Megleno-Romanians

The Megleno-Romanians or Meglen Vlachs or Moglenite Vlachs, (Megleno-Romanian: Vlashi; Greek: Βλαχομογλενίτες, Vlachomoglenítes; Romanian: Meglenoromâni, Megleniţi, or Vlaşi, Macedonian: Власи) are a small Eastern Romance people, currently inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis regional units of Central Macedonia, Greece, and one village, Huma, across the border in the Republic of Macedonia. This people lives in an area of approximately 300 km2 in size. Unlike the Aromanian Vlachs, the other Romance speaking population in the same historic region, the Meglen Vlachs are traditionally sedentary agriculturalists, and not traditionally transhumants.

They speak a Romance language most often called by linguists Megleno-Romanian or Meglenitic in English, and βλαχομογλενίτικα (vlachomoglenítika) or simply μογλενίτικα (moglenítika) in Greek. The people themselves call their language vlaheshte, but the Megleno-Romanian diaspora in Romania also uses the term megleno-româna.

Unlike the other Eastern Romance populations, over time Megleno-Romanians have laid aside a name for themselves which originates in the Latin Romanus, and instead have adopted the term Vlasi or Vlashi, derived from Vlachs, a general term by which in the Middle Ages non-Romance peoples designated Romance peoples. (The word Vlachs appears in the Byzantine documents in about the 10th century.) The term Megleno-Romanians was given to them in the 19th century by the scholars who studied their language and customs, based on the region in which they live.

Their number is estimated between 5,213 (P. Atanasov, most recent estimate), and 20,000 (P.Papahagi, ca, 1900). There is a larger Megleno-Romanian diaspora in Romania (ca. 1,500 people), and a smaller one in Turkey (ca. 500 people). Greece does not recognize national minorities, thus this approximately 4,000-strong community does not have any official recognition from Greece. Another 1,000 Megleno-Romanians live in the Republic of Macedonia. It is believed, however, that there are up to 20,000 people of Megleno-Romanian descent worldwide (including those assimilated into the basic populations of these countries).