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Arvanites
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Arvanites (/ˈɑːrvənaɪts/;[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
[edit]
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]

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.



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
[edit]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, 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]
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]Fara
[edit]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]
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
[edit]Traditional Arvanite folk songs offer valuable information about social values and ideals of Arvanitic societies.[93]
Dress
[edit]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
[edit]

Greek War of Independence
[edit]- Laskarina Bouboulina, female member of Filiki Etaireia[92]
- Georgios Kountouriotis,[96] from Hydra, admiral (and briefly Prime Minister)
- Ioannis Orlandos
- Odysseas Androutsos
- Lazaros Kountouriotis
- Andreas Miaoulis
- Dimitris Plapoutas
- Hatzigiannis Mexis
- Anastasios Tsamados
Presidents of Greece
[edit]- Pavlos Kountouriotis, admiral
Prime Ministers of Greece
[edit]- Antonios Kriezis[97] (also served in the Greek navy during the Revolution)
- Alexandros Diomidis
Politicians
[edit]- Theodoros Pangalos,[98] former minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister
Clergymen
[edit]Military
[edit]- Theodoros Pangalos,[100] general and briefly military dictator.
- Alexandros Kontoulis
- Dimitrios Kriezis
Literature
[edit]Folklore
[edit]- Aristeidis Kollias
- Vangelis Liapis, folklorist and Albanolog
Science
[edit]- Tasos Neroutsos, physician and scholar
Artists
[edit]- Eleni Boukoura-Altamoura, painter
Architecture
[edit]- Periklis Papapetrou, architect and politician
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Lexico.com, v. "Arvanite"
- ^ Liakopoulos 2022, p. 307:The Albanians, also known as Arvanites in the Greek lands, were first mentioned in the Peloponnese in the second half of the fourteenth century. By 1391 there had been an influx of Albanians that could be hired as mercenaries. The Venetians were in need of colonists and soldiers in their depopulated areas and hence offered plots of arable land, pastures and tax exemptions to the wandering Albanians in southern Greece (Thiriet 1959: 366; Chrysostomides 1995: 206, 291, 337, 339; Topping 1980: 261–71; Ducellier 1968: 47–64). A well-attested-to, more populous Albanian settlement took place during the rule of Theodore I Palaeologus (1384–1407), when ten thousand Albanians appeared before the Isthmus and asked Theodore for permission to settle in the Peloponnese (1394–95). A second wave of immigrants from southern Albania and western mainland Greece descended on the Peloponnese, perhaps in 1417-17. Their establishment was significant for the invigoration of the Albanian demographiy in the peninsula that led to the Albanian rebellion in 1453
- ^ a b c d Hall 2000, p. 29.
- ^ Botsi (2003: 90); Lawrence (2007: 22; 156).
- ^ GHM (1995).
- ^ a b Hart, Laurie Kain (1999). "Culture, Civilization, and Demarcation at the Northwest Borders of Greece". American Ethnologist. 26: 196. doi:10.1525/ae.1999.26.1.196.
- ^ a b Trudgill/Tzavaras (1977).
- ^ D Tsitsipis, L., 2004. A phenomenological view of language shift. Collegium antropologicum, 28(1), pp. 55–62.
- ^ Trudgill (2000: 255).
- ^ Hall 2000, p. 29: "These Arvanites are descended from Albanians who first entered Greece between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries (though there was a sub-sequent wave of immigration in the second half of the eighteenth century). Although still regarded as ethnically distinct in the nineteenth century, their participation in the Greek War of Independence and the Civil War has led to increasing assimilation: in a survey conducted in the 1970s, 97 per cent of Arvanite informants, despite regularly speaking in Arvanitika, considered themselves to be Greek. A similar concern with being identified as Greek is exhibited by the bilingual Arvanites of the Eastern Argolid."
- ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (2010). "Shqiptar–The generalization of this ethnic name in the XVIII century". In Demiraj, Bardhyl (ed.). Wir sind die Deinen: Studien zur albanischen Sprache, Literatur und Kulturgeschichte, dem Gedenken an Martin Camaj (1925–1992) gewidmet [We are his people: Studies on the Albanian language, literature and cultural history, dedicated to the memory of Martin Camaj (1925–1992)]. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 534–536. ISBN 9783447062213.
- ^ Lloshi, Xhevat (1999). "Albanian". In Hinrichs, Uwe; Büttner, Uwe (eds.). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 272–299.
- ^ Michael Attaliates, History 297 mentions "Arbanitai" as parts of a mercenary army (c.1085); Anna Comnena, Alexiad VI:7/7 and XIII 5/1-2 mentions a region or town called Arbanon or Arbana, and "Arbanitai" as its inhabitants (1148). See also Vranousi (1970) and Ducellier (1968).
- ^ Baltsiotis, Lambros (2011). "The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece: The grounds for the expulsion of a "non-existent" minority community". European Journal of Turkish Studies. Social Sciences on Contemporary Turkey (12). European Journal of Turkish Studies. doi:10.4000/ejts.4444. "Until the Interwar period Arvanitis (plural Arvanitēs) was the term used by Greek speakers to describe an Albanian speaker regardless of his/hers religious background. In official language of that time the term Alvanos was used instead. The term Arvanitis coined for an Albanian speaker independently of religion and citizenship survives until today in Epirus (see Lambros Baltsiotis and Léonidas Embirikos, "De la formation d'un ethnonyme. Le terme Arvanitis et son evolution dans l'État hellénique", in G. Grivaud-S. Petmezas (eds.), Byzantina et Moderna, Alexandreia, Athens, 2006, pp. 417–448."
- ^ Banfi (1996).
- ^ Moraitis (2002).
- ^ a b c Euromosaic (2006). "L'arvanite/albanais en Grèce" [Arvanite/Albanian in Greece] (in French). Research Centre of Multilingualism. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ Botsi (2003: 21).
- ^ Ethnologue (2005). "Albanian, Tosk: A language of Albania".
- ^ Ethnologue (2005). "Albanian, Arvanitika: A language of Greece".
- ^ a b Skutsch, C. (2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Taylor & Francis. p. 138. ISBN 9781135193881. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Vranousi, E. (1970): "Οι όροι 'Αλβανοί' και 'Αρβανίται' και η πρώτη μνεία του ομωνύμου λαού εις τας πηγάς του ΙΑ' αιώνος." ["The terms 'Albanoi' and 'Arbanitai' and the earliest references to the people of that name in the sources of the 11th century"]. Σuμμεικτα 2: 207–254.
- ^ Ducellier (1994).
- ^ Fine, John V. A. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A critical survey from the late twelfth century to the Ottoman conquest. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 250, 321, 329.
- ^ Athanassopoulou 2005.
- ^ Ethnologia Balkanica. Waxmann Verlag. p. 119. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Jameson, M.H.; Runnels, C.N.; Van Andel, T.H.; Munn, M.H. (1994). A Greek Countryside: The Southern Argolid from Prehistory to the Present Day. Stanford University Press. p. 409. ISBN 9780804716086. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Lopasic, Alexander (1992). "Cultural Values of the Albanians in the Diaspora". In Winnifrith, Tom (ed.). Perspectives On Albania. Springer. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-349-22050-2.
- ^ Elsie, Robert. "Texts and Documents of Albanian History". albanianhistory.net. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Magdalino, Paul (2012). "Between Romaniae: Thessaly and Epirus in the Later Middle Ages". In Arbel, Benjamin; Hamilton, Bernard; Jacoby, David (eds.). Latins and Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean After 1204. Routledge. p. 103. ISBN 978-1136289163.
- ^ Savvides, Alexis (1998). "Splintered Medieval Hellenism : The Semi-Autonomous State of Thessaly (A.d. 1213/1222 to 1454/1470) and ITS Place in History". Byzantion. 68 (2): 416. JSTOR 44172339.
Following the Ottoman capture of Larissa in 1392/1393, the Turkish forces moved southward towards Hellas and invaded the Peloponnese, which had already experienced their initial devastations; the next decades would witness the building-up of local resistance in Thessaly on the part of sections of Greeks, Albanians and Vlachs, who had taken to the mountains
- ^ Biris gives an estimated figure of 18,200 Arvanites who were settled in southern Greece between 1350 and 1418.
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 213: "A well-attested more populous Albanian settlement in the Peloponnese took place during the rule of Theodore I Palaelogus (1384–1407), when 10,000 Albanians appeared before the Isthmus, and sent their ambassadors to Theodore asking for permission to settle in the Peloponnese. ... The largest part of these colonists were absorbed in Arcadia ... In a second stage they proceeded further into Messenia, Argolis, Elis, where they used to winter, and Achaia in the Phlious area ... A second wave of immigrants descended on the Morea perhaps in 1418. As Poulos argues, this group most probably came from Aetolia, Acarnania and Arta, where Albanian rule was ended by Carlo Tocco. Other groups from Albania, after the Ottoman incursion n 1417, crossed western Greece and may have infiltrated into Achaia."
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 214: "Albanian nomadic clans, who formed populous groups consisting of families, or tribes. They came to the Peloponnese carrying their animals and movable goods and offered military service in return for being allowed to settle, and enjoy free movement and tax exemption."
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 12: "The identification of place names has been hindered by the fact that many of the settlements are now abandoned and others have been renamed, particularly the toponyms of non-Greek etymology, i.e., Albanian, Slavic or Turkish."
- ^ a b Liakopoulos 2019, pp. 220–221: "The 580 inhabited locations registered in the TT10-1/14662 are divided into 169 Greek villages, 407 Albanian, and four villages of mixed population (Table 4). ... The average number of families residing in Greek villages is 41.29 and the Albanian counterpart is 11.86; hence, the average Greek village was approximately three and a half times larger than the Albanian one. The average Peloponnesian village, when we count Greek, Albanian and mixed settlements, hosted 20.69 families."
- ^ Cheetham, Nicolas (1981). Mediaeval Greece. Yale University Press. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-300-10539-1.
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 213: "The settlements of 1417-1418 were significant for the invigoration of the Albanian demography in the peninsula, which led to the Albanian rebellion in 1453."
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 214: "the main reason for placing them in a different category in the cadastre is the 20% reduction on the ispence encumbrance (20 akces instead of the 25 the Greeks paid). This most probably mirrors a late Byzantine and Venetian practice that the Ottomans adopted to control the intractable Albanians ... Within half a century, the favorable taxation terms granted to the Albanians had ceased to exist"
- ^ Panomitros, Dimitrios (2021). Ντρέδες: Στην πρώτη γραμμή της Ελληνικής Παλιγγενεσίας (in Greek). Militos. p. 74. ISBN 978-618-5438-80-7.
- ^ First published in Ελληνισμός, Athens 1899, 195–202. Quoted in Gkikas 1978:7–9.
- ^ Panomitros, Dimitrios (2021). Ντρέδες: Στην πρώτη γραμμή της Ελληνικής Παλιγγενεσίας (in Greek). Militos. p. 76. ISBN 978-618-5438-80-7.
- ^ Milios 2023, p. 32.
- ^ Mazower, Mark (2023). The Greek Revolution: 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe. Penguin Books. p. 129.
- ^ a b von Hahn, Johann Georg (1854). Albanesische Studien. pp. 14, 32.; cited in Vasiliev, A (1958). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 615. ISBN 0-299-80926-9.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ a b Heraclides, Alexis; Kromidha, Ylli (2023). Greek-Albanian Entanglements since the Nineteenth Century: A History. Taylor & Francis. p. 101.
- ^ Georgacas, Demetrius J.; McDonald, William A. (1969). Place Names of Southwest Peloponnesus: Register and Indexes. University of Minnesota Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8166-5771-1.
- ^ Baklacıoğlu, Nurcan Özgür (2001). "Albanian Migrations and the Problem of Security in the Balkans". Turkish Review of Balkan Studies. 6: 93.
- ^ Tsitsipis (1981), Botsi (2003).
- ^ GHM (1995), Trudgill/Tzavaras (1977). See also Tsitsipis (1981), Botsi (2003).
- ^ Gefou-Madianou, pp. 420–421. "Those speakers of Arvanitika who were living in or near the capital came under greater criticism since their presence allegedly embodied the infection that contaminated the purity of the ethnic heritage. Thus, some decades later, during the dictatorship of August 4, 1936, the communities of Arvanites suffered various forms of persecution at the hands of the authorities, though during the 1940s their position improved somewhat as their members helped other Greek soldiers and officers serving in the Albanian front. Later, during the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s, especially during the years of the military junta (1967–74), their lot was undermined once more as the Greek language, and especially katharevousa during the junta, was actively and forcibly imposed by the government as the language of Greek nationality and identity."
- ^ Liakopoulos 2019, p. 224
- ^ Liakopoulos 2015, p. 114
- ^ Liakopoulos 2015, p. 113
- ^ Era Vranoussi, Deux documents byzantins inedits sur la presence des Albanais dans le Peloponnese au XVe siecle in The Medieval Albanians, NHRF, Institute for Byzantine Research, p. 294
- ^ Milios 2023, p. 32: "Thomas Gordon describes as follows the Albanian-speaking regions of Greece: 'Attica, Argolis, Boeotia, Phocis, and the isles of Hydra, Spezzia, Salamis, and Andros, are inhabited by Albanians. They likewise possess several villages in Arcadia, Achaia, and Messenia Among themselves those people always converse in their own language; many of them do not understand Greek, and they pronounce it with a strong accent'"
- ^ Heraclides, Alexis; Kromidha, Ylli (2023). Greek-Albanian Entanglements since the Nineteenth Century: A History. Taylor & Francis. p. 74. ISBN 9781003224242.
According to Finlay in the mid - nineteenth century the Albanians amounted to 200,000 out of a population of a little above a million in Greece ( to be exact, 1,096,810 according to the 1861 census ).
- ^ Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1998). "Arvanitika: The long Hellenic centuries of an Albanian variety". International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 134 (134): 61. doi:10.1515/ijsl.1998.134.39. ISSN 1613-3668.
A very accurate demographic census based on three years of fieldwork in Greece (1887–1889) chiefly devoted to the ethnographic situation on the Peloponnese was published by the German geographer Alfred Philippson in 1890. His figures are of particular interest in the present connection since they are predominantly based on mothertongue distribution. He finds 90,253 "Albanians" vs. 639,677 "Greeks" on the Peloponnese, which amounts to a percentage of 12.3 percent Arvanites on the peninsula by the late nineteenth century.
- ^ Philippson, Alfred (1890). Supan, Alexander Georg (ed.). "Zur ethnographie des Peloponnes". Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen. 36. Justus Perthes: 33–34. ISSN 0031-6229.
- ^ "Statistical results of the general population census, October 27, 1907". Ministry of the Interior (Greece). 1909.
- ^ a b Kostopoulos, Tasos (2003). History and culture of South Eastern Europe:. Slavica Verlag Dr. A. Kovač. pp. 57, 68.
- ^ Anderson, Bridget; Minority Rights Group (1997). World directory of minorities. Minority Rights Group International. p. 155. ISBN 1-873194-36-6.
- ^ Markusse Jan, Territoriality in national minority arrangements: European-wide legal standards and practices, in Gertjan Dijkink & Hans Knippenberg (eds.) The Territorial Factor, Vossiuspers UvA, Amsterdam, 2001, p. 260, table 12.1. google.gr. 2001. ISBN 9789056291884. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Travellers in the 19th century were unanimous in identifying Plaka as a heavily "Albanian" quarter of Athens. John Cam Hobhouse, writing in 1810, quoted in John Freely, Strolling through Athens, p. 247: "The number of houses in Athens is supposed to be between twelve and thirteen hundred; of which about four hundred are inhabited by the Turks, the remainder by the Greeks and Albanians, the latter of whom occupy above three hundred houses." Eyre Evans Crowe, The Greek and the Turk; or, Powers and prospects in the Levant, 1853: "The cultivators of the plain live at the foot of the Acropolis, occupying what is called the Albanian quarter ..." (p. 99); Edmond About, Greece and the Greeks of the Present Day, Edinburgh, 1855 (translation of La Grèce contemporaine, 1854): "Athens, twenty-five years ago, was only an Albanian village. The Albanians formed, and still form, almost the whole of the population of Attica; and within three leagues of the capital, villages are to be found where Greek is hardly understood." (p. 32); "The Albanians form about one-fourth of the population of the country; they are in majority in Attica, in Arcadia, and in Hydra. ..." (p. 50); "The Turkish [sic] village which formerly clustered round the base of the Acropolis has not disappeared: it forms a whole quarter of the town. ... An immense majority of the population of this quarter is composed of Albanians." (p. 160)
- ^ Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung ["On the immigration of Albanians to Greece: A summary"]. München: Trofenik. pg. 89–106.
- ^ Misspelled as Arberichte in the Ethnologue report, and in some other sources based on that.
- ^ Babiniotis 1998
- ^ a b "GHM 1995". greekhelsinki.gr. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Breu (1985: 424) and Tsitsipis (1983).
- ^ Botsi (2003), Athanassopoulou (2005).
- ^ "Arvanitic League of Greece". arvasynel.gr. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Tsitsipis. Language change and language death. 1981. pp. 100–101. "The term /evjeni̇́stika/ meaning "polite", used by the young speaker to refer to Greek, is offered as synonymous to /shkljiri̇́shtika/ one of the various morphological shapes of the Arvanitika word /shkljeri̇́shtë/ which refers to "the Greek language". Thus, Greek is equated with the more refined, soft, and polite talk. The concept of politeness is occasionally extended from the language to its speakers who are the representatives of the urban culture. In conversations in Kiriaki, I heard the word /shklji̇́ra/ (fem.) referring to a city women who exhibits polite and fancy behavior according to the local view. As I stated in the introduction to this dissertation, most of the occurrences of the term /shkljeri̇́shtë/ are not socially marked, and simply refer to the Greek language. But a few are so marked and these are the ones that reflect the speakers' attitudes. The term /shkljeri̇́shtë/ is ambiguous. This ambiguity offers a valuable clue to the gradual shift in attitudes. It points to the more prestigious Greek language and culture, and also has a derogatory sense. In my data only the first meaning of the socially marked senses of the word occurs."; pp. 101–102. "The second meaning is offered by Kazazis in his description of the Arvanitika community of Sofikó, in the Peloponnese (1976:48): ... two older people from Sofiko told me independently that, to the not-so-remote past, it was those who spoke Greek with their fellow-Arvanites who were ridiculed. Even today, if an older inhabitant of Sofiko were to speak predominantly in Greek with his fellow villagers of the same age, he would be called i shkljerishtúarë, literally "Hellenized" but used here as a derogatory term denoting affectation. One of those two informants, a woman, said that, until about 1950, it was a shame for a girl in Sofiko to speak Greek with her peers, for that was considered as "putting on airs." In Spata, /shkljeri̇́shtë/ is used only to refer to "the Greek language" although speakers are aware of the other meanings of the word."
- ^ a b Pipa, Arshi (1989). The politics of language in socialist Albania. East European Monographs. p. 178. "North Albanian call Slavs shqé (sg. shqá <shkjá <shklá, from sclavus), whereas to Greco-Albanians shklerisht means 'in the Greek language.' Hamp observes that "obviously the meaning is traditionally 'the neighbouring foreigner,' as with Welsh, Vlah, etc.""
- ^ Hemetek, Ursula (2003). Manifold identities: studies on music and minorities. Cambridge Scholars Press. p. 55. ISBN 1-904303-37-4.
- ^ Levy, Jacques; Lévy, Jacques (2001). From Geopolitics to Global Politics: A French Connection. Psychology Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-7146-5107-1.
- ^ a b Heraclides, Alexis (2011). The essence of the Greek-Turkish rivalry: national narrative and identity. Academic Paper. The London School of Economics and Political Science. p. 15. "On the Greek side, a case in point is the atrocious onslaught of the Greeks and Hellenised Christian Albanians against the city of Tripolitza in October 1821, which is justified by the Greeks ever since as the almost natural and predictable outcome of more than '400 years of slavery and dudgeon'. All the other similar atrocious acts all over Peloponnese, where apparently the whole population of Muslims (Albanian and Turkish-speakers), well over twenty thousand vanished from the face of the earth within a spat of a few months in 1821 is unsaid and forgotten, a case of ethnic cleansing through sheer slaughter (St Clair 2008: 1–9, 41–46) as are the atrocities committed in Moldavia (were the "Greek Revolution" actually started in February 1821) by prince Ypsilantis."
- ^ a b Andromedas, John N. (1976). "Maniot folk culture and the ethnic mosaic in the southeast Peloponnese". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 268. (1): 200. "In 1821, then, the ethnic mosaic of the southeastern Peloponnese (the ancient Laconia and Cynouria) consisted of Christian Tsakonians and Albanians on the east, Christian Maniats and Barduniotes, and Moslem Albanian Barduniotes in the southwest, and an ordinary Greek Christian population running between them. In 1821, with a general Greek uprising impending, rumors of a "Russo-Frankish" naval bombardment caused the "Turkish" population of the southeastern Peloponnese to seek refuge in the fortresses of Monevasia, Mystra, and Tripolitza. Indeed, the Turkobarduniotes were so panic stricken that they stampeded the Moslems of Mystra along with them into headlong flight to Tripolitza. The origin of this rumor was the firing of a salute by a sea captain named Frangias in honor of a Maniat leader known as "the Russian Knight." Some Moslems in Bardunia, and elsewhere, remained as converts to Christianity. Thus almost overnight the whole of the southeastern Peloponnese was cleared of "Turks" of whatever linguistic affiliation. This situation was sealed by the ultimate success of the Greek War for Independence. The Christian Albanians, identifying with their Orthodox coreligionists and with the new nationstate, gradually gave up the Albanian language, in some instances deliberately deciding not to pass it on to their children."
- ^ Bintliff, John (2003). "The Ethnoarchaeology of a "Passive" Ethnicity: The Arvanites of Central Greece" in K.S. Brown & Yannis Hamilakis, (eds.). The Usable Past: Greek Metahistories. Lexington Books. p. 138. "The bishop was voicing the accepted modern position among those Greeks who are well aware of the persistence of indigenous Albanian-speakers in the provinces of their country: the "Albanians" are not like us at all, they are ex-Communists from outside the modern Greek state who come here for work from their backward country"
- ^ Hajdinjak Marko (2005). Don't want to live with them, can't afford to live without them: Albanian labor migration in Greece Archived 1 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Academic paper. International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIR). pp. 8–9. "What is striking is that IMIR's team encountered exceptionally negative attitude towards the Albanians even among those Greeks, who are of Albanian origin. Arvanitis are ethnic group of Albanian descent. According to Greek historians, they were an Albanian speaking Christian population, which was hired by Venetians as sailors in the 14th century to fight against the Ottomans. Arvanitis have long since abandoned Albanian language for Greek and integrated fully into the Greek ethnos. Arvanitis respondents IMIR's team spoke with talked about Albanians with disgust, saying that "they have flooded Greece," that "they were not good people" and that they "steal, beat and kill." Some were afraid that Greeks might start to identify them, Arvanitis, with Albanians and their condemnable behavior, and as a result start to reject them. The one thing Arvanitis, who are devout Christians, cannot forgive Albanians, is their apparent lack of respect for religion. In order to facilitate their integration, a large number of immigrants from Albania has been changing their names with Greek ones and adopting Orthodox Christianity, but only nominally, as a façade."
- ^ Lawrence, Christopher (2007). Blood and oranges: Immigrant labor and European markets in rural Greece. Berghahn Books. pp. 85–86. "I did collect evidence that in the early years of Albanian immigration, the late 1980s, immigrants were greeted with hospitality in the upper villages. This initial friendliness seems to have been based on villagers' feelings of solidarity with Albanians. Being both leftists and Arvanites, and speaking in fact a dialect of Albanian that was somewhat intelligible to the new migrants, many villagers had long felt a common bond with Albania."
- ^ Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. pp. 23–24. "Linguistic community and cultural intimacy have played and still play a role in the search of a place of settlement and line of work on the part of migrants, but, also, in their reception and incorporation by the communities of local Arvanites. I have had the opportunity to substantiate this fact through many interviews with Albanian migrants, whose report of their good reception by the populations of Arvanite villages tends to be uniform, especially around the area of Thebes during the first months of their ventures in Greece. The fact that the elderly, at least, speak Arvanite and can communicate with Albanians is of crucial importance. As to the question of cultural intimacy, the matter is more complex and demands special research and study. It was brought up at the Korçe conference by S. Mangliveras, who, with his paper on A1banian immigrants and Arvanite hosts: Identities and relationships" (Magliveras 2004; also Derhemi 2003), demonstrated its complexity and great significance for the understanding of the very concepts of ethnic and cultural identity. It is very interesting, indeed, to examine the way such bonds are activated in the context of migration, but, also, the way the subjects themselves confer meaning to it. After all, the very definition of such a bond is problematic, in the sense that it is essentially ethnic, since it concerns the common ethnic origins of the two groups, while now their members belong to different national wholes, being Greek or Albanian. The formation of modern, "pure" national identities and the ideology of nationalism generate a difficulty in the classification of this bond, as is the case with any kind of identification, which, on top of any other social and psychological consequences. It may have, may produce an identity crisis as well. The apparently contradictory attitude of the Arvanites, which Mangliveras discerns, has to do with their difficulty of dealing with this phenomenon in public. Public manifestation of ethnic and linguistic affinity with Albanian immigrants is definitely a problem for the Arvanites, which is why they behave differently in public and in private. For them, the transition from pre-modern ethnic to modern national identity involved, historically, their identification with the Greek nation, a fact that causes bewilderment whenever one wants to talk to them about the activation of ethnic bonds. From this perspective, too, the particular issue is provocative."
- ^ Adrian Ahmedaja (2004). "On the question of methods for studying ethnic minorities' music in the case of Greece's Arvanites and Alvanoi." In Ursula Hemetek (ed.). Manifold Identities: Studies on Music and Minorities. Cambridge Scholars Press. p. 60. "That although the Albanians in Northwest Greece are nowadays orthodox, the Arvanites still seem to distrust them because of religious matters."
- ^ Tsitsipis. Language change and language death. 1981. pp. 104–105. "In the shaping of their attitudes towards Arvanitika, speakers have been influenced by the way members of the dominant culture, namely, Greek monolinguals view them their language. One example of the criticism that an old women experienced for her Arvanitika at a hospital in Athens was presented in Chapter IV. Kazazis (1976:47) observes with regard to this matter, that: The attitude of other Greeks certainly reinforces the low opinion so many Arvanites have (or profess to have) of Arvanitika, and other Greek are probably the main source of that opinion. Once or twice, Arvanitika was described to me by non-Arvanites as "ugly" and several people ... have told me how "treacherous and sly" ... "uncivilized" ... and "stubborn" ... the Arvanites are. That the view of the Greek monolingual segment of the society has been a major source for the development of negative attitudes among Arvanites toward their language can be substantiated on evidence including earlier and more recent information. In the discussion of the Linguistic Policy in Greece (Chapter IV) I observed that the seeds of Arvanitika language are to be sought in the efforts of the intellectuals to bring about the regeneration of Greek nationalism by promoting Greek as the only legitimate language of the nation."
- ^ Tsitsipis. Language change and language death. 1981. pp. 104–105.
- ^ a b c De Rapper, Gilles (2009). "Pelasgic Encounters in the Greek–Albanian Borderland: Border Dynamics and Reversion to Ancient Past in Southern Albania." Anthropological Journal of European Cultures. 18. (1): 60–61. "In 2002, another important book was translated from Greek: Aristides Kollias' Arvanites and the Origin of Greeks, first published in Athens in 1983 and re-edited several times since then (Kollias 1983; Kolia 2002). In this book, which is considered a cornerstone of the rehabilitation of Arvanites in post- dictatorial Greece, the author presents the Albanian speaking population of Greece, known as Arvanites, as the most authentic Greeks because their language is closer to ancient Pelasgic, who were the first inhabitants of Greece. According to him, ancient Greek was formed on the basis of Pelasgic, so that man Greek words have an Albanian etymology. In the Greek context, the book initiated a 'counterdiscourse' (Gefou-Madianou 1999: 122) aiming at giving Arvanitic communities of southern Greece a positive role in Greek history. This was achieved by using nineteenth-century ideas on Pelasgians and by melting together Greeks and Albanians in one historical genealogy (Baltsiotis and Embirikos 2007: 130–431, 445). In the Albanian context of the 1990s and 2000s, the book is read as proving the anteriority of Albanians not only in Albania but also in Greece; it serves mainly the rehabilitation of Albanians as an antique and autochthonous population in the Balkans. These ideas legitimise the presence of Albanians in Greece and give them a decisive role in the development of ancient Greek civilisation and, later on, the creation of the modern Greek state, in contrast to the general negative image of Albanians in contemporary Greek society. They also reverse the unequal relation between the migrants and the host country, making the former the heirs of an autochthonous and civilised population from whom the latter owes everything that makes their superiority in the present day."
- ^ Schwandner-Sievers & Fischer (2002). Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers and Bernd Jürgen Fischer, editors of Albanian Identities: Myth and History, present papers resulting from the London Conference held in 1999 entitled "The Role of Myth in the History and Development of Albania." The "Pelasgian" myth of Albanians as the most ancient community in southeastern Europe is among those explored in Noel Malcolm's essay, "Myths of Albanian National Identity: Some Key Elements, As Expressed in the Works of Albanian Writers in America in the Early Twentieth Century". The introductory essay by Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers establishes the context of the "Pelasgian Albanian" mythos, applicable to Eastern Europe generally, in terms of the longing for a stable identity in a rapidly opening society.
- ^ Abadzi, Helen. "Historical Greek-Albanian Relations: Some Mysteries and Riddles". Mediterranean Quarterly: 57.
- ^ Χριστοφορήδης, Κων. ΛΕΞΙΚΟΝ ΤΗΣ ΑΛΒΑΝΙΚΗΣ ΓΛΩΣΣΗΣ, p. 456.
- ^ Schumacher, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim (2014). Die Verben des Altalbanischen: Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie. Otto Harrassowitz. p. 223. ISBN 9783447064484.
- ^ Galaty, Michael L. (2018). Memory and Nation Building: From Ancient Times to the Islamic State. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 144. ISBN 978-0759122628.
- ^ See Biris (1960) and Kollias (1983).
- ^ a b Kollias (1983).
- ^ Songs have been studied by Moraitis (2002), Dede (1978), and Gkikas (1978).
- ^ a b c d e Welters, Lisa (1995). "Ethnicity in Greek dress". In Eicher, Joanne. Dress and ethnicity: Change across space and time. Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 9780854968794. p.59. "According to old travel books, the nineteenth-century traveler could readily identify Greek-Albanian peasants by their dress. The people and their garb, labeled as "Albanian", were frequently described in contemporary written accounts or depicted in watercolours and engravings. The main components of dress associated with Greek-Albanian women were a distinctly embroidered chemise or shift and a thick white woolen sleeveless coat called sigouni and for men an outfit with a short full skirt known as the foustanella. Some names for the components of women's garments were Albanian rather than Greek (Welters 1988: 93–4). For instance, bridal and festival chemises with hems embroidered in silk were termed foundi, meaning "the end" in Albanian."
- ^ a b c d Welters. Ethnicity in Greek dress. 1995. p.68. "Whereas the foustanella represented Greek nationalism to Greeks and non-Greeks alike, the lesser known foundi of the peasant women of Attica communicated that the wearer was Greek-Albanian to the inhabitants of a much smaller geographical area. Greek dress could also have more than one meaning. For example, within Attica, the colours and patterns of the embroidered foundi indicated both ethnicity (Greek-Albanian) and geographical origin (Messoghia villages of Attica). Thus, Greek dress can be simultaneously both ethnic dress and regional dress ... One hypothesis generated by the field research projects in Attica and Argolidha-Corinthia was that the white sigouni was associated with Greek Albanians. In villages throughout Attica Greek-Albanian villagers identified this garment as theirs. Other ethnic groups in Attica knew that the outfit with the white sigouni was worn by the Arvanites. In Argolidha and Corinthia, where the population was of mixed ethnic background, I was told again that only the Arvanites wore the sigouni."; p.69. "Similarly, not all areas of Albanian settlement in Greece have traditional clothing which includes the sigouni. Traditional attire attributed to the wealthy islands of Hydra and Aegina was of a type associated with the seafaring Greeks, baggy breeches for men and Turkish inspired silk gowns for women."
- ^ Απομνημονεύματα Μακρυγιάννη.
- ^ Κριεζής, Θεόδωρος (1948), Οι Κριεζήδες του Εικοσιένα.
- ^ Theodoros Pangalos (24 March 2007). "Οι Αρβανίτες της Αττικής και η συμβολή τους στην εθνική παλιγγενεσία". Kathimerini. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
- ^ Bintliff (2003: 139).
- ^ Πάγκαλος, Θεόδωρος (1950). Τα απομνημονευματά μου, 1897–1947: η ταραχώδης περιόδος της τελευταίας πεντηκονταετίας.
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- 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.
- Gkikas, Yannis (1978): Οι Αρβανίτες και το αρβανίτικο τραγούδι στην Ελλάδα ["Arvanites and arvanitic song in Greece"]. Athens.
- Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. Macmillan, 2003. ISBN 0-312-42066-8
- Gounaris, Vassilis (2006): "Σύνοικοι, θυρωροί και φιλοξενούμενοι: διερεύνοντας τη 'μεθώριο' του ελληνικού και του αλβανικού έθνους κατά τον 19ο αιώνα." ["Compatriots, doorguards and guests: investigating the 'periphery' of the Greek and the Albanian nation during the 19th century"] In: P. Voutouris and G. Georgis (eds.), Ο ελληνισμός στον 19ο αιώνα: ιδεολογίες και αισθητικές αναζητήσεις. Athens: Kastanioti.
- Grapsitis, Vasilis (1989): Οι Αρβανίτες ["The Arvanites"]. Athens.
- GHM (=Greek Helsinki Monitor) (1995): "Report: The Arvanites". Online report
- Haebler, Claus (1965): Grammatik der albanischen Mundarten von Salamis ["The grammar of the Albanian dialects of Salamis"]. Wiesbaden: Harassowitz.
- Hall, Jonathan M. (2000). Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. p. 29. ISBN 9780521789998. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
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- Kollias, Aristidis (1983): Αρβανίτες και η καταγωγή των Ελλήνων. ["Arvanites and the descent of the Greeks"]. Athens.
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- Magliveras, Simeon. "Organic Memory, Local Culture and National History: An Arvanite Village" University of Durham Department of Anthropology
- Mavrogordatos, George. Stillborn Republic: Social Conditions and Party Strategies in Greece, 1922–1936. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
- Moraitis, Thanassis (2002): Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece. Athens. (ISBN 960-85976-7-6)
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External links
[edit]Arvanites
View on GrokipediaTerminology 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[4] External designations for Arvanites historically aligned with broader ethnonyms for Albanian populations, such as Arnavut in Ottoman Turkish documents from the 15th century onward, which encompassed Albanian settlers in the Peloponnese and Attica under Ottoman administration.[7] In Venetian records of the Morea (Peloponnese) during the 15th–17th centuries, they were termed Albanesi or Arbanesi, reflecting Italianate forms of the Greek Arvanítes for Albanian mercenaries and colonists.[4] 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 Albanians.[6]Self-Designation and Historical Terms
Arvanites traditionally designate themselves as Arbërorë or Arbëreshë in their Albanian dialect, Arvanitika, terms that historically served as the endonym for Albanians prior to the 15th-century shift to Shqiptarë among populations in central Albania.[8] This retention of the older ethnonym distinguishes Arvanites from modern Albanians, reflecting linguistic continuity with medieval Albanian self-perceptions rather than adoption of the neologism derived from Latin Illyricus via Schiavoni.[8] In Greek contexts, Arvanites employ the term Arvanítes, a Hellenized adaptation attested from the late Byzantine period onward, emphasizing their integration into Greek society while acknowledging distinct linguistic heritage.[3] Contemporary Arvanites overwhelmingly self-identify as ethnically and nationally Greek, viewing their Albanian-origin dialect as a cultural relic subordinate to Hellenic identity shaped by Orthodox Christianity, shared history, and state assimilation processes.[2][9] This self-perception aligns with their historical role in Greek institutions, where Albanian linguistic elements did not preclude Greek national allegiance.[2] 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.[10][11] These terms denoted pastoralist populations from Epirus and adjacent areas, often as mercenaries or settlers, without implying modern ethnic boundaries.[11] 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.[12] By the 19th century, Arvanites solidified as the standard exonym and endonym in Greek historiography, coinciding with nation-state formation and linguistic Hellenization.[3]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 Arbanon (also known as Arvanon), a local lordship in present-day central Albania 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.[13] [14] These groups maintained a semi-feudal organization with emphasis on kinship ties, Orthodox Christianity, and economic reliance on transhumant pastoralism, supplemented by limited agriculture in river valleys.[13] 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.[15] Population pressures from Serbian expansions under Stefan Nemanjić and the destabilizing effects of the Fourth Crusade (1204) prompted southward movements, with clans seeking arable lands and Byzantine invitations for settlement in depopulated southern territories.[16] While some historiography exaggerates Arbanon's role as a proto-national entity, primary sources indicate it functioned as a peripheral buffer zone rather than a centralized polity, fostering resilient, mobile communities adapted to mountainous terrain and intermittent warfare.[13]Waves of Settlement in Greece
The primary waves of Arvanite settlement in Greece occurred during the late Byzantine period, beginning in the 13th century and peaking in the 14th century, with migrations tapering off by around 1600.[1][4] These movements were driven by demographic pressures in Albanian territories, such as internal strife and population growth in regions like Arvanon, as well as invitations from Byzantine rulers to repopulate areas devastated by wars, invasions, and the Black Death.[11] 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.[1][11] Initial migrations in the late 13th and early 14th centuries targeted central Greece, including Thessaly, 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 Andronikos III Palaiologos in 1333.[11] Further expansion into Boeotia and Attica followed, facilitated by service as mercenaries under Serbian overlords like Stefan Dušan, whose empire's push southward opened paths to the Gulf of Corinth by the mid-14th century.[11] In the Peloponnese (Morea), the first documented presence dates to the rule of Despot Manuel Cantacuzenus (1348–1380), marking the onset of concentrated settlements in rural areas.[17] Byzantine and Frankish authorities actively encouraged these inflows to bolster defenses against Ottoman incursions and restore agricultural productivity.[11][1] A significant wave arrived in the Morea in 1404–1405, when Despot Theodore I Palaiologos invited around 10,000 Arvanites to cross the Isthmus of Corinth, granting them lands for military service amid escalating Ottoman raids.[11] This settlement addressed acute depopulation following the Black Death and prior conflicts, with Arvanites establishing villages in the peninsula's interior.[11] A subsequent influx in 1418 brought additional tribes from Aetolia, Acarnania, and Epirus into the Peloponnese after an Ottoman invasion in 1417 disrupted northern regions, further solidifying Arvanite majorities in many rural communities by the 15th century.[11][4] Smaller migrations persisted into the 16th century under early Ottoman rule, including to islands like Hydra, where Arvanites from northern Albania settled as pastoralists and seafarers, though these were less organized than earlier Byzantine-sponsored waves.[18] Overall, settlements concentrated in the Peloponnese, Attica, and Boeotia, where Arvanites formed self-sustaining agricultural enclaves, contributing to local economies while maintaining distinct linguistic and clan structures until gradual Hellenization.[1][4]Historical Role in Greek Affairs
Byzantine and Ottoman Eras
The ancestors of the Arvanites, Albanian-speaking migrants, began settling in Byzantine Greece during the 13th and 14th centuries, primarily in the Despotate of the Morea amid depopulation from wars, plagues, and economic decline.[4] Initial records place Albanian groups in the Peloponnese under Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos (1348–1380), where they functioned as mercenaries, notably in Veligosti, Arcadia.[17] In 1394–1395, Despot Theodore I Palaiologos authorized the settlement of around 10,000 Albanians, granting them lands to revive abandoned territories affected by prior conflicts.[17] A subsequent influx in 1417–1418, originating from regions including Aetolia, Acarnania, Arta, and Albania, followed Ottoman incursions and significantly increased the Albanian demographic, culminating in a 1453 rebellion against despotic authority.[17] These settlers contributed militarily as stradioti—light cavalry mercenaries—supporting the Despotate's defenses and later allying with Venetian forces during regional power struggles.[19][20] 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 animal husbandry (emphasizing swine and sheep) and cereal production.[17] Arvanite communities organized into phares—extended clans under warlord leaders—which structured their social cohesion and facilitated irregular military activities under Ottoman oversight.[8] Throughout the Ottoman period, Arvanites upheld Orthodox Christianity, residing in rural villages focused on pastoralism while participating in local security as armatoloi-like forces in rugged terrains, balancing nominal allegiance to the Porte with defense of Christian populations.[21] Their demographic presence by the mid-15th century spanned much of the Peloponnese, Attica, and Boeotia, aiding economic stabilization amid imperial transitions.[17]Greek War of Independence
Arvanites from settlements in the Peloponnese, Attica, Boeotia, and Aegean islands mobilized early in the uprising that erupted on March 25, 1821, in the Danubian Principalities and spread to southern Greece 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. [4] [1] 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. [22] [23] Arvanite seafaring communities on Hydra and Spetses supplied naval support, with leaders like Andreas Miaoulis coordinating fireships against Ottoman fleets at battles such as Salona 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 Markos Botsaris 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 great power intervention in 1827. [4] [22] [24] 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 separatism. Post-1821, this participation reinforced their integration into the nascent Greek state, with many veterans receiving land grants in the Morea. [1]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.[8][25] 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.[26] These efforts helped secure maritime trade routes and deter external aggression in the early decades of independence. In the 20th century, Arvanites maintained influence in military and political spheres amid Greece's expansionist conflicts. Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos (1878–1952), of Arvanite descent from Salamis, rose through the ranks to command divisions in the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and World War I, later orchestrating the 1925 coup that installed a short-lived dictatorship 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.[27][28] 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.[2] 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.[1] 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.[2] Prominent historical figures exemplify this self-perception, as Arvanite leaders in the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), such as naval commander Laskarina Bouboulina and general Dimitrios Plapoutas, explicitly championed Greek independence and integrated their communities into the emerging Greek state without invoking separate ethnic claims.[1] 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.[2] In contemporary Greece, self-identification as ethnic Greeks remains near-universal among Arvanites, with community members acknowledging medieval Albanian settlement origins but rejecting any equivalence with modern Albanian nationality, often framing Arvanitika as a preserved dialect within a Greek ethno-cultural matrix.[1] Field research in Arvanite villages highlights this as a deliberate distancing from external categorizations that emphasize Albanian descent, attributing economic and social integration into Greek society as causal factors in solidifying Greek ethnic self-perception over regional or ancestral alternatives.[2]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 education system in the Kingdom of Greece following independence in 1830, which mandated schooling in Greek and systematically exposed Arvanite children to the dominant language, eroding intergenerational transmission of Arvanitika.[29] Military conscription, 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.[29] Economic and social pressures, such as rural isolation giving way to intermarriage with non-Arvanite Greeks, also contributed, as endogamous practices waned amid shared national identity. Linguistic shift represented the core of assimilation, with Arvanitika's functional domains shrinking due to bilingualism favoring Greek in public life, leading to its classification as endangered by the late 20th century.[30] Stigmatization of Arvanitika 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 language of advancement.[31] Urbanization post-World War II, involving mass internal migration to cities like Athens during the 1950s–1970s economic boom, exposed Arvanites to exclusively Greek environments, prompting families to prioritize Greek for children's education and social mobility.[32] Chronologically, assimilation gained momentum in the 19th century after the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), when Arvanite communities, already aligned with Greek Orthodox resistance against Ottoman rule, integrated into state structures; Arvanitika remained prevalent in rural enclaves through the late 1800s.[32] The early 20th century saw sustained bilingualism, with Arvanitika dominant in private spheres but Greek advancing via expanded schooling and Balkan Wars (1912–1913) military integration. Decline intensified mid-century, particularly after 1940s upheavals including occupation, civil war, and reconstruction, which disrupted traditional villages; by the 1970s, fluent speakers were largely confined to elders in isolated areas like parts of Attica and the Peloponnese.[33] By the 1990s, UNESCO estimates placed active Arvanitika speakers at around 55,000, mostly passive or terminal, reflecting near-complete shift amid globalization and media dominance of Greek.[34] Today, Arvanitika persists in pockets but functions minimally, underscoring assimilation's success through adaptive conformity to Greek national cohesion rather than ethnic dilution.[35]External Claims and Nationalist Debates
Albanian nationalists have periodically asserted that Arvanites constitute an extension of the Albanian ethnos, citing shared linguistic roots in Arvanitika—a Tosk Albanian dialect—and medieval migrations from regions now in Albania as evidence of enduring ethnic continuity.[2] These claims, often amplified in irredentist discourses surrounding Greater Albania, portray Arvanites as culturally alienated from Greece due to suppressed Albanian consciousness, with some Albanian scholars framing them as "fossilized ancient Albanians" to underscore historical Albanian agency in the Balkans.[2] [36] 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 Christianity, territorial loyalty, and participation in Greek national narratives since at least the 19th century.[2] 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 Greek War of Independence—supplying key leaders like Theodoros Kolokotronis and Laskarina Bouboulina—and subsequent military contributions under figures such as Dimitrios Plapoutas.[37] This framing prioritizes empirical alignment with Greek ethnogenesis over ancestral linguistics, countering Albanian claims by highlighting Arvanites' voluntary subordination of ethnic distinctions to national unity, including the near-total decline of Arvanitika usage by the mid-20th century through intergenerational shift rather than coercion.[2] Debates intensify around contemporary Albanian immigration to Greece, where Arvanites often position themselves as cultural intermediaries—fostering kinship ties with immigrants while publicly distancing from Albanian national identity to avoid perceived geopolitical instrumentalization, such as Albanian revanchism exploiting minority rhetoric.[2] 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.[2] 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.[36] 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.[2]Language: Arvanitika
Linguistic Features and Classification
Arvanitika is classified as a southern Tosk variety of the Albanian language, 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 infinitive form.[38][39] This classification positions Arvanitika as a sibling to standard modern Albanian, which is based on central Tosk, though Arvanitika has diverged due to centuries of bilingualism and substrate influence from Greek, resulting in limited mutual intelligibility without adaptation.[40][41] 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.[42] 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.[43] 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 infinitive, a hallmark Tosk innovation.[41] Verb morphology shows regional variation, such as simplified aorist forms in Attica 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 agriculture, without fundamentally altering its Indo-European Albanian typology.[41][44]Historical and Contemporary Usage
Arvanitika functioned historically as the vernacular tongue of Arvanite settlements in Greece, originating from Tosk Albanian dialects introduced during migrations spanning the 13th to 15th centuries, with some scholarly estimates tracing earlier Albanian mercenary influxes to the 9th century.[2] Primarily oral and unwritten in a standardized form, it was employed in domestic and communal settings for everyday discourse, kinship networks, and cultural preservation, including the transmission of folklore, songs (such as Ra Campana Ypapantis), and local histories across approximately 300 rural villages in regions like Attica, Boeotia, the Peloponnese, and Thrace.[45][40] During the Ottoman era and Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), Arvanitika persisted in private spheres among fighters and civilians, coexisting with Greek as a liturgical and emerging national language, though public expression remained limited by social and state pressures favoring Hellenic unity.[2][45] 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.[2] 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.[2] Contemporary Arvanitika is severely endangered, with UNESCO 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.[40] 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.[2][40] 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.[45]Demographics and Geography
Population Estimates and Trends
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 Greek 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 Greece at around 173,000.[46] By the late 20th century, scholarly assessments suggested 50,000 to 200,000 individuals with Arvanite identity or language proficiency, residing primarily in approximately 300 villages across Attica, the Peloponnese, Boeotia, and other regions.[47] Contemporary estimates for fluent Arvanitika speakers range from 30,000 to 150,000, with Ethnologue classifying the language as endangered and noting limited use among younger generations.[48] These figures reflect a core group maintaining linguistic ties, though broader claims of Arvanite descent among Greeks—potentially numbering in the hundreds of thousands to over a million through intermarriage—lack systematic verification and are not reflected in self-identification.[47] Trends indicate a marked decline in distinct Arvanite population markers since the mid-20th century, driven by language shift to Greek, urbanization, and cultural integration. Post-1950s rural-to-urban migration, particularly to Athens, 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.[47] [4] Assimilation, facilitated by shared Orthodox Christianity and national identity post-Greek independence, has resulted in Arvanites increasingly identifying as Greeks without separate enumeration, contributing to the erosion of measurable ethnic boundaries.[1]Regional Distribution and Urbanization
Arvanites are concentrated in southern Greece, primarily in the Peloponnese, Attica, and Boeotia, where they established communities during the 13th and 14th centuries.[4][1] In the Peloponnese, notable settlements include Arcadia, with early presences around Karytaina and Tegea in temporary pastoral "katun" groups, as well as later expansions into Achaia and Morea following migrations in 1404–1405 and 1418.[11] Attica features Arvanite villages surrounding Athens, while Boeotia hosts significant Albanian-speaking populations historically numbering in the hundreds of thousands.[49][1] Arvanite communities also occupy islands such as Hydra, Spetses, Poros, Kastri, and Kranidhi, with documented occupation noted in the 19th century.[49] By the 15th century, Arvanites dominated many rural villages in these regions, focusing on agriculture and animal husbandry.[4] Historically rural, some Arvanite extended families received land grants on plains or urban outskirts for military service, enabling permanent cultivation near cities.[11] Mid-20th-century internal migration from villages to urban centers, particularly Athens, dispersed Arvanite populations and accelerated integration into city life.[1][4]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.[50] [11] These clans formed the basis of social cohesion, with settlements frequently named after prominent clans or families, reflecting a kinship-based structure regulated by customary law akin to the Albanian kanun.[11] Clans varied in size from 50 to over 100 members and maintained hierarchical ties, emphasizing collective responsibilities in pastoralism, military defense, and conflict resolution.[50] 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.[50] Sons 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 clan membership post-marriage.[50] The youngest son, 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.[50] Marriage customs prioritized local endogamy, with rates of 80-95% in highland villages and lower in plains areas, arranged sequentially by birth order to preserve clan integrity.[50] Unions were prohibited within the same soi (sub-clan) up to third cousins, aligning with exogamous rules to avoid consanguinity; dowries from brides included money, land, or modern equivalents like apartments, while grooms provided prenuptial gifts and a symbolic "purchase" payment.[50] In certain regions like Mount Helicon, historical practices involved cattle raiding or raptio (bride capture) as prerequisites for eligibility, echoing warrior traditions tied to clan honor.[50] Broader customs reflected a pastoral-warrior ethos, with semi-nomadic katun (temporary settlements) for herding and privileges like tax exemptions granted to clans for military service under Ottoman rule.[11] Elements of the kanun persisted in regulating hospitality, vendettas, and honor codes, though adapted through Greek Orthodox integration and assimilation, diminishing overt clan autonomy by the 20th century.[11] [29]Folklore, Music, and Oral Traditions
Arvanite oral traditions encompass a range of pastoral texts transmitted verbally, including songs, fairy tales, and prose narratives that reflect communal identity and historical memory. These elements, preserved primarily in Arvanitika, 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 prose (Giochalas, 2011) that emphasize moral lessons, heroic deeds, and spatial connections to settlements in the Peloponnese and Attica.[51] 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.[52][53] 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.[51][53]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.[54] 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.[55] 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.[37] 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.[56] Specific practices included communal meals emphasizing moral and social bonds, with foods like stews and breads shared during festivals, blending Ottoman-era Balkan influences with local Greek ingredients such as olive oil, herbs, and lamb. However, over time, Arvanite dietary customs merged into mainstream Greek cuisine, 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 embroidery on clothing, which served as markers of ethnic continuity in villages like those in Boeotia studied ethnographically.[2] 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.[57] 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.[37] 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.[37][18] 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.[37][8] 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.[37][18] Alexandros Diomidis (1875–1950), from an Arvanite family originating in Epirus and settled on Spetses, acted as Prime Minister from March to April 1949 during post-World War II reconstruction, and earlier as Governor of the Bank of Greece from 1929 to 1941.[37] Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos (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.[37][23] These figures exemplify Arvanite contributions to state leadership, often in maritime-influenced islands with historical Albanian settlement patterns.[49]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 Spetses. Arvanite contingents were instrumental in early victories, such as naval blockades and the siege of key Ottoman strongholds.[7] Andreas Vokos Miaoulis (1765–1835), an admiral of Arvanite origin from Euboea who settled on Hydra, led the Greek fleet in decisive engagements including the destruction of Ottoman ships at Samos in 1824 and the blockade of Nafplio. His strategic command preserved Greek naval superiority despite limited resources, earning him recognition as a national hero.[58][59] Laskarina Bouboulina (1771–1825), born to an Arvanite family on Hydra, financed and commanded multiple warships, including the flagship Agamemnon, participating in the capture of Monemvasia and Nafplio in 1822. As one of the few female naval commanders, she mobilized her wealth from shipbuilding to support revolutionary forces until her death in a civil skirmish.[60][61] 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.[37][62] 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.[7]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.[63] 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.[64] Arvanite intellectuals primarily focused on preserving and documenting their linguistic and folk heritage amid Hellenization pressures, with limited output in formal literature due to the oral nature of Arvanitika traditions. Anastas Kullurioti (1821–1881), an Arvanite educator and author from Athens, compiled early written materials in Arvanitika, including a 1882 primer featuring folk tales, poetry, and proverbs that bridged Greek and Albanian elements.[53] His works aimed to standardize Arvanitika orthography using Greek script, though they emphasized cultural continuity within a Greek national framework rather than separatist nationalism.[53] 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, biology, or mathematics are verifiably attributed to Arvanite origins in available historical records. Instead, scholarly efforts centered on ethnolinguistic studies, such as those by later folklorists examining Arvanitika dialects, which informed Balkan linguistics but remained marginal to mainstream Greek academia.[65]References
- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Arvanite
