the 20th century, after the creation of the Albanian nation-state, Arvanites in Greece have come to dissociate themselves much more strongly from the Albanians, stressing instead their national self-identification as Greeks. At the same time, it has been suggested that many Arvanites in earlier decades maintained an assimilatory stance,[49] leading to a progressive loss of their traditional language and a shifting of the younger generation towards Greek.

Alfred Philippson's ethnographic map of the Peloponnese, 1890; Albanian-speaking areas in red.
American ethnographic map of the Balkan Peninsula, 1911; Albanian-inhabited areas in light orange.
Albanians in Greece (light blue shade), 1923 (C.S. Hammond & Co)
Albanians in Greece (orange shade), 1932 (Carl Troll)

At some times, particularly under the nationalist 4th of August Regime under Ioannis Metaxas of 1936–1941, Greek state institutions followed a policy of actively discouraging and repressing the use of Arvanitika.[50] The Arvanitika-speaking communities in the Athens area came under greater pressure, as their presence was seen as damaging the purity of the ethnic heritage. The Arvanites were persecuted by the state in different ways. During World War II their position improved to some degree after members of the community helped other Greeks serving in the Albanian front. In the decades following World War II and the Greek Civil War, many Arvanites came under pressure to abandon Arvanitika in favour of monolingualism in the national language, and especially the archaizing Katharevousa which remained the official variant of Greek until 1976. This trend was prevalent especially during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.[51]

Demographics

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The 1460–1463 Ottoman taxation cadastre recorded the taxable population of the Peloponnese by households (ḫâne), bachelors, and widows. Specifically, there were 6,551 (58.37%) Greek and 4,672 (41.63%) Albanian households, 909 (66.25%) Greek and 463 (33.75%) Albanian bachelors, and 562 (72.05%) Greek and 218 (27.95%) Albanian widows.[52] Greeks tended to live in large villages and cities, while Albanians in small villages.[53] Specifically, out of the 580 inhabited villages, 407 are listed as Albanian, 169 as Greek, and four as mixed; however, Greek villages had on average 3.5 times more families than Albanian ones.[36] Many of these settlements have since been abandoned, while others have been renamed.[54] A Venetian source of the mid-15th century estimates that 30,000 Albanians lived in the Peloponnese at that time.[55] Throughout the Ottoman–Venetian wars, many Albanians died or were captured in service to the Venetians; at Nafpaktos, Nafplio, Argos, Methoni, Koroni and Pylos. Furthermore, 8,000 Albanian stratioti, most of them along with their families, left the Peloponnese to continue their military service under the Republic of Venice or the Kingdom of Naples.[citation needed]

Historian Thomas Gordon who traveled in the Kingdom of Greece in the 1830s and earlier in the 1820s described its Albanian-speaking areas: "Attica, Argolis, Boeotia, Phocis, and the isles of Hydra, Spetses, Salamis, and Andros" as well as "several villages in Arcadia, Achaia, and Messenia".[56] In the mid-19th century, Johann Georg von Hahn estimated the number of Albanians (Arvanites) throughout Greece to be 173,000,[45] while historian George Finlay, estimated they numbered about 200,000 out of approximately 1.1 million inhabitants in total based on the 1861 census.[57] A demographic census by Alfred Philippson, based on fieldwork between 1887 and 1889, found that out of the approximately 730,000 inhabitants of the Peloponnese, and the three neighboring islands of Poros, Hydra and Spetses, Arvanites numbered 90,253, or 12.3% of the total population.[58][59] According to the Greek census of 1907 [fr], Albanian-speakers numbered 50,975 out of 2,631,952 population in total.[60][61] The results of that census are unreliable, and were questioned by those responsible for it. With few exceptions, the official census data that have been published since 1907 were manipulated by the Greek state, misrepresenting the reality or avoiding to deal with ethno-linguistic diversity.[61]

There are no official figures about the number of Arvanites in Greece today (no official data exist for ethnicity in Greece). The last official census figures available come from 1951. Since then, estimates of the numbers of Arvanites has ranged from 25,000 to 200,000. The following is a summary of the widely diverging estimates (Botsi 2003: 97):

  • 1928 census: 18,773 citizens self-identifying as "Albanophone" in all of Greece.
  • 1951 census: 22,736 "Albanophones".
  • Furikis (1934): estimated 70,000 Arvanites in Attica alone.
  • Trudgill/Tzavaras (1976/77): estimated 140,000 in Attica and Boeotia together.
  • Sasse (1991): estimated 50,000 Arvanitika speakers in all of Greece.
  • Ethnologue, 2000: 150,000 Arvanites, living in 300 villages.
  • Federal Union of European Nationalities, 1991: 95,000 "Albanians of Greece" (MRG 1991: 189)
  • Minority Rights Group International, 1997: 200,000 Arvanites of Greece.[62]
  • Jan Markusse (2001): 25.000 Arvanites in Greece[63]

Like the rest of the Greek population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital Athens. This has contributed to the loss of the language in the younger generation.

Today, regions with a strong traditional presence of Arvanites are found mainly in a compact area in southeastern mainland Greece, namely across Attica (especially in Eastern Attica), southern Boeotia, the north-east of the Peloponnese, the south of the island of Euboea, the north of the island of Andros, and several islands of the Saronic Gulf including Salamis, Hydra, Poros, Agistri and Spetses. In parts of this area they formed a solid majority until about 1900. Within Attica, parts of the capital Athens and its suburbs were Arvanitic until the late 19th century.[64] There are also settlements in some other parts of the Peloponnese, and in Phthiotis. Albanians also settled on the islands of Kea, Psara, Aegina, Kythnos, Skopelos, Ios and Samos. They would thereafter assimilate into the Greek population.[65]

In the 1990s, the European Commission's Euromosaic Project documenting minority languages recorded the geographic distribution and language status of Arvanites and Arvanitika in Greece.[17]

Distribution of Arvanites in southern Greece (Euromosaic)[17]
Administrative divisions
Geographic location and language status (late 20th century)
Attica (prefectures of Athens, East Attica, and West Attica) In the early 20th century, apart from Megara and another smaller village, all villages in Attica and some neighbourhoods of Athens were Arvanite. The modern large population concentrated in Attica has altered the demographics of the area. Majority of villages have remained Arvanite.
Euboea Excluding the towns of Aliveri and Karistos, all villages of the Karistos sub–prefecture below the Achladeri–Prinia line consisting of a large area in the southernmost part of the island.
Cyclades Over 10 villages located in the northern part of Andros island.
Corinthia 70 villages, mostly in the eastern part of the prefecture.
Argolis 30–35 villages, most located east of Argos and in the Ermioni sub–prefecture.
Achaea Under 20 villages, all located in the west, except one. Arvanitika no longer spoken in Mount Panachaiko area.
Messenia 20 villages in the sub–prefecture of Trifylia.
Arcadia 1 village.
Elis Arvanitika ceased to be spoken by the 1940s.
Laconia A few speakers remained among the elderly.
Piraeus All villages in the sub–prefecture of Troezen, the islands of Salamis, Agistri, Hydra, and Spetses.
Boeotia Over 60 villages, most located in the sub–prefecture of Thebes.
Phthiotis 6–7 villages in the southeastern part of the prefecture.

Language use and language perception

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Opening verses of a poem composed in Arvanitika, with Greek translation, honoring the marriage between Alexandra and Archduke Paul of Russia; 1889.

Arvanitika is a dialect of the Albanian language, sharing similar features primarily with other Tosk varieties. The name Arvanítika and its native equivalent Arbërisht[66] are derived from the ethnonym Arvanites, which in turn comes from the toponym Arbëna (Greek: Άρβανα), which in the Middle Ages referred to a region in what is today Albania.[67] Its native equivalents (Arbërorë, Arbëreshë and others) used to be the self-designation of Albanians in general.

While Arvanitika was commonly called Albanian in Greece until the 20th century, the wish of Arvanites to express their ethnic identification as Greeks has led to a stance of rejecting the identification of the language with Albanian as well.[68] In recent times, Arvanites had only very imprecise notions about how related or unrelated their language was to Albanian.[69] Since Arvanitika is almost exclusively a spoken language, Arvanites also have no practical affiliation with the Standard Albanian language used in Albania, as they do not use this form in writing or in media. The question of linguistic closeness or distance between Arvanitika and Albanian has come to the forefront especially since the early 1990s, when a large number of Albanian immigrants began to enter Greece and came into contact with local Arvanitic communities.[70]

Since the 1980s, there have been some organized efforts to preserve the cultural and linguistic heritage of Arvanites. The largest organisation promoting Arvanitika is the "Arvanitic League of Greece" (Αρβανίτικος Σύλλογος Ελλάδος).[71]

Arvanitika is currently considered in danger of extinction due to it having no legal status in Greece. The language is also not available at any level of the educational system in Greece. Social changes, government policies, and public indifference have also contributed to the decline of the language.[21]

Intercommunity relations

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Arvanites were regarded as ethnically distinct from the Greeks until the 19th century.[3] Amongst the Arvanites, this difference was expressed in words such as shkljira for a Greek person and shkljerishtë for the Greek language that had until recent decades negative overtones.[72] These words in Arvanitika have their related counterpart in the pejorative term shqa used by Northern Albanians for Slavs.[73] Ultimately these terms used amongst Albanian speakers originate from the Latin word sclavus which contained the traditional meaning of "the neighbouring foreigner".[73]

With participation in the Greek War of Independence and the Greek Civil War, this has led to increasing assimilation amongst the Arvanites.[3] The common Christian Orthodox religion they shared with the rest of the local population was one of the main reasons that led to their assimilation.[74] Although sociological studies of Arvanite communities still used to note an identifiable sense of a special "ethnic" identity among Arvanites, the authors did not identify a sense of 'belonging to Albania or to the Albanian nation'.[7] Many Arvanites find the designation "Albanians" offensive as they identify nationally and ethnically as Greeks and not Albanians.[68] Jacques Lévy describes the Arvanites as "Albanian speakers who were integrated into Greek national identity as early as the first half of the nineteenth century and who in no way consider themselves as an ethnic minority".[75]

Relations between Arvanites and other Albanian speaking populations have varied over time. During the onset of the Greek war of Independence, Arvanites fought alongside Greek revolutionaries and against Muslim Albanians.[76][77] Arvanites participated in the 1821 Tripolitsa massacre[76] while some Muslim Albanian speakers in the region of Bardounia remained after the war, converting to Orthodoxy.[77] In recent times, Arvanites have expressed mixed opinions towards Albanian immigrants within Greece. Negative views are perceptions that Albanian immigrants are "communists" arriving from a "backward country",[78] or an opportune people with questionable morals, behaviors and a disrespect for religion.[79] Other Arvanites during the late 1980s and early 1990s expressed solidarity with Albanian immigrants, due to linguistic similarities and being politically leftist.[80][81] Relations too between Arvanites and other Orthodox Albanian speaking communities such as those of Greek Epirus are mixed, as they are distrusted regarding religious matters due to a past Albanian Muslim population living amongst them.[82]

Amongst the wider Greek speaking population however, the Arvanites and their language Arvanitika were viewed in past times in a derogatory manner.[83] These views contributed toward shaping negative attitudes held by Arvanites regarding their language and thereby increasing assimilation.[84] In post-dictatorial Greece, the Arvanites have rehabilitated themselves within Greek society through for example the propagation of the Pelasgian theory regarding Arvanite origins.[85] The theory created a counter discourse that aimed to give the Arvanites a positive image in Greek history by claiming the Arvanites as the ancestors and relations of contemporary Greeks and their culture.[85] The Arvanite revival of the Pelasgian theory has also been recently borrowed by other Albanian speaking populations within and from Albania in Greece to counter the negative image of their communities.[85] However, this theory has been rejected by modern scholars and it is seen as a myth.[86]

In the 1990s, the Albanian president Sali Berisha raised a question about an Albanian minority in Greece, but the Arvanite cultural associations reacted angrily to his statement.[87]

Arvanitic culture

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Fara

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Fara (Greek: φάρα, means "seed", "descendants" in Albanian,[88] from Proto-Albanian *pʰarā[89]) is a descent model, similar to the Albanian tribal system of fis. Arvanites were organised in phares (φάρες) mostly during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. The apical ancestor was a warlord and the phara was named after him.[90] In an Arvanitic village, each phara was responsible to keep genealogical records (see also registry offices), that are preserved until today as historical documents in local libraries. Usually, there were more than one phares in an Arvanitic village and sometimes they were organised in phratries that had conflicts of interest. Those phratries didn't last long, because each leader of a phara desired to be the leader of the phratry and would not be led by another.[91]

Role of women

[edit]
Arvanite women in Attica

Women held a relatively strong position in traditional Arvanitic society. Women had a say in public issues concerning their phara, and also often bore arms. Widows could inherit the status and privileges of their husbands and thus acquire leading roles within a fara, as did, for instance, Laskarina Bouboulina.[92]

Arvanitic songs

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Traditional Arvanite folk songs offer valuable information about social values and ideals of Arvanitic societies.[93]

Dress

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The traditional clothing of Arvanites included distinctive attire that sometimes identified them in past times as Arvanites from other neighbouring populations.[94][95] Arvanite males on the Greek mainland wore the fustanella, a pleated like skirt garment or kilt, while those who lived on some Aegean islands wore baggy breeches of the seafaring Greeks.[94][95]

Arvanite women were known for wearing a chemise shirt that was heavily embroidered.[94] They also wore a heavily embroidered foundi or gown like garment that was heavily embroidered in silk and on the mainland the sigouni, a woolen thick white coat.[94][95] On the Aegean islands, Arvanite women wore silk gowns with Turkish influences.[95] Terms for Arvanite female clothing were in Arvanitika rather than in Greek.[94]

Notable people

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Laskarina Bouboulina
Dimitris Plapoutas
Theodoros Pangalos (general)

Greek War of Independence

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Presidents of Greece

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Prime Ministers of Greece

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Politicians

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Clergymen

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Military

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Literature

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Folklore

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Science

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Artists

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Architecture

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See also

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References

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Sources

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  • Athanassopoulou, Angélique (2005). "Nos Albanais à nous': Travailleurs émigrés dans une communauté arvanite du Péloponnèse" ["'Our own Albanians': Migrant workers in a Peloponnese Arvanitic community"]". Ethnologie française. 35. doi:10.3917/ethn.052.0267.
  • Bakaoukas, Michael. "Modern Greek National Identity". Center for Applied Philosophy: The Radical Academy. (Online text)
  • Banfi, Emanuele (1996), "Minoranze linguistiche in Grecia: Problemi storico- e sociolinguistici" ["Linguistic minorities in Greece: Historical and sociolinguistic problems"]. In: C. Vallini (ed.), Minoranze e lingue minoritarie: Convegno internazionale. Naples: Universitario Orientale. 89–115.
  • Bintliff, John (2003), "The Ethnoarchaeology of a "Passive" Ethnicity: The Arvanites of Central Greece" in K.S. Brown and Yannis Hamilakis, eds., The Usable Past: Greek Metahistories, Lexington Books. ISBN 0-7391-0383-0.
  • Biris, Kostas (1960): Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού: H ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών. ["Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Greece: History of the Greek Arvanites"]. Athens. (3rd ed. 1998: ISBN 960-204-031-9)
  • Botsi, Eleni (2003): Die sprachliche Selbst- und Fremdkonstruktion am Beispiel eines arvanitischen Dorfes Griechenlands: Eine soziolinguistische Studie. ("Linguistic construction of the self and the other in an Arvanitic village in Greece: A sociolinguistic study"). PhD dissertation, University of Konstanz, Germany. Online text
  • Breu, Walter (1990): "Sprachliche Minderheiten in Italien und Griechenland" ["Linguistic minorities in Italy and Greece"]. In: B. Spillner (ed.), Interkulturelle Kommunikation. Frankfurt: Lang. 169–170.
  • Christoforides, Konst. (1904): Lexikon tis Alvanikis Glossis. Athens: P.D. Sakellariou.
  • Clogg, Richard (2002): Minorities in Greece: Aspect of a Plural Society. Oxford: Hurst.
  • Dede, Maria (1978): Αρβανίτικα Τραγούδια. Athens: Καστανιώτης.
  • Dede, Maria (1987): Οι Έλληνες Αρβανίτες. ["The Greek Arvanites"]. Ioannina: Idryma Voreioipirotikon Erevnon.
  • P. Dimitras, M. Lenkova (1997): "'Unequal rights' for Albanians in the southern Balkans". Greek Helsinki Monitor Report, AIM Athens, October 1997.
  • Prévélakis, Georges. "The Hellenic Diaspora and the Greek State: A Spatial Approach". Geopolitics, Autumn 2000, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p. 171–185.
  • Ducellier, Alain (1968): "L'Arbanon et les Albanais", Travaux et mémoires 3: 353–368.
  • Ducellier, Alain (1994): Οι Αλβανοί στην Ελλάδα (13–15 αι.): Η μετανάστευση μίας κοινότητας. ["The Albanians in Greece (13th–15th cent.): A community's migration"]. Athens: Idhrima Gulandri Horn.
  • Euromosaic (1996): "L'arvanite / albanais en Grèce". Report published by the Institut de Sociolingüística Catalana. Online version
  • Furikis, Petros (1931): "Πόθεν το εθνικόν Αρβανίτης;" ["Whence the ethnonym Arvanites?"] Αθήνα 43: 3–37.
  • Furikis, Petros (1934): "Η εν Αττική ελληνοαλβανική διάλεκτος". ["The Greek-Albanian dialect in Attica"] Αθήνα 45: 49–181.
  • Gefou-Madianou, Dimitra. "Cultural Polyphony and Identity Formation: Negotiating Tradition in Attica." American Ethnologist. Vol. 26, No. 2., (May 1999), pp. 412–439.
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Arvanites are an ethnic subgroup of of Albanian descent whose ancestors migrated from present-day to southern between the 13th and 16th centuries during the late Byzantine and early Ottoman eras, settling primarily in the , , , and such as Hydra and . They traditionally spoke , a of , but have undergone extensive linguistic assimilation into Greek, with the language now endangered and spoken fluently by few. As Orthodox Christians who identified with Hellenic culture and resisted Ottoman rule, Arvanites played a decisive role in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), contributing fighters, leaders, and naval forces that were instrumental in expelling Ottoman forces from key regions. Notable figures include , a wealthy shipowner from who commanded warships and funded revolutionary efforts. Their communities formed a significant portion of the early Greek state's military backbone, aiding in the establishment of independent . By the , Arvanites had integrated fully into the emerging Greek national identity, rejecting any affiliation with and viewing themselves unequivocally as , a stance reinforced by shared , intermarriage, and participation in Greek state-building. Today, while no official tracks them separately due to their self-identification as ethnic , their descendants number in the hundreds of thousands, concentrated in rural areas of their historic settlements, with cultural traces persisting in folklore, toponyms, and festivals despite widespread . External claims by Albanian irredentists to portray Arvanites as latent lack empirical support from Arvanite self-perception or historical behavior, which consistently aligned with Greek sovereignty and against Ottoman or Balkan .

Terminology and Names

Etymology and External Designations

The term Arvanites (Greek: Arvanítes, singular Arvanítis) derives from the Byzantine Greek Arbanítēs (Ἀρβανίτης), a variant of Albanítēs (Ἀλβανίτης), the medieval Greek designation for Albanians. This form emerged as a phonetic adaptation influenced by Greek pronunciation patterns, where the intervocalic /l/ shifted to /r/ in certain dialects, distinguishing it from the standard Albanos used for Albanians north of Greece. The name first appears in historical records from the 11th–14th centuries, referring to Albanian-speaking groups migrating southward into Byzantine territories, often linked to the toponym Arvanon or Arbon in southern Albania. External designations for Arvanites historically aligned with broader ethnonyms for Albanian populations, such as Arnavut in documents from the 15th century onward, which encompassed Albanian settlers in the and under Ottoman administration. In Venetian records of the () during the 15th–17th centuries, they were termed Albanesi or Arbanesi, reflecting Italianate forms of the Greek Arvanítes for Albanian mercenaries and colonists. These labels emphasized their linguistic and ancestral ties to Albanian groups rather than local Greek populations, though usage varied by context—Byzantine and post-Byzantine sources increasingly applied Arvanítes specifically to southern Greek settlements to differentiate them from northern .

Self-Designation and Historical Terms

Arvanites traditionally designate themselves as Arbërorë or Arbëreshë in their Albanian dialect, , terms that historically served as the endonym for prior to the 15th-century shift to Shqiptarë among populations in central . This retention of the older distinguishes Arvanites from modern , reflecting linguistic continuity with medieval Albanian self-perceptions rather than adoption of the neologism derived from Latin Illyricus via Schiavoni. In Greek contexts, Arvanites employ the term Arvanítes, a Hellenized adaptation attested from the late Byzantine period onward, emphasizing their integration into Greek while acknowledging distinct linguistic heritage. Contemporary Arvanites overwhelmingly self-identify as ethnically and nationally Greek, viewing their Albanian-origin as a cultural relic subordinate to Hellenic identity shaped by Orthodox , shared , and state assimilation processes. This self-perception aligns with their historical role in Greek institutions, where Albanian linguistic elements did not preclude Greek national allegiance. Historically, external designations for Arvanite ancestors trace to Byzantine sources using Arbanitai (or Arbanon for their regions), first documented in the 11th century by historian Michael Attaliates to describe Albanian-speaking groups in the Balkans. These terms denoted pastoralist populations from Epirus and adjacent areas, often as mercenaries or settlers, without implying modern ethnic boundaries. During the Ottoman era (15th–19th centuries), such groups in Greece were termed Arnavut or Arnaut in Turkish administrative records, reflecting phonetic renditions of Arbanitai applied to Albanian-speakers irrespective of religious affiliation. By the 19th century, Arvanites solidified as the standard exonym and endonym in Greek historiography, coinciding with nation-state formation and linguistic Hellenization.

Origins and Migration

Pre-Migration Background

The ancestors of the Arvanites originated among Albanian-speaking clans in the western Balkan highlands, particularly in the region of (also known as Arvanon), a local lordship in present-day central during the 12th and 13th centuries. This area fell within the Byzantine theme of Dyrrhachium and was characterized by tribal structures led by archons such as Progon, who established control around 1190, followed by his sons Dhimitër Progoni and Gjin Progoni until approximately 1255. These groups maintained a semi-feudal organization with emphasis on kinship ties, Orthodox Christianity, and economic reliance on transhumant , supplemented by limited in river valleys. Byzantine chronicles, including those of George Akropolites, document Arbanon's integration into imperial administration, where local Albanian leaders provided military service, often as lightly armed skirmishers or garrison troops amid ongoing conflicts with Norman invaders and internal revolts. Population pressures from Serbian expansions under Stefan Nemanjić and the destabilizing effects of the (1204) prompted southward movements, with clans seeking arable lands and Byzantine invitations for settlement in depopulated southern territories. While some historiography exaggerates Arbanon's role as a proto-national entity, primary sources indicate it functioned as a peripheral rather than a centralized , fostering resilient, mobile communities adapted to mountainous terrain and intermittent warfare.

Waves of Settlement in Greece

The primary waves of Arvanite settlement in occurred during the late Byzantine period, beginning in the 13th century and peaking in the 14th century, with migrations tapering off by around 1600. These movements were driven by demographic pressures in Albanian territories, such as internal strife and in regions like Arvanon, as well as invitations from Byzantine rulers to repopulate areas devastated by wars, invasions, and the . Arvanites, primarily Orthodox Christian Albanian-speakers, were recruited as military colonists, farmers, and defenders in sparsely populated frontiers, filling voids left by Slavic raids and economic decline. Initial migrations in the late 13th and early 14th centuries targeted central Greece, including , where approximately 12,000 Arvanites settled, organized into clans such as the Bouai, Malakasai, and Messarites; these groups initially raided local plains before being subdued and integrated by Emperor in 1333. Further expansion into and followed, facilitated by service as mercenaries under Serbian overlords like , whose empire's push southward opened paths to the by the mid-14th century. In the (), the first documented presence dates to the rule of Despot Manuel Cantacuzenus (1348–1380), marking the onset of concentrated settlements in rural areas. Byzantine and Frankish authorities actively encouraged these inflows to bolster defenses against Ottoman incursions and restore agricultural productivity. A significant wave arrived in the in 1404–1405, when Despot Theodore I invited around 10,000 Arvanites to cross the , granting them lands for amid escalating Ottoman raids. This settlement addressed acute depopulation following the and prior conflicts, with Arvanites establishing villages in the peninsula's interior. A subsequent influx in 1418 brought additional tribes from , and into the after an Ottoman invasion in 1417 disrupted northern regions, further solidifying Arvanite majorities in many rural communities by the . Smaller migrations persisted into the under early Ottoman rule, including to islands like Hydra, where Arvanites from settled as pastoralists and seafarers, though these were less organized than earlier Byzantine-sponsored waves. Overall, settlements concentrated in the , , and , where Arvanites formed self-sustaining agricultural enclaves, contributing to local economies while maintaining distinct linguistic and clan structures until gradual .

Historical Role in Greek Affairs

Byzantine and Ottoman Eras

The ancestors of the Arvanites, Albanian-speaking migrants, began settling in during the 13th and 14th centuries, primarily in the amid depopulation from wars, plagues, and economic decline. Initial records place Albanian groups in the under Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos (1348–1380), where they functioned as mercenaries, notably in Veligosti, Arcadia. In 1394–1395, Despot Theodore I Palaiologos authorized the settlement of around 10,000 , granting them lands to revive abandoned territories affected by prior conflicts. A subsequent influx in 1417–1418, originating from regions including , Arta, and , followed Ottoman incursions and significantly increased the Albanian demographic, culminating in a 1453 rebellion against despotic authority. These settlers contributed militarily as stradioti— mercenaries—supporting the Despotate's defenses and later allying with Venetian forces during regional power struggles. Ottoman conquest of the Morea in 1460 prompted continued Albanian migrations, with early imperial cadastres (1460–1463) documenting widespread settlements and offering tax reductions, such as 20% lower ispence payments (20 akçes versus 25), to encourage repopulation and agricultural recovery through (emphasizing swine and sheep) and production. Arvanite communities organized into phares—extended clans under leaders—which structured their social cohesion and facilitated activities under Ottoman oversight. Throughout the Ottoman period, Arvanites upheld Orthodox Christianity, residing in rural villages focused on while participating in local security as armatoloi-like forces in rugged terrains, balancing nominal allegiance to the Porte with defense of Christian populations. Their demographic presence by the mid-15th century spanned much of the , , and , aiding economic stabilization amid imperial transitions.

Greek War of Independence

Arvanites from settlements in the , , , and mobilized early in the uprising that erupted on March 25, 1821, in the and spread to southern by early April. Their Orthodox Christian identity aligned them with the revolutionary cause against Ottoman rule, leading communities in regions like Dervenochoria and Hydra to raise irregular forces of klephts and armatoloi who disrupted Ottoman supply lines and garrisoned strategic passes. In the Peloponnese, Arvanite contingents under local chieftains joined the Maniot and Mainote Greeks in the massacre at Kalamata on April 6, 1821, and subsequent advances toward Tripolitsa, where they participated in the siege and capture of the Ottoman administrative center between September 17 and October 5, 1821, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Muslim inhabitants. Figures such as Dimitrios Plapoutas, an Arvanite from Levidi in Arcadia, emerged as key commanders, leading Maniot-Arvanite alliances in battles including the Third Siege of Missolonghi in 1823 and skirmishes against Ibrahim Pasha's Egyptian forces in 1825, earning recognition for their tactical guerrilla warfare. Arvanite seafaring communities on Hydra and supplied naval support, with leaders like coordinating fireships against Ottoman fleets at battles such as on September 29, 1822. Laskarina Bouboulina, of Arvanite descent from these islands, funded and commanded privateers that blockaded Ottoman ports early in the war. Their contributions extended to the northern fronts, where Souliote-Arvanite fighters under ambushed Ottoman forces at Karpenisi on August 20, 1823, though Botsaris was killed in the engagement. Overall, Arvanites comprised a notable portion of revolutionary manpower, estimated at up to 20% in some southern contingents, bolstering the irregular armies that sustained the war until intervention in 1827. Despite occasional internal divisions, such as clashes between Arvanite factions and centralist forces during the civil wars of 1823-1824, their allegiance remained with the independence effort, motivated by shared religious persecution under Ottoman millet systems rather than ethnic . Post-1821, this participation reinforced their integration into the nascent Greek state, with many veterans receiving land grants in the .

Post-Independence Contributions to the Greek State

Following the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece in 1830, Arvanites drew on their extensive combat experience from the War of Independence to bolster the nascent state's military apparatus. Many Arvanite veterans transitioned into the regular Hellenic Army, where their leadership was vital in professionalizing the forces under King Otto I. Dimitrios Plapoutas (1786–1864), an Arvanite chieftain from Levidi in Arcadia, exemplified this continuity by commanding battalions against residual Ottoman threats and internal factions, later serving as Minister of War from 1843 to 1844 during the lead-up to the 3 September Revolution that secured constitutional governance. Arvanites also contributed prominently to naval development, with families from Arvanite-stronghold islands like Hydra providing skilled seafarers and resources for the emerging Greek fleet. Lazaros Kountouriotis (1769–1852), an Arvanite admiral from Hydra, supported the provisional governments post-1828 and financed military expeditions, aiding state stabilization through his wealth and maritime expertise. These efforts helped secure maritime trade routes and deter external aggression in the early decades of independence. In the , Arvanites maintained influence in military and political spheres amid Greece's expansionist conflicts. Theodoros Pangalos (1878–1952), of Arvanite descent from Salamis, rose through the ranks to command divisions in the (1912–1913) and , later orchestrating the 1925 coup that installed a short-lived intended to restore order following the 1922 defeat in Asia Minor. Pangalos's regime, though authoritarian, enacted reforms in administration and infrastructure before its overthrow in 1926. Such roles underscored Arvanites' enduring commitment to Greek national defense and governance.

Ethnic Identity and Integration

Self-Perception as Ethnic Greeks

Arvanites consistently self-identify as ethnic Greeks, viewing their community as an indigenous part of the Hellenic nation despite traceable Albanian linguistic and migratory origins from the medieval period. This perception aligns with their adherence to Greek Orthodox Christianity and participation in Hellenic cultural and political life, where they have historically distinguished themselves from Muslim Albanian populations under Ottoman rule by aligning with the Rum millet, the administrative category encompassing Orthodox Christians identified as "Greek" in the broader sense. Ethnographic studies document this self-view as rooted in localized loyalties that evolved into national Greek identification during the 19th-century nation-building process, with Arvanites perceiving their ancestral traits as compatible with, rather than contradictory to, Greek ethnicity. Prominent historical figures exemplify this self-perception, as Arvanite leaders in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), such as naval commander and general Dimitrios Plapoutas, explicitly championed Greek independence and integrated their communities into the emerging Greek state without invoking separate ethnic claims. Post-independence, Arvanites contributed disproportionately to the Greek military and political elite, reinforcing their internal narrative of ethnic continuity with ancient Hellenes through shared religious, martial, and territorial bonds rather than linguistic divergence. In contemporary , self-identification as ethnic remains near-universal among Arvanites, with community members acknowledging medieval Albanian settlement origins but rejecting any equivalence with modern Albanian nationality, often framing as a preserved within a Greek ethno-cultural matrix. in Arvanite villages highlights this as a deliberate distancing from external categorizations that emphasize Albanian descent, attributing economic and into Greek society as causal factors in solidifying Greek ethnic self-perception over regional or ancestral alternatives.

Mechanisms and Timeline of Assimilation

The assimilation of Arvanites into Greek society unfolded primarily through voluntary linguistic and cultural integration, driven by shared Orthodox Christian faith, participation in Greek national endeavors, and structural incentives from the emerging Greek state rather than coercive policies. Key mechanisms included the establishment of a centralized system in the Kingdom of Greece following in 1830, which mandated schooling in Greek and systematically exposed Arvanite children to the dominant , eroding intergenerational transmission of Arvanitika. Military , implemented from the 1830s onward, further accelerated this process by requiring recruits to operate in Greek commands and fostering bonds with Greek-speaking peers, while the Orthodox Church reinforced unity through rituals and literacy in Greek ecclesiastical texts. Economic and social pressures, such as rural isolation giving way to intermarriage with non-Arvanite , also contributed, as endogamous practices waned amid shared . Linguistic shift represented the core of assimilation, with 's functional domains shrinking due to bilingualism favoring Greek in public life, leading to its classification as endangered by the late . Stigmatization of as a marker of backwardness in modernizing contexts discouraged its use, while no institutional support for its maintenance existed, contrasting with Greek's role as the of advancement. post-World War II, involving mass to cities like during the 1950s–1970s economic boom, exposed Arvanites to exclusively Greek environments, prompting families to prioritize Greek for children's and . Chronologically, assimilation gained momentum in the after the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), when Arvanite communities, already aligned with Greek Orthodox resistance against Ottoman rule, integrated into state structures; remained prevalent in rural enclaves through the late 1800s. The early 20th century saw sustained bilingualism, with dominant in private spheres but Greek advancing via expanded schooling and (1912–1913) military integration. Decline intensified mid-century, particularly after upheavals including occupation, , and reconstruction, which disrupted traditional villages; by the 1970s, fluent speakers were largely confined to elders in isolated areas like parts of and the . By the 1990s, estimates placed active speakers at around 55,000, mostly passive or terminal, reflecting near-complete shift amid and media dominance of Greek. Today, persists in pockets but functions minimally, underscoring assimilation's success through adaptive conformity to Greek national cohesion rather than ethnic dilution.

External Claims and Nationalist Debates

Albanian nationalists have periodically asserted that Arvanites constitute an extension of the Albanian ethnos, citing shared linguistic roots in —a dialect—and medieval migrations from regions now in as evidence of enduring ethnic continuity. These claims, often amplified in irredentist discourses surrounding , portray Arvanites as culturally alienated from due to suppressed Albanian consciousness, with some Albanian scholars framing them as "fossilized ancient Albanians" to underscore historical Albanian agency in the . Such external attributions, however, conflict with Arvanite self-identification, as ethnographic studies in Arvanite communities reveal consistent rejection of Albanian nationality in favor of Greek allegiance, rooted in Orthodox , territorial loyalty, and participation in Greek national narratives since at least the . In Greek nationalist historiography, Arvanites are depicted as integral to Hellenic state formation, with their Albanian linguistic origins downplayed as a migratory prelude to full cultural and political assimilation, evidenced by their disproportionate roles in the 1821 —supplying key leaders like and —and subsequent military contributions under figures such as Dimitrios Plapoutas. This framing prioritizes empirical alignment with Greek over ancestral linguistics, countering Albanian claims by highlighting Arvanites' voluntary subordination of ethnic distinctions to national unity, including the near-total decline of usage by the mid-20th century through intergenerational shift rather than coercion. Debates intensify around contemporary immigration to Greece, where Arvanites often position themselves as cultural intermediaries—fostering kinship ties with immigrants while publicly distancing from Albanian national to avoid perceived geopolitical instrumentalization, such as Albanian revanchism exploiting minority . External perceptions from non-Arvanite Greeks occasionally perpetuate stereotypes of Arvanites as historically "mercenary" or culturally insular—traces of Ottoman-era views linking them to Albanian highland warriors—yet these have waned with assimilation, as Arvanites leverage Greek Orthodox institutions and state mechanisms to affirm indigeneity. Albanian nationalist assertions, by contrast, face skepticism in scholarly assessments for overemphasizing linguistic persistence at the expense of documented shifts in consciousness, such as Arvanite participation in anti-Ottoman revolts framed explicitly as Hellenic struggles by 1800. Empirical data from village ethnographies underscore that Arvanite identity negotiations prioritize local Greek embeddedness over pan-Albanian affiliations, with no recorded ethnic mobilization akin to that in Kosovo, reflecting causal drivers like economic integration and shared religious praxis over primordialist ties.

Language: Arvanitika

Linguistic Features and Classification

Arvanitika is classified as a southern Tosk variety of the , forming a distinct subdialect group within the broader Tosk branch, which contrasts with the northern Gheg dialects primarily through phonological and morphological traits such as the absence of nasal vowels and the loss of the form. This classification positions as a sibling to standard modern Albanian, which is based on central Tosk, though has diverged due to centuries of bilingualism and substrate influence from Greek, resulting in limited without adaptation. Phonologically, Arvanitika retains core Tosk features, including seven vowel phonemes (/a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/) and rhotacism whereby intervocalic *-n- shifts to -r- (e.g., *dhëna > dhëra "sand"), alongside the monophthongization of proto-Albanian *ō to /a/ in certain contexts. It lacks the nasalization typical of Gheg and exhibits post-tonic vowel reduction, but Greek contact has introduced lenition patterns and occasional aspiration not standard in inland Tosk varieties. Consonants include 29 phonemes, with affricates like /t͡ʃ/ and /d͡ʒ/, and a tendency toward palatalization influenced by neighboring Greek dialects. Morphologically, Arvanitika preserves Albanian's agglutinative structure, featuring a suffixed definite article (e.g., -a for masculine singular), four cases (nominative, genitive-dative, accusative, ablative), and a rich verbal system with tenses formed via synthetic paradigms and periphrastic constructions using the subjunctive in place of the , a hallmark Tosk . Verb morphology shows regional variation, such as simplified forms in dialects and conservative perfective aspects in Peloponnesian ones, reflecting internal diversity among Arvanitika speech communities. Lexically, while retaining a predominantly Albanian core, it incorporates substantial Greek loanwords (up to 20-30% in some registers), particularly in domains like administration and , without fundamentally altering its Indo-European Albanian typology.

Historical and Contemporary Usage

Arvanitika functioned historically as the vernacular tongue of Arvanite settlements in , originating from dialects introduced during migrations spanning the 13th to 15th centuries, with some scholarly estimates tracing earlier Albanian influxes to the . Primarily oral and unwritten in a standardized form, it was employed in domestic and communal settings for everyday , networks, and cultural preservation, including the transmission of , songs (such as Ra Campana Ypapantis), and local histories across approximately 300 rural villages in regions like , , the , and . During the Ottoman era and (1821–1830), Arvanitika persisted in private spheres among fighters and civilians, coexisting with as a liturgical and emerging , though public expression remained limited by social and state pressures favoring Hellenic unity. In the post-independence period, usage began eroding through mechanisms like mandatory Greek-language education, which prioritized national standardization, and intermittent suppressions under authoritarian regimes, including the 1930s Metaxas dictatorship and 1967–1974 military junta, when public utterance was stigmatized or equated with disloyalty. By the late 1960s–1970s, intergenerational transmission halted in many communities due to modernization factors—urban migration, improved infrastructure (e.g., roads and television), exogamous marriages, and economic incentives for Greek proficiency—confining Arvanitika to intermittent private contexts like family gatherings or seasonal labors such as grape harvests, often code-mixed with Greek. Contemporary Arvanitika is severely endangered, with estimating around 50,000 speakers as of 2007, predominantly fluent among those over 35 years old and nearing extinction in isolated villages, where fewer than 10 proficient individuals over 80 remain. All speakers are bilingual in Greek, which dominates public, educational, and intergenerational domains, rendering Arvanitika vestigial and non-transmissible to youth, who typically exhibit semi-speaker proficiency at best or none at all. Preservation initiatives, including oral documentation projects and 2024 films like Arvanitika in Limnes, focus on archiving songs and narratives, but lack institutional support such as formal schooling, exacerbating attrition amid post-1990 prejudices associating it with Albanian immigration.

Demographics and Geography

The Arvanite population, defined by linguistic use of Arvanitika or retained ethnic consciousness, has been challenging to quantify precisely due to the absence of ethnic or linguistic data in Greek censuses since 1951 and the group's high degree of assimilation into the population. Historical estimates from the mid-19th century, such as that by philologist Johann Georg von Hahn, placed the number of Albanian-speakers (including Arvanites) in at around 173,000. By the late , scholarly assessments suggested 50,000 to 200,000 individuals with Arvanite identity or language proficiency, residing primarily in approximately 300 villages across , the , , and other regions. Contemporary estimates for fluent Arvanitika speakers range from 30,000 to 150,000, with classifying the language as endangered and noting limited use among younger generations. These figures reflect a core group maintaining linguistic ties, though broader claims of Arvanite descent among —potentially numbering in the hundreds of thousands to over a million through intermarriage—lack systematic verification and are not reflected in self-identification. Trends indicate a marked decline in distinct Arvanite markers since the mid-20th century, driven by to Greek, , and cultural integration. Post-1950s rural-to-urban migration, particularly to , has eroded village-based communities, while mandatory Greek-language education and media exposure have accelerated Arvanitika's attrition, with most speakers now elderly and intergenerational transmission rare. Assimilation, facilitated by shared Orthodox Christianity and post-Greek independence, has resulted in Arvanites increasingly identifying as without separate enumeration, contributing to the erosion of measurable ethnic boundaries.

Regional Distribution and Urbanization

Arvanites are concentrated in southern , primarily in the , , and , where they established communities during the 13th and 14th centuries. In the , notable settlements include Arcadia, with early presences around Karytaina and in temporary pastoral "katun" groups, as well as later expansions into Achaia and following migrations in 1404–1405 and 1418. features Arvanite villages surrounding , while hosts significant Albanian-speaking populations historically numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Arvanite communities also occupy islands such as Hydra, , , Kastri, and Kranidhi, with documented occupation noted in the 19th century. By the , Arvanites dominated many rural villages in these regions, focusing on and . Historically rural, some Arvanite extended families received land grants on plains or urban outskirts for , enabling permanent cultivation near cities. Mid-20th-century internal migration from villages to urban centers, particularly , dispersed Arvanite populations and accelerated integration into city life.

Culture and Traditions

Social Structures and Customs

Arvanite society was historically organized around patrilineal clans known as sogia, comprising relatives linked by blood, marriage, and fraternization (vlamides), often tracing descent from a common ancestor over 5-7 generations. These clans formed the basis of social cohesion, with settlements frequently named after prominent clans or families, reflecting a kinship-based structure regulated by akin to the Albanian kanun. Clans varied in size from 50 to over 100 members and maintained hierarchical ties, emphasizing collective responsibilities in , military defense, and . Family structures were patriarchal and patrilocal, featuring nuclear, multi-nuclear extended, and stem families, though multi-nuclear forms largely disintegrated between 1920 and 1960 due to land redistribution and economic shifts. typically brought brides into the paternal home, while daughters relocated to their husband's family, reinforcing male lineage primacy; women were often addressed by andronyms (e.g., "Mitsaina" for the wife of Mitsos) and excluded from membership post-marriage. The youngest , termed apospori, commonly remained to care for aging parents and inherited a larger share of property, including livestock, underscoring preferences for male heirs in agrarian and herding economies. Marriage customs prioritized local , with rates of 80-95% in highland villages and lower in plains areas, arranged sequentially by to preserve integrity. Unions were prohibited within the same soi (sub-clan) up to third cousins, aligning with exogamous rules to avoid ; dowries from brides included money, land, or modern equivalents like apartments, while grooms provided prenuptial gifts and a symbolic "purchase" payment. In certain regions like , historical practices involved or raptio (bride capture) as prerequisites for eligibility, echoing warrior traditions tied to honor. Broader customs reflected a pastoral-warrior , with semi-nomadic katun (temporary settlements) for and privileges like tax exemptions granted to clans for under Ottoman rule. Elements of the kanun persisted in regulating , vendettas, and honor codes, though adapted through Greek Orthodox integration and assimilation, diminishing overt clan autonomy by the .

Folklore, Music, and Oral Traditions

Arvanite oral traditions encompass a range of texts transmitted verbally, including songs, fairy tales, and narratives that reflect communal identity and historical memory. These elements, preserved primarily in , draw from Albanian linguistic roots while incorporating local Greek contexts, such as references to regional landscapes and events. Collections document fairy tales (Karantis, 2001) and (Giochalas, 2011) that emphasize lessons, heroic deeds, and spatial connections to settlements in the and . Arvanite music features songs known as këngë or k'ge in Arvanitika, categorized into dancing and non-dancing varieties, with rich verbal content often narrating daily life, labor, or historical exploits. Non-dancing songs serve narrative functions, similar to ballads, evoking sociability during gatherings, while dancing songs accompany circular or line dances typical of communal festivities. Ballads frequently celebrate Arvanite participation in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), honoring figures like local chieftains who fought alongside Greek forces, thus blending Albanian-origin oral forms with Hellenic patriotic themes. Folklore among Arvanites includes legends tied to migration histories and rural customs, such as tales of ancestral journeys from Albanian territories in the 13th–16th centuries, preserved through intergenerational recitation. These narratives often highlight resilience against Ottoman rule and integration into Byzantine or Frankish lands, with motifs of pastoral heroism echoing broader Albanian epic traditions but localized to Greek villages. Unlike grand heroic cycles prevalent in northern Albanian lore, Arvanite variants prioritize concise, community-focused stories over extended epics, reflecting assimilation pressures that favored Greek literary influences by the 19th century.

Attire, Cuisine, and Material Culture

Traditional Arvanite male attire prominently featured the fustanella, a white pleated skirt-like garment composed of up to 30 meters of fabric forming 400 to 500 pleats, paired with a white shirt (poukamiso), an embroidered vest (meindani), woolen leggings (podhar or tsarouchia shoes), and often a fez or brimless hat. This attire, rooted in Albanian highland traditions, was worn by Arvanite warriors during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830) and influenced the uniform of the Greek Evzones, the elite presidential guard established in 1867. Arvanite women traditionally donned long, embroidered dresses (foundi or gown-like garments) with silk embroidery, aprons, and headscarves, reflecting regional variations in the Peloponnese and Attica where Arvanite communities settled from the 14th to 16th centuries. Arvanite cuisine, while not distinctly documented as separate from broader Greek or Albanian traditions, incorporated elements such as yogurt-based dishes and pastries influenced by their Albanian heritage, used to reinforce community identity amid assimilation pressures. Specific practices included communal meals emphasizing and social bonds, with foods like stews and breads shared during festivals, blending Ottoman-era Balkan influences with local Greek ingredients such as , herbs, and lamb. However, over time, Arvanite dietary customs merged into mainstream , with limited preservation of unique Albanian-style preparations like byrek (layered pies) in rural settings. Material culture among Arvanites encompassed practical crafts tied to agrarian life, including handwoven textiles and on , which served as markers of ethnic continuity in villages like those in studied ethnographically. Architectural elements in Arvanite settlements featured stone-built homes and churches with defensive characteristics from medieval migrations, though these evolved under Hellenic influences without distinctive pottery or metalwork traditions uniquely attributed to them in archaeological records. Preservation of such artifacts remains marginal in local museums, often subsumed under Greek rural heritage exhibits.

Notable Figures

Political and State Leaders

Arvanites have occupied high offices in the Greek state, including several prime ministers and a brief dictatorship. Their involvement in politics reflects their integration into Greek national life while maintaining distinct ethnic origins from Albanian-speaking settlers in regions like Hydra and Spetses. Dimitrios Voulgaris (1802–1877), born on Hydra to an Arvanite family, served as Prime Minister of Greece seven times, with terms including 1859–1862, 1863, and 1874–1877, focusing on infrastructure and administrative reforms amid political instability. Antonios Kriezis (1796–1865), from an Arvanite background on Hydra, held the office of Prime Minister from 1849 to 1854, following his naval service in the Greek War of Independence. Athanasios Miaoulis (1815–1867), son of admiral Andreas Miaoulis and of Arvanite descent from Hydra, briefly served as Prime Minister in 1862, alongside military roles. Alexandros Diomidis (1875–1950), from an Arvanite family originating in and settled on , acted as from March to April 1949 during post-World War II reconstruction, and earlier as Governor of the from 1929 to 1941. Lieutenant General (1878–1952), of Arvanite ancestry from Salamis, seized power in a 1925 coup and ruled as dictator from June 1925 to August 1926, implementing economic policies and suppressing opposition before his overthrow. These figures exemplify Arvanite contributions to state leadership, often in maritime-influenced islands with historical Albanian settlement patterns.

Military Heroes

Arvanites played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), supplying key military leaders who commanded both naval and irregular land forces against Ottoman rule. Their martial traditions, rooted in service as armatoloi and klephts under Ottoman administration, positioned them as effective guerrilla fighters and sailors from islands like Hydra and . Arvanite contingents were instrumental in early victories, such as naval blockades and the siege of key Ottoman strongholds. Andreas Vokos Miaoulis (1765–1835), an admiral of Arvanite origin from who settled on Hydra, led the Greek fleet in decisive engagements including the destruction of Ottoman ships at in 1824 and the blockade of . His strategic command preserved Greek naval superiority despite limited resources, earning him recognition as a national hero. Laskarina Bouboulina (1771–1825), born to an Arvanite family on Hydra, financed and commanded multiple warships, including the flagship , participating in the capture of and in 1822. As one of the few female naval commanders, she mobilized her wealth from to support revolutionary forces until her death in a civil skirmish. Dimitrios Plapoutas (1786–1864), an Arvanite chieftain from Levidi in Arcadia, served as a kapetan in Theodoros Kolokotronis's forces, contributing to the Siege of Tripolitsa in 1821 and subsequent Peloponnesian campaigns. Later appointed a general in the regular Greek army, he commanded troops during the London Conference interventions and internal conflicts. Other notable Arvanite military figures include Odysseas Androutsos, who led guerrilla operations in Central Greece, and Georgios Kountouriotis, a Hydra admiral involved in fleet coordination. These leaders' efforts helped secure independence, though some faced post-war political tensions due to regional rivalries.

Intellectuals, Artists, and Scientists

Eleni Boukoura-Altamoura (1821–1900), a painter of Arvanite descent from Spetses, is recognized as the first major female artist in post-independence Greece, producing works influenced by her classical training in Italy and themes of domestic life and portraiture. She studied under Giuseppe Ferraris in Florence starting in 1852 and later taught art in Athens, where her paintings, such as scenes of women and children, reflected Romantic and Realist styles adapted to Greek contexts. Arvanite intellectuals primarily focused on preserving and documenting their linguistic and folk heritage amid pressures, with limited output in formal due to the oral nature of Arvanitika traditions. Anastas Kullurioti (1821–1881), an Arvanite educator and author from , compiled early written materials in , including a 1882 primer featuring folk tales, poetry, and proverbs that bridged Greek and Albanian elements. His works aimed to standardize Arvanitika using Greek script, though they emphasized cultural continuity within a Greek national framework rather than separatist . Scientific contributions from Arvanites are sparsely documented, likely reflecting their historical concentration in rural, agrarian communities rather than urban academic centers; no prominent figures in fields like physics, , or are verifiably attributed to Arvanite origins in available historical records. Instead, scholarly efforts centered on ethnolinguistic studies, such as those by later folklorists examining dialects, which informed Balkan linguistics but remained marginal to mainstream Greek academia.

References

  1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Arvanite
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