by Joseph Dedvukaj
I. Introduction: Arvanites as Historical Continuity of Albanian-Speaking Populations
The survival of Albanian-speaking populations beyond the core territory of Illyricum represents one of the strongest historical indicators of ethnolinguistic continuity from antiquity into the medieval and modern periods. Among the most important examples of this continuity are the Arvanites, an Albanian-speaking population historically established in southern Greece and documented extensively in Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern sources.
Modern scholarship defines the Arvanites clearly:
“The Arvanites are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin… They traditionally spoke Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety.”¹
This statement reflects a consensus among historians and linguists that Arvanitika belongs directly to the Albanian linguistic family and represents a continuation of Balkan Indo-European speech communities rooted in antiquity.
Linguist Lukas Tsitsipis, whose work remains foundational in Arvanitika studies, explains:
“Arvanitika is structurally and historically a variety of Albanian and constitutes part of the Albanian linguistic continuum.”²
The existence of this Albanian language variety outside Albania proper demonstrates the geographic continuity and resilience of Albanian-speaking populations over centuries.
⸻
II. Byzantine and Medieval Evidence for Albanian Ethnolinguistic Persistence
The Byzantine historical record provides early confirmation of Albanian ethnolinguistic presence.
The Byzantine historian Michael Attaleiates (11th century AD) refers explicitly to Albanians as a distinct population:
Greek original:
Ἀλβανοί
Translation:
“Albanians.”³
This is one of the earliest medieval attestations of Albanians as a named ethnolinguistic group.
The appearance of Albanians in Byzantine records corresponds geographically with the former territory of Illyricum, supporting continuity rather than population replacement.
Historian Alain Ducellier explains:
“The Albanians appear in historical sources in the Middle Ages in precisely the regions formerly inhabited by Illyrian populations.”⁴
This geographic continuity is fundamental.
⸻
III. Arvanite Migration and Settlement in Southern Greece
Arvanites are documented in southern Greece from the late Byzantine period onward, particularly during the 13th–15th centuries.
Historian John Fine explains:
“Albanian-speaking groups migrated into southern Greece in significant numbers during the late medieval period.”⁵
These migrations were not invasions but population movements within the Byzantine cultural sphere.
Importantly, these migrations occurred within territories previously administered as part of Byzantine Illyricum and its successor provinces.
The preservation of the Albanian language among Arvanites demonstrates the survival of their ethnolinguistic identity.
⸻
IV. Arvanitika as Direct Evidence of Linguistic Continuity
Arvanitika represents a southern dialect of Albanian.
Linguist Eric Hamp, one of the most respected Indo-European linguists of the modern era, concluded:
“Albanian is the sole surviving representative of an ancient Balkan Indo-European language.”⁶
Arvanitika is therefore not a derivative of Greek but a continuation of the same linguistic lineage.
Tsitsipis explains further:
“Arvanitika preserves structural features characteristic of Albanian and distinct from Greek.”⁷
This confirms independent linguistic continuity.
⸻
V. Suppression and Decline of Arvanitika in Modern Greek State Formation
The decline of Arvanitika in modern Greece reflects sociopolitical developments rather than natural linguistic evolution.
Scholarly and sociolinguistic studies document systematic language shift toward Greek.
A major linguistic survey explains:
“The Greek state discouraged the public use of Arvanitika, contributing to its gradual decline.”⁸
This pattern reflects modern nation-state consolidation rather than ancient ethnographic discontinuity.
Arvanitika survived for centuries precisely because the population itself survived.
⸻
VI. Cyprus and the Wider Mediterranean Presence of Albanian Populations
Albanian-speaking populations also appear in medieval and early modern Mediterranean contexts, including Cyprus.
Historian Nicholas Coureas, analyzing Lusignan Cyprus, notes the presence of foreign soldiers and migrants, including Balkan populations integrated into military and social structures.⁹
These records demonstrate the mobility and integration of Albanian-speaking populations across Byzantine and post-Byzantine territories.
This mobility does not indicate disappearance from their homeland but rather geographic expansion.
⸻
VII. Linguistic Contact Between Albanian and Greek in the Balkan Sprachbund
The Balkan region forms a classic example of a linguistic convergence zone, known as the Balkan Sprachbund.
Linguist Victor Friedman explains:
“The Balkan languages, including Albanian and Greek, developed shared features through prolonged contact.”¹⁰
This convergence explains shared phonetic and lexical features.
However, convergence does not imply derivation.
Albanian remains an independent Indo-European language.
Hamp explains definitively:
“Albanian constitutes an independent branch of Indo-European.”¹¹
This independence reflects ancient linguistic continuity.
⸻
VIII. Archaeological and Geographic Continuity
The geographic distribution of Albanian-speaking populations corresponds closely with ancient Illyrian territories.
Historian John Wilkes explains:
“The Albanians occupy regions formerly inhabited by Illyrian populations.”¹²
This continuity extends from antiquity into the present.
Archaeological continuity reinforces linguistic continuity.
⸻
IX. Integration with Procopius’ Dardanian Fortress Evidence
The fortress catalogue recorded by Procopius confirms the survival of indigenous Balkan populations into the Byzantine period.
Procopius states:
“He restored ancient fortresses.”¹³
These fortresses were inhabited by living populations.
The survival of settlement names and language demonstrates population continuity.
Arvanites represent the southern extension of this same continuity.
⸻
X. Conclusion: Arvanites and Arvanitika as Living Evidence of Illyrian-Albanian Continuity
The survival of Arvanitika-speaking populations in Greece represents direct evidence of Albanian ethnolinguistic continuity across centuries.
This continuity is supported by:
• Byzantine historical records
• linguistic analysis
• archaeological evidence
• geographic continuity
Arvanites represent not a new population but a continuation of ancient Balkan ethnolinguistic traditions.
Their language preserves one of the last surviving branches of the ancient Balkan Indo-European linguistic family.
This continuity connects modern Albanian-speaking populations with their ancient Illyrian predecessors.
⸻
Footnotes:
1. “Arvanites,” Encyclopaedia Britannica.
2. Lukas Tsitsipis, Language Shift and Language Death: The Case of Arvanitika (Berlin, 1981), 5.
3. Michael Attaleiates, History, ed. Bekker (Bonn, 1853), 297.
4. Alain Ducellier, The Albanians in the Middle Ages (London, 1981), 17.
5. John Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans (Ann Arbor, 1983), 289.
6. Eric Hamp, “Albanian,” Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (1997), 11.
7. Tsitsipis, 1981, 42.
8. Tsitsipis, 1981, 78.
9. Nicholas Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus (Aldershot, 1997).
10. Victor Friedman, The Balkan Languages and Balkan Linguistics (Oxford, 2006), 35.
11. Hamp, 1997, 11.
12. John Wilkes, The Illyrians (Oxford, 1992), 278.
13. Procopius, De Aedificiis, IV.1.
