Samarina Republic () or Republic of the PindusΟι κουτσόβλαχοι και το ''Αυτόνομο κρατίδιο της Πίνδου'' (1917)
/ref> (; ) is a

historiographic Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term "historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific to ...

name for the attempt and proposal to create an Aromanian canton under the protection of Italy during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. A declaration of independence was issued on 29 August 1917 by some Aromanian figures at

Samarina Samarina (, ) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population primarily consis ...

and other villages of the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; ; ; ) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly long, with a maximum elevation of (Smolikas, Mount Smolikas). Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epiru ...

mountains of northern Greece during the short period of occupation by Italy of the area in July and August 1917. In the immediate withdrawal of Italians a few days later, Greek troops retook control of the region claimed by the canton without meeting any resistance.Evenimentele din lunile iulie-august 1917 în regiunea Munților Pind – încercare de creare a unei statalități a aromânilor. documente inedite și mărturii. studiu istoriografic și arhivistic
Stoica Lascu, Revista Română de Studii Eurasiatice, Anul III, No. 1-2/2007

Background

Since

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

's formation in 1859, it tried to win influence over the Aromanian (and also the Megleno-Romanian) population of the Ottoman Empire. In the 1860s, it funded the activity of Apostolos Margaritis who founded Romanian schools in the Ottoman territories of Epirus and Macedonia since the Aromanian language has much in common with the Romanian language. Romania, with the support of Austria-Hungary, succeeded in the acceptance of the Aromanians as a separate

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

with the decree ( irade) of 22 May 1905 by Sultan Abdulhamid, so the Ullah millet ("Vlach millet", for the Aromanians) could have their own churches and schools. This was a diplomatic success of Romania in European Turkey in the last part of the 19th century. Romania then funded the construction and operation of many schools in the wider region of Macedonia and Epirus. These schools have continued their operation even when some of the territories of the region of Macedonia and Thrace passed to Greek authority in 1912. Their financing by Romania continued in 1913 with the agreement of the then Prime Minister

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

.The Politics of Nation-Building: Making Co-Nationals, Refugees, and Minorities
Harris Mylonas, Cambridge University Press, 2013, σελ. 134 In such Romanian schools, there was a coordinated effort to promote the idea of Romanian identity among Aromanians. Graduates of these schools who wanted to continue their education usually went to educational institutions in Romania. Posteriorly, during the First World War, in 1916, Albania, including Northern Epirus, was split between the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

which occupied Gjirokastra and France which occupied

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

(, , or ), while in northern and central Albania were occupied by troops of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. On 10 December 1916, the French founded the Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçë. In response, Austria-Hungary went on proclamation of independence of Albania as a protectorate on 3 January 1917, in Shkodra, while on 23 June 1917, the Italians proclaimed the Italian protectorate over Albania in Gjirokastra. Then the Italian forces advanced and they captured

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

( or ). In this environment of occupation and fragmentation of territories in Southern Albania and Northwestern Greece, Italian troops occupied

(, or ) and other villages of the Pindus for a few days at the end of August 1917 to the first two days of September 1917. Μανόλης Γλέζος

Manolis Glezos Manolis Glezos (; 9 September 1922 – 30 March 2020) was a Greek left-wing politician, journalist, author, and member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. After the end of the war, Glezos became a journalist and edited the left-wing n ...

, Εθνική αντίσταση, 1940–1945, τόμος 1, Στοχαστής, 2006, p. 260

History

In 1917, during the occupation of the territories of Albania and Northern Epirus, the Italians tried to win over the Aromanians to convert Aromanian-Romanian relations in favour of Italy, based on historical and linguistic relations and to change the pro-Romanian Aromanians into pro-Italian Aromanians. In the brief period of Italian occupation of southern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, when Italian forces also entered Greek territory in 1917, Aromanians from several villages of the

mountain requested autonomy under the protection of Italy, turning to Romania for help. Letters were sent to several countries, from mayors and representatives of 13 villages." A proclamation was sent on 29 August 1917, from Samarina signed by seven representatives, who had the role of a temporary committee and requested assistance and protection from the Italian Consulate of Ioannina. One of the members of the provisionary committee, Alcibiades Diamandi, went to Ioannina to get an answer. There was an immediate response the next day from the Romanian and the Italian consulates: A clear answer that these actions were wrong and inappropriate, were not approved by anyone, and could not be supported by any party. One day later, the Italian army departed from Greek territory. From 3 to 7 September the Greek forces entered all the villages unopposed and, on 7 September, they arrested seven men in Samarina, giving an end to the events. These events are described in later bibliography as an attempt to form a "Principality of the Pindus", while in other sources, no name is assigned to the events of 1917.The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the Identity of a Minority that Behaves like a Majority

Thede Kahl Thede Kahl (born 30 March 1971 in Hamburg) is a German ethnographer and ethnolinguist. He is the head of the Institute of South Slavic Studies in the University of Jena (in which he is a professor), in Germany. His research focuses are the Slavs, ...

, ''Ethnologia Balkanica'', Vol. 6 (2002), σελ. 148 Later, in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and 1920, an Aromanian delegation requested autonomy for the Aromanians.

Villages and people involved

A letter to the Prime Minister of Romania Ion C. Brătianu, sent on 27 July 1917, was signed by mayors and notables of the following villages: Samarina, Avdella (), Perivoli (),

Vovousa Vovousa (; , or ) is a village and a former community in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zagori, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...

(, or ),

Metsovo Metsovo (; ) is a town in Epirus (region), Epirus, in the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the west and Meteora to the east. The largest centre of Aromanians, Aromanian (Vlach) life in Greece, Metsovo is a large regio ...

(),

Konitsa Konitsa (, see also Konitsa#Name, names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina in Epirus (region), Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian Border crossings of Albania, border. ...

(), Pades (), Kranea (), Distrato (), Laista (), Iliochori (), Armata () and

Smixi Smixi (, ) is a village and former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community in Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of whic ...

(). Furthermore, the assistance request to the Italian Consulate was signed by the seven members of the Provisional Committee: *Doctor Dimitrie Diamandi *Ianaculi Dabura *Mihali Teguiani *Tachi Nibi * Zicu Araia, declared as "minister of the schools in the 'Republic of the Pindus'" and as "minister of culture" of the republic * Alcibiades Diamandi *Sterie Caragiani The persons arrested by the Greek authorities in Samarina on 8 September 1917, were: * Zicu Araia, head teacher of the Romanian school of Samarina * Guli Papagheorghe, teacher of the Romanian school of Samarina * Ianache Dabura, former mayor of Samarina * Gherassim Zica, inhabitant of Samarina * Ianachi Zuchi, inhabitant of Samarina * Costachi Surbi, inhabitant of Samarina

Aftermath

In the autumn of 1918, a group of Aromanians from the Pindus declared the "Republic of the Pindus" in

, which lasted for one day. This group even resisted through military means the Greek military detachment that had originally gone to the village of Vovousa to take it over from the withdrawing Italians.Το θνησιγενές πριγκηπάτο της Πίνδου
/ref> A renewed attempt at the creation of an independent state in the Pindus would take place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the Principality of the Pindus.

Background

History

Villages and people involved

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading