This page from the 1922 British encyclopedia “Peoples of All Nations” captures a profound truth about the making of modern national identities in the Balkans. While the image shows soldiers in the iconic Fustanella uniform, the text below reveals a reality often omitted from mainstream history.

​The Key details is that the author, Hamilton Fyfe, describes the rules of military service in Greece at the time. He explicitly states:

​”If illiterate, the conscript is taught to read and write, and if he speaks only Albanian, he must learn the Greek language.”

​Why is this significant?

​Albanian as a Primary Language: This document confirms that a significant portion of the recruits in the Greek army of the early 1900s—the Arvanites—did not speak Greek as their mother tongue. Albanian was their only language.

​The Army as a “Nation-Builder”: In 1922, the military wasn’t just for defense; it was a state tool for “Hellenization.” It was where young men who grew up speaking Albanian (Arvanitika) were systematically taught the official state language to forge a unified national identity.

​The Fustanella: The soldiers are wearing a garment deeply rooted in Balkan and Albanian tradition, which was eventually adopted as the official national uniform of the Greek elite guards (Evzones).

​This historical source is a powerful reminder that national identity is often a deliberate construction, and that the roots of the people standing under those flags were far more diverse than the official titles suggest.

​Source

“Peoples of All Nations”, Vol. IV, Edited by J.A. Hammerton, London, 1922.