Vlachs ( la, Valachi;
Ottoman Turkish: ''Eflak'', ''Eflakân'';
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
: / , / ) was a social and fiscal class in several
late medieval
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
states of
Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
, and also a distinctive social and fiscal class within the
''millet'' system of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, composed largely of
Eastern Orthodox Christians
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
who practiced
nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral lifestyle, including populations in various migratory regions, mainly composed of ethnic
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
,
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
and
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
. From the middle decades of the 17th century the amalgamation of the process of
sedentarization
In cultural anthropology, sedentism (sometimes called sedentariness; compare sedentarism) is the practice of living in one place for a long time. , the large majority of people belong to sedentary cultures. In evolutionary anthropology and ar ...
of the Orthodox Vlachs and their gradual fusion with Serbian rural population reached a high level and was officially recognized by the Ottoman authorities.
Origins
Following the
Ottoman conquest of the Balkans
A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...
, the
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
, being both
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
and still a largely nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral non-
Slavic-speaking people, played a dual role in the relations with the new
Ottoman ruler. Although a few of the Orthodox Vlachs and part of the Catholic Vlachs from
Duklja
Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Riv ...
and
Bosnia fled before the
invading Ottoman armies, to
Christian lands in the West (i.e.
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to:
Places Croatia
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
);
the remaining of them, both Orthodox in the central
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and Catholics in
Herzegovina and Duklja, welcomed with joy the new situation created, since the conquerors vouchsafed to them vast ranges for themselves and their cattle and promised to improve their social position.
It thus propitiated special arrangements between the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
and the Vlachs, who in turn, while preserving their
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
(excepting some, largely high-ranking members of society, who converted to
Islam in order to secure for themselves and their families special privileges and
prominent administrative positions from the
Ottoman authorities), placed themselves in the
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
's service;
all this made possible that the Vlachs would come to form a considerably privileged class within the
Millet system
In the Ottoman Empire, a millet (; ar, مِلَّة) was an independent court of law pertaining to "personal law" under which a confessional community (a group abiding by the laws of Muslim Sharia, Christian Canon law, or Jewish Halakha) was ...
in the Ottoman Empire, compared to the class of the
Reaya, for more than a century. In
medieval Serbia
Serbia in the Middle Ages refers to the medieval period in the history of Serbia. The period begins in the 6th century with the Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe, and lasts until the Ottoman conquest of Serbian lands in the second half ...
the term Vlachs had more meaning, primarily denote the inhabitants of
Aromanian origin and also dependent shepherds in the medieval Serbian state. In addition, with the beginning of Ottoman rule, within this social class also came to be included other Vlach-like (pastoral semi-nomad) populations, such as cattle-breeding Orthodox Serbs;. Serbs in
Ottoman Hungary
Ottoman Hungary ( hu, Török hódoltság) was the southern and central parts of what had been the Kingdom of Hungary in the late medieval period, which were conquered and ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1541 to 1699. The Ottoman rule covered ...
in great numbers served as
Martolos
The ''martolos'' was an internal security force of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans ('' Rumelia''), mostly active between the 15th to 17th centuries. It initially constituted out of the local mostly Christian populations (Rum Millet), but over ti ...
, which were Christian origin members largely recruited from the Vlach and Vlach like population.
Service
During the early history of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, there was Vlach people members of military class living in Serbia and Macedonia which had the same rights as Muslims. They might have been the descendants of Christians but their origin is not entirely clear.
Due to their experience in carrying goods and the skill and speed with which they crossed the mountain regions; the Turks began to take advantage of it by employing them as auxiliary troops (''
voynuk''), thus entrusting to them the conveyance of military supplies, the carrying out of
spying operations and quick
looting-
scorching raids in enemy
Christian territory, and the patrol of
mountain gorges and boundaries in general. In addition, they always accompanied the Ottoman armies in their expeditions throughout the Balkans, up to the North-West, in whole communities; being intended for populating the newly conquered territories as border military colonies, called ''katun'' or ''džemaat'' (which were composed of about 20 to 50 houses); at the head of which there was a ''katunar'' or ''primikur'' ("headman").
They also formed important as well as highly numbered
Christian military garrisons (''martolos'') attached to the
Ottoman army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
, in the newly conquered towns. In exchange for their regular duties, they were granted privileges which were denied to all other
''Zimmîs'' by the
Šerijat or Islamic Law; for example, as they served regularly as Ottoman auxiliary troops, they were allowed to bear arms and to ride horses. This rewarding privileges were also extended to the economic sphere; these communities were largely exempted of paying any tax but only that of an annual rent of one gold 'ducat' or 'florin' to pay by each one of their households, hence coming to be called as "Florin" or "Ducat Vlachs" (
Ottoman Turkish: ''Filurîci Eflakân'').
At the same time, great
Turkish and
Slavic Muslim landholding military nobles (
Sipahi
''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial '' timarli sipahi'', which constituted ...
and
Timarli) often brought with them significant quantities of these Vlachs (sometimes Serbs as well),
in order that they farmed their lands.
Decline
However, during the course of time, with centralisation and changes to state structure, the economic system and military organisation occurring, many of the services that the Vlachs used to provide for the Ottomans became superfluous. As a result, the 1520s saw the beginning of
Vlach
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
sedentarisation and a reduction of their privileges. By the end of the 16th century, these privileges resulted in the majority of Vlachs’ social standing being equalled to that of the ''filurîci'', and later with ordinary
reaya peasants. Lastly, the
sound Ottoman defeat at Sisak in 1593 triggered the beginning of loss of faith by these Vlachs, (both
genuine Vlachs and
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
) in
those who until then had been their masters, and propitiated the passing of the Vlachs and the Serbs over to the
Habsburg side (see
Uprising in Banat
The Uprising in Banat was a rebellion organized and led by Serbian Orthodox bishop Teodor of Vršac and Sava Temišvarac against the Ottomans in the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The uprising broke out in 1594, in the initial stage of the Long Turkish ...
).
[Ferdo Šišić: Povijest Hrvata; pregled povijesti hrvatskog naroda 600 – 1918, p. 345, Zagreb ]
Tax
The Rüsûm-i Eflakiye was a tax on
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Vlachs in the Balkans were granted tax concessions under Byzantine and Serb rulers in return for military service; and this continued under Ottoman rule. Instead of some of the customary taxes, they paid a special "Vlach tax", ''Rüsûm-i Eflakiye'': One sheep and one lamb from each household on St. Georges Day each year. Because Vlachs were taxed differently, they were listed differently in
defters.
See also
Annotations
References
Sources
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{{refend
Social classes in the Ottoman Empire
Taxation in the Ottoman Empire
Christians from the Ottoman Empire
History of the Aromanians
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