Post by atlantis on Mar 14, 2008 23:13:18 GMT -5
Arvanites (Greek: Áñâáíßôåò, see below for more about names) are a population group in Greece whose linguistic heritage is Arvanitic, a form of Albanian. Arvanites are predominantly Greek Orthodox Christians and identify themselves ethnically and nationally as Greeks. They used to be the predominant population element in several regions in the south of Greece up to the 19th century. Today, their language is under danger of extinction due to language shift towards Greek and due to large-scale migrations into the cities.
Foreign sources sometimes refer to Arvanites as Albanians,[1] as did some older Greek authors.[2] Today, however, Arvanites in Greece typically object to being associated with the Albanian nation or being called an "ethnic minority", since they have a strong feeling of being ethnically Greek (GHM 1995). For the same reason, many also object to the designation of their language as a dialect of Albanian, preferring instead to regard it as a separate language. Many Albanians, on the other hand, prefer to view Arvanites as an Albanian minority group.
History
Arvanites in the south of Greece are believed to be the descendants of Albanian-speaking settlers, who moved south at different times between the 11th century and the 15th century from what is today southern Albania and northwest Greece (Biris 1960, Poulos 1950, Panagiotopulos 1985). Some of this migration happened in the course of settlement programmes invited by the Byzantine and Frankish rulers of the time in order to re-populated deserted areas in the south. Later movements are believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest.
While most historians regard the ancestors of today's Arvanites as part of the same medieval population groups that are also the ancestors to present-day Albanians,[3] some Greek authors have argued that the settlers were not ethnic Albanians in a true sense. Their hypotheses are that Arvanites were either descendants of originally Greek populations who had only intermediately become Albanized; or that they were descendants of some other Thraco-Illyrian tribes and as such related but not identical to Albanians proper;[citation needed] or that Arvanites are descendants of the original pre-Greek "Pelasgian" population and as such actually autochthonous to southern Greece.[4]
Being Orthodox Christians, Arvanites identified with the Greeks in their conflicts with Muslim during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Many Arvanites are credited with having played an important role fighting as Greeks in the Greek War of Independence of 1821-1830. 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.
Demographics
The regions traditionally inhabited by Arvanites in the south of Greece are found across large parts of Attica, Boeotia, the Peloponnese, the south of the island of Euboea and the north of the island of Andros. Within Attica, the capital Athens and its suburbs were partly Arvanitic until the late 19th century. There are also settlements in Fthiotida, Lokrida and several islands of the Saronic Gulf including Salamis.
Other groups of Arvanites live in the north of Greece in areas closer to Albania and the historical centers of contiguous Albanian populations (Banfi 1996). Some of them live in Epirus (Thesprotia and Preveza); in Florina/Konitsa (near the border of the Republic of Macedonia); and in some locations further east in Thrace. These settlements are believed to be of a later date than the southern ones (GHM 1995).
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www.mlahanas.de/Greece/History/Arvanites.html
Foreign sources sometimes refer to Arvanites as Albanians,[1] as did some older Greek authors.[2] Today, however, Arvanites in Greece typically object to being associated with the Albanian nation or being called an "ethnic minority", since they have a strong feeling of being ethnically Greek (GHM 1995). For the same reason, many also object to the designation of their language as a dialect of Albanian, preferring instead to regard it as a separate language. Many Albanians, on the other hand, prefer to view Arvanites as an Albanian minority group.
History
Arvanites in the south of Greece are believed to be the descendants of Albanian-speaking settlers, who moved south at different times between the 11th century and the 15th century from what is today southern Albania and northwest Greece (Biris 1960, Poulos 1950, Panagiotopulos 1985). Some of this migration happened in the course of settlement programmes invited by the Byzantine and Frankish rulers of the time in order to re-populated deserted areas in the south. Later movements are believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest.
While most historians regard the ancestors of today's Arvanites as part of the same medieval population groups that are also the ancestors to present-day Albanians,[3] some Greek authors have argued that the settlers were not ethnic Albanians in a true sense. Their hypotheses are that Arvanites were either descendants of originally Greek populations who had only intermediately become Albanized; or that they were descendants of some other Thraco-Illyrian tribes and as such related but not identical to Albanians proper;[citation needed] or that Arvanites are descendants of the original pre-Greek "Pelasgian" population and as such actually autochthonous to southern Greece.[4]
Being Orthodox Christians, Arvanites identified with the Greeks in their conflicts with Muslim during the time of the Ottoman Empire. Many Arvanites are credited with having played an important role fighting as Greeks in the Greek War of Independence of 1821-1830. 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.
Demographics
The regions traditionally inhabited by Arvanites in the south of Greece are found across large parts of Attica, Boeotia, the Peloponnese, the south of the island of Euboea and the north of the island of Andros. Within Attica, the capital Athens and its suburbs were partly Arvanitic until the late 19th century. There are also settlements in Fthiotida, Lokrida and several islands of the Saronic Gulf including Salamis.
Other groups of Arvanites live in the north of Greece in areas closer to Albania and the historical centers of contiguous Albanian populations (Banfi 1996). Some of them live in Epirus (Thesprotia and Preveza); in Florina/Konitsa (near the border of the Republic of Macedonia); and in some locations further east in Thrace. These settlements are believed to be of a later date than the southern ones (GHM 1995).
.................................................. .........
www.mlahanas.de/Greece/History/Arvanites.html