Wallachians
 |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 24-25 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Romania 16,825,000 Moldova 2,815,125 |
|
| Languages | |
| Primarily Eastern Romance languages (including Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian, as well as Istro-Romanian) | |
| Religion | |
| Primarily Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism (both Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Latin peoples |
Vlachs (English pronunciation: /ˈvlɑːk/ or /ˈvlæk/) is a historical term used for the Eastern Romance-speaking peoples in East-central Europe (including the Balkan peninsula); it is also an exonym used to refer to several modern peoples from the population in present-day Romania and Moldova, the southern end of the Balkans as well as south and west of the Danube. Vlachs were initially identified and described during the 11th century by George Kedrenos.
According to one origin theory, the Vlachs originated from Latinized Dacians. According to some linguists and scholars, the Eastern Romance languages prove the survival of the Thraco-Romans in the lower Danube basin during the Migration Period and western Balkan populations known as "Vlachs" also have had Romanized Illyrian origins.
Nearly all Central and Southeastern European countries have (or had in the passing of time) sizable native Vlach (or Romanian) minorities, as it is currently the case in Hungary, in Ukraine (including Chernivtsi Oblast), in Serbia (including Eastern Serbia), in Croatia (including the Dalmatian Hinterland and Lika region), or in Bulgaria. In other countries (such as in Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Vlachs have assimilated in the local Slavic population. The term "Vlach" was also commonly used for shepherds, like in mountains of Herzegovina region of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Wikipedia