Misplaced Pages

#474525

68-567: The toponym Labëri/-a and the name of the Albanian sub-group: Lab (also Labe , Labi ), pl. Lebër , are endonyms formed from the root *arb/*alb (cf. the ancient ethonym Αλβανοί, Albanoi by Ptolemy , and Αλβανοί, Αρβανίται in Byzantine sources). The variant lab- , which goes back to *alb- , resulted from a metathesis characteristic of Common Slavic , and was reborrowed in that form into Albanian. The toponym Arbëri , now used as

136-552: A manuscript written in the Serbo-Croatian Language traced back to the 17th century but published in the 20th century by Radoslav Grujic. It is a fragment of a once longer text that endeavours to explain the origins of peoples and languages in a question-and-answer form similar to a catechism . The fragmented manuscript differentiated the world into 72 languages and three religious categories including Christians, half-believers and non-believers. Grujic dated it to

204-539: A codex of customary laws, the Kanun of Labëria ( Albanian : Kanuni i Labërisë , Kanuni i Papa Zhulit or Kanuni i Idriz Sulit ). This set of traditional unwritten laws which survived Byzantine and Ottoman periods in the isolated and inaccessible territories of southwest Albania. During the regime of Enver Hoxha the Labs, Ghegs and Tosks were forbidden to emphasize their identity. The dialect associated with Labëria

272-525: A hardly accessible mountainous region, which helped them preserve their peculiar culture and language. The issue surrounding the origin of the Albanian people has long been debated by historians and linguists for centuries. They have Paleo-Balkan origins, and for obvious geographic and historical reasons most scholars maintain that they descended at least partially from the Illyrians , but besides

340-647: A mass conversion of Labs occurred during a famine in which the bishops of Himara and Delvina refused to let the Labs break fast and drink milk. Many Labs were recruited by the Ottoman Janissary corps due to their warlike nature and the Ottomans' initial preference for recruiting Albanians after their invasion of the Balkans. After the disbandment of the Janissary corps by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826,

408-456: A new and generalised response by Albanians based on ethnic and linguistic consciousness to this new and different Ottoman world emerging around them was a change in ethnonym. Little is known about the Albanian people prior to the 11th century, though a text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century in the Bulgarian language contains a possible reference to them. It is preserved in

476-644: A subject of debate. In what has been termed the "Vranoussi-Ducellier debate", Alain Ducellier proposed that both uses of the term referred to medieval Albanians. Era Vranoussi counter-suggested that the first use referred to Normans , while the second didn't have an ethnic connotation necessarily and could be a reference to the Normans as "foreigners" ( aubain ) in Epirus which Maniakes and his army traversed. This debate has never been resolved. A newer synthesis about

544-441: A term connoting "those who speak [intelligibly, the same language]". The words Shqipëri and Shqiptar are attested from 14th century onward, but it was only at the end of 17th and beginning of the early 18th centuries that the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria and Arbëreshë amongst Albanian speakers. That era brought about religious and other sociopolitical changes. As such

612-400: A variant of Labëri and only to refer to a small mountainous region extending within the triangle: Vlorë - Sarandë - Tepelenë , formerly had a broader usage referring in the old times generally to Albania and Albanians ( arbëror , subst. arbëresh ). The variants Arbëri/Labëri were used narrowly to designate a country inhabited by the Labs, i.e. Albanians proper. The link to the older form of

680-480: Is also spoken in other countries whence it is officially recognised as a minority language in such countries as Croatia , Italy, Montenegro , Romania and Serbia . There are two principal dialects of the Albanian language traditionally represented by Gheg and Tosk . The ethnogeographical dividing line is traditionally considered to be the Shkumbin river, with Gheg spoken in the north of it and Tosk in

748-580: Is first encountered on the works of Ptolemy (2nd century CE) also is encountered twice in the works of Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates , and the term "Arvanitai" (Αρβανίται) is used once by the same author. He referred to the "Albanoi" as having taken part in a revolt against the Byzantine Empire in 1043, and to the "Arbanitai" as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium (modern Durrës ). These references have been disputed as to whether they refer to

SECTION 10

#1732776332475

816-423: Is generally accepted that Arbanitai refers to the ethnonym of medieval Albanians. The use of the term Albanoi in 1038–49 and 1042 as an ethnonym related to Albanians have been a subject of debate. In what has been termed the "Ducellier-Vrannousi" debate, Alain Ducellier proposed that both uses of the term referred to medieval Albanians. Era Vrannousi counter-suggested that the first use referred to Normans , while

884-685: Is the Lab dialect , which is particular to the region. The dialect mixes innovative and archaic features, and is closely related to the Arbëresh spoken by the old Albanian diaspora in Italy , the Arvanitika of Arvanites in Greece , and Cham Albanian . The Himariote dialect of Greek is also spoken in the region of Himara, which is often considered part of Laberia, and other Greek dialects are spoken in

952-593: Is the ancient Chaonia . In Ottoman times, the region became known as Laplık in Turkish , comprising the areas of Delvinë , Avlonya ( Vlorë ), Tepedelen ( Tepelenë ), Kurules ( Kurvelesh ), and Ergiri ( Gjirokastër ). The Greek name is Λιαπουριά, Liapouriá . In the Middle Ages the Labs were followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church but many converted to Islam during Ottoman rule, with

1020-471: Is used to describe a revolt of Bulgarians (Boulgaroi) and Arbanitai in the theme of Dyrrhachium in 1078–79. It is generally accepted that Arbanitai refers to the ethnonym of medieval Albanians. As such, it is considered to be the first attestation of Albanians as an ethnic group in Byzantine historiography. The use of the term Albanoi in 1038–49 and 1042 as an ethnonym related to Albanians have been

1088-492: The Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry , culture , history and language . They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo , and they also live in the neighboring countries of North Macedonia , Montenegro , Greece , and Serbia , as well as in Italy , Croatia , Bulgaria , and Turkey . Albanians also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe and

1156-713: The Balkan Wars , Albanians declared the independence of their country . The demarcation of the new Albanian state was established following the Treaty of Bucharest and left about half of the ethnic Albanian population outside of its borders, partitioned between Greece, Montenegro and Serbia. After the Second World War up until the Revolutions of 1991 , Albania was governed by a communist government under Enver Hoxha where Albania became largely isolated from

1224-600: The Illyrians , but besides the Illyrians which specific Paleo-Balkan group contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Albanians is still a matter of academic debate. The first mention of the ethnonym Albanoi occurred in the 2nd century AD by Ptolemy describing an Illyrian tribe who lived around present-day central Albania. The first certain reference to Albanians as an ethnic group comes from 11th century chronicler Michael Attaleiates who describes them as living in

1292-799: The Paleo-Balkan group . It had its formative core in the Western Balkans after the Indo-European migrations in the region from about 3000 to 2500 BCE. The Albanian language is spoken today by approximately 5 million people throughout the Balkan Peninsula as well as by a more substantial number by communities around the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Numerous variants and dialects of Albanian are used as an official language in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia . The language

1360-787: The Sufi branch of the Bektashi Order , a core Janissary institution, was also disbanded, and its followers executed or exiled to Southern Albania. As a result, the majority of the Labs today belong to the Bektashi faith with Orthodox Christians concentrated in the Himara coastal region as well as a few pockets throughout Vlorë district and the southern and eastern parts of the region, around Gjirokastër, Delvine and Sarande. Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yanina (Ioannina), surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or

1428-735: The UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages . The Cham dialect is spoken by the Cham Albanians , a community that originates from Chameria in what is currently north-western Greece and southern Albania; the use of the Cham dialect in Greece is declining rapidly, while Cham communities in Albania and the diaspora have preserved it. Most of the Albanians in Albania and the Former Yugoslavia are polyglot and have

SECTION 20

#1732776332475

1496-820: The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Anatolia and the Balkans in the second half of the 14th century and after the conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul ) in 1453 by Mehmed II , the term Rumeli came to apply exclusively to the Balkan region of the Ottoman Empire. The region remained primarily populated by Christians ; though gradually, the Albanians , Bosniaks and Pomaks , as well as many Greeks , Serbs , Bulgarians and Vlachs converted to Islam . Many grand viziers , viziers , pashas and beylerbeyis were originally from Rumelia. Rumelia included

1564-580: The theme of Dyrrhachium . The Shkumbin River roughly demarcates the Albanian language between Gheg and Tosk dialects. Christianity in Albania was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome until the 8th century AD. Then, dioceses in Albania were transferred to the patriarchate of Constantinople . In 1054, after the Great Schism , the north gradually became identified with Roman Catholicism and

1632-515: The "Lion of Yannina" (1740–1822), was born in this region. He ruled the western part of Rumelia , the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina . His court was in Ioannina . Ali had three sons: Ahmet Muhtar Pasha (served in the 1809 war against the Russians), Veli Pasha of Morea and Salih Pasha of Vlorë. Ali Pasha of Tepelena died fighting on February 5, 1822, at

1700-755: The "Sultanate of the Roman Empire" or "Roman Sultanate", which mostly covered central Anatolia until the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243. Anatolia was referred to as Land of the Christians, hence Rum. Afterwards, it was replaced by the Anatolian beyliks , among which the Ottoman Beylik rose to prominence in the 14th and 15th centuries and eventually became the Ottoman Empire . However, following

1768-518: The 13th and 16th centuries and came to be known as Arvanites . Other Albanian population groups settled across Southern Italy and Sicily between the 11th and 16th centuries and came to be known as Arbëreshë . Albanians have also migrated to Romania since the late 16th century. In the 18th century smaller Albanian population groups settled in Southern Croatia (who came to be known as Arbanasi ), and pockets of Southern Ukraine . By

1836-606: The 15th century, the expanding Ottoman Empire overpowered the Balkan Peninsula, but faced successful rebellion and resistance by the League of Lezhë , a union of Albanian principalities led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg . By the 17th and 18th centuries, a substantial number of Albanians converted to Islam , which offered them equal opportunities and advancement within the Ottoman Empire . Thereafter, Albanians attained significant positions and culturally contributed to

1904-584: The Adriatic coastline with the central Balkan Roman provinces. Its type site is Komani and its fort on the nearby Dalmace hill in the Drin river valley. Kruja and Lezha represent significant sites of the culture. The population of Komani-Kruja represents a local, western Balkan people which was linked to the Roman Justinianic military system of forts. The development of Komani-Kruja is significant for

1972-528: The Albanian wālī Muhammad Ali established a dynasty that ruled over Egypt and Sudan until the middle of the 20th century, a period in which Albanians formed a substantial community in Egypt . During the 19th century, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance . In 1912 during

2040-463: The Balkans have long used the descriptor "Roman" to refer to the lands of the former Eastern Roman Empire. The term survives in several languages in the region: Albanian : Rumelia ; Bulgarian : Румелия , Rumeliya ; Greek : Ρωμυλία , Romylía , or Ρούμελη, Roúmeli ; Macedonian ; and Serbo-Croatian : Румелија , Rumelija ; as well Romanian : Rumelia . The old Latin documents in Genoa use

2108-411: The Illyrians which specific Peleo-Balkan group contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Albanians is still a matter of academic debate. The first certain attestation of medieval Albanians as an ethnic group is in Byzantine historiography in the work of Michael Attaleiates (1022–1080). Attaleiates mentions the term Albanoi twice and the term Arbanitai once. The term Albanoi is used first to describe

Labëria - Misplaced Pages Continue

2176-606: The Romans" in Ottoman Turkish . It refers to the lands conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, which formerly belonged to the Byzantine Empire , known by its contemporaries as the Roman Empire . Although the term Byzantine Empire is used by modern historians, the empire's citizens and emperors called themselves Romans, meaning Greek-speaking Eastern Romans, and embraced a Christian identity. Various languages in

2244-523: The Vjosa river, Lunxhëria , Mallakastra , Gjirokastër and its surroundings, Delvinë and its surroundings, Pogon , Dropull , Saranda and sometimes ( very rarely) Këlcyra and Zagori . Bordering regions include Pogon , Myzeqe , Chamëria , Dangëllia and Dishnica (as well as the border with Greece). Labëria is culturally distinguishable from the rest of Albania in its traditions and folklore. The Labs were warlike pastoral people who lived mainly in

2312-498: The ability to understand, speak, read, or write a foreign language . As defined by the Institute of Statistics of Albania , 39.9% of the 25 to 64 years old Albanians in Albania are able to use at least one foreign language including English (40%), Italian (27.8%) and Greek (22.9%). The origin of the Albanian language remains a contentious subject that has given rise to numerous hypotheses . The hypothesis of Albanian being one of

2380-457: The age of 82. In its most extensive definition, Labëria may be used to include everything from Mallakastra and the Vjosa river down to Saranda , and in its (somewhat more common) most specific definition, it may refer only to Himara , Tepelena and Kurvelesh . In the more extensive definition, in addition to these three regions, other regions included are Vlore and its surroundings south of

2448-593: The broader Muslim world . Innumerable officials and soldiers of the Ottoman State were of Albanian origin, including more than 40 Grand Viziers , and under the Köprülü , in particular, the Ottoman Empire reached its greatest territorial extension. Between the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century Albanian Pashaliks were established by Kara Mahmud pasha of Scutari , Ali pasha of Yanina , and Ahmet Kurt pasha of Berat , while

2516-536: The bulk of conversion occurring in the 18th century. Conversions were especially intense during years of conflict between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, during which some pressure was applied on Orthodox Christians by Ottoman rulers, including even low-scale forced conversion of villages, contradicting the official Ottoman tolerance for Christians. Additional reasons for conversion included discrimination and exploitation of Christians by Ottoman rulers,

2584-434: The country. The Albanian language was referred to as Arbnisht and Arbërisht . While the exonym Albania for the general region inhabited by the Albanians does have connotations to Classical Antiquity, the Albanian language employs a different ethnonym, with modern Albanians referring to themselves as Shqip(ë)tarë and to their country as Shqipëria . Two etymologies have been proposed for this ethnonym: one, derived from

2652-622: The current Turkish populations of the Balkans and the descendants of Turkish immigrants from the Balkans. The region in Turkey is also referred to as Eastern Thrace , or Turkish Thrace. In Greece , the term Ρούμελη ( Rumeli ) has been used since Ottoman times to refer to Central Greece , especially when it is juxtaposed with the Peloponnese or Morea. The word Rumeli is also used in some cases, mostly in Istanbul, to refer exclusively to

2720-586: The descendant of the Illyrian languages ( Messapic language ) is based on geography where the languages were spoken however not enough archaeological evidence is left behind to come therefore to a definite conclusion. Another hypothesis associates the Albanian language with the Thracian language . This theory takes exception to the territory, since the language was spoken in an area distinct from Albania, and no significant population movements have been recorded in

2788-836: The early 11th century and, if this and the identification of the Arbanasi as Albanians are correct, it would be the earliest written document referring to the Balkan Albanians as a people or language group. It can be seen that there are various languages on earth. Of them, there are five Orthodox languages: Bulgarian , Greek , Syrian, Iberian ( Georgian ) and Russian. Three of these have Orthodox alphabets: Greek, Bulgarian and Iberian ( Georgian ). There are twelve languages of half-believers: Alamanians, Franks , Magyars ( Hungarians ), Indians, Jacobites, Armenians , Saxons , Lechs ( Poles ), Arbanasi (Albanians), Croatians , Hizi and Germans . Michael Attaleiates (1022–1080) mentions

Labëria - Misplaced Pages Continue

2856-475: The etymology from the Albanian word for eagle (shqipe, var., shqiponjë). In Albanian folk etymology , this word denotes a bird totem , dating from the times of Skanderbeg as displayed on the Albanian flag . The other is within scholarship that connects it to the verb 'to speak' ( me shqiptue ) from the Latin " excipere ". In this instance the Albanian endonym like Slav and others would originally have been

2924-487: The geographical conditions of northern Albania favored the continuation of the Albanian language in hilly and mountainous areas as opposed to lowland valleys. The Albanian people maintain a very chequered and tumultuous history behind them, a fact explained by their geographical position in the Southeast of Europe at the cultural and political crossroad between the east and west, but they also have historically inhabited

2992-494: The groups which rebelled in southern Italy and Sicily against the Byzantines in 1038–40. The second use of the term Albanoi is related to groups which supported the revolt of George Maniakes in 1042 and marched with him throughout the Balkans against the Byzantine capital, Constantinople . The term Arvanitai is used to describe a revolt of Bulgarians (Boulgaroi) and Arbanitai in the theme of Dyrrhachium in 1078–79. It

3060-413: The hinterland of Durrës . Linguists believe that the alb part in the root word originates from an Indo-European term for a type of mountainous topography, from which other words such as alps are derived. Through the root word alban and its rhotacized equivalents arban , albar , and arbar , the term in Albanian became rendered as Arbëneshë/Arbëreshë for the people and Arbënia/Arbëria for

3128-465: The main town. Following the administrative reorganization made by the Ottoman government between 1870 and 1875, the name Rumelia ceased to correspond to any political division. Eastern Rumelia was constituted as an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin (1878) , but on September 6, 1885, after a bloodless revolution, it was united with Bulgaria . The Kosovo Vilayet

3196-691: The mountains of Kurvelesh , Progonat and Vlorë during the Byzantine period and the Ottoman invasion of Albania . However, due to mass migrations to urban areas following World War II , the population is now concentrated in the cities of Vlorë , Tepelenë , Gjirokastër and Sarandë . Pleqërishte is a genre of Albanian iso-polyphony primarily found in Labëria Music of Labs is polyphonic, more soft and lyrical than rugged single voiced music of Ghegs dedicated to heroism. Similarly to other clan-based Albanian mountain communities, Labs developed

3264-634: The name "Albanians" ( Byzantine Greek : Albanoi/Arbanitai/Arbanites ; Latin : Albanenses/Arbanenses ) was used in medieval documents and gradually entered European Languages from which other similar derivative names emerged, many of which were or still are in use, such as English "Albanians"; Italian "Albanesi"; German "Albaner"; Greek "Arvanites", "Alvanitis" (Αλβανίτης) plural: "Alvanites" (Αλβανίτες), "Alvanos" (Αλβανός) plural: "Alvanoi" (Αλβανοί); Turkish "Arnaut", "Arnavut"; South Slavic languages "Arbanasi" (Арбанаси), "Albanci" (Албанци); Aromanian "Arbinesh" and so on. The term "Albanoi" (Αλβανοί)

3332-457: The other continents. The language of the Albanians is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . Albanians have a western Paleo-Balkanic origin, and for obvious geographic and historical reasons most scholars maintain that they descended at least partially from

3400-451: The people of Albania. Historian E. Vranoussi believes that these "Albanoi" were Normans from Sicily. She also notes that the same term (as "Albani") in medieval Latin meant "foreigners". The reference to "Arvanitai" from Attaliates regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078 is undisputed. In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi" with a range of variants were used interchangeably, while sometimes

3468-508: The period when the shift from one language to the other is supposed to have occurred. The Komani-Kruja culture is an archaeological culture attested from late antiquity to the Middle Ages in central and northern Albania, southern Montenegro and similar sites in the western parts of North Macedonia . It consists of settlements usually built below hillforts along the Lezhë ( Praevalitana )- Dardania and Via Egnatia road networks which connected

SECTION 50

#1732776332475

3536-418: The previous patterns of conversion between different Christian sects and the diverse pre-Ottoman distribution of Christian faiths in the region (including Orthodoxy, Catholicism , Bogomilism , and even Arianism ), the poll tax which only Christians had to pay, the poverty of the church, the mass illiteracy of priests and the fact that the language of worship was not the Albanian vernacular. Tradition holds that

3604-521: The provinces of Thrace , Macedonia and Moesia , which are now Bulgaria and Turkish Thrace , bounded to the north by the rivers Sava and Danube , west by the Adriatic coast and south by the Morea . In the beginning the main town was the city of Plovdiv , then Sofia . The name "Rumelia" was ultimately applied to a province composed of central Albania and northwestern Macedonia, with Bitola being

3672-677: The reasons was that Christian bishops refused to allow them to consume milk during fast days . 40°10′N 19°50′E  /  40.167°N 19.833°E  / 40.167; 19.833 Albanians Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Albanians are an ethnic group native to

3740-463: The rest of Europe. In neighbouring Yugoslavia , Albanians underwent periods of discrimination and systematic oppression that concluded with the War of Kosovo and eventually with Kosovar independence . The Albanians ( Albanian : Shqiptarët ) and their country Albania ( Albanian : Shqipëria ) have been identified by many ethnonyms . The most common native ethnonym is "Shqiptar", plural "Shqiptarë";

3808-421: The same groups were also called by the classicising name Illyrians. The first reference to the Albanian language dates to the latter 13th century (around 1285). The national ethnonym Albanian and its variants are derived from Albanoi , first mentioned as an Illyrian tribe in the 2nd century CE by Ptolemy with their centre at the city of Albanopolis , located in modern-day central Albania, somewhere in

3876-449: The second didn't have an ethnic connotation necessarily and could be a reference to the Normans as "foreigners" ( aubain ) in Epirus which Maniakes and his army traversed. The debate has never been resolved. A newer synthesis about the second use of the term Albanoi by Pëllumb Xhufi suggests that the term Albanoi may have referred to Albanians of the specific district of Arbanon , while Arbanitai to Albanians in general regardless of

3944-410: The second use of the term Albanoi by Pëllumb Xhufi suggests that the term Albanoi may have referred to Albanians of the specific district of Arbanon , while Arbanitai to Albanians in general regardless of the specific region they inhabited. Albanians speak the Albanian language , which is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch , which belongs to

4012-498: The south with Eastern Orthodoxy . In 1190 Albanians established the Principality of Arbanon in central Albania with the capital in Krujë . The Albanian diaspora has its roots in migration from the Middle Ages initially across Southern Europe and eventually across wider Europe and the New World . Between the 13th and 18th centuries, sizeable numbers migrated to escape various social, economic or political difficulties. Albanian population groups settled in Southern Greece between

4080-611: The south. Dialects of linguistic minorities spoken in Croatia ( Arbanasi and Istrian ), Kosovo , Montenegro and northwestern North Macedonia are classified as Gheg, while those spoken in Greece , southwestern North Macedonia and Italy as Tosk. The Arbëresh and Arvanitika dialects of the Albanian language, are spoken by the Arbëreshë and Arvanites in Southern Italy and Southern Greece , respectively. They retain elements of medieval Albanian vocabulary and pronunciation that are no longer used in modern Albanian; however, both varieties are classified as endangered languages in

4148-417: The southern extremes of the region as well as in the villages of Nartë and Zvernec . Aromanian and Roma minorities that are present in some places may also speak their ancestral languages. Historically the Labs were followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church . Literary evidence by Greek historian Aravatinos records that they converted to Islam at a time of great famine during the Ottoman period. One of

SECTION 60

#1732776332475

4216-412: The specific region they inhabited. The name reflects the Albanian endonym Arbër/n + esh which itself derives from the same root as the name of the Albanoi Rumelia Rumelia ( Ottoman Turkish : روم ايلى , romanized :  Rum İli , transl.  Land of the Romans ; Turkish : Rumeli ; Greek : Ρωμυλία ) was the name of a historical region in Southeastern Europe that

4284-401: The study of the transition between the classical antiquity population of Albania to the medieval Albanians who were attested in historical records in the 11th century. Winnifrith (2020) recently described this population as the survival of a "Latin-Illyrian" culture which emerged later in historical records as Albanians and Vlachs ( Eastern Romance -speaking people). In Winnifrith's narrative,

4352-417: The term Albanoi twice and the term Arbanitai once. The term Albanoi is used first to describe the groups which rebelled in southern Italy and Sicily against the Byzantines in 1038–40. The second use of the term Albanoi is related to groups which supported the revolt of George Maniakes in 1042 and marched with him throughout the Balkans against the Byzantine capital, Constantinople . The term Arvanitai

4420-403: The term Romania , the common name for the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages . Originally, the Seljuks used the name "Land of the Rûm " (Romans) to define Anatolia , which the armies of the Seljuk Empire gradually conquered from the Byzantine Empire after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate was called the Sultanate of Rum by its contemporaries, meaning

4488-423: The toponym was preserved until the late Ottoman period as suggested in documents of the court of Ali Pasha of Tepelena and other publications. As reported by Hahn (1854), at his time the toponym Arbërí was used in the strict sense to denote the highland area at the back of Vlorë , i.e. Kurvelesh and Labëria; however, according to him, it was used in a wider sense including also Himarë up to Delvinë , that

4556-567: Was administered by the Ottoman Empire , roughly corresponding to the Balkans . In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and vassals in Europe . These would later be geopolitically classified as "the Balkans", although Hungary , Moldova and Slovakia are often excluded. During the period of its existence, Rumelia was more often known in English as Turkey in Europe . Rûm in this context means "Roman", and ėli means "land" and Rumelia ( Ottoman Turkish : روم ايلى , Rūm-ėli ; Turkish : Rumeli ) means "Land of

4624-407: Was created in 1877. In Turkey , the word Trakya ( Thrace ) has now mostly replaced Rumeli (Rumelia) to refer to the part of Turkey that is in Europe (the provinces of Edirne , Kırklareli , Tekirdağ , the northern part of Çanakkale Province and the western part of Istanbul Province ). However, "Rumelia" remains in use in historical contexts and is still used in the context of the culture of

#474525