20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

The evolution of the city of Moscopole. Rise and decay 805had the proper height the builders would start building the church 1 or 2metres under the level of the street. One important characteristic of thechurches were the arches made of stone, supported by columns, which gavethe churches their specific aspect.XVII. The Causes of the Destruction of Moscopole and the SurroundingRegionInternal CausesStarting with the second half of the 17th century the town and theregion of Moscopole were at the peak of their development. The Aromanianbourgeoisie was consolidated and it had contacts with the Balkans andCentral and Eastern Europe. The Aromanian merchants had accumulatedwealth and had strengthened their position in front of the Turkishadministration. It was precisely the welfare of the town that brought itsdestruction.Pro Russian ActivityThe 17 th century was haunted by fights and wars: the war betweenRussia and Turkey in 1711, the revolutions of the Muslim bands whoconquered Albania, Macedonia and reached as far as Moscopole, the warbetween Russia and Turkey in 1727. The events in Poland led to anotherwar between Russia and Turkey in 1769 that produced disturbance in theMuslim and Christian communities, especially in Eastern Albania. As oneof the Christian powers, Russia was involved in the conflicts in the Balkansto gain power over the areas with Christian communities. At the sametime, Russia did not hide its expansionist tendencies towards the OttomanEmpire.The Attacks of the Muslim BandsThe institution of the “armatols” was actually a nationalpopular army and its existence is linked to the existence of the Aromaniansin the Balkans. During the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire it functionedas troops of local police in support of the Roman garrisons. After the fallof the Byzantine Empire they took it upon themselves to protect the groupsof Aromanians and formed their own army. Pouqueville mentions that theAromanians governed themselves following their own rules and laws inthe time of the Byzantine Empire. They were independent around 1300 andformed their own independent prefecture in 1343.The Greek ClergyThe murders and destructions of the bands of Muslim Albanians,supported by the local Turkish authorities, led to numerous fights and