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{{Short description|Ethnic group native to the Balkans}}
{{Distinguish|Arameans|Armenians|Romanians}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Aromanians
| native_name = ''Armãnji'', ''Rrãmãnji''
| native_name_lang = rup
| image = Aromanian flag.svg
| image_caption = The [[Flag of the Aromanians|flag]] most commonly associated with the Aromanians,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGClDAAAQBAJ|title=Encyclopedia of stateless nations: ethnic and national groups around the world|first=James B.|last=Minahan|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|edition=2nd|page=38|year=2016|isbn=9781610699549}}</ref> unofficial but with traditional roots<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://bmim.muzeulbucurestiului.ro/fisiere/30-Bucuresti-Materiale-de-Istorie-si-Muzeografie-XXX-2016_124.pdf|title=Paftaua, tipuri de decorații și simboluri. Accesorii din patrimoniul Muzeului Municipiului București|first=Maria Camelia|last=Ene|publisher=Bucharest Municipality Museum|journal=Materiale de Istorie și Muzeografie|___location=[[Bucharest]]|volume=30|page=136|year=2016|language=ro}}</ref>
| population = '''{{circa}} 250,000''' (Aromanian-speakers)<ref>{{cite web|last=Puig|first=Lluis Maria de|title=Report: Aromanians|publisher=Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly|date=17 January 1997|id=Doc. 7728|url=https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/X2H-Xref-ViewHTML.asp?FileID=7661&lang=en}}</ref>
| region1 = {{flagcountry|Greece}}
| pop1 = [[Aromanians in Greece|39,855]] <small>(1951 census)</small>;
| ref1 = <ref name="autogenerated1">According to [http://www.intereg.org/ INTEREG] – quoted by [http://www.eurominority.org/version/eng/index.asp Eurominority] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703040707/http://www.eurominority.org/version/eng/index.asp |date=3 July 2006 }}: [http://www.eurominority.org/version/eng/minority-detail.asp?id_alpha=1&id_minorites=gr-arom Aromanians in Greece] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050519194533/http://www.eurominority.org/version/eng/minority-detail.asp?id_alpha=1&id_minorites=gr-arom |date=19 May 2005 }}</ref> estimated up to 300,000 (2002){{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=153}}
| region2 = {{flagcountry|Romania}}
| pop2 = [[Aromanians in Romania|26,500]] <small>(2006 estimate)</small>
| ref2 = <ref>{{cite news|url=http://old.cotidianul.ro/aromanii_vor_statut_minoritar-19201.html|title=Aromânii vor statut minoritar|first=Iuliana|last=Gatej|newspaper=[[Cotidianul]]|date=8 December 2006|language=ro|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309180933/http://old.cotidianul.ro/aromanii_vor_statut_minoritar-19201.html|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| region3 = {{flagcountry|North Macedonia}}
| pop3 = [[Aromanians in North Macedonia|8,714]] <small>(2021 census)</small>
| ref3 = <ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 – прв сет на податоци |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2022/2.1.22.10-mk-en.pdf |access-date=2 July 2022 |page=8}}</ref>
| region4 = {{flagcountry|Albania}}
| pop4 = [[Aromanians in Albania|2,459]] <small>(2023 census)</small>
| ref4 = <ref name="Census 2023">{{cite web |publisher=[[Institute of Statistics (Albania)|Instituti i Statistikës]] (INSTAT) |title=Population and Housing Census 2023|url=https://shqiptarja.com/uploads/ckeditor/667eb96647c4bcens-2023.pdf}}</ref>
| region5 = {{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}
| pop5 = [[Aromanians in Bulgaria|2,000–3,000]] <small>(2014 estimate)</small>
| ref5 = <ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.revistadesociologie.ro/pdf-uri/nr.3-4-2014/05-MConstantin.pdf|title=The ethno-cultural belongingness of Aromanians, Vlachs, Catholics, and Lipovans/Old Believers in Romania and Bulgaria (1990–2012)|first=Marin|last=Constantin|journal=Revista Română de Sociologie|volume=25|issue=3–4|pages=255–285|year=2014}}</ref>
| region6 = {{flagcountry|Serbia}}
| pop6 = [[Aromanians in Serbia|327]] <small>(2022 census)</small>
| ref6 = <ref name="cincar">{{cite web|url=https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/3104020102|title=Становништво према националној припадности|publisher=[[Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia]]|access-date=9 May 2023|language=sr}}</ref>
| languages = [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]],<br /> also languages of their home countries
| rels = Predominantly [[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]]
| related = Other [[Romance languages|Romance]]-speaking peoples;<br />(most notably [[Istro-Romanians]], [[Megleno-Romanians]] and [[Romanians]])
}}
{{Aromanians sidebar}}
The '''Aromanians''' ({{langx|rup|Armãnji, Rrãmãnji}}){{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=145}} are an [[Ethnic groups in Europe|ethnic group]] native to the southern [[Balkans]] who speak [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], an [[Eastern Romance language]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIByDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|title=Across the Danube: Southeastern Europeans and Their Travelling Identities (17th–19th C.)|date=2016|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-33544-8|page=30|language=en|quote=The Aromanians (Vlachs) are a Latin-speaking ethnic group native to the southern Balkans.}}</ref> They traditionally live in central and southern [[Albania]], south-western [[Bulgaria]], northern and central [[Greece]], and [[North Macedonia]], and can currently be found in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, south-western and eastern North Macedonia, northern and central Greece, southern Serbia, and south-eastern [[Romania]] ([[Northern Dobruja]]). An [[Aromanian diaspora]] living outside these places also exists. The Aromanians are known by several other names, such as "[[Vlachs]]" or "Macedo-Romanians"<ref>{{cite thesis|url=https://web.cs.wpi.edu/~rek/Projects/Balkan_Proposal_C21.pdf|title=Investigating the Impacts of Earthquakes on Ethnic and Religious Groups: Bucharest, Romania|first1=Eli|last1=Benevedes|first2=Owen|last2=Lally|first3=Hung-En|last3=Li|first4=Abigail|last4=Perlee|first5=Eileen|last5=Piombino|publisher=[[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]]|pages=1–63|year=2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://csea.ro/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Radu-Tudorancea-An-Analysis-of-the-Macedo-Romanian-Issue-Within-the-Romanian-Greek-Relations-During-the-First-Decade-of-the-Twentieth-Century.pdf|title=An analysis of the Macedo-Romanian issue within the Romanian–Greek relations during the first decade of the twentieth century (1900–1926)|first=Radu|last=Tudorancea|journal=Euro-Atlantic Studies|issue=11|pages=91–97|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1301510711|title=Aromanian etymologies|first=Emil|last=Vrabie|journal=General Linguistics|volume=33|issue=4|pages=212–219|year=1993|id={{ProQuest|1301510711}}}}</ref> (sometimes used to also refer to the [[Megleno-Romanians]]).<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=87227|title=Some topics of the traditional wedding customs of the Macedo–Romanians (Aromanians and Megleno–Romanians)|first=Emil|last=Țîrcomnicu|journal=Romanian Journal of Population Studies|issue=3|pages=141–152|year=2009|volume=3}}</ref>
The term "Vlachs" is used in Greece and in other countries to refer to the Aromanians, with this term having been more widespread in the past to refer to all Romance-speaking peoples of the [[Balkan Peninsula]] and [[Carpathian Mountains]] region ([[Southeast Europe]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/631511/Vlach|title=Vlach – European ethnic group|website=Britannica.com|access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref>
Their vernacular, [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], is an Eastern Romance language very similar to [[Romanian language|Romanian]], which has [[Aromanian dialects|many slightly varying dialects]] of its own.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9083828 |title=Romanian language |access-date=16 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320130740/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9083828 |archive-date=20 March 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Aromanian is considered to have developed from [[Common Romanian]], a common stage of all the [[Eastern Romance]] varieties<ref name=Isac>{{cite book|last=Isac|first=Daniela|title=Definiteness in Balkan Romance|series=Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2024|isbn=9780198865704|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWT1EAAAQBAJ|page=1|quote=The term 'Balkan Romance' is used to designate a group of languages including Romanian, Aromanian, Istro-Romanian and Megleno-Romanian.<sup>1</sup> Even though the exact historical links between these languages are still unclear (...), it is commonly accepted that they have a common ancestor and hence form a coherent family. <sup>1</sup> Alternative names for Balkan Romance are Daco-Romance and Eastern Romance.}}</ref> that evolved from the [[Vulgar Latin]] spoken by [[Paleo-Balkan languages|Paleo-Balkan peoples]] after the [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] of the Balkan area that fell under the Latin sphere of influence.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=115}} The Aromanian language shares many common features with [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Greek language|Greek]]; however, although it has many loanwords from Greek, [[Slavic languages|Slavic]], and [[Turkish language|Turkish]], its lexicon remains majority [[Romance languages|Romance]] in origin.<ref name="Minahan2002">{{cite book|author= James Minahan|title=Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A–C|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLKKVXgEpkoC&pg=PA175|access-date=18 April 2012|date= 2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32109-2|pages=175|quote=Aromanian shares many common features with Bulgarian, Greek, and Albanian, but the lexical composition, though rich in Greek, Slavic, and Turkish borrowings, remains basically of the Romance type.}}</ref>
==Names and classification==
{{Main|Names of the Aromanians}}
===Ethnonyms===
The term ''Aromanian'' derives directly from the Latin ''Romanus'', meaning Roman citizen. The initial ''a-'' is a regular epenthetic vowel, occurring when certain consonant clusters are formed, and it is not, as [[folk etymology]] sometimes has it, related to the negative or privative ''a-'' of Greek (also occurring in Latin words of Greek origin). The term was coined by [[Gustav Weigand]] in his 1894 work ''Die Aromunen''. The first book to which many scholars have referred to as the most valuable to translate their ethnic name is a grammar printed in 1813 in [[Vienna]] by [[Mihail G. Boiagi]]. It was titled Γραμματική Ρωμαϊκή ήτοι Μακεδονοβλαχική/''Romanische oder Macedonowlachische Sprachlehre'' ("Romance or Macedono-Vlach Grammar").
The term ''Vlach'' is an [[exonym]] used since medieval times. Aromanians call themselves ''Rrãmãn'' or ''Armãn'', depending on which of the two [[Aromanian dialects|dialectal groups]] they belong, and identify as part of the ''Fara Armãneascã'' ("Aromanian tribe") or the ''Populu Armãnescu'' ("Aromanian people").{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=145}} The endonym is rendered in English as ''Aromanian'', in Romanian as ''Aromâni'', in Greek as ''Armanoi'' (Αρμάνοι), in Albanian as ''Arumunët'', in Bulgarian as ''Arumani'' (Арумъни), in Macedonian as ''Aromanci'' (Ароманци), in Serbo-Croatian as ''Armani'' and ''Aromuni''.
The term "Vlach" was used in medieval Balkans as an exonym for all the Romance-speaking (Romanized) people of the region, as well as a general name for [[shepherds]], but nowadays is commonly used for the Aromanians and [[Meglenites]], [[Romanians|Daco-Romanians]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.definitions.net/definition/Daco-Romanian|title=What does Daco-Romanian mean?|website=www.definitions.net}}</ref> being named Vlachs only in [[Serbia]], [[Bulgaria]] and [[North Macedonia]]. The term is noted in the following languages: Greek "Vlachoi" ({{lang|grc|Βλάχοι}}), Albanian "Vllehët", Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian "Vlasi" (Bласи), [[Turkish language|Turkish]] "Ulahlar", [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mek.niif.hu/02100/02115/html/5-1436.html|title=Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon /|website=Mek.niif.hu|access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref> "Oláh". It is noteworthy that the term Vlach also meant "bandit" or "rebel" in Ottoman [[historiography]], and that the term was also used as an exonym for mainly Orthodox Christians in Ottoman-ruled [[western Balkans]] (mainly denoting [[Serbs]]), as well as by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] for the immigrant Slavophone population of the [[Dalmatian hinterland]] (also mainly denoting Serbs).
===Groups===
German academic [[Thede Kahl]], expert on [[Aromanian studies]], divides the Aromanians into two main groups, the "Rrãmãnji" and "Armãnji", which are further divided into sub-groups.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=145}}
'''Rrãmãnji'''
* '' Muzãchiars'', from [[Muzachia]] situated in southwestern-central Albania.
* ''Fãrshãrots'' (or ''Fãrsherots''), mostly concentrated in [[Epirus]], from the [[Frashër]] (Aromanian ''Farshar'') area in south-eastern Albania.
* ''Moscopolitans'' or ''Moscopoleans'', from the city of [[Moscopole]], once an important urban center of the Balkans, now a village in southeastern Albania.
'''Armãnji'''
* ''Pindeans'', concentrated in and around the [[Pindus|Pindus Mountains]] of Northern and Central [[Greece]].
* ''Gramustians'' (or ''Gramosteans'', gr. ''grammostianoi''), from [[Gramos|Gramos Mountains]], an isolated area in south-eastern [[Albania]], and north-west of Greece.
===Nicknames===
The Aromanian communities have several nicknames depending on the country where they are living.
* Gramustians and Pindians are nicknamed ''Koutsovlachs'' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Κουτσόβλαχοι). This term is sometimes taken as derogatory, as the first element of this term is from the Greek ''koutso-'' (κουτσό-) meaning "lame". Following a Turkish etymology where ''küçük'' means "little" they are the smaller group of Vlachs as opposed to the more numerous Vlachs (Daco-Romanians).
* Fãrsherots, from Frashër (Albania), Moscopole and Muzachia are nicknamed "Frasariotes" (Greek: Φρασαριώτες Βλάχοι) or ''Arvanitovlachs'' (Greek: Αρβανιτόβλαχοι), meaning "Albanian Vlachs" referring to their place of origin.{{sfn|Winnifrith|1987|p=35}}
In the South Slavic countries, such as Serbia, [[North Macedonia]] and Bulgaria, the nicknames used to refer to the Aromanians are usually ''Vlasi'' (South Slavic for Vlachs and Wallachians) and ''Tsintsari'' (also spelled ''Tzintzari, Cincari'' or similar), which is derived from the way the Aromanians pronounce the word meaning [[5|five]], ''tsintsi''. In Romania, the demonym ''Macedoni'', ''Machedoni'' or ''Macedoromâni'' is also used. In Albania, the terms ''Vllah'' or ''Vlleh'' ("Vlach") and ''Çoban'' or ''Çobenj'' (from Turkish ''çoban'', "shepherd") are used.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|pp=203–}}
==Population==
===Settlements===
{{main|List of Aromanian settlements}}
[[File: Moscopole coa.jpg|thumb|[[Moscopole]], once the cultural and commercial centre of the Aromanians, in 1742]]
The [[Aromanians in Albania|Aromanian community in Albania]] is estimated up to 200,000 people, including those who no longer speak the language.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=209}} Tanner estimates that the community constitutes 2% of the population.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=209}} In [[Albania]], Aromanian communities inhabit Moscopole, their most famous settlement, the [[Kolonjë District]] (where they are concentrated), a quarter of [[Fier]] (Aromanian ''Ferãcã''), while Aromanian was taught, as recorded by Tom Winnifrith, at primary schools in [[Gjirokastër District|Andon Poçi]] near [[Gjirokastër]], [[Sarandë District|Shkallë]] (Aromanian ''Scarã'') near [[Sarandë]], and [[Borovë, Korçë|Borovë]] near [[Korçë]] (Aromanian ''Curceau'') (1987).{{sfn|Winnifrith|1987|p=35}}
A Romanian research team concluded in the 1960s that Albanian Aromanians migrated to [[Tirana]], Stan Karbunarë, [[Skrapar District|Skrapar]], [[Pojan]], [[Bilisht]] and [[Korçë]], and that they inhabited Karaja, [[Lushnjë]], [[Moscopole]], [[Drenovë]] (Aromanian ''Dãrnova'') and [[Boboshticë]] (Aromanian ''Bubushtitsa'').{{sfn|Winnifrith|1987|p=35}}
==Origins==
[[File:Roman Empire Trajan 117AD.png|thumb|Map of the [[Roman Empire]] during its height, under [[Trajan]] (r. 98–117)]]
[[File:Language border (Matzinger).png|thumb|The [[Jireček Line]] is an imaginary line that shows where Latin and Greek influences meet in the Balkans, according to [[Epigraphy|epigraphic]] [[Archaeology|archaeological]] data.]]
===Language===
The Aromanian language is related to the [[Vulgar Latin]] spoken in the Balkans during the Roman period.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=210}} It is hard to establish the history of the Vlachs in the Balkans, with a gap between the barbarian invasions and the first mentions of the Vlachs in the 11th and 12th centuries.{{sfn|Winnifrith|1987|p=39}} Byzantine chronicles are unhelpful, and only in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries does the term ''Vlach'' become more frequent, although it proves problematic to distinguish sorts of Vlachs as it was used for various subjects, such as the empire of the Asen dynasty, Thessaly, and Romania across the Danube.{{sfn|Winnifrith|1987|p=39}} It has been assumed that Vlachs are descendants of Roman soldiers or Latinized original populations (Greeks, Illyrians, Thracians or Dacians), due to the historical Roman military presence in the territory inhabited by the community.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=210}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Binder|first=David|date=2004|title=Vlachs, A Peaceful Balkan People|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/176889|journal=Mediterranean Quarterly|volume=15|issue=4|pages=115–116|doi=10.1215/10474552-15-4-115|s2cid=154461762|issn=1527-1935|quote=The Roman Empire gradually expanded in what is now called the Balkan Peninsula from 146 BC, with the first colonies around Preveza in the Epirus region of Greece, to about 550 AD. Vlachs are sometimes assumed to be the Romanized descendants of autochthonous ethnic groups, the Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians and Greeks, though the Greek connection is undoubtedly the strongest.|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Many Romanian scholars maintain that the Aromanians were part of a Daco-Romanian migration from the north of the Danube between the 6th{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=114}} and 10th centuries, supporting the theory that the 'Great Romanian' population descend from the ancient Dacians and Romans.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=205}} Greek scholars view the Aromanians as descendants of Roman legionaries that married Greek women.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=114}} There is no evidence for either theory, and Winnifrith deems them improbable.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=114}} The little evidence that exists points that the Vlach (Aromanian) homeland was within the Latin sphere of influence in the Northern Balkans, north of the [[Jireček Line]], which roughly demarcated the areas of influence of Latin and Greek.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=115}} With the Slavic breakthrough of the Danube frontier in the 7th century, Latin-speakers were pushed further southwards.{{sfn|Winnifrith|2002|p=115}} Based on linguistic considerations, Olga Tomic concludes that Aromanians moved from Thrace to their present locations after the Slavic invasion of Thrace, though before the [[Megleno-Romanians]].<ref name="Tomic 2006 p. 39">{{cite book | last=Tomic | first=O.M. | title=Balkan Sprachbund Morpho-Syntactic Features | publisher=Springer | year=2006 | page=39}}</ref>
===Genetic studies===
{{main|Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of Europe}}
In 2006 ''Bosch et al.'' attempted to determine if the Aromanians are descendants of Latinised [[Dacians]], [[Greeks]], [[Illyrians]], [[Thracians]] or a combination of these, but it was shown that they are genetically indistinguishable from the other Balkan populations. Linguistic and cultural differences between Balkan groups were deemed too weak to prevent [[gene flow]] among the groups.<ref name = "Bosch2006">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-1809.2005.00251.x | last1 = Bosch | first1 = E. | last2 = Calafell | first2 = F. | last3 = González-Neira | first3 = A. | last4 = Flaiz | year = 2006 | first4 = C | last5 = Mateu | first5 = E | last6 = Scheil | first6 = HG | last7 = Huckenbeck | first7 = W | last8 = Efremovska | first8 = L | last9 = Mikerezi | first9 = I | last10 = Xirotiris | first10 = N. | last11 = Grasa | first11 = C. | last12 = Schmidt | first12 = H. | last13 = Comas | first13 = D. | title = Paternal and maternal lineages in the Balkans show a homogeneous landscape over linguistic barriers, except for the isolated Aromuns | journal = Annals of Human Genetics | volume = 70 | issue = Pt 4| pages = 459–87 | pmid = 16759179 | s2cid = 23156886 | display-authors = 8 }}</ref>
;[[Y-DNA]] [[haplogroup]]s<ref name="Bosch2006"/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 84%"
! Sample population || Sample size || [[Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)|R1b]] || [[Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)|R1a]] || [[Haplogroup I (Y-DNA)|I]] || [[Haplogroup E1b1b (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] || [[Haplogroup E1b1a (Y-DNA)|E1b1a]] || [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|J]] || [[Haplogroup G (Y-DNA)|G]] || [[Haplogroup N (Y-DNA)|N]] || [[haplogroup T (Y-DNA)|T]] || [[haplogroup L (Y-DNA)|L]] || Other (Y-DNA)
|-
! Aromanians from [[Fier County|Dukas]], Albania<ref name = "Bosch2006"/>
|| 39
|| {{nts|2.56%}} (1/39)
|| {{nts|2.56%}} (1/39)
|| {{nts|17.95%}} (7/39)
|| {{nts|17.95%}} (7/39)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|48.72%}} (19/39)
|| {{nts|10.26%}} (4/39)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|-
! Aromanians from Andon Poçi, Albania<ref name = "Bosch2006"/>
|| 19
|| {{nts|36.84%}} (7/19)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|42.11%}} (8/19)
|| {{nts|15.79%}} (3/19)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|5.26%}} (1/19)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|-
! Aromanians from Kruševo, North Macedonia<ref name = "Bosch2006"/>
|| 43
|| {{nts|27.91%}} (12/43)
|| {{nts|11.63%}} (5/43)
|| {{nts|20.93%}} (9/43)
|| {{nts|20.93%}} (9/43)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|11.63%}} (5/43)
|| {{nts|6.98%}} (3/43)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|-
! Aromanians from Štip, North Macedonia<ref name = "Bosch2006"/>
|| 65
|| {{nts|23.08%}} (15/65)
|| {{nts|21.54%}} (14/65)
|| {{nts|16.92%}} (11/65)
|| {{nts|18.46%}} (12/65)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|20.0%}} (13/65)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|-
! Aromanians in Romania<ref name = "Bosch2006"/>
|| 42
|| {{nts|23.81%}} (10/42)
|| {{nts|2.38%}} (1/42)
|| {{nts|19.05%}} (8/42)
|| {{nts|7.14%}} (3/42)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| {{nts|33.33%}} (14/42)
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| —
|| —
|| —
|| – 14.29% (6/42)
|-
! Aromanians in Balkan Peninsula
|| '''39+<br>19+<br>43+<br>65+<br>42=<br>208'''
|| '''{{nts|21.63%}} (45/208)'''
|| '''{{nts|10.1%}} (21/208)'''
|| '''{{nts|20.67%}} (43/208)'''
|| '''{{nts|16.35%}} (34/208)'''
|| {{nts|0.0}}
|| '''{{nts|25%}} (52/208)'''
|| '''{{nts|3.37%}} (7/208)'''
|| —
|| —
|| —
|| – '''2.88% (6/208)'''
|}
[[Haplogroup R1b]] is the most common haplogroup among two or three of the five tested Aromanian populations, which is not shown as a leading mark of the Y-DNA locus in other regions or ethnic groups on the [[Balkan Peninsula]]. On the 16 Y-STR markers from the five Aromanian populations, Jim Cullen's predictor speculates that over half of the mean frequency of 22% R1b of the Aromanian populations is more likely to belong to the L11 branch.<ref name = "Bosch2006"/> L11 subclades form the majority of Haplogroup R1b in Italy and western Europe, while the eastern subclades of R1b are prevailing in populations of the eastern Balkans.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Myres|first1=Natalie M.|title=A major Y-chromosome haplogroup R1b Holocene era founder effect in Central and Western Europe|journal=European Journal of Human Genetics|volume=19|issue=1|pages=95–101|language=en|doi=10.1038/ejhg.2010.146|pmid=20736979|pmc=3039512|date=2010}}</ref>
==History and self-identification==
{{Main|History of the Aromanians}}
===Middle Ages===
[[File:Vlach Shepherd.png|thumb|upright|left|Aromanian shepherd in traditional clothes, photo from 1899, Archive: [[Yanaki and Milton Manaki|''Manaki Brothers'']].]]
The Aromanians or Vlachs first appear in medieval [[Byzantine]] sources in the 11th century, in the ''[[Strategikon of Kekaumenos]]'' and [[Anna Komnene]]'s ''[[Alexiad]]'', in the area of [[Thessaly]].{{sfn|ODB|loc="Vlachs" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 2183–2184}} In the 12th century, the Jewish traveller [[Benjamin of Tudela]] records the existence of the district of "Vlachia" near [[Halmyros]] in eastern [[Thessaly]], while the Byzantine historian [[Niketas Choniates]] places "[[Great Vlachia]]" near [[Meteora]]. Thessalian Vlachia was apparently also known as "Vlachia in [[Hellas (theme)|Hellas]]".{{sfn|ODB|loc="Vlachia" (A. Kazhdan), p. 2183}} Later medieval sources also speak of an "Upper Vlachia" in [[Epirus]], and a "Little Vlachia" in [[Aetolia-Acarnania]], but "Great Vlachia" is no longer mentioned after the late 13th century.{{sfn|ODB|loc="Vlachs" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 2183–2184}}
===Aromanians within the Balkan nationalisms of the 19th and 20th centuries===
{{main|Aromanian question}}
[[File:Transhumance ways of the Vlachs.jpeg|thumb|[[Transhumance]] ways of the Vlach shepherds in the past]]
[[File:Romanian Schools for Aromanians and Meglenoromanians.JPG|thumb|Map showing areas with Romanian schools for Aromanians and [[Megleno-Romanians]] in the Ottoman Empire (1886)]]
A distinct Aromanian consciousness was not developed until the 19th century, and was influenced by the rise of other [[national movements in the Balkans]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bjuniornewblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-aromanian-rebirth.html|title=BJUNIORNEWBLOG: THE AROMANIAN REBIRTH|date=11 September 2019}}</ref>
Until then, the Aromanians, as [[Eastern Orthodox Christians]], were subsumed with other ethnic groups into the wider ethnoreligious group of the "Romans" (in Greek ''[[Rhomaioi]]'', after the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire), which in [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] times formed the distinct ''[[Rum millet]]''.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=146}} The ''Rum millet'' was headed by the Greek-dominated [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]], and the Greek language was used as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' among Balkan Orthodox Christians throughout the 17th–19th centuries. As a result, wealthy, urbanized Aromanians were culturally [[Hellenized]] and played a major role in the dissemination of Greek language and culture; indeed, the first book written in Aromanian was written in the [[Greek alphabet]] and aimed at spreading Greek among Aromanian-speakers.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|pp=146–147}}
By the early 19th century, however, the distinct Latin-derived nature of the Aromanian language began to be studied in a series of grammars and language booklets.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=147}} In 1815, the Aromanians of [[Budapest]] requested permission to use their language in [[liturgy]], but it was turned down by the local metropolitan,{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=147}} while representatives of the [[Transylvanian School]], such as [[Petru Maior]], [[Samuil Micu]] and [[Gheorghe Șincai]], as well as the Romanian-language newspapers from Buda, Pest and [[Vienna]], received funding from the important Aromanian–Greek banker [[Georgios Sinas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berényi |first=Maria |author-link=Maria Berényi |date=20 November 2020 |title=Macedoromânul Gheorghe Simeon Sina |url=https://ebibliothecaseptentrionalis.wordpress.com/2020/11/20/macedoromanul-gheorghe-simeon-sina/ |website=e-Bibliotheca septentrionalis |language=ro}}</ref>
The establishment of a distinct Aromanian national consciousness, however, was hampered by the tendency of the Aromanian upper classes to be absorbed in the dominant surrounding ethnicities, and espouse their respective national causes as their own.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|pp=149–150}} So much did they become identified with the host nations that Balkan national historiographies portray the Aromanians as the "best Albanians", "best Greeks" and "best Bulgarians", leading to researchers calling them the "[[chameleon]]s of the Balkans".{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=150}} Consequently, many [[List of prominent Aromanians|Aromanians played a prominent role]] in the modern history of the Balkan nations: the revolutionary [[Pitu Guli]], Greek Prime Minister [[Ioannis Kolettis]], Greek magnate [[Georgios Averoff]], Greek Defence Minister [[Evangelos Averoff]], Serbian Prime Minister [[Vladan Đorđević]], [[Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople]], Romanian metropolitan [[Andrei Şaguna]] etc.
Following the establishment of independent [[Romania]] and the [[autocephaly]] of the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] in the 1860s, the Aromanians increasingly began to come under the influence of the [[Romanian nationalism|Romanian national movement]]. Although vehemently opposed by the Greek church, the Romanians established an extensive state-sponsored cultural and educative network in the southern Balkans: the first Romanian school was established in 1864 by the Aromanian [[Dimitri Atanasescu]], and by the early 20th century there were 100 Romanian churches and 106 schools with 4,000 pupils and 300 teachers.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|pp=147–148}} As a result, Aromanians divided into two main factions, one pro-Greek, the other pro-Romanian, plus a smaller focusing exclusively on its Aromanian identity.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=146}}
With the support of the [[Great Powers]], and especially [[Austria-Hungary]], the "Aromanian-Romanian movement" culminated in the recognition of the Aromanians as a distinct ''[[millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'' (the [[Ullah millet]]) by the [[Ottoman Empire]] on 22 May 1905, with corresponding freedoms of worship and education in their own language.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=148}} Nevertheless, due to the advanced assimilation of the Aromanians, this came too late to lead to the creation of a distinct Aromanian national identity; indeed, as [[Gustav Weigand]] noted in 1897, most Aromanians were not only indifferent, but actively hostile to their own national movement.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=149}}
At the same time, the Greek–Romanian antagonism over Aromanian loyalties intensified with the armed [[Macedonian Struggle]], leading to the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1906. During the Macedonian Struggle, most Aromanians participated on the "patriarchist" (pro-Greek) side, but some sided with the "[[Bulgarian Exarchate|exarchists]]" (pro-Bulgarians).{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=148}} However, following the [[Balkan Wars]] of 1912–13, Romanian interest waned, and when it revived in the 1920s it was designed more towards encouraging the Romanians' "Macedonian brothers" to emigrate to [[Southern Dobruja]], where there were strong non-Romanian minorities.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=149}}
While Romanian activity declined, from [[World War I]] on and with its [[Italian protectorate over Albania|involvement in Albania]], Italy made some efforts—not very successful—in converting pro-Romanian sympathies into pro-Italian ones.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=149}} In [[World War II]], during the [[Axis occupation of Greece]], Italy encouraged Aromanian nationalists to form an "Aromanian homeland", the so-called [[Principality of the Pindus]]. The project never gained much traction among the local population, however. On the contrary, many leading figures of the [[Greek Resistance]] against the Axis, like [[Andreas Tzimas]], [[Stefanos Sarafis]], and [[Alexandros Svolos]], were Aromanians. The "principality" project collapsed with the [[Italian armistice]] in 1943.
===Modern Aromanian identities===
The date of the announcement of the Ottoman ''irade'' of 23 May 1905 has been adopted in recent times by Aromanians in Albania, [[Australia]], Bulgaria and North Macedonia as the "[[Aromanian National Day]]" ({{lang|rup|Dzua Natsionalã a Armãnjilor}}), but notably not in Greece or among the Aromanians in the [[Greek diaspora]].{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=151}} In Romania, every 10 May, the Balkan Romanianness Day is celebrated instead for the same event. This observance is meant for the Aromanians but also for the Megleno-Romanians and the [[Istro-Romanians]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.activenews.ro/stiri/Ziua-Romanitatii-Balcanice-a-fost-adoptata-de-Camera-Deputatilor.-Fratii-nostri-din-sud-vor-fi-sarbatoriti-anual-pe-10-mai.-Bust-la-Corcea-Albania-pentru-Parintele-martir-Haralambie-Balamace-ucis-de-greci-cu-baionetele-pentru-ca-a-slujit-in-romana-166826|title=Ziua Românității Balcanice a fost adoptată de Camera Deputaților. Frații noștri din sud vor fi sărbătoriți, anual, pe 10 mai. Bust la Corcea, Albania, pentru Părintele-martir Haralambie Balamace, ucis de greci cu baionetele pentru că a slujit în română|first=Cătălin|last=Vușcan|newspaper=ActiveNews|date=13 May 2021|language=ro}}</ref>
In modern times, Aromanians generally have adopted the dominant national culture, often with a dual identity as both Aromanian and Greek/Albanian/Bulgarian/Macedonian/Serbian/etc.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=152}} Aromanians are also found outside the borders of Greece. There are many Aromanians in southern Albania and in towns all over the Balkans,{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=151}} while Aromanians identifying as Romanians are still to be found in areas where Romanian schools were active.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=152}} There are also many Aromanians who identify themselves as solely Aromanian (even, as in the case of the "Cincars", when they no longer speak the language). Such groups are to be found in southwestern Albania, the eastern parts of North Macedonia, the Aromanians who immigrated to Romania in 1940, and in Greece in the [[Veria]] (Aromanian ''Veryia'') and [[Grevena]] (Aromanian ''Grebini'') areas and in [[Athens]].{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=151}}
==Culture==
===Religion===
{{see also|Eastern Orthodox Church}}
[[File:Voskopoja (3).jpg|thumb|Church of [[Saint Nicholas]] in [[Moscopole]]]]
The Aromanians are predominantly [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]], and follow the [[Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar]].{{sfn|Kahl|2003|p=}}
===
{{Main|Aromanian cuisine}}
[[File:Μετσοβόνε 6304.jpg|thumb|left|[[Metsovone]], Aromanian cheese from Metsovo]]
[[Aromanian cuisine]] is strongly influenced by [[Mediterranean cuisine|Mediterranean]] and [[Middle Eastern cuisine]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://literaturacomparata.ro/Site_Acta/Old/acta11/AIC_11_Darabus.pdf|title=L'alimentazione come sistema alluvionale nella cultura degli aromeni|first=Carmen|last=Dărăbuș|journal=Acta Iassyensia Comparationis|volume=11|issue=1|pages=85–90|year=2013|language=it}}</ref>
===Music===
{{Main|Aromanian music}}
[[Polyphonic music]] is common among the Aromanians, and follows a common set of rules.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iga91qAoeDYC|title=European Voices I: Multipart singing in the Balkans and the Mediterranean|chapter=Multipart singing among the Aromanians (Vlachs)|first=Thede|last=Kahl|editor-first1=Ardian|editor-last1=Ahmedaja|editor-first2=Gerlinde|editor-last2=Haid|publisher=[[Böhlau Verlag]]|pages=267–280|year=2008|isbn=9783205780908}}</ref>
===Literature===
{{Main|Aromanian literature}}
A literature in the Aromanian language exists.
===
[[File:ArrumanosMacedonios--balkancockpitpol00pric 0021.png|thumb|right|Aromanians in traditional clothes in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] at the beginning of the 20th century]]
In Aromanian rural areas, clothes differed from the dress of the city dwellers. The shape and the colour of a garment, the volume of the headgear, the shape of a jewel could indicate cultural affiliation and also could show the village people came from. [[Fustanella]] usage among Aromanians can be traced to at least the 15th century, with notable examples being seen in the Aromanian stećak of the [[Radimlja]] necropolis.
Additionally Aromanians claim the fustanella as their ethnic costume.
===Sports===
There are some famous Aromanian sport personalities like tennis player [[Simona Halep]] and football player [[Gheorghe Hagi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.fanatik.ro/astazi-23-mai-este-ziua-simonei-halep-si-a-lui-gica-hagi-si-a-tuturor-aromanilor-din-lume-ce-machedoni-mai-avem-in-sportul-romanesc-19205252|title=23 mai este ziua Simonei Halep și a lui Gică Hagi. Și a tuturor aromânilor din lume. Ce machedoni mai avem în sportul românesc|first=Silviu|last=Ghering|newspaper=Fanatik.ro|date=23 May 2020|language=ro}}</ref> In Romania, they also have their own football team called Armãnamea, who have been representing them since 2008 in the European football tournament for minorities, [[Europeada]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Armânamea |url=https://europeada.eu/en/teams/ARMANAMEA |publisher=[[Europeada]] |language=en}}</ref> There also exists the Cupa Armânamea, a [[futsal]] competition organized by Aromanians in Romania.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bocai |first=Marian |date=17 December 2013 |title=Hagi, Simona Halep şi Eliza Samara, invitaţi la finalele "Cupei Armânamea" (galerie foto) |url=https://www.ziuaconstanta.ro/stiri/sport/s-au-jucat-primele-18-meciuri-hagi-simona-halep-si-eliza-samara-invitati-la-finalele-cupei-armanamea-479873.html |work=Ziua de Constanţa |language=ro}}</ref>
==Aromanians today==
===
{{Main|Aromanians in Greece}}
[[File:South-Balkan-Romance-languages.png|thumb|left|Map of Balkans with regions inhabited by Aromanians in yellow]]
[[File:Samarina (24075745696).jpg|thumb|[[Samarina]], one of the highest villages in Greece]]
In Greece, Aromanians are not recognised as an ethnic but as a linguistic minority and, like the [[Arvanites]], have been indistinguishable in many respects from other [[Greeks]] since the 19th century.<ref>Elisabeth Kontogiorgi, Population exchange in Greek Macedonia the rural settlement of refugees 1922–1930, p. 22</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Viktor Meier|title=Yugoslavia: A History of Its Demise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1oYiKrmTL7EC&pg=RA1-PA184|year=1999|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-18596-7|page=184|quote=The problem of the linguistic minorities in Greece is a complex one ... They both consider themselves Greeks}}</ref> Although Greek Aromanians would differentiate themselves from native [[Greeks]] (''Grets'') when speaking in Aromanian, most still consider themselves part of the broader Greek nation (''Elini'', [[Hellenes]]), which also encompasses other linguistic minorities such as the [[Arvanites]] or the [[Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia]].{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=153}} Greek Aromanians have long been associated with the Greek national state, actively participated in the Greek Struggle for Independence, and have obtained very important positions in government,<ref>John S. Koliopoulos, Plundered loyalties Axis occupation in Greek West Macedonia 1941–1949, pages 81–85</ref> although there was an attempt to create an autonomous Aromanian canton under the protection of Italy at the end of World War I, called [[Principality of the Pindus]]. Aromanians have been very influential in Greek politics, business and the army. Revolutionaries [[Rigas Feraios]] and [[Giorgakis Olympios]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Leontis|first=Artemis|title=Culture and customs of Greece|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBAMAQAAMAAJ|page=13|isbn=9780313342967}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Ioannis Kolettis]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Merry|first=Bruce|title=Encyclopedia of modern Greek literature|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-lr20SuvfIC&pg=PA163|page=163|isbn=9780313308130}}</ref> billionaires and benefactors [[Evangelos Zappas]] and [[Konstantinos Zappas]], businessman and philanthropist [[George Averoff]], Field Marshal and later Prime Minister [[Alexandros Papagos]], and conservative politician [[Evangelos Averoff]]<ref>{{cite book|first=James F. |last=Brown |title= The grooves of change: Eastern Europe at the turn of the millennium |publisher= Duke University Press |year= 2001 |page= [https://archive.org/details/groovesofchangee00brow/page/261 261] |url=https://archive.org/details/groovesofchangee00brow|url-access=registration |isbn=9780822326526 }}</ref> were all either Aromanians or of partial Aromanian heritage. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of Aromanians in Greece today. The [[Treaty of Lausanne]] of 1923 estimated their number between 150,000 and 200,000, but the last two censuses to differentiate between Christian minority groups, in 1940 and 1951, showed 26,750 and 22,736 Vlachs respectively.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=153}} Estimates on the number of Aromanians in Greece range between 40,000<ref name="autogenerated1" /> and 300,000. Kahl estimates the total number of people with Aromanian origin who still understand the language as no more than 300,000, with the number of fluent speakers under 100,000.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=153}}
The majority of the Aromanian population lives in northern and central Greece; [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]], [[Greek Macedonia|Macedonia]] and [[Thessaly]]. The main areas inhabited by these populations are the [[Pindus Mountains]], around the mountains of [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]] and [[Vermion Mountains|Vermion]], and around the [[Prespa Lakes]] near the border with Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. Some Aromanians can still be found in isolated rural settlements such as [[Samarina]] (Aromanian '' Samarina'', ''Xamarina'' or ''San Marina''), [[Perivoli, Grevena|Perivoli]] (Aromanian ''Pirivoli'') and [[Smixi]] (Aromanian ''Zmixi''). There are also Aromanians (Vlachs) in towns and cities such as [[Ioannina]] (Aromanian ''Ianina'', ''Enina'' or ''Enãna''), [[Metsovo]] (Aromanian ''Aminciu''), [[Veria]]
(Aromanian ''Veryia'') [[Katerini]], [[Trikala]] (Aromanian ''Trikolj''), [[Grevena]] (Aromanian '' Grebini'') and [[Thessaloniki]] (Aromanian ''Sãruna'')
Generally, the use of the minority languages has been discouraged in Greece,<ref name="ReferenceA">Greek Monitor of Human and Minority Rights vol I. No 3 December 1995</ref> although recently there have been efforts to preserve the endangered languages (including Aromanian) of Greece.
Since 1994, the [[Aristotle University of Thessaloniki]] offers beginner and advanced courses in "Koutsovlach", and cultural festivals with over 40,000 participants—the largest Aromanian cultural gatherings in the world—regularly take place in Metsovo.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=155}} Nevertheless, there are no exclusively Aromanian newspapers, and the Aromanian language is almost totally absent from television.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=155}} Indeed, although as of 2002 there were over 200 Vlach cultural associations in Greece, many did not even feature the term "Vlach" in their titles, and only a few are active in preserving the Aromanian language.{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=155}}
In 1997, the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]] passed [[Recommendation 1333 (1997)]] encouraging the Balkan states to take steps to rectify the "critical situation" of Aromanian culture and language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/AdoptedText/ta97/EREC1333.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021118100008/http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/AdoptedText/ta97/EREC1333.HTM |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 November 2002 |title=Recommendation 1333 (1997) on the Aromanian culture and language |year=1997 |access-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref> This was after pressure from the [[Union for Aromanian Language and Culture]] in [[Germany]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/de/rum%C3%A4nien-ist-f%C3%BCr-uns-eine-zweite-heimat/a-958516|title="Rumänien ist für uns eine zweite Heimat"|first=Cornel|last=Baicu|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|date=29 August 2003|language=de}}</ref> In response, the then [[President of Greece]], [[Konstantinos Stefanopoulos]], publicly urged Greek Aromanians to teach the language to their children.
In 2001, 31 Aromanian mayors and heads of villages signed a protest resolution against the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] report on the human rights situation in [[Greece]]. They complained "against the direct or indirect characterisation of the Vlach-speaking Greeks as an ethnic, linguistic or other minority, stating that the Vlach-speaking Greeks never requested to be recognised by the Greek state as a minority, stressing that historically and culturally they were and still are an integral part of Hellenism, they would be bilingual and Aromanian would be secondary".{{sfn|Kahl|2003|p=217}}
Furthermore, the largest Aromanian group in Greece (and across the world), the [[Panhellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs]] in Greece,{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=155}} has repeatedly rejected the classification of Aromanian as a minority language or the Vlachs as a distinct ethnic group separate from the Greeks, considering the Aromanians as an "integral part of Hellenism".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/280201.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040915235435/http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/280201.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 September 2004 |script-title=el:Έκδοση ψηφίσματος διαμαρτυρίας κατά του Στέτ Ντιπαρτμεντ |date=28 February 2001 |language=el |access-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/141102.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040910235045/http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/141102.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 September 2004 |script-title=el:Έκδοση Δελτίου Τύπου για την διοργάνωση του Συνεδρίου του Ελληνικού παραρτήματος της μη κυβερνητικής οργάνωσης του Ε.Β.L.U.L., στη Θεσσαλονίκη |date=14 November 2002 |language=el |access-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/180803.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040915235417/http://vlahos.xan.duth.gr/draseis/psifismata/180803.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 September 2004 |script-title=el:Έκδοση ψηφίσματος διαμαρτυρίας κατά της έκθεσης της Αμερικανικής οργάνωσης Freedom House |date=18 August 2003 |language=el |access-date=21 February 2015 }}</ref> The Aromanian (Vlach) Cultural Society, which is associated with [[Sotiris Bletsas]], is represented on the Member State Committee of the European Bureau for Lesser Spoken Languages in Greece.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eblul.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41|title=Learn a Foreign Language|work=eblul.org|date=29 March 2023 }}{{cbignore}}{{dead link|date=September 2018}}</ref>
===In Albania===
{{Main|Aromanians in Albania}}
[[File:Aromanians in Albania.png|thumb|Aromanians in Albania:<br />{{legend|#E32636|Aromanian exclusive settlements}}{{legend|#FFDF00|Aromanian majority or substantial minority settlements}}]]
The exact presence of the Aromanian community in Albania is unknown. They are mostly concentrated in parts of southern and western Albania. 8,266 people declared themselves to be Aromanians in the 2011 census.<ref>{{cite report |date=2012 |title=Population and Housing Census (Main Results) – 2011 |url=http://www.instat.gov.al/media/3058/main_results__population_and_housing_census_2011.pdf |publisher=[[Institute of Statistics (Albania)]] |page=71 |access-date=24 August 2021}}</ref> On the quality of the specific data the Advisory Committee on the [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]] stated that "the results of the census should be viewed with the utmost caution and calls on the authorities not to rely exclusively on the data on nationality collected during the census in determining its policy on the protection of national minorities.".<ref>{{cite web|title=Third Opinion on Albania adopted on 23 November 2011|url=https://rm.coe.int/168008c633|publisher= Advisory Committee on the Framework for the Protection of National Minorities |access-date=29 June 2017}}</ref> According to Tom Winnifrith in 1995, that there were about 200,000 individuals who were of Aromanian descent in Albania, regardless of proficiency in Aromanian, or spoke Aromanian without necessarily considering themselves to have a separate identity.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=209}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schwandner-Sievers|first=Stephanie|date=March 1999|title=The Albanian Aromanians' Awakening: Identity Politics and Conflicts in Post-Communist Albania|url=https://www.ecmi.de/publications/ecmi-research-papers/03-the-albanian-aromanians-awakening-identity-politics-and-conflicts-in-post-communist-albania|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-17|website=www.ecmi.de|publisher=[[European Centre for Minority Issues]]|pages=1–2 |quote=Winnifrith increased these figures after repeated travels through Southern Albania. In his most recent estimate of 200,000 he includes all those who think of themselves as Vlachs / Aromanians in terms of descent with or without knowledge of the language as well as those who speak the language but do not refer to a distinct identity.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126173819/https://www.ecmi.de/publications/ecmi-research-papers/03-the-albanian-aromanians-awakening-identity-politics-and-conflicts-in-post-communist-albania |archive-date=26 January 2020 }}</ref> According to Frank Kressing and Karl Kaser in 2002, there were between 30,000 and 50,000 Aromanians in Albania.<ref name="KK">{{cite book |last1= Kressing |first1= Frank |last2= Kaser|first2= Karl |title= Albania—a Country in Transition: Aspects of Changing Identities in a South-East European Country |year= 2002 |publisher= Nomos |page = 12| quote = between 5,000 and 15,000 Macedonians and Montenegrins in the north and east; between 30,000 and 50,000 Vlahs or Aromanians}}</ref> Tanner (2004) pointed out Albania as the only country where Aromanians make a relatively significant percentage of population, around 2%.{{sfn|Tanner|2004|p=209}}
For the last years there seems to be a renewal of the former policies of supporting and sponsoring of Romanian schools for Aromanians of Albania. As a recent [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012140525/http://www.ziua.net/display.php?id=154530&data=2004-08-10&kword=Divjaka,+unde+invata+aromana+peste+60+copii article] in the Romanian media points out, the kindergarten, primary and secondary schools in the Albanian town of Divjakë where the local Albanian Aromanians pupils are taught classes both in Aromanian and Romanian were granted substantial help directly from the Romanian government. One of the only churches serving the Aromanian minority in Albania is the [[St. Sotir Church, Korçë|St. Sotir Church]] ({{lang|rup|Ayiu Sutir}}) of Korçë, which was given 2 billion [[Romanian leu|lei]] help from the Romanian government. They also have a political party named [[Party of the Vlachs of Albania]] (PVSH), which is the only in the world along with two in North Macedonia, and two social organisations named ''Shoqata Arumunët/Vllehtë e Shqiperisë'' (The Society of the Aromanians/Vlachs of Albania) and ''Unioni Kombëtar Arumun Shqiptar'' (The Aromanian Albanian National Union). Many of the Albanian Aromanians (Arvanito Vlachs) have immigrated to Greece, since they are considered in Greece part of the [[Greeks in Albania|Greek minority in Albania]].<ref>Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers. [http://www.ecmi.de/download/working_paper_3.pdf The Albanian Aromanians´ Awakening: Identity Politics and Conflicts in Post-Communist Albania] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218045546/http://www.ecmi.de/download/working_paper_3.pdf |date=18 February 2015 }}, p. 12-13.</ref> There are attempts to establish education in their native language in the town of [[Divjakë]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecmi.de/download/working_paper_3.pdf |title=Aromanians in Albania |publisher=Ecmi.de |access-date=9 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218045546/http://www.ecmi.de/download/working_paper_3.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2015 }}</ref>
Notable Aromanians whose family background hailed from today's Albania include Bishop Andrei Şaguna, and Father [[Haralambie Balamaci]], whereas notable Albanians with an Aromanian family background are actors [[Sandër Prosi|Aleksandër (Sandër) Prosi]], [[Margarita Xhepa]], [[Albert Vërria]], and [[Prokop Mima]], as well as composer [[Nikolla Zoraqi]]<ref>{{cite web | last = Çollaku | first = Robert | editor-last = Gusho |editor-first = Jani | title = Frația (Vëllazëria) |url = https://es.scribd.com/document/52184532/Fr%C4%83%C5%A3ia-2-2011 | work = Calendaru 2011 | publisher = Arumunët e Shqipërisë | page=2 |date = July–August 2011}}</ref> and singers [[Eli Fara]] and [[Parashqevi Simaku]].
On 13 October 2017, Aromanians received the official status of [[ethnic minority]], through voting of a bill by [[Albanian Parliament]].
===In North Macedonia===
{{Main|Aromanians in North Macedonia}}
[[File:BASA-1932K-1-426-5-Georgi Kasapcheto.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Ioryi Mucitano]], the first leader of the first Aromanian band in the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization|IMRO]]]]
[[File:AromaniansinMacedonia.png|thumb|Spread of Aromanians in North Macedonia:<br>{{legend|#00FA9A|Localities where Aromanians are an officially recognised minority group}}
{{legend|#ADD8E6|Other localities with an Aromanian population}}
{{legend|#FBEC5D|Areas where Megleno-Romanians are concentrated}}]]
According to official government figures (census 2002), there are 9,695 Aromanians or Vlachs, as they are officially called in North Macedonia. According to the census of 1953 there were 8,669 Vlachs, 6,392 in 1981 and 8,467 in 1994.<ref>[http://www.farsarotul.org/nl20_1.htm The Vlachs of Macedonia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027131218/http://www.farsarotul.org/nl20_1.htm |date=27 October 2010 }}, Tom J. Winnifrith.</ref> Aromanians are recognized as an ethnic minority, and are hence represented in Parliament and enjoy ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious rights and the right to education in their language.
There are Aromanian cultural societies and associations such as the Union for Aromanian Culture from North Macedonia, The Aromanian League of North Macedonia, The International League of Aromanians and ''Comuna Armãneascã "Frats Manachi"'', (The Aromanian Community Manaki Brothers) in [[Bitola]] (Aromanian ''Bituli'' or ''Bitule''). There also are two political parties representing the Aromanian minority of the country. These are the [[Democratic Union of the Vlachs of Macedonia]] (DSVM; {{lang|rup|Unia Democratã a Armãnjlor dit Machidunii}}, {{lang|rup|UDAM}}) and the [[Party of the Vlachs of Macedonia]] (PVM; {{lang|rup|Partia Armãnjilor ditu Machidunie}}, {{lang|rup|PAM}}). They are the only Aromanian parties in the world along with the PVSH in Albania.
Many forms of Aromanian-language media have been established since the 1990s. North Macedonia's Government provides financial assistance to Aromanian-language newspapers and radio stations. Aromanian-language newspapers such as [[Phoenix (newspaper)|Phoenix]] ({{langx|rup|Fenix}}) service the Aromanian community. The Aromanian television program Spark ({{langx|rup|Scanteao}}; Macedonian ''Искра'' (Iskra)) broadcasts on [[MRT 2 (TV channel)|the second channel]] of the [[Macedonian Radio-Television]].
There are Aromanian classes provided in primary schools and the state funds some Aromanian published works (magazines and books) as well as works that cover Aromanian culture, language and history. The latter is mostly done by the first Aromanian Scientific Society, "Constantin Belemace" in [[Skopje]] (Aromanian ''Scopia''), which has organized symposiums on Aromanian history and has published papers from them. According to the last census, there were 9,596 Aromanians (0.48% of the total population). There are concentrations in [[Kruševo]] (Aromanian ''Crushuva'') 1,020 (20%), [[Štip]] (Aromanian ''Shtip'') 2,074 (4.3%), Bitola 1,270 (1.3%), [[Struga]] 656 (1%), [[Sveti Nikole]] (Aromanian ''San Nicole'') 238 (1.4%), [[Kisela Voda]] 647 (1.1%) and Skopje 2,557 (0.5%).<ref name="auto"/>
===In Romania===
{{Main|Aromanians in Romania}}
Since the Middle Ages, due to the Turkish occupation and the destruction of their cities, such as [[Moscopole]], [[Gramos, Greece|Gramos]], {{ill|Linotopi|bg|Линотопи|el|Λινοτόπι Καστοριάς|mk|Линотопи|sq|Linatopi}} (which never recovered) and later on [[Kruševo]], many Aromanians fled their native homelands in the Balkans to settle the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, which had a similar language and a certain degree of autonomy from the [[Turkish people|Turks]]. These immigrant Aromanians were assimilated into the Romanian population.
In 1925, 47 years after [[Dobruja]] was incorporated into Romania, [[Ferdinand of Romania|King Ferdinand]] gave the Aromanians land and privileges to settle in this region, which resulted in a significant migration of Aromanians into Romania. Today, 25% of the population of the region are descendants of Aromanian immigrants.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}
There are currently between 50,000 and 100,000 Aromanians in Romania, most of which are concentrated in Dobruja.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} According to some Aromanian cultural organizations in Romania, there are some 100,000 Aromanians in Romania, and they are often called ''macedoni'' ("Macedonians").{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} Some Aromanian associations even place the total number of people of Aromanian descent in Romania as high as 250,000.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}
Recently,{{when|date=May 2020}} there has been a growing movement in Romania, both by Aromanians and by Romanian lawmakers, to recognize the Aromanians either as a separate cultural group or as a separate ethnic group, and extend to them the rights of other minorities in Romania, such as mother-tongue education and representatives in parliament.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}
In Romania exists the [[Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society]].
===In Bulgaria===
{{Main|Aromanians in Bulgaria}}
Most of the Aromanians in the [[Sofia]] region are descendants of emigrants from the region of Macedonia and northern Greece who arrived between 1850 and 1914.<ref>{{cite book|author=Conseil de l'Europe. Assemblée parlementaire. Session ordinaire|title=Documents de séance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2Xh8RY8WG8C&pg=RA1-PR21|year=1997|publisher=Council of Europe|isbn=978-92-871-3239-0|page=xxi}}</ref>
In Bulgaria, most Aromanians were concentrated in the region south-west of Sofia, in the region called [[Pirin]], formerly part of the Ottoman Empire until 1913. Due to this reason, a large number of these Aromanians moved to [[Southern Dobruja]], part of the [[Kingdom of Romania]] after the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)|Treaty of Bucharest of 1913]]. After the reinclusion of Southern Dobruja in Bulgaria with the [[Treaty of Craiova]] of 1940, most were moved to [[Northern Dobruja]] in a [[Population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania|population exchange]]. Another group moved to northern Greece. Nowadays, the largest group of Aromanians in Bulgaria is found in the southern mountainous area, around [[Peshtera]]. Most Aromanians in Bulgaria originate from the [[Gramos|Gramos Mountains]], with some from [[North Macedonia]], the [[Pindus|Pindus Mountains]] in Greece and [[Moscopole]] in Albania.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etar.org/program/kal2007/armani/armani.htm |script-title=bg:Армъните в България ("The Aromanians in Bulgaria")|publisher=Архитектурно-етнографски комплекс "Етър" – Габрово|language=bg|access-date=15 January 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090130054950/http://etar.org/program/kal2007/armani/armani.htm| archive-date= 30 January 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>
After the fall of communism in 1989, Aromanians and Romanians (known as "Vlachs" in Bulgaria) have started initiatives to organize themselves under one common association.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mae.ro/index.php?unde=doc&id=28376 |title=Ministerul Afacerilor Externe |publisher=MAE.ro |date=23 July 2014 |access-date=9 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lumeam.ro/nr10_2002/diaspora.html|title=Lumea Magazin|date=5 September 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905015809/http://www.lumeam.ro/nr10_2002/diaspora.html|archive-date=5 September 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rgnpress.ro/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=707&pop=1&page=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007143801/http://www.rgnpress.ro/index2.php?option=content&task=view&id=707&pop=1&page=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 October 2007|title=Romanian Global News – singura agentie de presa a romanilor de pretutindeni|date=7 October 2007|access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref>
According to the 1926 official census, there were 69,080 Romanians, 5,324 Aromanians, 3,777 ''Cutzovlachs'', and 1,551 ''Tsintsars''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}
===In Serbia===
{{Main|Aromanians in Serbia}}
The Aromanians, known as ''Cincari'' (Цинцари), migrated to Serbia in the 18th and early 19th centuries. They most often were bilingual in Greek, and were often called "Greeks" (''Grci''). They were influential in the forming of Serbian statehood, having contributed with rebel fighters, merchants and intellectuals. Many Greek Aromanians (Грко Цинцари) came to Serbia with [[Alija Gušanac]] as ''krdžalije'' (mercenaries) and later joined the [[Serbian Revolution]] (1804–1817). Some of the notable rebels include [[Konda Bimbaša]] and Papazogli.<ref>{{cite book|title=Mitološki zbornik|volume=7–8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSQkAQAAIAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Centar za mitološki studije Srbije|page=35|quote=Многи Грко-Цинцари су дошли у Србију са Гушанцем као крхалије, па су касније пришли устаницима. У ову групу спадају Конда и Папазоглија. У Гушанчевој војсци Конда је био буљубаша, све до 1806. године, када су устаници ...}}</ref> Among the notable people of Aromanian descent are playwright [[Jovan Sterija Popović]] (1806–1856), novelist [[Branislav Nušić]] (1864–1938), and politician [[Vladan Đorđević]] (1844–1930).
The majority of Serbian people of Aromanian descent do not speak Aromanian and espouse a [[Serbs|Serb identity]]. They live in [[Niš]], [[Belgrade]] and some smaller communities in Southern Serbia, such as [[Knjaževac]]. The [[Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association]] was founded in Belgrade in 1991. According to the [[Demographics of Serbia|2022 census]], there were 327 Serbian citizens that identified as ethnic ''Cincari''.<ref name="cincar" /> However, unofficial estimates number the Aromanian population of Serbia at 5,000<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/373091/Cincari-krvotok-Balkana|title=Цинцари – крвоток Балкана|first=Dragana|last=Jokić Stamenković|newspaper=[[Politika]]|date=30 January 2017|language=sr}}</ref>–15,000.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Balkan Vlachs/Aromanians awakening, national policies, assimilation|first=Miroslav|last=Ružica|journal=Proceedings of the Globalization, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflicts in the Balkans and Its Regional Context|year=2006|pages=28–30|s2cid=52448884}}</ref>
===Diaspora===
{{Main|Aromanian diaspora}}
Aside from the Balkan countries, there are also communities of Aromanian emigrants living in [[Canada]], the [[United States]], [[France]] and [[Germany]]. Although the largest diaspora community is in select major Canadian cities, [[Freiburg]], Germany has one of the most important Aromanian organisations, the [[Union for Aromanian Language and Culture]]. In the United States, the [[Society Farsharotu]] is the oldest and most well-known association of Aromanians, founded in 1903 by Nicolae Cican, an Aromanian native of Albania. In France, the Aromanians are grouped in the [[Trâ Armânami Association of French Aromanians]].{{sfn|Kahl|2002|p=163}}
==Notable people==
{{main|List of Aromanians}}{{summarize section|date=December 2020}}[[File:Halep RG18 (25) (42929445712).jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|[[Simona Halep]]]]
[[File:Lansarea candidaturii Gabrielei Szabo pentru Camera Deputatilor, Voluntari - 04.05 (48) (14270956179) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|[[Gheorghe Hagi]]]]
[[File:Averof George by P. Prosalentis.jpg|right|thumb|150px|[[George Averoff]], businessman]]
[[File:SSinas.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Simon Sinas]], banker]]
[[Image:Ioannis Kolettis.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Ioannis Kolettis]], former Prime Minister of Greece]]
The following is a list of notable people of full or partial Aromanian descent. Note that these claims are in many cases disputed or shared with ancestry from other ethnicities.
===Art and literature===
* [[Alexandru Arsinel]]—comedian and actor
* [[Constantin Belimace]]—poet
* [[Ion Luca Caragiale]]—playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist
* [[Toma Caragiu]]—theatre, television and film actor
* [[Elena Gheorghe]]—singer
* [[Jovan Četirević Grabovan]]—icon painter
* [[Stere Gulea]]—film director and screenwriter
* [[Dimitrios Lalas]]—composer and musician
* [[Taško Načić]]—actor
* [[Sergiu Nicolaescu]]—film director, actor and politician
* [[Constantin Noica]]—philosopher, essayist and poet
* [[Branislav Nušić]]—playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist
* [[Ștefan Octavian Iosif]]—poet and translator
* [[Dan Piţa]]—film director and screenwriter
* [[Aurel Plasari]]—writer
* [[Jovan Sterija Popović]]—playwright, poet, lawyer, philosopher and pedagogue
* [[Florica Prevenda]]—painter
* [[Toše Proeski]]—singer
* [[Sandër Prosi]]—actor
* [[Camil Ressu]]—painter and academic
* [[Konstantinos Tzechanis]]—philosopher, mathematician and poet
* [[Nuși Tulliu]]—poet and prose writer
* [[Albert Vërria]]—actor
* [[Lika Yanko]]—painter
* [[Jovan Jovanović Zmaj]]—poet<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2077|title=Jovan Jovanović Zmaj and the Serbian identity between poetry and history|first=Bojan|last=Aleksov|series=CEUP collection|date=23 January 2013|pages=273–305|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=9786155211669}}</ref>
* [[Manaki brothers]]—film makers
===Law, philanthropy and commerce===
* [[George Averoff]]—businessman and philanthropist
* [[Gigi Becali]]—businessman and politician
* [[Emanoil Gojdu]]—lawyer
* [[Petar Ičko]]—merchant
* [[Mocioni family]]—barons, philanthropists and bankers
* [[Theodoros Modis]]—lumber merchant and scholar
* [[Sterjo Nakov]]—businessman
* [[Simon Sinas]]—banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat
* [[Georgios Sinas]]—entrepreneur, banker and national benefactor
* [[Michael Tositsas]]—benefactor
* [[Evangelis Zappas]]—philanthropist and businessman
* [[Konstantinos Zappas]]—entrepreneur and national benefactor
* [[Toma Fila]]—lawyer and politician
===Military===
* [[Pitu Guli]]—revolutionary
* [[Christodoulos Hatzipetros]]—military leader
* [[Anastasios Manakis]]—revolutionary
* [[Giorgakis Olympios]]—military commander
* [[Alexandros Papagos]]—army officer<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jovanovski|first1=Dalibor|last2=Minov|first2=Nikola|year=2017|title=Ioannis Kolettis. The Vlach from the ruling elite of Greece|url=https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/bp/article/view/9570/12145|journal=Balcanica Posnaniensia|publisher=[[Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań]]|volume=24|issue=1|pages=222–223|issn=2450-3177|access-date=8 May 2017|archive-date=18 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318165407/https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/bp/article/view/9570/12145|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Anastasios Pichion]]—educator and fighter
* [[Stefanos Sarafis]]—army officer
* [[Konstantinos Smolenskis]]—army officer
* [[Leonidas Smolents]]—army officer
* [[Mitre the Vlach]]—revolutionary
===Politics===
* [[Apostol Arsache]]—politician and philanthropist
* [[Evangelos Averoff]]—politician and writer
* [[Nicolae Constantin Batzaria]]—politician, activist and writer
* [[Marko Bello]]—politician, diplomat and lecturer
* [[Yannis Boutaris]]—politician and businessman
* [[Llazar Bozo]]—politician, militant and benefactor
* [[Costică Canacheu]]—politician and businessman
* [[Ion Caramitru]]—politician and actor
* [[Alcibiades Diamandi]]—politician
* [[Michael Dukakis]]—former [[Governor of Massachusetts]] and candidate in the [[1988 United States presidential election]]
* [[Vladan Đorđević]]—Serbian physician and politician<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vukašinović |first1=Vladan |title=Vladan djordjević, the life and work of a gymnast |journal=Physical Culture |date=2018 |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=5-11 |doi=10.5937/fizkul1801005V |url=https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0350-3828/2018/0350-38281801005V.pdf}}</ref>
* [[Rigas Feraios]]—writer, political thinker and revolutionary
* [[Taki Fiti]]—politician
* [[Ioannis Kolettis]]—politician
* [[Helena Angelina Komnene]]
* [[Spyridon Lambros]]—politician and professor
* [[Apostol Mărgărit]]—writer
* [[Nicolaos Matussis]]—politician
* [[Filip Mișea]]—politician, [[Young Turks]] member, and physicist
* [[Georgios Modis]]—jurist, politician and writer
* [[Alexandros Papagos]]—politician and army officer
* [[Alexandros Svolos]]—politician
* [[Andreas Tzimas]]—politician
* [[Petros Zappas]]—entrepreneur and politician
===Religion===
* [[Cyril of Bulgaria]]—patriarch
* [[Joachim III of Constantinople]]—ecumenical patriarch
* [[Theodore Kavalliotis]]—priest and teacher
* [[Andrei Șaguna]]—metropolitan bishop
* [[Nektarios Terpos]]—scholar and monk
===Sciences, academia and engineering===
* [[Sotiris Bletsas]]
* [[Elie Carafoli]]
* [[Ioannis Chalkeus]]
* [[Sterie Diamandi]]
* [[Neagu Djuvara]]
* [[Jovan Karamata]]
* [[Mina Minovici]]
* [[Theodore Modis]]
* [[Yorgo Modis]]
* [[Daniel Moscopolites]]
* [[George Murnu]]
* [[Pericle Papahagi]]
* [[Nicolae Malaxa]]
===Sports===
* [[Gheorghe Hagi]]—football coach and former player
* [[Ianis Hagi]]—football player
* [[Simona Halep]]—tennis player
* [[Cristian Gaţu]]—handball player
* [[Rafail Dishnica Gërnjoti]]—boxer
* [[Theodhor Gërnjoti]]—boxer
* [[Dominique Moceanu]]—gymnast
==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170px" style="text-align:left">
File:Vlachsche_Hirten_-_Schweiger_Lerchenfeld_Amand_(freiherr_Von)_-_1887.jpg|Aromanian herdsmen in [[Greece]] (Amand Schweiger from Lerchenfeld, 1887)
File:Cola Nicea IMARO Band.jpg|Aromanian armatoles in 1907 in [[Veria]]
File:ValacosDeMacedonia--bulgariaherpeopl00monr.png|Aromanian men of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], circa 1914
File:Cutovlahi (1915).jpg|Aromanians in 1915
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[
* [[List of
==
{{Reflist}}
== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal|last=Atanassova|first=Katya|title=Aromanians|journal=Communities and Identities in Bulgaria|year=1998|pages=1000–1012}}
* Cozaru, G. C., A. C. Papari, and M. L. Sandu. "Considerations Regarding the Ethno-Cultural Identity of the Aromanians in Dobrogea". ''Tradition and Reform Social Reconstruction of Europe'' (2013): 121.
* {{cite journal|last=Iosif|first=Corina|title=The Aromanians between nationality and ethnicity: the history of an identity building|journal=Transylvanian Review|volume=20|year=2011|pages=133–148}}
* {{cite book |last=Kahl |first=Thede |author-link=Thede Kahl |chapter=The Ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the Identity of a Minority that Behaves like a Majority |title=Ethnologia Balkanica |volume=6 |year=2002 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ebpDLhkVWcC&pg=PA145 |pages=145–169}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kahl|first=Thede|url=https://www.academia.edu/39707239|title=Aromanians in Greece. Minority or Vlach-Speaking Greeks?|journal=Jahrbücher für Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas|volume=5|year=2003|pages=205–219}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan |year=1991 |title=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] |___location=Oxford and New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 |ref={{harvid|ODB}}}}
* Kocój E., Heritage without Heirs? Tangible and religious cultural heritage of the Vlachs minority in Europe in the context of interdisciplinary research project (contribution to the subject), Balcanica Posnaniensia", Poznań 2015, s. 137–147.
* Kocój E., The Story of an Invisible City. The Cultural Heritage of Moscopole in Albania. Urban Regeneration, Cultural Memory and Space Management [in:] Intangible heritage of the city. Musealisation, preservation, education, ed. By M. Kwiecińska, Kraków 2016, s. 267–280.
* Kocój E., Artifacts of the past as traces of memory. The Aromanian cultural heritage in the Balkans, Res Historica, 2016, pp. 175–195.
* {{cite journal|last=Motta|first=Giuseppe|title=The Fight for Balkan Latinity. The Aromanians until World War I|journal=Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences|volume=2|issue=3|year=2011|pages=252–260}}
* {{cite journal|last=Motta|first=Giuseppe|title=The Fight for Balkan Latinity (II). The Aromanians after World War|journal=Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences|volume=3|issue=11|year=2012|pages=541–550}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Nowicka |first1=Ewa |title=Ethnic Identity of Aromanians/Vlachs in the 21st Century |journal=Res Historica |date=29 September 2016 |volume=41 |pages=213 |doi=10.17951/rh.2016.41.213 |url=https://journals.umcs.pl/rh/article/download/4163/3009|doi-access=free }}
*{{cite thesis|last=Prendergast|first=Eric|date=2017|title=The Origin and Spread of Locative Determiner Omission in the Balkan Linguistic Area|type=Ph.D|publisher=UC Berkeley|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7nk454x6}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ružica|first=Miroslav|title=The Balkan Vlachs/Aromanians Awakening, National Policies, Assimilation|journal=Proceedings of the Globalization, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflicts in the Balkans and Its Regional Context |___location=Belgrade|year=2006 |url=http://cincari.org/dokumenta/free/The_Balkan_Vlachs-Aromanians.pdf |access-date=16 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528233805/http://cincari.org/dokumenta/free/The_Balkan_Vlachs-Aromanians.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2015 |url-status=usurped}}
* {{citation|last=Schwandner-Sievers|first=Stephanie|title=The Albanian Aromanians' awakening: identity politics and conflicts in post-communist Albania|___location=Flensburg|publisher=European Centre for Minority Issues |year=1999 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1463975}}
* {{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Arno|chapter=The Vlachs – A contested identity|title=The Forgotten Minorities of Eastern Europe: The History and Today of Selected Ethnic Groups in Five Countries|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQtCPAo1XU8C&pg=PA203|year=2004|publisher=East-West Books|isbn=978-952-91-6808-8|pages=203–}}
* {{cite journal|last=Țîrcomnicu|first=Emil|title=Some Topics of the Traditional Wedding Customs of the Macedo–Romanians (Aromanians and Megleno–Romanians) |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=87227 |url-access=subscription |journal=Romanian Journal of Population Studies Supplement |year=2009 |volume=3|issue=Supplement|pages=141–152}}
* {{cite book |last1=Winnifrith |first1=Tom |title=Shattered Eagles, Balkan Fragments |date=1995 |publisher=Duckworth |isbn=978-0-7156-2635-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upO2AAAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Winnifrith|first=Tom|title=The Vlachs: the history of a Balkan people|year=1987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zVpAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Duckworth|isbn=978-0-7156-2135-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Winnifrith|first=Tom|editor-last=Clogg|editor-first=Richard|chapter=Vlachs |year=2002 |title=Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-705-7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-71s8jEHWJsC&pg=PA112 |pages=112–121}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|title=Report: The Vlachs|journal=Greek Monitor of Human & Minority Rights|volume=1|issue=3|date=December 1995|orig-year=May–June 1994|url=http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/vlachs.html|access-date=27 May 2013|archive-date=16 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150116025122/http://greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/vlachs.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite journal|url=https://dinitrandu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Alex-Gica-Rcent-history.pdf|title=The recent history of the Aromanians in Southeast Europe|first=Alexandru|last=Gica|journal=[[The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu]]|volume=24–25|issue=1–2|pages=1–22|year=2009–2011}}
== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Aromanians}}
[[Category:Aromanians| ]]
[[Category:Eastern Romance people]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Albania]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Greece]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups
[[Category:Ethnic groups in
[[Category:
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Balkans]]
[[Category:Romance peoples]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups divided by international borders]]
[[Category:Transhumant ethnic groups]]
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