20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

Aromanians and their space of significant density 745Wallachia close to Hungary, ever since Nicolae Alexandru Basarab’s time, inthe middle of the XIV century, takes its name in relation the other Wallachia,the Pindus Wallachia. (Panaitescu, The history of Romanians: 75-76)The chroniclers who have written about Wallachians, in the XII andXIII centuries are: Ana Comnena – 1148 (“those that lead a nomadiclife – they are called, in popular tongue, Wallachians” – cf. Brezeanu, Zbuchea,1997: 112), Ioan Kinamos – 1180 (“ a great number of Wallachians, whoare said to be the old colonies of the Italian ones”– cf. Brezeanu, Zbuchea,1997: 113), Chalcocondylos (“The Pindus mountains are inhabited byWallachians, whom speak the same tongue as the Dacians, who live onthe bank of the Danube. They call themselves Wallachians”– cf. Abeleanu,1916: 13), Beniamin of Tudela (upon reaching Zeituni (Lamia) in the year1173, said: “Here is the beginning of Wallachia, whose inhabitants bearthe name of Wallachians. Swift as deers they descend into the countryof the Greeks to loot and pillage. No one can attack them through war,nor can any emperor subdue them”– cf. Murnu, 1913: 133-134), NichitaChoniates – beginning of the XIII century (“Greater Wallachia is calledthe mountainous regions of Thessaly” – cf. Murnu, 1913: 164). Robert deClary stated: “Wallachia was a very powerful country, closed off on eachside by mountains and inaccessible to anyone”. (Nistor, 1944: 28). LaonicChalcocondyl – year 1470 (“Such as the people that live from Dacia tothe Pindus mountains, which reach up to Thessaly. Wallachians they arecalled, all of them. And I could not explain or say which of these cameto which”; “And those of the Pindus mountains – Wallachians inhabit it– which speak the same language as the Dacians and are the same as theDacians inhabiting the Istria region”– cf. Brezeanu, Zbuchea, 1997: 127).The Romanian-Bulgarian Empire came to be as the result of an uprisingwhich started in Târnovo, lead by two Romanian brothers (Wallachians),Petru and Asan. The emperor Isaac the II Anghelos was wed in the year1185 to a Magyar princess and imposed new taxes on his subjects. Petruand Asan presented a complaint before the emperor in which they requestedthat he renounce these taxes and give the Wallachians a territory of theirown. The emperor did not listen to their plight and, what’s more, slappedAsan for his impudent requests. The Wallachians, lead by the two brothers,joined by the Bulgarians, rose in rebellion and, following their victoriouscampaign against the Byzantine, founded an empire (in 1186) whose capitalwas Târnovo. After the death of the two brothers, the empire was led bytheir younger brother, Caloian (Ioaniţiu). He lead negotiations with PopeInnocent the III in order to accept the jurisdiction of the Roman Church,