The Fight for Balkan Latinity. The Aromanians until World War I

The Aromanians of Vlahs are a people of the Balkans historically mentioned in many sources and documents thruoughout the centuries, since the age of Roman colonization. Their particular identity emerged during the XIX century, when the rise of nationalism involved also the Vlahs, who demanded the protection of the Sultan against Greek propaganda and denationalization policies. Also the newborn State of Romania was interested in their situation and started a diplomatic controversy with Greece to defend Balkan latinity. The question gained relevance during the age of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and the first World War, when the arrival of Italian troops in the region of Pindus was welcomed by the Aromanians who welcomed Italian army and appealed to the common Latin inheritance for the defense of their national specificity and traditions.