Ullah millet

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Social structure
Court and aristocracy
Ethnoreligious communities
Rise of nationalism
Classes
Part of a series on
Aromanians
Geographical distribution
Major settlements
Culture
Language and identity
Religion
History
Related groups

The Ullah millet (

linguistic community) within the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Ottoman authorities for the Aromanians (also known as "Vlachs"; Turkish: Ulahlar) in 1905, during the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. Although the Megleno-Romanians
are also sometimes called Vlachs, the Ullah millet was not intended for them.

History

The

Romanian Government.[4]

The situation began to be studied by the Ottoman Empire and, on 9 August 1891, the

mother language if it was not Greek. It also said that the dissatisfaction of the Aromanians could lead them to establish their own independent church. The Aromanian issue had to be treated delicately by the Ottoman authorities. While granting more rights to them could improve relations between Romania and the Ottoman Empire and raise pro-Turkish opinions on its citizens, it could also anger the Ottoman citizens of Bulgarian, Greek and Serb ethnicity. On the other hand, Romania pressured the Ottoman Empire for greater autonomy for the Aromanians and their right for an independent church, even offering a treaty of alliance with them if the ambitions of the Aromanians were fulfilled.[4]

Ethnographic map of the Balkans of 1861 by Guillaume Lejean. The Aromanians are shown in a very dark blue color, surrounded mostly by Albanians (who are represented in yellow; their distribution in this map is inaccurate in the area of Epirus). The Megleno-Romanians are shown as Aromanians.

On 28 June 1904, the Aromanians made a request to the Ottoman authorities. They asked to be separated from the Greeks and to be recognized as a community (a

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdul Hamid II, decided to ignore these requests to avoid political conflicts. In those times, the Ottoman Empire was specially worried about a possible loss of the region of Macedonia and a change of the status quo in the Balkans. For these reasons, the requests were rejected.[4]

The rejection of their requests by the Ottomans and the Greek opposition of their self-determination sparked the beginning of cooperation between Aromanians and Bulgarians. Bulgarians allowed Aromanian priests to worship in their own language if they joined the Bulgarian Exarchate and some Aromanians started joining Bulgarian local bands. This alarmed the Ottoman authorities, which feared a possible complete alliance between the Bulgarians and the Aromanians. Furthermore, as the Macedonian Struggle intensified in the international scenario, the Aromanian problem took on greater importance. As a result, the German Empire began to support them in their quest for rights. After Abdul Hamid II learned of the demands that Germany was making on behalf of the Aromanians, he turned towards the Sublime Porte to seek a solution to the Aromanian issue.[4]

Thus, on 22 May 1905, Sultan Abdul Hamid II issued an

clergymen and violence against the attendants of Aromanian schools by Greek bands. This caused a diplomatic crisis between Greece and Romania.[5]

Although they did not obtain their independent church, the Aromanians were satisfied with the new situation. However, they had problems exercising their new rights in some conflictive or multiethnic areas. In the end, after the

culture more difficult.[4]

Legacy

The establishment of the Ullah millet is symbolic for the Aromanians and is commemorated by many of them in the Aromanian National Day every 22[1][2] or 23 May.[7][8] Nevertheless, many of those Aromanians in Greece who are still loyal to the country usually reject the holiday as it is perceived as symbolizing a defeat for their perceived "motherland". This is because the recognition of the Ullah millet was regarded as a diplomatic defeat for Greece at the time.[7]

The Ullah millet is also observed in Romania through the Balkan Romanianness Day. This holiday is meant for the Aromanians but also for the Megleno-Romanians and the Istro-Romanians, perceived in Romania simply as ethnic Romanian subgroups living south of the Danube.[9] Unlike the Aromanian National Day, the Balkan Romanianness Day is celebrated every 10 May[10] as Romania only adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1919.[11] Additionally, attempts to officialize the Aromanian National Day in Romania have been rejected.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kahl, Thede (2002). "The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the identity of a minority that behaves like a majority". Ethnologia Balkanica. 6: 145–169.
  2. ^ a b c Kahl, Thede (2003). "Aromanians in Greece: Minority or Vlach-speaking Greeks?" (PDF). Jahrbücher für Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas. 5: 205–219.
  3. S2CID 161615853
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e Arslan, Ali (2004). "The Vlach issue during the Late Ottoman period and the emergence of the Vlach community (millet)". Études balkaniques (4): 121–139.
  5. ^
    ISSN 2039-2117
    .
  6. ISSN 1474-7782
    .
  7. ^ a b c "Nikola Minov: Why don't all Aromanians celebrate May 23 as their national day?". Trâ Armânami Association of French Aromanians. 24 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. Government of the Republic of North Macedonia
    . 22 May 2013.
  9. ^ Vușcan, Cătălin (13 May 2021). "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". ActiveNews (in Romanian).
  10. ^ "Promulgat de Iohannis: Se instituie Ziua Românității Balcanice pe 10 mai". Tomis News (in Romanian). 7 June 2021.
  11. Coin Update
    .
  12. ^ Florian, Marius (27 September 2021). "DOCUMENT SEPARATIȘTII aromâni, LOVIȚI în Parlament: S-a RESPINS propunerea de consacrare a zilei de 23 mai ca sărbătoare a "comunității"". Tomis News (in Romanian).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ullah_millet&oldid=1217630702"