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#official #lanquage #Greek in today #Albanian territory
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Ali Pasha, the Albanian governor of the Ottoman Pashalik of Janina used modern Greek as the official language in administration and in his correspondence, since the territory he ruled was/2⬇️
🧶2/ predominantly inhabited by Greeks (Ali Pasha was himself fluent in Greek). He also employed at his court many Greeks as secretaries, physicians mercenaries e.t.c.. In 1799, the British William Eton visited Janina and met in person Ali Pasha.
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He was present when the Greek secretary of Ali Pasha wrote at his behest a letter to the Greek chieftains of Suli, Botsaris and Tzavelas, inviting them to join his forces and attack together the town of Argyrocastro/Gjirokaster in modern Albania/4⬇️
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(Ali Pasha was planning a revolt against the Ottoman empire, in order to establish his own independent state in the region of Epirus).Eton took a copy of the letter and published it in his book "A survey of the Turkish empire" (1799) that is both the/5⬇️
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original Greek text and an English translation
To note that Eton translates Αρβανίτας(Arvanitas) as Αλβανοί(Albanians) and Ali Pasha clearly makes a distinction between the inhabitants of Souli and the Albanians.
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books.google.com/books?id=fjMOA…
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Even the Ottomans of Epirus used Greek. /7 ⬇️
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Greek was the official language in the area ruled by Ali Pasha. /8 ⬇️
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Another British who met Ali Pasha in person was Henry Holland, in 1812. He wrote in his "Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, Thessaly, Macedonia, &c. During the Years 1812 and 1813" that Ali Pasha spoke modern Greek, which despite the different../9 ⬇️
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pronunciation sounded to him quite similar to ancient Greek, since he could understand a great part of what his interlocutor said though himself spoke no modern Greek but knew only ancient Greek.
@UnrollHelper
books.google.com/books?id=EJkaA…
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In 1908 the number of #Greek #speakers in the #schools, was much #bigger than the #small #number of the new newcomers- #Albanians who spoke "Albanian".
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In #Tirana #Helleno Orthodox #Vlachs.
Also the #majority of the population in #Macedonia in 1908 were #Greeks.
@UnrollHelper
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