Who are the Vlach people?

They are mostly let overs Romanized people. These include Illyrians, Thrakians, Greeks etc etc. I guess in Greece they are Romanized greeks. Its what they say they are for the most part. My father is of vlach ancestry.

Here is an interesting study done on them;

 February 02, 2004
Origin of Aromuns (Vlachs)
Ann Human Genet

Alu insertion polymorphisms in the Balkans and the origins of the Aromuns

D. Comas et al.

We have analysed 11 human-specific Alu insertion polymorphisms in the Balkans to elucidate the origins of the Aromuns, a linguistic isolate inhabiting scattered areas in the Balkan Peninsula. Four Aromun samples (two from the Republic of Macedonia, one from Albania, and one from Romania) and five neighbouring populations (Macedonians, Albanians, Romanians, Greeks, and Turks) were analysed by means of genetic distances, principal components and analyses of the molecular variance (AMOVA). Three hypotheses were tested: Aromuns are Romanophonic Greeks; the result of a Romanian southward migration; or local descendants of the Thracians. The analyses show that the Aromuns do not constitute a homogeneous group separated from the rest of the Balkan populations. Grouping by language or geography does not explain the genetic differences observed in the region, suggesting a lack of genetic structure in the area. Aromuns do not seem to be particularly related to Greeks, Romanians, or to other Romance speakers. The Aromuns might have their origin to the south of the Danube river, with extensive gene flow with the neighbouring populations. The present results suggest a common ancestry of all Balkan populations, including Aromuns, with a lack of correlation between genetic differentiation and language or ethnicity, stressing that no major migration barriers have existed in the making of the complex Balkan human puzzle.

Here I post some abstracts of an article about the Vlachs

"At the end of the 19^th century, there were about 150,000 Vlachs in the southern Balkans, and about half the Greek population of Thessaloniki in fact consisted of Vlachs. After 1912-13 about 100,000 (2/3 of them) became Greek citizens. Since then, they have been much reduced due to emigration and assimilation. The 1951 census, the last time that minorities were counted in Greece, recorded 39,385 Vlachs. Around 2003, there may be 20,000 people in Greece who consider themselves Vlach.

Traditionally, there was a broad spectrum of living conditions and thought among Vlachs. They ranged from isolated and illiterate mountain dwellers of Albania to cosmopolitan merchants and directors of Greek schools. However, the groups that attracted the most attention were the transhumant shepherds. Many foreign visitors were impressed by the picturesque nomads and semi-nomads they saw in Macedonia, with their dresses, occupations, languages, and ability to manage in difficult conditions.

Most interesting were three shepherd groups: The Arvanito-Vlachs (Farsarotes), Vlachs, and Sarakatsani. Despite the unclear meaning of their name, the Sarakatsani spoke Greek in the 19^th century, so their Greekness was not disputed. The Arvanito-Vlachs, whose women often wore long hats, had Albanian names that indicated long cohabitation with Albanians. Travelers also wrote a lot about the �generic� Vlachs. The northern type was considered light colored and with features different from neighboring groups, while the southern types were shorter and darker. (Geographically, however, northern and southern dialects are mixed.) They lived free on the mountaintops, were considered hard-working and smart, and many chelniks (goat-herding chiefs) had considerable flocks and wealth. The women who set up households in different places every day when the flocks moved, had more social freedoms than Greek women.

The Vlachs themselves have no traditions that they came from some other part of the world, and no songs or tales have survived regarding some Roman general or the green pastures of a distant country that they lost during the Slavic invasions. All Macedonian Vlachs whom Weigand consulted around 1890 indicated that they lived pretty much in their ancestral country. Populations had moved but over relatively short distances.

However, the Vlachs speak a language that has no close relation to the area languages, so many people assumed that they must have come from somewhere else. There are many Greek words in Vlach, but they are mainly modern Greek. Finally, Vlachs share some traditions with Greeks (e.g. the Kalikantzaroi spirits) but not others, such as the prohibition of unmarried women from going to church. Briefly, theories about their origin have been.

Roman legions. Greeks and foreign travelers of the 18-20^th centuries expressed the opinion that the Vlachs are descendants of Roman legions who stayed on to guard the narrow mountain passes and eventually became shepherds. The various versions of the theory do not take much account of the women�s nationality, though women were needed to father children.

Thracians - Diaspora Romanians. Romanian historians hypothesized that between the 6^th and 10^th centuries, the Vlachs left their country north of the Danube and descended in the southern Balkans, possibly where the grasslands were better. Pro-Romanian authors (e.g. Tache Papahagi) considered the Vlachs relatives of the Romanians, parts of Pelasgian and Thracian tribes that were Latinized. According to this view, the Thracians inhabited the area from Romania to Macedonia, but the Slavic invasions that started in the 6^th century fragmented it. Today this theory makes little sense. The Pelasgians were a historical anachronism, and ancient Macedonians have been rather conclusively shown to be a Greek tribe.

Partly Slavs. The Slavs moved to the Balkans during the 7^th century, influenced the Vlach-speaking populations, and maybe displaced some. Although there was no specific effort to prove that the Vlachs were Slavs, this argument was used to prove that the Vlachs were not Greek.

Jews. Benjamin of Tudela, a 12^th century Sephardic rabbi suspected that at least the Vlach bandits of Thessaly had Jewish origin because although they robbed Jews, they called them brethren and did not killed them as they did others.

A distinct local ethnicity. More recent Romanian historians consider that the Vlachs are a specific nation possibly descending from Pelasgians, Illyrians, Thracians, Macedonians (they consider the latter non-Greek) and other groups that were Latinized. This position is explained in the �Dodecalog of the Vlachs� that has an almost religious fervor. The adherents of this theory get support from the observations of foreign travelers who perceived the mountain Vlachs as different from Greeks. The tendency of many Vlachs to identify with Greeks is attributed to religion, adoption of Greek names that implied a higher social status, and a tendency of becoming easily assimilated in local populations. Some people call themselves Macedono-Vlachs and focus on the Vlach presence in the greater Macedonia of Ottoman times.

Latinized local inhabitants. Some contemporary Greek historians think that the Vlachs are main Latinized Greek populations. According to this theory, the Vlachs of the Greek peninsula and cities in the north where Greek communities also lived are originally Greek. By the same theory, Vlachs who lived beyond the borders of Greek communities are probably not Greek. Indeed, many Vlachs of Serbia, Bulgaria, and Albania do not consider themselves Greek and have traditionally lived north of the Greek borders.

The origin of Vlachs could be clarified through comparisons of DNA samples (deoxyribonucleic acid) of various populations. The various Vlach groups could be compared among themselves and with Greeks, Romanians, and Albanians. However, no genetic studies have been done on the Vlachs. The existing DNA studies on Greeks (which include some Vlachs as part of the general population) show that Greeks are quite homogeneous and that the populations of Macedonia and Epirus are more closely related. Greeks are different from Turks and Bulgarians but quite similar to other Europeans, particularly to Italians. So, even if the Vlachs are descendants of (male) Romans, they are a genetically related population. Hopefully, more research will take place later on, though political repercussions may raise obstacles. Without it there is simply not sufficient evidence regarding the origin of various Vlach groups."

This is a controversial issue. In my opinion  nobody knows the truth about the Vlachs. Here in Greece there are few people now who claim that they are Vlachs but they insist on their Greek origin. There are many Vlachs who left Greece during the 20^th century and live now in Romania (Romanians claim that Vlachs are of Romanian origin). But even in their alleged (by the Romanian propaganda) home-country, the Vlachs don�t change their mind and still rumor their Greekness and the fact that the Greek state put obstacles on their way to come back to Greece as Greek citizens while it accepts other non Greek populations like Albanians, Russians etc.

Yeah but the point is what the ancestors of those people (of the Byzantine  Empire) are.

I have read a lot of articles of Vlachs. They say that Greece is their homeland and they are not another race but pure Greeks. They also say that the Vlachs who are out of Greece belong to the interspersion of the Vlachs.

Their alternative name Aromuns or Romuns is the Latin word for the name Romioi which was used for the rest of Greeks.

During the Ottoman Empire, Vlachs (vlachophones) and Graecoi (Greek-speaking) constituted the nation of Hellenes. So, the difference between Vlachs and Graecoi was their language, not their origin. Vlachs were romanized Greeks. The Turks often called all the Hellenes, Vlachs. Especially they called the Greek women "Vlachopoules".

They played a significant role during the revolution against the Turks. The big percentage of Armatoloi were Vlachs. The women who carried the armament on the mountains of Pindos were Graeco-Vlachs (Graeces and Vlaches).

Now there are few Vlachs (Greeks who don't speak Greek) in Greece.

But they are Greeks, Albanians etc etc who don't speak the national language. Here is a census of the prefecture of Grevena, Macedonia in 1905 when Macedonia still belonged to the Ottoman Empire:

Hellenes:     

Graecoi (greek-speaking) : 17,844

Vlachs (vlachophones) : 6,973

Muslims:

Greek-speaking : 7,960

Romuns : 987

It's obvious that Graecoi and Vlachs were Hellenes speaking a different language.

What do you mean by saying "they show kiness"?

What if some Cretans moved to Turkey?

OK, but the Cretans in Turkey have nothing to do with the Vlachs in Greece. The latter are not an ethnic minority. It's not the same fact. While Macedonia was under Ottoman rule, Vlachs required greek schools in their region and they were in trouble with Vlachs of non greek origin who lived there.  

Anyway I like them very much and they are not the poor shepherds but a something like a captivating part of the Greek nation. Unfortunately in Greece, the majority call Vlach all the peasants.

You are of Vlach origin right? Do your ancestors of the vlach side speak this language?