> george knysh wrote:
> > ******GK: Porphyrogenitus ... makes no mention of
> > Vlachs the argument can certainly be made that there
> > were no Vlachs to mention at that time north of the
> > Danube. ...*******
From: "alex_lycos" <
altamix@...> March 01, 2003
> I see it in the same way. Within the Empire we have testimonies about
> every John and Peter but not about Valahs. Outside of Empire, just about
> people who have been organised in a certain way and played a military or
> a political role. Since neither inside of Empire, nor outside of Empire
> is anything about Vlahs, it should be reasonable to assume they have not
> been a military and political factor to speak about, but they have been
> outside of the Empire. ... The second point from the linguistic point
> of view is the common lexic with Albanians. Lexic which it seems is
> bigger as assumed until now. And therefore it was advanced the
> hypotheses, they must have been living together somewhere. This
> "somewhere" could never be located since in the medieval times is no
> testimony which should give any information about "the place" where they
> could live together.
So, according to these posts, the Vlachs are not at N or S of Danube before
the X century. Being confused where are they?- and having more questions
then answers I just "played" an hour on the NET [not the ideal place for
gathering info, but enough to satisfy my personal curiosity].
BACKWARDS CHRONOLOGY:
Second Bulgarian Empire/Kingdom [also known as the Empire/Kingdom of the
Vlachs and Bulgars/Asenid Empire] was founded in 1184 and reached its zenith
between 1218 and 1241. This Asenid Empire or Empire of the Vlachs and
Bulgars existed south of the Danube River within present-day Bulgaria.
Asenid Kingdom arose through a revolt by two Vlach brothers, Petru and Ioan
Asan, in the Haemus Mountains against a harsh tax on flocks and herds which
the Byzantine Emperor Isaac Angelus.
According to Byzantine historian Anna Komnini/Comnena (1083-1153), eldest
daughter of Alexius Comnenus [Emperor 1081-1118], the Vlachs/Aromunians
founded -prior to 1118- the independent state of Great Vlachia [see
Alexias], which covered the southern and central Pindos Mountain ranges
(mainly where the prefecture of Trikala is today) and part of Macedonia.
In the recruitment lists of the Byzantine Empire during the Pecheneg
invasion in the year 1091, the Vlachs were enlisted together with Bulgarians
as a separate people to help the Byzantines in the course of the war.
In the year 976 [see Cedrenus, II, page 439] David, the brother of the
future Bulgarian Emperor Samuel, was killed by some Vlach hoditai
/wayfarers at a place between Kastoria and Prespa called Kalai Drues or Fair
Oak Trees [on the borders of Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece].
Next we find this warlike Ruman population largely incorporated in the
Bulgarian kingdom, and, if we are to judge from the names Paganus and
Sabinus, already supplying it with rulers in the VIII century. From, this
period onwards the Ruman inhabitants of the Balkan peninsula are constantly
mentioned by this name, and we find a series of political organizations and
territorial divisions connected with the name of Vlachia. A short synopsis
may be given of the most important of these, outside the limits of Rumania
itself [see
http://39.1911encyclopedia.org/V/VL/VLADIKAVKAZ.htm for more
preliminary info on Littlie Walachia; The Morlachs (Mavrovlachi) of the
West/Stara Vlaska or Old Walachia and Istria]
579 AD: the Byzantine general, Commentiolus, was in pursuit of the Avars,
when his army, misunderstanding the language of its Vlach muleteers,
suddenly turned tail and fled. One of the muleteers, seeing his companion's
load slipping, had called out in warning: "Tórna, fráte, tórna" [argument
for Latin speakers in the Byzantine army]. But here is also the problem of
SCULCA (out of bed) applied to a watch (cf. romanian "a se culca" = Italian
"coricarsi"+ex-(s-) privative).
btw: The military fame of Commentiolus is the object of satire or comedy
rather than of serious history, since he was even deficient in the vile and
vulgar qualification of personal courage. His solemn councils, strange
evolutions, and secret orders, always supplied an apology for flight or
delay. If he marched against the enemy, the pleasant valleys of MOUNT HAEMUS
[the same mountains where the Asenid Kingdom emerged 6 century latter!]
opposed an insuperable barrier; but in his retreat, he explored, with
fearless curiosity, the most difficult and obsolete paths, which had almost
escaped the memory of the oldest native. The only blood which he lost was
drawn, in a real or affected malady, by the lancet of a surgeon; and his
health, which felt with exquisite sensibility the approach of the
Barbarians, was uniformly restored by the repose and safety of the winter
season. A prince who could promote and support this unworthy favorite must
derive no glory from the accidental merit of his colleague Priscus. [in
HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (1845) by Edward Gibbon
Esq., Volume 5, Chapter XLVI: Troubles In Persia. Part II].
Middle of VI century: place-names: Sceptecasas, Burgualtu, Clisura, etc. [at
Procopius of Caesarea, B c.490/507- D c.560].
Sir Charles Eliot [Turkey in Europe, London, 1900; British career
diplomat, notes regarding the various Latin-speaking peoples in the SE of
Europe, in Roumania, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Transylvania, Moldavia,
Bessarabia, Wallachia, Dalmatia or Istria]:
"...These various populations do not form a political, nor far as I can
judge, a physical unit. But they do form a LINGUISTIC UNIT, and most of them
practice certain birth and marriage ceremonies (e.g., the anointing of the
door-posts by a bride) which seem to be derived from a common Roman origin.
The substantial identity of the languages is indisputable, and the problem
before us is to explain how the same dialect or variation of Latin is found
in the plains of the Danube, in the Carpathians, and in the mountains of
Macedonia and Thessaly (...) In the V and VI centuries Latin was no doubt
the language of the people in the Balkan peninsula and the provinces north
of the Danube. Greek, is true, was establishing more and more firmly its
position as the language of government, trade and religion, but it was
essentially a coast language, and was not spoken by the inland peasantry..."
Some general source of info:
-The Vlach Connection and Further Reflections on Roman History at
http://www.friesian.com/decdenc2.htm
-Palaiovlachoi - Stari Vlah. Medieval Balkan History and Toponymy at
http://www.geocities.com/serban_marin/brezeanu2000.html
-The Istro-Romanians. Notes regarding their historical Past at
http://www.geocities.com/serban_marin/zbuchea2000.html
-and a lot of original aromanian's web site
S o r i n
P.S.
we must beware of bathwaterism - throwing the baby away with the
water, as scholarly critics are sometimes apt to do. Constantine was
privileged as no other historian to explore the Imperial archives and to
receive first-hand reports from his officials and envoys returning from
missions abroad. When handled with caution, and in conjunction with other
sources, De Administrando throws much valuable light on that dark period.
[Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe, Appendix II, A Note On Sources,
(A) Ancient Sources, 2. Byzantine]