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VLACHOI
By Andreas Stamatopoulos
Generally speaking, the word Vlachos means a stockbreeder, mountain-dwelling shepherd, villager.
However, when we refer to somebody as "Vlachos" by origin, we mean the Latin-speaking citizen of
the Roman State, who was speaking Latin and more precisely the bilingual Greeks from Thessalia,
Epirus, Macedonia and diaspora. Consequently, the prevailing term in Greek is Vlachos
(Aromanos), whereas in Vlachiki dialect it is Armanos.
There are various roots that the word Vlachos derives from and they are as follows:
1 - from the oldenslavic word "vlah" which means stranger, foreigner, latin-speaking.
2- From the germán word "walechen" which also means stranger, latin-speaking
3- From the Egyptian word "felah" (farmer) which refers to a person who is involved in
cultivating the land.
4- From the word "Volcae" of the Celtic tribe, which was adjacent to the germán tribes and that
was the word used by the germans to refer to anyone who spoke latin.
5- From the ancient-greek word "Vlichi", which proves that probably the words Vlachos-
Vlacha are an advanced version of the ancient-greek Doric dialect.
It lies beyond reason of doubt that the Greeks were using the word Vlachos 2500 years before.
The Vlachoi who were breeding sheep are moving from south Greece to the north and take the term
with them. Because the possibility of the very same word coming from elsewhere is unsound.
It is historically proven that the latin orientation of the nations occurred during the Roman
Empire and from this point on begins the history of Vlachoi.
It is known, via many studies, that the latin-speaking idiom of Vlachoi dates back on the 3 r
century B.C.
On the other hand, in Dakia- the older name of Romania the latin language spread 5
centuries later, that is the 2" century A.D. Indeed the Romans are losing entirely their mother
language, Dakiki, contrary to the Greeks who maintain their mother language as the main one and
vlachika as a secondary language spoken by the family.
The similarity between the two languages is due to the arrival of the latin-speaking people from the
south to the north, the area of contemporary Romania, during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.
In other words, the latin-speaking Greeks did not descend from but ascended to Dakia.
After the occupation of Macedonia by the Romans in 167 B.C, the local Greek people are called to
cover places in the public sector and protect the borders from the northern intruders. The Romans,
who admire deeply the multi-powerful Macedonian army, recruit mercenaries so as to maintain
order in the area and freedom of communication on the streets and primarily on the mountain-paths.
As a result, they implement the plan of having passguards in the road network of the Roman Empire.
It is noticeable that all the premises of Vlachoi are located in the mountain-range of Pindos and
Varnouta. Thus we conclude that the formation of the nation of Vlachoi derived from the street
guards that the Romans placed in Pindos. As a result, the language of the Roman legionaries spreads
from Wales and the Iberian penninsula to the Balkans and Egypt. These areas are attacked during
the following centuries by the Slavs, Germans, Arabs and introduce new words into their languages.
Thus we reach the formulation of contemporary languages such as Italian, Spanish, French,
Portuguese, Swiss, Romanian and Aromaniki. The latin orientation of the Balkan populations lasts
from 167 B.C. until 397 A.D, that is until the time of the separation between the East and
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