Arvanites
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| est. 50,000–200,000 (see below) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Attica, Peloponnese, Boeotia, Epirus (Greece) | |
| Languages | |
| Arvanitika, Greek | |
| Religion | |
| Greek Orthodox | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Albanians, Greeks, Arbëreshë (in Italy) |
Arvanites (Greek: Αρβανίτες, Arvanitika: Arbëreshë / Αρbε̰ρεσ̈ε̰ or Arbërorë) are a bilingual population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a dialect of the Albanian language along with Greek. They settled in Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions of the Peloponnese and Attica until the 19th century. Arvanites today self-identify as Greeks as the result of a process of assimilation, and do not consider themselves to belong to Albania or the Albanian nation. They call themselves Arvanites (in Greek) and Arbëror (in their language). The Arvanite communities in northwestern Greece call themselves Shqiptar (the same used by Albanians of Albania). Arvanitika is in a state of attrition due to language shift towards Greek and large-scale internal migration to the cities and subsequent intermingling of the population during the 20th century.
Arvanites in Greece originated from Arbanitai, Albanian settlers who moved south at different times between the 13th and 16th century from the region Arvanon (Άρβανον) or Arvana (Άρβανα), a region in what is today modern Albania and later Principality of Arbanon, an autonomous principality within the Byzantine Empire until 1204 and from 1205 within the Despotate of Epirus. The reasons for this migration are not entirely clear and may be manifold. In many instances the Arvanites were invited by the Byzantine and Latin rulers of the time. They were employed to re-settle areas that had been largely depopulated through wars, epidemics, and other reasons, and they were employed as soldiers. Some later movements are also believed to have been motivated to evade Islamization after the Ottoman conquest. The main waves of migration into southern Greece started around 1300, reached a peak some time during the 14th century, and ended around 1600. Arvanites first reached Thessaly, then Attica, and finally the Peloponnese.
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