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Aromanian nationalism (Aromanian:Natsionalismu armãneascu) is the ideology asserting theAromanians as a distinctnation. A large number of Aromanians have moved away fromnationalist themes such as the creation of anation state of their own or achieving ethnicautonomy in the countries they live. Despite this, an ethnic-based identity and pride is prevalent in them.[1] In history, Aromanian nationalists often found themselves divided into pro-Greek factions and pro-Romanian ones.[2]
The repeated persecution, attacks and murders against the Aromanians byGreek andBulgarian gangs in theOttoman Empire fueled the nationalism of the Aromanians, which was further promoted by the works of someAromanians in Romania.[3] In 1917, during the presence ofItalian troops inGreece inWorld War I, a group of Aromanian nationalists attempted the creation ofan Aromanian state, backed byRomania. However, the Italian troops eventually withdrew, and the Greek authorities subsequently chased these figures.[4]
Such a project was revived inWorld War II after theAxis invasion of Greece, and aPrincipality of the Pindus was established in 1941, being led by the Aromanian nationalistAlcibiades Diamandi. Despite lacking any real political power, this principality had its own military forces, theRoman Legion, whichcollaborated with fascist Italian andNazi German forces.Aromanian was made the official language, the use ofGreek was prohibited and the formation of an Aromanian parliament was attempted. However, theAxis forces retreated and theGreek resistance, with several Aromanian members, took over the region in 1944.[5]
Aromanian nationalism has focused greatly inMoscopole. Moscopole was a prosperous city in the Ottoman Empire with a large Aromanian population that was largely devastated and destroyed in the second half of the 18th century. With the birth ofAromanian literature, many Aromanian writers, predominantly those young Aromanians educated inRomanian schools, began to write about Moscopole in a utopian way, with feelings and elements such as love, nostalgia, superstitions, mentalities, emotions and everyday aspects of life being predominant. Depression and nostalgia for the city became the main feelings in this Aromanian literary phenomenon. Romanian historianSorin Antohi described the Aromanian elites engaging in this utopic literary discourse about Moscopole as having an exalted feeling of finding of a "magnetic beauty and without any imperfection of a brilliant city" which "evokes a dreamlike image". The founder of this Aromanian literary trend wasLeon Boga, but it also includes works byNicolae Constantin Batzaria,Nicolae Caratană,Ion Foti,Kira Mantsu andNicolae Velo.[6]
Today, a common Aromanian phrase expressing ethnic pride isS-bãneadzã Armãnamea ("Long liveAromanian-dom").[7] Another famous phrase isArmãnlu nu cheari ("The Aromanian [person] does not perish").[8][9][10]
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