Topic: The Albanian Dilema Posted: 31-May-2007 at 21:56
This is my first post and I really need help understanding something. According to presently accepted histriography, Albania was the last refuge of the Illyrian peoples after the migration of the Slavic tribes into the Balkans during the sixth century. Accordingly, as there is no record of Slavic rule ever being extended over the territory of Albania, Albanian placenames should therefore provide us with a wealth of information about the ancient Illyrian languages.
Herein lies the dilema, 70-80% of all Albanian placenames are of Slavic origin. By comparison, Wales proportedly shares a similar history to Albania as it was the last refuge of the Brythonic Celtic peoples after the migration of the Germanic Anglo-Saxon tribes into Britian. After neary 1200 years of being ruled over by the Normans/English continually, 99% of all placenames in Wales are of Welsh origin compared to Albania which has never been ruled over by Slavic peoples yet Slavic placenames in Albania predominate. This problem is worsened by the universally shown fact that people new to a territory often adopt forms of the pre-existing placenames based on their own langauge. For instance the capital of Wales in Welsh Caerdydd becomes Cardiff in English. Accordingly, this process has been reversed in Albania were Slavic names have simply been adopted in Albanian form, for example, the original Slavic placename Goran is now Goranxi in Albanian. This fact in itself does seem to indicate that the Slavic languages predate the Albanian langauge in Albania.
Below is a sample of most of the major towns and villages in Albania which are of Slavic origin.
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Posted: 31-May-2007 at 22:30
Accordingly, as there is no record of Slavic rule ever being extended over the territory of Albania, Albanian placenames should therefore provide us with a wealth of information about the ancient Illyrian languages.
Slavic rule doesnt mean Slavs never entered. Bulgarians make a strong presence in what is today the area of Korce and Pogradec while Serbs populated strong parts of what is today southern Albania and Greek district of Epirus. In Albania the names remain since in Greece much of them were replaced.
Much of these areas were not held by Albanians during the 6th century, but rather by Slavs. There is one particular region however that is not considered to be Slavic; that is the Kruja-Komani culture of central-Albania. The Medieval post-Roman culture here is particular and surfaces between the 6th-8th century AD. It is an isolated culture that does not leave behind any writing except for Byzantine artwork that was traded with the nearby city of Dyrrachium(Durres). Everything else is considered unique. The area is very mountainous and would eventually become one of the main Albanian strongholds during the later centuries with its capitol of Kruja.
It is from this area that Albanian colonization of what is today Albania would start around the 10-11th century.
NGL Hammond wrote of this culture(which he calls Mirdite-Mati culture):
The part which archaeology plays in this reconstruction is small at present, but its importance is beginning to emerge. For example, in the period when we hear least of the Albanians in literary sources, that is in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D., it so happens that a distinctive culture has been found through excavation to have flourished at Dalmace, Shurdhah (medieval Sarda), Kruje, Lesh, and other places (see Map 16). This culture reached its height in those centuries but continued into the tenth and eleventh centuries, so that its life overlapped the mention of Ducagini d'Arbania' in a seventh-century document and that of 'Albeigne' in the Chanson de Roland (see the discussion in the first section of this chapter). An interesting feature of this culture is that it has been found only to the north of the Shkumbi valley; that is it is concentrated within the cantons of Mirdite and Mati (between Shtish-Tufina near Tirana and Dalmace in the north), and that it has outlying pockets at the north end of Lake Ochrid, at Golaj in Albanian Kosove, and at Mijele at the northern end of Lake Scodra. Thus the ambit of this culture is precisely in the region which we have identified on literary grounds as that of 'Arbana' and 'Albeigne'. The conclusion seems to be clear that the people of this region - known no doubt as Arbanoi and Albanoi - developed in this mountainous terrain, with many peaks of five and six thousand feet, a culture of their own which was distinct from those of the Serbian state in Zeta to the north, the First Bulgarian Empire in the lakeland area, and the Byzantine province of Epirus Nova.
The salient features of this culture have been described by Hena Spahiu and Skenider Animali (66). The discoveries are from burials, the men having been inhumed with weapons of iron (axes, arrowheads and knives) and the women with jewelry (earrings, fibulae, necklaces and bracelets), while pottery, small knives and fibulae were common to both sexes. The axes were descended from the Roman type of axe; similar ones were used in central Europe in medieval times and were adopted, for instance, by the Avars.
The knives and arrowheads are of types found throughout the Balkans. The jewelry has technical peculiarities which are attributed to local craftsmen working with silver, copper and iron of which the two last are still mined today in this region (see Map 16). There are some features which are related to the jewelry of western Yugoslavia and Hungary, e.g. pendants attached to a belt and to clothing. The influence of Byzantine jewelry was strong, and there were imported pieces, some with Greek script, at Kruje, which is the largest site with this culture in the vicinity of Dyrrachium. Some belt-buckles of "the human mask" shape (in which the apertures resemble a human skull) have been found throughout the Byzantine world and even beyond it (67). Thus the Mirdite-Mati culture, if we may so call it, was a fusion of central European elements at a time of many migratory movements and of Byzantine elements which stemmed from a long tradition of settled civilisation.
The most important cemeteries were situated close to the strong citadels of Dalmace, Shurdhah, Lesh and Kruje. and there is no doubt that the men and the women buried there belonged to the ruling family in each case. The other cemeteries, mainly in mountain fastnesses, for instance at Rremull and Dukagjin in eastern Mati, belonged to similar families; indeed one may have been that of the 'Ducagini d'Arbania' mentioned in the seventh century document at Dubrovnik (Ragusa). The number of cemeteries in the cantons of Mirdite and Mati have been reported as twelve, and we may deduce that society was organised in small tribes, exactly as in the 1930s when Mrs Hasluck gave the number of tribes in the area as ten (see Map 16) (68) . Given this type of social organisation and the geographical conditions of the region, it is evident that some of the population was settled in towns such as Lesh and in villages in the mountains, and that others were pastoralists practising a good deal of transhumance (69). The tribal leaders were relatively rich and they employed local craftsmen in the making of jewelry. They were well armed (fighting probably on horseback rather than on foot) and exercised their rule from citadels or mountain fastnesses. There is no indication of artistic originality in this culture, apart perhaps from some technical skill in metallurgy. Pottery seems to have been restricted to large jugs and water-containers (70), and it is evident that other vessels were made of wood, as among the Vlachs today.
The bearers of the Mirdite-Mati culture in what may be called the Dark Age of European history lived on the fringe of the Byzantine Empire, and they were influenced by its civilisation, but only superficially. Their social organisation, their way of life, and no doubt their outlook were entirely alien to those of the settled Byzantine peoples. This same region produced the heroic resistance to the Turks which was led by Skanderbeg and his friend Lek Dukagjini who codified in the fifteenth century the traditional taw of the preceding centuries. This area too is the home of the epic lays (71), recited to the accompaniment of the lahute, which are believed by some scholars to have originated in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D., i.e. with our Mirdite-Mati culture. We may bear this region and its culture in mind during the second part of this book, when we shall be dealing with cultures which are known primarily through archaeology and are connected in some way with the epic lays which preceded the work of Homer.
Slavic rule doesnt mean Slavs never entered. Bulgarians make a strong presence in what is today the area of Korce and Pogradec while Serbs populated strong parts of what is today southern Albania and Greek district of Epirus.
Yes...but we are talking about very limited periods of time and presence, less then 100 years etc. If one is to accept that the Albanians form the majority of the population and are native to the region, then one would expect to find Albanian placenames to be predominant, yet they are not. Compare this to Wales, a country that has been under direct English rule and influence for well over 1200 years and yet 99% of all placenames are still of Welsh origin.
There is one particular region however that is not considered to be Slavic; that is the Kruja-Komani culture of central-Albania.
This is contradicted by the fact that the Kruje region has just as many Slavic placenames as the rest of Albania. Furthermore, Slavic placenames are evenly distributed all throughtout Albania and are predominant.
It is from this area that Albanian colonization of what is today Albania would start around the 10-11th century.
There is simply no evidence to support this assertion. It sounds like it is based more on modern political efforts to find an Illyrian origin for the Albanian people rather then on historical facts.
You also have to consider the nature of the people. For instance Vlachs are all over the Balkans; yet they leave behind few to no toponyms in the lands they inhabit. Why is that? Because they are a migratory people, pastorals who are constantly on the move. This was the very nature of the Albanian people until around the 15-16th century.
There is one major difference between Vlachs and Albanians. Whereas there is a mountain of evidence relating to the nomadic aspect of Vlach culture, there is absolutely no evidence to support the theory that the Albanians or ancient Illyrians were ever a nomadic people. The fact the Vlachs left no placenames in the lands they migrated through is because they were a small temporary minority. Toponyms are determined by the majority of a settled population.
As I stated in my original post, todays accepted histriography of the region simply cannot be sustained on all the evidence currently available. We need an honest re-evaluation of the history of the whole Balkan region free from 19th century English, German, French, Russian sphere's of influence and politicaly inspired version that we still have today.
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Posted: 31-May-2007 at 23:53
This is contradicted by the fact that the Kruje region has just as many Slavic placenames as the rest of Albania. Furthermore, Slavic placenames are evenly distributed all throughtout Albania and are predominant.
Nowhere near. The concentration of slavic placenames are centralized in the Korca region and plains. The mountainous areas lack them near completely. In the culture of Mirdite-Mati the placenames are particularly Albanian:
Bukemir
Mirdite
Dalmace
Ujibardhe
Dardhe
etc. etc.
I dont know whether its Illyrian particularly. However if it is not it is some mixture of Thraco-Dacian most likely.
And I dont know anything about Wales, so you will have to excuse me. But what is the nature of the people during this period?As I mentioned, Albanians did not settle until well into the 14-15th century. In that time Slavic control predominated in much of the towns and villages. Vlachs were always a larger body then slavs in southern Albania, yet they did not leave behind any toponyms.
As I stated in my original post, todays accepted histriography of the region simply cannot be sustained on all the evidence currently available. We need an honest re-evaluation of the history of the whole Balkan region free from 19th century English, German, French, Russian sphere's of influence and politicaly inspired version that we still have today.
Lol. Good luck on finding something new. You cant just throw out what has been proposed simply because we lack anything definitive; I dont think men like Hammond necessarily fall into this political category. Wilkes puts forward something contradictory, but fails to back up his claims in the end. Your negation lacks more then what your negating.
Im just as critical of such strong continuity theories as you are and hopefully future archeology will bring new things to light.
If the Toskas descend really some percent from the Ilirians it would
only mean that the Ilirian language was a SLAVIC one (just as i pointed
out elswhere) - and became bastardized Albanian one with the Roman
invasion of Macedonia and Iliria and it is known that the Ilirans were
allys with the Romans against the Macedonians, and that Albania became
the main bastion of the Romans.Thats why we kept our language pure ,
while they bastardized theirs bcs they were servants of the Romans.So
they had to "lick their bottoms" on Latin, u see..For tha Masta to
understand!!!
But just bcs they were enemies doesnt suppose to mean that they (ilirs
and macedons) didnt spoke two different forms of the Slavic tongue.
Just like Croats and Serbs today. THey were simply in war.
The truth is FASTLY coming out!!!Its rushing like an avalanche....
check these links, especially if your minds are open enough to finally discard the ridiculous "late Slavic migration" 19th century theory!
Slavic in translation to our language and all other slav languages -
SLOVO, SLOVEN means A LETTER , A SPOKEN WORD and in general means "
people who speak " !!!
Do NOT mix slavic as representation for literacy with nation & ethnic identity !
Slavic comes from the macedonian and widely used for the services of
the church and also old macedonian slavic became one of the official
church languages !
There are many artifacts on which this old dialect is written ,
even from the time before Alexander and Philip around 400 BC and on
which is shown this dialect and WE CAN understand it , here take a look
:
just klik on the violet link "read the translations" in the high center of the page.
and
The Rosetta stone with ancient macedonian language written with demotic
script is another new proof , it is simple by pronouncing the demotic
letters you can hear the language and when compared to the old greek
the translation is the same !
example : EGYPT ( english ) ΑΙΓΥΠΤΟΝ ( ancient greek ) - AGJUPTO (
ancient macedonian , by pronouncing the written text ) and from here we
have the " gjupti " a word that describes egyptians, a word that we use
today !
example 2 : HE WHO IS BELOVED BY GODS ( english ) ΔΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ (
ancient greek ) TOJ BOGAMO DIVEJEI (ancient macedonian , by
pronouncing, reading the text )
If you like to study the translation methods and the old text you can find it here :
If the Toskas descend really some percent from the Ilirians it would
only mean that the Ilirian language was a SLAVIC one (just as i pointed
out elswhere) - and became bastardized Albanian one with the Roman
invasion of Macedonia and Iliria and it is known that the Ilirans were
allys with the Romans against the Macedonians, and that Albania became
the main bastion of the Romans.Thats why we kept our language pure ,
while they bastardized theirs bcs they were servants of the Romans.So
they had to "lick their bottoms" on Latin, u see..For tha Masta to
understand!!!
Bastardised Albanian? Illyrian a Slavic language? Ancient Macedonian a slavic language? Lick their bottoms on Latin? Are you serious with all these?
As for the Rosetta stone the demotic script is Egyptian.
As for the Slavic migration it is about the 7th century not 19th.
As i said - ONLY IF your minds are open enough to accept the new FORENSIC EVIDENCE wich screams loudly in the direction i pointed - ie - NO LATE SLAVIC MIGRATIONS - only INVASION of the roman sovereignity and empire FROM WITHIN - ie from the slaves( slavs) - and who were the slaves to the romans?OFC the Macedonians and Thracians. Did you checked the links i gave you??There is huge food for thought in those links.
The history rewrites itselve in the 21 century ONLY BCS we now have sofisticated technologies for determining historic reality milion times more precise than what Droysen had as an info when he wrote his historic falsifications...
As for the roseta stone the SCRIPT is DEMOTIC but the language written by the script is anc Macedonian.There is 100% corelation with the greek text and the new roseta translation - SCRIPT demotic - LANGUAGE written with the demotic - anc Macedonian.
3 scripts - 3 languages - just as the scientists thought in the beggining - but since they cudnt determine what the third language is - they took the root of least resistance and proclaimed that they are both on Egyptian.
But the stone was speaking all this centuries - and only Macedonians cud translated the middle text with 100% correspondence with the greek words and meanings and the english ones ofc. You cant just say - its a coincidence,right??
Cheerz - open your minds and suddenly everything will be clear as day...
As i said - ONLY IF your minds are open enough to accept the new FORENSIC EVIDENCE wich screams loudly in the direction i pointed - ie - NO LATE SLAVIC MIGRATIONS - only INVASION of the roman sovereignity and empire FROM WITHIN - ie from the slaves( slavs) - and who were the slaves to the romans?OFC the Macedonians and Thracians. Did you checked the links i gave you??There is huge food for thought in those links.
The history rewrites itselve in the 21 century ONLY BCS we now have sofisticated technologies for determining historic reality milion times more precise than what Droysen had as an info when he wrote his historic falsifications...
As for the roseta stone the SCRIPT is DEMOTIC but the language written by the script is anc Macedonian.There is 100% corelation with the greek text and the new roseta translation - SCRIPT demotic - LANGUAGE written with the demotic - anc Macedonian.
3 scripts - 3 languages - just as the scientists thought in the beggining - but since they cudnt determine what the third language is - they took the root of least resistance and proclaimed that they are both on Egyptian.
But the stone was speaking all this centuries - and only Macedonians cud translated the middle text with 100% correspondence with the greek words and meanings and the english ones ofc. You cant just say - its a coincidence,right??
Cheerz - open your minds and suddenly everything will be clear as day...
I think you need some help here...
2 scientists that are nor historians nor linguists. They are electrical engineers from the university of Skopje buddy.
In the 21rst century ancient macedonian got the XMK code and was characterized as IEGB (Indoeuropean greek branch).
You post links from Macnews and you expect people to take that seriously? Now remember that this thread is about the Albanian dilema ok? I might have had some arguments with some albanians in here but that doesn't mean I won't be fair with albanian matters or accept insults about a bastardized language etc.
Oh and pls how will you explain the albanian language?To my ears its a combination of SLAVIC, GREEK, LATIN & TURK. Even Enver Hodja told his history scientists to "get off of their high cloud and start investigating the true history and ethnogenesis of the albanian ppl - and forget the ilirian nonsense.
So, its either like i said - a combination of those 4 tongues - either albanian is the real one and only proto-language from whom all of these 4 languages developed!!A nonsense in its own right...And all this from a ppl who arrived in balkans in the 16th century....
Tell me then - at least i gave you a credible info of how is possible for all the toponims and place names in albania to have Slavic origin. Can i hear your explanation - how is that possible???
So what if they'r not linguists?They are mathematicians aquainted very well with deciphering codes!Is this fact somehow undermines the value of the transcription??Have you ever saw their work?I told you - the translation and all the sentences,names of gods and pharao and everything coresponds with the greek text 100%!And the fact that the guys are not linguists is just another clutch from the deniers of the Macedonian identity and nation...
Now how can you say that there isnt something there?How can that be just a coincidence?Didnt you learned that there isnot such thing as "coincindence" in this universe??
So what if they'r not linguists?They are mathematicians aquainted very well with deciphering codes!Is this fact somehow undermines the value of the transcription??Have you ever saw their work?I told you - the translation and all the sentences,names of gods and pharao and everything coresponds with the greek text 100%!And the fact that the guys are not linguists is just another clutch from the deniers of the Macedonian identity and nation...
Now how can you say that there isnt something there?How can that be just a coincidence?Didnt you learned that there isnot such thing as "coincindence" in this universe??
cheerz
I'm a software engineer and have also studied mathematics. I do not claim to be a specialist in human languages. How come they are right and the whole linguist community is wrong? The demotic egyptian is a known language appearing in other texts except the rosetta stone.
Can you find one stong source that verifies their work?
AND REMEMBER...This is another thread. Start a Rosetta stone thread if you want and discuss it there.
Can you write in Serbian with a latin script?Yes u can.But you can write in a million different languages in the latin script - just the same as its possible to write egyptian on demotic and as its possible to write on anc Macedonian on demotic script.
Dont forget that the pharao who ordered the Stone inscriptions was a MACEDONIAN pharao from the Ptolomeian dynasty. In the MK translation it is deciphered the order of the pharao that the middle , original text is to be written on the language of the "Living Masters" (Zivejite Gospodari - ie the macedons), the first text on the hieroglyphic script on the language of the Agjuptsi or Egyptians, and that the third part shuld be written in the language of the "DANAIANS".Thats how anc macedons called anc greeks. Danajci. Danaians. And this is all in the transcription.
I know i am off the thread - but not that much - understand for once that Albanians are everything except autohtnous on the balkans. The autohtonous aboriginal balkan ppls are the SLAVIC SPEAKING nations (notice how i dont use the term slav in a ethnic conotation). Thats your explanation for the abundacy of slavic toponims from albania to peloponese wich was called MOREA (More,Sea) in the middle ages untill the neo-hellenic disaster.
Slavic has a linguistic connotation - not an ethnic one. Its the same if you call the Italians - Latins.
Ancient Macedonian language has classified as Greek with the following data:
Ancient Macedonian language (provisional ISO-DIS 639-3.5 XMK). Subgrouping Code : Ancient Greek language or IEGreekB Group code:Greek Language or IEGreek.
......and this thread concerning the Albanian placenames and the connections with the Slavic languages. I hope do not have another Fellemereyer case that found Slavic place-names in Greece (Pelloponessus) when the translations point out Greek and pre-Greek names as Hompf and Paparigopoulos quoted.
This post is in response to the conglomerate of
information below that is supposed to represent the modern Albanian
claim to an anceint Illyrian heritage.
Quote:
Not many illyrian words were ever written that why there is so much
mystery over the Language- these are some words that have been found in
old latin and greek writings ect...
Quote:
There is an old Illyrian place called Albulenë that is Alb = white Ule (old
Illyrian) = water or " Ujë i bardhë" today Albanian.
The same derivation has Ulk (old Illyrian) by the name of the ancient city
Ulkinon (today Ulqin) to Ujk that mean wolf.
Albania derives from the same Indo-European source as the name of the Alps,
which also appears in the Scottish "Albainn", for "highlands".
Alternatively, "Albania" may derive from the ancient Indo-European root
*albho, meaning "white", which also gave the name Albion, the ancient name
of England.
The first known occurance of the word Albanoi as the name of an Illyrian
tribe in what is now north-central Albania goes back to 130 AD, in a work of
Ptolemy. Albanopolis of the Albani is a place located on the map of Ptolemy
and also named on an ancient family epitaph at Scupi (near Skopje) , which
has been identified with the Zgërdhesh hill-fort near Kruja in northern
Albania. Arbanon is likely to be the name of a district - the plain of the
Mat has been suggested - rather than a particular place. An indication of
movement from higher altitudes in a much earlier period has been detected in
the distribution of place-names ending in -esh that appears to derive from
the latin -enisis or -esis, between the Shkumbin and the Mat rivers, with a
concentration between Elbasan and Kruja.
The term "Albanoi" may have been slowly spread to other Illyrian tribes
until its usage became universal among all the Albanian people. According to
the Albanian scholar Faïk bey Konitza, the term "Albania" did not displace
"Illyria" completely until the end of the fourteenth century. The word
"Alba" or "Arba" seems to be connected with the town Arba (modern Rab,
Croatia), in prehistoric times inhabited by the semi-Illyrian Liburnians,
first mentioned in 360 BC.
Approximately a millennium later, some Byzantine writers used the words
"Albanon" and "Arbanon" to indicate the region of Kruja. Under the Angevine
rulers, in the 13th century, the names "Albania" and "Albanenses" indicated
the whole country and all the population, as is demonstrated by the works of
many ancient Albanian writers such as Budi, Blanco and Bogdano. We first
learn of Albanians in their native land as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna
Comnenas' account (Alexiad 4) of the troubles in that region caused by the
Normans during the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081-1118). In the
History written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was
first to refer to the Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against
Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of
Dyrrachium. The Italo-Albanians and the Albanian minorities still present in
Greece have been known by different names over time: Arbënuer, Arbënor,
Arbëneshë, Arbreshë, Arbëreshë.
There seems to be no doubt that the root alb- or arb- is earlier than
shqip-, from which the modern name of the state (Shqipëria) derives, a name
which appears only in the time of the Turkish invasions. The Albanian name
of the country, Shqipëria, translates into English as "Land of the Eagles",
hence the two-headed bird on the national flag and emblem, and because of
the large presence of these animals in the mountainous zones of Albania.
Albanian names, like all nouns, appear under two forms "indefinite" and
"definite". Hence Tiranë/Tirana, Krujë/Kruja, Elbasan/Elbasani,
Durrës/Durrësi… The definite form is the equivalent of adding the article
"the" in front of the noun. The common scholarly usage is to mention
feminine names in the definite form, while the masculine are mentioned in
the indefinite: Tirana, Kruja, Elbasan, Durrës, etc. But it is not always
the case.
Since Albanian territories have long been under foreign rule, historical
documents may mention Albanian place-names in their Greek, Latin, Italian
(Venetian), Turkish, Slavic, or even French versions. For instance, Durrës
has been called Dyrrachion, Dyrrachium, Durazzo, Draç, Drac and Duras.
Another source of confusion from historical sources may come from a
transformation of "-n-" into "-r-", called "rhotacism", which took place in
the Southern (Tosk) dialects and prevails in the literary language. Hence,
the Greek/Latin "Avlona" which gave the Italian Valona" is now "Vlora".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our earliest mentioning is in the 200 Anno Domini - 4 centuries before the
arrival of the Serbs. They are mentioned as Albanoi, which is thought to
mean 'white' - ironically, the Illyrian name for the tribe was parthini, and
the first part -parth resembles our modern word -bardh, meaning precisely
white, whereas the suffix -ini resembles our suffix -inj, defining the word
as smth plural, i.e. Parthians, Parthinj.
That we're an autochtonous nation in the Balkans is not even disputed among
prominent Serb intellectuals and historians. The only dispute is whether
we're Illyrian or Thracian, which in relation to our autochtony in Kosova
(ancient Dardania) is irrelevant, since ancient Kosova was home to both
Illyrians as well as Thracians, as is confirmed by ancient toponyms. But
whilst Serb and Bulgarian historians have advocated a Thracian or/and Dacian
origins of our people, most others have supported the Illyrian thesis, to
the point where now only Serbs seem to favor the Thracian alternative. The
Croat historian and Illyrologist Aleksandar Stipcevic formulates himself
rather well when he states following;
Quote:
The result achieved by workers in different disciplines in recent decades
have reduced the importance of the work that relied on now obsolete
linguistc evidence, and have made the autochthony of the Albanians, i.e.
increasingly indisputable.
And this ...
Quote:
Nevertheless, the number of researchers still today refusing to take into
consideration the many arguments supplied by different academic disciplines
has shrunk, or, more accurately, absolutely the only researchers who deny
the theory of Albanian autochthony are Serbian.
Source
Here's one Serbian document mentioning us in the 12th century, an extract
from the Dusanova Zakonik;
Quote:
A brawl between villages, fifty perpers, (one perper was worth six gold
francs); but between Vlachs and Albanians, one hundred perpers.
Here are some more quotes;
Quote:
In the II Century BC, the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria, Ptolemy
drafted a map of remarkable significance for the history of Illyria. This
map shows the city of Albanopolisi (located south of Durrës), from which the
Albanians were later on to be identified by the world.
Quote:
The first mention of Albanians in the region corresponding to modern Albania
is as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna Commenas account of the troubles in
that region caused in the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081- 1110)
by the Normans. (The Alexiad The Alexiad is a book written around the year
1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, the daughter of Emperor
Alexius I. She describe the political and military history Byzantine Empire
during the reign of her father (1081-1110) , making it one of the most
important sources of information on the Byzantines of the Middle Ages....
Quote:
In ‘History’ written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates
was first to refer to the "Albanoi" as having taken part in a revolt against
Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of
Dyrrachium.
Quote:
1285 in Dubrovnik (Ragusa) where a sizeable Albanian community had existed
for some time. In the investigation of a robbery in the house of Petro del
Volcio of Belena (now Prati), a certain Matthew, son of Mark of Mançe, who
appears to have been witness to the crime, states: "Audivi unam vocem
clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca" (I heard a voice crying in the
mountains in the Albanian language).
Link
Our first mentioning is in the 2th century AD, four centuries before the
Serb arrival in the Balkans. It's from that Illyrian tribe (the Albanoi) we
received our ethnonym. They were mentioned by the Greek geographer Ptolemy
Claudius of Alexandria, in his work Geographia, as situated near the modern
capital Tirana;
Our own medieval term for ourselves wasn't Albanian with the letter 'l', but
Arberesh or Arberor or Arban, with 'r', from whence the Slav term 'Arbanas'
and Greek term 'Arvanites' came from, when they referred to us. This name
stems also from the Illyrian era;
Quote:
In the II Century BC, in the History of the World, written by Polybius,
there is mention of a city named Arbon in present day central Albania. The
people who lived there were called Arbanios and Arbanitai.
This mention of us is in the IIth century BC - 8 centuries before the
arrival of the Serbs. I It doesn't end there though;
Quote:
In the I Century AD, Pliny the Elder mentions an Illyrian tribe named
Olbonenses.
The first century Anno Domini - five centuries before the Serbs' arrival.
Replace the letter 'o' with 'a' and you'll get (*surprise* *surprise*)
Albonenses or Albanenses!!! And finally;
Quote:
In the II Century AD, Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from
Alexandria, drafted a map of remarkable significance for the history of
Illyria. This map shows the city of Albanopolis (located south of Durrës).
Ptolemy also mentions the Illyrian tribe named Albanoi, who lived around
this city.
Apart from the fact that this nice little list of shiptar proofs
seems to repeat itself about a dozen times in the hope of making it
seem that there is more evidence than there really is, many parts are
irrelevant and do not even make sense.
First of all, recent scholars, the few that they are, only make an
Albanian connection to Alexander based on the artificial
Illyro-Albanian link. The facts are much clearer, neither Alexander nor
ancient Macedonia are linked to Shiptars. Whatsmore, these so-called
Illyrian-shiptar cognate words have been posted a billion times on the
net in nearly the exact same order each time, would any of our local
shiptari care to provide a source for them once and for all? Or is this
too much to ask for? The emendation of some of the words are inaccurate
and unfounded, many others are just guesses based on the similarity of
the word however not the meaning, while others still are clearly
Thracian words as compared to Illyrian. You want to see real Illyrian
words? John Wilkes wrote a detailed book on the Illyrians, and yes he
does mention the Albanians claim to be Illyrians, as he mentions the
same about Slovenes and Croats, and he points out the evidence for and
against of each. Unfortunately, he seems to be a bit biased in favour
of the shiptar cause, and rather blind to the many obvious
Illyro-Slavic cognates. Nevertheless, here is a short list of some real
Illyrian words as cited by Wilkes, which have been recorded from
various archaeological finds such as tablet inscriptions, grave stones,
etc. You tell me, do they look Slavic or Shiptaric?
BILLENA; BILJANA, Slavic name
BORIA; BORIS, BORI, Slavic name, also means to fight
GLAVUS; GLAVU, GLAVAN, GLAVA, Slavic surname, also means head, leader
ZORATA; ZORA, ZORAN, ZORATA, Slavic word and name, meaning dawn
PRAVAIUS; PRAVA, PRAVAI, PRAVUVAI, Slavic word, meaning right(s), to do
MARICA; MARICA, Slavic name, Macedonian dance and river name
MENDA; MENDO, MENDA, common Macedonian name
VERICA; VERICA, VERA, Slavic name
PRORADUS; PRERADE, Slavic word, meaning over joyful
DUSSONA; DUSHAN, DUSHANA, common Slavic name
BATINA; BATINA, Macedonian word, meaning little brothers
DASARITAE; DO EZERITE, Illyrian
tribe next to Ohrid Ezero, meaning next to lake, similar name
attributed to Illyrian tribe in Montenegro located beside a lake, also
linked to the Ezeritae who invaded Peloponnese in the middle ages.
2,500 years later, and still nearly the exact same words.
It is not the magnitude of Illyro-shiptar word links that gives the
shiptar kind the right to unjustly claim an Illyrian heritage, because
such a magnitude is not in existence, but rather, it is the vague Satem
connection which incidentally can link Illyrian to any other Satem
language in the Indo-European sphere. However, take the below into
consideration:
Illyrian is more often considered a
centum language, while Albanian is a satem language. The identification
of Illyrian as a centum language is widely but not unanimously
accepted, although it is generally admitted that from what remains of
the language, centum examples appear to greatly outnumber satem
examples. One of the few satem examples in Illyrian appears to be
Osseriates, probably from PIE *eghero-, "lake".
So, according to the above, Osseriate is a Satem example. Osseriates
stems from the Dassarite, who were a pure Illyrian tribe located next
to the Ohrid Ezero, and the name of this tribe has a perfect match in
Slavic. So given the fact that this significantly points towards a
Satem origin for the Illyrians, it strengthens the Slavic case at the
same time for the word Ezero means lake only in the Slavic languages,
including of course, Illyrian. And, prior to the usual, slavs adopted
the words when they came to the Balkans, think about how and why the
Russians and Ukrainians also use the exact same words with the exact
same meaning. Scholars such as I. I. Russu state that a common
linguistic branch between Thracian and Illyrian is probable, while
Sorin Paliga stated: "According to the available data, we may surmise
that Thracian and Illyrian were mutually understandable, e.g. like
Czech and Slovak, in one extreme, or like Spanish and Portuguese, at
the other." Or in other words, like Macedonian and Croatian.
Regarding the word Alban, this is a pure Latin word which may have
been shared by Illyrians, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the
shiptar language. Alba in Latin means white, in shiptaric it is said
as Bardhe, anybody living in the region was an Albanian, the place
itself is historically connected to Montenegro, the former meaning
White Mountain, the latter Black Mountain, both in Latin. Michael
Attaliates speaks of the Albani and Arbani as two different people and
Anna Comnena does not state that the Arbanitae are an Illyrian tribe
even though she mentions the Illyrian region countless times.
Furthermore, the terms Arbani and Albani are used as geographic
descriptions, of people who come from a particular region but not
necessarily a particular ethnos, at least not until some traces of
sh*tparic writing first appear under the name of Arbereshe in the late
middle ages. Another important fact also is that neither Alban nor
Arban have any meaning in the shiptar language.
Regarding the following;
1285 in Dubrovnik (Ragusa) where a sizeable Albanian community had existed
for some time. In the investigation of a robbery in the house of Petro del
Volcio of Belena (now Prati), a certain Matthew, son of Mark of Mançe, who
appears to have been witness to the crime, states: "Audivi unam vocem
clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca" (I heard a voice crying in the
mountains in the Albanian language).
Lets us start by dismissing the falsity of some imaginary shiptaric
community presiding within Dubrovnik, for nowhere and by no means
whatsoever is this absurdity corroborated. Where are the shiptaric
placenames in Dubrovnik? Where are they in Dalmatia? In the rest of
Illyria? Is it feasible to believe that Slavs can rename 90% of the
Balkans within 200 years yet the shiptari with their so-called 3,000
year Illyrian heritage cannot even keep one in the bulk of their
regions? Of course not. The reference to an Albanian langauge could
just as easily be for a Slavic or Vlach dialect considering the
geographic proximity, it is too vague to determine definitively.
Regarding the word Shqiptar, when material such as a name which
appears only in the time of the Turkish invasions is cited, a
statement made by none other than Wilkes himself, it should not be
taken for granted, because it is a fact that Georgija Kastriot did not
even know the word Shqiptar and never referred to himself as such.
The flag and hence your name Shqpitar derive from the fact that your
people were once a part of the East Roman flock, it is an Orthodox
symbol, people of the eagle, the origins of it are more than obvious.
The Albanian region itself had a high concentration of Slavic-speakers,
and the overwhelming amount of Slavic placenames in the area is
testament to this, as an example check the following Slavic placenames
in Albania:
Bishnice, Bitincke, Boboshtice,
Bolene, Borove, Brataj, Bujan, Bushtrice, Cerkovice, Cerkovine,
Corovode, Dhrovjan, Divjake, Dragobi, Dragot, Drenove, Gjorice, Golaj,
Goranxi, Gostil, Gostime, Gostivisht, Gracen, Gradishte, Gumenice,
Kepenek, Koplik
Kosine, Kraste, Kuc, Kukes, Lapanj, Lepushe, Leshnice, Leskovik,
Libohove, Livadhe, Lubonje, Lushnje, Malaj, Mavrove, Muzine, Novosele,
Ogren, Ploce, Podgorie, Pogradec, Pojan, Polene, Progonat, Rade,
Radomire, Roskovec, Rreshen, Rrogozine, Rusan, Selce, Selenice,
Shishtavec, Sinice, Skore, Slabinje, Sllatine, Sohodoll, Sopik, Stenje,
Stravaj, Strelce, Tepelene, Tropoje, Uznove, Vajze, Vane, Velce,
Velipoje, Verdove, Vermik, Vidhas, Vjeter, Vodice, Vrine, Zagore,
Zapod.
Where are the shiptar placenames in Croatia and Bosnia? Nowhere to be
found. How can the shiptari be Illyrians when they knew nothing of the
name until the 19th century? They simple could not have been and indeed
are not Illyrians.
If Parthini is really from Bardhe(white), yet shiptari like to
claim Bardylus as from the same source, there is an obvious error for
it should read as either Bardini or Pathylus, this cannot be
reconciled.
There is no historical memory amongst the shiptari themselves with
regard to being Illyrian, the first person to claim that the shiptari
descend from the Illyrians was the Austrian George Hahn in his work
Albanesische Studien, which, coincidently accompanied by the new
Slavic migration theory formed the basis of Hapsburg policy towards the
Balkans. Much like the modern Greeks, the modern Albanians relied on
the west to draw up and inform them of their history. A question that
is repeatedly asked is where were the so-called shiptari when Croats,
Bosnians, Serbs and Slovenes were claiming to be Illyrians in the 19th
century? They were nowhere to be found, it wasnt an issue for them
because not one of them even knew what an Illyrian was let alone to
claim a heritage from them. On the flip side, the Illyrian heritage has
a long history in the memory of the western Balkan Slavs, as is
evidenced in various documents and tribal insignia from at least the
early 1600s, indeed, for many centuries the only designation used by
Croats for their language was simply Illyrian.
Check the following sources:
1604 - Institutiones linguae Illyricae - Bartol Kaic.
1699 - Talijansko Ilirsko Latinski Rjecnik - Ivan Tanzlingher-Zanotti.
1700 - Lexicon Latino-Illyricum - Pavao Vitezovic.
1715 - Dictionarium Latino-Illiricum - Djuro Matijaevic.
1728 - Dizionario
Italiano-Latino-Illirico cui si premettono alcuni avvertimenti per
inscrivere e con facilita maggiore leggere le voci illiriche scritte
con caratteri italiani, ed anche una breve grammatica per apprendere
... la lingua illirica - Ardelio della Bella. 1730 - Vocabolario italiano-illirico -Lovro Cekinic.
1740 - Gazophylacium, seu Latino-Illyricorum onomatum aerarium - Ivan Belostenec.
1742 - Lexicon latinum interpretatione illyrica, germanica et hungarica - Andrija Jambresic.
1760 - Rjecnik talijansko-ilirski - Mato Klaic.
1772 - Dictionarium latino-illyricum et germanicum - Adam Patacic.
1801 - Lexicon Latino-Italico-Illyricum - Joakim Stulli.
1802 - Ricoslovnik ilirickoga, italijanskoga i nimackoga jezika - Josip Voltic.
1842 - Njemackoilirski slovar - Josip Uarevic.
1858 - Riecnik ilirsko-talianski - Dragutin Antun Parcic.
Long before the false shiptar claim was ever conjured.
Regarding the shiptar claim to the Thracians, the language itself is
the biggest proof that there is no connection. Many Thracian placenames
are made up of two parts which are joined together, for example, dava,
deva was a common suffix and meant town in Thracian, thus there
existed the town of Pulpudeva, the Slavic similarity in respect to the
common name suffix of ev, ov, ovo, evo, ova, eva cannot go unnoticed.
Pulp(u) must have been a local or slang way of saying Phillip as
Pulpudeva (Phillip city) is Phillipopolis, today Plovdiv. In the Slavic
language the same principle can be applied when naming a city, for
example Tetovo, Kosovo, and Belgrade (White city), Stalingrad (Stalin
city). In modern Albanian however this is not possible for one could
not say 'Stalinqytet' if they follow the modern Albanian language
principles, it would have to be said as 'Qytet i Stalin', hence
Albanian could not have descended from the Thracian language due this
difference in structure.
The glossary below clearly shows the diversity of the modern Albanian
language and the dominant influences in it. Observe the words, many of
them critical to a language and all of them are loans into the
shiptaric language, from Ottoman, Persian, Latin and Slavic. The male
kinship terms and those that imply strength are almost exclusively
Ottoman-Persian, the marine terms and female kinship terms are almost
exclusively Latin, while the Slavic words are mostly related to verbs.
That in itself says a lot in regards to the various and dominant
elements in the modern Albanian language and ethnos, and in which areas
they were most significant.
Ottoman-Persian loans
Father = Baba; Baba(Turkish-Arabic)
Uncle = Dajhe; Dayi(Turkish)
Community = Bashke; Bashgah(Persian)
Army = Ushtri; Ashire(tribe in Persian)
Behind = Pas; Pas(Persian)
West = Perendimi; Farangima(european or westernise in Persian)
Latin Loans
Lake = Liquen; Lago(Italian)
River = Lume; Fiume(Italian)
Swim = Notoj; Nuoto(Italian)
Fish = Peshk; Pesce(Italian)
Fisherman = Peshkatar; Pescatore(Italian)
Weapons = Arme; Arme(Italian)
Good = Mire; Mira(Italian)
Hard = Forte; Forti(Italian)
Woman = Femeror; Femina(Latin)
Child = Femije; related to above
Sister = Moter; Morta(woman in Italian)
Grandson = Nip; Nepos(Latin)
Slavic Loans
Walk = Shetitje; Shetaj(Slavic)
Row = Vozit; Vozi(Slavic)
Kick = Goditje; Godi(Slavic)
Pledge = Bese; Beseda(Slavic)
Custom = Zakon; Zakon(Slavic)
Fun = Zbavites; Zabava(Slavic)
Key = Kych; Kluch(Slavic)
South = Jug; Jug(Slavic)
North = Veri; Sever(Slavic)
In the Slavic language group the equivalents for all of the above
Ottoman/Persian and Latin loans are native Slavic words, the number of
loanwords in the modern Albanian language is extremely high as compared
to Slavic.
The names of some of the abovementioned modern Albanian scholars are
Bogdano and Budi, names that have an obviously relation to Slavic.
The suggestion that the so-called Illyrians hid in the mountains
for a thousand years and then decided to descend from their mountains
for the first time into the Roman-Slavic lands is absurd and should
be dismissed for what it is. Illyrians and Thracians were related
peoples, todays Balkan Slavs are mainly their descendants.
Courtesy from the autor of this text - Soldier of Macedon
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