20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

The evolution of the city of Moscopole. Rise and decay 807Macedonia – SkopjeMany of the families in Moscopole settled in Macedonia and contributedto the development of this region and to the improvement of the commercialrelations with the Adraiatic Sea. Many Aromanians had come to Bitolia inMacedonia, located on the ancient Via Egnatia, long before the town ofMoscopole was destroyed. Most of them settled here in the first decades ofthe 18 th century. They were wealthy people, most of them being merchants..GreeceAfter the destruction of Moscopole the craftsmen and merchantsreached many areas of Greece. The ones who supported the Greek causewent to the Pindus area, Aspropotam, Zagor, Macedonia. In the region ofZagor they met Aromanian communities who had already settled there.Families coming from Nicolita, Moscopole, Gramostea settled in CentralMacedonia at Edesa (Vodena) and Neausa and in eastern Macedonia atDrama, Kavala, Prosociani and Xanthi.BulgariaThe Aromanians in south-western Bulgaria came here starting with1769, when the Albanians robbed the monastery and the town of Moscopole,and after 1788, when the town was destroyed. They organised themselvesin colonies in settlements such as Pestera, Tatar Pazargic and Nevrocop(Gote Delcev). The Aromanians who settled in Pestera were middle class.Jirecek, Weigand and Popov wrote about them as they have influenced theBulgarian language spoken in the area and also the toponymy of the area.Pestera, located at the foot of the Rodopi mountains, had an important roleto play in the political history of Bulgaria. It is also an old settlement ofAromanian merchants coming from Moscopole.SerbiaAromanians from Clisura, Blata, Siacistea, Gopes left together withthe Aromanians from Moscopole and went to Serbia. The merchants fromMoscopole are among the first merchants mentioned in Belgrade around1769. Among them there were Dimitri Bendu and his father Teodor Nicolauwho were buying cattle and wax from Bosnia-Hertzegovina. Colonies ofAromanians from Moscopole are mentioned in Nis and Vrania.Bosnia–HertzegovinaAfter the destruction of Moscopole approximately 350-380 familiessettled in Sarajevo. The wife of Petre Petrovici, the president of thereligious and educational community in Sarajevo, was an Aromanian fromMoscopole. The Aromanians were famous craftsmen and owned famoussiversmiths’ workshops.