Mentions to Vlachs in what is modern-day Albania dates back to the Middle Ages, with Vlach (Latin-speaking) remnants of former Roman rule being noted among historical chroniclers. Throughout the Ottoman period,
Aromanians resided in modern-day Albania and Greece where they practiced transhumance. Some more settled Aromanians founded notable centers of culture such as
Moscopole, which is situated in modern-day Albania, and reached its height in the 1700s. The town experienced a precipitous decline after attacks by Ali Pasha Tepelena's troops in the later half of that century, which saw a significant Aromanian diaspora to other Albanian towns, Greece, and Romania itself. Aromanians in Albania would later see a migration to the Myzeqe plains in the 1800s, alongside Tirana, Durrës and Elbasan. The Aromanians respectively assimilated into Albanian society and were engaged in running
Esnafs, or Ottoman guild corporations. After the 1878 League of Prizren, Aromanians in Albania were divided between pro-Romanian and pro-Hellenic factions. Many Aromanians sided with the Albanian nationalists, contributing not only to the revival of Albanian identity but also to counter Hellenism. Nonetheless, the elite of the community did hold pro-Hellenic leanings. The Aromanians were first recognized at the
London Conference of 1912–1913 as a minority group within Albania. During World War I, Moscopole was sacked by Albanian nationalists headed by
Sali Butka in 1916 on suspicions that the local Aromanians were collaborating with Greek forces to seize southern Albania. However, in 1922, during the Congress of Lushnje, a significant number of Aromanian leaders (notably Taq Tutulani, among others) backed the Albanian Orthodox Church's creation and opposed Hellenism in Albania. During the communist regime in Albania, the Aromanians were not recognised as a separate minority group. This was in spite of the fact that Aromanians played an active role in the Party of Labour's rise to power, as the party itself had a number of Aromanians in its upper strata. Throughout this era, and combined with the anti-religious persecution, the Aromanians of Albania were increasingly assimilated into mainstream Albanian society and the language rapidly declined. Following the
fall of communism in Albania, there was a revival of ethnic Aromanian identity in the country. Assimilation and identification have been and continue to be a complex issue relating to the Aromanians of Albania and the wider
Balkans.
Historical settlements Moscopole The city of
Moscopole (Albanian:
Voskopojë) was once home to the largest Aromanian population in the world. It was the cultural and commercial centre of the Aromanians with a population of over 3,500 people. The city was razed to the ground by
Ali Pasha of Ioannina in 1788, causing an exodus of Aromanian people across the
Balkans. Many of them ended up in what would become
North Macedonia, Albania and
Greece. The largest concentration of Aromanians was in the
Pelister region of North Macedonia, the city of
Kruševo and around the
Lake Prespa. The Moscopolitans (
Moscopoleanji in Aromanian), is one of the largest population of Aromanians today. They speak the Grabovean/Moscopolean dialect of Aromanian and are the descendants of the Graboveans/Moscopoleans in Krusevo (Aromanian: Crushuva, Macedonian: Крушево) are today a fully recognized minority group under the constitutional law of
North Macedonia.
Grabova Grabova was a medieval town created in the 10th century. Aromanians have left Grabova on several occasions, although the village has never been completely deserted. The first wave of depopulation took place in the 17th century, when Grabova shared the fate of Moscopole and during the inter-war period, starting with 1931, many of Grabovars emigrated to
Elbasan and
Lushnjë. In 1933, 15 families from the village emigrated to
Romania; they initially settled in
Southern Dobruja and then, in 1940, in the village of
Nisipari,
Constanța County, from where they moved to the larger nearby towns (Medgidia, Ovidiu, Constanța ) Another important immigration began in 1950, when communist authorities used the craftsmen from Grabova to build the industrial units in Korçë,
Pogradec,
Gramsh, Elbasan, and
Tirana. The people of Grabova speak the Grabovean/Moscopolean dialect of Aromanian. ==Ethnonyms==